Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 239 General Xue Yong of the Eastern Army

Only the first three levels of this titled mission, and the final stage of cultivating the "Lieyuan Technique" (a secret technique for attracting and controlling elements), pose a risk of death.

Even so, it's still a matter of life and death for members of the special legion.

However, for Hunzhen, this task can be said to be risk-free.

The first level is a competitive and brutal assessment, the second level is a survival assessment, and the third level is a survival assessment under the impact of willpower.

Even on the most dangerous third level, where all the examinees joined forces against him, he could suppress them all without any risk.

In theory, the only risk lies within the Naa-Yin secret technique.

Once the Navigation Technique reaches the third stage, there is a risk of the soul perishing.

But this is not a problem for Hunzhen either.

Even if he doesn't meet the cultivation requirements, he can know in advance and then forcibly stop at the second stage, so he won't have any worries.

Hunzhen couldn't help but recall the scene from about an era ago, after a catastrophic mission, when the Eastern Army general found him.

First, naturally, was the matter of Hunzhen's inflated military achievements, which he had already considered.

In response, General Xue Yong of the Eastern Army...

"Hunzhen, from today onwards, you will join the army of true gods."

This is an indisputable and irrefutable decision. Personnel changes in the military are an obligation that those who join the army should accept.

In truth, placing a ferocious beast like Hunzhen among the Lords of Law completely disrupts the army's training with the Lords of Law. In comparison, those military merits seem less important. Of course, less important doesn't mean unimportant; we also need to consider the envy of others towards Hunzhen and a series of other potential indirect problems that could affect the army's operations.

Hunzhen's combat strength is exceptional even among True Gods. Promoting him to a True God-level team and assigning him True God-level missions may not be conventional, but it is quite realistic.

Normally, true gods earn military merits faster, but for a prodigy like Hunzhen, it's the exact opposite.

In missions at the True God level, one will often encounter enemies at the Void True God level.

This means that Hunzhen can no longer completely take over missions like Kowloon Island, and can exploit military merits entirely according to their own will.

Of course, Xue Yong could easily elevate Hunzhen to the leadership level.

However, given how hard the other party was working to earn military merits, such a treatment would definitely make them dissatisfied. Therefore, it was very "humane" and Xue Yong, who still needed to ask Hunzhen for help later, made this decision to compromise.

From that moment on, Hunzhen's military status was transferred to the Bashe Army.

Only to avoid unnecessary trouble did Hunzhen put on the armor of the Tengshe Army when he participated in the title conferment mission.

However, for Xue Yong, transferring Hunzhen's military status was only a secondary matter.

The most important thing, however, is something else—

"Sergeant Hunzhen, are you aware of... the titled mission?"

Xue Yong asked in a deep voice.

Title-granting missions are missions that can only be undertaken by soldiers of special legions, and only by those whose military merits and demonstrated strength have been recognized by the military system.

With Hunzhen's identity, he was able to access relevant information when exchanging items at the supply depot.

Although Hunzhen hadn't gone to see it, he still nodded when Xueyong asked him about it.

Xue Yong nodded in satisfaction and said, "To obtain a title is the greatest honor for every resident of the Jin world. Would you be willing to participate in the next title-granting mission as a soldier of the Eastern Army?"

Even if it were an ordinary genius soldier, even one of Luo Feng's caliber, Xue Yong would still not be moved.

But the level of Hunzhen is naturally different.

Knowing full well that Wuqi Tower was built by His Majesty the God King to cultivate an unparalleled genius, and that the entire Jin world probably exists to nurture such a genius.

After discovering Hunzhen's abilities, Xue Yong naturally felt a surge of excitement.

In the original story, Luo Feng only discovered the title mission information when he was checking Wu Qishen's information. He was worried that Hunzhen had missed the title mission information, and he was also very curious about how this person could earn military merits comparable to a weak commander as soon as he joined the army, so he chose to meet him in person.

As for the question of "whether you are willing," it is actually just a polite way of asking.

After all, Xue Yong never imagined that a soldier would refuse a title given to him by the general.

Judging from his own experience, Xue Yong felt that any soldier would be incredibly excited and overjoyed after hearing his words, even trembling with fear, and would agree without hesitation.

"General, I am unwilling."

So when Hunzhen calmly said this, both Xueyong and Tarosa were somewhat stunned.

"What did you say?" Xue Yong wondered if she had misheard something.

"I refuse," Hunzhen replied, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect.

"..."

The thought of slapping Hunzhen into the cycle of reincarnation arose in Xue Yong's mind, but of course, it was just a thought.

The title conferment mission is entirely voluntary. If Hunzhen is simply not mentally prepared, and he sends the other party into reincarnation, causing a genius who is very likely to obtain a title at the level of the Lord of Laws to perish, wouldn't that ruin His Majesty the God King's plan?

Therefore, even if he harbored resentment, Xue Yong would not force Hunzhen to perform any actions.

Hunzhen was also very clear that once he revealed his talent, which was on a different dimension from the beings in the Jin world, Xue Yong and the other three generals would definitely not make things difficult for him, which is why he dared to refuse outright.

Tarosa, unaware of this, immediately changed her expression.

Let alone the Lord of Laws, even if an ordinary True God dares to disobey the Commander, or even slightly offends him, the Commander will punish him severely without causing any gossip.

Even if the offended commander had a bad temper and killed someone in a fit of rage, at most he would just be gossiped about by his subordinates.

If a commander is like this, how much more so a general who is considered supreme in the world of Jin?

"General, please forgive me!"

Tarosa, trembling with fear, apologized while slapping Hunzhen: "Why aren't you apologizing to the General yet!"

To Tarosa's utter shock, however, her strike, intended to uphold Xueyong's authority, was blocked by Xueyong himself.

Under Tarosha's utterly astonished gaze, General Xueyong, who had been directly rejected, still looked at Hunzhen with a gentle expression and asked softly, "Hmm? Why are you unwilling? Could you tell me? If there are any difficulties, I will do my best to help you."

Tarosa opened her mouth, unable to speak for a moment, her mind reeling: "That gentle appearance? Is this General Xue Yong?"

He felt like he was dreaming.

Neither Xueyong nor Hunzhen paid any more attention to Tarosa.

"fear death."

As Hunzhen uttered those two words in a calm voice, Xue Yong was immediately taken aback.

In the world of Jin, where the concept of "reincarnation" exists, death is not a taboo subject, especially for someone who dies for the God-King and for honor.

But Xue Yong had to admit that, just as there are all kinds of birds in a big forest, there will always be some exceptions and oddities among the vast population of the Jin world.

Perhaps the soldier in front of me is such a freak.

Having clarified the reason in his mind, Xue Yong still couldn't quite convince himself. With a strange expression, he said to Hunzhen, "Are you worried about the near-death survival rate of the titled mission? Hunzhen, don't worry. It's true that ordinary soldiers face a near-death experience, but for a prodigy like you, I dare to guarantee, as a general of the Eastern Army, that there is absolutely no risk of death!"

While verbally comforting Hunzhen, Xue Yong was inwardly bewildered: "Why can this little guy kill True Gods like chickens, even invincible True Gods, and still worry about this so-called life-or-death mission for the soldiers of the Law Lords???"

To be honest, the survival difficulty of the account ban mission is at most slightly higher than the disaster mission, and far less than the reincarnation mission.

You're someone who can completely control disaster-level missions, and probably dominate even the most difficult ones, so why are you afraid of dying in a mission that's considered a ban?

What a fuss!

However, Xueyong wanted to maintain his image as a gentle boss, so he never uttered such words.

Upon hearing Xue Yong's assurance, Hunzhen, seemingly oblivious to the danger, gave Xue Yong a wary look and asked, "General, have you participated in any missions related to this title?"

"Well……"

A black line appeared on Xue Yong's forehead. He seemed to have a rough idea of ​​what Hunzhen wanted to say, but he still didn't intend to lie and nodded: "No."

"So you know all the details of the title-sealing mission?" Hunzhen pressed, relentlessly pursuing Xueyong's questions.

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"...I don't know." Xue Yong's lips twitched.

How could His Majesty the God-King possibly have fully informed these seemingly glamorous but actually just stewards about his plans?

His understanding of Wuqi Tower was not as good as that of the four commanders inside, so how could he possibly claim to know everything?

Hunzhen looked at Xueyong with a puzzled expression: "Then, sir, what is the basis for your guarantee?"

Xue Yong: "..."

We can't talk today.

After a moment of silence, Xue Yong said, "Hunzhen, you should know that those who are not commanders need to undertake missions every now and then. Like this disaster-level mission you just had, you encountered an invincible true god. Next, when you join the Bashe Army, the missions you will face will be even more difficult. It is not impossible that you will encounter a Void True God who is even more powerful than the superior next to you in other missions."

"But if you complete the account banning task, you have the right not to accept other tasks, or you can freely decide whether to participate in tasks. Isn't it better to resolve subsequent risks with a single, extremely low-risk account banning task?"

To everyone's surprise, Hunzhen remained completely unmoved and shook his head: "General, that's not how it is."

"Hmm?" Xue Yong was puzzled.

Hunzhen, however, said with unwavering certainty, "I pride myself on my survival skills; I could even survive against a Void God. But... this title-granting mission is His Majesty the God-King's doing! What I fear is His Majesty the God-King's methods, which surpass even those of a Void God and an Eternal God!"

Xue Yong: "..."

We can't talk today.

Xue Yong looked up at the sky.

Are you suggesting he say, "There's no need to worry about His Majesty the God-King's methods"?

This was something that Xueyong, who regarded the God King as his faith, would never do.

Tarosha, who was watching the conversation between the two, couldn't help but twitch: "He can survive even when facing a Void God. I feel like this kid is implying something..."

But now he understood that the general valued and treated Hunzhen with far greater respect and leniency than the commander. There was no room for him to speak or complain here, so he could only silently bury his extra thoughts in his heart.

Xue Yong scratched his head, finally recovering his composure. He looked at Hunzhen with a slightly somber expression and asked, "Soldier Hunzhen, since you are so afraid of death, why did you join the army? According to you, wouldn't it have been better to just be a wandering knight?"

Even with Xue Yong's composure, he seemed somewhat stammering.

"General, this is a military achievement!"

Hunzhen stood tall and proud, his eyes gleaming with fervor, and said, word by word, "General, I possess extraordinary abilities, allowing me to grow stronger by absorbing vast quantities of weapons and armor! If I were merely a lowly Law Lord, how could I possibly make a great contribution to His Majesty the God-King? Only by preserving my strength and pushing myself to the limit can I surpass true gods, surpass commanders, and even… surpass you, General, to contribute to His Majesty the God-King! And only in the army, by earning military merit, can I fulfill my long-cherished wish!"

The fact that a large number of battle swords and armor treasures were exchanged could not be hidden from the generals of the Dominator Army System.

Upon hearing Hunzhen's words, Xueyong's gaze immediately softened.

"I told you, how could anyone in this world of Jin possibly be unwilling to do their utmost for His Majesty the God-King, or not be fervent in their pursuit of a title and glory!"

"So, this kid has much grander goals! He values ​​making tangible contributions more than empty titles!"

"It's all round now, all round now!"

Xue Yong looked at Hunzhen with admiration.

As for Hunzhen's boast of surpassing him, he was not annoyed at all, but instead praised him highly.

"Very well! Sergeant Hunzhen, if what you say is true, and you are willing to serve His Majesty the God-King, what harm is there in giving my all to help your talent reach its peak!?"

Xue Yong patted Hunzhen on the shoulder and said this.

And this is the story of how General Xue Yong of the Eastern Army was tricked by Hunzhen out of his military merits accumulated over countless eras, and was reduced to nothing in one day.

Even generals must follow the rules of the military system.

Because those were the rules set by His Majesty the God-King, and they were unwilling to transgress them.

Like commanders, generals also earn their military merits through years of receiving a fixed salary, much like civil servants.

It's inevitable that a general is richer than a commander, but not by a hundred or a thousand times.

Even so, he easily elevated the Hunzhen Time-Sorrow Demon Blade and the Void Ghost Armor to the level of Eternal True God, only one step away from completely dissolving that barrier.

Let's go back to the present.

In the Eastern Army's main camp, General Xue Yong's gaze seemed to transcend time and space, looking towards the God King Realm.

A slight smile played on his lips: "I suppose Hunzhen has already begun his title conferment mission by now? Perhaps our long-awaited moment is finally about to be realized!"

If even someone as extraordinary as Hunzhen couldn't fulfill Wu Qilou's title-granting mission, he truly couldn't imagine what kind of genius could pass the test left behind by His Majesty the God-King.

This is why he was willing to devote all his family's resources to helping Hunzhen.

Thinking of her empty "bank account balance," Xue Yong's smile suddenly froze, then turned into a bitter smile.

A hint of lingering fear flashed in Xue Yong's eyes: "As expected of the most heaven-defying Law Master I have ever seen. Even after exhausting all my military merits, I still couldn't push him to his limit."

Xue Yong clenched his fist silently, and the images of three colleagues of similar status suddenly flashed in his mind, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"No!"

"How can I be the only one suffering... no, how can I be the only one putting in the effort!?"

"If Hunzhen passes the test and receives the title, I must have my good brothers help the heir of the esteemed God-King!"

"This is our inescapable duty and responsibility as the four generals!"

(End of this chapter)