Flying Snow

Outside the temple.

Jiang Ding didn't choose the main road and ducked into a clump of trees.

Although there were nearly a hundred people, they were insignificant within the vast five-kilometer radius. He walked a short distance and separated from them.

Their encirclement route hadn't changed.

"The target isn't me!"

Jiang Ding relaxed, but still decided to keep his distance.

He noticed that these people were divided into eight or nine small teams, each with a fierce hunting dog, seemingly tracking something. It was best not to get too close and cause a misunderstanding.

Whoosh~ Whoosh...

The mountain wind howled, accompanied by faint sounds of air being cut.

"Who!"

Jiang Ding grunted.

His sword was drawn and sliced out in a regular arc, only to be blocked halfway by a snow-white sharp sword, emitting a piercing sound.

The snow-white sword retreated the moment it was unsheathed, attempting to flee, but it was too late. Jiang Ding's entire body's strength condensed into a single point, and his sword struck the white blade, deflecting it.

This was the Exhibiting Sword Style!

Jiang Ding felt a numbing force surge through him, his sword-wielding arm trembling slightly, but the well-tempered muscles throughout his body quickly dispersed the force, leaving him unharmed.

The opponent was an Inner Force realm martial artist!

But compared to his classmates, the opponent's Inner Force was very weak, less than a third of the intensity.

A figure in a white dress flew backward, spitting blood. The high chest of her dress was stained with plum blossom patterns.

"How is this possible? You're clearly not an Inner Force realm martial artist!"

The opponent spat blood, saying in disbelief.

They collapsed at the first touch!

Even though she was injured, with Inner Force, even a Body Refinement martial artist with innate divine strength should have been able to escape smoothly. This defied common sense.

"Why did you attack me?"

Jiang Ding gripped his sword and slowly advanced, a tremor running up his spine as threads of killing intent spread uncontrollably.

Civilian drones were too unreliable!

He had never encountered anything like this before.

Growing up, he had his teachers' guidance and sparred with classmates. Even when there were minor disputes, they were usually just about beating someone up. He had never experienced this chilling sense of life-and-death confrontation upon first meeting.

"Young master, I'm sorry."

"I mistook you for someone else. I realized it just now and tried to escape, but I couldn't get away from you."

The woman clasped her hands together, apologizing profusely. "Young master, this is my fault."

Jiang Ding continued to approach step by step, not believing a word of it.

Anyone who actively attacked him and posed a threat to his life should pay the price!

"Young master!"

"It's my fault, I mistook you for the person chasing me!"

This woman had fair skin, a baby face, and cute features. She was about 1.5 meters tall.

Her dress was dirty, but her face and hair were clean, suggesting she was someone accustomed to a pampered life, which didn't fit with the wild mountain forest.

"My name is Gong Caiyu, a disciple of the Seven Profound Sect. The Golden Saber Sect destroyed my sect and killed my entire family. I reacted impulsively. Please forgive me, young master!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she clasped her hands together, begging.

Jiang Ding's footsteps halted.

It wasn't because of her words.

From the drone's perspective.

A large number of black-clothed figures with golden sabers embroidered on their chests changed their movement route and were now encircling this direction, their hunting dogs barking loudly.

"Since it was a misunderstanding, then forget it."

Jiang Ding's expression changed.

He was certain that these black-clothed figures were after this woman. And this woman was an Inner Force martial artist; he might not be able to defeat her in one or two moves. Thus, he didn't want to get entangled and invite disaster, and immediately turned to leave.

"Thank you, young master!"

Gong Caiyu said gratefully and stumbled away.

She didn't suspect anything, as the strength of the strange person before her had almost completely crushed her current abilities. If he were an enemy, why would he go through such trouble?

Jiang Ding ran for several kilometers, crossing mountains and ridges, finally hiding in the canopy of a large tree.

"These people were indeed chasing her."

"This is good, I haven't been exposed."

Jiang Ding breathed a sigh of relief.

The routes of the men in black kept changing, mostly following the woman's path. They quickly disappeared from the drone's observation range during the chase.

He had no intention of having the drones follow them. This had nothing to do with him. The grudges and romances of another world should not involve him, nor should they bring disaster upon him, as he owed no favors or karma to anyone.

Inside the room, Jiang Ding opened his eyes.

The furnishings were simple. Outside, traffic flowed like a river, and neon lights flickered.

The tension in his heart finally relaxed.

He practiced swordplay for a while. After his mother and Jiang Yuan returned, the family talked for a bit. At eleven o'clock at night, Jiang Ding went to sleep on time.

When he arrived at the classroom, the locker had already been unlocked, and many students were changing into their olive-green camouflage uniforms.

They were bought online, capable of bulletproofing, changing color, and transforming. However, these were school-issued equipment and could not be taken out of school, to be returned upon graduation.

"The first two classes are on firearms?" Jiang Ding put down his backpack and said casually.

"Yes, and the last two are similar," Li Junhao said, having changed into a neat camouflage uniform and put on a bulletproof panoramic helmet. His slender frame seemed to exude a touch of heroism. "Zhang Dingjun is retired from the army. The consequences of being even a second late are very serious."

The guy's eyes were dark, and his face was pale. It was clear he had stayed up studying until at least two or three in the morning yesterday.

Jiang Ding quickly changed his clothes.

Ring ring ring...

After waiting for a while, at 7:50, the pre-class bell rang.

"Attention!"

On the podium, the class monitor Hua Bing stood tall and shouted.

Swish!

Thirty-two high school seniors stood up in unison, as straight as nails.

"First squad, move out."

"Yes, monitor!"

Sun Xiao, who was in the Inner Qi realm, saluted and jogged out of the classroom first. Others followed from various parts of the classroom, a total of six people, forming a straight line.

"Second squad..."

"Third squad..."

Jiang Ding and Li Junhao quickly followed, falling in behind Li Hu, who was also in the Inner Qi realm, and began to jog.

The three squads were like three lines, initially following, then moving side-by-side, and finally forming a neat square. Each student's stride and arm swing were identical. From a distance, dozens of people looked like one.

Students on their way to class automatically moved to the sides.

They jogged out of the towering teaching area and onto a ground covered with wild grass, shrubs, and sandy soil. The population thinned on both sides. This area was often used for live-fire exercises and was a semi-military training zone.

"One, two, one..."

Not far away, students from a few other classes were also jogging, but they were not on the same route and soon turned in another direction.

"Accelerate, twenty kilometers!"

Li Hu, the leader of the third squad, roared into the squad channel.

"Yes!"

The square formation began to accelerate, transitioning from a jog to a run. The wind whistled, and the formation shifted from a neat square to a scattered oval.

Hoo~

Jiang Ding exhaled lightly, relaxing his muscles. A twenty-kilometer long-distance run was nothing to him, but running twenty kilometers at such a speed was a considerable burden.

Li Junhao, running beside him, had a distorted gait.

A gentle breeze swept past.

Jiang Ding looked back. Class monitor Hua Bing, leading two squads of fourteen pure Qi Condensation realm students, had caught up with effortless grace.

Their steps were not fast, nor was their frequency high. They looked like they were strolling, without a drop of sweat showing.

Yet, their speed was astonishing, much faster than his. In a short while, they had overtaken their group and quickly disappeared from sight.

"First-tier military formation: Gale Formation."

Li Junhao connected to Jiang Ding's communication, panting slightly. He said enviously, "These guys are really something else."

"You need to take care of your body," Jiang Ding couldn't help but say. "Staying up late every day, with insufficient rest and exercise, how can your martial arts cultivation possibly improve at this rate?"

"You don't understand. My martial arts aptitude is too poor. My only path is through academics."

Li Junhao shook his head.

As long as he could get into the Cultivation Department, there would be high-level cultivators who would refine rare elixirs specifically for students with such unbalanced strengths. It wouldn't make him a genius overnight, but it would at least make him better than most in terms of martial arts aptitude.

Students who are good at specific subjects but can still get into a cultivation department are all skilled in their own way. Once the talent issue is resolved, they can grow rapidly.

Ten minutes later, the team began to fall behind.

Li Hu and two other Inner Qi realm classmates quickly disappeared from the eyes of those behind them, followed by peak Bone Refining realm martial artists like Jiang Ding, and finally the Muscle Refining realm martial artists.

Li Junhao was undoubtedly at the very back.

Jiang Ding gasped for air, not knowing how long he had been running wildly. Ahead, rows of classmates stood neatly, like nails.

In front of them stood a middle-aged man as strong as a bear, exuding an invisible pressure just by standing there.

"Report!"

"Enter."

Zhang Dingjun's voice was deep.

Jiang Ding fell into line, still behind Li Hu. The third squad was the order designated by their teacher.

More classmates gradually joined the line.

Ding ling!

At 8:10, the alarm clock in Zhang Dingjun's hand rang.

Jiang Ding looked around. Li Junhao hadn't arrived yet.

Five or six minutes later, Li Junhao arrived, panting, and said weakly, "Report!"

Zhang Dingjun glanced at him coldly. "Forty kilometers after class. I don't care what your plans or intentions are. If you're not up to standard with me, you're not up to standard!"

"Yes!"

Li Junhao's face fell.

There was no real danger. The immortal sect had spells and professional healing methods. Even if his knee joints swelled and bled, he would just need to use crutches for a few days.

"You guys, free activity for now," Zhang Dingjun said to Hua Bing and the other Qi Refining cultivators.

"Yes, instructor!"

Whoosh!

Zhang Dingjun pulled aside a thick camouflage cloth.

Sunlight shone, metal glinted, and several heavy machine guns, each over two meters long, stood on the ground. Beside them were piles of ammunition boxes, and the strong smell of gun oil spread.

"On the battlefield, there are no pistols or submachine guns. These toys can't even break through the defenses of a cultivator!"

Zhang Dingjun casually picked up a heavy machine gun weighing over two hundred pounds with one hand and pulled the bolt. "When you join the army in the future, this will be the only companion you can rely on for the college entrance examination."

"Type 89 Heavy Machine Gun, made of N2702 anti-magic alloy, with semi-magical runes engraved on the barrel, an Eagle-1 scope, a caliber of 12.5mm, a total length of 2140mm, a theoretical rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, and a theoretical range of 5 kilometers. It can penetrate the conventional shields of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator at this distance."

"If it can hit the shield of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it can also consume a small amount of their magic power."

Jiang Ding knew it wasn't that simple.

Ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators, unless they were as stupid as pigs, would evade, conceal, and hide. Crossing five kilometers and hitting them, who had divine sense, would be very difficult.

Let alone ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators, even first or second-level cultivators could learn an optical camouflage spell and kill swaths of martial artists with a random fireball spell after a surprise attack.

The use of heavy machine guns was on a large-scale battlefield!

Infantry using spirit particle radar to locate targets, heavy artillery bombardment in advance, and concentrated barrage fire – this was the way to fight against cultivators.

"Using firearms is simple, but accurate shooting within five kilometers is not easy. It exceeds the normal visual limits of the human body," Zhang Dingjun said, pointing to the small boxes next to the ammunition boxes. "This requires the assistance of drones. The ones issued to you are military-grade Swallow-1."

"In addition, you need to practice martial skills: Vajra Seal and Thousand Threads Pull. The former ensures the stability of your shooting, so that even when running and shooting, your upper body remains as still as Mount Tai. The latter ensures your shooting accuracy, allowing a single force to be divided into a thousand parts, hitting a squirrel accurately even from five kilometers away."

"Mastering these two martial skills to a minor success level makes you a qualified soldier of the immortal sect. It's that simple."

Zhang Dingjun paused.

"Now, take a gun, one for each person, two ammunition belts, and one drone."

"Yes, instructor!"

Jiang Ding quickly stepped forward, picked up the Type 89 Heavy Machine Gun, and slung it over his back. The weight of 125 kilograms made his steps falter. Then he picked up two ammunition belts, each containing a hundred rounds, and crossed them over his chest.

The Swallow-1, along with its case, was about the size of a basketball. It had a hook, which he clipped to his waist. He returned to the formation and stood at attention. The entire process took seven seconds.

He stealthily glanced to his left and right. Everyone was carrying heavy machine guns and ammunition, standing straight, and silent.

"Disperse, raise your guns," Zhang Dingjun ordered again.

"Yes!"

Everyone quickly separated, with more than ten meters between each person. They raised their guns with both hands, pointing them diagonally at the sky, their legs in a bow stance.

Jiang Ding silently visualized a mountain peak descending from the sky into the embrace of a giant. The immense gravity struck him and was dispersed to all parts of the giant's limbs, finally flowing into the earth through his legs, rooting him there.

The giant in his mind was divided into lines, showing how force was dispersed and gathered within it, how much force each muscle bore, and how much force should be exerted to allow the entire body to neutralize external forces to the greatest extent.

"Twenty minutes."

Zhang Dingjun left them with those words and walked over to Hua Bing and the other Qi Refining realm classmates. Faint voices could be heard.

"The three basic spells of the Qi Refining realm: electromagnetic wave induction, enchantment, and spirit control. You..."

Not long after, the roar of tank engines could be heard as Type 59 tanks drove into the distance.