Chapter Fifty-Three: Taming the Divine Dragon

Special Training Hall of the Divine Dragon Squad.

Twelve members—two women and ten men—stood in a perfectly straight line, like spears planted in the earth, eyes fixed ahead as they accepted the inspection of their new instructor.

"Reporting, Instructor! All twelve members of the Divine Dragon Squad present and accounted for. Awaiting your orders!"

Zi Shu stepped forward, saluted, and shouted, following military protocol to the letter without the slightest deviation.

"Return to your place."

"Yes, sir!"

In comparison to their strict discipline, Jiang An was far more casual. He surveyed the group, noting that their combat ability was impressive relative to ordinary people, but only in that limited sense; against true experts, they still fell far short.

Jiang An had his own unique approach to teaching. Colonel Luo simply stood to the side, watching in silence, never interfering.

"Tell me, among the twelve of you, who is the strongest in combat?" Jiang An posed his first question.

"Reporting, Instructor! The strongest in the squad are Yin Hu and You Ji!" Zi Shu answered promptly. This was no surprise; although Zi Shu was the captain, the captain need not be the most physically powerful, but must possess the highest organizational and command abilities, as well as the greatest prestige.

"Yin Hu, You Ji—step forward!"

With two crisp steps, two men came forward: Yin Hu, with a square face and broad mouth, and You Ji, whose features were delicate and refined.

"You two, attack me. The rules are: I will stand still and use only two fingers on one hand—no inner power. You may attack with all your strength, and if either of you can make me move even a single step, you win!"

Two fingers against two attackers?

The squad was filled with hot-blooded men. Even though they knew Jiang An was much stronger than them, pride burned in their hearts at such words. Surely, the two of them could overpower his two fingers! Wasn’t this just showing off?

The others’ eyes blazed with indignation; their dignity felt trampled. Even Chen Long, only a little weaker than the instructor, could last at least a quarter of an hour in a two-on-one with the rest of the squad. Fueled by both humiliation and confidence, Yin Hu and You Ji exchanged a glance. Years of fighting side by side had made them wordlessly synchronized; a single look was enough to settle their plan of attack.

"Come on, then!" Jiang An stood in place, extending two fingers—index and middle—on his left hand.

"Instructor, we won’t hold back!" Yin Hu gritted his teeth and charged forward like a tiger descending the mountain, unleashing a ferocious Tiger’s Claw at Jiang An’s chest. His movements were swift as lightning. Meanwhile, You Ji, silent as ever, darted behind Jiang An and swung a ruthless sweeping kick at his vulnerable ankle, as sharp and forceful as a steel whip.

There was no denying the soundness of their tactics. Limiting Jiang An to two fingers effectively restricted him; he could block Yin Hu’s frontal assault, but You Ji’s sweep to the ankle should at least force his foot to shift. Lifting his foot would be a violation of the rules, and striking at You Ji behind him would be awkward, not to mention the threat from Yin Hu in front.

Sorry, Instructor, your attempt to show off is about to fail.

The Divine Dragon Squad was certain of victory, yet what followed were two stifled cries of pain.

Ah!

Ah!

Two muffled grunts—then the fight was over. Jiang An stood motionless. Yin Hu was half-kneeling on the ground, clutching his right hand with his left, teeth clenched in silence; behind him, You Ji held his foot, face twisted in pain.

What happened?

The squad was stunned. There was no triumph as they’d expected. Even if they’d lost after a hard-fought struggle, that would have been acceptable, but what had just happened? All they saw was Yin Hu and You Ji launch their attacks and then, inexplicably, fall in defeat. Did the instructor break the rules and use inner power?

"Clearly, they lost. So did the rest of you. You must be curious about what happened. Help them up and let them explain themselves," Jiang An said.

The squad moved to check on their comrades. Yin Hu spoke first: "I struck at the instructor’s chest, but his speed was beyond my eyes. It felt like he flicked my wrist with his fingers, and then my entire right arm and half my body went numb."

"My experience was simpler," said You Ji, grimacing. "The instructor didn’t move at all. My kick landed squarely on his right ankle—and my own ankle dislocated! It was like kicking a steel bar, not a human!"

Now the squad understood what had transpired.

Before they could marvel, Jiang An produced an ordinary marker pen. "Second exercise. The remaining ten of you, draw your knives and attack me with all your might. Don’t worry about hurting me. Now—execute!"

"Yes, sir!" Zi Shu’s face was grim. "Draw knives! Second formation—attack!"

Ten gleaming blades flashed as the ten rushed forward, spreading out in formation. They struck from above, middle, and below; from all directions, front, back, left, right, every angle covered. As Jiang An moved, their formation shifted to match, each person holding his breath, determined to cut at least a corner of Jiang An’s clothing. After all, they were the elite Divine Dragon Squad! They would defend their honor and dignity to the death.

Two seconds later.

No one fell. No one screamed. The ten stood frozen, Jiang An vanished from their midst. Turning, they found him behind them, calmly capping his pen as he said softly, "Congratulations. If I were your enemy, you would all be martyrs now."

Zi Shu reached up to touch his neck—his fingers came away smeared with black ink, a startling sight. Looking around, he saw that each of the other nine had a black line drawn across their throats—struck by Jiang An’s lightning speed and agility with the pen.

If it hadn’t been a pen, but a knife?

Zi Shu’s throat tightened. He let out a sigh. "Instructor, we’ve lost again!"

All the squad members fell silent, their once-proud hearts shattered.

Perhaps the blow had been too harsh? Jiang An cleared his throat. "Ahem. In fact, I’m only a little stronger than the average grandmaster. Fall in!"

The Divine Dragon Squad promptly lined up again.

"Now, you should realize the gap between yourselves and a grandmaster. Though I defeated you, I mean no disrespect. On the contrary, if you can’t withstand a minor setback and fall into despair, I will only feel contempt—and will not teach you anything at all. So, tell me, are you dragons or tigers? Give me your answer."

"What is the creed of the Divine Dragon Squad?" Zi Shu, as if backed into a corner, shouted in defiance.

"Never give up! Never abandon! Hoo-ha!" The other eleven roared with all their might, their voices ringing out, eyes now steely with determination. The dejection was gone.

"Very good. You are worthy of three days of my teaching," Jiang An smiled. "For three days, I will not teach you any techniques—that is for the mediocre. I have only one thing to teach: a body-forging art I call ‘Soaring Sky Body Refinement’!"

This was one of the body-tempering techniques used in the Immortal Realm to build up the bodies of human youths.

"This art consists of only three forms, each with twelve movements. Each movement is grueling to practice, but the results are exceptional. Master the first form, and your physical abilities will double across the board—strength, speed, agility, endurance, everything. Master the second, and they double again on top of the first. The third form doubles them once more over the second. If you achieve the final form, congratulations—you will have become grandmasters yourselves!"

"Reporting, Instructor, we wish to begin immediately!" The squad, blood boiling with excitement, shouted in unison.

"Very well. Colonel Luo, please come here."

Jiang An beckoned Colonel Luo aside and handed him a sheet of paper. "This is the formula and preparation method for the medicinal bath that matches the Soaring Sky Body Refinement. You can begin preparations. Two points: First, this bath is different—you soak before training, not after, and then use the pain of practice to refine the medicine’s power, nourishing your vitality and strengthening your body. Second, I will only teach the first two forms for now, so the bath is only for those two. As for the third, once they’ve mastered the first two and reached Chen Long’s level, we’ll discuss it then."

Colonel Luo’s heart skipped a beat. He asked, "You mean, if they master the first two forms, each of them will have Chen Long’s combat power?"

"Yes."

"How many years would that take?" Colonel Luo asked, hardly able to contain his excitement.

"As top special forces soldiers, their talent is already above average. I estimate one year to master the first form, two more for the second. Of course, if someone is especially gifted, it may take less time."

Colonel Luo nearly jumped for joy. In three years at most, they would have ten squad members at Chen Long’s level—practically grandmasters! And if one or two managed a breakthrough… Heaven help them, they would sweep away the other four divine-level squads!

A priceless secret!

Colonel Luo instinctively gripped the formula tightly. "Master Jiang, carry on with your training. I’ll make preparations at once."