If I Don't Hurry Up, I'll Break Through

"Take him to the Military Infirmary. Once he wakes up, don't forget to make him run twenty kilometers with a weighted pack."

Li Yibing gave the order. A military medic who had been waiting nearby immediately came forward and carried Niu Ben away on a stretcher.

Then Li Yibing looked at Lu Chong and nodded. "Not bad. I admit I underestimated you."

"How about taking a break before we continue?"

Lu Chong nodded, took out a Nutrition Bar, and bit into it. Then he said, "Let's keep going. I'm fine."

Li Yibing looked at Lu Chong again, wondering why the kid seemed so impatient.

Lu Chong, meanwhile, thought, It's not that I'm impatient. If I don't hurry up, I'll break through to Martial Artist.

Forget ten days. By Lu Chong's calculations, he could break through to Martial Artist in another four or five days.

So before that, he had to fulfill his promise to fight his way through the Special Warfare Class. Only then could he get his Martial Skill reward.

"Squad leader, I'll go."

A lean-looking soldier stepped forward and volunteered.

"Way to go, Old Zhu!" The soldiers around them cheered again.

Li Yibing warned him, "Zhu Changfeng, don't get careless. If you lose, you'll join Niu Ben for extra training."

An expert could tell at a glance whether someone knew what they were doing.

After the last fight, Li Yibing wouldn't underestimate Lu Chong again.

Zhu Changfeng answered seriously, then leaped into the arena and cupped his fists toward Lu Chong. "Zhu Changfeng. Please instruct me."

"Lu Chong. Likewise." Lu Chong returned the salute.

Before Lu Chong could say anything more, Zhu Changfeng charged at him. This time, however, he used a Martial Skill Lu Chong knew well.

The middle-grade Seven-Step Killing Fist—and he had clearly reached Great Accomplishment.

Lu Chong didn't wait in place. He pushed off and charged forward as well, using the Seven-Step Killing Fist he had only recently begun practicing.

Bang!

Their fists collided, then immediately separated.

The two followed up with rapid, advancing punches almost simultaneously, each blow carrying more force than the first.

Their second punches met head-on as well, and neither gained the upper hand.

But by the third and fourth punches, Lu Chong was moving faster than Zhu Changfeng, his transitions smoother and more fluid.

By the time the fourth punch landed, Zhu Changfeng's Seven-Step Killing Fist had been completely thrown off rhythm, leaving him unable to continue.

The essence of the Seven-Step Killing Fist lay in its fluidity and accumulating force. Once it was forcibly interrupted midway, its power dropped sharply—so much so that it could even be weaker than a low-grade Martial Skill.

Lu Chong's fifth punch came right on cue, carrying three times the force of his first.

At the Martial Disciple level, almost no one could withstand such a blow.

At the critical moment, the soldier changed his stance, turning offense into defense. As he retreated step by step, he alternated his hands to deflect the force, making brief contact again and again to disperse Lu Chong's punches.

The soldiers around them immediately cheered at the sight.

It was a purely defensive Martial Skill. Lu Chong had never practiced it, but he could tell it was at least middle-grade.

He didn't interrupt his Seven-Step Killing Fist. Instead, as he threw a heavier, faster sixth punch, he used another Martial Skill—Gale Step—to boost his speed.

The speed of Gale Step combined with the force of the sixth punch finally made the soldier's expression change. He had nowhere left to dodge and could no longer fully deflect the blow with his Martial Skill.

Bang!

Lu Chong's sixth punch slammed into Zhu Changfeng's chest, sending him flying five or six meters and making him cough up a mist of blood.

The soldier tried to get back up and counterattack, but Lu Chong followed close behind and brought his hand down like a blade, stopping an inch from his throat.

"I yield."

Lu Chong didn't knock the soldier unconscious. Given the situation, there was no need to hit him any harder.

Zhu Changfeng was about to argue, but Li Yibing promptly called a halt. "Come back. On a battlefield, you'd already be dead."

"Next." Lu Chong lowered his hands and stood without taking a break, his gaze sweeping over the remaining soldiers.

"I'll go."

"Me!"

The soldiers knew no fear. Every one of them was eager to take on Lu Chong.

But Li Yibing had already seen that Lu Chong had also mastered the Microscopic level of the Seven-Step Killing Fist and Gale Step. He knew this student was truly a force to be reckoned with.

Most importantly, Lu Chong's combat experience was improving rapidly. He was already adapting smoothly to changing situations and combining Martial Skills with ease.

Exceptional comprehension, sharp combat instincts, rapid improvement, and decisive moves. If only he were one of my soldiers.

He realized that no one in his Special Warfare Class could likely defeat this high school senior alone.

No wonder the kid had challenged the entire Special Warfare Class. He really did have that kind of potential.

Next, the remaining eight soldiers from the Special Warfare Class took turns fighting Lu Chong one-on-one.

Their fighting styles varied widely. Some were fierce and aggressive, some balanced strength with flexibility, some specialized in speed, and others in defense. But every one of them fought without fear of death.

Even so, Lu Chong's cultivation foundation and Martial Skill fundamentals were simply too strong, and he kept adapting to the soldiers' fighting rhythms.

In the end, not one of them lasted ten moves against him.

In fact, as the fights went on, Lu Chong won with increasing ease.

The soldiers hadn't managed to figure out Lu Chong's capabilities. Instead, Lu Chong, with his solid foundation, had seen through them completely.

In less than two hours, half of the ten Martial Apprentice Stage 9 soldiers in the Special Warfare Class had been sent to the Military Infirmary by Lu Chong.

The soldiers from the other classes didn't glare at Lu Chong for it. Instead, they praised him freely and cheered again and again.

Li Yibing's expression was actually better than it had been at the start.

As long as Lu Chong wasn't all talk and empty posturing, Li Yibing was willing to give him the respect he deserved.

"Lu Chong, let's continue tomorrow, after they've recovered."

"For now, you can spar with the soldiers from the other classes and give them some pointers on their Martial Skills," Li Yibing said sincerely as he came over to Lu Chong.

Although they had an agreement, Li Yibing didn't want to waste time waiting that long. He realized that the platoon leader hadn't sent him a troublemaker, but a rare talent who could train the soldiers efficiently.

"Yes. I'll do everything I can."

Lu Chong had a very good impression of the soldiers. Even without their agreement, he would have been happy to do what little he could for these admirable men.

Of course, he still wouldn't give up the high-grade Martial Skill he needed.

The Military Infirmary was busier than usual that day.

The students participating in special training were lying in their beds when they saw one bruised soldier after another being carried in. They looked hardly any better off than the students themselves.

"Big brother, what happened? Did fighting break out outside the Fortress?" one student asked the soldier beside him, both of them fellow sufferers.

The young soldier chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. "There's a student named Lu in your year. That guy's incredible. He beat every one of us old soldiers."

The students were stunned. Only then did it suddenly dawn on them what Lu Chong—the student who had gone missing during training—had been doing.