Strongest Soldier King

Shan Hu was taken aback, not expecting Luo Zheng to change his tactics so unpredictably, clearly something he had plotted in advance. The moment he lost his balance, he feared he might be the one to fall. With all his strength, he leaped off his other foot, spinning in the air like a windmill. While in midair, Shan Hu felt the grip on his foot loosen and knew trouble was coming. A powerful blow was coming straight for him, hitting him squarely.

In that dangerous moment, Shan Hu managed to grab Luo Zheng who was hurtling towards him, preventing himself from being knocked away. However, the pain from the impact enraged him. With forceful hands and leveraging his single foot on the ground, he delivered a back body slam with the power of thunder, confident it would topple even a wall.

However, Shan Hu suddenly found the space in front of him empty, his full-force strike hitting nothing but air, throwing him off balance. He stumbled forward, feeling something trip him. In shock, he took a big step forward to steady himself and sensed a strong gust of wind coming from behind. He knew he was in trouble. Contracting his body, he ducked and curled up, narrowly avoiding a heavy downward kick.

Luo Zheng was also surprised that Shan Hu could avoid it, his eyes flashing with intense light. With a swift rotation, he delivered another sweeping kick. The kick twisted eerily in midair, evading the defensive elbow strike from Shan Hu and aiming for his lower back. Shan Hu surged forward, darting a few steps to dodge the kick, no longer taking any chances. Sensing someone chasing after him, he too swept his leg in a counter move.

After exhausting his repertoire of moves, Shan Hu realized his kick had missed, with no sign of Luo Zheng. Shocked, he suddenly felt his foot kicked hard from beneath, losing his balance and falling towards the ground. With horror, he braced himself with both hands and twisted his body in an odd rotation, evading another follow-up leg whip from Luo Zheng.

Shan Hu retreated three steps in one breath, stabilizing himself and preparing to counterattack, only to find Luo Zheng had already rejoined his unit. Everyone was looking at him in surprise, and the team leader cheered with a laugh, "Good, two minutes have passed, you passed."

No one objected to the team leader's decision. Luo Zheng had managed to last two minutes against the top fighter and even forced Shan Hu to retreat repeatedly. Though there was no definitive winner, it was enough. The way everyone looked at Luo Zheng changed, filled with recognition and respect for a fellow strong warrior.

"You, not bad," Shan Hu came over, grinning warmly, not upset at all.

"You're not bad either," Luo Zheng replied earnestly.

They exchanged a smile, a feeling of mutual admiration forming between them. Shan Hu approached the team leader and, after giving a salute, said, "Report, sir, I like this kid. I'd like him on my team, please."

"Oh, you're interested?" the team leader asked with a smile. After Shan Hu nodded, the leader turned serious and said, "We'll talk about that later. For now, I announce that Luo Zheng has passed the assessment and is directly admitted to the Elite Special Team. Luo Zheng, step out and come with me. The rest of you continue with the assessment."

"Yes," everyone replied in unison, and the assessment went on.

After stepping out, Luo Zheng followed the team leader to a secluded area. The leader examined him from head to toe, delightedly saying, "You're very good. The moves just now were taught by my sister, right?"

"Yes," Luo Zheng admitted candidly.

"No wonder. Do you know which unit my sister is in?" the team leader asked with a smile.

"I don't know," Luo Zheng said truthfully.

The battalion commander's face showed a look of longing, an expression of devout reverence for something sacred. This expression, as seen by Luo Zheng, shocked him internally, reinforcing his belief in his guess that Lan Xue was from some mysterious and powerful unit. Yet, he did not inquire further, as a soldier's intuition told him that this was a military secret, not to be pried into lightly; otherwise, Lan Xue would have told him already.

"Want to know?" the battalion commander said with a chuckling tone, noticing that Luo Zheng seemed about to speak but then hesitated, and laughed even more proudly, "Even if you want to know, I won't tell you. When your strength is sufficient, you'll find out naturally. All I can say is that it's the place all soldiers dream of, and the ultimate goal that all soldiers strive for."

Luo Zheng nodded and waited with a smile. Seeing Luo Zheng's continued composure, clearly curious yet still well controlling his emotions, the battalion commander regarded him more favorably and laughed, "Maintaining composure at all times is a sniper's basic skill. You're doing well in that. Do you know why I didn't let you take the shooting assessment?"

"I don't know," Luo Zheng answered earnestly.

"No, you do know," the battalion commander said unsatisfied, "Don't play dumb with me, lad. Remember, continue to conceal your shooting skills in front of your comrades. Just perform moderately. A sniper expert is a strategic asset to the military, requiring a high level of secrecy, and to be kept in reserve as a secret weapon. This is beneficial for catching the enemy off guard and also to prevent exposing your identity, protecting your family. Understand?"

"Understood," Luo Zheng replied. Lan Xue had already instructed him about this; otherwise, it would've been impossible for Luo Zheng's shooting level to appear mediocre for three months. Only the instructor known as Sniper King, responsible for coaching, had noticed something and reported it to the battalion commander, who had been deceived.

"Good to understand. The training subjects for the Elite Team are diverse, requiring mastery of combat medical skills, proficiency with various weapons, being able to drive various vehicles, familiarity with at least two foreign languages, and special tactics. You're a high school student; I'm not worried about your military skills. Your shortcoming lies in language learning, and I hope you continue to work hard," the battalion commander earnestly advised, his eyes brimming with expectation as he looked at Luo Zheng.

After a few words between them, the battalion commander had Luo Zheng return to his unit to continue observing the assessment. Once the overall assessment had finished, the battalion commander returned to his office and made a phone call. Once connected, he said gravely, "Little sister, that promising lad of yours is done for. During today's assessment, he arrogantly challenged the top combatant, Shan Hu, and ruined his leg. He probably won't be able to serve as a soldier for the rest of his life."

"Is that so? To tell the truth, your lying skills are really poor," a female voice laughed from the other end of the line. It was Lan Xue.

"How did you figure it out?" the battalion commander asked with a mirthless laugh.

"Based on my understanding of him, three months of training would have been enough to handle Shan Hu. Even if he couldn't win, he'd stand his ground. Your Shan Hu might dominate in the Northwest Military Region but is nothing special elsewhere. Besides, your tone of voice paused three times at crucial points. The pauses weren't long, almost imperceptible, but did you really think I wouldn't notice? Such a fatal flaw is enough to prove you're lying," Xue Mao said.

"True, can't you just give me some face," the battalion commander grumbled, "Alright then, the truth is, he passed the assessment. I've assigned him directly to the Elite Special Team, bypassing the regular special forces team. How are you going to thank me?"

"He's your soldier, you should be thanking me for giving you such a promising recruit," Lan Xue said.

"Forget it, I won't talk to you anymore, you're just trying to irritate me," the battalion commander hung up the phone but couldn't help smirking with pride.