71: Chapter 71 A Grand and Fierce Event!

The seven-day basic scout course ended very quickly.

This course had limited benefits for Chen Mo, but fortunately, it didn't interfere with his daily cultivation.

Chen Mo sat in the examination hall, looking at the test paper in front of him with a sigh.

How come he still had to take a written exam even after becoming a martial artist...

Although Chen Mo's intelligence stat of eight couldn't compare to those Talent-based Martial Artists who relied on their brains, he was still outstanding among ordinary people.

This level of exam wasn't difficult for him, and he finished the written test in about half an hour.

With half an hour left before the exam ended, the somewhat bored Chen Mo opened his attribute panel.

[Name: Chen Mo]

[Age: 17]

[Strength: 276]

[Constitution: 301]

[Agility...]

[Blood Qi: 16905.7]

[Hammer Fist...]

[Muscle Compression Technique lv36 (2657 / 3700)]

[Limit Disintegration lv38 (617 / 3900)]

"It wasted a day, and I lost so much experience and Blood Qi..."

If he hadn't gone out for a midnight snack that night, his Blood Qi would very likely have broken through to 17,000.

As expected, he couldn't slack off; his stats were still too low.

He didn't originally possess any so-called talents; he had only used the system to disguise himself as having a talent called Great Strength.

If he reached a certain level of growth one day, but his stats couldn't keep up with opponents of the same realm, wouldn't that be troublesome?

Unconsciously, Chen Mo began to pressure himself frantically; now his mind was entirely focused on getting his stats higher.

Only when he could crush charcoal into diamonds with his bare hands would he be able to rest easy.

Before he knew it, the exam ended.

"I've taken a rough look, and everyone's results should be quite good."

Zhang Lianqi nodded with satisfaction. These children were truly geniuses; whether in martial arts or in grasping knowledge, they couldn't be compared to others.

If he weren't much older than them, he would really be crushed by them if they were the same age.

"You are free to move around this afternoon, but you are not allowed to leave the fortress."

"Practical combat officially begins tomorrow, and at that time, everyone's performance will be broadcast live 24/7."

"Especially you, Chen Mo. Each person will have a drone following them, so you brat are not allowed to go out for midnight snacks in the middle of the night!"

"Don't think I don't know that my old man ended up taking the blame for you!"

Zhang Lianqi wasn't worried about the other children, only Chen Mo.

"Your dad enjoyed it even more than I did..."

Chen Mo muttered. That old man had come to find him a couple of days ago, asking him to cook a stir-fry meal for him.

"Alright, dismissed!"

Zhang Lianqi naturally heard Chen Mo's muttering, but he didn't hold it against him.

He knew what his old man was like; he had been unrestrained his whole life, and he was probably the one who enjoyed the food the most.

Just as he walked out of the administration building, Chen Mo saw a familiar figure.

"Chen Mo! Over here!"

Old Man Zhang waved vigorously at Chen Mo, and standing beside him was the highest combat power of the entire fortress, Commander Shen.

"Commander Shen asked me to take you all to the Martyrs' Cemetery, saying it's to give you a vivid lesson in patriotism."

"I didn't want to go at first, but Commander Shen said if I took you all, he would let you cook a private meal for me."

Not far away, Zhang Lianqi's face turned dark. He had just finished talking about this matter, and his own father had brought Commander Shen to slap him in the face.

Being old really means you can do whatever you want, huh? An invincible person with maxed-out magic resistance.

Chen Mo turned to look at Zhang Lianqi, who looked helpless and could only wave his hand to signal that he couldn't control this.

"Go, go. Don't make the midnight snack too heavy; the old man has high blood pressure and blood sugar, and if you're not careful, he might burst a cerebral blood vessel."

"Got it!"

Chen Mo nodded, and the more than three hundred candidates in the exam hall swarmed over.

"Commander Shen, is this really necessary?"

Watching the large group of people walking away, Zhang Lianqi couldn't help but ask.

"Why wouldn't it be? I need to find something for your father to do, otherwise he comes to annoy me every day."

Commander Shen chuckled. Old Man Zhang had a belly full of words he wanted to share, and these children were the best listeners.

"Besides, do you think this is just a simple education?"

"I want them to see how their predecessors did things."

"A martial artist is not just someone who possesses power."

Commander Shen's gaze drifted into the distance, as if he were seeing the scene of himself and his brothers fighting on the front lines of the battlefield back then.

...

In the Martyrs' Cemetery, more than three hundred people each received a fresh flower.

"Damn it, they only know how to do these useless things."

Old Man Zhang spat with disdain and directly told the candidates to throw away the flowers in their hands.

"This place is basically full of cenotaphs, and the people lying here are all big men; who would like something like flowers?"

"Instead of giving flowers, you might as well light a cigarette and stick it on their graves."

"Of course, there are also many women; they are also heroes of our Great Xia."

"Those old broads were even rougher than us men; they didn't miss out on smoking or drinking."

Old Man Zhang pulled a pack of loose cigarettes from his pocket, walked to a tombstone in the corner, and squatted down.

"Number Two, Number Five, Number Six, I've come to see you."

No one in the area spoke; they just quietly watched Old Man Zhang's actions.

"You all loved this Toad cigarette back then; a few years ago, before Number Four died, he smoked several puffs of Toad cigarette before he was willing to go."

"Of the six-man team we had back then, only I and Big Brother Shen are left now; your children and grandchildren are all promising people now."

"I don't have many years left either; when the time comes, I'll go down there and find you."

"We brothers will continue to kill those abyss beasts in hell, kill them until they shake just looking at us!"

Old Man Zhang lit one of the so-called Toad cigarettes, which made him cough several times.

"Kids, I don't know how to lecture, and I don't know what that 'patriotic education' thing is!"

Old Man Zhang quickly adapted to the pungent smoke of the Toad cigarette and shouted while puffing away.

"I only know that behind me are my home, my children, my wife, and my friends."

"Only when I stand at the very front can they live their comfortable lives in the back."

Taking a puff that consumed half the cigarette, Old Man Zhang exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"Chen Mo, want one too?"

Old Man Zhang grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowish teeth.

"This... is that okay?"

Chen Mo scratched his head. Shouldn't martial artists avoid picking up these bad habits?

"What the hell are you afraid of, acting like a sissy?"

Old Man Zhang rolled his eyes, lit a Toad cigarette, and shoved it into Chen Mo's hand.

This old guy was quite improper; what kind of old man actively teaches a child to smoke?

Helplessly, Chen Mo had to take the Toad cigarette and took a puff, mimicking Old Man Zhang.

He didn't really feel anything from that puff; Chen Mo's lungs were now stronger than iron, and the smoke couldn't harm him at all.

"What I said before was all about the responsibilities I should shoulder as a martial artist."

"But when it comes down to it, do you know what the greatest pursuit of my life as a martial artist is?"

When Old Man Zhang mentioned this, his cloudy eyes lit up.

"What?"

"Grandpa Zhang, what is your greatest pursuit?"

Many candidates felt great curiosity about this wild and uninhibited old soldier.

Some of them knew that he used to be a Grade 5 Steel Bone Realm martial artist, but was later reduced to a cripple because of a mission.

Stomping out the cigarette butt, Old Man Zhang ground it firmly twice and continued.

"Me..."

"I've spent my whole life pursuing a magnificent existence!"