Chapter 47

Pang Jun got up early in the morning from the arms of Pan Tong and her daughter to practice martial arts. Since he obtained the mysterious Yuan Yang from Tang Yuxian's body, Pang Jun's speed in practicing "Harmony Power" has become more than twice as fast as before, and he has made rapid progress in the practice of internal strength. In addition, he obtained the mysterious skills and moves in the "Lankavatara Sutra". After reading it carefully several times, he found that this skill focuses on how to defend. From internal strength to external practice, it is extremely exquisite, which makes him feel like he has found a treasure.

　　After finishing his training, he took a bath and changed his clothes with the help of the Linglong sisters. After having breakfast, he went out.

　　In the previous Jiangnan mission, the Shenyi Guards where Pang Jun was located lost eight people. According to convention, Pang Jun needed to personally go to the three major legions and the Guards to select suitable talents to join as reinforcements. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, after several days of coordination, the Shenyi Guards, the Guards, and the three major legions all set the time for the selection, and Pang Jun's first stop was the Guards' garrison.

　　The Imperial Guards are the emperor's personal army, responsible only for defending the capital. All the selected personnel are elite warriors, and both their expenses and treatment are the best except for the imperial guards. At the same time, in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guards, every quarter, one quarter of the Imperial Guards will be taken to the northern border for a one-month field training. Although they have never experienced war, they have not wasted their bodies.

　　The commander of the Imperial Guards was Qin Wanjun, Marquis of Beiting, who was the best soldier in the army at that time. In the martial arts examination, Qin Wanjun crushed all the other soldiers with overwhelming force and won the title of martial arts champion. Later, during the "Rebellion of the Thirteen Princes", he was ordered to lead a thousand Imperial Guards on a long-distance raid, and captured and killed the "Nine Pillars of Jiaodong" under the command of the then King of Jiaodong. He made a great success and since then he has been on a successful career path. Ten years ago, at the age of 34, he became the commander of the Imperial Guards, responsible for defending the important area of ​​the capital.

　　Qin Wanjun also went to watch the final of the martial arts competition that day. He knew how good his son was, but he was more curious about the level of his opponent. After the whole competition, he knew that his son had tried his best and had already performed to the limit of his own level, but the young man on the other side had strange moves, like an antelope hanging on a horn, and there was no trace to be found. He was a complete master of practical combat. Qin Wanjun himself benefited a lot from Pang Jun's flexible fighting style and gained a new understanding of martial arts, so he had a great liking for Pang Jun. When Pang Jun brought his men to the Guards' garrison, Qin Wanjun also came to greet him with several deputy generals under his command.

　　When he saw Qin Wanjun, Pang Jun bowed respectfully and said, "Liu Jun, the Divine Guard, greets General Qin."

　　Qin Wanjun stared at him for a while, nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "Hahahaha, Liu Ziye, my son often mentions you in front of me. He admires you very much. Come, let me introduce you to several deputy commanders of the Guards."

　　Then, he took Pang Jun and introduced to him one by one the several generals of the Guards behind him.

　　These generals had all heard of Pang Jun, who was known as the "third place in literature and the top place in martial arts". After the Qianqiu Banquet, some people gave Pang Jun the nickname "the best in martial arts". They also knew the level of martial arts of Qin Wanjun's son Qin Yi, and they might not be able to defeat him. But this handsome young man before them defeated Qin Yi, who was the invincible young man among the Guards. You can imagine how powerful he was.

　　Pang Jun followed Qin Wanjun and politely saluted and greeted all the generals. The bunch of rough guys wanted to show their power to him, but when they remembered the young man's identity and terrifying martial arts, they had to return the salute with a smile and did not dare to act rashly.

　　There are tens of thousands of guards. If we examine them one by one, it will take who knows how long. Moreover, to join the Divine Guard, it is not only necessary to have good martial arts skills, but more importantly, whether one is suitable for the commander's use.

　　So Pang Jun personally designed several levels and placed them in front of the martial arts arena. He said to tens of thousands of soldiers: "The three places in front of us test three things respectively. As long as someone completes one of them, you can enter the next round."

　　He pointed to a pile of wooden stakes of different heights and distances and said, "Here is a pile of wooden stakes. You have to step over all the wooden stakes from the starting point to the end point within a cup of tea. Those who can do it will be rewarded with five ounces of silver and advance to the next round."

　　Then, he pointed to a pile of boulders and said, "This pile of boulders is even easier. You have to carry the boulders from the starting point to the end point within a cup of tea. You cannot put them down to rest in the middle. Those who can do it will be rewarded with five ounces of silver and advance to the next round."

　　Finally, he pointed to a stack of files and said, "Here are some files about the tasks. Take one and memorize it within a cup of tea. Then come to me and write down the contents of the file. Even if you can't read, if you can trace the characters, you will pass the test and receive a reward of ten taels of silver, and you will enter the next round."

　　Pang Jun's tests were very targeted, including lightness skills, strength and intelligence. Whatever you accomplish would determine which group you would be assigned to. The selection method for this special force was different from that in the military. In the past, the selection of the Shenyi Guards was a competition. For two days, a group of people would fight against each other, and the top few would be picked. But now it has changed to this. It was the first time that Qin Wanjun saw such a test, and he watched it with interest.

　　The whole place was silent. After a while, someone finally stood up. After completing the registration, he walked towards the stone, "Ahhhhhhhhhhh", he began to carry the stone towards the finish line. The stone weighed at least two hundred pounds. The soldier's walking speed was not fast, but very steady. Finally, he moved the stone to the finish line within the specified time.

　　Pang Jun said one word expressionlessly: "Pass." Then someone took five taels of silver and handed it directly to the soldier. The soldier thanked him profusely and stood aside.

　　After the performance, the guards in the martial arts field began to whisper to each other. This was real money that would be paid immediately. They should all give it a try. It would be a waste not to take it. Therefore, many guards who felt they had a chance stepped forward to try. From morning to afternoon, thousands of people were tested. Among them, many wanted to fish in troubled waters, but they were quickly identified and kicked out in less than a few breaths. By dinner time, more than 30 people passed the test and the party dispersed and left.

　　Among these thirty or so people, Qin Yi was not among them, because Qin Wanjun said that Qin Yi was not interested in this. His ambition has always been to lead troops into battle and kill the enemy, which is in line with his character. What surprised Pang Jun was that Lin Rui, who disappeared after the Qianqiu Banquet, was actually in the Guards and participated in this selection. He entered the next round with a pass in the lightness skill test.

　　So, for the next three days, Pang Jun took people to the bases of the three standing legions to select talents. After four days, he selected more than one hundred people. On the fifth day, Pang Jun brought this group of people to the East Camp martial arts field, which was where Pang Jun conducted the martial arts competition and also the venue for the Shenyiwei selection rematch.

　　In the past, the selection of the Shenyi Guards took half a month, but Pang Jun's change in the selection mechanism this time greatly accelerated the selection process, catching all the nobles in the capital off guard. The process was almost over before they had time to arrange anyone. Even Zhao Wang Yang Sheng wanted to ask Pang Jun to place people there, but was told that "Lord Liu has either been in the military camp or spending the night at the Shenyi Guards' yamen these days." He had not returned home at all, so Yang Sheng had no choice but to give up.

　　Of course Pang Jun did this on purpose. He knew that the Shenyi Guard was a shortcut to promotion and there would be many dignitaries who would use various threats and inducements to occupy those positions. So he simply lived and ate in the barracks or the government office and compressed the selection time. He then used the excuse that "the Shenyi Guard was in urgent need of talent recruitment and the sooner the better" to shut them up.

　　The semi-finals began. Pang Jun stood on the stage and said loudly: "You are all elites who have passed the selection, but my Divine Guards want the elites among the elites. You will go through a new round of elimination to determine the final winner."

　　"Qinggong group, start from there and try your best to pass the finish line as quickly as possible." He pointed to a road full of obstacles, including a large number of wooden stakes, high walls, sword arrays, and interceptions by the Divine Guards. "After you reach the finish line, get the finish line marker and return along the road. The three fastest people will advance!"

　　Then, Pang Jun said to those who passed the level with strength: "You are the easiest. Fight in pairs, and the last four winners will advance!"

　　Finally, he looked at the intelligence team that only had six people who advanced and said, "I'll give you one stick of incense to run to the end of this road and get the intelligence files to memorize. Memorize as much as you can. Come back here before the incense burns out and we'll see who can memorize the most. Of course, if you can't come back before the incense burns out, no matter how much you memorize, it will be invalid."

　　"Now, start!" Pang Jun gave an order, and the three groups began their own tests.

　　"Haha, interesting, interesting, Ziye, is this your selection method? It looks good, do you want to promote it to other teams?" Pang Jun was inspecting the selection test when a voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw that it was the Shenyi Guard Inspector Ling Buxu and Deputy Inspector Li Shenji.

　　After Pang Jun saluted the two, he smiled modestly and said, "Reporting to the Guard Commander, Liu Jun did this only to comply with Liu Jun's Divine Clothing Guard reform. He wanted to make the team more refined and cooperative, no longer focusing on martial arts alone, and to give full play to everyone's strengths to make the task easier to complete. Just like the trip to Jiangnan, that kind of frontal battle, maybe other teams would do better."

　　Ling Buxu shook his head and said, "I don't think so. In the past, the Divine Guards were too focused on the excellence of individual soldiers, and most of the guards fought alone. So many people couldn't get out after they came in because they didn't know how to cooperate. Others said that the Divine Guards were a shortcut to promotion, but in fact, if the Divine Guards wanted to be promoted, they would only have a chance if they were promoted to second lieutenant. But becoming a second lieutenant is not easy."

　　Pang Jun remained silent. Ling Buxu continued, "Perhaps the Shenyi Guards really need to reform like you did in order to have a better future. I am optimistic about you." After saying that, he patted Pang Jun on the shoulder and left the training ground.

　　Pang Jun looked at Ling Buxu's back and murmured, "Lord Ling, I am making this reform not for the future of the Divine Guards, but for my future. People with different ideals cannot work together. Take care."

　　At dusk, Pang Jun announced: "The selection is over! A total of eight people have been selected this time, namely the Royal Guards Lin Rui, Fang Lian, Zhao Zheng, the Royal Dragon Legion Hong Yanzhang, Sun Zihan, the Imperial Lion Legion Ma Xufei, Ling Tianfang, and the Goshawk Legion Qi Lin. As the captain of the fourth team of the Divine Cloth Guard, I welcome you to join. The rest of you, disband on the spot and return to your teams. Thank you for your participation."

　　Looking at the eight people standing in front of him, Pang Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief...