Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 608: Chapter 296: I Don’t Want to Hear This Nonsense Again

"Dodge your attacks?"

Sun Yang swallowed hard. "Captain, aren’t you being a little too brutal? If we get hit by your Saw Chain Sword, will we even make it back to the dorms alive?"

"Don’t worry, I won’t actually kill you!"

Li Chang’an sneered. "But if I hit you once, the mission is a failure.

Understand?"

"Understood..."

They all answered in unison, but their tone held a hint of resignation.

Li Chang’an raised his hand, signaling the start of the training. "Split into groups.

Han Ruoxi and Shen Qiuyue, you’re one group. Sun Yang and Bai Lin, you’re the other.

The simulated objective is to clear the designated area of hypothetical enemies while protecting your teammates from being hit by the Insect Race!"

"Captain, who’s the Insect Race then?"

Sun Yang scratched his head.

Li Chang’an raised his Saw Chain Sword. "Me!"

"Jeez, Captain, this is just a mock battle, right?"

Sun Yang said with a pained expression, "Please don’t actually hack at us like we’re bugs!"

"Begin!"

Li Chang’an couldn’t be bothered with him and turned toward the center of the training ground, his Saw Chain Sword emitting a low roar.

Inside the simulated battlefield, the Insect Hunter Squad quickly got into the zone.

Han Ruoxi and Shen Qiuyue’s teamwork was flawless. Han Ruoxi used her Electric Grid to block the hypothetical enemies’ path, while Shen Qiuyue cleared them out with incredible speed.

The pair advanced smoothly, but Li Chang’an’s sudden appearance shattered their rhythm.

"Han Ruoxi, on your right!"

Shen Qiuyue shouted a warning, simultaneously trying to block Li Chang’an’s strike with her Dueling Sword.

But Li Chang’an’s Saw Chain Sword suddenly changed direction, heading straight for Han Ruoxi’s back.

Han Ruoxi reacted quickly, releasing an electric arc to block the attack, but the arc wasn’t strong enough to completely negate the Saw Chain Sword’s impact. She was forced to take several steps back.

"Your teamwork isn’t fast enough!"

Li Chang’an remarked coolly, but his movements remained merciless as he continued his assault.

Han Ruoxi gritted her teeth and held her ground. Shen Qiuyue tried to counterattack with her sword, but Li Chang’an’s movements were too precise, and every one of his attacks disrupted their rhythm.

"Fall back, create some distance!"

Shen Qiuyue gave the decisive order, and the two quickly adjusted their formation, trying to regain control of the situation.

On the other side, Sun Yang and Bai Lin were faring even worse.

"Sun Yang, stop running all over the place!"

Bai Lin, clutching his terminal device, watched Sun Yang scrambling around the field with a look of resignation. "Your job is to cover me, not to be a target!"

"But I *am* providing cover!"

Sun Yang held his Pulse Gun, firing as he ran, but his accuracy was clearly suffering, and his shots went wide several times.

Li Chang’an suddenly appeared before them. With a swing of his Saw Chain Sword, he nearly sliced Sun Yang’s shoulder.

"Captain! Captain! Calm down!"

Sun Yang shouted as he frantically backed away. "We’re not bugs, you don’t have to be so brutal!"

"You *are* bugs!"

Li Chang’an’s voice came over coldly as his Saw Chain Sword closed in again.

In his panic, Sun Yang fired off a few shots of Pulse Energy, finally managing to force Li Chang’an back.

He turned to Bai Lin. "Quick! How much longer do you need?"

"Ten more seconds!"

Bai Lin answered in a low voice, his fingers flying across the terminal device.

"Ten seconds? That’s too long!"

Sun Yang gritted his teeth and, bracing himself, continued to fire. "Captain, can you go a little easy on us?"

"No!"

Li Chang’an’s attacks became even fiercer. The Saw Chain Sword cut through the air, heading straight for Sun Yang’s abdomen.

Sun Yang barely managed to roll out of the way and seized the opportunity to fire a wave of Pulse Energy, finally buying himself a few seconds of breathing room.

"Okay, it’s done!"

Bai Lin finally finished and shouted.

"Retreat!"

Sun Yang dragged Bai Lin and fled the battlefield frantically, not daring to even look back.

When the training ended, the members of the Insect Hunter Squad collapsed onto the ground one by one, exhausted and panting.

"Captain, weren’t you a little too brutal?"

Sun Yang lay sprawled on the ground, his face a mask of despair. "This is training, not an execution, right?"

"The battlefield is even more brutal than this!"

Li Chang’an looked at him coldly. "If this were a real battle, you’d have died three times over!"

"Captain, we did our best..."

Han Ruoxi leaned against the edge of the training area, wiping sweat from her forehead. "But you’re just too powerful. You gave us no openings at all!"

"The Insect Race won’t give you any openings!"

Li Chang’an’s voice remained calm. "My job is to get you used to this kind of pressure, not to let you pass easily!"

"The Captain’s right!"

Shen Qiuyue sat to one side, her tone serene. "We really do need to improve our coordination. Our problems today were obvious!"

"I think the even more obvious problem is..."

Sun Yang weakly raised a hand. "Can the Captain maybe swing his sword at us a little less in the future?"

Everyone laughed. Although they were exhausted, what they gained from the training gave them a sense of reassurance.

"Ten-minute break!"

Li Chang’an looked at his watch. "Then we’ll start the debrief!"

Sun Yang let out a miserable cry but still got up and walked toward the water cooler. "I give up. This squad is made of iron; we don’t even get a chance to catch our breath..."

The ten-minute break passed quickly, and the Insect Hunter Squad sat back down on the training ground floor, ready to begin the debrief.

Li Chang’an stood before them, arms crossed, his gaze serious.

"First, group one. Han Ruoxi and Shen Qiuyue!"

He looked down at the data pad in his hand. "Your teamwork with the Electric Grid lockdown was decent, but your reaction time is still too slow, especially when facing a surprise attack!"

"Captain, it was my fault. The discharge from my arc wasn’t strong enough, which caused a delay."

Han Ruoxi was the first to speak, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I tried to increase the current’s strength, but that would consume more Energy!"

"Energy consumption isn’t the issue!"

Li Chang’an looked up. "The problem is your timing.

Don’t wait until the Insect Race gets close to release the current. Predict their movement path in advance. That’s how you maximize the Electric Grid’s effectiveness!"

"Understood!"

Han Ruoxi nodded, looking down as she mulled something over.

"Shen Qiuyue!"

Li Chang’an’s gaze shifted to her. "Your Swordsmanship’s precision is fine, but your situational awareness is lacking when you’re on the move.

In the simulation, you left yourself completely exposed to an enemy attack twice. If this were a real battle, you would’ve been injured!"

"Yes."

Shen Qiuyue offered no excuses, her tone still calm. "I will improve!"

"Good!"

Li Chang’an nodded in satisfaction and turned to the second group. "Sun Yang, Bai Lin!"

’Here we go again...’

Sun Yang muttered under his breath, but just as he was about to speak, Li Chang’an’s glare silenced him.

"Sun Yang!"

Li Chang’an looked at him. "Your suppressing fire was decent, but your positioning exposed the entire squad’s flank.

In a real battle, not only would you have failed to save Bai Lin, you might have gotten the entire squad surrounded by an insect swarm!"

"But Captain, I was doing my best to cover Bai Lin!"

Sun Yang defended himself, sounding wronged. "There were too many enemies. I had to get in front of them, didn’t I?"

"Nothing wrong with getting in front!"

Li Chang’an’s tone was calm. "But your position has to be effective, not exposed.

Next training session, if you make this mistake again, I will personally teach you the meaning of ’proper positioning’!"

Sun Yang flinched and nodded repeatedly. "Understood, understood! I’ll fix it!"

"Bai Lin!"

Li Chang’an looked at Bai Lin in the corner. "Your operation speed is fine, but you’re so focused on your device that you’re ignoring the changing dynamics of the battlefield.

In battle, you’re not acting alone. You’re part of the squad!"

Bai Lin frowned slightly and answered in a low voice, "Captain, my mission is data acquisition. I have to concentrate..."

"Without your teammates’ protection, you won’t acquire anything!"

Li Chang’an cut him off. "Your mission is important, but survival is more important.

During a fight, pay more attention to your teammates’ positions and maintain synergy with the squad!"

"Understood!"

Bai Lin nodded and didn’t argue further.

After the debrief, Li Chang’an looked around at everyone and said in a grave voice, "Today’s training was just the basics."