Jun Xie was somewhat speechless. If he hadn't transmigrated, Jun Mo Xie would certainly have continued down the path of a dissolute wastrel; there was no room for deep, hidden schemes! In fact, had the Jun family’s glory remained intact, he probably would have faithfully maintained that role of a playboy, continuing it indefinitely! At most, he might have stepped out occasionally to kill a few deserving scoundrels when the urge struck.

"Even if that were true, I would still choose to continue my frivolous misbehavior in the future," Jun Xie looked at Jun Wu Yi and grinned mischievously. "As long as Third Uncle is well, with a great tree like him supporting me, I’ll remain the original Jun Mo Xie. Who would dare provoke me?"

Jun Wu Yi chuckled, "Suit yourself. I've seen clearly... you kid never takes a loss!"

At this moment, the two large battalions had completed the tasks assigned by Jun Xie, with their respective captains, squadron leaders, and squad leaders standing at the front of their formations.

Jun Xie turned and walked toward them. "From this moment on, these two battalions are each other's greatest rivals! For now, I don't know much about your specific conditions, so I won't be issuing new training plans immediately! For the next ten days, all training tasks will proceed as originally planned, but!...." Jun Xie emphasized his words, "For every single exercise, you will increase the training volume threefold based on the original requirements! Do you understand?!"

A collective sharp intake of breath echoed.

"In three days, the squads will compete against each other. Each squadron will select one squad to participate in the squadron competition! In five days, each squadron will select its top performer to participate in the battalion competition! In seven days, the two battalions will clash to determine the winner!"

"In the battalion competition, whichever battalion loses, the battalion commander must stand on the competition stage in front of all three hundred members of both battalions and slap his own face! Do you understand!?"

Silence descended.

"I ask you one more time, do you understand?" Jun Xie asked chillingly.

"We understand!" the entire assembly roared.

"The two battalion commanders will oversee the training. I don't care how you design the drills; I only want to see the results of the competition seven days from now! I want to see exactly who it is that will be slapping their own face on the high platform before three hundred people as the loser!"

"This kind of competition will be held once a month from now on; the battalion commander who loses three consecutive months will strip naked and slap his own face on the stage, plus bark like a dog! I will have every person in the manor come to witness this performance!"

"I have no interest in knowing any of your names right now; all that comes after half a year! I have already decided on two names for your two battalions. The First Battalion shall be 'Can Tian' (Broken Heaven), and the Second Battalion shall be 'Shi Hun' (Soul Devourer)! However, only the strong are qualified to join; you are not worthy of these names yet! Everything depends on whether you can meet my requirements in half a year! If you do, I will remember every single one of your names! If you don't... by then, you will have long since turned into piles of white bones! Naturally, the names will be forfeited!"

"When you return, whether eating or using the latrine, you must adhere to set times. Anyone who fails to return within the allotted time will be severely punished without question! Regardless of the matter, a timetable must be drawn up. Each battalion must devise its own punishment plan! Then submit it to me! Now, obey my command, all personnel dismissed!"

The two newly appointed battalion commanders, who hadn't even enjoyed the joy of their promotion, were immediately dragged down to hell! With faces resembling bitter gourds, they fiercely led their troops away.

Everyone had already made up their minds. Not only would they avoid being the one to slap their own face, but they were also eager to see the opposing side perform the humiliation, preferably watching the other party slap his face naked while barking like a dog... Yes, that would be truly satisfying.

As for the competition, who was afraid of whom? It was merely a matter of increasing the training volume for these youngsters. If threefold wasn't enough, then fivefold; if fivefold wasn't enough, then tenfold. They would train until they dropped dead...

From this moment forward, the three hundred guards of the Jun family officially entered a life of purgatory...

Outside the training ground, Old Master Jun let out a long breath, gently waved his hand, and quietly left with Old Pang.

"Master, should we summon the Young Master for questioning?"

"Question him about what? Let him be," Old Master Jun’s tone was relaxed, and his mood was exceptionally cheerful.

"Master, why did the Young Master only specify punishing the battalion commander when stating the penalties? Do the others not need to be punished?"

"Heh heh, Old Pang, if you were that battalion commander, and your own troops lost the battle, forcing you to slap your own face in full view of everyone—perhaps even naked—what would you think? Would you let your squadron leaders off the hook? By the same logic, after receiving the tempestuous fury from the battalion commander, do you think the squadron leader would show any kindness to the squad leaders below him? And so on. Every level bears a burden heavier than the one above it! By the time it reaches the ordinary soldiers, it forms an unprecedented, thunderous pressure! This is called managing soldiers through soldiers—an unheard-of, yet utterly superb method of drilling troops! For Mo Xie to devise such a strategy, if he were commanding troops as a general, he would undoubtedly become a great marshal!" Old Master Jun was deeply pleased.

"Oh... so that's how it is!" Old Pang pondered carefully. "The Young Master's tactic is truly vicious."

"Vicious? No, no," Old Master Jun seemed lost in thought, "Only this way can everyone be used to their fullest potential and talent; and the true person in power can free his hands to attend to other matters. Moreover, this method is the most economical in terms of manpower, making it the most effective approach. Whether governing an army, a nation, or commerce, it is an excellent method! At least for now, I haven't thought of a better way! Good lad!"

"Mo Xie... Heh heh heh..." Jun Zhan Tian narrowed his eyes, his old face smiling like a blooming... "Fortunately, His Majesty the Emperor did not agree to that marriage alliance; otherwise... this old man almost ruined him!"

Jun Wu Yi immediately mobilized his trusted confidants, assigning one person to be responsible for finding each of the five medicines. Although the Jun family's medicine stores had quite a few supplies, the specific herbs Jun Xie requested were all quite rare and needed to be purchased specifically from apothecaries!

Jun Xie hurriedly returned to his own room, too busy to examine his spoils of war, and sat down cross-legged after closing the doors and windows.

Today, while walking on the street, Jun Xie had felt unusual fluctuations in the churning white mist within his mind on several occasions. However, upon returning home, that feeling vanished, which greatly puzzled him.

But when he calmed himself and meticulously circulated his internal energy once, he detected no abnormality. He couldn't help but feel bewildered—could it be due to external factors?

Another point of great confusion for Jun Xie was that whenever he wasn't actively circulating his energy, the white mist in his mind would involuntarily rush out, circle through his meridians once on its own, and then return. These were also the moments when the white mist emerged most frequently, bringing the greatest benefit to Jun Xie's body.

Yet, when Jun Xie focused entirely on cultivating, only tiny wisps of the white mist would appear, traveling within his meridians along with the vital flow he generated. The effect was actually less beneficial than when the mist emerged automatically.

The third point Jun Xie couldn't comprehend was that the Kaitian Zaohua Gong (Heaven-Opening Creation Technique)—judging by its name and bizarre origin—was naturally an extraordinary cultivation method! But ever since he had gained sensation of Qi, the vital flow within his meridians had remained only in minute threads with each exertion. No matter how hard Jun Xie tried, he could not make it grow even slightly stronger! While this small amount was incredibly resilient and convenient to use—the quality was sufficient—the quantity was consistently lacking.

For comparison, if the internal energy from his previous life was as thick as a finger within the meridians, the current vital flow was only about as thick as a single strand of hair—the difference was undeniably immense, almost incomparable! But in terms of quality, if the previous life's internal energy was like hemp rope, then the current vital flow was at least, conservatively speaking, like the legendary Silkworm Thread that no treasure blade or sharp weapon could damage. In this aspect as well, the two were incomparable!