The Favored Son of Heaven

Bae Seong-Joon? Qin Fen’s eyes lit up in rather surprise. The creator of Neo Taekwondo had nearly ten thousand followers bellow him. There were merely ten people who this man recognized as an apprentice and accepted as a personal disciple. Bae Seong-Joon held quite the status in the Autonomous State of Korea and was revered to be the strongest of the Autonomous State of Korea.

Normally, the military academies would take the initiative in sending out an olive branch to the disciple of such a character, and the disciple would walk the route of attending a military academy to serve the military. The disciple absolutely wouldn’t join the military from the bottommost level.

Food was served at this time, and the recruits, long tired and hungry from their commanding officers’ torment, needed not to act politely toward each other in this moment. They all started using their bowls and chopsticks.

Qin Fen chuckled. Who cares what expert that Park Jong-Hwan was a disciple of. Those who could fight weren’t necessarily good teachers. Even if Park Jong-Hwan could fight, what of it?

For the sake of the rumored generous rewards, Qin Fen would struggle to the death with him! Qin Fen raised his chopsticks and joined the contest for food among the military recruits.

————-

Late at night, the recruits lay in their living quarters, recovering their strength. The chatted endlessly amongst each other, building upon the sentiments that came from the scuffle not too long ago.

Qin Fen was making idle conversation with Deng Biao, who had gathered close to him, but in his mind, he never forgot his extraordinary performance when he swam in the ocean using the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art. If there wasn’t the order from above asking the recruits to wait in their respective living quarters, Qin Fen would immediately go to the ocean and try cultivating it. He wanted to see if cultivating the art was easier in the water.

The large door to the living quarters was pushed open once more. The company commander of Third Company brought a few platoon commanders and a bunch of squad leaders to slowly walk into the living quarters. The recruits, who had been bustling in chatter, instantly quieted down. Each and every one of them hopped out of their beds and stood ramrod straight as they waited instruction from their commanding officers.

The company commander could be considered young, appearing to be just over thirty. Qin Fen’s bed was located a bit far from the entrance to the living quarters. Luckily, he had good eyesight. His eyesight even got quite a bit better in recent days. He could see what the company commander looked like quite clearly.

A square-jawed face. Thick lips. And a very clear scar coming out of the corner of his eye. His elite and muscular body harbored an astonishing explosive strength.

“I am your company commander. You can address me as Company Commander Yan. I will fiercely drill you all starting from tomorrow’s rise. I’ll erase the smell of baby-milk from your bodies!” After a few simple words, Company Commander Yan stepped to the side.

The recruits were used to the endless speeches of high school principles. They weren’t used to the simplicity and directness of Company Commander Yan.

“I am your Deputy Company Commander, and my last name is Hong,” a man walked out with fair white skin. He looked like a scholar at first glance but looked like a soldier after more observation. He smiled and said, “I heard you all got in a fight? Relax. I didn’t come here looking for trouble with you all. I just came here to explain the rules of the military, as well as the rules of our Third Company.”

With a slight cough, blade-like light suddenly radiated from his Deputy Company Commander Hong’s eyes. The refined aura of his body was completely covered by a sharp aura in a split second. “I am not opposed to fights in recruit camp. Men should have fire in them. However, we of Third Company have a rule. That is, when you fight, you must win. You can’t lose! Third Company ain’t pushovers! Got this memorized?”

“Got it!” The recruits shouted loudly in response.

Deputy Company Commander Hong nodded his head in satisfaction. He began to explain the rules and matters of note in recruit boot camp.

Qin Fen quickly gained a comprehensive understanding about recruit boot camp. There was a lights out bugle call, but activities weren’t prohibited in camp for people who didn’t want to rest.

Of course, this only came into effect starting from the morning of the next day. They wanted the recruits to get out of bed on time and complete the next day’s training. If the recruits weren’t able to do this, then they would be punished!

When cultivating martial arts techniques and advancing to the next stage, one would normally need to endlessly batter against whatever barrier was in the way, and often that meant several days behind closed doors.

Recruit boot camp had created the same rules in this regard. Anyone who entered closed-door cultivation could temporarily put their military training on hold.

The punishment was extremely strict for those who were discovered to use closed-door cultivation as a false pretense to goof off.

After the military rules were explained, everyone was given a book titled ‘Rules and Regulations of the Military’.

“Okay! Dismissed!”

The company commander his deputy left, while all the squad leaders collectively remained in the living quarters. They were to eat and live with the recruits.

The living quarters soon resumed to its previous liveliness. Deng Biao, who had been chatting with Qin Fen, now had his bedside phone in his hands. He was calling his family.

Remember to call me. 

Qin Fen recalled Song Jia’s request. There hadn’t been any telephones he could have used out at see. If he didn’t call now, then it wouldn’t take long for him to receive a phone call from Song Jia saying, “I’m very displeased.”

First he imputed his own telephone number, then entered his password, and finally dialed Song Jia’s number.

With technological advancements, any public telephone could be temporarily turned into a personal telephone. This was also an effective method in preventing someone from calling an undesired or possibly dangerous person.

The caller ring-back tone of the phone rang its first note before the connection was made.

“Hello? Who is it? Talk.” Song Jia rapid-fire interrogation was quickly transmitted out of the phone.

After a slight pause, Qin Fen said, “Hello, it’s Qin Fen.”

“You finally called.” A hint of delight could be heard in Song Jia’s voice on the other end of the phone, “Your first phone call has come so late. I’m very displeased….”

Qin Fen laughed as he held the phone. He could imagine Song Jia’s cute appearance as she held her phone and said ‘I’m very displeased’.

“There weren’t phones on the ship….”Qin Fen finished explaining, “I just got some free time, so I called you right away.”

“Really?” Song Jia’s voice became even happier than before.”

“I’m very pleased~”

These words, which Qin Fen guessed she would say, were heard in this second through the receiver.

“How are you doing over there?” Song Jia instantly changed the topic, asking very concerned, “Is it tough in the military? Remember to practice it when you’re tired.”

“I’m all right. I have practiced it,” Qin Fen responded. Then Song Jia wanted him to talk about his days as a recruit. Qin Fen cleared his throat and began talking about swimming in the ocean, the training on the ship, and the virtual aerial combat.

Qin Fen normally didn’t talk much, but he could still express himself with language. His narration was vivid and colorful, causing Song Jia to exclaim in admiration over and over on the other side of the phone.

After Qin Fen finished talking about the scuffle with the recruits from the Autonomous State of Korea, Song Jia became a bit quiet on her end of the phone. A moment passed before she said very seriously, “Qin Fen. It’s best not to provoke Park Jong-Hwan. I’ve heard of his name before. Even though he is the tenth disciple of the Autonomous State of Korea’s Number One Martial God, rumor has it that his innate talent is extraordinary and outstanding. His strength approaches his fellow senior disciples, and Bae Seong-Joon is really happy about his Neo Taekwondo.”