Warrior Cultivation Plan

This time, death had finally come to the Exploration Team once again. Two members were pierced by bamboo leaves: one was struck in the shoulder, while the other was hit in a vital spot—the head.

After the final chop rang out, everyone saw what had happened. Anger welled up in their hearts.

"Xiao Meng, Xiao He, stay here and look after them. The rest of you, come with me." Lin Chenxing kept his eyes fixed on the bamboo that had just launched the leaves. He shook the axe in his hand and charged straight at it.

The remaining sixteen team members followed close behind Lin Chenxing as they ran toward the bamboo.

"You four, hack at the bamboo as hard as you can. Leave the defense to us." Lin Chenxing first swung his axe at the bamboo with all his strength, leaving behind nothing but a scratch. Then he pointed to four team members and gave the order.

It took the Exploration Team nearly ten minutes to chop this bamboo down.

But ten minutes was already a long time—long enough for more changes to take place.

The bamboo began strengthening itself and absorbing nutrients once again. Of the seven remaining stalks, five died and became nourishment for the final two.

One of those two was the bamboo Lin Chenxing had observed earlier, growing at the core and already showing signs of turning jade-like. Now, everything except its roots had become jade, including its new leaves.

The other stalk had changed in a different way. It had not turned jade-like, but had become even more unusual: its leaves were thicker, and another leaf had sprouted from the tip of one of its drooping branches. This leaf was long and slender, as sharp as a needle.

The branches' method of attack had changed. Instead of whipping at them, they now stabbed at them, making them far more dangerous.

Three more people were injured in this wave of attacks, and all three suffered serious wounds.

But hard work paid off. The last stalk aside from the one at the very core had finally been cleared away.

The final stalk was also the most difficult, but if they handled it carefully, they could bring it down.

The only thing on the minds of all the Exploration Team members now was to finish the mission as soon as possible and return to base for some much-needed rest.

After trying several approaches, they were astonished to discover that their axes couldn't even leave a mark on the bamboo after it had turned jade-like, let alone cut it down.

Then one team member suddenly changed the direction of his axe. He swung it into the ground beside the bamboo's base, driving it into the soil along the edge of the stalk until it struck something solid.

People were quick to imitate him. As soon as all their attacks were directed at the bamboo's roots, its assault grew even more frenzied. The jade-like leaves seemed to be controlled by an unseen hand, drifting around them and repeatedly slicing through their clothes and skin.

The needle-like branches kept stabbing at everyone. Their shields were useless now; the axes in their hands worked best. Knocking away the branches tipped with bamboo-leaf needles was enough to buy them a brief respite.

At last, all the bamboo roots had been severed. They dug out the stalk, and it began to topple toward the ground.

They had won. All the bamboo had been cleared, and the area was safe once again.

After the bamboo crashed to the ground, it stopped moving, as if it had died completely.

Lin Chenxing stared at the fallen bamboo, curious about what made this central stalk special and why the Bamboo Forest had changed like this.

When he moved closer, he noticed a glimmer of reflected light near the bamboo's base, shimmering in the sunlight. He raised his axe and struck the spot where the light flickered.

To his surprise, the bamboo broke with a single blow.

A flash of light spilled out, and an explosion erupted in an instant.

The blast sent every team member watching nearby flying. Lin Chenxing, who had been right in front of it—and had even triggered the explosion—was hurled more than ten meters away and slammed hard into the ground.

Only the few team members who had stayed behind to care for the injured were unharmed.

As soon as the explosion ended, the team members who had stayed behind reacted at once and rushed toward their comrades, who had been thrown in every direction.

Lin Chenxing was helped to his feet as well, but he had already passed out and didn't wake no matter how many times they called him.

Two others had suffered misfortune. After the blast threw them aside, they crashed into jade-like bamboo leaves that had been scattered across the ground and not fully cleared away. The leaves pierced them in several places, but fortunately none of the wounds hit a vital spot. With treatment, they should recover, though they would likely be left with lingering injuries that would affect their future training.

As soon as they hurried back to base, they had the doctors there examine every injured person from head to toe.

That was how they came to the scene Gao Zheng had asked about.

After learning what had happened, Gao Zheng looked at Lin Chenxing and sighed helplessly. "Chenxing, you should learn from Old He. When you feel that you can't handle something alone, or that it'll be difficult to manage on your own, just tell us. If we'd tackled this together, I'm sure we could have done it without anyone getting hurt. Instead, you're lying here, and who knows when you'll wake up. One of your team members is dead, and so many others are injured."

"When will you change your ways and stop taking on things you don't have to shoulder alone?"

"Forget it. As long as you wake up, that's what matters. You might not be able to keep up with our progress, but don't worry. Everyone in our group will protect you."

Gao Zheng turned to Doctor Mao and said, "Doctor Mao, I'll leave him in your hands. Find someone attentive who knows how to care for people, and have them look after Mr. Lin. If Mr. Lin wakes up, notify me immediately."

After leaving those instructions, Gao Zheng led everyone except the doctors and nurses out of the room. He returned to his office, where he and the senior staff began discussing the next stage of their plans.

Here, the framework for the Xingyan Group base's Warrior Cultivation Plan was born.

One: All base members must go on a long run twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening;

Two: All base members must choose a position and take part in the work, except for those under ten and over eighty;

Three: Members in combat positions must train for an average of five hours a day, not including their morning and evening runs;

Four: Members in non-combat positions must extend their daily working hours to twelve hours;

Five: Members whose physical fitness meets the standards for a Martial Artist will receive a cultivation method;

Six: The Construction Team will begin building detached houses. Martial Artists who have successfully cultivated and researchers who pass a certain assessment will be eligible to live in them;

Seven: The Exploration Teams will be made up of Martial Artists, with ten to twenty people in each team. Martial Artists may form teams themselves and register them with the base. The original Exploration Team's duties will be reassigned;

Eight: The original First Exploration Team will be renamed the Rescue and Material Collection Team. It will explore all nearby population centers, rescue survivors, and gather supplies needed by the base;

Nine: The original Second Exploration Team will be renamed the Trade and Expansion Team. It will open routes to the various safe zones and facilitate the exchange of supplies and information;

Ten: The original Third Exploration Team will be renamed the Law Enforcement Team. It will resolve conflicts between the Exploration Teams and will be led by Guo Qichang for the time being.