The afternoon sun was exceptionally bright, but Gu Tianlong’s expression was gloomy. He desperately wanted to say something to salvage the unfavorable situation, but he was utterly powerless.
“The Dragon-Slaying Team and I welcome your competition!”
At the same time, Jiang Wuming smiled faintly at Ye Kunlun, Yuan He, Wang Tuo, Ye Feng, and the others, then walked towards Qin Xiaozhi and the other three. He didn't even glance at Gu Tianlong again, as if Gu Tianlong were invisible.
Jiang Wuming’s actions made Gu Tianlong even more depressed and annoyed, yet he couldn’t say anything.
“Boss…”
Seeing Jiang Wuming approach, Qin Xiaozhi instinctively wanted to say something.
Jiang Wuming smiled and patted Qin Xiaozhi’s shoulder, cutting off his words. Everything was understood without a word.
Concurrently, the Marshal of the Martial Department, Qi Wufu, and the Chief of Staff, Li Rui, were walking towards the training ground, accompanied by Zhujian and several other bureau and department heads and staff.
Upon seeing this, the five Guardian Teams immediately formed a formation, quietly awaiting the arrival of Qi Wufu and the others.
Soon, as Jiang Wuming and the others waited, Qi Wufu and his entourage arrived at the training ground.
“Marshal!”
“Chief of Staff!”
As Qi Wufu, Li Rui, and their group stopped, Jiang Wuming and the others greeted them in unison, clenching their right fists and placing them over their hearts in salute.
Qi Wufu, Li Rui, and their entourage returned the salute.
“It’s a great pleasure to see your vibrant spirit, like the sun at eight or nine o’clock, symbolizing hope. The Martial Department has established five Guardian Teams with you at their core precisely because you represent the hope of the Martial Department—the future of Dragon Country needs you to protect it!”
Qi Wufu’s gaze swept across the faces of Jiang Wuming and the others, and he slowly continued, “Today, Li Rui, the Chief of Staff, and I, along with other comrades, will attend the establishment ceremony of the five Guardian Teams. Now, I invite Chief of Staff Li Rui to give his speech.”
“Clap clap clap…”
Jiang Wuming and the others applauded in welcome.
Li Rui was an old man with white hair, around the same age as Qi Wufu. However, he had been injured, losing all his martial arts and suffering from lingering ailments, making his physical condition vastly inferior to Qi Wufu’s. He appeared very aged.
“Comrades, as the Marshal just said, we see hope in you. We hope that you will inherit the indomitable spirit of the older generation of martyrs, remain unyielding, forever protect the motherland and its people, kill enemies before the light screen, and achieve ultimate victory in the war!”
Li Rui was frail, but as he spoke, he stood as straight as a spear, his eyes sharp and his voice resonant.
“Today’s Guardian Team Establishment Ceremony has three agenda items. First, the Marshal and I will present you with the specially crafted emblems of the Martial Department Guardian Teams. Second, you will take an oath under the national flag. Third, I will explain the specific functions and competition rules of the Guardian Teams.”
“Now, we will proceed with the emblem presentation ceremony. I invite all members of the Blade Team of the Southern Region Military to come forward and receive their emblems!”
After announcing the agenda, Li Rui moved directly to the first item without any delay.
“Yes!”
Ye Feng took the lead in accepting the order and then led the six members of the Southern Region Military’s Blade Guardian Team forward. They stood in a line, erect as spears, chests out, and eyes fixed forward.
“The entire team of the Southern Region Military’s Blade Team is dispatched by the military, with Comrade Ye Feng as captain.”
Li Rui briefly introduced the Blade Team.
Martial Department staff immediately brought forward the boxes containing the emblems.
Qi Wufu and Li Rui picked up the emblem boxes, opened them, and then handed them to Ye Feng and the other six members, one by one.
After receiving the emblem boxes, Ye Feng and the other five members saluted Qi Wufu and Li Rui before returning to their formation in an orderly fashion.
“I invite all members of the Snow Mountain Team of the Western Region Military to come forward and receive their emblems!”
Li Rui spoke again, saying, “The Snow Mountain Team is composed of martial arts prodigies from the five major martial arts sects: Kunlun, Buddhist Sect, Wudang, Emei, and Bagua. The captain is Ye Kunlun of the Kunlun Sect!”
Upon hearing Li Rui’s words, Ye Kunlun immediately led his team forward to receive their emblems.
Subsequently, Li Rui successively announced that the Dragon God Team of the Northern Region Military, led by Gu Tianlong, and the Loulan Team of the Central Region Military, led by Wang Tuo, should come forward to receive their emblems.
The Dragon God Team, in addition to geniuses from the Dragon Gate represented by Gu Tianlong, also included two geniuses from the Yan Jing Martial Academy.
Among them was an ‘old acquaintance’ of Jiang Wuming and Xing Tian—Luo Yu!
The moment Luo Yu saw Jiang Wuming and Xing Tian, his eyes were filled with hatred, but he dared not speak.
Especially after seeing Gu Tianlong suffer a setback in front of Jiang Wuming, he chose to keep his tail between his legs, daring not to show any hatred, and even deliberately avoided looking at Jiang Wuming and Xing Tian.
“Finally, I invite all members of the Dragon-Slaying Team of the Eastern Region Military to come forward and receive their emblems!”
As Li Rui spoke, he cast his gaze towards the five members of Jiang Wuming’s team.
“Yes!”
Jiang Wuming took the lead in accepting the order and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, led Qin Xiaozhi and the other four forward.
“The Dragon-Slaying Team is the most special team. There are two points of specialness here.”
This time, it was Qi Wufu, not Li Rui, who introduced the Dragon-Slaying Team.
“First, the captain of the Dragon-Slaying Team, Jiang Wuming, participated in the battles at Loulan Ancient City and Hanshan Temple, killing several extraterrestrial enemies. Team member Dongfang Xiaoyao participated in the Hanshan Temple battle and killed five extraterrestrial enemies. Both have made outstanding contributions. Originally, the Martial Department considered awarding them merits and rewards, but Jiang Wuming refused. He said that the battles took place before the formation of the Guardian Teams, and thus should not be credited or rewarded, as it would be unfair to other teams!
Second, you should have noticed that the Dragon-Slaying Team has one fewer member than the other four Guardian Teams—the Dragon-Slaying Team has no Guardian!”
“Uh…”
The members of the other four Guardian Teams were all stunned by Qi Wufu’s words!
Although they had all been curious to some extent that the Dragon-Slaying Team’s three-star War God Guardian had not attended the Guardian Team establishment ceremony, they had never imagined that the Dragon-Slaying Team had no Guardian!
“This decision was made by the captain of the Dragon-Slaying Team, Jiang Wuming. He personally selected the members of the Dragon-Slaying Team and chose to forgo the assignment of a three-star War God Guardian! In his own words, this will make it more difficult for the Dragon-Slaying Team to complete missions, but it will also temper them better and allow them to grow faster!”
Qi Wufu spoke again, explaining the reason.
Swish, swish, swish…
In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned to Jiang Wuming.
Among them, the senior leaders of the Martial Department headquarters, led by Qi Wufu, looked at Jiang Wuming with admiration.
The members of the other four Guardian Teams, however, showed varying degrees of surprise on their faces.
This was because they clearly understood the significance of a three-star War God Guardian, level nine, to a Guardian Team—not only could it maximize the team's chances of completing missions and protect the safety of its members, but it was also the greatest guarantee for the team to win the competition!
In such a situation, Jiang Wuming voluntarily gave up the Guardian…
Was this blind confidence?
Or a lack of interest in the Guardian Team competition?
Amidst their surprise, various speculations arose in the minds of the members of the other four Guardian Teams.
There were no answers.
Under the sun.
Ye Kunlun, Wang Tuo, and even Ye Feng looked at Jiang Wuming with admiration.
This was because they all knew that if Jiang Wuming had not voluntarily given up the Guardian, the Dragon-Slaying Team would have been the strongest contender among the five Guardian Teams—Jiang Wuming’s combat power far surpassed theirs.
Now, Jiang Wuming’s choice was equivalent to giving up a significant advantage in the competition, even placing the overall strength of the Dragon-Slaying Team last!
This courage and boldness made them feel inferior!
As for Gu Tianlong, who had been hit hard and was feeling depressed and annoyed earlier, the corners of his mouth curled into a cold smile.
For him, it didn’t matter why Jiang Wuming did this; what was important was that the probability of his Dragon God Team winning the competition had greatly increased!
…
At the same time.
In Yan Jing, within a main office building in the Red Wall compound.
An imposing old man sat at his desk, while another person wearing a ghost-faced mask sat on a sofa.
“Jiang Wuming refused to be assigned a Guardian?”
The old man raised an eyebrow upon hearing about Jiang Wuming from the man with the ghost-faced mask.
“Yes.”
The man wearing the ghost-faced mask nodded first, then asked, “He has officially joined the Martial Department. Do you want to see him?”
“I will see him after his Dragon-Slaying Team becomes first,” the old man said after a moment’s thought. He added, “Until then, you should not see him either.”
“What if the Dragon-Slaying Team cannot become first?” the man with the ghost-faced mask asked again.
The old man remained silent.
The man wearing the ghost-faced mask sighed softly.
…