The next day, a biting cold wind whipped through the streets of Jeju, creating small eddies that swept trash from the pavement onto the sidewalks.

A special coach bus was parked in the square of the Jeju Martial Arts Association. Every so often, someone would walk up and board, suitcase in tow.

Zhao Rui drove up, and amidst Qin Rui’s reluctant and worried gaze, he got out of the SUV with his suitcase.

"You drive the car back. I already spoke with the coach; they won’t let you go. Focus on your training at home and try to break through to the Grandmaster Realm as soon as you can," Zhao Rui instructed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Qin Rui flew into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss right on his lips.

Zhao Rui was slightly taken aback, but he didn’t refuse, deepening the kiss.

After a long moment, a blushing Qin Rui pulled away, her gaze burning with intensity as she said, "Take care of yourself. I’ll be waiting for you!"

"Mm, I know. You too."

Zhao Rui caressed her fair, delicate cheek, then turned, picked up his suitcase, and walked toward the assembly point without looking back.

There were no grand principles at play, nor any special reason.

Not for going to the front lines, and not for that kiss.

He just followed his heart.

Zhao Rui walked to the assembly point with his suitcase and handed his identification to the female staff member in front of him.

"Dongqi University?"

The staff member verified his identity, then couldn’t help but give Zhao Rui a second look.

’He’s ridiculously young.’

The other units and organizations had young people too, but they were all twenty-seven, twenty-eight, or older.

But this one right here was only nineteen.

’That’s just unbelievable.’

’And most importantly, he’s pretty handsome!’

"Is everything in order?"

Noticing the staff member was a little dazed, Zhao Rui asked calmly.

"Oh, sorry about that! Yes, you’re all set!"

The staff member blushed and quickly handed Zhao Rui his identification and related documents.

"Your seat is number fifteen!"

"Okay."

Zhao Rui acknowledged her and walked over to the bus with his suitcase.

Another staff member eagerly helped him stow his luggage while he boarded the bus with a backpack.

The bus was already half full. They were almost all male Grandmasters, with the exception of two young women who looked to be in their early thirties.

These people could generally be divided into three types. The first was like Zhao Rui: not opposed to going, and even somewhat willing.

The second type were those who were ostracized in their units or sent as cannon fodder.

The last type were unaffiliated Martial Artists from the general public, randomly selected by the Martial Arts Association.

As Zhao Rui was sizing them up, they were naturally sizing him up as well.

Seeing how young he was, they couldn’t help but give him a second look.

Zhao Rui found his seat, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

The group waited for another ten minutes or so. After seven or eight more people boarded, the bus slowly pulled away.

It was heading for the airport.

Unlike Cao Guannan’s group, they had a dedicated plane to transport them.

About half an hour later, everyone disembarked from the bus and transferred to a large passenger plane.

Soon, the plane was soaring through the sky, speeding toward the Northwest Border.

During the flight, few people spoke to one another. Most just rested with their eyes closed, oblivious to the world around them.

After all, their destination was a battlefield.

No matter how high your level of Martial Arts, stepping onto a battlefield where bullets and shells have no eyes is never an easy thing.

Who would be in the mood for idle chatter?

They flew west for about ten hours. After disembarking, the group was picked up by several military vehicles and taken to a hidden military base.

This was a Governor’s Guard outpost, with a garrison of ten thousand troops.

After getting out of the vehicles, some of the group were stationed at the outpost, while the rest continued on toward the border defense line.

Zhao Rui and a Martial Artist in his forties were assigned to a regiment-level garrison.

The man’s name was Liu Huaijin. He was the master of a Martial Arts Hall in Jeju who had the bad luck of being drafted.

"Welcome, Grandmasters! With you two here, I’ll finally be able to sleep soundly!"

At the outpost, Regiment Commander Qi Tianlu welcomed the two of them into the military camp with a beaming smile.

He was accompanied by two deputy commanders.

"You’re too kind, Commander. Now that we’re in the camp, we’re soldiers. We’ll follow all your orders," Liu Huaijin said with a smile. They had both been given the nominal rank of deputy commander.

"Haha, that’s right. This way, you two. Please, let me give you a tour of the camp!"

Qi Tianlu chuckled and led them on a tour around the camp.

"This is a T5 main battle tank, this is the Thunder Wolf rocket launcher vehicle, and this is a man-portable rocket launcher..."

Due to battlefield requirements, this reinforced regiment was well-equipped with mechanized hardware. In terms of firepower alone, its overall offensive and defensive capabilities were quite formidable.

After the brief tour, Qi Tianlu took them to the mess hall for a welcome meal.

Zhao Rui was no greenhorn. He had seen plenty of situations like this and knew to follow local customs.

For Martial Artists like them, alcohol was hardly an issue.

If a situation arose, they could circulate their Inner Strength and instantly sober up.

After a few rounds of drinks, Qi Tianlu let out a breath and said, "To be honest, I’ve been run ragged lately. We’ve lost too many soldiers... With you two here, I really feel a great sense of relief."

"Commander, do these Gui Xu people look like us? How can you tell them apart?" Liu Huaijin asked curiously.

"They do and they don’t. It’s like the difference between us and people from Southeast Asia. If you look closely, you can tell them apart."

"Their language is different, but many of them understand the Ancient Chinese Language. It’s said they were taught by people from the Central Plains who went there several hundred years ago."