The next morning, Xu Chen and Wang Li left the small villa, ate breakfast at a nearby shop, and strolled towards school. Wang Li touched her round belly and said to Xu Chen with a wronged expression, "Chenchen, do you think I'll get fat?" Xu Chen touched her forehead, smoothed her messy hair, and said softly, "Don't worry, with me here, you'll never get fat." The two walked hand in hand along the street, a scene reminiscent of their high school days. After arriving at the school gate, Xu Chen walked Wang Li to the area near the English department, watched her go upstairs, and then turned around to see a muscular man gesturing to him in the distance. He remained silent, walked out of the school gate, and came to the street. A private car was parked right in front of him. Xu Chen opened the car door and got in. Inside were two men, one the one who had gestured to him earlier, and the other the driver. The driver said to Xu Chen in a friendly manner, "Hello, I'm Tang..." "The one sent to pick you up is Falcon Two." The man next to him shook hands with Xu Chen and then said, "Hello, I'm Number Three." After exchanging greetings, Xu Chen leisurely leaned back in his chair and said to the two men, "Are you going to take me to your base? Aren't you going to blindfold me or something?" Number Two shook his head. "Old Tang said you're a martial artist, and he trusts you completely, so we won't play those tricks that are useless to you." Number Three nodded as well. Xu Chen then asked curiously, "Isn't martial arts officially banned? How come you've created a martial arts special forces unit?" Number Three then said, "Having power in your own hands is a million times better than having it in someone else's. Our unit is called Falcon." Xu Chen nodded. He guessed that this unit had been established for a long time and knew that he was a 'martial artist.' They couldn't force him to come when he was in Star City, but seeing that he had come to Beijing, they started to have ideas.
After a long while, Xu Chen and the two arrived at the base in Yanshan. The facilities here were similar to those Xu Chen had seen on television: tanks, helicopters, armored vehicles—everything he could imagine. Soon after, as Xu Chen entered the camp, Old Tang appeared before him with two generals. Seeing Xu Chen, Old Tang said heartily, "Haha, Xu Chen, you've finally arrived! The entire Falcon team has been waiting for you for months!" Xu Chen shook hands with Old Tang and the two generals, then asked, "Old Tang, how did you know I was a martial artist?" Old Tang smiled and said, "It's simple, your demeanor. When we first met, you were just a prospective college student, but you weren't intimidated at all, and you even saw through Falcon's tracking of you. From then on, I was pretty sure it was you." Xu Chen smiled, and Tang Tiancheng continued, "Alright, I have complete faith in you, kid. Today, the entire Falcon team is here; let me introduce you to them first." Xu Chen nodded and walked onto the platform with the two generals and Old Tang. At Old Tang's insistence… Seated in the center of the platform, one of the generals loudly addressed the Falcon members who were undergoing physical training on the training field below: "Comrades, your number one has arrived." The Falcon members were all surprised and looked at the young man in the main seat, then began to murmur amongst themselves. Xu Chen scanned the area with his divine sense and saw that there were still quite a few members with physical abilities but no aptitude. He frowned. Tang Tiancheng, noticing his expression, asked, "What's wrong, Xu Chen?" Xu Chen pressed the microphone and said softly, "Elder Tang, I've observed that there are still many people without cultivation aptitude. What do you think we should do?" Tang Tiancheng and the two generals exchanged glances. One of the generals even said incredulously, "Young friend Xu Chen, are you sure? These people below are outstanding soldiers selected from various military regions." Tang Tiancheng's expression turned somewhat uneasy. Xu Chen wouldn't lie to him; he was already here. There was no need for him to lie. These soldiers were all borrowed from other military regions, even at the cost of his reputation. What to do now? Send them back directly? Xu Chen pondered for a moment, "Let's implement an elimination system. I'll personally eliminate those without qualifications. It's unfair to them, but better than doing nothing. Just tell everyone the headmaster was too strict." The three nodded. Xu Chen picked up the roster from the platform, stepped down, and, looking at the photos, called out the names of those he had observed who lacked qualifications: "Number 18, Number 31, Number 40..." Seven people in total. All seven had stepped forward and stood in line. The three on the platform breathed a sigh of relief; only seven out of fifty people were eligible. "That's alright then," Xu Chen glanced at the seven men and slowly said, "Come on, go all out against me." He put down the roster, directly challenging them. The seven men exchanged glances, then said in unison, "Excuse me, Number One." They then attacked Xu Chen, who dodged constantly, delivering a light punch to each of their abdomens. Half a minute later, all seven men collapsed. Xu Chen said with slight reluctance, "You're eliminated." The seven men struggled to their feet. Although they wanted to ask why, this was a military camp, and soldiers must obey orders. They then helped each other, along with the men Tang had instructed, and left the training ground. Xu Chen turned to the remaining forty-three people and said, "You are very lucky. Not only do you possess the aptitude for cultivation, but I also find you quite pleasing to the eye." Many people in the ranks smiled easily. Seeing this, Xu Chen continued, "Martial arts cultivation is not simply about practicing a few moves. I'm here today to meet you all and to remind you to be fully prepared. This will be a hundred times more painful than your military training. Anyone who is afraid of hardship can step down. I allow you to return to your original military region, just like those seven people." Seeing that the forty-three people remained unmoved, Xu Chen said approvingly: "Alright, I understand your choices. Continue physical training. I'm going to discuss cultivation techniques and body tempering with Elder Tang." He then turned and left. Many people in the queue, hearing Xu Chen mention cultivation techniques and body tempering, showed fervent enthusiasm in their eyes. "Number One is probably going to teach us real martial arts techniques." "I'm so excited! I wonder how strong I'll become after I start training?" "You're too naive. I've heard that martial arts cultivation has no end. After training? How could that be?" Xu Chen walked to Elder Tang's side. "Elder Tang, I'll write you a list of medicinal herbs later. Please send someone to purchase them." Elder Tang nodded. Xu Chen continued, "Alright, I'll leave now. Training will officially begin tomorrow." He then left the military camp and boarded the special car for the return journey.
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