Chapter 25: The Four Swordsmen in Training... (Requesting Recommendation Votes)

"I have to say, Dragon, you’re really not playing fair. Every time you keep something up your sleeve. I can see victory within reach, and then you just dash ahead and snatch it. Tell me, are you messing with me on purpose?"

Panting for breath and drenched in sweat, He Chenguang finally reached the mountaintop, only to see Xing Xiaolong already there, resting at ease. The sight made his blood boil.

If he didn’t let off some steam, he’d explode.

“Come on now, it’s not like that. I made a bet with Wang Yanbing. I had to give it everything I had just to get up here," Xing Xiaolong replied, feigning modesty but unable to hide the proud grin on his face. His smugness was clear—he was telling He Chenguang, "What can I say? Strength is just strength."

“Tch, you’re celebrating too soon. Don’t forget, we’ve only covered half the distance,” He Chenguang refused to admit defeat and didn’t set off downhill right away. Clearly, he was planning a rematch with Xing Xiaolong on the descent.

About half a minute later, Wang Yanbing, exhausted and crawling on hands and knees, became the third to reach the summit. Seeing Xing Xiaolong lounging there, he shouted, “Xing Xiaolong, I’m starting to wonder if you’re even human. You’re a monster, aren’t you?”

“Wang, my boy, a person needs to keep his word. A good comrade pays his debts when he loses a bet,” Xing Xiaolong said, his words oddly out of place. Wang Yanbing quickly caught on and, without fuss, greeted him, “Dragon, bro.”

He Chenguang, still burning for revenge, had no time to listen to their banter. He got to his feet and called out, “Everyone’s here now. Let’s get going––”

“Get going with what?” Old Hei’s voice suddenly cut him off. He strode over, face dark, and scolded, “Have you three caused enough trouble yet? Ever since you enlisted, you’ve been at each other’s throats, all wanting to be first.

Let me tell you, one person being strong counts for nothing. A lone wolf is still a sheep. Only when the whole platoon is strong are you truly strong—united, you’re a pack of wolves.

Since you three like competing so much and have nowhere to put your energy, fine, I’ll give you a challenge,” he said, pointing down to Li Erniu, who was still lagging far behind the other recruits on the mountainside. “I’m putting that last recruit in your hands. From today on, your scores will be averaged together as a group of four.

And just so you know, this was personally ordered by the instructor. You’d better think carefully about how you handle this.”

“What the hell!”
“What’s this supposed to mean?”
“Isn’t this nonsense?”

Xing Xiaolong, He Chenguang, and Wang Yanbing were all dumbfounded at Old Hei’s announcement.

With the scores averaged among four, if they ignored Li Erniu and he failed his training and scored zero, even if the other three all got perfect tens, their average would only be a little over seven.

A perfect ten turned into a seven—the top students would become just average. They could forget about making it into the elite units!

More and more recruits were reaching the summit, yet Li Erniu was still inching his way up from the mountainside. Wang Yanbing swallowed hard and asked, “What do we do now?”

“What else? We have to go help Li Erniu," Xing Xiaolong replied without hesitation. His goal was to become a special forces soldier. Without another word, he turned and ran back down toward the struggling recruit.

“Let’s go!” Wang Yanbing and He Chenguang shouted and charged down after him.

When the three reached Li Erniu, they found him at his limit, barely conscious, eyes closed, swaying as he tried to climb.

At this rate, he couldn’t possibly finish the training in ten minutes; he was sure to get a zero.

They had no choice but to go all out.

Xing Xiaolong, still full of energy, took the lead. He pulled a strap from his backpack, tied one end to his waist and the other to Li Erniu, and began to pull him up the mountain.

He Chenguang and Wang Yanbing supported Li Erniu by the arms on either side, all three working together to help him charge toward the distant summit that, for Li Erniu, seemed utterly unattainable.

At the summit, Old Hei rejoined Instructor Gong Jian and, watching the four struggle together up the slope, remarked, “Instructor, I just don’t get it. Our Iron Fist Regiment is one of the best—how did we end up with a recruit like Li Erniu?”

“No one is born an elite soldier. Give him some more time. I believe he’ll grow,” Gong Jian replied with a smile.

“I’m just worried he’ll drag the others down. Xing Xiaolong and the other two are all promising. If Li Erniu holds them back, that affects all three,” Old Hei said with concern.

“They’re not ordinary boys. We can’t judge them by usual standards. Besides, this is a good chance to hone their teamwork. That’ll serve them well in the future. War, after all, is a team effort. However strong you are alone, you’re still just a sheep,” Gong Jian explained.

Old Hei had to agree and went along with the training plan.

And so, from that day on...

The three who once competed with each other at every opportunity—Xing Xiaolong, He Chenguang, and Wang Yanbing—were transformed into Li Erniu’s personal training team, guiding him through each subject with three-to-one support.

Whether it was physical training on the horizontal and parallel bars, push-ups, sit-ups, or tactical obstacles like monkey bars, high walls, jumping platforms, and crawling under wire—

Or even ordinary short and long-distance runs in and out of gear—

The three were inseparable from Li Erniu, tied together at every step. To an outsider, it might have looked like some strange group ritual.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.

This kind of “the strong leading the weak” training was grueling for the top recruits. Xing Xiaolong, He Chenguang, and Wang Yanbing had to suppress their urge to surge ahead, forced to watch lesser recruits surpass them one after another.

For Li Erniu, the process was no less painful. The aggressive training, with its heavy reliance on outside help, placed a huge burden on his body. Every session left him utterly sore.

Yet, though Li Erniu was slow-witted and physically weak, his endurance and determination were remarkable—qualities befitting a boy from the countryside, used to hardship and toil.

Hard work brings its rewards.

With the help of the other three, perpetual straggler Li Erniu made huge strides in fitness. Even without their help, he could now finish among the second tier of runners.

Moreover, the three former rivals—Xing Xiaolong, Wang Yanbing, and He Chenguang—gradually forged a true friendship through their joint efforts to help Li Erniu, becoming genuine friends. Their occasional competitions now had lost their bitterness and became more like friendly boasting.

Old Hei watched Li Erniu’s progress with admiration, forced to acknowledge Instructor Gong Jian’s advanced methods. He was eager to see what these four young swordsmen would achieve.

Meanwhile, Gong Jian, a strong advocate for taking political work out of the classroom and onto the training grounds, prepared a unique challenge for all the recruits as the third phase of tactical training ended and they were about to enter the fourth phase.

Gathering them all on the training field, he was ready to launch a most unusual test.

—

Special thanks to “Madman With a Mad Style” for coming all the way from QQ to Qidian to support and giving a reward of 2000 coins. I’m deeply, deeply grateful.

A salute for you!