Chapter 540
Chapter 540
When Gudu Huan entered the room, Wang Dai looked away, embarrassed. He found looking at himself in the mirror to be an incredibly awkward affair.
“You’re awake? Follow me!”
Wang Dai followed him to a pile of stone locks.
“This one weighs eighty catties. Try lifting it.”
In the past, he had struggled immensely to lift even twenty catties, let alone eighty. Anything over thirty catties had felt like it would shatter every bone in his body. Hearing Gudu Huan’s command, Wang Dai bent his waist, took a deep breath, and gripped the eighty-catty stone lock with all his might. As a result, he stumbled and nearly fell over—not because the stone lock was too heavy, but because it was so light and he had used far too much force.
“This one is one hundred and fifty catties. Give it a try.”
A moment later, Wang Dai easily lifted the one-hundred-and-fifty-catty stone lock.
“This one is two hundred and eighty catties. Have a go.”
Again, Wang Dai effortlessly lifted the two-hundred-and-eighty-catty stone lock.
“This one is three hundred and ninety catties. Try again.”
Wang Dai lifted the stone lock once more, though this time it took a bit of effort.
“That’s enough. Lifting three hundred and ninety catties with both arms is your current limit. But this is just the beginning. You will improve from here.”
Gudu Huan was right. They were different from the ten brothers of the Lan Clan. The Lan Clan members were born with high-grade bloodlines and had accumulated power within their bodies for decades; they became formidable once it was activated. But the strength Wang Dai now possessed was merely the starting point after his bloodline modification.
“This is a one-*dan* bow. Try drawing it.”
At Gudu Huan’s words, Wang Dai took a deep breath and drew the bow with all his strength. One *dan* is roughly 130 pounds (about 58.96 kg), which would be considered a powerful bow anywhere. In either the State of Yue or the State of Chu, only the most elite archer units were equipped with one-*dan* bows. It wasn’t that others couldn’t draw it—many could—but drawing it and then firing twenty consecutive shots was a feat few could accomplish.
“This is a one-and-a-half-*dan* bow. Give it a try.”
Wang Dai drew the one-and-a-half-*dan* longbow. It required some effort, but it wasn’t difficult.
“This racetrack is about one hundred and fifty paces. Run to the end as fast as you can.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Wang Dai took off like a madman. Gudu Huan didn’t need a timekeeping device; he could count the time in his head. Ten breaths—not even a minute, not even ten seconds had passed before Wang Dai completed the course. A performance like that would be close to a world champion even on Earth. It was truly astounding. Before his bloodline modification, Wang Dai would have been gasping for breath before he could even run fifty meters. Just how much had his physical abilities improved? For Wang Dai alone, his physical prowess had increased tenfold, perhaps even a hundredfold. To become this strong after a bloodline modification…
After running the hundred meters, Wang Dai turned and ran back, standing straight before Gudu Huan, awaiting his next command. Gudu Huan could see his eyes were filled with tears. From that, he knew just how moved Wang Dai was.
“I’ll give you the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn. You can cry, or you can laugh.”
With those words, Gudu Huan turned and left, leaving Wang Dai alone on the training grounds. Wang Dai didn’t laugh wildly, nor did he beat his chest and stomp his feet, nor did he let out a triumphant shout. He simply wept in silence. The tears flowed endlessly like a spring, impossible to stop. He didn’t even know why he was crying; he just felt the urge to. He was utterly joyous, utterly heartbroken, utterly happy, and utterly grateful.
Ten minutes later, Wang Dai heard Gudu Huan’s footsteps. He immediately wiped away his tears and cleaned his face. Once again, he stood at attention, waiting for Gudu Huan’s new command.
“Who do you want to see most right now?”
To Gudu Huan’s question, Wang Dai replied.
“The Young Master.”
“Haha. The Young Master’s daughter was just born, so he rushed off to see his precious girl. He probably won’t be back for a day or two. Besides, he’s likely not used to seeing so many people moved to tears for him. He’s accustomed to facing villains, not his own people.”
Hearing this, Wang Dai fell silent again. In truth, he didn’t know how to express his gratitude either. Though he had been reborn and become incredibly strong, his personality hadn’t changed one bit.
“Yi Guja will be waking up soon. Do you remember what I just had you do?”
Wang Dai nodded.
“Have Yi Guja do the same. Then tell him to pass it on to the next person who wakes up, and so on, until all two thousand three hundred of you have tested your strength and speed.”
“Yes, sir!”
Wang Dai immediately turned and ran back to the room where he had woken up. Just as expected, the second man to undergo the bloodline modification, Yi Guja, had just awoken and was standing dazedly in front of a mirror. Wang Dai said to him.
“Follow me.”
Yi Guja followed Wang Dai out to the training grounds.
“This is a one-hundred-and-fifty-catty stone lock. Try lifting it.”
And so, the two thousand three hundred men who had undergone the bloodline modification woke up, one group after another. There was no need to issue any orders, no need for officers to be present. Those who woke up first took those who woke up later to test their strength and speed, and all the results were recorded. Four shichen later, all the measurement results were delivered in an orderly fashion to Gudu Huan.
Gudu Huan didn’t look at their scores. He already knew they were all similarly outstanding. What made him tremble was not their physical ability, but their discipline and resolve. Previously, when the ten brothers of the Lan Clan—those with special bloodlines—awoke after their power was activated, every single one of them had roared and shouted, taking a long time to regain their composure. But these two thousand men needed no stern commands or direction; they completed all the tests on their own. Gudu Huan’s eyes grew moist once more.
‘This… this is the world’s greatest army. What have I, Gudu Huan, done to deserve such an army, to become its commander? I have never seen such a superior force in my entire life.’
He glanced at their recorded stats. Compared to ordinary soldiers, their strength was absolutely exceptional; they could all lift over four hundred catties with two hands. Their speed was even more remarkable, able to complete a hundred-meter dash in ten breaths. Having just one such soldier in an army would be a tremendous and precious asset, a soldier one could only dream of. And now, he had over two thousand of them. Before, they were powerless, but now the heavens had granted them strength, agility, and speed. This army was already perfect—an army with power, discipline, and soul! And these records were just the beginning. How much stronger would they become after three months of training?
Gudu Huan turned away, not wanting others to see his tears. He was moved, excited, and his heart ached. The fates of these two thousand men had been completely changed. They were once despised by their parents and families, living lives worse than dogs and pigs. But now, they had become men—and exceptionally fine men at that. Compared to the ten brothers of the Lan Clan, Gudu Huan felt that these men had truly risen from the ashes like phoenixes to gain new life. He even preferred these two thousand men to the geniuses of the Lan Clan. By now, he had memorized every single one of their names.
‘These are my soldiers, my brothers!’
Then, Gudu Huan reined in his emotions and issued a command.
“You will conduct free training according to the first and second articles of the drill manual. Assemble in a quarter of an hour for a meal. After the meal, you will train for one shichen according to the third and fourth articles of the drill manual. After training, you will sleep.”
As Gudu Huan gave the order, the two thousand men who had risen like phoenixes assembled in the shortest possible time. Silently, they formed twenty-three square formations, each one perfectly aligned and orderly as if measured with a ruler. Then, they began to train as instructed. They needed no commands, no supervision. They were not robots; each and every one was a living, breathing soul with a rich inner world. After their bloodline modification, they had clearly grown stronger, but there was no trace of arrogance or laziness. They remained as they were before—obedient, grateful, and sensitive.
Gudu Huan hid in the shadows, his gaze fixed on the two thousand three hundred men with an insatiable intensity. They were too exceptional.
‘This is my elite army. This is my invincible army. In the grand battle at the border three months from now, we will surely shock the world! Young Master Shen, you are truly incredible. You have created this magnificent miracle.’
* * *
Months had passed since Bian Wu withdrew his forces, but the heartland of the State of Wu was still in shambles. Bian Wu had been ruthless in his slaughter, and the fifteen commanderies and one-third of the kingdom that fell within his range of attack had suffered a great calamity. More severe than the loss of countless lives was the food shortage. There was no telling how many granaries Bian Wu had burned during his plunder of Wu. He had even set fire to the unripe crops still in the fields. As a result, Wu’s harvest this year was drastically reduced, amounting to only about a quarter of a normal year’s yield. Moreover, the failure of the campaign at Raging Tide City, which involved dispatching a large army far from home, had made a bad situation worse. For the next few months, everyone in Wu, from the nobles to the common people, would have to focus on recovery.
The King of Wu was younger than the other kings, and in the past, he had even grown a beard to appear more dignified. But after suffering such a great failure over the past few months, he had shaved it off.
‘Let them say I’m a wet-behind-the-ears whelp if they want. A monarch’s maturity doesn’t depend on his beard.’
Now, the King of Wu was once again receiving an envoy from the State of Chu. It was the same Vice Minister of Rites from Chu who had previously sought an audience with the King of Yue.
“The King of Yue is gravely ill and wished to compromise with our great king, but at the same time, he was unwilling to bear the crime of diminishing his country’s prestige. So he proposed a completely absurd border tournament. Your Majesty must have heard of this matter.”
Of course, the King of Wu had heard. It was impossible not to; the entire world was abuzz with it.
“I have heard a little about it.”
The Vice Minister of Rites from Chu said, “Ning Yuanxian is utterly shameless. He deliberately used Shen Lang and Ning Zheng as sacrificial lambs to offer great benefits to our State of Chu in exchange for stability on the border.”
“Is that so?”
“I hear that the State of Wu has been troubled by famine recently, so perhaps you were unaware of this.”
“It is true that food is scarce, but it is not so severe as to be a famine.”
“Our State of Chu has had a bountiful harvest this year. As we are brother nations, I will lend Your Majesty one million *dan* of grain.”
Hearing this, the King of Wu was taken aback, and the ministers around him were overjoyed. One million *dan* of grain was over two hundred million catties—an astronomical amount. It was enough to feed two million people for two or three months. Although some families would still go hungry, it would at least allow them to survive the winter. But why would the State of Chu be willing to spend so much money?