In the two weeks since Chen Fan arrived at the base, his only display of power was when he jumped out of the helicopter.
No one knew what he was up to when he was inside his room. The only time people saw him outside apart from the training hour was in the morning when he practiced relaxing Tai Chi. Therefore, his exact power and abilities remained a mystery.
Hearing the challenge, even Huo Donglai and Sergeant Huo looked to Chen Fan expectantly.
A few sergeants had been talking about him for days. They concluded that Chen Fan was a Transcendent Master if not even more powerful. Since no one had seen him in action, the conclusion remained mere speculation.
“I would love to.”
Chen Fan walked into the training ground and scanned his students. “Who would join me?”
An awkward silence fell over the training room. No one in his right mind would want to challenge someone who could survive a fall from a hundred meters above the ground. Not even Tank wanted to test the waters.
“I will do it”
Someone spoke up.
“Captain!”
Having recognized the speaker, everyone was shocked.
He was none other than the Captain Yue of the Cang Dragon unit.
He had been mostly keeping things to himself of late and was not as ostentatious as Tank or Rusty. Even the new guy, Chu Minhui seemed to have made more progress than he did. Therefore, his reticence had made others nearly forget about him. His sudden rise to the challenge surprised everyone.
“Very well. You look like a good fighter.”
Chen Fan sized him up and despite his rich experience as the North Mystic Celestial Lord, he couldn’t help be surprised by what he saw.
Using his Immortal Will, he registered swift currents coursing through Yue Jianqiu’s veins. The flow was so powerful that Chen Fan thought he could hear its swooshing sounds. Every muscle and bone were a few times more durable and stronger than that of a normal person. It was evident that his body could unleash an incredible outburst of energy.
“I knew you were the most talented and strong-willed soldier in Cang Dragon. However, I have to admit that I am surprised by your progress.”
Chen Fan nodded in approval.
If one could master the Cang Dragon Physical Conditioning Exercise program, his power should be on par with that of an initial success level Internal Force user.
Tank was of above average talent and was gifted with incredible strength. He was able to defeat Huo Donglai with the help of using the element of surprise; without it, Huo Donglai would have won the match.
However, Yue Jianqiu was not as lucky as Tank who had extraordinary natural strength, neither did he have any previous experience with internal force like Rusty had; however, he was able to master the Cang Dragon Physical Conditioning Exercise in less than half a month and improve his power to the same level of an internal force user with initial success. That was indeed incredible.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Head Sergeant.”
Yue Jianqiu said calmly and firmly as determination flashed across his face.
“Very well!”
Chen Fan seemed to have seen his former self in this solider. “I will let you take the initiative.”
As soon as Chen Fan finished his words, Yue Jianqiu’s body tensed up like an animal that suddenly woke up from slumber. Then he threw himself at Chen Fan.
Meanwhile, a few visitors had just entered the training ground.
At the forefront of the group was a seventy-year-old man. He was thin and scrawny. Under his dry and wrinkled skin were a web of veins and sinews, interlocking with each other like the gnarly roots of an ancient tree. His eyes glittered with a dark light as he walked with wide and confident strides. Despite his age and wizened appearance, he was much stronger than the young people around him.
Trailing behind him were two middle-aged men and a couple.
The man was tall and muscular, while the woman was smaller and attractive. She wore a red shirt and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, making her look confident and fit.
“Great Uncle Master, what brings you here?”
As soon as Huo Donglai noticed the visitor, he hurried to greet the old man.
The other sergeant also noticed the visitors and were taken aback by their appearance. They followed Sergeant Huo and greeted the old man respectfully: “Why didn’t you give us a heads up? We would roll out the red carpet for you.”
“I am but a handful of old bones. No need for those courtesies.”
Despite the small and swanky look of the old man, his voice was surprisingly loud.
“Uncle Master Donglai!”
The younger couple behind the old man saluted to Seargent Huo.
“Baisheng, Xiao Mang!”
Huo Donglai nodded a reply.
The man was called Gao Baisheng, and the girl was called Guo Xiaomang. They were both outstanding members of the young generations in the Ba Ji sect. Gao Baisheng was only a step away from reaching phenomenal success. They were the future of the Ba Ji Sect.
“Uncle Master Donglai, where is Head Sergeant Chen?”
Greetings over, Guo Xiaomang looked around, trying to find the mysterious Chen Beixuan.
“That young man fighting in the middle of the training ground.”
Everyone looked toward the direction where Huo Donglai was pointing, and what they saw made all of them furrowed their brows.
They watched as Chen Fan and Yue Jianqiu fought against each other in the center of the stage. Despite Yue Jianqiu’s incredible will-power, the gap between him and Chen Fan was unbridgeable. Chen Fan could have ended his life with one finger.
However, for the sake of the test, Chen Fan decided to hold back his power to the level of initial success and used the exact same Cang Dragon Fist techniques as he had taught his students. The two exchanged blows with each other and for a while, it was difficult to tell who would win.
“He is Chen Beixuan, the Head Sergeant Chen?”
Guo Xiaomang asked incredulously.
Both of the fighters were at most as powerful as she was, at the most. They couldn’t even stand up against her sect brother, much less Uncle Masters or Great Uncle Masters.
A smidgen of disdain also appeared on Gao Baisheng’s face.
“I … I think Head Sergeant is just warming up.”
Huo Donglai smiled awkwardly.
In hindsight, Huo Donglai had never seen Chen Fan in action. He was simply stunned by his unthinkable act of jumping out of the helicopter in midair. Ever since then, he had never doubted Chen Fan’s power.
“This young man is holding back his strength.” The old man said with knotted brows. “However, based on his reaction time and speed, he is at most the level of phenomenal success. Donglai, I doubt he would be able to help us at the conference.”
Some other sergeants wanted to rebut but didn’t know how.
This old man was a retired Combat Sergeant of the Cang Dragon unit. He was the sect leader of the Ba Ji sect. Rumor had it that he had reached the peak of his internal force cultivation, and he was only a step away from entering the Transcendent state. Nonetheless, old age had limited his power, otherwise, no one would even think of bullying the Ba Ji sect.
“I agree with Great Uncle Master. Donglai, I think we have the wrong guy.” A middle age man spoke solemnly.
Huo Donglai’s face flushed red, and he clenched his fist tightly.
“Great Uncle Master, please trust me. Head Sergeant Chen is much more powerful than he seems. I have seen with my own eyes that he survived a hundred-meter fall. Look there, he made that giant crater on the pavement.”
“Uncle Master Donglai, stop pulling our legs. Who could have survived that?” Guo Xiaomang complained.
Gao Baisheng also shook his head in disapproval.
The other middle age man snorted and said. “Donglai, even Second Uncle Master couldn’t have pulled it off if he was still alive. Why do you think a boy of his age could have done that?”
Huo Donglai was suddenly at a loss for words.
Second Uncle Master was one of the martial arts geniuses from the Ba Ji Sect. He reached the Transcendent state when he was only forty and therefore was nicknamed the “Little War God.” Unfortunately, he had suddenly disappeared ten years ago, and the Ba Ji sect also quickly fell apart.
By then, the match was finally over.
“Head Sergeant, you won!”
Yue Jianqiu took a few steps back and looked at his chest riddled with fist-size shallow surficial wounds.
“You have been practicing for only half a month, yet your progress had far exceeded my expectations. You might even be able to surpass the limitation of the Cang Dragon Physical Conditioning Exercise in the future.”
Chen Fan pointed out.
Although the theoretical cap of the Cang Dragon Physical Conditioning Exercise’s power was the initial success level, with enough will power, one would have a small chance of breaking through the limitations and gain true knowledge from the realm of cultivation.
Many Cang Dragon members nodded in excitement after they heard Chen Fan’s words.
However, they suddenly heard another voice drifted toward them.
“Head Sergeant Chen, why don’t you spar with me?”
Chen Fan furrowed his brows and looked back. He saw a strapping young man stride onto the training ground.
Behind him was an embarrassed and helpless Huo Donglai.