Chapter 16 - Legion
Hao Xuan packed his things and got ready to leave with the man. Few mins later he came back with a red horse, it had two horns on its head and was about twice the size of a normal horse.
"Come, let"s get going," he gestured towards Hao Xuan.
"Um, sir, where are we going?" Hao Xuan said as he got up on the imposing looking horse with some difficulty.
"My name is Yue Fei, you can just call me Uncle Yue from now on. I"m taking you to the Military Academy. That"s where the best and brightest of Mei kingdom come to challenge themselves and others," he said with a small smile.
Hao Xuan nodded back at him and with a signal from Yue Fei, the horses started running.
Even though Hao Xuan had broken through the Elementary Realm and become significantly stronger, when the horses picked up speed he was holding on for his dear life. He thought if he relaxed for even a second it would be catastrophic.
The horses were so fast that they looked like red streaks from afar. Hao Xuan had no idea what was going on, his surroundings were changing so fast that he couldn"t see anything. After about 5 mins or so they slowed down enough for Hao Xuan to get himself together.
They were in a completely different area. The roads were extremely wide, enough for a few dozen carriages to travel side by side.
In the middle of the road, there was a ma.s.sive open gate with the words "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country" engraved on it with a weapon, giving off an extremely sharp and domineering aura.
Below the gate were about a dozen soldiers standing still in full armor with huge spears by their sides. They were at least 8 Feet tall and looked very imposing.
As they reached the gate the soldiers gave a deep bow and moved aside without a single word.
They kept moving and pa.s.sed by many large buildings. After a few mins, they came to a stop near a small villa with a single guard outside. But that one person gave off an aura that could crush Hao Xuan in a second.
They got off their horses and approached the villa, the guard gave a slight bow and said "General" and then went back to his position.
They went up to the main door and Yue Fei knocked once and waited. A few seconds later and a pretty maid appeared.
"Please follow me," she said formally and led the way.
They went to a courtyard at the back where a frail looking old man with a white beard was sitting under a tree, reading a book.
As they entered the courtyard, Yue Fei told Hao Xuan to wait near the entrance and slowly walked towards the old man.
"Sir!" he said giving a deep bow and stood silently to the side.
"Oh, this is a nice surprise. I haven"t seen you in several decades little boy, you"ve gotten big," the old man said without putting his book down or looking up.
"It"s all thanks to your teachings sir," Yue Fei replied respectfully.
"So what brings you here today?" the old man asked.
"I wanted to recommend someone for the "Red legion"," Yue Fei said after a few seconds. When the old man heard him he finally put the book down and looked at him. Hao Xuan was shocked to see his appearance, the old man had four eyes!
"The Red Legion? You know only the most elite of the elite are eligible to apply for it, and even then they need to pa.s.s several tests. Who is it that you think would be a good fit for it? And why the Red legion specifically?" he asked looking straight at Yue Fei.
"It"s a young human boy with a rare const.i.tution. The Royal doctor examined him and said his potential is endless," Yue Fei said moving aside and looking at Hao Xuan.
When Hao Xuan saw them looking at him he got nervous and for no reason at all and stood up straight with his chest out.
The old man slightly smiled looking at his antics and motioned with his hand to come over.
Hao Xuan slowly walked over without even knowing why he was so nervous. The old man looked at him and saw his eyes. He frowned and looked at Yue Fei for confirmation, who nodded in response.
"Come, child," the old man said as he extended his hand. Hao Xuan hesitated for a second and then grabbed his hand.
The old man sent his own Qi into Hao Xuan"s body and examined every single part of it. Hao Xuan felt like there was a worm inside his body, wriggling around. But when he reached the eyes, all of his Qi vanished without a trace. Slightly shocked he sent another burst of Qi straight towards Hao Xuan"s eyes and it vanished as well.
Stunned, the old man contemplated for a few seconds and then rang a small bell that was right next to him.
The maid came back and the old man pointed towards Hao Xuan saying, "Take him to the Sanguis camp and tell No. 1 to take care of him. If he can"t break into the Earth Realm within 5 weeks then send him back to the general."
"Yes," the maid replied and turned towards Hao Xuan and said, "Follow me".
She led him to the back of the villa and they left from another small gate. Outside it there was a small dirt path which they followed for about two hours through a forest.
They walked towards a small mountain not too far from them. After climbing for a few mins they reached the top. There was a wooden doorway there with a small screen right next to it.
"Place your hand on the screen," she said to Hao Xuan as she stood next to it.
Hao Xuan obliged and put his hand on the screen which then lit up. He felt a small p.r.i.c.k and some of his blood fell on the screen which was absorbed in a second.
After that a new page showed up with some empty fields which the maid filled herself after asking Hao Xuan for the information.
Name: Hao Xuan
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Species: Human
Rank: N/A
Unit: Red Legion
"Alright, you can enter now. I have messaged No. 1, he will be waiting for you at the end of the trail," the maid said, and then without waiting for a response she turned around and left.
Hao Xuan looked at her back as she walked down the path, then he turned around and looked at the gate. All he could see were trees on the other side. After taking a deep breath, he walked forward and entered.
***
Soon as he entered through the gate the scene changed. There were several small buildings in a circle with different numbers on them. There were trees and greenery all around the place. In the middle was a large open hall without any doors where a man was standing.
He looked to be about 25-26 years of age. He had Short black hair and a scar going from his left eye to his cheek. With a graceful figure and a height of about 6"4 feet, he didn"t look like the other soldiers Hao Xuan had seen but rather a scholar, if not for the scar.
He smiled and waved at Hao Xuan from afar.
Hao Xuan walked up to him and introduced himself.
"Hahaha, it"s been a while since we got a new member. My name is Han Xin, but here we don"t use names. Brother Hao can call me No. 1 or First brother from now on," he said with a laugh.
"Ah, how do you do First Brother," Hao Xuan said with a formal bow.
"Good good. Brother Hao, other than me there are 7 others here. They also have a number a.s.signed to them, you will be referred to as Ninth brother from now on," he said as he led Hao Xuan to his quarters, it had "Nine" written on it and wasn"t too big, with only two simple rooms.
"This will be your place. You can put down your belongings here. I see you don"t have a storage ring, come let me show you around the camp and get you some supplies."
They went back to the open hall and this time he led Hao Xuan inside.
As they entered, the scene changed once again. The interior of the hall was absolutely ma.s.sive. It looked to be several Kilometres in diameter. It was fully furnished and looked like the entrance of an international bank from earth. In the middle was a large desk with some chairs and several screens.
He went up to the desk and sat in front of one of the screens.
"Ninth brother, here you can look for any techniques you need and also order cultivation materials and different pills. They will be delivered to your quarters as soon as possible. You can also send and receive messages here from anyone in the outer world. There are also a huge number of books regarding cultivation available so if you want to find something you can either just ask me or look it up here," No. 1 explained.
"Come have a look. I"ve already placed an order for a storage ring for you."
Hao Xuan went to one of the other screens and sat down.. As he put his hand on it, it lit up with a small message "Welcome Trainee Hao Xuan".