"Halt!"

Zhao Chi called a halt to the training.

He had originally wanted to jump straight into practical combat sparring, as that was the fastest way to improve.

But it seemed that wasn’t going to work.

He had to start with the basics.

Soon, the Female Soldiers reformed from two rows into a single line.

Each of them held a Gun in their right hand.

"Alright, everyone, follow my lead. Remember, only use your right hand. Keep your left hand in front of your chest and pretend you’re holding a Shield. Understand?"

"Understood!"

"Good. Thrust!"

The Female Soldiers struck out in unison.

Their Power was immense. Though their movements weren’t perfect, the tree branches in their hands were remarkably steady, not shaking at all.

"Retract!"

"Thrust!"

"Retract!"

"Good, just like that. Maintain your stance and keep your footing steady. When you thrust, remember to put your core into it. Alright, continue!"

"Thrust!" ×100

"Retract!" ×100

One hundred thrusts later.

The Female Soldiers were still perfectly fine.

Zhao Chi’s right hand, however, was starting to tremble.

After all, his Constitution and Power were a whole Level lower, and this wooden staff had some considerable Weight.

"Gu Qing, you take over and lead the drill. The thrust is the most fundamental move in Gun Technique. You have to master this move."

"Yes, sir!"

Gu Qing wiped the usual seductive charm from her face, her expression turning serious.

She took Zhao Chi’s place and continued leading the Female Soldiers in their practice.

Zhao Chi stood behind them, training alongside them.

Gu Qing began calling out the commands:

"Thrust!"

"Retract!"

"Thrust!" ×200

"Retract!" ×200

Finally, even the Female Soldiers couldn’t hold on any longer.

After thrusting out their branches, their arms began to tremble uncontrollably.

Zhao Chi was in even worse shape. His arm had been aching for a while, and he had just been gritting his teeth and pushing through it.

"Alright, take a break."

Seeing the time was right, Zhao Chi called a halt to the training session.

"Everyone, relax your arms and have some water. Reassemble here in thirty minutes. We’ll continue training then."

"Yes, sir!"

The Female Soldiers departed.

Gu Qing walked over to his side. "My Lord, how are you?"

Zhao Chi shook his trembling right hand. "I’m fine."

"Don’t lie to me, I saw everything. Here, let me give you a massage."

"Aren’t you tired?"

"Not at all."

Gu Qing wasn’t just being polite; she really wasn’t tired.

"Ow! Gentle, gentle!"

Her hands may have looked soft, but her Power was immense.

Zhao Chi felt as if his arm was caught in a pair of pliers.

Gu Qing chuckled. "Just bear with it. This will help relieve the fatigue faster."

Zhao Chi was a bit skeptical. "Really? I heard you’re not supposed to use too much force when you’re cooling down after a workout."

"Who said that?"

"Well, it was..."

Zhao Chi’s words trailed off. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

That’s what experts in his previous world had said.

In this world, no one had ever said such a thing.

’Why do I keep applying the logic of my old world here?’

Zhao Chi held out his arm. "Alright, I’m in your hands."

Gu Qing smiled. "Brace yourself."

She squeezed hard.

"Son of a..."

Zhao Chi gritted his teeth again.

Fortunately, Gu Qing’s massage didn’t consist of constant pressure.

After a hard squeeze, she would withdraw her Power.

Her hands would become soft again, gently kneading to soothe his pain.

It was only in these moments that she matched her soft, seductive image.

But the next moment, she would press down hard and fierce again.

It was a strange mix of pain and pleasure.

But he had to admit, after the massage, his right arm felt much better.

Though it still felt tired, it was no longer trembling.

"It really worked. How do you even know how to do this?"

Gu Qing beamed. "Did it work? That’s good. This was my first time giving someone a massage."

"Huh? Then how come it felt so effective?"

"Maybe I have a talent for it? Next time, you could bring me some books on massage."

"You want so many books. Will you have time to read them all?"

"I’ll read a little every day. I’ll finish them eventually."

Zhao Chi looked at her with admiration.

"Your personality traits shouldn’t just be ’Wanton’ and ’Loyal.’ I think ’Diligent’ or ’Good at Learning’ should be in there too."

Gu Qing laughed. "Then which one should I replace? ’Wanton,’ or ’Loyal’?"

"Well..." Zhao Chi was at a loss for words.

Logically speaking, ’Wanton’ wasn’t a good personality trait.

But when combined with ’Loyal,’ it produced a truly qualitative change.

If he really did replace ’Wanton’ with something like ’Diligent,’ that would be great too.

It would just lack a certain... flavor.

Besides, Zhao Chi couldn’t change her personality traits anyway.

Zhao Chi shook his head. "No need to change anything. You’re perfect as you are now."

Gu Qing chuckled softly. "Not at all. I was only just born, so there’s still much Learning to be done. For example, everything you told us just now—it was the first time I’d heard any of it. I’ve truly benefited a great deal."

Zhao Chi nodded. "Let’s work hard together."

"Mhm!" Gu Qing nodded emphatically.

Just then, Tang Ruan approached.

She was carrying two bamboo cups.

"My Lord, Sister Gu, why aren’t you resting? Here, have some water."

The bamboo cups contained warm water.

"Thank you, Tang Ruan," Gu Qing said with a smile.

"You’re welcome. My Lord, this is for you."

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

Tang Ruan obediently watched them finish drinking, then took the cups and walked back to put them away.

Soon, the rest Time was over.

Zhao Chi and the Female Soldiers resumed their training.

Hundreds, then thousands of thrusts followed.

Thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust!

They thrusted until dusk, and then into the night.

The arms of every Female Soldier were sore and weak, unable to muster any more Power.

Even Gu Qing and Tang Ruan’s arms finally began to feel tired.

Zhao Chi was on the verge of collapse.

But he kept going.

In fact, he had been persevering like this for the two years since he’d transmigrated.

First, there was the immense fear in his Inner Heart.

Then came profound confusion.

After that, a longing for his parents.

Once he pulled himself together, he began to cram all the knowledge of this world he could.

He studied so hard he’d forget to eat or sleep, learning day in and day out.

Only now had he finally, more or less, adapted to this place.

The night was late.

Tonight, Zhao Chi was sleeping alone.

With the construction of the barracks, ten new rooms had been added.

In addition to the Female Soldiers, the Female Craftsmen had also moved into the barracks to sleep.

Without the chattering women around, the Lord’s House immediately felt cold and empty.

Zhao Chi found himself feeling a little nostalgic for the previous night.

Only Gu Qing remained.

But she wasn’t there to sleep; she was massaging Zhao Chi.

Zhao Chi refused repeatedly.

"Alright, that’s enough. You don’t have to keep going. You worked hard today, too. Go get some rest."

Gu Qing hadn’t had an easy day either.

She had been leading the Female Soldiers in training all day.

Standing at the front, she naturally had to exert herself even more.

She strove for perfection with every movement, wanting to serve as a model for the others.

If not for her 8 points of Constitution and 7 points of Power, she probably would have given out long ago.

But Gu Qing didn’t stop.

She continued her massage cycle: hard, then gentle, hard, then gentle.

While her hands squeezed him fiercely, her voice was soft as she asked, "My Lord, why do you push yourself so hard? Everyone knows your Body is that of an Ordinary Human, much weaker than the Humans of Peach Blossom Spring. You could afford to rest more."

Zhao Chi said, "More practice, of course, leads to more improvement. Ow! Lighter, that hurts, it hurts!"

Gu Qing relaxed the pressure from her hands.

She gently caressed Zhao Chi’s arm.

"My Lord, this isn’t because we’re all women, is it? Are you a bit of a male chauvinist? Unwilling to show weakness in front of women?"

Zhao Chi replied, "Maybe a little. But it’s mainly for the practice. We don’t know how powerful our future enemies will be. While we have the Time now, it’s good to improve as much as possible."

Gu Qing nodded. "I understand. I will also do everything in my power to improve myself."

"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts! Stop, stop pressing. You should go rest too."