Chapter 194 : Chapter 194
Chapter 194. Do What You Want to Do and Don’t Let the Outside World Sway You
“Brother Yichen, it’s done. The Eighth and Ninth Military District groups were way too weak. I hadn’t even started trying, and they already surrendered.”
In the northern part of the desert, Tang Long regrouped with Jiang Yichen, looking delighted as he gestured animatedly.
Jiang Yichen could not help smiling. The military district assigned during the rookie Military District Internship had always been determined by rank. Normally, the First Military District chose first, and the others followed in order.
The lower-ranked districts generally had weaker recruits.
“But speaking of which, Brother Yichen, we really didn’t cheat, right?”
Tang Long blinked. “Knowing every group’s landing position right from the start is honestly a little outrageous.”
“The group I fought said they were going to file a joint complaint against us, saying we were hacking and cheating.”
Su Linyu puffed out her cheeks. “Brother Yichen definitely didn’t cheat. They’re just jealous of how strong he is.”
Tang Long scratched his head. “Well... that’s true too.”
Jiang Yichen smiled and pinched Su Linyu’s adorable little cheek.
If he was being honest, the Mini-Map really was a bit like cheating.
But Su Linyu was always, without exception, on his side.
“There’s no need to bother with them. If they can’t tell it’s cheating, then it doesn’t count as cheating. Besides, this is our own ability.”
Su Linyu nodded obediently, then looked around at the surrounding desert. “Hm? Why aren’t Chu Xingchen and the others back yet? Did they run into a strong opponent?”
That made Tang Long look puzzled as well. “They shouldn’t have. With Old Chu’s strength, there’s no way he should still be dealing with it.”
Jiang Yichen was puzzled too. After thinking for a moment, he opened the Mini-Map.
Hm?
The Seventh Military District group had still not been eliminated, while the coordinate markers for Chu Xingchen and Jiang Feng were already moving toward the military district.
What was going on?
The exercise was not even over yet.
Something was wrong!
Jiang Yichen frowned. Just as he was thinking it over, a flicker of divine soul perception flashed through his mind.
He slowly closed the Mini-Map and turned to look westward.
A cloud of pink mist spread out, and from within it, the beautiful Medusa appeared, dropping to one knee before him with her head lowered.
“Master, the mission is complete.”
A mission?
Tang Long and Su Linyu were both familiar with Medusa, but curiosity showed in their eyes.
“Who was the assassin targeting?”
Jiang Yichen asked. At first, he had assumed the assassin’s target was himself—sent either by Jiang Feng or Zhou Yu.
But after thinking it through, something felt off. Both Jiang Feng and Zhou Yu knew his strength. Why would they send two Seventh-Realm assassins after him?
“Reporting to Master, the assassin’s target was Jiang Feng. But at the critical moment, Chu Xingchen blocked the attack for him. However, he was severely poisoned, and his meridians were badly damaged. I intervened and preserved his life...”
Medusa recounted exactly what had happened, clearly and in full.
After hearing it, all three of them looked grave.
“What! Old Chu can’t cultivate anymore?” Tang Long was in disbelief.
As his friend of more than ten years, he knew better than anyone how desperately Chu Xingchen wanted to grow stronger.
Being unable to cultivate was no different from killing him!
Medusa nodded. “The poison severely damaged his meridians. Without a divine treasure capable of repairing them, he will not be able to continue cultivating.”
“Damn it! Damn it all!” Tang Long smacked his own thigh fiercely. “Old Chu, why did you have to block the blade for that brat Jiang Feng?”
Su Linyu’s eyes turned heavy. During cultivation, Chu Xingchen had always been the most serious one of them all.
He also had an incredibly strong sense of collective honor. He constantly paid attention to the group’s cultivation, and whenever there was a problem, he was always the first to step up and solve it, hoping the whole team could improve together.
And yet a person so full of justice could no longer continue cultivating.
Heavens... that was a little too unfair.
Jiang Yichen sensed their emotions, and his own heart did not feel any better.
How could he feel fine when a brother who had walked beside him all this way had met with disaster?
The assassin’s target was Jiang Feng. It seemed Zhou Yu knew he could not deal with me, so he wanted to silence Jiang Feng, the one person who knew the truth behind the Beast Tide, once and for all.
But with Chu Xingchen’s personality, even if it had not been Jiang Feng, he still would have done everything he could to save him.
Damn...
A divine treasure that could repair meridians... he did not have one either.
Maybe I should try opening a gift pack?
Jiang Yichen remembered that he still had an Intermediate Gift Pack he had not opened. He might as well gamble on it.
After all, last time, when it came to Sleep God’s Dream-Entering Stone, the system had given him exactly what he wanted.
He opened the System Space. Just as he was about to have the system open the gift pack, his exercise wristband began to beep.
Hm?
Jiang Yichen opened the wristband, and Qin Feng’s image appeared.
“Instructor Qin.”
“Jiang Yichen, something happened on Chu Xingchen and Jiang Feng’s side. You all continue the exercise. I’ll take care of them.”
Jiang Yichen’s brows drew together slightly as his gaze swept over Tang Long and Su Linyu’s dispirited expressions.
On one side was Chu Xingchen, seriously injured. On the other was the still-unfinished New Recruit Tactical Exercise.
He struggled for a moment, then shook his head at Qin Feng. “My group will not abandon a single member. If the team isn’t complete, then we can forget about taking this exercise ranking.”
Qin Feng frowned slightly in the projection. “So?”
“We’re withdrawing from the exercise. Please allow us to return to the military district and visit our teammate,” Jiang Yichen said firmly.
Beside him, both Su Linyu and Tang Long looked surprised.
To Jiang Yichen, no exercise could possibly be more important than Chu Xingchen.
Nor was he willing to go against his own heart and keep going just so the group could win first place.
Because... that would make him deeply unhappy. It was like when there was something you truly wanted to do, but all kinds of outside factors kept getting in your way, forcing you to compromise again and again until, in the end, you gave up.
That was exactly how he had lived in his previous life. But now...
If there was something he wanted to do, then he would do it boldly. The more he cared about outside judgments, the more unhappy he became.
“Are you sure? The reward for first place in the exercise is quite generous,” Qin Feng asked in a serious tone.
Jiang Yichen smiled faintly. “Instructor Qin, do you really think my group is lacking in rewards?”
“Something happened to Chu Xingchen. As the team leader, I can’t ignore him just for the sake of an exercise.”
Qin Feng thought in silence for a moment, then finally nodded. “Very well. But for withdrawing from the exercise without authorization, every member of your group will have to write a self-criticism.”
The purpose of this exercise had already been achieved. Jiang Yichen and the others’ strength had far exceeded expectations, so whether they continued no longer mattered much.
“Alright. No problem.” Jiang Yichen agreed and ended the call.
And at that very moment, the system’s voice rang out.
[ Ding! A Slacking Choice has been triggered. ]
[ Choice One: Faced with a seriously injured teammate and the exercise, you choose to follow Instructor Qin’s arrangement and continue the exercise, winning honor for the group. Reward: the title “Honorable Team Leader.”
Choice Two: Faced with a seriously injured teammate and the exercise, you find both matters exceptionally troublesome and choose to slack off completely and ignore them until the exercise ends. Reward: “Low-level Slacker Gift Pack.”
Choice Three: Faced with a seriously injured teammate and the exercise, you choose to follow your true heart, do what you want to do, and not let outside pressure change you, preserving the joy of both body and mind. Reward: “High-level Slacker Gift Pack!” ]
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host, on making your choice. Reward: “High-level Slacker Gift Pack.” Do you want to open it? ]