Strongest Soldier King

Elder Chang did not answer directly but instead began to sing "On the Mountain of the Brave Tiger": "Bandits often roam around these parts, everyone's just waiting for the sun to rise over the deep mountains, eager to see the landscape renewed, sworn to sweep the reactionaries away... The spring thunder ignites the world, our hearts warmed by the morning sun, looking forward to the Hundred Chicken Banquet, where we'll proudly sing our victory song after annihilating the stubborn bandits, determined to fight on the battlefield, a surge of emotions within, speeding forward..." Singing, his eyes began to redden, his expression filled with sorrow, and he could sing no more.

In the kitchen, Elder Liu was kneading dough and sighed quietly to himself. His movements slowed, and eventually, he stopped kneading altogether. After washing his hands, he walked to the window and watched the lively drills of the warriors on the training field, the cadence of their training resounding mightily. A sense of comfort washed over his face, and his emotions stabilized. Returning to the cutting board, he resumed his kneading with vigor, his tendons standing out as if he saw the dough as an enemy, putting all his strength into every motion.

"Elder brother, where are your herbs?" Elder Chang walked in with a resolute expression as if he had made up his mind about something.

"They'll be ready in a moment," replied Elder Liu with a knowing smile, hurrying to the back room. He quickly returned with a large bundle of herbs and tossed them to Elder Chang. Elder Chang swiftly chopped up a row of mutton and threw it into the pot, then added the herbs, covered the lid, and turned on the flame, saying, "Elder brother..."

"Hmm," Elder Liu smiled, and the two nodded to each other in an unspoken agreement.

Luo Zheng was unaware of these inner workings; during lunchtime, after washing off the sweat, he changed into clean clothes and headed back to his original dormitory. Since being assigned to the cooking team the day before, Luo Zheng hadn't returned to the first squad's dorm, not out of reluctance, but out of shame, unable to face his brothers.

After a day of reflection, Luo Zheng knew he must confront certain things. Upon entering the dorm, he found the room reeked of alcohol and was in complete disarray; Shan Hu and the others were sound asleep, disheveled – nowhere close to the demeanor of professional soldiers, just complete drunks.

Luo Zheng knew everyone was suffering internally; having fought side by side and then ending up with a punishment left a bitter taste. All this was because of him. His heart filled with remorse, he wished he could slap himself. But apologies wouldn't solve the problem. He silently etched the hatred into his heart, certain that one day he would claim retribution. Noticing a broom and a trash can nearby, he silently started to clean up.

After tidying the room and realizing that Shan Hu and the others still hadn't woken up – given their usual vigilance, any slight disturbance would alert them – it was clear they had drunk heavily. Filled with shame, Luo Zheng saluted his sleeping comrades in earnest and vowed to restore what had been lost. Finally, he quietly closed the door and left.

Back at the cooking team, Luo Zheng sat in the courtyard and continued to chop firewood, venting all his raging anger. Like a relentless machine, he lifted the ax, chopped, withdrew the ax, and chopped again. His expression was dark, his lips pressed tightly together, his eyes bloodshot, his complexion so grim it seemed water might drip from it. His body exuded a thick aura of killing intent, which mingled with his sweat to form a mist, a terrifying spectacle.

The bustling warriors in the kitchen witnessed this scene and shuddered involuntarily, sensing a chill of death, none daring to approach. The more astute quickly went to find Elder Liu. Elder Liu, upon seeing this, also sensed Luo Zheng's inner sorrow and gestured for everyone to leave him be. He went to Elder Chang's room and found him resting; the two stood by the window, looking out at Luo Zheng chopping firewood. Elder Liu sighed softly and said, "Hatred is a kind of power, but if not handled well, it may cause one to lose oneself."

"Don't worry, I believe he wouldn't, otherwise he wouldn't be sitting there chopping wood to vent his dissatisfaction. It's clear that he is an extremely calm person with strong self-control; I trust him," Elder Chang said seriously.

"Your judgment has never been wrong. If you say it's okay, then I'm relieved," Elder Liu was put at ease, watched for a while, and then said to Elder Chang, "Keep an eye on him, I'm going to the kitchen."

"Okay, go ahead," Elder Chang said casually, picked up the binoculars, and continued to observe, not missing any expression on Luo Zheng's face. After watching for a while, he noticed that Luo Zheng did not intend to stop; the man was like a machine, every chop of his axe was so focused, so forceful. Observing further, Elder Chang found that the size of the firewood Luo Zheng was splitting became more uniform. Although there was still a great gap compared to his own skills, the improvement was obvious. He couldn't help but smile and sigh to himself, "This kid, he was born to wield a knife."

About two hours later, Elder Chang saw that Luo Zheng still had no intention of stopping, but his speed had slowed considerably, and his strength had diminished. Each chop was difficult and showed signs of weakening. Elder Chang was shocked. Normally, given the frequency and force of Luo Zheng's chopping, Luo Zheng should have been exhausted after at most one hour, but he had persevered for two hours. His endurance was impressive, but continuing like that could cause problems, so Elder Chang hurried out of the room.

When Elder Chang ran to a spot about five or six meters away from Luo Zheng, he saw Luo Zheng's hand go limp, and his body slumped down. Elder Chang was shocked, he dashed forward like an arrow, and in one move he supported Luo Zheng. With a stern expression he loudly commanded, "Sit up straight, don't move, relax your mind and body, take deep breaths, quickly."

Luo Zheng, who was on the verge of fainting, heard a voice like a thunderclap ring in his ear and became somewhat more alert. Instinctively he tried to sit according to the reminder, but his weakened body could hardly sit up properly. The deep breaths that were usually easy for him to take were now impossible to complete, when he felt someone stabilizing his wanting-to-collapse body, hitting the right spot on his forehead.

"Quick, deep breaths, exhale slowly, take one deep breath and exhale it in six parts. You must hold on," Elder Chang yelled anxiously, "Relax your body as much as possible. Do you feel a warm flow moving within your body? Don't worry, pay close attention to this warmth, use your intentions to spread it through the muscles of your entire body."

Once again startled by the booming shout, Luo Zheng became a bit more lucid; this time the words were clear, and knowing it was Elder Chang, although he was not sure why Elder Chang was saying this, Luo Zheng did as told out of trust. He sensed slightly and indeed found a warm flow beneath his lower abdomen; it wasn't very pronounced, but it was real. Unaware of what it was, following Elder Chang's guidance, he imagined the warm flow dispersing throughout his body.

"Take one deep breath, pause for five seconds, then exhale the breath in nine parts. Quick, repeat this three times," Elder Chang barked loudly beside Luo Zheng's ear. Seeing that Luo Zheng had stabilized his body, Elder Chang quickly let go and watched vigilantly from the side, his face full of anxiety, eyes wide open, not blinking at all, filled with expectation.

After seeing Luo Zheng indeed start breathing according to his instructions, he breathed a sigh of relief. After Luo Zheng took three breaths, Elder Chang immediately instructed, "Take one deep breath, pause for ten seconds, and exhale it in six parts, each time pausing for three seconds. Relax your body as much as possible, and feel whether every inch of your skin has become hard."