Inside a military command post in Guangzhou, a middle-aged man sat rigidly in his office chair, flipping through documents, his expression grave.

"Report!" a soldier snapped to attention, giving a crisp salute.

"Enter," the middle-aged man replied without looking up, his eyes locked onto the papers in his hands.

"Sir, this is the file you requested."

"Hmm. Place it here. You may go."

"Yes, Sir!" The soldier snapped another perfect salute and withdrew.

"Things in the South are about to kick off. This Yang Yi... he’s such a headache. What trick is he playing now? He's really stirring up chaos over in Macau." The middle-aged man—none other than the supreme commander of the Southern Military Region, Xu Guang—muttered.

After a brief pause, he continued to himself, "As long as he doesn't stir up a major storm that directly challenges the Central Authority, this matter must be suppressed. Still, the huge trouble he caused in Hong Kong was managed to be quieted down by certain people in the Center. It seems this young man truly possesses an incredibly deep background."

Suddenly, Xu Guang felt increasingly convinced that Yang Yi had powerful backing, making his own role as the head of the Southern Military Region seem somewhat embarrassing. A moment later, he shook his head, listening to the distant shouts outside. "It seems tomorrow marks the formal challenge for the General position. Is it starting over in the Shenzhen Military Region now?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a youth in a regulation military uniform—his face slightly darkened by the sun, yet carrying the bearing of a true commander in uniform—walked up to a makeshift podium. He adjusted the microphone and boomed, "Greetings, comrades!"

"Greetings, Major General Xu!" A sea of over ten thousand soldiers in green uniforms roared back.

"Good? You might be fine, but I certainly am not."

Undoubtedly, the young man on stage was Xu Ming. He suddenly adopted a roguish smirk and delivered a line completely incongruous with the solemn setting.

"............" The assembled troops fell into utter silence.

One soldier couldn't help himself and shouted toward Xu Ming, "Report! Sir, what exactly is wrong?"

That single question made every soldier present perk up their ears, unwilling to miss a single word.

"Everything about me is wrong, especially encountering you people," Xu Ming sneered, a hint of coldness playing on his lips.

This statement again left the entire assembly utterly bewildered, staring at Xu Ming with questioning faces.

"You all find my words rather baffling, don't you?" Xu Ming maintained his slight smile.

"We do, Sir. We request clarification!" the assembled troops responded with a unified, ringing voice.

"Let me be frank with you dogs. You self-righteous 'soldiers,' you hypocrites who claim to guard the nation—do you even know what a real soldier looks like? Dammit, do you even qualify as soldiers? You can't even stand still! Look, look at that posture—is that a proper military stance?" As he spoke, Xu Ming grew agitated, stepping down from the platform to jab a finger toward one soldier's nose. "And you! Damn it, is that how you hold your head up? Are your eyes glued to your crotch? And you, stop looking away! I'm talking about you! Damn it, look at yourself! Is this how a soldier should look in uniform?"

"............" The assembled soldiers, having been directly pointed at and verbally flayed, felt their eyes burn red with fury.

Indeed, anyone in their shoes would feel the same—this Xu Ming was clearly a lunatic, a ruffian, perhaps even a scoundrel. His every action and word matched that lecherous expression, and he was publicly berating them one by one.

"And you..."

"Slap!" A soldier batted Xu Ming's hand away and challenged him, "Major General, how did you manage to attain the rank of Major General? Don't you understand military discipline?"

"Don't understand?" Xu Ming gave a cold laugh. "You will immediately run two thousand laps around this field. You stop only when you finish, and if you dare stop, your punishment is three days and three nights without food."

This declaration solidified the belief among everyone that Xu Ming not only looked down upon them—mere recruits who had trained only a few months—but that his gaze was also intensely sharp. They glared at him with focused suspicion.

"I will not run. I will appeal to the Command. This Major General is making an unreasonable demand, and he has no grounds to physically punish me," the soldier stated firmly, his face etched with doubt toward Xu Ming.

"Oh really? You say I have no grounds for corporal punishment? Hmph, let me tell you, my rank is higher than yours, and you are still just a raw recruit. Haven't you learned that a soldier's duty is absolute obedience to orders?" Xu Ming sneered.

"I apologize. I cannot obey the orders of a villain like you."

"Is that so?" Xu Ming’s tone turned icy. He called out, "Orderlies!"

"Yes, Sir!" A military officer rushed behind Xu Ming, standing rigidly at attention, chin up, chest out, right hand held perfectly to his ear, demanding orders with a serious expression.

"Immediately strip this man of his rank and expel him from the military!" Xu Ming ground out, his face cold as ice.

"Gasp!" Hearing this, the assembled soldiers inhaled sharply. What kind of man was this? Threatening expulsion at the drop of a hat, verbally abusing everyone, lacking even the basic decorum expected of a soldier—what kind of Major General was he?

However, as soon as Xu Ming finished speaking, the soldiers, who already viewed him as an irrational officer, surged forward and surrounded him, clearly protesting his judgment against that one soldier.

"Ahem? You all...?"

"We refuse to accept this, Major General!" the mass of soldiers yelled.

"You refuse?" Xu Ming said coldly. "I'll give you one chance. Return to your positions immediately. And you," he pointed to the defiant soldier, "Strip off your uniform right now and get lost."

"............" The soldiers remained completely unmoved, simply staring fixedly at Xu Ming.

Any astute observer could tell these soldiers were incandescent with rage. They had initially been thrilled to hear that Major General Xu Ming was the youngest Major General in history, a near-legendary figure in the Southern Military Region. But the man they saw today—this utter disgrace—had sent them into a fury.

"I see you don't accept it. You truly don't accept it. Fine, fine, fine, very good!" Xu Ming spoke those words with a smile spreading across his face as he returned to the platform and shouted into the microphone, "Are you objecting because I cursed you, pointed at your faces with personal attacks, the proposed punishment for that one soldier, and my using my Major General rank to suppress you?"

"Yes!" the assembled soldiers confirmed.

"Good, very good, you do not accept it!" Xu Ming stated, each word colder than the last. "Since you don't accept it, I will give you an opportunity. Forget military rules for a moment. Let's settle this with a contest between men. There are ten thousand of you here. Now, sending just one man would be underestimating you too much. Hmmm, I will send thirty men to compete against all of you. Naturally, I, your Major General, will participate as well. If you win, I will disregard everything that happened just now. But if you lose, this bastard," he gestured toward the defiant soldier, "must run five hundred laps around this field. How about it?"

"Boom!" Xu Ming's statement caused the more than ten thousand soldiers to erupt.

"Sigh, this maniac. He lives up to his reputation as a Major General, and the Commander of this Southern Military Region too," a middle-aged veteran muttered from inside a tent, witnessing the scene.

"What? Are you suggesting that thirty-one of us against your ten thousand is bullying you?"

Provocation. Stark, naked provocation. Xu Ming’s words practically made the air around the ten thousand soldiers smoke with suppressed anger.

"Bring it on! We’re not afraid of anyone!" the soldier targeted for expulsion roared.

"Yeah! Bring it on! Who's scared of whom?"

Suddenly, chaotic roars surged up. Everyone standing there was undoubtedly a fiery, passionate man. Hearing Xu Ming's challenging words, how could they not be furious?

"Good, I've been talking for a long time, and finally, I see you're not a bunch of sissies. You still possess a bit of masculine spirit!" Xu Ming acted completely unfazed by the fact that he was about to pit thirty-one men against over ten thousand.

"Essence Squad!"

"Yes!" Hearing Xu Ming's call, thirty burly men slowly emerged. They had rugged faces, dark skin, and an aura of fierce heroism emanating from them. Their gazes were sharp, and even their acknowledgment was perfectly synchronized and chillingly cold.

Those at the very front, who could see the 'Essence Squad' Xu Ming called upon most clearly, looked upon the aura radiating from them with palpable dread.

"Major General, command us!"

"Good. I order you: fight freely later. As long as no one dies, knock down all ten thousand of these men. Do you have the confidence?"

"We do!" The voices of the thirty men were thunderous, capable of rivaling the roar of the entire ten thousand.

"Hmm!" Xu Ming acknowledged, sweeping his gaze over the ten thousand new recruits. "Are you ready?"

"Ready!"

"Fine, let's begin?" The moment Xu Ming finished speaking, a high-ranking officer stepped forward to stop him.

"Major General, this course of action is utterly unacceptable!"

"Relax, nothing will happen. Since you trust me enough to make me their instructor, you must adhere to what I say."

"Major General!" The officer's expression was clearly distressed.

"That's enough, just trust me," Xu Ming said, then leaped down and roared, "Begin!"

Suddenly, the thirty men and the ten thousand-plus soldiers became entangled. The scene appeared... rather, extremely earth-shaking. Heads surged into the fray. Instantly, everyone converged on those thirty men. And the soldier Xu Ming had cursed and tried to dismiss was there, fists clenched, glaring fiercely at him.

"Come on, I'll put you down in one move," Xu Ming taunted deliberately.

The soldier clearly couldn't take it anymore and shrieked, "Aaaah!!!"

"Damn, this guy is too monstrous," suddenly exclaimed a voice from nowhere. A young man lowered a pair of binoculars.