Jin Kui finally reached his limit; his heavy stride began to slow. Behind him, a cluster of equally exhausted recruits let out suppressed cheers—the last-place finisher was finally about to emerge.

"I've got him!"

Du Peng deliberately slowed his pace. Jin Kui thought for a moment and decisively leaped onto Du Peng's back. This action instantly stunned the recruits following close behind.

Insane? Carrying someone while running? That instantly put him in second-to-last place! The trailing recruits watched Du Peng in utter astonishment as he maintained a decent speed.

Even the veterans of the Second Battalion were startled by Du Peng’s move. Even with superior conditioning, carrying Jin Kui seemed impossible if they wanted to avoid last place.

After a stretch of running, Du Peng’s face was beaded with sweat, and his breathing had grown labored. Qin Fen silently calculated the distance. Taking Jin Kui now might still result in last place, but if he didn't take him, Du Peng wouldn't last much longer.

"My turn."

In an instant of decision, Qin Fen relieved Du Peng of Jin Kui. Du Peng’s complexion immediately improved; carrying someone over a long distance was hard enough, let alone while competing.

Squad Leader Hao laughed. A relay? Did these two really think they were some kind of invincible super-recruits?

The Dragon-Elephant Prajñā Skill surged through Qin Fen's entire body. After taking Jin Kui, he accelerated his run, leaving the recruits behind utterly dumbfounded.

Even being first in the swimming portion, running the rest of the course while carrying another man was simply too exaggerated!

Last five hundred meters... last four hundred meters...

Qin Fen's speed began to drop. Although he had pulled ahead of the recruits trailing him, the final four hundred meters were brutal...

"I'll take him!"

Deng Biao, the man Qin Fen had previously thrown aside, suddenly spoke up.

"You..."

"Give him to me!" Deng Biao raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. "We are a unit!"

After a brief consideration, Qin Fen handed Jin Kui directly to Deng Biao. The other new recruits of Squad Two moved tightly alongside Deng Biao: "Biaozi! Tell us if you get tired!"

At that moment, the recruits left behind finally understood: Squad Two wasn't just about two elite new recruits carrying weight; everyone else was running full-out while carrying someone too!

The realization hit the trailing recruits. Forgetting their exhaustion, they broke into desperate strides, straining to catch up to Deng Biao.

Three hundred meters... two hundred meters... one hundred meters...

Thump...

Zhang Xiangyang, carrying Jin Kui across the finish line into the recruit training camp, collapsed directly onto the ground. Amidst his ragged gasps, a laugh of pure satisfaction broke through.

Sixth from last! A terrible rank among two thousand recruits, yet it felt like an unbelievably satisfying achievement!

Only Qin Fen and Du Peng from Squad Two, Third Platoon, Second Company remained standing. Both leaned on their knees, chests heaving violently, sweat dripping from their chins and noses onto the concrete ground.

Carrying someone for a long-distance run was inherently exhausting, but running it on the beach had been far more taxing than on concrete. The only reason they weren't last was Qin Fen’s furious burst of effort midway through.

"Very good, very good." Squad Leader Hao’s smile carried genuine happiness. "Though there might be suspicions of cheating, I am pleased! Before dinner, follow me to your barracks to rest."

The recruit training camp was far larger than Qin Fen had imagined; standing within it felt like being in a massive ancient city. Streets, barracks, and training grounds were visible everywhere, punctuated by iron-like roars echoing from various fields.

The Federation didn't recruit new soldiers once a year, but once a month. Those reaching the required age could sign up at any time. Many soldiers training on the fields had only arrived a few months before them, yet they already possessed the bearing of seasoned veterans compared to these raw arrivals.

Walking toward the barracks while listening to Squad Leader Hao’s explanation, Qin Fen learned this was a massive military base capable of housing fifty thousand men. There were five such bases in Australia alone, with smaller ones scattered across other islands, totaling nearly a million personnel across the system.

The barracks for the new recruits were much larger than those on the transport vessel, and the occupancy wasn't by squad anymore, but by company size. Nearly eighty bunks were neatly arranged in this warehouse-like structure.

This was the barracks for the Second Company, Third Platoon. The squads who had finished earlier had already claimed their spots.

Following the military manifest, Qin Fen quickly located his bunk. The essential daily supplies provided by the Federation were already stacked neatly near his bedside.

Virtually every recruit in Squad Two, Third Platoon, Second Company collapsed onto their respective beds almost simultaneously. Even Du Peng, who had maintained rigid military posture moments before, abandoned all pretense of decorum and fell onto his cot.

Relaying Jin Kui in a run wasn't excessively difficult; carrying him while running at full capacity was an entirely different matter.

After resting for a moment, Qin Fen dragged his weary body back into a sitting position. There was still a significant amount of time before dinner, enough for the Dragon-Elephant Prajñā Skill to complete one full cycle.

As a man, Qin Fen harbored an intense desire for strength. Previously, financial constraints had forced him to sacrifice some cultivation time to conserve energy, using it to earn money just to eat.

Now, with food and shelter guaranteed, his greatest burdens were lifted. After witnessing Squad Leader Hao’s strength and hearing his brother's exploits, his craving for power intensified. He immediately initiated the cultivation method described by Guang Ren.

The third stage of the Dragon-Elephant Prajñā Skill felt stiff moving within him, and his fatigued body made the circulation even more arduous. Soon, long, rhythmic breathing sounds filled the barracks.

Du Peng, still lying down, stared at Qin Fen in disbelief. The man who had carried the weight the fastest and the farthest—the one who should be the most exhausted—was already cultivating again!

Whoosh!

Du Peng instantly sat up as well, quickly joining Qin Fen in focused, fatigued cultivation.

Two sets of deep breaths began to rise and fall in tandem throughout the barracks. The other new recruits in the squad exchanged glances, then silently settled into cross-legged positions, beginning to emulate the two of them.

Watching his seven companions sitting in meditation, Jin Kui muttered softly to himself, "I just wanted to be a small merchant. I really didn't want to be an outstanding soldier..."