Hearing what Zhao Rui said, the group froze for a second, then it dawned on them—their captain was getting ready to give them a lesson.

They were immediately delighted.

After all, they had heard from the senior members that their captain was an even better teacher than the official coaches. Every single member he had ever guided had made progress.

"Alright, let’s go around. State your primary Martial Arts and any bottlenecks you’re facing in your Cultivation. Feel free to speak your minds."

Zhao Rui said with a smile.

"Yes, Captain! I’ll go first. I specialize in the Eight Trigrams Palm, and I’m currently at Level 8. I’m also training in Dharma Swordsmanship..."

The powerful voice echoed through Mingcan Courtyard, seeming to warm the cold winter air.

...

「Somewhere in the Northwest!」

A squad of soldiers, armed to the teeth, was patrolling the border.

Their gear was state-of-the-art: night-vision goggles, body armor, lightweight support exoskeletons, and multi-functional, rapid-fire guns. From a distance, the squad looked like a team of patrol robots.

They were outfitted with kits rarely issued to ordinary soldiers.

"Reporting, Captain! Drone sweep of the area shows no anomalies!"

"Reporting, Captain! Radar signals are clear."

The team had a clear division of labor. Some operated portable radar scanners, while others controlled drones for long-range reconnaissance.

"Stay alert!"

the captain ordered sternly.

Just moments after he gave the order, the radar operator suddenly cried out, "We have a problem! Signal contact! Ten targets, moving extremely fast. I suspect they’re top-tier Martial Artists."

"Fall back! Two and Three, you’re with me on rear guard! The rest of you, withdraw immediately! One and Five, notify the company!"

The entire patrol team leaped onto a rugged-looking patrol vehicle and sped away.

Mere minutes after they began their retreat, a group of burly, strangely-dressed men brandishing an assortment of weapons gave chase.

"RAT-TAT-TAT!"

The vehicle-mounted rapid-fire machine gun spat out a stream of scorching bullets that tore through the air, kicking up clouds of gravel and dust from the ground.

"Look out, it’s a Martial Arts Divine Weapon! Get down!"

The soldier firing from the rear quickly ducked. A sharp SHIICK sound cut through the air, and the rapid-fire machine gun was sliced in two by a sharp blade.

"Dammit! Keep firing!"

the captain roared, raising his submachine gun and unleashing a volley of shots.

The muzzle flashes from seven or eight submachine guns quickly formed a dense web of lead, blocking the enemy’s advance.

"AAGH!"

Just as they were fighting off their pursuers, a massive boulder erupted from the ground beneath them, launching the vehicle into the air.

The entire vehicle flipped over and crashed to the ground with a series of loud THUDS.

The impact knocked several of the soldiers unconscious instantly.

The soldiers who were lucky enough to have avoided the worst of it scrambled out of the wreckage, firing their weapons as they fell back.

Gunshots echoed across the vast, desolate desert plain.

Before long, an attack helicopter arrived with a roar, laying down suppressing fire with its mounted machine gun to cover the soldiers’ retreat.

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

Two heat-seeking missiles shot out, blasting a pair of massive craters in the ground. Unfortunately, there were no signs of any remains.

The few surviving soldiers seized the opportunity to retreat, but they hadn’t gotten far before they heard an explosion behind them.

They looked back just in time to see their rescue helicopter erupt into a massive fireball, breaking apart mid-air.

It ultimately crashed to the ground in a fiery explosion.

Horror filled their eyes. Even the attack helicopter couldn’t stop them.

"I’ll hold them off! You two, go! Report what happened!"

A look of grim resolve filled one soldier’s eyes. He waved the other two on, urging them to leave, while he laid down a burst of covering fire with his submachine gun.

Knowing this was no time for hesitation, the other two quickly fell back.

"Come on, you sons of bitches!"

the soldier roared again and again.

A cold light flashed past with a ZING. The covering soldier’s legs were severed with a sickening SLICE. He let out a horrific scream and collapsed.

"You bastards! I’ll take you all with me!"

The soldier pulled two grenades from his belt and yanked the pins. With a final, deafening BOOM, he was consumed in a shower of blood and gore.

"Dammit, we’re too late!"

Just then, more than a dozen men in practical combat gear arrived at top speed. They carried submachine guns, with longswords, sabers, and other weapons slung across their backs.

"RAT-TAT-TAT!"

They opened fire, but the ten enemies instantly dodged.

"Huaxia’s Martial Artists are faster than I expected! Too bad. You’re all going to die here today."

The ten enemies flickered. In an instant, they executed a superb Lightweight Skill, using Shift Form and Position to evade the bullets as they rapidly closed the distance.

In moments, the two sides clashed.

"BAM! BAM!"

With two muffled thuds, a pair of Martial Artists launched into the air, their fists and feet a blur of motion. Waves of True Qi raged around them like a hurricane.

"The Grandmaster Realm?"

"Fall back!"

After less than a hundred exchanges, the enemy party withdrew safely from the battlefield under the cover of one of their experts.

"Damn it! How are their Martial Arts so strong?!"

Seeing the enemy get away unscathed, one of the Martial Artists slammed his fist into the ground, venting his frustration.

"Their True Qi is denser than ours and its properties are more complex, which naturally makes their Cultivation Techniques superior. But don’t worry. As long as we can hold out through this initial phase, our True Qi will fuse and increase in density, and our power will advance by leaps and bounds,"

the Grandmaster on their side said, his gaze profound.

"I just don’t know if we can survive this initial phase," one of the rescue Martial Artists said, frowning. "Firearms are becoming less and less effective."

Hearing this, the others fell silent.

They had no Martial Arts Divine Weapons of their own; their only means of ranged attack were firearms.