However, half a minute later, the two recruits were defeated, merely holding out a bit longer than the previous recruit.
He Lu gently dusted off her hands and challenged the crowd with a glance: "Anyone else want to try?"
"I'll go!"
"Count me in!"
"I'll join too!"
This time, three recruits teamed up to challenge He Lu. They stood opposite her, fully prepared.
He Lu looked at them with a cold, slightly contemptuous gaze and said, "All three of you, come at me together!"
Angered by He Lu's attitude, the three recruits exchanged glances, clenched their fists, and charged ahead. But He Lu, agile and quick, defeated them one by one in just a few seconds.
The recruits were shocked by the scene. The female special forces member of the Fire Phoenix was so formidable that they stood no chance even three-on-one. What should they do next? Were they going to admit defeat just like that?
As He Lu watched the recruits hesitating, she couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Her gaze swept through the team and suddenly focused on a recruit with a detached expression and a vacant look, clearly daydreaming.
He Lu furrowed her brow, deciding to teach this recruit a lesson. "You, come out!" she said sternly, pointing at the recruit.
Wang Meng, standing nearby, quickly whispered a reminder to Lin Beichen: "Brother Lin, He Lu is calling you!"
Lin Beichen snapped back to reality, realizing He Lu was pointing at him. He sighed helplessly; he was just feeling bored and quietly reminiscing about cultivating techniques, never expecting to be called out.
Lin Beichen slowly walked out of the lineup and stood in front of He Lu. The other recruits started to chatter instantly.
"Wow, He Lu actually called Lin Beichen out!"
"This is going to be good; Lin Beichen once punched the Flying Eagle instructor away with a single blow."
"Yeah, how did we almost forget about Brother Lin!"
"No matter how strong He Lu is, can she be stronger than the Flying Eagle instructor? I bet Brother Lin will win this time!"
"Great, Brother Lin can fight for the honor of us recruits!"
"Young man, you were caught daydreaming during training, I'll give you a lesson instead of your instructor today!" He Lu said with dissatisfaction as she looked at Lin Beichen.
Lin Beichen chuckled lightly, a lesson for him? What a joke.
"You are a girl, after all. Don't blame me for not going easy on you if you lose." Lin Beichen gave a forewarning; he didn't want to fight with a woman.
But he also understood that this was a military camp, and gender was irrelevant in combat. Refusing to compete just because his opponent was female would be disrespectful.
"Hmph, young man, you've got quite the mouth. Let's start!" He Lu snorted coldly, determined to teach this arrogant recruit a lesson.
"Ladies first," Lin Beichen said politely, not because he was particularly gentlemanly, but because he felt it was improper to make the first move against a woman.
"Don't regret it; you might not get a chance to make a move at all." He Lu sneered, a sharp flash in her eyes.
She clenched her fist, eyes resolute, shouted "Here's a trick!" and charged at Lin Beichen, aiming a punch straight at his face.
Though He Lu was a woman, her punch, fortified by Fire Phoenix training, packed quite a force. However, just when her fist came within ten centimeters of Lin Beichen, he easily caught it.
Then, with a twist of his wrist and a palm thrust, He Lu was thrown two meters back and landed heavily on the ground.
"Oof," He Lu groaned in pain. She hadn't even seen how Lin Beichen had struck.
...
"He Lu, are you okay?" The other female soldiers from Fire Phoenix quickly surrounded her and helped her up.
He Lu shook her head in pain: "I'm fine." She was in disbelief; she had been defeated in one move by this recruit.
After helping He Lu aside, the Fire Phoenix soldiers lined up in front of Lin Beichen, ready to challenge.
"I'll have a match with you!" Ye Cunxin spoke first, determined to regain some dignity for Fire Phoenix.
Lin Beichen looked at them and said indifferently, "You might as well come at me all together, to save time."
The female soldiers of Fire Phoenix, enraged upon hearing this, clenched their fists tightly. This recruit was incredibly arrogant, practically provoking them!
"All right, since you insist, don't blame us for using numbers to overwhelm you!" They shouted in unison, prepared to attack together.
But when they charged at Lin Beichen, he eluded their attacks easily with an uncanny footwork. Then, he quickly struck, defeating them one by one.
The battle ended in mere seconds!
...
"My goodness, Brother Lin is amazing!" The recruits were awestruck, clapping and cheering for Lin Beichen.
Standing aside, Tan Xiaolin was stunned. As the instructor of the Fire Phoenix Special Team, she couldn't comprehend this reality. Her team members were elite, rigorously selected, yet were so easily defeated by Lin Beichen.
"How is this possible!" She murmured to herself.
Xia Luyao sighed and explained, "You picked the wrong opponent; this guy is not just normally strong."
"Incredible?" Tan Xiaolin furrowed her brow, puzzled by the term.
Xia Luyao explained in a flat tone, "Remember when the new recruits first joined, there was a 15-kilometer pull with a 20-kilogram load? Lin Beichen completed it in just 46 minutes and 17 seconds."
"46 minutes and 17 seconds?" Tan Xiaolin's eyes widened, filled with disbelief. She clearly remembered that the best time previously set by the Yanjing Garrison District special forces was 52 minutes. And this recruit, he was even faster than that!
She turned towards Lin Beichen, her gaze full of scrutiny.
...
Meanwhile, Lin Beichen looked at the female soldiers on the ground and said softly, "Sorry, I hit a bit hard. Are you alright?"
The female soldiers of Fire Phoenix helped each other up. They had come at Xia Luyao's invitation to conduct combat training for the recruits, planning to showcase their skills, but unexpectedly fell to a recruit, a massive loss of face.
"Lin Beichen, is it?" Tan Xiaolin walked up to him, her voice steady.
"Yes." Lin Beichen nodded in reply.
"Your skills are remarkable, and Coach Xia mentioned your outstanding performance in the pull contest." Tan Xiaolin's words revealed admiration.
Lin Beichen smiled minutely and said casually, "Thanks for the compliment, though I do fairly well in many areas."
This straightforward reply surprised Tan Xiaolin slightly; normally, one would usually choose to respond modestly at this moment.
"This kid, praise him once and he starts panting, really narcissistic!" Ouyang Qian grumbled discontentedly.
Lin Beichen sighed helplessly; he merely stated the truth, how did this become narcissism?
"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do." He shrugged, adopting a nonchalant attitude.
Tan Xiaolin looked at him and suggested, "Since you're so confident, how about another match? If you can still beat our Fire Phoenix, we'll certainly believe you."
"Let's go. What would you like to compete in?" Lin Beichen accepted the challenge without fear.
"How about shooting?" Tan Xiaolin immediately proposed the contest.
Lin Beichen nodded, "Sure, then who will compete?"
"I will." Tan Xiaolin stepped up, feeling the responsibility as the Fire Phoenix's instructor to regain some dignity.
The crowd moved to the shooting range, the atmosphere tense and anticipative.
"This isn't an official match, so we won't go by regular rules. Twenty bullets each, alright?" Tan Xiaolin proposed the competition rules.
Lin Beichen had no objections and nodded in agreement. He secretly calculated that twenty bullets were more than sufficient for him.
The watching recruits began to worry for Lin Beichen; they hadn't received shooting training and didn't feel optimistic about Lin Beichen's chances.
Even Xia Luyao watched quietly, unaware of Lin Beichen's shooting ability but somehow harboring some anticipation.
The female soldiers of Fire Phoenix were cheering Tan Xiaolin on, hoping she could recover some face.
Tan Xiaolin smiled confidently, "Don't worry, watch my performance."