As the number of people in the long corridor dwindled, and Han Lang had yet to emerge, Tang Qin, Ma Long, and the other two were extremely anxious.
"What's going on with Young Master? Why hasn't he come out yet? If everyone else has finished their tests, won't he be eliminated?" Tang Qin complained along with Ma Long.
"Yeah! Han Lang is too unreliable. Even if he entered a deeper state of meditation, wouldn't the disruptive alarm be enough to wake him up?" Ma Long became even more worried upon hearing this.
"Could it be that he's gotten too engrossed in his seclusion and deliberately blocked his seven senses? With such a noisy environment now, if he gets startled, won't he suffer qi deviation?" This thought startled Tang Qin and Tang Geng, and Ma Long himself could no longer hold back. He walked to the door of Han Lang's seclusion room, took a stance, and said anxiously, "No! I have to go in and check the situation. If anything happens, I have to save him!"
Just as Ma Long was about to kick the door open, Tang Geng quickly stopped him. "Wait a moment, Brother Ma Long! You need to have more faith in Brother Han Lang. If he's truly at a critical juncture of breakthrough, wouldn't your abrupt intrusion disturb him more easily? Moreover, damaging public property of the special forces unit like this has serious consequences! You might get eliminated too! So, I think we should be patient and wait for him a bit longer!"
Ma Long was in a dilemma. On one hand, time was of the essence. If they missed the chance, even if Han Lang had the strength of the early Foundation Establishment stage, he would still be eliminated by the special forces unit. On the other hand, he was concerned about Han Lang's safety. Han Lang's importance and significance to him were far greater than completing his aspirations and ideals in the special forces unit.
"Damn it! I'll wait another two minutes. After two minutes, even if it means leaving the special forces unit with Young Master, I'll still kick the door down to check!" Seeing Ma Long so agitated, Tang Geng had a hint of helplessness in his eyes, but more so, envy. He had no biological brothers and was the only child in his family. In such a large family, although he had many siblings of the same generation, none truly put him first. Outsiders were even less so, mostly flattering him due to his family's influence.
However, amidst his envy, he felt a sense of gratitude. At least now, he, Han Lang, Ma Long, and Tang Qin shared some genuine affection.
As Tang Geng was lost in thought, Huang Yuhua's voice announcing the test results echoed again in the seclusion training area's corridor. This time, his tone clearly carried a hint of excitement. "Zhao Wu, Foundation Establishment... late stage, passed! Stand by on the right!"
Upon hearing this, a ripple of excitement spread through the recruit camp! "Foundation Establishment late stage? No way! Our group actually has a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert?" "The instrument won't be wrong! But as everyone knows, although the minimum requirement for the special forces unit is early Foundation Establishment, among the recruits of previous years, those who reached the late Foundation Establishment stage were all outstanding individuals!" "Didn't you see that Acting Squad Leader Huang was a bit too pleased with himself? With such a strong individual appearing in the recruit squad he's in charge of, his future prospects are immeasurable!" "Exactly! As long as this Zhao Wu achieves something during his recruit period, Squad Leader Huang's promotion and fortune will be just around the corner! How could he not be excited?"
As everyone was discussing, Ma Long and Tang Qin at the end of the corridor also widened their mouths in surprise. "Foundation Establishment late stage? Zhao Wu does have some talent!" "Yes, after three months of seclusion, I've only progressed from early martial artist to mid-stage martial artist! Although it's not too far from late-stage martial artist, the gap isn't something that can be closed in a day or two! Moreover, I still have the spirit gathering pills provided by Han Lang..." Tang Qin's voice abruptly stopped here, and she looked at Ma Long, who was equally incredulous, with disbelief.
Tang Geng, on the other hand, seemed unsurprised by the result, but it was unlikely that he felt no jealousy at all. "You're right! Although I expected this result, breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage in three months shows that Zhao Wu's talent is indeed astonishing. After all, in the same environment, I'm still one step away from the mid-stage Foundation Establishment!"
Hearing this, Ma Long and Tang Qin dared not say anything further. If Tang Geng also had the spirit gathering pills provided by Han Lang, they were confident that Tang Geng would have no problem breaking through to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment. However, relying solely on the support of the sixth great spiritual脉, he had not completed his breakthrough, which truly surprised them.
However, after this minor interlude of Zhao Wu's test, there were very few people left in the entire corridor. The three of them returned to their previous state of anxiety. Ma Long, without further ado, took his stance again, ready to break down the door. Even the usually calm Tang Geng was somewhat restless. He quickly walked to Ma Long's side, and after their eyes met, he said with certainty, "Brother Ma Long, I'll go with you!"
Ma Long was shocked. "Aren't you afraid of losing the opportunity to enter the special forces unit?" Tang Geng replied, "Afraid! But in life, aren't there things more important than ideals and benefits?" Hearing these words, Ma Long was moved and nodded heavily at Tang Geng without further reply.
Seeing this, Tang Qin quickly joined their ranks! "Let's go for it! More people means more strength. Today, we'll share the hardship together!" With that, she joined Ma Long and Tang Geng in solidarity, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to exert her strength.
Ma Long and Tang Geng exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and then shouted in unison, "One, two, three, charge!"
Just as their raised right feet were about to hit the door of Han Lang's seclusion room, with a light creak, the door actually opened. Seeing this, Ma Long and the other two quickly retracted their moves, but their bodies still staggered. Han Lang stepped out, looking at their disheveled state with confusion. "What are you guys doing?"
Tang Geng and Ma Long looked embarrassed. Only Tang Qin, unreservedly, directly scolded, "You still have the nerve to ask us! Look at yourself, everyone else is almost gone, and you still haven't come out! We thought you suffered qi deviation inside and were about to break down the door to check! Tell us, why were you so late? Did you not hear the alarm bell?"
Han Lang felt a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and chuckled, saying, "Sorry! I didn't hear it at first. When I became aware, I was at the critical stage of breaking through the second level of the Shen Nong Imperial Needle Art, so I decided to stay a bit longer. I apologize for making you worry!"
Tang Qin still glared at Han Lang with annoyance and chided him again, "Is a simple 'sorry' enough? You know, if we had actually kicked your door down, all of us would have been eliminated by the special forces unit! And you come out with just an apology?" Han Lang was stunned, thinking, "What else do you want?" Fortunately, Tang Geng was more mature and quickly stepped forward to say, "Alright, alright! The important thing is that you're safe. None of this happened, and we don't need to worry about anything. Let's hurry to the entrance, or we'll really be too late."
Hearing Tang Geng's words, Han Lang was instantly jolted awake. He glanced and saw only one person left at the end of the corridor. He had no time to express his gratitude to Ma Long and the other two and urged them, "What are we waiting for? Let's run!" Tang Qin was still a bit unhappy, but she knew the importance of the situation and immediately followed Han Lang and the other two, running quickly towards the end of the corridor!