Ninth Demon Suppression Army, cook camp.
When Ding Chen and the other seven arrived, the assigned cook soldiers had yet to arrive.
Chen Xian and the others first settled Cao Fang and Zhao Yu down, then began sorting out their own belongings.
Before nightfall, Second Lieutenant Lu arrived with ninety-two men. In addition, there were a hundred warhorses, a hundred sets of armor, and a Demon-Slaying Spear for each man.
When Chen Xian and the other five saw the ninety-two men and the warhorses, they could not help freezing where they stood.
The oldest among the ninety-two men was already over forty, while the youngest was in his twenties. That was not the issue—the main thing was that all ninety-two of them were injured.
Some were so badly injured that they could barely walk.
How the hell were they supposed to go to the battlefield and fight demons?
"Second Lieutenant Ding, from today onward, they are all your soldiers. You'd better lead them well!" Second Lieutenant Lu sneered, then pulled a book from his person. "Demon-Slaying Spear Technique. You have half a month. Practice hard!"
Having said that, Second Lieutenant Lu tossed the Demon-Slaying Spear Technique onto the ground, raised his chin, and turned to leave.
"Damn it!"
Wang Yan clenched his fists and turned to Ding Chen. "Brother Ding, every one of them is injured. How are we supposed to train them? How are we supposed to fight demons?"
Ding Chen took a deep breath and comforted him, "It's fine. At least they've all been on the battlefield and fought demons before. Surviving is a skill in itself!"
At that moment, everyone stepped forward. "Greetings, Second Lieutenant Ding!"
Ding Chen waved a hand. He turned to glance at Chen Xian, Wang Yan, and the others before suddenly ordering, "Chen Xian, Wang Yan, Qin Fei, heed my command!"
The three immediately stepped forward and bowed.
They could fool around together in ordinary times, but when it was time to be serious, they still had to be serious.
With his hands behind his back, Ding Chen said, "I now promote the three of you to Chief Medic. Each of you will command thirty men."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, Brother Ding!"
Their forms of address were somewhat muddled, but in the end, they all uniformly called him sir.
Ding Chen then began assigning personnel. Each squad had thirty-two men, while each Minor Cook Leader commanded fifteen men.
The two Minor Cook Leaders under Chen Xian were Cao Fang and Xue Qishan.
Luo Ying and Zhao Yu were assigned under Wang Yan and Qin Fei respectively, and two more Minor Cook Leaders were promoted.
Once the personnel had been arranged, Ding Chen only directly oversaw Chen Xian, Wang Yan, and Qin Fei.
Chen Xian and the other two, in turn, managed the two Minor Cook Leaders beneath them, letting the Minor Cook Leaders manage their own soldiers.
Chen Xian watched in secret and felt that Ding Chen had some skill in management. His mentality was good as well; even when faced with nothing but crippled soldiers, his resolve did not diminish.
After dinner.
The matter of there being a cook army in the military gradually spread throughout the camp.
The Grand General of the Ninth Demon Suppression Army naturally heard the news, but he kept one eye open and one eye shut, pretending not to know anything.
Before the cook camp, Ding Chen organized the cook soldiers who could still move and began practicing the Demon-Slaying Spear Technique.
In truth, they had all practiced it before and were very familiar with the Demon-Slaying Spear Technique.
But Chen Xian and the other four had never practiced it.
Chen Xian wore a dark crimson coarse-cloth cook's uniform, with dark red armor over it. Holding a black spear, he tested its weight and discovered that the armor, helmet, bracers, knee guards, and spear weighed roughly two hundred kilograms.
He could not help glancing at the skinny old horse nearby. Could that warhorse really carry them as they galloped across the battlefield?
"So heavy?"
Xue Qishan, whose eyes were narrow and long, tested the black spear. The Demon-Slaying Spear weighed over a hundred kilograms, and he had no idea what material it had been forged from.
Wang Yan, Qin Fei, and Luo Ying also found the spear extremely heavy, but the heavier it was, the stronger its killing power.
That night, everyone practiced the Demon-Slaying Spear Technique before the camp.
Demon Slayer Soldiers used two types of weapons: one was a straight saber, and the other was a long spear.
The long spear was for the main attack, while the straight saber served as support.
Everyone entering the reserve camp had to practice the Demon-Slaying Spear Technique. For someone in the Blood Moving Realm, one month was enough to practice it to the Minor Accomplishment level.
After completing a set of spear techniques, a panel appeared before Chen Xian's eyes. Martial Art: Demon-Slaying Spear Technique (Not Initiated).
"Upgrade!"
He gave a soft shout in his heart.
After five months of diligent training, your Demon-Slaying Spear Technique has been initiated. After ten months of day-and-night training, your Demon-Slaying Spear Technique has reached Minor Accomplishment. After twenty months of diligent training, your Demon-Slaying Spear Technique has reached Great Accomplishment. Experience: 1306 points
In only a moment, Chen Xian raised the Demon-Slaying Spear Technique to the Great Accomplishment Realm.
Light and shadows flickered endlessly in his mind. A figure practiced spear techniques through spring, summer, autumn, and winter within his mind, its spear techniques becoming increasingly fierce and tyrannical. In the end, the light and shadow imprinted itself upon the walls of his mind and completely merged with Chen Xian.
He held a black spear and continued practicing slowly alongside everyone else, but the transitions between every move were incomparably smooth.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed.
Chen Xian refined all three hundred and sixty acupoints throughout his body. The force of his fleshly body reached the strength of eight tripods. With the black spear in hand, it moved as easily as an arm or finger, and when the spear shot forth, it was like a dragon emerging from the sea.
Ding Chen and the others were left utterly astonished.
The other soldiers were also full of shock.
Of course, Ding Chen and the others knew Chen Xian's strength. He had originally been stronger than all of them, so naturally, he practiced the spear faster than they did.
Within those five days, Cao Fang and Zhao Yu woke up early. Their injuries had also recovered considerably, and they followed everyone in practicing the spear.
The crippled soldiers also gradually recovered for the most part. Though some still limped slightly, or could not exert much force with their arms, they still practiced the spear alongside the others, hoping to recover sooner.
Experience: 798 points.
Chen Xian glanced at the Experience Points on the panel and raised the Demon-Slaying Spear Technique to the Perfection Realm again.
788 Experience Points remained.
That afternoon, he found Ding Chen and asked about cultivation techniques for the Surging Origin Realm.
Ding Chen said, "Xianzi, have you reached Blood Moving Perfection?"
Chen Xian nodded.
Ding Chen said, "After Blood Moving Perfection comes refining all three hundred and sixty acupoints throughout the body. What you need is a Breathing Technique; a cultivation method is useless. I'll go ask Lieutenant Liao right away."
Chen Xian's eyes flickered. Ding Chen truly did know, but unfortunately, he had asked a little too late.
"Brother Ding, Lieutenant Liao has it out for us. If you keep going to him to apply for things, he'll definitely get annoyed. If we can apply for the Surging Origin Realm cultivation method all at once, then don't go to him twice."
Hearing that, Ding Chen nodded. "You have a point. I'll give it a try."
After agreeing to Chen Xian's request, Ding Chen went to find Liao Zipeng.
At dusk.
Chen Xian saw Ding Chen return with a face as dark as charcoal, and he could not help sighing inwardly.
If he had obtained it, Ding Chen definitely would not be wearing that expression.
"Xianzi!"
Ding Chen walked over to Chen Xian, shook his head slightly, and said in a low voice, "They said we only just applied for the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique, so we can only apply for a Surging Origin Realm cultivation method after three months."
Just as expected!
He still had to rely on himself.
Chen Xian smiled. "Brother Ding, it's fine."
That night, Chen Xian sat cross-legged on the communal bunk and began deducing the Ox Demon Breathing Technique.
He could not wait three months.
There were still 788 Experience Points on the panel, more than enough to deduce a Surging Origin Realm cultivation method.
If he raised his strength, not only would he have the power to protect himself after reaching the battlefield, but killing demons would also earn him more Experience Points.
After twelve months of day-and-night deduction, you developed seventeen cultivation methods and injured your internal organs seventeen times.
Looking at the panel prompt, Chen Xian froze. Immediately after, a three-dimensional translucent human figure appeared in his mind, with streams of light flickering across its body.
Each time it flickered, his five viscera and six bowels ached once, as though being twisted by knives.
Chen Xian was instantly dumbfounded!
Could failed deductions of martial arts cultivation methods bring negative pain as well?
Only after a long while did the twisting pain in his body finally fade. A layer of cold sweat covered Chen Xian's forehead.
"Continue!" Chen Xian gritted his teeth.
After twenty-four months of day-and-night study, you developed thirty-nine cultivation methods. Not a single one succeeded, and you injured your internal organs and limbs thirty-nine times.
"...!!"
Before you continue