Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 6: General Hong

After Li Guoxing and the others left, the soldier turned around and walked back into the gate, only to emerge again and shout at Li Yan and the others.

“Get into formation and follow me! Once we’re inside, don’t move around randomly, don’t talk, and don’t whisper to each other. If you do, you’ll be eliminated directly. If you anger the general, you’ll likely be beaten before you’re sent home. Do you understand?”

As he spoke, he swept his gaze over Li Yan and the others, making them feel a chill run down their spines. No one dared to meet his gaze, and they quickly lowered their heads.

Although he was just a soldier, he must have killed many people, and the aura of killing intent emanating from him was something these young men couldn’t match.

Li Yan felt a shiver run down his spine as the soldier’s gaze swept over him, and he couldn’t help but think, ‘What a terrifying gaze!’

He knew the soldier’s gaze was intimidating, but he didn’t know that it was the result of a seasoned veteran who had been through countless battles and had killed many people.

After giving his instructions, the soldier looked at Li Yan and the others, who were all nodding obediently. He nodded slightly in approval.

Without saying another word, he turned around and walked towards the gate, with Li Yan and the others following closely behind, trying not to make a sound as they walked.

As they entered the gate, Li Yan and the others immediately took in their surroundings. It seemed that this was not a courtyard, but a large open square that could accommodate horse riding.

Their previous position was at the entrance of the square, and now they were standing at the edge of the large square.

In the center of the square, slightly towards the back, there was a high platform with a table and chairs on it. Every few steps along the edge of the platform, a large flag was inserted into the ground.

The flags were flapping in the wind, making a rustling sound. The flags had embroidered characters such as “Jia” , “Yi” , and “Bing” on them, as well as patterns of fierce tigers and dragons.

“This must be the military training ground that the old scholar in our village always talks about!” Li Yan thought to himself.

At this moment, there were already over a hundred people on the training ground, divided into three rows. One row, near the right edge of the training ground, had only five or six people and looked somewhat isolated.

Li Yan and the others quickly followed the soldier to the back of the row.

“Line up here and remember what I said earlier. If you don’t, you’ll be in trouble,” the soldier warned, his voice low but stern.

Li Yan and the others didn’t dare to disobey, and they stood at attention, trying to stand as straight as possible, afraid that if they made a mistake, they would be kicked out directly.

With Li Yan and the others joining, their row now had around 17 or 18 people, and it seemed to have a bit more vitality.

The middle row had around 40 people, and the left row had the most people, with around 70 or 80.

At the front of each row, there were a few soldiers managing their respective teams. Li Yan occasionally heard low, urgent shouts, and whenever he did, someone would be quickly kicked by a soldier.

The person who was kicked didn’t dare to breathe, and could only shrink back and endure the pain, their face pale.

The square was surrounded by several rows of armed soldiers, who were standing at attention, their armor shining, their eyes fixed straight ahead.

Li Yan felt like he was surrounded by a group of fierce tigers, and he couldn’t help but feel anxious and panicked. He could only try to calm himself down.

He thought back to the time he was hunting in the Great Green Mountain, and the method of holding his breath and focusing his mind. As he did so, he slowly began to feel better.

On the high platform, behind the table, sat a large, burly man. Even though he was sitting, he seemed taller than an average adult, and his bald head was illuminated by the sunlight, giving off a yellowish glow.

The man had a wide face, a short beard, and a long scar that ran from the right side of his forehead to the corner of his mouth. The scar was a coppery color, and it seemed to be twisted and contorted, like a snake crawling on his face.

He had a broad waist and a thick back, and even though he was just sitting, he seemed to be exerting pressure on the entire atmosphere.

At this moment, he was looking at the high platform in front of him, at the left corner below, where there was a cowhide tent. This tent was directly opposite the row where Li Yan and the others were standing.

Li Yan was also carefully observing the people and objects on the training ground, and his subconscious was remembering everything he saw and heard, although he didn’t know what use it would be.

He was standing at the back of the row, and his row was located at the edge of the training ground, so he couldn’t see the high platform very clearly.

He could only see the wide table on the high platform, and the large chair behind it, where the burly, bald-headed man was sitting.

At this moment, the soldier who had brought them in shouted in a low voice.

“Be careful, the one on the platform is General Hong. Don’t look around randomly, just wait for the person in front of you to come out of the tent, and then you can enter the tent in sequence.”

The soldier then paused, and a difficult-to-express emotion flashed across his face. He pointed to the middle row, which had around 40 or 50 people, and continued.

“After you come out of the tent, you’ll line up at the back of the middle row and wait for the examination. There will be several types of examinations, and those who pass will be able to stand over there.”

Finally, the soldier pointed to the row of around 70 or 80 people on the far left of the training ground.

The middle row in front of them was surrounded by a high wooden fence, and they couldn’t see what was being examined inside. They could only hear occasional sounds of people shouting, footsteps, and soldiers giving orders.

But if someone was able to stand on the high platform, they would be able to see the entire scene.

“If you fail an examination, you’ll be eliminated, and you can leave through the back gate of the training ground. Someone will explain the details to you later.”

After saying this, the soldier nodded to the other soldiers in front of the row and turned around to leave.

Li Yan was standing at the back of the row, and after hearing the soldier’s words, he looked again at the tent in front of him, but the thick curtain on the tent door was blocking his view.

“We need to enter the tent first, and then line up in the middle row for the examination. This tent must be where we register.”

As for the examination content, Li Guoxing had mentioned it to him on the way here, and it should include stone-lifting, running, and simple martial arts.

For Li Yan, he believed that with his physical fitness from running and hunting in the mountains, as well as the martial arts skills he learned from the villagers, he shouldn’t have any problems.

Li Yan stood there for a while, thinking about the upcoming examination and how he should allocate his energy. As a hunter, he knew how to conserve his energy.

But he didn’t know how long he stood there, until suddenly, a voice sounded in his ear.

“Hey, kid, what are you doing standing there? Are you waiting for someone to invite you to drink?”

Li Yan was startled and immediately came back to his senses. He realized that the people in front of him had already moved forward, and he had forgotten to follow them because he was lost in thought.

He was now standing alone, far behind the others, and it was very noticeable.

A soldier in front of him shouted, “What are you doing, standing there like a fool?”

The other young men who had come to participate in the recruitment looked back at Li Yan, and some of them flashed a look of disdain and schadenfreude.

For them, every person who came to participate in the recruitment was a competitor, and seeing someone being scolded made them feel a sense of superiority.

Li Yan quickly apologized to the soldier with a smile and hurried to catch up with the row in front of him.

The soldier looked at him and saw that Li Yan had a honest and simple expression, and after thinking for a moment, he only let out a light hum and didn’t say anything else.

Many people couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment when they saw that Li Yan wasn’t beaten up by the soldiers.

Li Yan quickly walked to the last position, and the tent was now much closer in his line of sight.

‘This should be the registration area, but it’s too cramped. It wouldn’t be difficult to set up ten or so tables in this large courtyard, and registration would be much faster that way.’

As he thought about this, he suddenly remembered something the soldier had mentioned earlier.

“Genral Hong… Hong Yuan… Is that bald, muscular man on the high platform General Hong?”

He was a legendary figure, a war god who had defeated the enemies of the Meng Kingdom numerous times. Li Yan wasn’t just familiar with the name from Uncle Guoxing’s stories, but had heard it countless times in his village.

Marshal Hong’s numerous battle achievements were like myths to Li Yan, establishing him as a god-like figure in the young man’s mind.

Li Yan secretly looked up at the high platform, and now that he was closer, he could see the people on it more clearly.

‘General Hong looks like this. He looks so domineering and unparalleled. No wonder he can shock those enemies.’

Once Li Yan formed an impression of someone or something, he would have a strong preconceived notion, either extremely positive or extremely negative.

To most people, General Hong’s appearance would seem cruel and evil, but in Li Yan’s mind, he didn’t seem evil at all, but rather, his aura was extraordinary.

After secretly glancing at the high platform for a while, Li Yan discovered that General Hong seemed to be very concerned about this side. Every time the tent flap was lifted, his gaze would immediately turn towards them.

Whenever someone entered or exited, his eyebrows would occasionally twitch, as if he was thinking about something.

In contrast, when the people in the middle row entered the high platform for their assessment, he didn’t seem to pay much attention.