Chapter 12 The First Squad Test

  （0012）

  Ten days passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was already March 11th.

  For the past ten days, Xia Xingxiao has been in a daze. Eating, sleeping, bathing, and wandering around aimlessly, everything feels like it's being done unconsciously, as if he's just going through the motions of life. Only when he takes out his Five-clawed Golden Dragon does he feel like he's still alive.

  He had no idea what level of cultivation he had reached with the Easy Muscle Technique. He couldn't communicate with the mysterious bead at all. The mysterious bead was flashing green light, busy as ever, but still didn't tell Xia Xing anything. It wasn't until the communication device issued a gathering order that he hastily got up and rushed to the designated gathering point.

  The fifth squad's first regular intensive training is scheduled for today. The content of the training is simple, it's to test whether the cultivators' various basic abilities have improved, and then adjust the direction of cultivation based on the degree of improvement. Those who perform well may also receive one-on-one guidance from the instructor. There are only two test items: speed and strength.

  The hierarchy of cultivators is divided into two directions, one is speed-type and the other is strength-type. The two conditions do not need to be met at the same time, as long as one condition is satisfied, the level can be adjusted. Generally, cultivators will strive in one direction. It's not impossible to take care of both directions at the same time, it just requires more effort and the cultivation progress will slow down.

  Due to the different directions of cultivation, cultivators also have different occupational differences. Those who mainly attack power types are generally called knife guests. Those who mainly attack speed types are generally called sword guests. Those who take into account both are generally called wandering knights. These are the three main occupations of cultivators.

  Of course, not all knife guests use knives. It's just that most knife methods are more about strength. Knives are mainly used for chopping and slashing, requiring not subtle changes, but powerful and unmatched power. For example, Tian Boguang's Crazy Wind Knife Method also requires strong power to burst out the strongest lethality.

  Feng Han's self-created left-handed knife and Yun Shuai's self-created Yang Blade Technique are the fastest and most angular among all knife techniques. However, they also require strong power to match. Without sufficient strength, any fast knife cannot cut through the target's defense.

  Compared to knife guests, sword guests are much more agile and elegant. Most swordsmanship emphasizes speed and agility. The ultimate expression of this is the Du Gu Nine Swords. Knives mainly rely on chopping and slashing, while swords focus on thrusting. Concentrating all one's strength into a single, tiny point, exploding with maximum power in the narrowest space, striking to kill with a single blow - that is what it means to thrust!

  Obviously, if you want to accurately hit the vitals without speed, it's definitely not going to work. If the speed is not fast enough, there's no possibility of hitting the vitals at all. As for power, it's actually not required to be high. Because, according to the principle of inertia, as long as the speed is fast enough, the destructive force produced by the sword tip is sufficient to break through the target's armor.

  Of course, there are also swordsmanship that rely mainly on strength. For example, Lang Fengyun's Fuyin Swordsmanship and Xie Xuan's Jiusheng Dingyin Sword are both based on strength. These two swordsmanships are large-scale attacking techniques that sweep across a wide area. Each move contains energy that can overturn the sky and earth. However, this type of swordsmanship also requires high speed. Therefore, simply cultivating strength is definitely not enough to wield Fuyin Sword and Jiusheng Dingyin Sword.

  In addition, there are butchers, wanderers, forest rangers, bandits, hunters, assassins, pirates and thieves. Although their numbers are small and they are rarely seen in everyday life, if they cultivate successfully, their lethality is extremely terrifying.

  The first to take the test were Song Haicheng and Ye Sifu. Their cultivation indices were both three points, making them the hope of the fifth squad. All the instructors pinned their hopes on them. Among the more than 500 new recruits who came to the Mian Luo military base this time, only fifteen had a cultivation index of three points. The fifth squad was lucky enough to get two of them. The two did not disappoint, and their test performance was indeed good.

  Song Haicheng mainly practiced strength-type internal power. The internal power he cultivated was not Yi Jin Jing, but rather the "Ten Dwellings Mahayana Skill". This was an internal power created by a monk named Zhufa Qing during ancient Earth's era, known for its fast cultivation speed, good effects and strong explosive force. If one aspired to become a knife guest, Ten Dwellings Mahayana Skill would be even more suitable than Yi Jin Jing.

  In addition, among the inner strengths that can be quickly accomplished, the Ten Dwellings Mahayana Skill is quite famous. Its initial cultivation speed is almost more than twice that of the Easy Tendon Classic. Due to the many benefits of the Ten Dwellings Mahayana Skill, there are many people in the Federal Army who cultivate this inner strength. Some have even created a family based on this inner strength. The Song Family is one such family.

  In fact, Song Haicheng's cultivation progress was indeed very fast. With only ten days of cultivation time, he had already achieved a force output of 309 kilograms. Such an achievement was quite good. It is estimated that during the next test, his explosive power will be able to break through 500 kilograms and successfully advance to the second level. And his military rank would also be adjusted to third-class soldier.

  The next test is thirty days later. Song Haicheng has enough time to raise his score above 500 kilograms. He concentrates all his training on strength, striving to make his explosive power the strongest. Therefore, if there are no accidents, the first knife guest born in the fifth small team will definitely be him, Song Haicheng.

  Ye's speed was also impressive. He easily reached a speed of 31 meters per second. If he sprinted with all his might, his speed would exceed 36 meters per second. If there were no accidents, in the next test, his speed should exceed 50 meters per second. This means that he had also met the standards of a Second-Order Cultivator and could be awarded the rank of Third-Class Soldier.

  Yeshuf's internal skill, called "Tian Wei Ning Yin", was quite unusual. This was founded by a person named Li Chi Mei in ancient Earth times. Tian Wei Ning Yin is not only an internal skill but also an excellent flying technique. While Yeshuf was practicing this internal skill, he was also practicing the flying technique, and his speed was naturally better than others.

  Compared to those who focus on cultivating strength, the number of people who focus on cultivating speed is significantly smaller. The main reason is that cultivating speed is much slower than cultivating strength. There are also relatively fewer techniques and methods for cultivating speed. In the same amount of time, the effect gained from focusing on strength is basically more than twice that of focusing on speed.

  If you don't have enough talent in speed cultivation, it's almost impossible to achieve anything. Unfortunately, this talent cannot be made up for by hard work and effort. The idea that "diligence can make up for clumsiness" is almost useless for those who cultivate speed. This cruel reality often hurts cultivators deeply. They are always filled with hope, only to be disappointed again and again. It's not uncommon to see cultivators who originally focused on speed, but later switched to cultivating strength after being repeatedly frustrated.

  However, as the saying goes, "one part of sweat, one part of gain", speed-type cultivators have a great advantage over strength-type cultivators. If the two sides were to engage in a one-on-one duel, swordsmen of the same level would not be a match for knife users. Countless facts have proven that if it's a real fight, knife users can keep their lives intact, which is already very lucky.

  Even a swordsman two levels lower than the knife guest has a chance to defeat his opponent. At least, he can stand undefeated. The reason is simple: relying on incredible speed, if you can't beat him, you can run! Even if you can't kill someone, you can exhaust them to death or entangle them to death. From this perspective, without the assistance of a swordsman, it's indeed too dangerous for a knife guest to fight alone.

  The starry sky of various countries, or the major ethnic groups, all attach great importance to speed. Unfortunately, the difficulty of attacking speed is indeed a bit big, and ordinary cultivators do not have such willpower. It seems that Ye Sifu, a speed-type cultivator like him, in the fifth small team, is absolutely a treasure-level character. In fact, Lieutenant Zhao Zhi had already opened a small stove for him in advance.

  Apart from Song Haicheng and Ye Sifu, the test scores of the others in the fifth squad were just average. The Brain's aptitude test was still quite accurate. Apart from Xia Xingxiao, this freak, the cultivation progress of the others was basically similar to their cultivation index.

  It seems that ordinary practitioners like Ma Peng, without any special talent, and not practicing with 100% effort, can only achieve a force of 145 kilograms. Conservatively estimated, he will need at least three months of practice to reach a force of 200 kilograms. And to break through the limit of 500 kilograms, it may take a whole year.

  Everyone else in the fifth squad had finished their tests, leaving only Xia Xingxiao behind.

  Squad leader Zhao Zhi Lei has always been hesitant about whether Xia Xing Xiao should take the test. Deep down, he didn't want Xia Xing Xiao to participate in the test. Because his test scores would definitely lower the average level of the fifth squad. This was indeed a difficult thing for him as the squad leader to accept.

  Which team leader does not want their team to stand out? Who doesn't want the team they lead to have the most outstanding performance among all teams? In the army, only those who perform the best will have the opportunity to stand out. However, on the test score sheet, Xia Xinxiao's score must also be filled in and cannot be left blank.

  After some thought, Zhao Zhi Lei finally decided to let Xia Xing Xiao participate in the test. Anyway, this person's cultivation index was zero, even if there was no cultivation progress at all, completely no explosive power, and completely no speed, it couldn't be blamed on the instructor of the fifth small team.

  It's not that our instructor is no good, it's just that he himself has poor qualifications, right? Who told you that you're naturally unsuitable for practicing martial arts skills? Who told you to come in through the back door? When the time comes to rank our scores, we'll just have to try hard to exclude Xia Xingxiao's score.