“You wait, kid!” The two bandits watched Te Jiaofei with apprehension: “What good are our petty skills for this? We’ll find others…”

In the blink of an eye, the two bandits bolted away. Qian Jin stared at Te Jiaofei in front of him with utter bewilderment. The mannerisms of this bandit group were always baffling, defying rational understanding. “What is this…”

“They’re going to find others,” Te Jiaofei said, stepping closer to Qian Jin. “They feel their martial skills aren’t suitable for you, or perhaps won’t make you stronger, so they’re seeking out someone else.”

“For me?” Qian Jin was even more perplexed. Martial arts inheritances were always intensely private; what was happening today?

“Kid, you’re a regular Warrior, correct?” Te Jiaofei gazed at Qian Jin with profound calm. “Do you know the dream every single regular Warrior has held?”

Qian Jin fell silent, contemplating, then tilted his eyebrows and asked doubtfully, “Could it be… to defeat all Bloodline Warriors?”

Te Jiaofei nodded emphatically. “For years, the strongest regular Warriors in the Zhence Dynasty all emerged from the Fentutu family, yet none have ever truly managed to challenge the peak Bloodline Warriors…”

Qian Jin nodded slightly. He had heard this many times from Fen Tu Kuangge. The Fen Tu family was heralded by the Zhence Dynasty as the spiritual pillar of the regular Warriors, yet they had never truly bested the very top tier of Bloodline Warriors.

“The Fen Tu family…” Te Jiaofei’s eyes held a faint glimmer of disappointment. “They might possess an indomitable will to fight, but alas, they still fall somewhat short…”

Qian Jin parted his lips slightly, looking at Te Jiaofei. Having reached this point in the conversation, he finally grasped what this bandit was aiming for. However, the idea was initially hard to accept—that it would come from a bandit.

“I am a bandit. I’ve killed many for plunder, and I’ve slain demons too,” Te Jiaofei locked eyes with Qian Jin. “Perhaps you look down upon me as a mere bandit. But I am a Warrior too, and every true regular Warrior holds an unforgettable dream! To conquer the Bloodline Warriors…”

Yi silently drifted to stand behind Te Jiaofei, watching Qian Jin nod repeatedly with a composed expression. He had long heard rumors that the Bandit King’s group was vastly different from other bandit gangs—that here, members could exchange martial techniques and enhance their strength. He hadn't expected the rumors to be true!

Envy! A deep, indescribable envy welled up in Yi’s heart. The Saiwai (Wastelands) had always operated on a simple principle: whoever is strong dictates the rules. Leaders in high positions were constantly at risk of being overthrown by rising subordinates.

Hoarding one’s martial arts manuals! Guarding one’s spiritual energy scrolls! In the Saiwai, virtually everyone placed a higher priority on keeping secrets than their counterparts in the Zhence Dynasty or the Liangqiangxi Fa Dynasty!

Some bandit chiefs wouldn’t even transmit the complete spiritual energy scrolls to their own descendants. This was not only to guard against betrayal and usurpation from their own kin but also out of fear that if they were captured, their profound techniques might be seized.

Martial techniques, spiritual energy scrolls, these were nearly every bandit’s treasure in the Saiwai! Items so crucial that they might not even be passed to a biological son, yet here, in the Bandit King’s headquarters, they were treated like cheap, discarded greens, handed out freely.

“Those two fellows won’t be back anytime soon looking for reinforcements,” Te Jiaofei rubbed his still aching belly. “Why don’t we take you to the training grounds while we wait?”

“Training?” Qian Jin began to suspect he had somehow stumbled into a proper institution of the Zhence Dynasty rather than a bandit encampment. There were so many elements here he would never have anticipated.

“Training, of course,” Te Jiaofei affirmed, nodding his plump chin with an air of absolute certainty. “Being a bandit requires training; it’s a rule in our gang. No new recruit is immediately sent out on missions; they must undergo half a year of conditioning first.”

Training? And for six months? Qian Jin truly doubted if he wasn't in a regiment of the Zhence Dynasty army. Based on the documents held by the Qian family, new recruits in the Dynasty’s military underwent three to six months of training, regardless of how stellar their performance had been at the War Academy before enlisting.

It didn’t matter if the recruit was a peak Bloodline Warrior before joining; the three to six months of conditioning were unavoidable. Failure to meet the standard often resulted in immediate expulsion from the ranks!

Bandits, requiring training? Six months of it? Qian Jin felt genuinely enlightened. This Bandit King not only displayed his dominance overtly but also organized things in ways utterly unexpected. Judging by these methods, the Bandit King must harbor enormous ambitions.

Such infrastructural configuration resembled a small, independent state more than a mere bandit group.

“New recruits train for six months. If they don’t meet the qualifications after that period…” Te Jiaofei spread his arms and shrugged lightly. “Apologies, but we have to kick them out of the bandit gang.”

Kicked out of the gang? Qian Jin frowned. This Bandit King was truly enforcing military-style, formalized management over his bandits…

“The Eighth Desolation King asks me to inform you that if you prove unqualified…” Te Jiaofei’s expression suddenly grew grave. “…you will die! Hua Yanbugu will die too! You traded your life for theirs. If you fail, neither they nor you hold any further value.”

The chilling words ‘you will die’ leaped from Te Jiaofei’s mouth. Qian Jin detected not a hint of jest; the statement sounded as if it had been uttered directly by the Eighth Desolation King himself.

“Our training is divided into two major parts,” Te Jiaofei raised his arm, holding up his index and middle fingers in a V-shape, like scissors. “The first is the actual instruction, which must last approximately six months. The first month is dedicated to helping the trainee find the most suitable developmental path, followed by five months of intensive focus training in that chosen direction.”

The military! It was the military model again! Qian Jin nodded repeatedly. This bandit group’s training methodology was almost identical to that of the Zhence Dynasty’s army.

A warrior candidate’s transcripts from the War Academy, along with comments from teachers and principals, were always just references for the military. All new soldiers underwent six months of training upon entry, where the initial month was also used to discover the recruits’ aptitudes and developmental trajectories.

“The second part is assessment,” Te Jiaofei walked alongside Qian Jin. “This usually occurs after the instruction period concludes. Based on the scores obtained during training, a corresponding evaluation is conducted. Each type of assessment has different objectives—some are merely for positional assignment, while others, in addition to assignment, simultaneously test potential to see if the person has significant latent strength, allowing for better placement.”

Qian Jin was now utterly convinced of one thing: the Eighth Desolation King had risen to become the foremost bandit group in the Saiwai not just because of his own formidable strength, but because his approach to developing his organization differed fundamentally from other gangs.

Most bandit groups formed merely to survive or drift along, lacking grand objectives or clear direction. But it appeared to Qian Jin that from the moment the Eighth Desolation King established his gang, his goal was never just to build a bandit group.

He was absolutely forging an army! He intended to build his own army in the Saiwai, belonging solely to the Eighth Desolation King!

“That structure up ahead, which looks like a small earthen fortress, is the training center for new recruits,” Te Jiaofei pointed towards a simple-looking mud structure built from loess earth in the distance. “For the next half a year, you need to receive instruction here. The trainers there are a bunch of savage individuals. Of course…”

Te Jiaofei smiled wickedly. “As someone who’s been through it, I must give you a warning. When you report in later, remember one thing! Don’t be polite! Don’t be polite to anyone, including those bandit guides!”

“You must remember, do not be polite to anyone in there,” Te Jiaofei stopped walking, standing outside the crude earth fort, staring intently into Qian Jin’s eyes. “In a bandit gang, it’s not like in an academy. You don’t just obey teachers, school rules, or the principal. The essence of a bandit is a lack of rigid rules! In a bandit gang…”

Te Jiaofei raised his right hand in front of Qian Jin’s face, his five extended fingers slowly curling inward until they formed a fist, the knuckles cracking audibly as he applied slight pressure. “Whoever has the bigger fist holds the right to speak! Even if the person is a bandit guide, do not let yourself be kneaded like dough. This place has no need for a bandit without savagery.”

“Alright,” Te Jiaofei looked at Qian Jin with a smile. “Actually, besides wanting to spar with those two fellows earlier, I came specifically to find you and bring you here to check in. You can go inside now. Remember what I just told you. Inside, under no circumstances, become dough…”

Qian Jin curiously pushed open the thick wooden door. The quiet air was suddenly broken by a low, guttural roar, like that of a beast. A heavy wooden beam, as thick as a man’s thigh, was suspended by several ropes, resembling a battering ram used to assault city gates, and it violently swung towards Qian Jin’s chest with a deep whooshing sound.

Qian Jin looked up at the two bandits on the other side of the beam, their faces split in grins. They were pushing the log forward with powerful momentum, their eyes alight with excitement, eager to see the newcomer’s shock.

Bang! The log slammed squarely into Qian Jin’s chest. The smiles on the faces of the two young bandits widened by another fraction. They had only intended to startle the newcomer and send him tumbling aside, but this arrival seemed disappointingly weak—unable even to dodge a simple log swing. They figured he could probably be weeded out immediately.

The log struck Qian Jin’s chest solidly, the dull impact sounding like wood hitting a thick, sturdy city gate.

“Wait…”

The two young bandits shouted their excitement in unison, their eyes shining as if they could already foresee this new recruit stumbling backward mid-air, crashing to the ground, rolling frantically, and letting out endless cries of pain.

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