Now, about “changing to bowls”… In the Northwest Military Region, this was generally a treatment reserved for expert-level drinkers. Although the region’s chief officers had occasionally used bowls when drinking privately in the past, it was still quite rare.
After all, the cups normally used held about one liang each. And the liquor in the Northwest Military Region was no ordinary stuff—it was all sixty-eight-proof strong liquor. Normally, no matter how well you could hold your liquor, after twenty or thirty cups—two or three jin of baijiu—you would be about done. Only the region’s most formidable drinkers, when they met a worthy opponent and got into the spirit of things, would insist on deciding the victor by switching to bowls.
Among these drinking companions, there had been those who could handle bowls in the past. But when it came to these inspection groups from above, bowls had truly never been used.
And Deputy Commander Wu Lei was also famously known as a heavy drinker. In the past, when inspection groups came from above, he would handle them personally. Usually, the visitors from above would drink a jin or two, and most would either pass out or raise their hands in surrender. Once a winner was decided, that was about it. But never had anyone seen a call to change to bowls.
Today… this was truly an unusual event… Commander Wu had actually called for bowls… The inspection group had brought an expert today…
The people at the two adjacent tables were already seven or eight parts drunk, but now they stopped drinking altogether and crowded over. After all, drinking at the main table was what mattered. If the leaders at the main table lost, it would not matter how much the subordinates below drank…
Although the military region’s drinking companions were surprised, the people from the Special Operations Division were also somewhat astonished. They had all freeloaded meals and drinks off Xu Ze many times and naturally knew his drinking capacity was extraordinary. But they never imagined it could reach the point of forcing Commander Wu to call for bowls. This truly left everyone stunned.
So everyone swarmed over and surrounded the table, preparing to watch the contest… and incidentally see which expert had managed to force Commander Wu to switch to bowls.
But when everyone looked at the table and saw the situation clearly, they were instantly dumbfounded…
At the main table, General Li from the Military Training Department sat to the side with a face full of surprise, wearing an expression that clearly said it was none of his business. Commander Wu was standing there full of vigor and fighting spirit, facing a young officer beside him…
“Huh… how is this brat sitting at the main table?” The military region officers instinctively glanced at the man’s shoulder insignia, and the two bars and four stars were dazzling to the eye.
“Hiss…” Someone immediately drew in a sharp breath. Looking more carefully, they saw this young senior colonel sitting calmly. Everyone around him was flushed red from drinking, yet he alone had a clean, handsome face like polished jade—not the slightest hint of liquor coloring his cheeks.
Then this utterly astonished lieutenant colonel hastily pulled over a familiar member of the inspection group and asked in a low voice: “Who is this officer?”
Hearing this question, several others nearby also perked up their ears, curious about this young senior colonel with such remarkable drinking capacity—who exactly was he?
The inspection group member who had been pulled over was precisely a member of the Special Training Section under Xu Ze. He spoke with considerable pride: “This is Deputy Director Xu of the Special Operations Division of the Operations Department. He took office at the end of last year. He’s only twenty-two this year—the youngest senior colonel in the entire army. Director Xu is not only exceptionally brave and skilled in combat, but his drinking capacity—heh heh… he has never met his match in the Operations Department… Commander Wu has finally met his opponent this time…”
“What? Twenty-two?” The colonels, lieutenant colonels, and majors—all thirty and above—were completely dumbfounded… A twenty-two-year-old senior colonel in an actual post… exceptionally brave and skilled… never met his match in drinking?
At this, the looks in everyone’s eyes became somewhat strange—there was envy, indignation, and unwillingness to accept it… Each of them glared wide-eyed as the half-jin bowls were brought to the table… Then they all fixed their gazes intently on their Commander Wu… secretly thinking: “We can’t lose this. If we lose… our military region’s face will be lost…”
But though that was what everyone was thinking, watching that senior colonel sit there with a faint smile, back straight and shoulders square, looking like a pillar of strength, they all felt somewhat uneasy at heart…
“Come… Director Xu, let’s go a few more rounds?” Commander Wu’s round face was slightly flushed. He pinched the bowl—already filled by a major beside him using a liquor bottle—with three fingers and extended it with a laugh.
Seeing Commander Wu standing ramrod straight, clearly in the mood for a formal drinking contest, Xu Ze smiled and also stood up, raising his bowl as he said: “Commander Wu, you’re too kind…”
The two of them, each carrying a bit of pride, downed their bowls. Seeing the other’s straightforwardness, there was clearly also a touch of closeness between them…
“Come… pour the liquor!” This was also the first time Commander Wu had seen someone from an inspection group from above with such boldness. Although he did not particularly appreciate this fair-skinned, tender-faced youngster at first, now he no longer found him so jarring…
Watching the two pour liquor like water, Major General Li Jun beside them was left gaping. He had long heard that this deputy director of the Special Operations Division was young but brave and skilled in combat, yet he never knew his drinking capacity was also so astonishing…
After four or five bowls went down like this, Commander Wu was already flushed bright red, and his words gradually increased. He began calling Xu Ze—this young brat—his brother…
By the later stages of the drinking contest, it was purely like pouring water down. Even people who could not drink would no longer find the liquor hard to swallow by then… Two more bowls went down for each of them, and the onlookers’ mouths felt dry just watching…
“You’re something else, Xu Ze… straightforward enough! I, Old Wu, haven’t come across a man like you in many years…” Commander Wu’s tongue was tied as he slapped Xu Ze’s small shoulder hard and laughed loudly: “Originally I, Old Wu, didn’t think much of you—a fair-skinned youngster coming to inspect special forces. But today, just based on your straightforwardness, I, Old Wu, will treat you as a brother…”
The military region people watching saw Director Xu get slapped hard on the shoulder several times by Commander Wu yet remain standing there with straight back and square shoulders—body unmoving, shoulders not shaking. Their eyes lit up slightly, and they thought to themselves that someone who could become the Special Operations Division director was indeed no embroidered pillow.
Those few shoulder slaps from Commander Wu—the several people nearby all had deep personal experience with them. When everyone drank and got to the later stages, they had all been slapped like that by Commander Wu. The force… few people could keep from shaking a few times…
At this point, several military region officers beside them saw that their commander was clearly not looking right, while Xu Ze stood there still calm and composed. After all that liquor—several jin—it was truly like water to him. Apart from a bit more ruddiness on his handsome face, he looked completely unbothered. Now they were truly getting anxious…
Commander Wu could not be allowed to drink himself under the table here. So someone immediately stepped forward with a bowl to toast…
Xu Ze at this point just smiled faintly and did not decline—he accepted everyone who came. In any case, for every bowl someone toasted him, he would drag Commander Wu into drinking one as well…
And so, half an hour later, Xu Ze finally had a rosy flush on his face. But under the table, a whole crowd had already fallen. Commander Wu had been helped away, and those who had collapsed were all military region senior colonels and colonels—even Special Forces Brigade Commander Li Bin had not escaped…
Zhang Zuo carefully accompanied Xu Ze to the barracks to rest, but he had worried for nothing. Although Xu Ze’s face was red, his steps were steady, with hardly any sign of intoxication…
Xu Ze entered the barracks, took a shower, drank a cup of strong tea brought by the orderly, then lay down on the bed and began cultivating his energy cycle. Although all that liquor had left him a bit dizzy, after a few rounds of the energy cycle, his mind gradually cleared…
As Xu Ze focused entirely on driving his body’s energy cycle, the energy particles around him began pouring into his body in large quantities. As these energy particles gathered, Xu Ze increasingly noticed that the more remote and wild the place, the denser the energy particles. The energy particle concentration here was even richer than at the Guo’an Base outside Yanjing City. The denser the energy particles, the faster the progress…
“It seems I should still get out whenever I have the chance in the future—not stay in Yanjing all the time…” Xu Ze thought as he circulated his energy cycle.
As Xu Ze circulated with full focus, his spiritual power also spread out in all directions, sensing the rich energy particles around him and drawing them all in…
But as Xu Ze’s spiritual power expanded, he was suddenly startled—because he suddenly sensed that very far ahead, there seemed to be another place slowly accumulating energy particles… However, the rate there was extremely slow, and the energy particles there had become extremely dense due to the accumulation…
This discovery gave Xu Ze a tremendous shock. He truly could not figure out what it was, because this place seemed to be attracting energy particles not by actively absorbing them like he did, but merely drawing them to gather around it.
But this thing was far from him, yet he could still sense it. So Xu Ze, having sensed the existence of this thing, was indeed somewhat shocked and also somewhat fearful…
He had never encountered such a thing before, so he had no way to judge what it was. But it also stirred up considerable curiosity in him. This thing gathered a great deal of energy particles around it but did not actively absorb them—could this be something like the legendary spirit-gathering formation? Something that could assist cultivation…
This thing greatly attracted Xu Ze’s attention, but he still did not stop cultivating his energy cycle. Instead, he resolved that when he had the chance, he absolutely must go take a look at that place and see what kind of existence it was…
Who knows how much time passed—Xu Ze had already run the entire grand energy cycle no telling how many times. The sky gradually brightened, and outside there began to be more of the shouts of soldiers doing their morning training…
Xu Ze got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. When he came out, the orderly guided him to the cafeteria for breakfast…
Only after arriving did he find quite a few people already there. The inspection group members trickled in one after another… Seeing how Xu Ze had been so fierce yesterday yet could still rise so early today looking completely unbothered and full of energy, everyone was filled with admiration…
As for Commander Wu and the others, there was still no sign of them… Everyone was wondering whether those who were originally supposed to be the main players would even be able to get up when the special forces training exercise began later…
