Chapter Three

  Wang Jinlong was delighted to hear Xiao Ming say that he was willing to demonstrate, and he also wanted to see what kind of skills foreign military schools had trained their soldiers in. He signaled Zhang Tiezhu to stop training and assemble the troops.

  The team quickly gathered, and Wang Jinlong took a step forward and said loudly: "Brothers, this Mr. Xiao beside me is my lifesaver, he graduated from the German Military Academy, we invite Mr. Xiao to demonstrate how German soldiers are trained, please welcome Mr. Xiao!" The crowd applauded and cheered.

  Xiao Ming arrived at the team and said with a fist bump: "Xiao Ming has seen all of you brothers. As for training, every country's method is roughly the same, only the standards and intensity are different. It can't be explained in just a few sentences, as for the results, which brother is interested can come and try it out to know." After finishing speaking, he smiled and looked at everyone.

  Everyone was very bored with their daily training, but when they heard there would be something exciting to watch, the atmosphere immediately became lively. They asked what they would be competing in, and Xiao Ming smiled and said "anything is fine". Everyone was in an uproar, Wang Jinlong thought: This Xiao Ming is so arrogant, I don't know if he really has skills or just looks down on people. He loudly said: "Remember, it's just a friendly competition, no one is allowed to hurt Mr. Xiao."

  In the midst of the commotion, everyone urged Da Long to have a try at boxing. Da Long stepped forward, bowed and said: "Mr. Xiao, I'm taking the liberty, please instruct me!"

  Xiao Ming smiled slightly: "Brother, no need to be polite, just use your full strength."

  The crowd retreated and formed a circle, stretching their necks to watch. The big dragon let out a loud shout "Come on!" Black Tiger rushed straight at Xiao Ming, Xiao Ming lightly dodged and counterattacked, the two clashed together, instantly separating, the big dragon's face flushed red, he made a fist: "I lost, thank you Mr. Xiao for sparing my life!"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said, "I concede." The crowd looked at each other in confusion, pulling Da Long to ask: "How can you lose without even fighting?" Da Long shook his head, wryly smiling: "He struck too quickly and with too much force, hitting all the vital spots. If we were really fighting, I would have been knocked out long ago. The difference is too great, so I admit defeat!"

  A man about the same size as Da Long looked uncertain and stepped forward, "I'm Ma Liu, let me try".

  Xiao Ming smiled and pointed to the three people behind him who were about the same build as him, saying: "The four of you, go up together!"

  The four men turned their attention to Wang Jinlong, who nodded in agreement. The four of them no longer hesitated and surrounded Xiao Ming. Ma Liu took the lead and pounced on Xiao Ming, who let out a loud "Good!" Ma Liu was taken aback for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, Xiao Ming slipped under Ma Liu's left armpit like a mud eel. With his left hand grasping Ma Liu's elbow and his right hand grabbing his waist, he shouted "Go!" Ma Liu felt half his body go numb as he was lifted off the ground and slammed into the two men behind him. The two men saw the situation was not in their favor and managed to catch Ma Liu with great effort, but they stumbled backward several steps before regaining their balance due to the massive inertia. Sun Er Gou, who was standing nearby, was stunned and had his wrist grabbed by Xiao Ming, who pulled him into a hug. Just as he was about to struggle free, Xiao Ming used his shoulder to push him forward, shouting "Go!" Sun Er Gou crashed into Ma Liu's body, and the four men tumbled together in a heap. The crowd cheered, and Xiao Ming smiled, saying "Sorry, sorry!" He helped them up and they brushed off their clothes, retreating with embarrassment.

  A sturdy man walked out of the crowd, holding two short clubs. It was Xin Chengshan. Xin Chengshan cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Xiao, I'm not talented enough, I've practiced Six Harmony Knife for a few days, please teach me, Mr. Xiao. Since knives have no eyes, using wooden clubs is fine."

  Xiao Ming smiled and nodded, taking over the short staff, saying: "Please spare me, Brother Xin!"

  Xin Chengshan said "please" and stepped forward with his staff pointing downwards. Xiao Ming stared at Xin Chengshan's shoulders, slowly moving his feet, then suddenly let out a loud shout, grasping his staff with both hands, striking down at Xin Chengshan's head three times in succession. Xin Chengshan saw the ferocity of the attack and hastily used all his strength to defend himself, but didn't expect the third strike to be a feint. Xin Chengshan's staff swung empty, leaving his chest wide open, and he knew things were bad. Xiao Ming's staff drew an arc, lightly tapping Xin Chengshan's wrist, then immediately withdrew, its head pointing at Xin Chengshan's chest, as he stood smiling.

  Xin Chengshan threw down his stick and laughed loudly: "Lost to his mother! Thank you, Mr. Xiao!"

  "Don't mind my luck, Brother Xin. I was lucky to have succeeded." Xincheng Shan was used to wielding a heavy six or seven catty blade and wasn't accustomed to using a wooden staff, so he didn't control his strength well and the front door swung open, allowing Xiaoming to sneak in and succeed.

  Xin Chengshan waved his hand: "Mr. Xiao is being polite, I should thank you for giving me face!" If Xiao Ming had used force with that one move, he would have lost his grip on the stick and might have even injured his wrist, which suddenly made him feel grateful.

  The scene fell silent, and Wang Jinlong's expression was a bit unnatural. "I'd like to have a footrace with Mr. Xiao, what do you think?" A thin man with a tired face walked in from outside, it was Ye Maozi. Ye Maozi's real name was Liu Fengchun, originally a thief, his eyes could see clearly at night as if it were daytime, people in the Jianghu called him 'Night Cat'. Two years ago, he was chased by the Chou family and almost lost his life, but was saved by Wang Jinlong and joined the Fei Hu Fort.

  Xiao Ming nodded and said, "Brother Cat, what's the comparison method?"

  "Look, whoever gets up there first wins." The night cat pointed to a huge rock over 200 meters away and said. Xiao Ming estimated that the boulder was about ten or so meters high, like a tiger's tooth embedded there, nodded in agreement.

  The two of them rushed towards the giant stone, both landing silently. As they approached, they saw that the stone was as smooth as a mirror, with no place to gain traction. Xiao Ming secretly cursed his bad luck and slowed down his pace, thinking of a strategy in his mind. The Night Cat arrived at the front of the stone, pulled out a flying claw from his waist, spun it around, and threw it onto the top of the stone with a "whooshing" sound. He tugged on it a few times, turned back to Xiao Ming with a triumphant smile, and began to climb up. Before he knew it, Xiao Ming rushed forward, kicked off the stone wall with his left foot, and flipped himself upwards. His right foot tapped the Night Cat's shoulder, and he grabbed onto the rope, climbing up "whooshing" several steps to reach the top of the giant stone. He sat down on top, looked at the Night Cat with a sly smile, and saw that the Night Cat was already stunned.

  Xiao Ming slid down the stone wall, steadied his footing, and gave a fist bump to Ye Maozi: "Brother Cat, sorry about that!" Ye Maozi, also a seasoned veteran of the jianghu, was a straightforward man who returned the gesture: "Mr. Xiao's skills are top-notch, his strategies unparalleled! I'm impressed!" The two men shared a laugh and walked shoulder-to-shoulder back into the arena.

  Everyone on the scene had already seen it clearly, and in surprise, Ma Liu proposed a shooting match. Wang Jinlong shook his head and said: "Forget it, don't lose face, Mr. Xiao's marksmanship I've witnessed before, every shot hits its target." On the side, he patted Ma Liu on the back of the hand, "You finally know your place now!"

  Xin Chengshan said: "This Mr. Xiao is not simple, how about..."

  "Are you staying?" Wang Jinlong smiled, "Later, we'll set up a banquet, if he can stay, I'll give you three days off!" After finishing, he walked forward to welcome Xiao Ming, smiling and saying: "Ah, Brother Xiao, if this were the Three Kingdoms era, you would be Zhao Zilong! Today, big brother has opened his eyes. Come on, let's go to the main hall for a banquet, I have many things to ask you." He pulled Xiao Ming along as everyone arrived at the main hall.

  Sitting on the tea seat, Wang Jinlong asked: "Xiao brothers, can you tell them how you won?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said, "To put it simply, it's actually quite straightforward. I observed from the sidelines that Da Long is steady in his movements and never uses full force, so I used speed to counter him. Sun brothers and Ma Liu are impulsive and unstable in their lower stance, so I used strength to overpower them. Xin brother's knife skills are top-notch, but he mistakenly grabbed a wooden stick, unfamiliar with the weapon, which led to gaps in his defense. And as for Cat brother, it was just pure luck."

  Everyone was convinced, and Ye Maozi sighed: "Insightful eyes, quick response, exquisite martial arts, indeed beyond ordinary people. Admire, admire!"

  As they spoke, Wang Jinlong suddenly asked Xiao Ming with a serious expression: "Xiao brother, are all the German soldiers like you?"

  "That's not the case," Xiao Ming said with a smile. "Actually, the situation is similar in every country. Their soldiers just have a slightly higher overall quality than ours. It's just that my brother received special training there, so he's stronger than the average soldier. There's no need for us to belittle ourselves."

  Wang Jinlong let out a breath and curiously asked: "What kind of training is that, to be so fierce? Can you tell me about it in detail?"

  "Alright." Xiao Ming took a sip of tea and began to speak in detail. "After Germany's defeat, the number of troops was limited, so the quality of soldiers was required to be very high, with extremely strict and comprehensive training. Once war broke out, they could be used as officers. Later, someone proposed the concept of 'special operations', which was based on paratroopers, establishing assault teams that would penetrate deep into enemy territory, executing reconnaissance, sabotage, raids, assassinations, and rescues - tasks that were extremely difficult to accomplish. To ensure the concealment and suddenness of their actions, the number of personnel should not be too large, so the requirements for individual soldiers' quality were extremely high. Training was also very diverse, including hand-to-hand combat, sniping, disguise, camouflage, communication, driving, wilderness survival, and control of various firearms, etc. It was basically equivalent to combining all branches of the military into one, and the training was extremely brutal - if you weren't careful, you could lose your life."

  Everyone present was shocked, almost dropping their jaws. Wang Jinlong couldn't believe it: "If there's a team of 18,000 people like this, wouldn't they be invincible?" He couldn't help but ask: "Brother, how did you learn this?"

  Xiao Ming smiled wryly and said, "I received the news of my father's death and wanted to return home for revenge. But thinking about it was like a moth flying into fire, so I found a German friend and asked him to help me contact the military academy. He recommended me to my instructor. My instructor is an ardent advocate of special warfare, and his reason for accepting me may have been just to conduct an experiment: the connection between ethnicity and combat effectiveness. But I changed his perception of Chinese people."

  Xiao Ming couldn't help but think of the stern and ruthless Major Hoffman, known as the devil, and the night before he returned to China. Hoffman made an exception and drank wine, patted Xiao Ming's shoulder and said: Xiao, stay here, you will be an excellent instructor for special operations, if you are willing to work hard, you will also have the ability to command a large army to fight... unfortunately, hatred has made you lose your mind...