Chapter 91

Since the incident involving Zhang Tie, the past few days have seen the trainees spontaneously sweep through the Wild Wolf Valley, within a five-kilometer radius of the Wild Wolf Castle. This stretch of road has become much safer now, with not a single wolf hair in sight. The incident with Zhang Tie served as a reminder to everyone, as it could happen to anyone at any time. All the trainees did not want to find themselves alone on the road back to the Wild Wolf Castle, only to be confronted by a pack of wolves. Therefore, they worked hard during the sweeps, and a few solitary and unfortunate wild wolves were indeed caught. However, the four wild wolves that ambushed Zhang Tie have vanished without a trace.

On the way back to the treehouse base, especially when passing through that grassy area again, Zhang Tie couldn't help but recall the events of that day and the look in those wolves' eyes. It was a deep, unyielding hatred that he would never forget. Zhang Tie had a premonition that he would meet those four wolves again.

At noon, only one person was on duty at the treehouse base. Today, it was Baghdad. When Zhang Tie returned to the treehouse base, he saw Baghdad, bare-chested, practicing thrusting movements with a spear under the Dragon Claw Tree. As soon as Zhang Tie approached the treehouse base, Baghdad noticed him.

"Who's there?" Baghdad turned around, gun in hand, drenched in sweat.

"You're quite diligent and alert, young man. Are you feeling threatened by someone who has already ignited the Divine Palace?" Zhang Tie smiled as he walked over.

Baghdad's expression froze at Zhang Tie's words. His face twitched, and he cursed, "Bastard," before dropping the spear and coming over to give Zhang Tie a fierce hug. "Don't get too cocky, I'll surpass you eventually!"

"Baghdad, do you know, I've always had a big secret that I couldn't bear to tell you!" Zhang Tie said with a very serious expression.

Baghdad, intrigued, asked, "What secret?"

"The secret is that I'm actually a genius among geniuses..." Zhang Tie's serious expression turned into a mischievous grin. "I used to want to experience your ordinary lives, so I deliberately suppressed my abilities, only showing 5% of my true strength to avoid hurting your feelings. After this incident, I've decided to go all out and no longer hold back. So, it will be increasingly difficult for you to catch up with me. I advise you to set a different goal for surpassing. Considering me as your goal is the greatest misfortune for you as an ordinary person!"

"Ah, you bastard..." Realizing he had been tricked, Baghdad immediately wrapped his arm around Zhang Tie's neck, almost making him roll his eyes before letting go...

...

There's no need to elaborate on what happened next. When Bali and the others returned, they saw Zhang Tie back at the treehouse base, and the place was lively again. Today, there were no major catches in the large traps they had set, but the small traps made from branches and stones that Zhang Tie taught them caught two wild chickens. Adding to that, they had caught over a dozen palm-sized fish from the stream and some wild vegetables that Zhang Tie brought back. Tonight, they would have another feast.

In the evening, Zhang Tie mentioned that he had invited a girl for dinner. Amid the cheers of the others, he went to the Wild Wolf Castle to pick up Pandora. Pandora, being invited to dinner by a boy for the first time, was a bit nervous, but she relaxed a lot after arriving at the treehouse base, thanks to the playful banter of the others.

After dinner, Zhang Tie invited Pandora to tour the treehouse, and then he, Baghdad, and Shao Wen escorted her back to the Wild Wolf Castle. Seeing the corners of Pandora's mouth unconsciously turn up on the way back, Zhang Tie knew that the invitation and dinner had been a success. Inviting a girl wasn't as difficult as he thought.

When Zhang Tie and the others returned, a bonfire was already burning under the Dragon Claw Tree. Bali and the others were sitting around, chatting about Pandora.

"That girl's chest is a bit small, and her body hasn't fully developed, but her face is still pretty. This guy's taste is a bit strange!" Li Te said.

"Maybe such a girl is more likely to arouse a man's desire to conquer. I've heard that many old men who can't perform anymore prefer petite and delicate girls because they are easier to conquer, hahaha..."

"Have you noticed how Pandora's eyes are so bright and beautiful? From my observations, women with beautiful eyes are very good at pleasing men..." Xista said with his usual lecherous tone.

"Since Da Tou has a companion, we should also step up our game. The group of girls we invited last time had some pretty ones. We can try again tomorrow..."

The mention of girls made the others' blood boil. Seeing Zhang Tie and the others return, they moved over to make room for them and continued chatting. Under their persistent questioning, Zhang Tie recounted how he and Pandora met. Despite Zhang Tie's repeated claims that he had no other intentions towards Pandora and that they were just friends who could talk, and that he invited her to form a team to help each other through the trial, no one believed him. His explanations only earned him skeptical looks and whistles.

"You don't have any intentions now because you haven't been circumcised yet, and there's a ban on interacting with girls during this trial. Heh... heh... If it weren't for these two obstacles, I bet you would have shown your true colors by now!"

"I can guess. You want to keep Pandora for yourself and make your move when you return to Black Flame City. That's a good plan, thinking ahead. She may not stand out now, but she's safe, and you can lay the foundation without worrying about others taking her!"

"Pandora should be more developed in two months, right?"

"She should be more womanly by then. Girls these days mature very quickly!"

"She's a bit small now, but you can always claim this spot and not worry about where to go to the bathroom in the future..."

"Heh... heh..."

Zhang Tie inwardly cursed these beasts. To avoid letting their filthy words continue to pollute his ears and pure heart, he decided to change the topic and pull out his trump card.

Zhang Tie said nothing, but he took out the secret manual of "Iron Blood Divine Fist" that he had been carrying in his chest. As the others leered, he quietly read it by the fire.

"Da Tou, what book are you reading?" Shao Wen, who loved reading, was the first to ask curiously.

"It's nothing, just the secret manual of the royal martial technique 'Iron Blood Divine Fist' from the Norman Empire!" Zhang Tie said casually, as if he were talking about a second-hand old knight novel he had found in a waste paper recycling station.

"Oh!" Shao Wen responded casually, but a second later, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened wide, staring straight at the book in Zhang Tie's hands.

Zhang Tie continued to flip through the book nonchalantly. Gradually, the voices around the bonfire grew quieter, and everyone stared at the book in Zhang Tie's hands. The sound of swallowing could be heard around the bonfire.

After a long time, when only the rustling of the pages could be heard, and everyone was silent, Zhang Tie feigned surprise and looked around. "Hey, why aren't you guys chatting anymore? Keep going!"

"Heh... heh..." Baghdad laughed dryly, his eyes fixed on the book in Zhang Tie's hands. "You... you said this is a martial arts manual?"

"Oh, you mean this?" Zhang Tie turned the book over, revealing the cover. The words "Iron Blood Divine Fist" immediately caught everyone's attention, making their eyes turn red. "It's nothing. Although 'Iron Blood Divine Fist' used to be a royal martial technique of the Norman Empire, it was already widely used in the Norman Empire's army before the Second Holy War. It's not particularly powerful, just a common thing. Many people know it. It's really just a common thing. The silver paper is a bit high-quality, and these manuals are hand-copied..."

Zhang Tie continued to act cool, but with the "Iron Blood Divine Fist" manual in hand, his act was exceptionally effective.

"How did you get such a manual?" Li Te also stared at Zhang Tie in disbelief. Even a common manual is still a manual. Anything associated with the word "secret" is out of reach for ordinary people. For guys who graduated from the Seventh National Male High School in Black Flame City, Andaman Alliance, it's hard to find anyone more ordinary in the entire Blackson Human Corridor.

"Good luck, I guess..." Zhang Tie shrugged. "Captain Colin gave it to me a few days ago when I was recovering. He got it on the battlefield. Captain Colin liked me and thought I had a good chance of spreading this technique, so he gave it to me!"

Captain Colin's intentions were indeed revealed by Zhang Tie's casual lie.

Around him, there were various envious, jealous, and hateful looks, and the sound of swallowing.

"Then... did Captain Colin say anything about it?" The fat Balie hesitated, but his question immediately piqued everyone's interest.

"He said the ownership of the book is completely mine. I can lend it to anyone I like, as long as I don't make a big deal out of it. After all, 'Iron Blood Divine Fist' was once a royal martial technique of the Norman Empire, and without the royal family's permission, it's best to keep a low profile. As you can see, I'm very low-key. I never show the manual to others casually..."

Is this considered low-profile, not showing it to others casually? But everyone around him nodded eagerly, "That's... that's..."

Doug, sitting next to Zhang Tie, seemed to have an idea. He rolled his eyes and pushed Xista aside, hooking his arm around Zhang Tie's neck and smiling slyly. "Da Tou, I stayed by your bed all night when you were recovering, afraid you might have any problems. I swatted hundreds of mosquitoes for you all night without closing my eyes. Look, I still have mosquito bites on my arms..." Doug rolled up his sleeve, showing a few red spots, who knows where the mosquitoes bit him...

Zhang Tie looked at Doug and smiled. To everyone's disbelief, he directly threw the "Iron Blood Divine Fist" manual into Doug's hands. "Alright, in exchange for your vigil, you can read this manual for one hour!"

"Really?" Doug exclaimed in surprise.

"The time starts now!" Zhang Tie reminded him.

Doug immediately started flipping through the manual. Xista and Baghdad, sitting next to him, stretched their necks longer than giraffes but didn't dare to look directly without permission. Stealing a look at someone else's manual is a taboo throughout the continent. Everyone else looked at Doug enviously.

"Ah, what does this line on the first page mean?" Doug scratched his head.

"That's Chinese, the guiding principle of 'Iron Blood Divine Fist.' It translates to 'Might is right; ultimate strength can touch the cosmic laws above!'" Zhang Tie translated the general meaning, and this sentence immediately stunned Balie and the others. The level of the manual was evident from this sentence, and the guys' eyes grew even hotter.

Li Te was the second to react after Doug. "Da Tou, the fish you ate while recovering were all caught by me. You forgot? I even brought you fish soup twice!"

"Alright, the next hour after Doug is yours!"

Li Te immediately smiled.

Balie suddenly jumped up, tears in his eyes, looking at Zhang Tie. "You forgot? Mrs. Anna..."

"Alright, the hour after Li Te is yours!"

Balie also smiled broadly.

The remaining Baghdad, Shao Wen, and Xista were anxiously scratching their heads, trying to think of reasons to read the manual for an hour.

"I lent you Daina's notes to copy in school!" Shao Wen came up with one.

"Alright, after Balie, you can read for an hour!"

"Brother, if you have any questions about women, just come to me. If you like someone, I'll help you win her over!" Xista, showing his lecherous nature, patted Zhang Tie's shoulder.

"Alright, the hour after Shao Wen is yours!"

Only Baghdad was left. Seeing all his brothers find reasons, Baghdad thought for a long time and finally put aside his "expert" demeanor, smiling dryly and leaning in. "Da Tou, your body hasn't fully recovered yet. Can I have the honor of staying by your side when it's your turn to keep vigil?"

"Hmm, that's not good. If someone finds out, they might talk. We're all brothers, and I don't want others to think I'm bullying you," Zhang Tie pretended to think.

"Who dares to talk? That's sowing discord among us. I won't let them off!" Baghdad waved his fists, "If I hear it, I'll beat them until they crap their pants!" He then glared at the others threateningly. "If Da Tou's body isn't fully recovered, and I stay by his side, will you talk?"

The others quickly shook their heads.

"Alright, the hour after Li Te is yours!"

Baghdad breathed a sigh of relief and grinned.

Everyone stared at Doug, who, in the firelight, seemed to be completely engrossed in the "Iron Blood Divine Fist" manual. His facial expressions were rich, his brows furrowing and relaxing, and he occasionally waved his hand in the air, making the content of the book even more intriguing.

Zhang Tie was also smiling inwardly. He had always intended to share the "Iron Blood Divine Fist" manual with his brothers, but human nature is such that things given freely are never as cherished as those earned through effort. This was a small trick taught by Tang De to grasp people's hearts. In the future, he would use this manual to motivate these guys, making them beg to read it, one hour at a time. The effect would be much better than just giving the manual to them without any conditions.

Thinking about how he could "bully" these guys in the future, Zhang Tie felt amused...

In the future, he would finally have plenty of time to focus on improving his strength. He hadn't entered the Black Iron Castle for a week, and the second Fruit of Perfection must be ripe by now.

It was time to enter the Black Iron Castle again. He wondered what surprises the little tree would bring this time...

Zhang Tie thought to himself, but his mind couldn't help but drift to Gris and his lackeys, and then to Captain Colin. For some reason, when he recalled Captain Colin's face over the past few days, he felt a faint trace of worry... Was it just his imagination, or was the rough one-eyed man worried about something?

...

(Will the Black Iron Castle's September campaign for the new book monthly ticket chart be the first miracle?) (To be continued...)