November, a rare sunny day.

Although it was a sunny day, it was just that the snow had stopped. The thin, pale sunlight on the horizon was almost negligible, and it felt chilly on the skin, offering no warmth whatsoever.

However, the sky was not as gloomy as it had been the day before. The dawn light shone brightly on the vast expanse of snow, making it almost dazzling.

After donning a thick suit of armor, Zhan Xinjia simply wiped her face with a handful of clean snow. Before the army she was in charge of assembled, she had to go to the training ground to keep watch.

The Canghan garrison usually conducts its daily training on a large, isolated dry area in the center of the camp.

Different regions were divided according to different responsibilities and different generals.

Upon hearing that a young girl not yet seventeen had arrived in the army, a crowd had long gathered to watch the spectacle—or rather, to see her make a fool of herself. Most of them were junior officers of the same rank as Zhan Xinjia.

When Zhan Xinjia appeared, the group of men who had been watching from the fence burst into laughter.

"That's it? This is the person the imperial court sent?"

"Her arms and legs are as thin as bean sprouts, and she's not even as tall as General Qu's horse. I'm afraid that if I raise my voice even slightly, I'll scare her into fainting."

"What is the imperial court thinking? Sending a young girl here to humiliate us or something? Someone like her can be appointed as a commander in charge of thousands of men, so what about me, who fought my way up through military merit? Does that mean I didn't have a good background? It's disgusting."

"Oh well, she'll probably be crying and going back to Beijing in a few days anyway, so let's just keep her company for a bit."

...

Despite the constant slander and doubts, Zhan Xinjia strode confidently toward the venue, her steps steady and composed.

Below the stage stood thousands of soldiers, each clad in iron armor, their expressions resolute, standing exceptionally straight and orderly.

As soon as Zhan Xinjia appeared on the stage, expressionlessly playing with the fish-shaped talisman in his hand, the previously silent team immediately began to whisper among themselves.

"Why is it a woman? She doesn't even look as old as my daughter..."

"General Qu must be mistaken. If this is the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, that's absurd!"

"Isn't this just playing with us?!"

"...Shh, keep your voices down. I heard this is General Zhan's daughter."

Someone said something that immediately quieted the group down, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

General Zhan Yue was undoubtedly the most revered war god in their hearts. Even out of respect for General Zhan, they would give him some face. However, there were still some people who couldn't swallow their anger.

"What's wrong with General Zhan's daughter?! General Zhan is General Zhan. No matter how powerful he is, what does it have to do with his child? Why should we spoil her just because of his relationship with General Zhan?"

"That's right... isn't this just a case of nepotism? He just happens to have a father who's a general protecting him. He became a captain as soon as he came in. Tsk tsk, his life is so different from ours."

"While we were risking our lives on the battlefield, this little girl was probably still nestled in her parents' arms, crying for candy."

"Oh dear, she's a delicate young lady from the capital. You all should keep your mouth shut. What if you make her cry? We'll probably get punished then."

The comments became increasingly offensive, and Meng Qiao, standing behind Zhan Xinjia, changed her expression and was about to step forward.

However, before she could speak, Zhan Xinjia raised his hand to stop her.

"Let them speak their minds. It's normal to have doubts. If I were one of them, I would have opinions too."

“But Ah Zhi… those people are just laughing at us. Why don’t we go find General Qu or Lord Pei…”

Meng Qiao herself didn't care, she just couldn't bear to see Azhi suffer, and besides, Azhi wasn't the kind of person they were talking about at all.

Zhan Xinjia simply patted her on the shoulder.

"If we can't even handle something like this and have to ask for help, then we might as well pack our bags and slink back to the capital. Okay, don't say anything yet, I need to get to work."

After saying that, Zhan Xinjia slowly walked down from the command platform, casually picked a frosty blade of grass from the side and put it in his mouth.

She remained expressionless and beckoned to the group.

"I don't want to say anything unnecessary, and you're too lazy to listen anyway, so let's not waste everyone's time."

"Anyone who disagrees or is dissatisfied can pick any weapon they like and bring it up. If you win, I'll rip your head off and let you kick it around. If you lose, you'll have to face your punishment."

After saying that, Zhan Xinjia's gaze darkened.

"Oh, there's no need to do it one by one. It's fine if you have a dozen or so close friends who come together."

However, I'll only fight the first few groups. After all, there are so many of you; you could wear me down until dark with a war of attrition, and I don't have the patience to waste time on this kind of thing.

Her words immediately caused an uproar in the group, with some mocking, some laughing, and some being sarcastic.

The captains watching the spectacle from the fence were laughing so hard they were doubled over, feeling that the young girl was courting death just to save face.

Regardless of the fact that she might not even be able to beat the camp's cooks, she even dared to let people choose their weapons and said she could take on a dozen at a time. Not to mention her, probably only General Qu in the military camp had that kind of confidence and strength.

Meng Qiao silently lit a candle in her heart.

Tonics! Tonics are being used on my son!! It could kill someone, it really could kill someone among you…

Recalling the neat row of heads in the melon field, Meng Qiao shrank back. The anger from being looked down upon earlier was gone from her gaze towards the soldiers; only deep worry and sympathy remained…

Amidst a burst of laughter, Zhan Xinjia raised her voice, her tone stern.

"What's wrong? Everyone's just talking from below the stage, and no one dares to step forward?"

She'd gone so far as to provoke him, so naturally some defiant individuals stood up.

The leader was a burly man with a towering, mountain-like build.

The laughter from the crowd grew even louder when he stepped forward.

"Dashan, aren't you bullying her? With your build, you could kill her with one punch, no doubt about it. Hey, you should come back. We'll pick a skinny one to play with her."

The burly man called Dashan chuckled a few times and looked at the girl in front of him, who had her arms crossed over her chest and was expressionlessly chewing on a blade of grass.

"How about this, you just pick out the weapons, and I'll go bare-handed?"

Um?

Zhan Xinjia felt that this sentence sounded familiar. Oh... it seems that Wan Jun, a man in the Nanjun team, said something similar during the tribute festival. What happened to him in the end?

It seems like they should have been reincarnated by now...

Sighing inwardly, Zhan Xinjia, who was already getting impatient, was too lazy to waste any more words. She stepped forward and kicked Dashan out of the fence with a spinning kick in less than a move, and he fell to the ground on the spot.

One basic attack ends the battle.

If she hadn't stopped before she reached her limit, there would be another heartbroken person queuing up for Meng Po's soup in the King of Hell's palace right now...

"no???"

"Holy crap, what just happened?"

"Did anyone see that clearly? I felt like the mountain just flew away in a blur!"

The soldiers stared in disbelief, rubbing their eyes in disbelief. It was bizarre; they hadn't even seen when the young girl made her move, only a fleeting afterimage—it was utterly unbelievable.

This is really weird. There must be some mistake. They must be hallucinating.

Amid the chaos, another tall man stepped forward from the group. Unfazed by the ridicule, he cautiously picked up a broadsword from the weapon rack and weighed it in his hand.

"Please forgive me, Captain. Then I won't stand on ceremony."