“If I had done that earlier, you wouldn’t even have been able to stand up, let alone try to hit my hand,” the Black Soldier said, retrieving his hand and standing up, his tone calm as he spoke to Zhushi Jiu, who was lying on the ground.
“The best way for us to learn combat is to personally experience weakness. We’ve been injected with the drug, and the biggest difference between us and ordinary people isn’t that we learn quickly, but that we can use our bodies to remember the sensation and experience it multiple times, which allows us to establish a complete action process in our minds. If you recall what just happened, you should understand what I’m saying.”
Zhushi Jiu lay on the ground, listening to the Black Soldier’s words, and didn’t rush to get up. Instead, he followed the Black Soldier’s instructions and tried to recall slowly. Indeed, just as the Black Soldier had said, the previous action unfolded clearly in his mind, with every detail perfectly preserved.
“Why didn’t I have this feeling when training my reaction speed?”
The Black Soldier wasn’t surprised by Zhushi Jiu’s question and replied, “That’s because your body hasn’t experienced real pain. Only when you feel pain will your body instinctively seek to evolve to a higher level. The drug is the key to unlocking that evolution.”
Evolution…
This word made Zhushi Jiu’s imagination run wild.
He realized that he had only touched the tip of the iceberg of this organization. They had such attractive and powerful abilities, and he wondered how far they had gone in their research on the human body. However, after thinking for a while, he couldn’t come up with an answer, so he got up again and said expressionlessly, “Let’s continue.”
The Black Soldier nodded. “Try using your fist to attack my face.”
Zhushi Jiu swung his fist, and the Black Soldier caught it, effortlessly deflecting it to the side. With a gentle twist of his elbow, he sent Zhushi Jiu’s fist flying back to his own face, causing him to stumble backward.
“Your fist isn’t fast enough. Use your leg strength to generate power, keep your center of gravity low, and activate your leg muscles before swinging your fist… like this!”
The Black Soldier took a powerful step forward, his body like a tiger, his aura like a mountain, and his black-gloved fist clenched tightly. He first curled his fist backward, then unleashed all his accumulated power in a burst!
The fist shot towards Zhushi Jiu’s chest, and even before it hit, Zhushi Jiu instinctively felt threatened and crossed his arms to defend himself.
Boom!
The two clashed, and a loud crash resounded!
Zhushi Jiu retreated several steps, barely managing to stabilize himself and avoid falling again. The intense pain in his arm made him wonder if his arm bones had been broken.
However, they remained intact.
Zhushi Jiu trembled and slowly lowered his hand, and the Black Soldier said, “The drug not only allows you to clearly recall your painful experiences and learn quickly, but also makes the parts of your body that experience pain more resistant to damage.”
Zhushi Jiu rubbed his arm, his face still expressionless, and said, “I suspect you’re only trying to hit me, not really teach me.”
“This is also a teaching method,” the Black Soldier replied, his tone still calm.
Zhushi Jiu noticed the Black Soldier’s words and furrowed his brow. “But this isn’t a proper teaching method, right?”
“I’ve been tasked with teaching you, but I wasn’t told how to do it. I can choose my own teaching method, and in my opinion, this is the most effective way to tap into your potential. However, I can clearly tell you that I’m just a new recruit and don’t know other teaching methods. If you think this method isn’t suitable, I don’t have any other options.”
“A new recruit?”
Zhushi Jiu mumbled to himself, thinking of the eight Black Soldiers he had fought in the forest before. He had no clear concept of the drug’s power before, but now he knew how powerful it was. He realized that if he had been a long-term user of the Black Soldier drug, he would be much stronger, and the Black Soldier who had been hit by his arrow in the eye was probably a new recruit.
Zhushi Jiu suddenly asked, “Is the Black Soldier I hit in the eye related to you?”
The Black Soldier’s gaze remained indifferent. “If you keep saying useless nonsense, you’re just wasting time.”
“After using the Black Soldier drug, all human emotions will be temporarily erased. Subsequent continuous use is necessary to stabilize emotions at a low level.”
Zhushi Jiu repeated the information Xu Feng had told him about the drug, then stared at the Black Soldier and stated a fact.
“Your emotions haven’t completely disappeared, new recruit.”
The Black Soldier fell silent.
“Why did Xu Feng send you to teach me combat? Did you volunteer? You’re supposed to have abandoned all personal vendettas for the sake of the highest ideal, but you haven’t. I’m glad to see you still have some humanity.”
“You’re just talking nonsense.”
The Black Soldier’s gaze sharpened, and although it was subtle, Zhushi Jiu detected a hint of anger.
This Black Soldier was far inferior to Xu Feng.
As Zhushi Jiu made this judgment, he found a small crack in the Black Troop Organization – new recruits didn’t completely lack personal emotions.
He wondered if he could exploit this weakness in the future.
Although the road ahead would be treacherous, he knew that the Black Troop Organization wasn’t monolithic, and he, a small cog, could also make a difference.
…
The combat training continued, with the Black Soldier’s teaching method becoming increasingly brutal.
Zhushi Jiu absorbed the combat techniques like a sponge, taking advantage of every opportunity to learn. After an hour, he could occasionally counterattack. After two hours, he could occasionally dodge the Black Soldier’s attacks. After three hours, his body began to visibly fatigue, and his physical strength, which wasn’t abundant to begin with, was depleted. However, his reaction speed finally stabilized at an excellent level.
After four hours, Zhushi Jiu collapsed, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, and feeling like his entire body was burning. He couldn’t even make it to the last hour.
In a state of complete rationality, he didn’t feel pain or give up; he simply couldn’t handle the physical exhaustion. His body had been pushed to the limit.
The Black Soldier, on the other hand, was only slightly panting, as if he had just done some light exercise.
In another room, Xu Feng gave his evaluation: E-level.
In simple terms, it was trash.
(Note: The rest is a message from the author, which is not part of the story.)
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