Cultivation Online

Chapter 2650: Creating His Own Squad

"That’s all I have for you for now," Mei Feng said to Yuan shortly after giving him his new insignia.

Once Yuan left the room, the Ironwoman turned to stare at Mei Feng in silence.

"I’m not going to tell you, so don’t bother asking," Mei Feng said after a moment of silence, almost as though she could read the Ironwoman’s thoughts.

"You don’t need to," the Ironwoman replied. "I’ve already seen his status—his physique, the Inexhaustible Heavenly Refinement."

She paused briefly before continuing, "However, the fact that you don’t want him answering my question suggests there’s more to it than that. If I had to guess, you altered the information displayed on his status."

"..." Mei Feng remained silent, refusing to confirm or deny it.

"Do you not trust me?" the Ironwoman suddenly asked.

"This is not a trust issue," Mei Feng swiftly responded. "The fewer people know, the better. Just like how I keep my mouth shut about your background, regardless of who asks."

The Ironwoman smiled at her response before replying, "Fair enough."

She turned around and walked to the door, stopping once her hand reached the handle.

"By the way, regarding that thing we talked about before."

"What thing?"

"About having him join my squad."

"Have you decided to let him join, after all?"

"No, it’s the opposite," said the Ironwoman as she shook her head.

"Huh?" Mei Feng uttered in a puzzled voice.

The Ironwoman removed her mask to show Mei Feng a stiff smile.

"He’s too much for my squad. I think it’d be much better if he made one to lead himself."

"I see..." Mei Feng mumbled, understanding the Ironwoman’s reasoning and finding herself in agreement.

"And since he’s a Sergeant now, he can form his own squad."

"I have a feeling he’ll definitely go that route once he realizes the benefits..." Mei Feng said with a nervous smile.

Meanwhile, Yuan made his way back to his living quarters after leaving Mei Feng’s office.

"Huh? Your rank... you’ve been promoted?" Sergeant Quang, who waited for him outside, remarked with a surprised face after seeing his new insignia.

"Yes, it was a sudden promotion, but I’m not complaining."

"How long has it been since you joined the military? A year?"

"Just about."

"And to think it took me fifteen years to reach this rank..." Sergeant Quang sighed aloud.

"What are the benefits of becoming a sergeant?" Yuan then asked. "Even as a corporal, I already had access to missions that were normally restricted to sergeants, so I don’t really see what’s changed."

"Well... as a sergeant, you can create a squad of your own."

"Hm?" Yuan stopped walking and turned to look at him with one eyebrow raised.

"My own... squad?"

Yuan immediately realized the benefit of having his own squad. With a team of trusted soldiers under his command, he would always have people ready to accompany him on missions outside the city whenever he wanted.

Of course, he’d still rather go out on his own since that was the most convenient for him, but that wasn’t possible right now.

"How many members do I need to have a squad of my own?" Yuan then asked.

"Well, you can create your squad at any time, but you won’t be officially recognized as one until you have at least four members, so you’ll need three other people."

"For the members, is there a rank requirement?"

"No, anyone who finishes boot camp can join a squad."

"I see. Then are you already in a squad? Want to join mine?"

"Unfortunately, I am already in a squad. In fact, you were with us during your first mission," said Sergeant Quang, referring to Sergeant Bing, Wu Wang, and Shi Fa.

"Is that so? Well, if you ever feel like changing squads, you can find me. Let the others know, too."

"Alright."

Once Yuan reached his living quarters, he said to Sergeant Quang, "By the way, there’s no need for you to guard me any longer. Tell Sergeant Bing this, too."

"Huh? But General Mei didn’t—"

"Because this is my decision. Don’t worry, she won’t make things difficult for you."

"Alright..."

After Yuan entered his living quarters, Sergeant Quang contacted General Mei to tell her the situation.

"Corp—Sergeant Yuan said he no longer needs us to guard him. What should we do?"

"Do as he says. In fact, I was going to relieve you of your guard duties even if he didn’t ask."

"I understand."

Sergeant Quang notified Sergeant Bing of the situation afterward.

Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, another month went by.

During this time, Yuan spent all of his time inside his room training his Void Manipulation.

’I was only able to stay inside the void for a few seconds at first, but after nearly two months of training, I can stay in the void for three days at a time.’

Even though he was still a far cry from his peak, his rate of progress had improved tremendously compared to before.

With a month left before the drill, Yuan decided to challenge the entity on the 46th floor again.

On his way to the training hall, Yuan encountered Mei Xiaoyun, who appeared to be coming out of the building.

"Are you on your way to train?" Mei Xiaoyun asked him.

"Yes."

"Have fun."

Mei Xiaoyun said before continuing to walk away, but she was quickly stopped.

"Wait a second."

Once she stopped, Yuan asked, "Are you in a squad right now?"

"No, but I have had hundreds of requests," she revealed.

"Hundreds of requests...?" Yuan muttered with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

Now that he thought about it, Yuan realized that he hadn’t received a single invitation to join a squad since entering the military despite all of his achievements.

Considering his talent and reputation, it wouldn’t have been strange for squads to constantly try recruiting him. Yet, for some reason, not a single one had approached him.

Despite the oddity, Yuan decided not to ponder too much about it and asked Mei Xiaoyun, "Anyway, I plan on creating my own squad and was wondering if you’d like to join it."