Long Yi approached Arin, lifted him onto his shoulder, and then took off running.
The sudden change stunned everyone present. It was because of the instructor's strength and also because of his assertiveness. The instructor himself was momentarily stunned. He had originally thought of Long Yi as just a rash and foolish young man who liked to show off, and he had wanted to use this opportunity to punish Long Yi as a warning to others. But unexpectedly, Long Yi followed his orders without question.
"Everyone, listen up!"
The instructor roared, immediately capturing everyone's attention.
"I am your instructor, and you shall address me as 'instructor.' You do not need to know my name, because as long as you are under my command, you will refer to me as nothing but 'instructor'! Here, my commands are absolute. You can only obey my orders. If I tell you to go east, you absolutely cannot go west. If anyone feels they are really something, then I welcome your challenge at any time. If you can defeat me, I guarantee you a spot in the Imperial Dragon Knights!"
Speaking, the instructor's Fighting Aura burst forth once again, this time with no strength held back. The unprecedented pressure of the Fighting Aura nearly caused all the students in front of him to lose their balance, and some of the weaker students quickly fell to the ground, unable to get up. Even the slightly stronger ones tensed up completely, using all their energy just to keep standing.
Six people.
The instructor glanced at the six people still standing and nodded inwardly. It seemed a good batch of newcomers had arrived this year.
At that moment, Long Yi completed a lap, his heavy footsteps passing behind the instructor. The instructor glanced over and saw Long Yi looking at him with a simple smile.
This kid, unaffected by the pressure of the Fighting Aura?
The instructor was surprised. At this moment, his Fighting Aura was radiating outward, and anyone within ten meters of him should feel the oppressive impact of the Fighting Aura based on its level. Only two kinds of people could be unaffected: either their Fighting Aura level was nearly equal to the instructor's or they had experienced so much life and death on the battlefield that they were no longer sensitive to this kind of pressure.
Impossible!
Although the instructor didn't know how strong Long Yi's Fighting Aura was at the moment, it couldn't possibly surpass his own. As for the battlefield, this kid was just eighteen years old! He had just enrolled in the academy this year; how much life and death could he have experienced?
Still, the life and death trials Long Yi had undergone might actually far surpass those of the instructor. Back in the Air Force, he was a member of the notorious Blade Squadron, and as a combat fanatic, Long Yi was involved in almost every large-scale battle.
Of course, that world had no Fighting Aura. The reason Long Yi wasn't sensitive to Fighting Aura was that he was essentially a Giant.
Giants naturally possess Fighting Aura, and some Giants even have Dragon Clan Bloodline, which cannot be compared to low-end goods like Dragon Soul Bloodline. As someone born with Fighting Aura, how could Long Yi be affected by it?
The instructor looked at Long Yi, his gaze flickering.
This fellow called Long Yi, quite interesting!
"Everyone, leave your dragons here and follow Long Yi. Nobody stops until he does! Otherwise, lunch is canceled today!"
What?
As soon as the instructor issued the command, a wave of dissatisfaction rippled through the crowd. But then, one person was kicked out of the crowd and flew more than ten meters in the air, tumbling several times in the grass before stopping.
Then, the instructor slowly walked out from the crowd.
"Any more questions?"
Looking at the instructor's eyes, everyone was dumbfounded. The person who was kicked was lying there, lifeless; no one had even seen how the instructor had made his move. Was this what a difference in strength looked like?
Before coming here, everyone present had been a pride of their own worlds. In a year's time, the White Dragon Empire had managed to select only forty Dragon Rider Air Force cadets. Most people here came from prestigious families, bringing together the best resources of their families and living lives where they were adored and spotlighted.
And now, the instructor had shown them with a single kick.
You are all worthless.
Running, an instinct innate to any animal. No one ever felt running was difficult, but things became completely different when there was a powerful Dragon Knight instructor beside you.
Long Yi continued running at the front, still carrying Arin on his shoulders. Behind him, the thirty-seven-person squad each had faces full of agony. On one side of the squad, the instructor ran along. The Fighting Aura burst forth from time to time, causing some unprepared individuals to stumble and roll on the ground.
"Listen up, rookies! You are on the ground now! If you fall here, you can still get up! But when you ascend to the skies, once you fall off a Flying Dragon, your death rate will be 80%! So, take advantage of your ability to fall now and fall more while you can!"
The instructor's words pounded into everyone's hearts. No one complained, no one dared to. The repeated pounding of Fighting Aura on them, under immense pressure, forced everyone to grit their teeth and keep moving forward.
At this moment, Arin, who was on Long Yi's shoulders, was slowly waking up, only to find himself lying on Long Yi's shoulders. After a slight struggle, Long Yi felt the movement on his shoulder and grabbed Arin's shoulders with both hands, continuing to run while he positioned him in front of his eyes.
Observers could only see it as if Long Yi was holding a large-sized doll.
"What, what happened to me?"
Arin was still somewhat dizzy.
Long Yi immediately and succinctly recounted the events that had transpired. The instructor watching them seemed to have an oddly unsettled look in his eyes. Because behind Long Yi, many of the newcomers were gasping heavily, inhaling less and exhaling more, their eyes rolling back as if they were about to collapse, with only a few managing to barely keep up, already in agony under the torment of the Fighting Aura.
But Long Yi, holding someone with both hands, was still continuously describing the events that had happened, and was pressing down on the instructor on purpose, releasing a constant stream of Dragon Fighting Aura.
However, even so, Long Yi's breathing remained steady, as if no great pressure existed at all!
Seeing this, the instructor kept silent and just kept running forward with the squad. The pressure of the Dragon Fighting Aura grew stronger, and people in the squad started to fall behind. Eventually, only six people were left who could barely keep up with Long Yi.
"Um... Long Yi, you can put me down now."
Arin finally spoke up somewhat helplessly, his face flushed. Long Yi was startled at first and then chuckled.
"Sorry, sorry, you're just too light."
With that, Long Yi set Arin aside. Arin's entire suit of silver armor retracted, transforming back into his Mercury Dragon form.
"Dragon Clan, gather over there!"
The instructor bellowed, and the Mercury Dragon, looking reluctantly at Arin, then turned and flew toward where the Dragon Clan was gathering. There, the stout Bajie was naturally the most conspicuous target. Other than him, the largest dragon was only a little over a meter long.
It was not until then that the instructor realized this small figure named Arin, though seemingly fragile, was just like Long Yi, completely insensitive to his own suppression of Dragon Fighting Aura!
A natural-born warrior?
How had the standard of the newcomers increased so much this year?
Everyone continued to run around the ground, and fewer and fewer people remained. Many who were training did not know what was happening; just running had become such a pain. It was not until the instructor passed by them, that the horrifying Dragon Fighting Aura crushed them to the ground, and they realized just how formidable those who ran beside the instructor were.
"Stop!"
The instructor shouted loudly, and Long Yi immediately stopped, while the six people behind him already had weak legs and couldn't control themselves, slamming straight into Long Yi. Long Yi turned around and reached out to brace the six people to prevent them from smearing sweat on him.
At this moment, in Long Yi's hands were the previously encountered fat and skinny men. The fat man seemed better off than the skinny one, but he was also gasping. If not for Long Yi supporting them, they might have collapsed the next moment.
"Training for this morning is over. Gather on time at one in the afternoon!"
The instructor was in a good mood; he had found six good newcomers and two especially promising ones, and he decided to revise his training plan when he got back.
"Is it over already?"
Long Yi asked.
"How about it, do you want to continue?" the instructor retorted, glancing around. At this time, in the entire class of newcomers, aside from Long Yi and Arin, there was almost no one who could stand up, and he was very satisfied with this result.
Long Yi immediately shook his head; although he felt the training was not challenging, he was not so idle as to waste time here. Since the instructor said the training was over, it was good to end it now.
However, at this moment, three dragons suddenly flew in from afar, not very large, about five meters long, probably all in their teenage years, with Dragon Riders on their backs.
The three landed not far away, dismounted, and came to the instructor with smiles on their faces.
"Hey, instructor, are these this year's newcomers?"
The instructor frowned, clearly not very fond of these three.
"Get lost!"
The instructor barked, but the three just chuckled.
"Don't be like that, instructor. After all, we've had a year of connection, no? Besides, we three came here just to find a friend."
The three wore smiles, yet did not step back, their eyes fixed intently on Long Yi.
The instructor understood at a glance; they were not here to find friends, these three punks were obviously here to stir trouble. And the target seemed to be Long Yi.
Realizing this, the instructor stepped aside. This was Dragon Knight Academy, a place to teach combat. Private fighting was forbidden here, but honorable duels were highly encouraged. The instructor was also curious to see just how capable Long Yi was.
"Kid, heard you were quite impressive this morning."
The three came up to Long Yi, trying to stand tall. However, it was clear that compared to Long Yi's bulk, these three were no match. Whether in height or size, they were far behind.
"Quite impressive this morning?" Long Yi was first taken aback, then a sincere smile spread across his face, as he said to the three, "No, no, no, I think you must have misunderstood. It's not just this morning—I am impressive every day."