Strongest Soldier King

The warm sun ruled the sky, birds happily chirped as they danced above the tree-shaded military camp, until suddenly, a sky-piercing roar erupted, like thunder, startling the birds into frenzied flight. From within the camp, a team burst forth, each member clad in jungle camouflage training garb, helmets on heads, and carrying ten-kilogram packs, led by one man who howled as they charged out of the camp.

The leader was Luo Zheng, freshly donned in training attire for fairness and to command respect. Shouldering the same ten-kilogram burden, he sprinted ahead, leading the team on the first round of selection. They stormed out of the camp gates and onto a trail leading into the mountains, usually trodden during field training.

Just as everyone assumed Luo Zheng would run along the trail, he suddenly veered in another direction toward a dense, bushy forest with no discernible path. The only way to avoid getting snagged by brambles was to keep leaping forward. With ten kilograms on their backs, this make-shift jumping and sprinting was exhausting.

Luo Zheng, unfazed, charged into the bushes, using his "Hunter" instinct to sharply find a breakthrough path. He identified where the bushes were thickest, suitable spots to land, and areas that were open, among other things. With just a glance, Luo Zheng could clear his way, always finding the most time and energy-efficient route forward.

The team hesitated briefly before following suit. As trained Special Forces, they caught up with Luo Zheng, with none left behind. Soon, the more observant among them realized that while Luo Zheng's route seemed erratic, it was optimally chosen. Besides, his pace was uncannily fast, as if he were a cheetah familiar with its surroundings.

After a while, the team noticed they were quite a distance behind Luo Zheng. Customarily, they would advance at a steady pace to save time and energy, but Luo Zheng was doing the exact opposite: a near full-sprint. This tactic allowed him to move much faster initially, but would typically result in exhaustion later on. The team was at a loss about what to do.

Those who were quick-witted recalled Luo Zheng's words and accelerated to keep pace. Seeing this, others also picked up speed, and soon, everyone was sprinting with all their might. Carrying ten kilograms and running through pathless woods required significant physical exertion and high-level skills.

The team lacked neither skill nor strength, but they were unaccustomed to this all-out sprinting style. After a while, the terrain ahead opened up to reveal a familiar river, a frequent spot for bathing in leisure times, about seven or eight meters wide and knee-deep, with a pebbly floor and flanked by more even grounds that were largely clear of bushes, though overgrown with weeds that hardly impeded running.

Just as everyone thought Luo Zheng might run along the riverbank, allowing a brief respite, he suddenly jumped into the river and sprinted upstream as if chased by enemy forces, shocking everyone. Some tried to take it easy along the bank, but seeing Luo Zheng not stopping those who jumped in after thinking it over, they followed suit and plunged into the river.

The battalion commander trailing the team witnessed this scene, his expression subtly shifting. He couldn't fathom Luo Zheng's strategy, yet he didn't intervene, merely urging the medics to keep up. Watching each warrior charge forward with loud cries, the battalion commander suddenly began to grasp Luo Zheng's intentions.

After running along the river for more than ten minutes, Luo Zheng got onto the bank and rushed towards the opposite hillside. The hillside was about a hundred meters high in elevation. Having just struggled to run in the river for more than ten minutes, everyone was exhausted. Many had fallen behind. Seeing Luo Zheng charging towards the hillside tirelessly, everyone's face changed, yet some still clenched their teeth and persisted.

If it had been at a steady pace, this difficulty wouldn't have been much for anyone. However, bursting out with all their might from the start completely disrupted everyone's usual tendencies, and the physical exertion was enormous. They performed abnormally. The platoon leader, following behind, was overjoyed inside as he saw a brand new training method evolving.

Luo Zheng didn't care about the people behind him, he just kept running, treating this assessment as training. Over the past month, Luo Zheng had run this route almost every day and had gotten used to it. No one knew better than Luo Zheng how much physical strength and willpower this type of running consumed. He remembered vividly that the first time he ran, he had to rest twice mid-way. It would be a miracle if anyone could keep up with his pace and finish.

By the time he reached the middle of the hillside, Luo Zheng glanced at the people around him. There were still about twenty who were closely following. A few of them were agile in their movement techniques, seemed very familiar with the jungle, always finding the best footholds, their bodies flitting unpredictably, and they even knew how to leverage the force in their hands to speed up. He quietly noted this, and sped up his running again.

Upon reaching the hillside, the path in front was a steep slope about twenty to thirty degrees in inclination, densely populated with trees. The ground was covered with soft soil and scattered dry leaves, making it unclear where to step. The inertia of charging down such terrain was massive, making it difficult to maintain control of one's body's center of gravity. A slight negligence could lead to collision with trees, and if one stepped on a soft spot, they could easily fall. If one stepped into a hollow, it would be troublesome.

Luo Zheng continued his relentless charge as if walking on flat ground, always able to accurately judge where the soil was firm and where it was soft, and where not to step. His body rotated, slid sideways, and leaped from time to time, rushing down towards the bottom of the hillside at an incredible speed.

The warriors who caught up from behind saw this scene, their competitive spirits and ardor similarly spurred on. Clenching their teeth, they charged downhill; those less fortunate found themselves void beneath their feet and fell, a dislocation being the least of injuries. Broken branches and tree stumps on the ground were lethal hazards. The platoon leader watched as warriors continually fell to the ground, his face turning pale with concern, silently thankful that he was prepared and quickly called the medics to help.

Luo Zheng didn't care about these occurrences, he continued his wild sprint without looking back. After descending the hillside, he continued his run along the dried riverbed of the canyon. The ground was littered with stones, both big and small, blocking the path. The best way to get through was to run stepping on the stones, but the piles of stones were not necessarily stable, sometimes losing balance and slipping when stepped on.

While running, Luo Zheng was like an agile monkey, using his hands and feet to keep leaping forward, the ten kilograms of load he carried felt as if nonexistent. Each leap and run were incredibly agile. When stepping on loose stones, Luo Zheng's body would bizarrely twist, continuing forward in the opposite direction without concerning himself with the balance issue, like a car that knew only to surge forward.

The warriors following behind saw this scene and learned to be smart; they didn't blindly rush forward but observed how Luo Zheng ran. After roughly getting the grasp of his technique, they howled and charged into the pile of stones, not willing to be outdone, trying to catch up with him. However, by then, Luo Zheng had already passed the riverbed's pile of stones, rushed back into the river from earlier, and started moving downstream, creating a large distance between himself and everyone else.