Volume One, Chapter 21: Worship to the Point of Madness

After nearly two hours of training, Li Chen was very satisfied with the results! Whether it was because they were right next to the mountains, where constant climbing and descending had unconsciously built their endurance, or simply because these boys were exceptionally gifted, their physical strength and stamina were truly outstanding.

The winding mountain paths presented all sorts of terrain, making even walking exhausting, let alone running. Moreover, the upcoming training was extremely challenging—ten sets of pull-ups totaling a hundred reps, and ten sets of push-ups amounting to five hundred. Yet they all managed to keep up.

Even Liu Chenxu, whom Li Chen hadn’t particularly favored, grit his teeth and pushed through to the end. Li Chen silently nodded in approval at his willpower.

However, during the next phase—one hundred sit-ups while holding a thirty-pound stone and one hundred overhead presses with a fifty-pound stone—Liu Chenxu and Hou Xiaobai couldn’t keep up. They had to reduce their weight by ten pounds and barely met the quota before collapsing onto the ground, utterly spent.

As for Li Chen, having regained some strength, he wasn’t exactly at ease but certainly wasn’t struggling excessively. But Zhao Dashi truly caught his eye. This guy seemed to possess natural strength; when pressing, he found the fifty-pound stone too light and requested to switch to a heavier rock weighing over eighty pounds, which he hoisted with ease. Judging by how effortlessly he handled it, he might even manage a hundred pounds or more without trouble!

Li Chen had known about Zhao Dashi’s brute strength before—no two boys his age in the entire village combined could match his power, and he could even hold his own wrestling with adults. But he hadn’t expected the kid to be this strong.

On a whim, Li Chen let them try shooting arrows. Since they were all drained, he didn’t have them use their hunting bows but instead used the powerful crossbow. From a distance of twenty paces, each fired three arrows.

This round brought another pleasant surprise. Hou Xiaobai hit the bullseye with all three arrows on his very first attempt at archery. Even when the distance was extended to forty paces, all his arrows hit the target, with two striking the bullseye. At fifty paces, his shots faltered, hitting only twice, but Li Chen kept nodding approvingly.

If these had been rookies in a mercenary unit, he would have immediately selected such a talent for sniper training. This was a remarkable gift.

Next was Liu Chenxu: from twenty paces, three arrows hit the target, one hitting the bullseye. At thirty paces, all three arrows still hit the target, though none struck the bullseye but landed slightly high, which was still quite good.

As for Zhao Dashi, things didn’t go well; at twenty paces, none of his arrows hit the target, drawing merciless teasing from Liu Chenxu and Hou Xiaobai.

“Brother Chen, this thing is way too hard—I just can’t hit the mark. I don’t want to learn this anymore. Teach me something else,” Zhao Dashi said, scratching his head, his face flushed.

“No rush. Keep up the basic training first, and we’ll talk about other things later. Now, come over to my place for a meal!” Li Chen smiled.

“Ah? Eat?” The three looked dumbfounded.

Was there such a good deal in the world? Not only teaching them skills but also providing meals? Feeding half-grown boys could easily drain a man’s resources—this was no empty saying in their time!

“What are you standing there for? Come have your meal,” Li Chen urged with a smile.

The young maid smiled softly and lifted the pot lid, releasing the fragrant steam of hot, coarse rice that made the three boys swallow hard with anticipation.

“Brother Chen, we don’t deserve this,” Liu Chenxu said, his face flushed.

“No need to feel embarrassed. We’re brothers. Besides, we’ll be going hunting together in the mountains, relying on each other for life and death,” Li Chen replied with a gentle smile.

The boys exchanged glances and nodded firmly without hesitation, “Alright!”

Each was served a large bowl of rice, accompanied by a thick pork bone soup that had been boiled until almost porridge-like. With a large basin of pickled radish on the side, the three were so delighted that they barely noticed eating, their tongues nearly biting themselves. Li Chen encouraged them to drink the pork bone soup freely.

After all, such intense training without proper nutrition wouldn’t strengthen them but might cause internal injuries. Having decided to take these young brothers under his wing, he needed to be responsible for their health.

They would be helping him build a great future.

Pork bone soup was perfect for their current needs. Just ten days to half a month of this would bring significant results!

“Brother Chen, what kind of salt is this? It doesn’t have any bitter taste,” Liu Chenxu said, his keen senses detecting something unusual as he ate, staring at the thick meat broth in astonishment.

“I make my own refined salt,” Li Chen smiled.

“Ah? Brother Chen can even make refined salt?” The boys were dumbfounded.

Good heavens, Brother Chen was becoming almost omnipotent. What couldn’t he do?

“In a few days, I plan to talk with the city’s salt shop about producing salt there to sell. When the time comes, you’ll work with me—consider it a job, and I’ll pay you wages. Busy times you work, free times you hunt. That should cover your living expenses, so no need to farm.”

“Ah? No, no, no, Brother Chen, just feeding us is enough. Paying us wages—that’s not acceptable, absolutely not,” they all exclaimed.

“Eat first. We’ll talk about that when the time comes,” Li Chen said with a smile.

Just as they were eating, a young maid came over carrying a golden-furred animal. At first, the boys thought it was a kitten, but then realized it was a small tiger cub, which astonished them again.

Li Chen didn’t hide anything and recounted the events of the day.

The half-grown boys stared at the large black panther lying on the chopping board in the courtyard, then circled around the tiger cub endlessly, so enraptured they almost lost their appetite. Their admiration for Brother Chen had reached a crazed level.

“Killing wild boars, fighting leopards, and now raising a tiger. When this tiger grows up and you take it out for a walk, how formidable will that be? If it roars, it might scare off a whole crowd... This is just incredible!” Zhao Dashi’s eyes spun as he gawked at the cub, peppering his speech with expletives.

Liu Chenxu tapped him several times with chopsticks, scolding him.

After the meal, Li Chen told the young maid to stay home to care for the tiger and cook, then gathered his gear and turned to the three boys.

“Still have strength?”

“Yes, definitely!” Zhao Dashi and Hou Xiaobai answered in unison.

“Brother Chen, are you really taking us up the mountain to hunt?” Liu Chenxu asked excitedly.

Li Chen nodded and glanced at him discreetly. This boy was thoughtful and showed some potential as a commander—commanders must always pay attention to details and constantly seek opportunities within them.

“Really?” The three burst out in excitement.

“Once we’re on the mountain, follow my orders. Don’t act recklessly; if we startle the game, it will be harder to catch,” Li Chen instructed.

“No problem!” The three eagerly agreed, practically bursting with enthusiasm.