Applause rustled like a gale sweeping through leaves.
Mu Bingge walked onto the stage.
Morkov extended a hand. "Let's hear from Instructor Mu."
Another wave of applause.
Mu Bingge's lips moved slightly. "Nothing much to say. Get stronger. Let's work toward that together."
The air fell silent for a moment. The soldiers of the Steel Corps looked at one another, then burst into thunderous applause.
"Cool! Way better than Morkov's long-winded speeches!"
"That's what I'm talking about. Let's train together."
"Come on, let's fight! I've wanted to challenge the legendary Hold Up the Heavens for ages."
The corner of Morkov's mouth twitched. What do you mean, my long-winded speeches? Asking for a beating, are you?
And so, Mu Bingge's own training continued.
At the Present World Allied Army's front lines.
At the edge of a jutting cliff, a man in military uniform sat on the highest rock, browsing his Terminal in the steady wind, occasionally slapping his thigh and laughing.
"Not bad, not bad. Everyone's doing pretty well."
"Special guest instructor for the Steel Corps, honorary professor at Viksu Academy, Honorary Knight of the New Roman Court Knights, honorary lecturer at Orbis Academy, and... special guest of the Emperor of New Rome. Whoa, those sound pretty good."
Lou Guanshan kept scrolling. "Let's see how my unlucky brother Kou Ying is doing.
"Whoa... the creator of Nini Home, special-grade researcher at the Great Xia Research Institute Center, a rising star of the Present World with countless technological patents? Quite a few secret identities have come out."
He rubbed his chin. Happy as he was for his teammates, he couldn't help wondering.
*How come I never noticed how amazing they were when we were together? Everyone seemed about the same. We've only been apart a little while, and they've already become so