After Zhuang Zhengping and Chi Weisi took their leave, Wang Chong opened the silk boxes that they gave him. Initially, he was still nonchalant at the first glance but after identifying what was within, his face warped in astonishment.
“The Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan sure has prepared a big present this time!”
Taking a closer look at the items within the boxes, Wang Chong was silent for a very long moment.
He had thought that the gifts of the two clans at most consist of pills. While it was true that there were pills in the boxes, what that left Wang Chong surprised were the letter within the boxes. The significance of those two letters were tremendous, far greater than the pills.
They were letters of recommendation for the conferment of Wang Chong’s father, Wang Yan, as a Marquess!
The members of the Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan filled the entire royal court. Given that these letters were sent in the name of their clans, their significance was immense.
This was no longer an expression of goodwill from Zhuang Zhengping and Chi Weisi. Rather, the entire Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan were expressing their goodwill via the two of them!
“This gift is indeed heavy!”
After reading through the letters that Wang Chong passed over, Zhao Jingdian said hesitantly.
“Indeed, they sure have gone to great extents. I’ll be accepting their gifts then.”
Chuckling, Wang Chong kept the two silk boxes before proceeding over to the living quarters with Zhao Jingdian.
The living quarters and training grounds were separated in Kunwu Training Camp.
The training grounds for archers, cavalry, footsoldiers, as well as the cultivation chambers were all located on the center mountain peak where the one where the massive flag stood.
And surrounding the training grounds were four equally vast and tall mountain peaks which seemed as though they were embracing the center peak.
These four peaks were where the four main barracks, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, were located.
Flags flew valiantly on the four mountain peaks, and various buildings filled the area. Four gigantic statues of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise on each of the mountain peaks made the various barracks extremely easy to recognize.
“I’m not going! I’ll never go there! Whoever who is willing to live together with that bastard can go by himself! ——”
Even from a distance away from the military barrack, he could already hear an infuriated voice echoing.
Walking over, Wang Chong saw a young man lashing out with a reddened face in front of a house. Beside him, two figures were talking to him, seemingly trying to placate his anger.
Wang Chong didn’t recognize the young man who was lashing out furiously but the two figures trying to persuade him were familiar faces.
“It’s Zhuang Zhengping and Chi Weisi!”
Zhao Jingdian was taken aback.
“Let’s go over and take a look.”
Frowning slightly, Wang Chong proceeded over with Zhao Jingdian.
“Wang gongzi!”
Zhuang Zhengping and Chi Weisi noticed Wang Chong swiftly and after a moment of astonishment, they hurriedly turned around and bowed.
“What’s wrong?”
Wang Chong asked.
“This…”
The two of them stared at one another hesitantly, and eventually, it was Zhuang Zhengping who explained the entire matter.
“Gongzi, actually, the rooms in the White Tiger barrack have been mostly taken up and only two remain. Thus, we have been trying to persuade him to live together with Su Hanshan so that you and your friend can live together. However, this fellow just refuses to agree to it.”
“Bastards! Then why don’t you two go over then? What’s so incredible with that Su Hanshan, acting so coldly to everyone. I simply refuse to share a room with that block of ice. Whoever who wishes to stay with him can feel free to do so. In any case, I refuse to have any part in this!”
That person seemed to be extremely agitated, and without any hesitation, he abruptly flung his sleeves, turned around, and dived into the room behind him.
In that final instant, Wang Chong clearly saw a purple shoeprint on his left cheek, and even the outline of the shoe sole was clearly imprinted on it.
No one would possibly leave a shoeprint on their own face. Wang Chong immediately understood the rough outline of the situation.
“It seems like he has undergone some suffering with Su Hanshan!”
Wang Chong analyzed calmly.
“That… His temper is indeed a little bad. Gongzi, don’t worry, I’ll go and talk to him!”
Chi Weisi said. Not only did he fail to persuade the other party, he was even slapped in his face. This had put him in an awkward position.
“There’s no need for it!”
Wang Chong shook his head. Turning around, he said, “Jingdian, you should live together with him. I’ll go over there.”
“Gongzi, I’ll go over there instead.”
Zhao Jingdian said worriedly. He had personally witnessed the proceedings of Su Hanshan’s test and he knew that the latter’s cultivation and skill were extraordinary. On top of that, from the looks of it, Su Hanshan wasn’t an easy person to get along with.
Zhao Jingdian was worried that Wang Chong might suffer.
“There’s no need for it.”
Wang Chong felt that Zhao Jingdian’s worry was needless. While Su Hanshan’s cold nature made him a difficult person to get along with, the fellow from before, with his fiery temper, wasn’t any better.
Most likely, the fellow from before must had said something that provoked Su Hanshan into action, thus leaving behind a shoeprint on the former’s face.
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing so you need not worry about this.”
Zhuang Zhengping and Chi Weisi were taken aback. As Wang Chong and Zhao Jingdian were obviously close to one another, they had tried their best to put the two of them together. They didn’t expect Wang Chong to reject their goodwill.
For a moment, the duo was at a loss for words.
Wang Chong didn’t say much. After greeting the duo, he walked over to the room not too far away. Regarding Su Hanshan, Wang Chong had his own considerations.
The personality of this future great general was a huge problem so Wang Chong had been thinking how he could change him.
The current circumstances worked in his favor, allowing the two of them to share the same room. This spared Wang Chong the trouble of finding a reason to get close to him.
…
The room was silent. When Wang Chong walked in, there was not a sound to be heard. However, scanning through the room swiftly, he saw a tall and slender figure meditating motionlessly with a cold expression on his face.
That person’s aura felt as cold as the glaciers in the North, seemingly deterring others from approaching him. Under his presence, the entire room felt like it was in the middle of winter.
“Su Hanshan!”
The thought flashed across Wang Chong’s mind.
With just a glance, Wang Chong immediately understood why the previous roommate refused to share a room with Su Hanshan. Su Hanshan’s presence in itself produced an immense pressure in the area.
Unless one had reached the same level of cultivation as him, one would feel uneasy around him.
Furthermore, the cold atmosphere around him was hard to get used to.
“It’s no wonder why no one in the Kunwu Training Camp was able to get along with Su Hanshan!”
Wang Chong thought as he assessed Su Hanshan.
Weng!
Almost as soon as Wang Chong stepped into the room, the cold sculpture-like Su Hanshan seemed to have noticed something and abruptly opened his eyes.
In an instant, the already cold atmosphere seemed to turn even more frigid.
Sou sou sou!
Without any warning, Su Hanshan flicked his wrist and a few pieces of paper abruptly shot out from his sleeves.
Astonishingly, the papers produced the sound similar to a sword as they shot through the air.
“Hm?”
Wang Chong frowned but his reaction wasn’t slow in the least. Stretching out his hands, he grabbed the three papers precisely and glanced at them. There was a line of words on each of the paper.
“You must not cross the boundary line at the center!”
“You must not interrupt me!”
“I hate noise!”
…
Those words were forceful and strong, as though they were carved with knife. The feeling they emanated was also cold and callous.
“This does feel like Su Hanshan’s style!”
Wang Chong shook his head within.
The words were already completely dry, indicating that they weren’t written today. It seemed like Su Hanshan had prepared these notes even before ascending the mountains.
Clearly, social interaction was something he intended to avoid altogether.
Regardless of who entered, they would probably receive these three notes.
Hu!
On the other hand, after seeing that Wang Chong had received the notes, Su Hanshan flung his sleeves, stood up, and without even looking at Wang Chong, he opened the door and walked out.
In the entire process, he didn’t even utter a single word to Wang Chong, clearly displaying his cold and proud disposition.
“It’s easier to change a dynasty than a person’s character. Seems like it’ll be impossible for me to succeed in the short-run.”
Wang Chong shook his head, paying the matter no heed. He took out a few more pieces of paper and began writing.
The relationship between Sun Zhiming and Deng Mingxin had turned hostile so Deng Mingxin would surely try to get even. Thus, Wang Chong had to deal with that matter as soon as possible so as to minimize all possible threats.
After contemplating for a moment, Wang Chong wrote two letters; one to Big Uncle Wang Gen and the other to King Song Li Chengqi.
Then, he had someone send them over.
After settling these matters, Wang Chong heaved a long sigh of relief.
“Next, I’ll have to find some way to bring up my fighting prowess!”
Wang Chong thought.
The Three Great Training Camps was an initiative highly valued by the Sage Emperor, and innumerable talents had been attracted to it. Even a person of young Marchioness Yi’s level was roped in as well.
The matter in the day made Wang Chong realize that his cultivation was far from sufficient to tower above the rest. Putting all aside, Su Hanshan was the best example.
Not to mention, there were probably many hidden gems within the Three Great Training Camps.
And Zhou Jue existence also served as a warning to Wang Chong.
That person was of equivalent standing to Second Brother Wang Bei. If second brother was still around, Wang Chong need not have to worry much. However, it’s a pity that second brother is still imprisoned in the Death Prison.
So, Wang Chong only had himself to fall back on.
After contemplating for a moment, Wang Chong decided to learn another martial art.
“I’ll cultivate the Hexad Arms Technique!”
Wang Chong recalled an incredibly powerful technique he had seen in his previous life.
Even though there were many good secret arts that Wang Chong could learn for free in Kunwu Training Camp, there were much better choices available to him.
The ‘Hexad Arms Technique’ was one such example.
This technique was a typical dexterity-type secret art. This would be the first dexterity-type secret art that Wang Chong would take up.
Even though its cultivation wasn’t easy and it didn’t boost his strength at all, it complemented perfectly with his Single Character Consecutive Slash.
If he could execute the both of them simultaneously, the might of the Single Character Consecutive Slash could be increased by several folds. In the duration that he could only launch a single slash now, after mastering the Hexad Arms Technique, he would be able to launch six of them consecutively, thus enhancing his fighting prowess by numerous folds.
More importantly, the ‘Hexad Arms Technique’ was just an elementary tier secret art. Proceeding further, there was ‘Dozen Arms Technique’, ‘Twenty-Four Arms Technique’, and the final ‘Thirty-Six Arms Technique’.
Under the situation that Wang Chong’s cultivation realm remained constant, this secret art could raise Wang Chong’s strength by an unimaginable level.
Recalling the sutra to the ‘Hexad Arms Technique’, Wang Chong sat down cross-legged and he soon fell into a tranquil state.