Start with a red name

As Zhang Shan moved forward with the group, he tried his best to reassure his new companions, attempting to establish the deepest bond with them in the shortest amount of time.

More than a month has passed since the first life-or-death battle, when they took their first bite out of the "Watergate Army".

From that time onward, he participated in every battle the "Black Wind Army" experienced.

For him, these battles that teetered on the brink of life and death were the ultimate trials. His talent, which had been buried for two or three decades, became increasingly dazzling under such life-and-death tempering, giving him a sense of ease and control on the perilous battlefield.

In every battle, he not only survives to the end, but also performs remarkably well.

This allowed him to receive far more blessings than average during each post-war blessing ceremony.

Of course, he gradually realized that this was also due to the military leader's special favor towards him.

Not only did he realize this, but his companions around him also realized it.

Although the "Black Wind Army" is full of vitality and everything is thriving.

But those who grow as rapidly as him are extremely rare.

In just one month, he has made a leap from the Skin Refining level to the Bone Refining level, and is now firmly in the Marrow Refining level.

This is a "fast track to advancement" that only a very few early "veterans" and a few people who are particularly favored by the military leaders can enjoy.

After this complete reorganization, Zhang Shan was assigned another Xuanyou horse.

All the emotions in my heart transformed into determination the moment I grasped the reins.

"My first priority is to master horsemanship!"

The team's overall speed of movement was not considered fast for Zhang Shan, whose cultivation level was already close to the Marrow Refining stage.

He was not riding on the Xuanyou horse.

Because he never treated it as a mount, but simply as a means of transportation.

He regarded it as his closest and most loyal partner, someone with whom he would share life and death, and he would not ride on its back unless absolutely necessary.

For example, right now, he is holding the reins, following his new companion on the journey.

At first, the Xuan You horse beside him seemed somewhat surprised by his strange behavior.

As time went by, Zhang Shan could clearly feel that his "partners" were becoming more and more friendly towards him, as if they had gradually adapted to and accepted his presence.

This discovery delighted Zhang Shan.

Just then, someone riding a dark steed sped past, shouting orders:
"The commander has ordered us to rest in place for one hour before setting off again."

"Eat, drink, feed the horses... hurry up."

As the order was issued, the marching column gradually came to a halt.

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

Based on his experience, Zhang Shan silently made a mental estimate.

"It must be at least 260 or 270 miles away from Xuanqing Sea, if not 300 miles."

Thinking this to himself, he took off the water pouch from his waist. He was about to take a sip himself when he saw the servant next to him staring at him with wide eyes.

He immediately realized what was happening, quickly brought the water pouch to the mouth of the Xuanyou horse, and said softly, "Come on, drink some water."

The horse's tongue curled up, instantly pulling the entire sac-like mouth into its mouth.

Soon, the bulging water sac deflated rapidly.

This is far from enough for the Xuan You Horse.

Zhang Shan then remembered the instructions given to him by the Xuan You Horse Supply Battalion not long ago, and quickly led his new companions to a large cart parked nearby.

After providing enough clean water and some refined grains mixed with Xuan You Dan, and "serving" the "ancestor" until he was full, he finally had time to take care of himself.

Just then, the sound of hooves came from beside him. It was the man who had just announced the military order, who had stopped beside him on his Xuanyou horse.

Zhang Shan, who was casually sitting on the ground drinking water, paused for a moment before quickly standing up.

He was familiar with this man, whose name was Lu Dan, but he often referred to himself as "Lu Dan" (meaning "hard-boiled egg"), a name supposedly bestowed upon him by the military commander.

These are true veterans.

Before receiving the Emperor's blessing, his cultivation level was much lower than it is now.

But now, he is a super boss who has reached the pinnacle of the first realm.

In terms of both strength and status, he could easily be ranked among the top fifty in the current "Black Wind Army".

Riding on horseback, Lu Dan looked down at Zhang Shan for a while, seemingly trying to figure out what this guy was all about.

After a while, the egg-shaped piece of meat, still unable to figure it out, finally asked, "Zhang Shan, right?"

"Yes," Zhang Shan replied loudly.

But the braised egg complained:

"You little rascal, you really made me search all over the place... Why didn't you ride the horse I gave you?"

Zhang Shan immediately explained his theory.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Dan smacked his lips and couldn't help but look down at his mount, inexplicably feeling deeply guilty.

Then he realized that he seemed to have been led astray by this guy.

He quickly shook his head and said to Zhang Shan:

"Come with me quickly, the military commander wants to see you."

"what?!"

Zhang Shan stared in shock, wanting to ask something more, but Lu Dan didn't say anything more and had already spurred his horse away into the distance.

Zhang Shan had no choice but to follow quickly.

Seeing that the other party wasn't going too fast, and that he could barely keep up with him for a short time, he didn't mount his horse. Instead, he continued to lead his horse and gallop, closely following behind Lu Dan.

Riding on horseback, Egg turned his head and looked around, feeling an increasingly burning sensation under his buttocks. He muttered under his breath, "Are you crazy?!"

Before long, Lu Dan led Zhang Shan to Geng Xuan.

Geng Xuan was also surprised to see Zhang Shan leading his horse over.

After learning the reason, he did not immediately give an evaluation. Instead, he pondered for a while before slowly nodding and saying:

"I think you did a good job... but you can't neglect your equestrian skills."

If you can't even ride it skillfully when needed, then it's useless to treat it as a brother, or even as an ancestor.

Zhang Shan quickly bowed and agreed, but in his heart he thought, "This is already my ancestor."

Geng Xuan glanced at him, then told him to mount the horse and stand with the others.

Zhang Shan then realized that the riders beside him, like him, had just been recruited from various parts of the army.

These people were all carefully selected by Geng Xuan.

Two Blood Refining Realm cultivators.

One is a newbie, the other a seasoned veteran.

There were also two people at the Bone Refining Realm.

Both are beginners, while the other is only one step away from refining the marrow—that is, Zhang Shan.

Following the same criteria, there are also two students in the early stage of Marrow Refinement, two students in the middle stage of Marrow Refinement, and two students in the late stage of Marrow Refinement.

After all ten people had gathered and lined up in front of Geng Xuan, Geng Xuan instructed them, "Please reflect on this carefully."

As he spoke, he waved his hand. Gentle breezes, formed from his strength, "blown" out from his palm.

It was accurately blown into the vests of ten people on horseback, silently dissipating into their bodies.

Despite the force spreading and penetrating, it did not cause any negative impact on the ten people.

They all felt a chill on their backs, and then this "coolness" seeped into their bodies, as if it had a mind of its own, or as if it had a "navigation system," seemingly random but actually precise, constantly moving around in their bodies.

As the force spread, a strange sensation spread throughout the body, as if a school of fish were swimming inside.

This force descends to the feet, passes through the body, and extends to the arms.

As this force flowed through him, Zhang Shan experienced many inexplicable and profound insights.

The most direct feeling is that I feel like I've formed a closer bond with the remaining partners.

When he calmed down, he could even feel the breathing of the Xuan You horse he was riding, the flow of blood in its body, the movement of its internal organs, and the rhythm of its muscles...

Completely obeying orders and immersed in his own enlightenment, Zhang Shan did not see that after Geng Xuan channeled appropriate force to guide the group, he led Liu Mu, Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang, and others to place complete and fine armor sets at a distance.

A total of twenty-five suits of armor.

They are divided into five categories based on their quality.

The lowest quality, and also the most numerous type among the Xuan You Iron Cavalry, can ignore the vast majority of attacks below the Blood Refining Realm.

Even for those at the Blood Refining Realm, without exceptionally powerful methods and the right approach, breaking through such armor would be quite difficult.

The higher the level, the higher the quality, the fewer the quantity, and the greater the difficulty in breaking through the defenses.

The highest quality ones require a great deal of effort to break through the defenses of even those at the peak of the Marrow Refining stage.

For the vast majority of cultivators in this world, such a set of armor is the ultimate prize, a legendary treasure.

These are items that only the highest-ranking cavalry generals under Dong Guan are entitled to be equipped with.

But now, Geng Xuan has prepared five sets of these five types of armor, from low to high.

The most recent set was placed a hundred paces away from Zhang Shan and the others.

Similarly, five suits of armor were placed at each of the following distances: two hundred paces away, three hundred paces away, four hundred paces away, and five hundred paces away.

Secured with simple wooden stakes, both the vests and the armor were fully stretched out, making them indistinguishable from real riders from a distance.

This was a test that could be described as extravagant, but it was done in order to dispel the doubts of Liu Mu, Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang, and others.

At the same time, in order to put the 36,000 cavalry at ease, Geng Xuan decided to splurge a little.

Anyway, there's no shortage of people in the military who know how to repair armor.

If it is damaged, it can be repaired in time.

After Liu Mu and the others had finished making the arrangements, Geng Xuan looked at Zhang Shan and the others and asked:

"So, have you gained any insights?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shan and the other ten nodded in agreement.

At this moment, the guiding force had already dissipated from their bodies.

However, they stated that they had already grasped some of the true meaning.

These ten people were all personally selected by Geng Xuan. Like Zhang Shan, they all caught his eye and gained his favor.

Aside from their unquestionable loyalty, their own talents are also top-notch.

In the path of cultivation, everyone possesses their own unique skills and talents.

This is also why Geng Xuan singled them out this time.

He has decided to pass on the "horse-riding throwing technique" and abolish the "iron cavalry heavy armor" to "light cavalry speed and long-range throwing".

In order to prove to Liu Mu and others that this military reform was not a joke and that it was actually feasible, it was necessary to demonstrate the power of the "horse-riding throwing technique".

However, if you only use luck to raise the verifier to the beginner level, they can only initially grasp the power and throwing skills of this throwing technique. This will not have a significant impact on the power, but the accuracy will be far from perfect.

If a cultivator lacks any ranged attack skills, their accuracy is practically zero.

When this method was fully implemented, it had no impact. As long as the fire was concentrated in a certain general direction, whether or not the target was aimed before throwing it had little effect.

But if the experiment were to proceed in the same way, Liu Mu and the others, who were already not fond of his suggestion, would be completely disheartened.

Therefore, Geng Xuan decided to give each participant in the experiment 252 points of good fortune as special support, directly and instantly teaching them the "Horse-riding Throwing Technique" to the perfect level.

Although this forced maturation prevented them from fully utilizing their perfected throwing skills, even completing only 10% was enough for them to successfully aim and lock onto their target, thus completing the verification.

About 15 minutes later, Liu Mu, Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang and the others, having finished arranging everything, returned to Geng Xuan's side.

Geng Xuan, on the other hand, had just finished doing everything he needed to do.

He then nodded slightly to everyone.

Zhang Shan and the others then bowed respectfully to Geng Xuan and immediately rode away.

Even Zhang Shan, who was originally extremely unfamiliar with horsemanship, now seemed to have merged with his Xuanyou horse, becoming a peculiar creature with the lower half of his body as a horse and the upper half as a human.

Neither the people nor the horses were equipped with any defensive gear.

Even the weapons they carried were very limited.

Twenty-five javelins and one longsword—that was all the weapons and equipment each person possessed.

Zhang Shan and the others, who were riding away, sped up together.

The Xuanyou horse, which had been trotting slowly, suddenly increased its speed.

Soon, the speed of the ten Xuan You horses reached its limit. Looking around, due to the visual delay, the rapidly running Xuan You horses seemed to have been stretched out.

Just as the Xuan You horse reached its maximum speed, the ten riders who had gone far away completed their circular dash and returned to Geng Xuan and the others.

"shoot!"

Among the ten riders, the senior late-stage Marrow Refinement expert gave an order, and all ten simultaneously swung their right arms like a full moon.

"Whoosh whoosh—"

Ten javelins swept across the void a hundred paces away at an astonishing speed, imperceptible to the naked eye.

Liu Mu and the others, who were paying close attention, only saw a flash of dark light before the worst-quality armor flew out a hundred paces away.

Both the man in the vest and the person in the vest were easily pierced by five streaks of dark light.

Only when the wooden stakes supporting the armor inside turned into dust and scattered in all directions did a loud "boom" reach everyone's ears.

Zhang Shan and the others had already run far away once again.

This experiment concerning military reform has only just begun.

Soon, after another round of acceleration, Zhang Shan and his ten riders arrived at Geng Xuan's side once again, their speed once more reaching its maximum.

"Uuuuuu——"

The javelin swept rapidly through the air, tearing through the air and emitting a soft, rapid whooshing sound.

soon.

"boom--"

A hundred paces away, another suit of armor was completely pierced, with wood chips flying everywhere inside.

If the inside were a body of flesh and blood, one can easily imagine that it would have turned into a blood sac and sprayed everywhere.

Soon.

Five suits of armor a hundred paces away were all met with a barrage of javelins thrown by the ten riders. (End of Chapter)