The air in the Black Shark Base kitchen was thick with steam and the clang of steel. This was logistics, the unglamorous gut of the war machine, and at its heart were Duan Canglong, Luo Hou, and the last hundred warriors of the Orca Battalion. Once elite soldiers, they were now responsible for feeding tens of thousands of mouths every single day.
Among them, but not with them, stood Qin Bing. Forty days ago, she was a Centurion, the legendary, ice-cold Valkyrie of the Black Shark fleet. Now, her heroic fire had been banked to a low ember, her face a mask of exhaustion. She stared blankly at the daily menu scrawled on a massive blackboard, still unable to process how she'd ended up as the head cook in this glorified soup kitchen.
Even in the autumn cool, sweat poured down the faces of Duan Canglong and Luo Hou as they barked orders. "Move it! The vegetable soup isn't going to make itself!" Duan Canglong yelled. "You all know Lord Bai is looking for any excuse to come down on us. If dinner service is late again, we'll be tasting the military baton for dessert."
He turned and saw Qin Bing, lost in thought. He softened his voice as he approached her. "Centurion? Everything okay?"
She blinked, returning from a thousand miles away. "I'm fine," she lied.
Duan Canglong knew better. She was thinking about Xiao Ke. None of them had heard a thing from Qilin City. Was he even alive? Was he succeeding in the brutal Glory training program, or had he washed out?
"I just wonder when the Centurion will be back," he sighed, voicing the thought that haunted all of them.
"With things the way they are," Qin Bing said, her voice flat, "his coming back might not be a blessing. If he can make a new life for himself in the capital, maybe that's for the best."
Luo Hou wiped his brow with the back of his arm and joined them. "She's right," he grunted. "We're poison here. They threw a talent like the Centurion in a kitchen, for God's sake. They're making it crystal clear we're not welcome. Life's hard enough without Xiao Ke coming back to this mess."
"But he promised," Duan Canglong muttered, his loyalty unwavering. "He said if he won the whole thing, he'd build a new army from the ground up, with us as the foundation."
A bitter smile touched Qin Bing's lips. "There are a thousand trainees at that school, Duan. The vast majority are nobles from the lower gentry. The Emperor might talk a big game about lifting commoners, but it's the gentry he really needs. The top spots are reserved for them. A common soldier has almost no chance." She shook her head. "He won't win. He won't get his army. And even if a miracle happened, he'd never have the clout to pull us out of Black Shark."
Her words hung in the air, heavy and final.
Then, a voice cut through the kitchen's din from behind her. "Who says he can't?"
The interruption sparked a flash of her old fire, and Qin Bing spun around, ready to snap—but the voice. It was impossible. It was a voice she heard in her dreams.
She, Duan Canglong, and Luo Hou all froze, their eyes locked on the kitchen's entrance. A handsome man in a crisp black combat uniform stood silhouetted against the light. It was him. The man who was never far from their thoughts.
"Xiao Ke?" Qin Bing whispered, afraid to believe it.
Joy erupted from Duan Canglong and Luo Hou. They let out a whoop and charged forward, practically tackling him in an embrace. "Boss! You're really back!"
Their shouts silenced the entire kitchen. A hundred Orca warriors turned as one, their faces a mixture of shock and dawning elation. These were his men, the ones who had bled with him, the ones who had followed him through hell. One by one, they dropped their whisks, knives, and ladles, surging forward to surround him.
"Centurion!" "You're back!" "Sir, you're really back!"
The reunion was a chaotic, beautiful thing, but it was cut short. A squad of Black Shark soldiers appeared at the door, led by a sneering Centurion named He Dezhi.
Seeing the entire kitchen staff abandoning their posts, He Dezhi's face turned purple with rage. "What is this, a party? Your old commander shows up, and you all just quit working? Get back to your stations! If you delay dinner for this base, I'll have every single one of your hides!"
After tearing into the Orca warriors, his eyes landed on Xiao Ke. He looked him up and down with open contempt. "And you. Don't get a big head just because you took a little trip to the capital. Here, at Black Shark, you're nothing. You're on our turf now, so I suggest you learn some respect. Fast."
Xiao Ke had known his people were being targeted, but he'd never imagined it was this bad. They weren't just soldiers on a bad assignment; they were being treated like servants, like scum. He Dezhi's tone held no trace of brotherhood, only disgust. It was clear his men had been enduring this humiliation for weeks.
He knew the source of the rot. Qiao Zhennan, grieving the death of his son, was friends with the base commander, Bai Longyin. This was their petty revenge. And his friends were paying the price for his actions.
As his men, their heads bowed in shame, began to shuffle back to their stations, a cold, hard fury settled in Xiao Ke's gut.
"Nobody moves," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the room like a razor.
Everyone froze. Duan Canglong and Luo Hou looked at him, confused and worried. This was Bai Longyin's base. Even if Xiao Ke had won the Glory competition, he was nothing compared to a commander like Bai. Starting a fight here was suicide. But they were his men, first and foremost. If Xiao Ke said to stand, they stood.
He Dezhi's eyes bulged. "You've got a lot of nerve—"
Xiao Ke's gaze narrowed. A flicker of memory. "I remember you now," he said softly. "You were the one who gave the order. The massacre at Black River Town. We meet again."
He Dezhi went still, the sneer on his face replaced by shock, then dawning recognition. "You... you're the one that got away?"
"I bet you never thought you'd see me again," Xiao Ke said, his voice dangerously low.
The sneer returned, uglier than before. "So it's you. The little cockroach who slipped through the cracks. I hunted you like a dog then, and I can crush you like an insect now. I'm giving you one last chance: tell your slaves to get back to work, or I swear, I don't care who you are, I'll break both your legs myself."
He Dezhi punctuated the threat by jabbing a finger hard into Xiao Ke's chest.
A ghost of a smile played on Xiao Ke's lips. In a blur of motion, he caught the offending finger.
CRACK.
The sound was sickeningly loud in the tense silence. He Dezhi, a fifth-level Battle General, stared in disbelief as a wave of agony shot up his arm. He opened his mouth to scream, but before a sound could escape, Xiao Ke had drawn his sidearm and jammed the barrel between his teeth.
Xiao Ke leaned in close, his eyes like chips of ice. "You were a big man that day," he whispered. "But now, in my eyes, you are nothing."
He Dezhi's men, stunned into inaction for a moment, erupted. With enraged shouts, they drew their weapons. Across the room, the Orca warriors instinctively reached for choppers and heavy pans, ready to turn their kitchen into a warzone.
"Stop!" Qin Bing cried out, seeing the situation spiraling into a bloodbath. He Dezhi was Bai Longyin's man. If they fought here, now, the commander would bring the full weight of the base down on Xiao Ke's head, and it would be over.
But before she could intervene, Xiao Ke acted. While his right hand kept the pistol firmly planted in He Dezhi's mouth, his left produced a small object from his belt. It was a medallion of pure gold, etched with the unmistakable image of a dragon. On its face were the words: By Heaven's Mandate. On the back: Unrestrained.
The Emperor's personal seal.
"The Emperor's sigil is here," Xiao Ke announced, his voice ringing with authority. "Anyone who makes a move will be charged with treason. Do you feel lucky?"
He Dezhi's soldiers froze, their weapons halfway raised. They hadn't been at the gate; they hadn't known. The Imperial House may have been weakened over the years, but it was still the most powerful family in the empire. No one, not even their commander Bai Longyin, could afford a direct charge of rebellion. Treason wasn't just a word; it was a death sentence for you and your entire family.
A new wave of shock rippled through the room, this time from Xiao Ke's own people. Qin Bing, Duan Canglong, and Luo Hou stared at the golden medallion, the implications hitting them like a physical blow. He hadn't just survived Qilin City. He had conquered it. He truly was the Emperor's man now.
With the standoff locked in a fragile peace, Xiao Ke slowly withdrew the pistol from He Dezhi's mouth. He casually wiped the barrel on the man's uniform before holstering it. He looked into the terrified, pain-filled eyes of the Centurion.
"Any other problems?" he asked calmly.
"Well, well. Myriad Commander Xiao puts on quite a show."
A new voice, smooth and powerful, echoed from the doorway. Xiao Ke turned. Framed in the entrance was a handsome, middle-aged man in a brilliant white combat uniform, flanked by his personal guard.
It was Bai Longyin.
He was a Great General, a being of immense power. The moment their eyes met, Xiao Ke felt a crushing force slam into his mind. It was a psychic sledgehammer, meant to shatter his will and drop him, unconscious, to the floor. His vision tunneled to black, his body screaming in protest.
But he fought back. With a surge of raw willpower, he ignited every martial meridian in his body, flooding his system with energy to resist the invisible assault. He staggered, but he stayed on his feet. He stayed conscious.
A flicker of surprise crossed Bai Longyin's face. He hadn't expected a mere Battle General to withstand his mental attack. So, he thought, this is the new champion. No wonder the Emperor favors him.
If Bai Longyin was surprised, Xiao Ke was terrified. That wasn't a fight; it was a casual assertion of dominance, and it had almost broken him. A single look. If they were to truly clash, Bai Longyin wouldn't need more than a single move to obliterate him.
Swallowing his pride, Xiao Ke knew he had to observe protocol. He stepped forward and gave a slight bow. "Lord Bai."
Bai Longyin's gaze swept over the scene—the armed standoff, He Dezhi clutching his broken hand. His brow furrowed. "Myriad Commander," he said, his voice deceptively pleasant. "You are a product of Black Shark. Is it appropriate to return with your newfound status only to bully your former comrades?"
Xiao Ke might have been outmatched in power, but he would not be outmaneuvered. "On the contrary, Lord Bai," he said, his tone firm and respectful. "It's because I came from Black Shark that I felt compelled to discipline Centurion He Dezhi. I wouldn't want his... misconduct... to reflect poorly on your leadership."
The audacity of the statement hung in the air. Bai Longyin's eyes flashed with cold fire, but his smile never wavered. With the Emperor's favor shining on Xiao Ke, a confrontation was unwise.
"Then I suppose I should thank you," he said, his voice dripping with irony.
"No thanks necessary," Xiao Ke replied, pressing his advantage. "Lord Bai, the Imperial House should have sent a dispatch regarding my visit. I'm here to officially transfer Centurion Qin Bing and the original Orca Battalion to my new command, the Wheel of Steel. I trust you'll approve the transfer."
Bai Longyin was silent for a moment. He had sidelined Qin Bing's unit to appease his friend, Qiao Zhennan. Letting them go felt like a defeat. But with an official imperial order and the Emperor's personal sigil right there in his face, a refusal was impossible without causing a major political incident.
He finally gave a thin smile. "Since it is His Majesty's personal request, I would not dare stand in the way. You may take them."
Relief washed over Xiao Ke, so potent it almost made him dizzy. It had been easier than he'd dared to hope. "Thank you, Lord Bai!" he said, clasping his fist to his chest in a formal salute.
"Of course," Bai Longyin said, stepping closer. "Just be sure to work hard, Myriad Commander."
He reached out and clapped Xiao Ke on the shoulder.
The first pat felt like a battering ram. Xiao Ke's knees buckled, and it took every ounce of his strength to keep from collapsing.
The second part was worse. An overwhelming wave of raw energy surged from Bai Longyin's palm, blasting through Xiao Ke's body. It felt like his organs were being pulverized, his bones ground to dust. The impact ruptured something deep inside, and he tasted blood at the back of his throat.
He was shaking, on the verge of collapse, but he locked his eyes on Bai Longyin's. He forced the blood back down, stood straight, and gave the commander a chillingly calm smile.
"Thank you for the encouragement, my Lord," he said, his voice steady despite the agony. "I will be sure to repay you for the kindness you've shown me today."