If I made you a special forces soldier, would you become a terrestrial god?

For Su Chen, the holiday was the most luxurious time in four years.

He stopped thinking about "Kunlun" and "Super Weapon Force" and devoted all his time to the girl who had been thinking about him for more than 1,400 days and nights.

Like all couples in love in the capital, they did all sorts of mundane things.

In the middle of Houhai Lake, Su Chen rented a small boat and rowed somewhat awkwardly. Du Feifei sat at the bow, her hands supporting her chin, watching him with a beaming smile. Sunlight shone on her white dress, the reflected light making Su Chen squint slightly; the scene was more captivating than any landscape.

In the movie theater, a highly acclaimed romance film was playing. In the darkness, Du Feifei quietly rested her head on his shoulder. When the film reached a touching moment, her hands clenched tightly, as if she wanted to hold onto this warmth she had regained forever.

What made Su Chen both laugh and cry was at the amusement park.

Du Feifei pointed to the carousel and insisted that he ride it with her once.

Looking at the gaudy, bouncing rocking horses, and the group of little kids who weren't even as tall as his legs around him, Su Chen felt a chill run down his spine. He, the "Dragon Soul War God" who had slaughtered his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, was now going to ride this?

"Brother Chen, please!" Du Feifei hugged his arm and shook it vigorously.

Su Chen kept a straight face, trying to maintain his last shred of dignity: "That's too childish."

"What's childish about it! It's called childlike innocence! Hurry up, hurry up!"

Finally, after the girl's persistent pleading, Su Chen, with a dark expression, sat on a... pink rocking horse.

Looking at the girl's genuine, radiant smile and listening to her silvery laughter, Su Chen's once rock-solid, otherworldly heart was finally touched by a touch of human helplessness and indulgence.

He even felt that this was a greater test of his character than facing an enemy division.

On a park bench, the two nestled together, having endless things to talk about.

"Brother Chen, you have no idea. In the two years after you left, my brother Du Fei talked about you every day, saying that you were his inner demon and his lifelong enemy." Du Feifei leaned against Su Chen and whispered.

"Later, after he graduated from the National Defense University, he came back as a completely different person. He never mentioned you again and just trained like a madman. When I asked him what was wrong, he said, 'Some people are not meant to be opponents, but to be looked up to.'"

Su Chen just smiled, ruffled her hair, and didn't reply.

Du Fei is a promising talent; he is ambitious and hardworking, and his future achievements are limitless.

"And another thing," Du Feifei looked up at him, her eyes fixed on him, and said earnestly, "my enlistment application has been approved. I've been assigned to the Southeast Military Region General Hospital as a surgeon. My grandfather spoke up for me, and although my dad still had a dark expression, he had no choice but to agree."

"Southeast Military Region?" Su Chen's heart skipped a beat.

That's where he's most likely to go in the future.

"Yes, I heard there's going to be some big developments there in the future." Du Feifei shook her head smugly. "That way, we'll be closer to each other. You... if you have time in the future, you must come and see me."

She suddenly put on a stern face, mimicking an adult, and poked Su Chen's chest with a finger: "If you dare not call me for more than a month, I'll... I'll go to your army's combat arena and wait for you! I'll have my brother teach me grappling techniques, and I'll spar with you every day!"

Su Chen looked at her feigned fierceness, which ultimately lacked any real threat, and couldn't help but chuckle softly. He pulled her tightly into his arms and whispered in her ear, "Okay, I'll definitely come see you. You don't need to come and wait for me."

Happy times are always fleeting, like a glimpse of a beautiful bird.

On the last day of the holiday, Su Chen was going back to school.

The station was bustling with people. Du Feifei hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest, without saying a word, but her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed all her reluctance to part.

"Alright, silly girl, it's not like we'll never see each other again." Su Chen gently patted her back. "I'll come find you after I graduate."

"Hmm..." Du Feifei responded sullenly, raising her red, tear-filled eyes, looking like a pitiful little rabbit.

She opened her hand, revealing a small jade safety buckle in her palm, its surface smooth and warm, delicately woven with red string.

"I...I went to the temple to get it, you...you must wear it close to your body."

Su Chen took it; the jade clasp still held her warmth. He solemnly hung it around his neck and tucked it into his shirt.

"Pinky promise." The girl held up her little finger.

Su Chen chuckled, but still earnestly extended his little finger and hooked it with hers.

"Pinky promise, hang yourself, for a hundred years, no take-backs."

After saying goodbye to his family and girlfriend, Su Chen embarked on his journey home once again.

When he stepped back into the gates of the National Defense University, the worldly air he had acquired quickly faded away, returning him to a serene and tranquil state.

The world refines the heart, and the foundation of one's path becomes ever stronger.

This journey home subtly improved his ethereal cultivation as a terrestrial immortal, and gave him a more mortal perspective on the Dao. Protecting this land, protecting this bond—perhaps this is the true meaning of power.

Over the next two years, all the faculty and students of the National Defense University witnessed once again what it means to be a "living legend".

Su Chen entered an incomprehensible state of study.

The library became his second home. He no longer confined himself to the military field, but rather, like a greedy sponge, frantically absorbed all the crystallization of human knowledge: physics, chemistry, bioengineering, artificial intelligence, quantum mechanics, philosophy…

His reading speed can no longer be described as "reading ten lines at a glance." Often, after flipping through a book, he has already deconstructed, absorbed, and reconstructed its entire content, making it part of his knowledge system.

The School of International Relations had a tiered classroom that could hold 500 people, and it was packed to capacity.

Professor Zhang, hailed as the "Kissinger of China," is speaking eloquently on the podium, analyzing the current global geopolitical landscape.

"...Therefore, from the perspective of energy security and geopolitical buffering, our strategic layout in the 'New World' is of paramount importance to the national strategy for the next thirty years, without a doubt!"

As soon as Professor Zhang finished speaking, a figure in the back row stood up.

"Professor Zhang, I have three questions."

All eyes turned to Su Chen.

Professor Zhang adjusted his glasses, smiled, and nodded: "Su Chen, please go ahead. Your questions are always very insightful."

"First," Su Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly echoed throughout the classroom, "your so-called 'New World' strategy is a linear deduction based on the existing international order and technological level. But if we consider the breakthrough progress in controlled nuclear fusion technology within the next ten years, which would overturn the global energy landscape, wouldn't this strategy instantly transform from a strategic asset into a strategic liability?"

Professor Zhang's smile froze for a moment.

"Secondly, our eastward shift in strategic focus will inevitably create a gap in our western defenses. And won't our adversaries use the 'clash of civilizations' theory as a pretext to unite several extremist forces in Central Asia, forming an unexpected source of conflict, thus achieving their strategic objective of 'relieving the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao'?"

The classroom was completely silent, and Professor Zhang's forehead was already beaded with sweat.

"Third," Su Chen paused, then posed his final question, "all the strategic games you just mentioned assume one premise: that war remains an act between nations. But if a 'non-state actor' with extraordinary power emerges—an individual or organization capable of single-handedly paralyzing the financial system or even the military command system of a medium-sized country—would our existing defense systems and strategic plans still be meaningful?"

"..."

Dead silence.

Professor Zhang stood on the podium, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. His prized theoretical system, faced with these three questions, was as fragile as a house made of paper.

That class ended prematurely in an awkward silence.

After class, countless people witnessed Professor Zhang, a septuagenarian and academic giant, chasing after Su Chen's retreating figure, jogging along and calling out, "Su Chen! Wait a minute! Let's talk some more! What exactly is this 'non-state actor' you mentioned earlier? You should become my student! No, no, I'll become your student!"

Su Chen's figure became a moving spectacle.

He was simultaneously pursuing graduate and doctoral degrees in more than a dozen different majors. While other brilliant students were still racking their brains for an SCI paper, his papers were already frequently appearing on the covers of Nature and Science in an almost "page-filling" manner, each one enough to overturn the basic understanding of a field.

A classified laboratory.

An elderly academician with white hair stared intently at an energy curve on the screen, his hands trembling.

"...98.7% energy conversion rate...peak output power...exceeds the instantaneous total power of the Three Gorges Dam..."

"This...this is the test data for the fifth generation of the 'True Qi Resonance Amplification Module'?"

"Yes, Dean. Based on the theoretical model provided by Comrade Su Chen, the prototype we built..."

The old academician suddenly grabbed the secure phone on the table, his voice trembling: "Get General Yang on board! Immediately! Tell him... things are about to change!"

In Su Chen's perception, two years was nothing more than two cycles of sunrise and sunset.

For the rest of the National Defense University, these two years have been two years of living in the shadow of "God".

Shi Lei and Chen Mo had already graduated and been assigned to their posts, becoming elite company commanders in grassroots units. Du Fei, on the other hand, stayed on as a faculty member with top marks, becoming the youngest tactical instructor at the National Defense University.

During a tactical simulation class, Du Fei pointed to the sand table and said to the students below in a deep voice, "Remember, perfect tactics are not about having no casualties, but about achieving the ultimate strategic objective in the shortest time and at the lowest cost. I once met a person who was the embodiment of tactics themselves. His existence could turn all complex variables into calculable constants."

The trainees knew who "that person" was that Instructor Du was talking about.

That name has long been a taboo, a myth, at the National Defense University.

Chase?

Don't be ridiculous. When someone is so outstanding that you can't even feel jealous, all that's left is to look up to them in awe.

Finally, the five-year period has come to an end.

The phone rang in Su Chen's dormitory.

On the other end of the phone was Grandpa Su Hongjun's aged yet powerful voice.

"Xiao Chen, come to me."

"yes!"

Half an hour later, in the study of the Su family's old house.

Su Hongjun pushed a red folder stamped with the highest level of secrecy seal in front of Su Chen.

"Five years of honing this sword, the nation is waiting to use it."

"Now, it is time to forge a scabbard for this sword, and a sword formation powerful enough to shake the world."

The folder prominently displays two large, gold-embossed characters—

Kunlun.