I'm a body cultivator, so it's normal for me to destroy a star with one punch, right?

Chapter 156 Young man, don't be afraid!
Zhang San and Li Si flew over from a distance.

"Third Brother!"

"Fourth brother!"

Jiang He was overjoyed and went to greet them, giving each of them a big hug.

Zhang San looked Jiang He up and down and laughed, "Sixth Brother, you really gave us a fright... Not a Grandmaster, but better than a Grandmaster, you single-handedly suppressed all the young talents in the major base cities of Great Xia... Tsk tsk, your reputation is much greater than ours back then!"

"what?"

Jiang He exclaimed in surprise, "My little reputation in the Great Xia has actually reached the ears of the three of you brothers?"

Li Si said, "The National Youth Martial Arts Competition is a grand event for the Great Xia Dynasty. Although we are in Tianmen Pass, we are also paying attention to it... To be honest, when we first heard the name Jiang He, we thought it was just a coincidence, after all, you have only been practicing body cultivation for a short time?"

Jiang He asked curiously, "Then how did Fourth Brother confirm that it was mine?"

Li Si laughed and said, "I asked around and they said that Jiang He is also a lunatic... so it must be you!"

Jiang He: "..."

He was starting to not want to talk to Li Si anymore.

Turning his head, he noticed Wang Mazi with his arms crossed, looking sullen. He immediately asked, "Fifth Brother, what's wrong? You seem unhappy."

"Humph!"

Wang Mazi snorted coldly and arrogantly turned his head away, not wanting to pay any attention to Jiang He.

Li Si whispered, "It must be because you just hugged me and Third Brother, but not your Fifth Brother..."

Jiang He gave Wang Mazi another hug, and Wang Mazi finally put on a smiling face, pulling Jiang He along and saying, "Have you had dinner yet? Come on... Fifth Brother will treat you to dinner. The food in our military camp is not simple; you can't get this kind of food even if you have money in Daxia."

The four of them, arm in arm, headed straight for the recruit camp canteen.

"Chef, what delicious food have you made today?"

As soon as Wang Mazi entered the canteen, he started shouting loudly.

"Who dares to make a scene in the cafeteria?"

An unpleasant voice came from behind him, and Wang Mazi glared at it.

The speaker was a Grandmaster of the Eighth Rank. He was about to get angry, but his companion immediately pulled him back and whispered, "Are you crazy... You dare to mess with these three fiends?"

"What kind of evil spirit?"

The eighth-rank grandmaster raised an eyebrow and said, "They're just a few new recruits. When have the Iron Blood Camp ever been afraid of trouble?"

"Shh!"

One of the extraordinary awakened individuals at the same table quickly said, "Keep your voice down, don't let them hear... Those three aren't ordinary recruits. It's said they served in Tianmen Pass 20 years ago, but later, for some unknown reason, they developed mental illness and went back to Daxia for treatment."

"I just recovered a few days ago."

“You were on a mission the other day, so it’s normal that you didn’t know them… The three of them had only been in the recruit camp for three days when they slaughtered an elite squad of aliens.”

"The Flying Bear Camp almost turned the entire camp upside down just because they exchanged a few words with them!"

A table full of veterans, all of whom were either seventh or eighth rank officials.

They spoke in hushed tones, so their conversation couldn't be heard.

Then there are the four people from Jianghe.

The four brothers hadn't seen each other for almost two months, and now they seemed to have endless things to say to each other.

Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Mazi recounted their experiences after entering Tianmen Pass. Zhang San said, "On the day I left Wucheng, my extraordinary abilities reached Level A."

"The next day, my martial arts cultivation also broke through, and I stepped into the Grandmaster realm."

"Your fourth and fifth brothers also broke through before entering Tianmen Pass. Now your fifth brother is already at the eighth rank. Although your fourth brother has not yet reached the eighth rank, he has obtained a lot of spiritual herbs these days and has refined several new types of poisons that can even take down a ninth-rank!"

I picked up a piece of meat and put it in my mouth.

Zhang San laughed and said, "As for your third brother, I have completely integrated fire-type extraordinary abilities and swordsmanship, and I am only one step away from the eighth rank... Of course, although I have not yet entered the eighth rank, I can defeat someone like your fifth brother who is at the eighth rank without even needing three moves!"

"???"

Upon hearing this, Wang Mazi was immediately displeased and sneered, "Bragging? Anyone can do that. Three moves... Heh."

Zhang San glared at him: "Are you not convinced or what?"

Wang Mazi slammed his hand on the table, his neck stiff, and said, "Zhang San, I've disliked you for a long time. If you've got the guts, let's go outside and have a real fight!"

Zhang San: "Fine, I'll go! Who's afraid of who? Lao Liu's here today anyway, let him be our witness!"

In an instant, everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at them.

Jiang He was terrified and quickly stood up to persuade him, "Third Brother, Fifth Brother, let's sit down and talk things over calmly. Let's not let outsiders laugh at us."

Li Si said slowly and politely, "Sixth Brother, don't panic. Let them fight. Once they're done, their anger will have subsided!"

"Fourth Brother, how can that be?"

Jiang He said solemnly, "We are four brothers, as close as hands and feet. How can we kill each other?"

His eyes darted around.

An idea immediately came to mind!

The best way to shift internal conflicts is... to shift them externally!
Jiang He stepped forward, pulled Zhang San and Wang Mazi apart, and said, "Third Brother, Fifth Brother, you've been at Tianmen Pass for so long, you haven't been bullied, have you?"

Wang Mazi sneered, "Who dares to bully us?"

Zhang San said calmly, "In this place, it's only us brothers who bully others; there's no reason for us to be bullied."

The two of them were still locked in a tense standoff, with one of them gripping the other's collar and the other choking the other's neck.

"???"

Jiang He asked in surprise, "Didn't those veterans bully you? I've read in novels and TV dramas that new recruits are always bullied by veterans!"

"Hey hey!"

Before Zhang San and Wang Mazi could speak...

Some veterans in the canteen were unhappy. A seventh-rank Grandmaster stood up and said, "Young man, don't talk nonsense... We are all citizens of Great Xia. In this foreign land, we are too busy sticking together for warmth. How could we bully anyone?"

Jiang He: "..." There wasn't a scene where veterans bullied new recruits?
This is unreasonable!
He looked at the seventh-rank grandmaster and asked, "May I ask who you are, senior...?"

The seventh-rank master clasped his hands in greeting and said, "I am from Beihu, and I am currently the squad leader of the third squad of the first platoon of the first company of the Iron Blood Battalion at Tianmen Pass. My surname is Wu!"

"So it's Squad Leader Wu! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Jiang He released Zhang San and Wang Mazi, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the seventh-rank grandmaster.

Wang Mazi and Zhang San stared at each other...

Jiang He stopped trying to stop them, so the two of them let go of each other and returned to their seats.

Jiang He looked around and said, "If I'm not mistaken... all the seniors dining in the canteen now should be veterans who have guarded Tianmen Pass for hundreds of battles!"

Everyone looked at the river, and some nodded.

Jiang He continued, “You have all abandoned your families and careers, risking your lives to guard Tianmen Pass and protect the safety of the entire Great Xia for many years… On behalf of all the people of Great Xia, I would like to express my gratitude to you all.”

This simple sentence brought tears to the eyes of many people present.

Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Mazi were completely bewildered, not understanding what Jiang He was up to.

But then Jiang He changed the subject and said, "What Sergeant Wu just said is that we are all compatriots of Great Xia. Being in a foreign land, we should stick together and support each other... I completely agree with that!"

"But has Sergeant Wu ever thought about why there are often scenes in novels and TV dramas where veterans bully new recruits?"

"???"

Squad Leader Wu looked completely bewildered.

How would I know about this?

Jiang He: "Is it just that the novel's author and the TV series' screenwriter wanted to create conflict, pad the word count, and let the protagonist show off and act cool?"

Squad Leader Wu: "Isn't that right?"

Jiang He shook his head and said, "I don't think so... It's true that it doesn't sound good if word gets out that veterans are bullying new recruits, but I think it's a good thing... Think about it, apart from those newly promoted Grandmasters, most of the new recruits who came to Tianmen Pass this time are the young talents of our Great Xia!"

"They are all young, yet they have already reached the half-step Grandmaster realm, and several young Grandmasters have even emerged. They have always been the best among their generation, and have long since developed an arrogance, looking down on others. They believe that they are not as good as those real masters, not because they are incapable, but because they have not cultivated for long enough!"

"If this continues, what will become of us?"

Many veterans fell silent.

Sergeant Wu blinked and asked in return, "So, bullying the new recruits and dampening their spirits is a good thing?"

Jiang He nodded and said, "It's not just about dampening their spirits... Let's put ourselves in their shoes. If you were those young people, always invincible among your peers, but now being bullied by a group of veterans, what would you do?"

Squad Leader Wu thought for a moment and said, "Of course we must train hard and strive to get our revenge!"

"That's right!"

Jiang He said, "That's exactly the point... Those new recruits will train hard, wanting to get their revenge, and you seniors won't be willing to be surpassed by a bunch of juniors, right? You'll naturally feel a sense of urgency and train even harder. This will create a virtuous cycle, and your strength will only get stronger, and the foundation of our Great Xia will become stronger. At that time, all those alien races and the Heavenly Saint Sect will be nothing but chickens and dogs!"

Say it.

Jiang He clasped his hands in a fist salute and sat down.

Li Si glanced at the many veterans eating in the canteen and lowered his voice, saying, "Sixth Brother, it's only been less than two months, how come you've become so good at bluffing?"

"Besides, you're a new recruit too. Aren't you afraid of being bullied?"

Wang Mazi glared and cursed, "Whoever dares to bully Lao Liu, I'll chop him to death!"

Zhang San shook his head and said, "There are military regulations in the barracks. We are not allowed to cause trouble during our service. Do you think these veterans can be fooled by a few words?"

at this time.

A group of young people walked in.

It was Yu Wenxuan and some other familiar martial artists.

They chatted and laughed as they entered, then chose an empty table to sit at. Looking up, they saw Jiang He and were about to come over to say hello…

Squad Leader Wu stood up and blocked Yu Wenxuan.

He tossed his plate onto the table and said, "This seat is mine. You'll have to find another place."

Say it.

She even glanced back at Jiang He secretly.

Jiang He silently gave Wu, the squad leader, a thumbs up.

Not to mention other young talents.

Yu Wenxuan alone couldn't swallow this insult. He could bow down to Jiang He because Jiang He almost wiped out their generation of young people. As for this person in front of him...

Yu Wenxuan looked up and glanced at Squad Leader Wu.

I noticed that this person had an ordinary appearance; although he was a seventh-rank grandmaster, he looked to be over forty years old...

Her real age is probably much higher.

He sneered, "What? You think you can bully us new recruits just because you have higher cultivation and are older? I've never heard of such a rule inside Tianmen Pass."

"That's right!"

Jiang He slammed his hand on the table, stirring up trouble, "Brother Yu is the most outstanding genius of the younger generation in our Western Xia. How dare you, a mere seventh-rank martial arts master, bully him?"

"???"

Squad Leader Wu's lips twitched, and he glanced back at Jiang He.

Yu Wenxuan also looked up at the river.

Jiang He said, "Brother Yu, let's take him down, so these veterans know that we new recruits aren't easy to bully!"

Yu Wenxuan: "..."

I was just going to say a few harsh words and then give him my place. How am I supposed to back down now that you've said that to me?

Upon seeing this, Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Mazi immediately understood what Jiang He meant.

The three men exchanged a glance, then slammed their fists on the table and jumped up: "Young man, don't be afraid! There are rules in the military: you can fight, but you can't kill... He wouldn't dare kill you!"

PS: First update! The Tianmen Pass storyline will unfold gradually, so don't panic!


(End of this chapter)