Zhan Kong smiled, released his grip, then casually slung an arm around Song Jie's shoulders.
"Interested in joining the army?" he asked. "If you come under my command, I'll even gift you a demon-slaying tool."
Song Jie shook his head. "I haven't decided yet. For now, I'd rather get a defensive magic tool."
The moment those words left his mouth, the smile on Zhan Kong's face froze—his expression stiffened as though the joy had been transferred to someone else.
Seeing his awkward look, everyone couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle.
"What are you laughing at!" Zhan Kong barked, kicking Song Tao lightly. "Go scout the area!"
"Yes, sir!"
After saluting, Song Tao quickly left with his squad.
Zhan Kong patted Song Jie's shoulder. "Think about it carefully. Being a soldier isn't a bad path."
Song Jie nodded. "Alright, I'll give it some thought."
Their subsequent search didn't turn up any signs of demon activity, so the training continued as usual.
A Few Days Later
Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others arrived at the training site.
Song Jie, Song Tao, and the others stood aside, observing the new recruits as they underwent their test.
Song Tao grinned. "Song Jie, you don't know what's in store this time, do you?"
Though Song Jie already knew the plot, he still shook his head, feigning ignorance.
"Actually," Song Tao whispered, "we arranged for a Summoned Beast to be released near the students. We're testing how they react under pressure."
Song Jie listened quietly. Sure enough, it matched the storyline he remembered perfectly.
This time, though, he wasn't a participant—he was one of the insiders.
At that moment, Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others were being chased by a Phantom Wolf Beast and had fled into a cave in panic.
"Isn't this a bit much? What if that wolf actually eats them?" someone asked nervously.
Song Tao reassured him, "That's a controlled Summoned Beast. As long as the summoner's maintaining control, nothing will happen."
"True."
Everyone nodded, relieved.
But none of them realized that something had gone wrong.
The Phantom Wolf Beast was actually out of control.
Song Jie pretended not to notice, though he'd already seen the creature lapping water earlier—and suspected the issue lay with the contaminated water source.
Should I warn Instructor Zhan Kong? he thought.
Even if he wanted to, figuring out how to explain it was tricky.
Moments later, Mu Bai and the others burst out of the cave.
"Why haven't the Phantom Wolf Beast and those other two students come out yet?" one soldier asked.
"Nothing bad happened… right?"
"Stay calm," another said. "If anything's wrong, the Chief Instructor will act immediately."
Song Tao frowned but didn't move—without Zhan Kong's direct order, he couldn't intervene.
Then suddenly, a figure streaked through the sky toward them.
"It's the Chief!" someone shouted.
The moment they recognized Zhan Kong, everyone realized the situation was serious.
"Something must've gone wrong!"
"The boss is here—let's move!" Song Tao yelled.
Even though Song Jie knew Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou would be fine, he followed them anxiously.
Zhan Kong, faster than anyone, spread the Wings of Wind behind his back and dove straight into the cave.
Watching the shimmering wings, Song Jie couldn't help but feel envious.
High-level Wind Magic—Wings of Wind—allowed one to soar through the air freely.
Looks like I'll still need time before I reach that level…
He followed Zhan Kong inside. Soon, they reached the cave's depths—where the Phantom Wolf Beast lay dead, impaled by stalactites.
Zhan Kong's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou… are you two alright?"
Mo Fan shook his head. "We're fine."
Zhan Kong pointed at the beast's corpse. "Did you kill this thing?"
Mo Fan nodded and pulled a blue bracelet from his pocket.
"Chief Instructor, I found this in the cave. Does that mean I completed your mission?"
Zhan Kong's face twisted in pain the moment he saw the bracelet.
That bracelet was the target item in the bounty challenge. Whoever retrieved it would receive a defensive magic tool as a reward!
But…
He had just given one away recently—now he had to give out another?!
His heart ached at the thought.
Behind him, Song Tao and the others were snickering.
Their boss really miscalculated this time. If Song Jie had joined this training exercise, Zhan Kong would've only needed to reward one person.
Now, he had to hand out two!
This time, Zhan Kong was going to bleed heavily—both emotionally and financially.
After the Rescue
More people soon entered the cave, and Tang Yue was among the first to arrive.
She hurried to Song Jie. "Are Mo Fan and the others okay?"
"Mo Fan's fine. Zhang Xiaohou's unconscious but should recover soon," Song Jie replied.
Tang Yue sighed in relief. "Good. Once we realized the Phantom Wolf was out of control, we came as fast as we could."
She glanced back at Song Jie. "By the way, I heard from Instructor Zhan Kong that you encountered a demon recently. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Song Jie said with a calm smile.
Song Tao and the others behind her nearly laughed—not only fine, he even killed an advanced One-Eyed Demon Wolf!
But since Song Jie wanted to keep that incident secret, and Zhan Kong had agreed, none of them dared mention it.
"I'm glad you're safe," Tang Yue said warmly. With that, the chaotic training finally came to an end.
Outside the Cave
Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, and the others waited anxiously for news.
When they saw Zhan Kong, Tang Yue, and the others emerge with Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Mo Fan's still alive!"
"What about Zhang Xiaohou?"
"He just fainted—he's fine."
Then someone spotted Song Jie. "Huh? Why are you here?"
"He was doing another bounty mission with us," Song Tao explained with a grin. "Finished his task before you guys even started."
"What?!"
Everyone turned to Song Jie in shock.
"What kind of mission were you doing?" one asked curiously. "Was it harder than ours?"
Song Jie looked at Song Tao helplessly. "Can I tell them?"
Song Tao shrugged. "The training's over. The boss will probably allow it anyway."
So, Song Jie smiled faintly—and began telling them about the mission he'd completed before their arrival.