Chapter 556: A Backdoor Entry

"Form up!"

At the command, the thousand-man formation roared into operation.

Hua Changxi took a deep breath and stepped into that sea of crimson once more.

She deliberately suppressed her inner resistance, forcing herself to sense the breathing and spiritual power circulation of the nine hundred and ninety-nine others, just as she had in the hundred-man formation.

Her footsteps tried to keep up with the rhythm, and her spiritual power struggled to merge into the formation's flow.

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

Time and time again, she failed.

It wasn't that her movements were wrong, nor that her spiritual power was insufficient, nor even that her reaction was half a beat slow.

Every time, Hua Changxi's actions kept up with the Zhu Que soldiers, but her spirit could never truly merge; there remained an invisible barrier between her and the other nine hundred and ninety-nine Zhu Que soldiers.

She could imitate their steps, synchronize their spiritual power, and even suppress her own aura to cater to the formation's rhythm.

But she could not truly "let go" of herself.

Whenever she tried to merge her mind completely into that crimson ocean, a voice deep within her whispered: if you merge with the Zhu Que Army, Hua Changxi will cease to exist.

Once this thought arose, fear coiled around her like a venomous snake, causing her to instinctively shrink, resist, and hold back at the most critical moment of fusion.

And the military formation could not tolerate the slightest reservation.

"Again."

Hua Changxi gritted her teeth and climbed up, struggling to suppress the fear in her heart.

But the more she suppressed the fear, the greater the rebound.

Whenever the formation was about to connect and the thousand people were about to merge, she would "see" herself gradually dissolving in the crimson, her outline blurring, her consciousness diluting, like a drop of ink falling into the sea, never to find its original shape again.

Thus, she subconsciously wanted to grab onto something.

And then, boom~

The repulsive force erupted again, and she was violently thrown out of the formation.

After failing hundreds of times, Hua Changxi lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky reddened by the firelight above...

She truly could not achieve total "selflessness."

At least, not at this moment.

Hua Changxi had always been someone who grew stronger in the face of adversity and met challenges head-on, but this time, facing a thousand-man formation that required her to merge body and spirit with nine hundred and ninety-nine other Zhu Que soldiers, she felt not a shred of fighting spirit, only a surging tide of retreat that wrapped around her layer by layer.

If she were facing an external enemy, she might force herself to overcome her internal obstacles, but now, her enemy was herself.

After long contemplation, she decided to "let herself off the hook."

Not giving up, but clearly knowing: some hurdles cannot be crossed just by gritting one's teeth and charging.

Hua Changxi stood up, looked at the thousand-man formation, and instead of continuing, she exited the Flame Mountain.

After leaving the Flame Mountain, Hua Changxi returned directly to Lingguang Hall.

"Two months..."

Hua Changxi asked Yun You about recent events and learned that she had been in the Flame Mountain for two months.

If it were in the past, upon returning from outside, she would likely have gone straight to the main hall to review, refine pills, or handle affairs.

But this time, she did not return to the main hall; instead, she changed her attire, donned a set of Zhu Que Army armor, and went to the Martial Arts Plaza.

She wanted to see up close how the Zhu Que Army trained, and if possible, participate in the drills herself.

The Zhu Que soldiers in the Flame Mountain formation were, after all, illusions created by spiritual energy, mechanical and singular; real-life training would surely be more difficult.

On the Martial Arts Plaza, ten thousand Zhu Que soldiers were lined up for drills.

From the most basic three-man small formations to the majestic thousand-man killing formations, various military formations shifted and changed, rising and falling like breathing.

Surging spiritual power moved across the plaza like a tide, and the uniform battle cries shot straight into the clouds, shaking the drifting clouds in mid-air.

Hua Changxi hid in the shadows at the corner of the plaza, watching it all quietly.

She watched very carefully.

The military formation drills were not always smooth; from time to time, formations would collapse with a roar due to one person's mistake.

Those soldiers who could not obey orders or who, like her, stubbornly retained strong individual characteristics, often became points of stagnation in the formation's operation, causing the formation to fail to take shape or fail to unleash its maximum power.

But more common were those perfect formations that had already taken shape.

Among those crimson-armored figures with blurred and similar faces, there was no abrupt sharpness, no hesitant footsteps.

Their movements were uniform, their breathing resonated in sync, as if they were truly just thousands of incarnations of a single, massive will.

In that crimson ocean, there was no "I," only "we."

Just as Hua Changxi was watching intently, a scorching gaze suddenly fell upon her. She looked up and saw the Martial Arts Hall Master, Duan Jishan, looking at her with a face full of fury.

"That soldier, come here!"

A roar like a booming bell suddenly exploded, breaking the murderous atmosphere of the plaza.

The ten thousand Zhu Que soldiers who were immersed in their drills paused instantly, looking toward the sound, and ten thousand sharp gazes fell upon Hua Changxi in the corner.

Startled by this display, Hua Changxi paused slightly and did not move.

"I'm talking to you, get over here!" Duan Jishan pointed at Hua Changxi, his eyes wide with anger.

Hua Changxi subconsciously reached up to touch the mask covering her face, a moment of hesitation flashing in her heart, but she ultimately stepped forward.

Seeing her slow, dragging pace, the anger Duan Jishan was already suppressing flared up even more, and he barked gruffly, "Are you a turtle? Run faster!"

Hua Changxi took a deep breath, suppressed the awkwardness in her heart, exerted force in her feet, and jogged to Duan Jishan.

Duan Jishan frowned, looking her up and down, and questioned her with displeasure, "Why are you wearing a mask for no reason? Is your face too ugly to be seen?"

Hua Changxi felt a lump in her throat: "... My face is a bit uncomfortable." Uncomfortable to be seen.

Hearing this reason, Duan Jishan assumed her face was injured. Although the annoyance in his eyes faded slightly and he didn't dwell on the issue, he was clearly dissatisfied with Hua Changxi's previous actions and continued to interrogate her with a cold face, "Why were you hiding over there? Why didn't you join the ranks for training?"

Hua Changxi looked up slightly, met his gaze, and replied calmly, "I arrived late, everyone had already joined the ranks, and I didn't know which formation to join."

Hearing this, Duan Jishan's brow furrowed sharply.

He looked up and down at this suspicious soldier wearing a mask, his eyes instantly filled with more scrutiny and vigilance, and he said coldly, "Go to Battalion Commander Qin's unit."

Hua Changxi had no idea who Battalion Commander Qin was and stood frozen, thinking about how to respond.

Seeing her slow reaction, the vigilance in Duan Jishan's eyes grew stronger. He impatiently pointed to a hundred-man formation not far away and shouted sternly, "That one over there! Hurry up and go!"

Hua Changxi did not hesitate further and jogged toward the hundred-man formation he pointed out.

Battalion Commander Qin happened to be training a hundred-man Crimson Flame Arrowhead Formation.

Hua Changxi had practiced this a hundred times in the Flame Mountain and was familiar with every position; with a glance, she entered the formation to fill the gap.

Duan Jishan saw this and frowned, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Form up!"

Because of Hua Changxi's addition, the Crimson Flame Arrowhead Formation, which had been operating seamlessly, showed obvious stagnation.

Hua Changxi sensed it and immediately took a deep breath, learning from her experience in the Flame Mountain, and forcibly merged herself into the formation's flow.

Battalion Commander Qin governed his troops with extreme strictness and was well-versed in the art of command. This hundred-man unit under his command was known throughout the army for obeying orders and moving in unison.

Hua Changxi joined in, but even though she tried hard to merge, she was like a drop of oil forcibly dripped into boiling water.

The result was that the originally unified crimson spiritual power suddenly turned violent, directly repelling this force that did not belong to the formation.

Hua Changxi felt as if her chest had been struck by a heavy hammer, and she was sent flying backward uncontrollably.

The uniform footsteps around her stopped abruptly.

The originally majestic hundred-man formation collapsed instantly because of this one person's disconnection.

The ninety-nine Zhu Que soldiers stopped their movements one after another, turned their heads, and stared at her lying on the ground with the cold, indifferent eyes of someone looking at an alien.

There was no mockery, no cursing, only suffocating silence and silent rejection.

Hua Changxi stabilized her figure almost as soon as she left the formation.

Although she hadn't made a fool of herself, seeing the undisguised rejection of the crowd made her feel stifled.

"I'm not familiar with you all yet, again!"

Hua Changxi walked quickly into the formation.

Battalion Commander Qin looked at Duan Jishan, and seeing Duan Jishan nod, he continued the training.

"Bang~"

Hua Changxi was thrown out again.

"I refuse to believe it, again!"

Duan Jishan stopped Hua Changxi, who wanted to enter the formation again: "I assigned you wrong just now; you should start training from a three-man formation."

Hua Changxi stared: "A three-man formation?!"

Duan Jishan ignored Hua Changxi and casually pointed at two people: "Ye Liyue, Yan Guichen, you two go accompany her in training."

"Isn't a three-man formation a bit too small? Give me some time, I feel I can handle a hundred-man formation."

Hua Changxi didn't want to start from a three-man formation, feeling it was a waste of time, and wanted to make Duan Jishan change his mind, so she didn't notice the shock on the faces of the people on the plaza when they heard the names Ye Liyue and Yan Guichen.

Even Ye Liyue and Yan Guichen themselves were very surprised by Duan Jishan's arrangement.

Duan Jishan looked at Hua Changxi, who clearly didn't want to follow the arrangement: "What is the first military discipline of the Zhu Que Army?"

Hua Changxi: "... Obey orders."

Duan Jishan: "Since you know, then obey the arrangement properly."

Hua Changxi was choked and couldn't say anything more. She looked at the Zhu Que soldiers on the plaza; she didn't know Ye Liyue or Yan Guichen and could only wait for the two to come over.

Her reaction, in the eyes of the crowd, immediately triggered a wave of eye contact.

"What is this person's background? The Hall Master actually let Ten-Thousand-Man Commander Ye and Ten-Thousand-Man Commander Yan accompany her in training."

As for Ye Liyue and Yan Guichen, they looked at each other and walked toward Hua Changxi. ===== CHAPTER 557 =====