Chapter 2: Black Chicken Training

  Yang Tian brought the three thousand elites to Wujicheng and then selected a thousand elite among them. According to Lei Hong's words, what we want are special warriors who can take on a hundred alone. Those who were not selected did not lose their chance, as long as they practiced hard and improved their martial arts skills, they could challenge the special warriors at any time. If they succeeded in the challenge, the challenged warrior would be removed from the special forces, and the successful challenger would fill the vacancy.

  This move was made without any special training because it's a matter of honor, who would think they're inferior to others? After all, everyone was in the same camp at first.

  The special forces and elite troops' training were not separated, but divided into different groups. Yang Tianming had the soldiers of the special forces and elite troops go in pairs to a nearby area to cut down a 3-meter-long, 25-centimeter-diameter tree trunk, then peel off the bark, and carry it on their shoulders around Wujicheng for at least five laps, and if they felt it was not enough, they could add more.

  At first, they all thought it was easy, but by the second lap, some elite camp soldiers couldn't take it and wanted to sit down and rest. By the third lap, a large number of soldiers were resting on the side of the road, and by the fourth lap, everyone had collapsed.

  Yang Tian couldn't help but laugh at this, standing on the city wall and shouting: "You're all too rubbish! With skills like these, when will you ever meet the requirements of a special forces team?"

  At this time, several leaders who were with Yang Tian, Zhang Shan and Sun Ming, burst out laughing. The guards standing neatly on the city wall also smiled secretly, it's still us who are more relaxed, looking at the elite camp people being so bitter, they all started to retreat.

  "Zhang Shan, Sun Ming, Song Yi, Liu Yi, you four also go down and run for them to see, lest the soldiers say that we who are in charge only know how to talk but can't do! Let them be convinced in their hearts and mouths!" Yang Tian's words made the four men speechless.

  "Yes!" Zhang Shan and the other three readily agreed, turned around and walked down the city wall, causing the soldiers resting at the foot of the city to erupt in cheers! The four of them looked even more radiant, all holding their heads high and walking with their chests out.

  "Heh heh ~, still quite obedient." Yang Tian stroked his mouth and laughed straight.

  Zhang Shan and four others sneezed in unison. Sun Ming muttered, "This is so synchronized, there must be something strange going on. Could it be Yang Tian..."

  "Shh..." Zhang Shan raised his index finger to his lips and blew, saying, "Keep your voice down, Yang Tian's ears are very sharp, if he hears us we'll be in trouble."

  Yang Tian stood on the city wall, shook his ears, turned back to glance at the four of them, and silently looked down at the soldiers below.

  Zhang Shan and the other three quickly arrived outside the city wall, snatched a log from the soldiers' hands, and then two of them carried one log each, running swiftly. The soldiers sitting down to rest stared blankly as the four men flashed before their eyes once, twice, thrice, four times, five times. Only twenty minutes had passed when the four men panted heavily after completing five laps, then shook their shoulders, and threw the logs to the ground, rolling over twice before stopping.

  Yang Tian clapped his hands on the city wall and said: "Not bad, not bad! Now everyone has seen it, right?"

  "We've seen it!" The soldiers also shouted in admiration, even the guards on the city wall joined in, they were all convinced.

  "Do you want to know why?" Yang Tian asked loudly again.

  "Charge!" The soldiers shouted loudly.

  "Because they've all practiced internal strength! They used their internal strength while running!" Yang Tian scanned the crowd of soldiers, who were either sitting or lying down and shouting that they were tired, and said, "So, they can easily run over. If you can all finish running five laps every day, then a month from now, I, Yang Tian, will teach you the method for practicing internal strength!"

  "Hurray! ~" The soldiers cheered.

  "Are you still going to sit down and rest?" Yang Tian asked loudly.

  This time, the soldiers no longer responded with words, but instead reacted directly with action. Two by two, they shouldered tree trunks and ran, all of them rushing headlong to their deaths. The guards on the city wall were no longer gloating over the misfortune of others, but instead envied them for having this opportunity. They stared intently at the soldiers below, because if they could just defeat one of them, they too could become one of them. Yang Tian took in all the reactions of these soldiers with a glance, and thought to himself that his plan had succeeded.

  A month passed quickly, and the elite camp's soldiers successfully completed their training mission. On this day, the sun was shining brightly, and the air in Wujicheng was particularly refreshing. Yang Tian gathered the three thousand elite soldiers in the city's barracks, standing on a high platform, looking at the neat and tidy elites, shouting: "Congratulations to you! You have successfully passed the assessment and can formally study my internal skills!"

  The soldiers listened with smiles on their faces, waiting for what came next.

  "Before, I made you all train hard because your bodies have grown up and must be exercised to succeed in this inner skill. Moreover, I've been teaching you martial arts moves, which can unleash infinite power when combined with this inner skill!" Yang Tian's words were very tempting, and after adding these, the soldiers' eyes shone even brighter.

  "Everyone maintain two meters distance and disperse!"

  The soldiers quickly opened up a distance between them.

  "Now follow me to practice a set of Tai Chi. Yang Tian's words were clearly transmitted into the ears of the first soldier, 'Inhale into the dantian, slightly condense, silently think about the Tai Chi movements in your heart, circulate the air and display the moves, move with intention...'"

  Yang Tianzu spent an hour slowly leading the soldiers through a set of Tai Chi moves. Many of the soldiers also developed a sense of qi, which is the feeling of internal energy flowing smoothly through the meridians in the body under the control of one's mind.

  "Everyone remembers this feeling of practicing Qi, as long as the work is deepened, and truly reaches the realm of 'shape follows intention', then you can find your leader to ask for the next step of Gongfa." Yang Tian slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, he hadn't focused on practicing for a long time either.

  "If there's anything you don't understand, ask your commander for guidance. The rest is up to you to practice. I'm sure you'll find that your strength will increase greatly after practicing!" As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Tian's figure gradually disappeared from the high platform, leaving the soldiers in the front rows staring with wide eyes. What's going on? Has General Yang vanished?!

  The rumors spread quietly, Zhang Shan and others had already seen it before, so they were not surprised. He glared with his big copper bell eyes and shouted: "What's the noise! General Yang's martial arts have reached a state of perfection! Running fast is nothing to be surprised about! Everyone practice!"

  So, the soldiers no longer paid attention to Yang Tian's departure and instead spread out on the school grounds to practice Tai Chi, real Tai Chi...

  Yang Tian hurriedly left because he heard Lei Meng's transmission, a batch of weapons had arrived. He quietly came to the city master's mansion and saw that the courtyard was filled with boxes. Just as Yang Tian was about to go forward to check what they were, Lei Meng walked out from the hall with his hands behind his back, smiling: "Your complexion looks even better, your martial arts have improved again?"

  "Haha, I practiced Tai Chi again today and made some progress." Yang Tian turned around with a pleased expression, facing Lei Meng, "What are these things?"

  "Expedited Tang knives and powerful hand crossbows!" Lei Meng looked at these boxes, his face showing a look of intoxication, saying, "Those Tang knives should soon catch up with the two we have in our hands; as for those hand crossbows, except for high-ranking masters like you and me, even someone like Lin Chong or Liao Yun, ten of them would be enough to surround and kill!"

  "How formidable?!" Yang Tian knew that Lin Chong and Liao Yun had both gone through Lei Meng's training, and after Lei Meng's teachings, they had become top-notch experts, able to move freely in the army.

  Yang Tian thought again, no, if it's close, a top-notch expert would have noticed and escaped long ago. If it's far, even the strongest arrow can't hit accurately. So, he turned his eyes and said: "You mean to say that a surprise attack can kill?"

  "Of course," said Lei Meng, proudly puffing out his chest. "Although it can't compare to a gun, its advantages lie in the fact that it makes very little noise when fired, and has a long range with strong penetrating power. I've also installed aiming devices on all of them, so they can hit targets 100 meters away."

  "Oh?" Yang Tian was truly surprised, he didn't think Lei Ming would be so meticulous, even installing a sighting device, that way it's indeed the divine instrument for sneak attacks at the moment, "Then when are you going to bring out the sniper rifle?"

  "Let's wait a bit, the matching is not complete yet. And that thing is too dangerous, we need to be careful with it, or else we'll get done in." Lei Meng furrowed his brow and explained, then sneered, "We're cheating, aren't we?"

  "Haha, who cares if he cheated or not, as long as we win. Besides, in our territory, the people's lives are getting better and better..." Yang Tian continued to tempt Lei Meng.

  "Don't mention those useless things, just focus on mastering your special forces skills and using these weapons well. I'm leaving!" Lei Meng ignored Yang Tian, walked out of the courtyard, still muttering to himself: "Guns and ammunition are hazardous materials, if they fall into the wrong hands, our lives will be in danger. Those are things that absolutely cannot be casually manufactured..."

  Yang Tian listened to Lei Meng's words with his ears perked up, rolled his eyes and was speechless in his heart. This person is too cautious, could it be because of the unexpected result of the last experiment?

  After lunch at noon, Yang Tian ordered Zhang Shan and the others to take stock of the Tang knives and hand crossbows in the box. They found that there were 1,100 Tang knives and hand crossbows each, originally prepared for special warfare team members only.

  However, don't special forces members still have daggers? Otherwise, how can assassinations be convenient? Looking at his calm appearance, he thought that he did things without leaving anything out, but unexpectedly there was still a mistake. Yang Tian thought angrily to himself.

  After checking the box, Yang Tiancai found that there were still climbing iron hooks and ropes, and his anger dissipated slightly.

  In the afternoon, the elite soldiers gathered again in the school field. The soldiers looked at the boxes piled up on the high platform with full of questions, what are these things? Are they going to distribute gold?...

  Yang Tian stepped up onto the high platform and loudly exclaimed: "I've got some good news for you all! We have a new powerful weapon!"

  "Hurray! Hurray!" The soldiers had long heard that new weapons comparable to the Tuan Yun Sword would be supplied to them soon, but they didn't expect it to arrive so quickly.

  Yang Tian's face turned serious, and he cleared his throat to speak clearly to the soldiers: "Unfortunately, there are only a thousand of these weapons, so they can only be issued to special forces members!" He cunningly swallowed the fact that 100 were set aside as spares.

  After saying this sentence, the bottom was blown out:

  "What! Only issued to special forces!"

  "I'm going to challenge!"

  ……

  There were not a few soldiers who were panting like oxen, with red lights flashing in their eyes as they scanned the special forces members, looking like they were about to pounce on someone. And indeed they were going to pounce, for at first when they were competing, it only took one burst of energy to knock down their opponents, but now they had lost big time.

  Liu San was one of them, he targeted his former opponent, Wu Yu. After more than a month of training and recent practice in Tai Chi, his martial arts skills had improved again. He shouted loudly: "Zhang Shantong! I, Liu San, challenge you!"

  "What? Liu San wants to challenge?"

  "Didn't he lose last time?"

  "Who knows."

  ……

  The soldiers were in an uproar. Yang Tian on the high platform couldn't help but smile, heh heh, it's so quick to take effect.

  "Silence!" Zhang Sheng shouted sternly, his eyes wide with a severe gaze sweeping across the soldiers. "Liu San, step forward!"

  Liu San panted as he ran out, his eyes still red. He stood before Zhang Shan and shouted loudly: "Report to Commander Zhang, Liu San has arrived! I want to challenge Wu Yu!"

  Zhang Shan looked at him with approval and nodded, then shouted: "Wu Yu, step forward!"

  Wu Yu was speechless this time, just as he was about to release his treasured sword, someone came to challenge him. He ran out with a dark face, glanced at Liu San, and shouted towards Zhang Shan: "Wu Yu is here!"

  The soldiers were taken aback for a moment, then burst into suppressed laughter "heh heh".

  "Alright, I suppose you also heard what Liu San just said." Zhang Shan saw Wu Yu nodding and said, "You two can have a match here! Be careful not to hurt each other too much!" After finishing speaking, Zhang Shan stepped aside.

  Liu San and Wu Yu exchanged a glance, then concentrated their energy in the Dan Tian, Liu San took the initiative to step forward with his left foot, and his right fist struck straight at Wu Yu's face. Wu Yu was not one to back down, he took a small step forward, his right hand sweeping across to meet the incoming punch, and with a reverse palm, he attempted to grab onto the incoming fist, in order to execute a follow-up arm strike.

  Liu San's powerful fist was impressive, but it lacked substance and was merely a feint. He quickly withdrew his right fist, stepped forward with his right leg in a horse stance, and used the top of his thigh to block Wu Yu's right leg. With a surge of energy from his dan tian, he pushed both hands forward, palms facing Wu Yu, forcing him to stumble backward off balance.

  The opportunity was not to be missed, Liu San took another step forward, his hands grasped Wu Yu's right arm, which had nowhere to borrow strength, and pulled it down with a jerk. With a "crack" sound, the arm bone dislocated. Then he followed up by throwing Wu Yu's right hand backwards, and saw Wu Yu's body flying towards Liu San's back. As his body was out of position, Liu San swung his right elbow and gave Wu Yu a blow to the right rear shoulder, hearing Wu Yu let out a muffled groan, followed by a "thud" as he fell to the ground.

  "I've lost!" Wu Yu's face was ashen, and he struggled to his feet with a stiff expression, no longer crying out in pain - a tough guy. Next, he used his left hand to pull on his right arm, and then heard the sound of "crack crack" as it snapped back into place, flexing and extending on its own.

  "Clap! Clap!" Yang Tian stood on the high platform, applauding and praising, "Good! Good!"

  The soldiers in the front row saw this scene before and after the martial arts competition, and they also applauded with a "pa pa" sound. The soldiers in the distance heard the applause in front of them and followed suit. Then, the entire campus was filled with warm applause.

  Yang Tian and Zhang Shan exchanged a glance, furrowed their brows and remained silent.

  "Liu San wins! Congratulations Liu San!" Zhang Shangao shouted, and Liu San heard a big smile on his face.

  The excitement belongs to the winner, Wu Yu stands up, walks into the team with a expressionless face, and can't find it.

  The atmosphere of challenge was stirred up, and then there were five more hot-blooded shouts to challenge. However, not everyone had the strength, only one person won among the five, it seemed that the selection of special forces members at that time had little water.

  Under the western mountain in the sun, the treasured sword and the swift horse were handed over to the special warfare team members amidst the envious, jealous and hateful gaze of the elite camp soldiers.

  Yang Tian saw that the people in the elite camp were itching, and their emotions seemed to have passed, so he gave a hopeful way: "Those who didn't get new weapons don't have to worry, you are all elites in the army! After a while, General Lei will also order someone to send another batch over!"

  "Haha~" The soldiers burst out laughing, it turned out they also had a share.