Chapter 68

This man, standing over 1.8 meters tall, wore an ordinary leather jacket and military pants, and his feet were clad in the special cloth shoes of Youzhou. His shoulders were broad, and his beard and hair were as sharp as needles. At first glance, his square face seemed unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, his eyes seemed to contain the power of wind and thunder. The hands he placed on the dining table had large knuckles, and his bronze-colored skin was like metal, giving an overall impression of being as solid as a mountain.

A young man, the fourth from the left, followed the gaze of the middle-aged man and looked at the TV, smiling with a strange expression.

"Brother Dazhuang, this is the young man I mentioned to you before. Master Feng also wants to recommend him to the school."

The young man was none other than Chi Fei, the king of soldiers from the Jianye Military District, who had a deep connection with Li Puman. After being selected into "Qianlong," his promotion was swift, and he was now part of the first squad, making him a true elite among elites.

"Qianlong" had a total of three teams. The first squad was responsible for major external offensive operations. The second squad handled internal defense, while the third squad was in charge of intelligence, assassination, and support. The captain of the first squad, Lei Jiuxiao, also served as the field commander and assault leader.

Lei Jiuxiao, with his needle-like beard and hair, was the strongest man in China's million-strong army and the strongest man in the entire country. However, his teammates who were close to him affectionately called him Brother Dazhuang. It sounded a bit rustic, but it had a deeper meaning, derived from the I Ching—Zhen represents thunder, and Qian represents heaven. Jiuxiao means beyond the heavens. This belonged to the 34th hexagram of the I Ching, "Lei Tian Dazhuang," which means "Great Strength." It signifies being overly strong, like the fierce thunder, and the need to restrain oneself as much as possible.

Lei Jiuxiao had just completed a cross-border mission and was on his way back. It happened to be his 38th birthday, so he found a small restaurant to have a bowl of longevity noodles. The people present were all official members of "Qianlong." Upon hearing what Chi Fei said, they glanced at the young man on the TV a few more times.

"Unusual, very unusual!" After listening for a while, he nodded and said, "His breath is like thunder, his voice like a mighty wave, yet it is incredibly stable. He has reached a certain level of the subtle truth. His vital energy is much stronger than the average transformational strength. This kid is indeed talented and would make a good soldier!"

"Don't be silly. That idol star is free and easy. Why would he come to be a hardworking soldier?" A neutral, cold voice spoke. It was a handsome and refined young man with a cold demeanor, who looked like a proud plum blossom in the snow.

"Xiaoyue, maybe that kid is very patriotic," Lei Jiuxiao laughed.

The cold and proud young man, Xiaoyue, was the great-grandson of Ji Haoyang, the first-generation commander of Qianlong. He had joined Qianlong not long ago, but his strength, carefully trained by his grandfather, was quite remarkable. He was undoubtedly the most promising figure among the young generation of the military. Due to his good looks, he was ordered by Lei Jiuxiao to disguise himself as a girl during the rescue mission. Although he followed the order and completed the mission perfectly, he always felt a bit uncomfortable.

As a soldier, being a weapon in the hands of the state, completing the mission was not a big deal, but... there were real female soldiers in the team!

Lei Jiuxiao's response left him speechless: "You look prettier than the other female soldiers, which gives you an advantage in completing the mission! And you learned transformational strength at 19, making you one of the most outstanding in Qianlong without the support of heavy weapons. It's more stable for you to go."

What stability! After he infiltrated the enemy camp and reported back, the captain ordered him to protect the mission target and then charged in himself, wreaking havoc... What a barbarian! Why did his grandfather specifically ask him to follow him!

Thinking about this, Ji Xiaoyue glanced at Li Pu, who was singing with a girl on the TV. He remembered this name because of his colleague, Chi Fei.

Chi Fei had mentioned that he had seen the little boxing saint, Zhang Shi, lose to this young man in a direct confrontation.

"If the little boxing saint had been more cautious and avoided the sharp edge, he might not have lost. Unfortunately..."

At the time, Chi Fei shook his head and sighed, "The little boxing saint had the upper hand in the fighting style. When it came to the decisive move, the Great Hand Seal was invincible, dispersing Li Pu's qi and blood. According to common sense, he shouldn't have lost—both I and Master Feng thought so. But he was mysteriously overpowered."

The first time Ji Xiaoyue heard this, he thought Chi Fei was exaggerating.

He had fought with Zhang Shi—Ji Xiaoyue was undoubtedly the best among the young generation in China and the top student in most courses at the "school." Until he met Zhang Shi at the same age. In terms of martial arts, they were evenly matched, but Zhang Shi's physical strength was too abnormal, and his willpower was strong and fierce. He managed to defeat Ji Xiaoyue with his superior physical strength.

Ji Xiaoyue was naturally不服气 (unconvinced). During this time, he not only practiced hard but also participated in every live combat mission, accumulating a lot of experience in life-and-death battles and mastering several special skills. He wanted to find an opportunity to challenge Zhang Shi again.

He never expected that the little boxing saint, who was so strong that even he now had little confidence in defeating without weapons, had been defeated in a direct confrontation. Ji Xiaoyue couldn't help but look at the young man on the TV, memorizing his appearance.

However, to be fair, the young man named Li Pu, singing the opening theme of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Sword Summit," had indeed captured the spirit of the song. The girl beside him added a touch of tenderness... Ji Xiaoyue thought for a moment and took out his phone.

I'll vote for them...

"Xiaoyue, do you like this song?" Lei Jiuxiao, with his sharp eyes, saw him take out his phone to send a message and asked casually.

"Alright..." Ji Xiaoyue said ambiguously.

Lei Jiuxiao slapped his thigh, "Speaking of which, the idols on TV don't look as good as you. Today is a happy day, and it's my birthday. Why don't you perform a song to liven up the atmosphere?"

Ji Xiaoyue coldly replied, "If you want to liven up the atmosphere, why don't you perform yourself?"

"Alright, I'll go first. Come on, everyone, get ready."

The tough guy, Lei Jiuxiao, was not at all nervous. He cleared his throat, used chopsticks to tap the edge of the bowl as accompaniment, and sang with a voice like rolling thunder: "Bold and mighty! Crossing the Yalu River!~~~ Beating the American devils, making them lose their souls and courage!~~~"

"Captain, you got the lyrics wrong," a dark-skinned, tower-like Qianlong member corrected him seriously.

"What do you know? This is a mix! Creativity! I can do it on the fly without being bound by form~~"

Lei Jiuxiao rolled his eyes and continued to liven up the atmosphere, "Why is the flower so red? Why is it so red?~~~ Playing my beloved lute, oh oh~~~ The international, will surely be realized?"

Stupid captain... Ji Xiaoyue helplessly held his forehead. They were already being watched by many people.

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On the stage, Qin Xia'er and Li Pu finished their performance of the opening theme of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Sword Summit," "The Best in the World." The audience's applause was thunderous, clearly more enthusiastic than the previous performance.

The overlapping male and female voices began with the line, "Ask the world, is this mountain the highest, or is there a higher place than the sky?" The piercing voice of the young man, dressed in a cool style, carried a sense of freedom and heroism, as if he were toasting to the world and laughing at the heavens. The layers of the girl's voice, in a graceful and moving dress, rose higher and higher, filling the entire venue with a stirring and moving atmosphere.

The audience, especially the male audience, started by just listening, but then spontaneously joined in the singing. The momentum was so strong that it was the best of the competition so far.

Zhang Qianying and Shang Wenjie, standing on the side, became increasingly nervous as they listened. They didn't expect the other side to cooperate so flawlessly!

Especially the male contestant. He had previously sung rock, but this time, with a classic martial arts song, he performed even better. In terms of technique... it wasn't particularly outstanding. But a sense of unrestrained heroism burst forth with each note, powerful and infectious.

—It was almost as if the Five Greats of the world were singing... No, according to the young man's aura, it should be Yang Guo, with a smiling and charming Guo Xiang beside him!

Their technique might not be better than theirs, but the effect of their performance was clearly superior...

After the last note, Li Pu and Qin Xia'er bowed to the audience and the four mentors. The four contestants returned to the center of the stage to wait for the mentors' comments.

"Well, this is a tough one to judge, but there's no doubt you all did an excellent job," the most experienced Liu Buhan said, looking at the four on stage. "I really liked that martial arts song. Li Pu and Yue Zhuang, you two really got everyone hyped up! The song 'When You Believe' by the Prince of Egypt, performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, is technically demanding, but Qianying and Wenjie, you two did a great job, especially the dolphin sound competition. It's hard to choose... but I have to cast my 1,000 votes. I've decided, I like the Chinese style more! Idols need technique, but more importantly, they need strong infectiousness!"

As for Tang Mei, after saying a bunch of polite words, she naturally chose the combination of Li Pu and Qin Xia'er.

It was Zhou Jielun's turn, still dressed in her cool cowgirl style. She didn't waste words, just blinked her single-lidded eyes at Li Pu and nodded, "Wow, that was a great performance. I like you." Then she raised her hands and pointed at Li Pu and Qin Xia'er, "I like both of you!"

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