Rebirth in the Dragon Kingdom: The Strongest Blade

Deep within the National Defense University, in front of a small courtyard with blue bricks and gray tiles, an old locust tree with lush branches and leaves casts a large area of ​​shade.

Lin Zhe stood in front of the courtyard gate and gently knocked on the door knocker.

"Come in, the door's unlocked," came a voice from inside, old but strong.

Pushing open the door, I saw an elderly man with white hair sitting at a stone table in the courtyard, brewing tea. He was wearing a simple white shirt, his face was thin, but his eyes were clear and sharp, making him look nothing like someone nearing ninety.

"Master." Lin Zhe bowed respectfully.

Chen Qingshan looked up at the young man in military uniform before him, a pleased smile flashing in his eyes: "You've arrived? Have a seat."

Lin Zhe sat down opposite him at the stone table. Chen Qingshan poured him a cup of tea, its aroma wafting through the air.

"Six years." Chen Qingshan looked Lin Zhe up and down. "The last time I saw you, you were just a greenhorn in school. Now... you're a senior colonel."

"It's because my master taught me well," Lin Zhe said.

"Don't give me that." Chen Qingshan waved his hand. "The Hunyuan ability can strengthen your body and give you an extra chance to survive on the battlefield, but it won't give you medals. The stars on your shoulders and the medals on your chest are all earned by risking your life."

He paused, looking into Lin Zhe's eyes: "In the battle on the southwestern border, those four masked men in the news... were you one of them?"

Lin Zhe remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Chen Qingshan sighed, a mixture of pride and worry in his voice: "Good, good. You truly are my disciple. But Lin Zhe, remember this: no matter how skilled you are, you can't escape a hidden attack. The battlefield is ruthless; be careful."

"Disciple understands."

"Is this trip back to Beijing to form a new unit?"

"Yes. It is the Central Military Commission's order to establish a highly educated and technologically advanced special operations force."

Chen Qingshan nodded: "That's a good thing. Our army has developed rapidly in recent years, and our equipment has improved, but the quality of our personnel must also keep up. Especially in special operations, courage alone is not enough; we also need strategy and skills."

He picked up his teacup and took a slow sip: "You've come to select people this time. These kids from the National Defense University are promising talents, but they're also delicate. In training, you need to be mindful of your methods. You can't use brute force to suppress highly intelligent people; you have to make them submit willingly."

"Master's guidance is correct." Lin Zhe listened attentively.

"I don't have much to advise you on," Chen Qingshan laughed. "Your achievements now surpass mine back then. Go for it! The country needs young people like you. Just come visit this old man when you have time."

The two chatted for a while longer, mostly Chen Qingshan asking questions and Lin Zhe answering—about the progress of Hunyuan Gong, their experiences on the battlefield, and their plans for the future. The old man listened attentively, nodding from time to time.

Before leaving, Chen Qingshan saw Lin Zhe to the gate of the courtyard, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Go on, do what you should do. How many more years can this old man live? I'll be at peace as long as I can see you young people build a better country and strengthen the army."

"Take care, Master."

Lin Zhe bowed deeply and turned to leave.

As Lin Zhe walked out of the old professors' quarters, the gentleness on his face gradually faded, replaced by his usual calm and sharp expression. He glanced at the time; it was three in the afternoon, time to return to the military region.

The next morning, on the west side of the Jinghua Military Region, a special operations training ground under renovation.

This place was originally an armored troops training ground, abandoned for many years and overgrown with weeds. But now, in just a few days, it has taken shape – an obstacle course has been built, a climbing wall has been erected, a demolition training area has been marked out, and there is even a newly built fully enclosed simulation training room.

At the edge of the training ground, several military trucks were neatly parked, covered with tarpaulins. Nearby were several armored vehicles, and even… a tank and two armed helicopters.

Gao Cheng, along with several members of the Canglang team, was making final preparations. Looking at the tank and helicopter, he couldn't help but ask the technician beside him who was adjusting the equipment, "These...can they really run?"

The technician looked up and smiled: "Captain Gao, Colonel Lin personally debugged it. He said he wanted to show the new recruits today."

"Opened eyes?" Gao Cheng muttered, "These eyes are opened way too wide..."

As they were talking, footsteps sounded in the distance. Eighty cadets selected from the National Defense University and the recruit training company, led by several of Gao Cheng's men, marched in formation into the training ground.

When they saw the equipment on the training field, an uncontrollable gasp rang out from the team.

"Tanks! Real tanks!"

"Armed helicopters! My God..."

"What are those? Electronic warfare equipment?"

"This training ground...it's amazing!"

These students, especially the top students from the National Defense University, had seen pictures, videos, and even 3D models of this equipment in class. But the real thing, with its metallic texture and mechanical power, was something that no picture or video could replace.

Their eyes lit up, as if they had seen their most beloved toy.

Lin Zhe walked over from the other end of the training field. He wasn't wearing his regular uniform today; he was wearing a black special operations uniform without any rank insignia, but his aura was more convincing than any shoulder insignia.

"Attention!" Takashiro shouted.

"Whoosh—" One hundred people instantly stood up straight.

Lin Zhe walked to the front of the line, his gaze sweeping over the young faces. He could see the excitement, curiosity, and even the eagerness in their eyes.

"No training today," Lin Zhe said calmly. "Today, I'll show you what kind of army I'm building; and I'll show you what kind of people you're going to become."

He turned and walked towards the row of firearms in the center of the training field. Dozens of guns were neatly arranged on the table—pistols, rifles, sniper rifles, submachine guns, both domestically produced and imported, a dazzling array.

Lin Zhe casually picked up a pistol, checked the magazine, and loaded it. Then, he took a black cloth from his pocket and blindfolded himself.

The trainees were stunned. Blindfolded? What were they going to do?

Lin Zhe moved his hands quickly, and in less than ten seconds, the pistol was completely disassembled into a pile of parts, neatly arranged on the table. Then, in less than ten seconds, the parts were reassembled, and the pistol was restored to its original state.

Throughout the entire process, his eyes were covered, but his movements were without the slightest hesitation, as if his hands had eyes.

"Report!" a cadet in the group couldn't help but shout, "Sir, what's going on...?"

"Gun feel." Lin Zhe removed the black cloth and said calmly, "When you are so familiar with a gun that it's ingrained in your bones, you can disassemble, assemble, and fire it even with your eyes closed."

He picked up the pistol again, turned around, and without even looking at the target in the distance, fired three shots.

"Bang bang bang!"

The target display reads: 10 rings, 10 rings, 10 rings.

The trainees gasped. This wasn't just good marksmanship; it was like magic.

Lin Zhe put down his pistol and picked up a sniper rifle. This time he didn't blindfold himself, but he also didn't use a scope. He simply raised the gun and fired five shots at a moving target 300 meters away.

All hits the bullseye.

"Report!" another trainee shouted, his voice excited. "Sir, this...how is this possible? Shooting a moving target 300 meters away without a scope?"

"Feel it." Lin Zhe put down his gun. "Wind speed, humidity, target movement speed... When you turn these into your body's instincts, you won't need a scope."

He put down his sniper rifle, walked to the tank, opened the hatch, and climbed inside.

The tank engine roared, and this steel behemoth weighing tens of tons began to move. But its movements were nothing like those of a cumbersome tank—it started quickly, stopped abruptly, turned on the spot, and even made a near-drift sideways movement.

Gao Cheng and Cang Lang's team members were dumbfounded. They could drive tanks, but that was just enough to "get them moving." For Lin Zhe to drive a tank like a race car...

The tank stopped, and Lin Zhe jumped out of the cockpit and walked towards the two armed helicopters.

Even Gao Cheng couldn't hold back anymore: "Colonel Lin, you...you can fly a helicopter?"

Lin Zhe didn't answer, and boarded an armed helicopter directly. The rotors began to spin, and the roar of the engine was deafening.

The helicopter took off smoothly and then began its performance over the training ground—hovering, side-flying, inverted flying, rapid climbing, diving, sharp turns… every movement was clean and crisp, completely unlike the flying skills expected of an army officer.

The trainees tilted their heads back, mouths agape. Some even forgot to breathe.

Ten minutes later, the helicopter landed smoothly. Lin Zhe jumped out of the cabin and walked to the front of the group.

There was hardly any sweat on his face, and his breathing was steady, as if those thrilling actions were as simple as taking a walk.

"What I just showed you was only a part of it." Lin Zhe looked at the students who were speechless with shock. "Due to limited space, I could only demonstrate this much. As for electronic warfare, network attack and defense, bomb disposal, multilingualism, intelligence analysis... those couldn't be demonstrated on-site."

He paused, then raised his voice: "But what I want to tell you is this—I don't need to tell you how to become the strongest soldier with words. I also don't expect you to reach the level I just demonstrated. Because that takes time, talent, and even more so... death-defying training."

The training ground was so quiet you could hear the wind.

"I'm doing all this for one purpose," Lin Zhe said, his gaze sweeping across the young faces. "To let you see with your own eyes the heights you might reach in the future. To give you a goal in your hearts, a goal you can strive for."

He walked to the middle of the group and said, "You are all highly educated talents, the treasures of the country. Sending you to be special forces is not a waste, but rather using the sharpest steel on the most critical blade."

"Modern warfare is no longer about numbers. If a person has enough knowledge and skills, if he can learn all the skills I just demonstrated, or even just half of them, his value on the battlefield is equivalent to that of a company or a battalion."

The trainees' eyes began to burn.

"But this path is difficult," Lin Zhe said, changing the subject. "Extremely difficult. So difficult that you might break down, you might want to give up, you might get injured, or even... you might die."

He looked around at everyone: "So today, I'm not training. Go back and think it over. Think about three questions: First, are you suited to stay here? Second, are you confident enough to accept this kind of training? Third, can you bear the potential consequences?"

"I'm giving you a choice. Those who want to stay are welcome; those who want to go back will be welcomed, and I guarantee you'll be well-assigned. But—"

Lin Zhe's voice suddenly turned stern: "If you choose to stay, starting tomorrow, you will have no freedom. You will undergo the most rigorous training, endure the greatest hardship, sweat the most, and may even bleed. The training has a death rate; this is not meant to scare you, it is the truth."

"Now, dismissed. Those who still want to come, meet here at six o'clock tomorrow morning. Those who don't come, consider it as your withdrawal."

After saying that, Lin Zhe turned and left, leaving the students dumbfounded.

Gao Cheng watched Lin Zhe's retreating figure, then glanced at the other trainees, and finally understood Lin Zhe's intention—no amount of reasoning would work on these highly intelligent and arrogant young people. Only by demonstrating strength and showing them just how high the mountain was would they develop the desire to climb it.

And that mountain is Lin Zhe himself.

"Did you all hear that?" Gao Cheng said to the trainees. "Go back and think about it carefully. Dismissed!"

The trainees slowly dispersed, walking in twos and threes, but no one spoke. Everyone was processing what they had just seen, and everyone was pondering those three questions.

Gao Cheng walked to the edge of the training ground, looked at the tank and helicopter, and shook his head with a wry smile.

This lesson today will be enough for these kids to remember for a lifetime.

Lin Zhe had already returned to his office and started working on tomorrow's training plan.

He knew that there would be a lot of people coming tomorrow morning.

Because a fire has been ignited in the eyes of these young people.

What he needs to do is to forge this fire into the sharpest blade.