My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 264 Practice Hard

The heavy footsteps of the soldiers echoed throughout the entire drill ground.

Round and round they ran, until Yuan Li couldn’t even remember how many laps they had run. Yuan Li stared wide-eyed at the last soldier among them. Li Xuanba was still following at the back of the group, but he showed no signs of being unable to run. He just kept up with the group, and Yuan Li couldn’t even see the slightest bit of fatigue on his face.

The sky was fully bright, but the soldiers were still running.

Li Xuanba's face finally showed signs of fatigue, but it wasn't just him; the other armored soldiers were also starting to tire, their steps becoming disordered and unsteady, their bodies swaying slightly. Yuan Li was furious and had no choice but to order a halt.

He ordered everyone to eat quickly. After they finished eating, those on duty left, while the rest continued their training.

"Array up!"

"Shields up! Two lines! Collision!"

This time, Yuanli changed his strategy: since you can run so fast, let's let you practice collisions!
This so-called collision is when two people hold shields and ram each other, with the goal of breaking each other apart. This exercise is very demanding on physical strength. Someone like Li Xuanba would not be able to break through those fierce soldiers at all. He probably wouldn't be able to withstand more than a few blows!

As Yuan Li had predicted, Li Xuanba was in a rather sorry state during the exercise. He charged at his colleague with his shield and was knocked away. The two were not evenly matched in weight. He was knocked to the ground, but quickly got up and began a second collision.

Yuan Li did this many times, watching Li Xuanba fall to the ground and get up again and again.

Yuan Li pursed his lips and switched to a new training method.

"Throw!!"

This training focuses on arm strength. It's one of the super training methods of the Imperial Guard. They need to throw their short spears while running. According to historical records, the Thousand Bull Guard stipulated that soldiers must throw short spears more than three times within one minute, and there were also distance requirements.

At Yuan Li's command, the soldiers lined up in formation and began a simulated charge.

They charged forward quickly, and when Yuan Li gave the order again, they all threw their short spears.

The wooden figure in the distance was instantly covered and turned into a hedgehog.

Then they would charge in the opposite direction and throw again, repeating this four or five times.

It sounds simple, but it's not easy to do. Ordinary soldiers in military garrisons simply cannot meet this requirement. Li Xuanba mingled among the crowd, yet he did it very skillfully, never falling behind, running back and forth, constantly throwing out his short spear.

Yuanli's forehead was covered in sweat.

He gritted his teeth and waited until the soldiers finished their drills before giving the order again.

"Throw stones!!"

"Anti-ladder!"

"Horseback throwing!"

"Run with weights! Run with weights!"

After training like this for an unknown period of time, the soldiers in the drill ground were exhausted, and few could continue.

"All right!"

A shout rang out, and Sima Dekan strode over, looking at the exhausted soldiers before him. "Rest now!"

Upon hearing his words, the soldiers sat down one after another, unable to get up. Sima Dekan walked a few steps to Yuan Li and asked, "Yuan Zhizhai, what's going on? Why is the drill going on for so long today?!"

"General, I've noticed that the soldiers have been rather lax lately, hence this."

"Even if we add extra training, we must be careful not to overexert the soldiers. We must not do this again!"

"Here!"

Sima Dekan's gaze swept across the crowd, finally landing on the panting Li Xuanba. Sima Dekan walked over to him with a smile, then squatted down and whispered, "My lord, are you alright?"

"General, I am...I am unharmed."

“Alas, the military training is so arduous. This is what the Sage ordered. The Sage wants us to build a new army, so we have no choice but to train harder. Lord, you have just arrived, so you need to train for many more days before you can become one of the Right Army soldiers.”

"My lord, I think you should..."

"I think Yuanjun's training is really good!"

Li Xuanba was covered in sweat, but his eyes were exceptionally bright. He smiled and said, "I used to practice like this at home, but after practicing with the soldiers today, I realized that what I practiced before was wrong. Take throwing, for example. I've never practiced throwing while running before! And the impact is completely different from what I did at home. The same goes for weightlifting and carrying weights!"

"General, please rest assured! I will train diligently from now on and will never be a burden!"

Sima Dekan's eye twitched. He stood up, cursing inwardly.

You train your dolls like this at home?! Duke Tang, are you even human?! Is this how you usually train your dolls at home?!
Sima Dekan was silent for a moment, then said, "My lord, this isn't something that can be resolved in just a day or two."

"I know! I will try my best!"

Sima Dekan forced a smile again, turned around, and walked towards Yuan Li. Yuan Li was a little nervous. When Sima Dekan reached his side, with his back to the soldiers, he asked in a low voice, "General, how is it?"

"What else could it be? He said that's how he practices at home! Li Zhizhai!"

Yuan Li was furious. "I refuse to believe I can't be killed by this!"

"Bullshit! You want to train him to death? How many heads do you have that a saint could chop off?"

"What should we do then?"

Sima Dekan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Don't you think this lord seems different from those lazy Imperial Guards?"

"Ok?"

"I saw it all clearly just now. These drills are something even ordinary soldiers might not be able to endure, yet this kid completed them without uttering a sound! Perhaps we don't need to worry so much."

"General, that's true, but what if something unexpected happens?"

"Never mind, just keep an eye on things. Let's arrange it like this for now. From now on, let him go on duty with you, and you'll be in charge of him."

"what??"

The soldiers wolfed down their food, muttering curses at Yuan Li as they ate.

Li Xuanba sat among them, not saying a word, just quietly eating his meal.

"What's wrong with Yuan Li today? Damn it, my leg feels like it's going to break!"

"Stop complaining. Look, none of the young masters in our household have complained. What are you complaining about?"

Li Xuanba raised his head, looked at the crowd, and suddenly said, "My armor is light."

Everyone was taken aback and turned to look at Li Xuanba, the one who had just started cursing. He then spoke up, saying, "My lord, please don't take offense. We were just speaking casually."

"Just call me Xuanba. Is today's training an exception? I thought you all did it this way in the past."

“If we train like this every day, we’ll be trained to death. It wasn’t like this before.”

As soon as Li Xuanba spoke, everyone naturally accepted him. Someone said, "I thought the Lord wouldn't like talking to people like us!"

"How could that be? I thought you didn't want to talk to me."

"Hahaha, how dare I, young master, why have you come to the Right Residence? Aren't you all going to the Left Residence?"

“My grandfather was worried that I would be too tired from traveling, so he said that the Right Mansion usually wouldn’t accompany me, and that’s why he sent me to the Right Mansion.”

"I see, young master. Have you been to Eagle Banner Manor before? It seems like this isn't your first time practicing here."

"That's right, when we were throwing, I thought you, young master, had the best accuracy!"

"I'm not the young master, my elder brother is."

"It's alright. Here, you are the young master. From now on, we will all call you young master!"

"You can't just call it that."

"What's so strange about that? That big guy, we call him the Heavenly King. Young master, look at his face, all blue and fanged, doesn't he look like the Heavenly King in the temple?"

"You're the one with the blue face and fangs!"

The soldiers laughed and joked around. Perhaps they recognized Li Xuanba's performance that day, or perhaps they were simply curious about this important figure. Everyone surrounded him with many questions to ask him, which Li Xuanba answered one by one. Then someone introduced the soldiers around him to him, and Li Xuanba greeted them with a salute. Finally, he felt like he was truly on the same side as his comrades.

The training continued the next day, but it was noticeably less intense than the day before.

Li Xuanba had become familiar with these warriors, and it was only at this point that the warriors told him the truth.

When Li Xuanba first arrived, he didn't speak to them. These warriors all thought that Li Xuanba looked down on them because of their humble origins, so they didn't dare to talk to him. It wasn't until the day that Li Xuanba took the initiative to speak that they realized that it wasn't contempt, but simply that this lord didn't like to talk much.

Li Xuanba adapted very quickly; after only a short time, the soldiers here no longer treated him like a child.

(End of this chapter)