"Mr. Tan, this newbie is bullying me, and that's the same as bullying all of us instructors! You've got to step in and deal with him fast!" Yao Bin, whose hand was being painfully squeezed by Lin Feng, quickly shouted when he saw Tan Long speak up to defuse the situation.

Yao Bin knew he was definitely no match for Lin Feng. But if Tan Long made a move, Lin Feng would surely be defeated. Tan Long's martial skills ranked high among all the instructors; he could easily handle three to five special forces soldiers.

Seeing Tan Long's piercing gaze, Lin Feng remained unfazed, a faint smile on his face. "Since Instructor Tan has said so, then fine."

With that, Lin Feng released Yao Bin's hand. Yao Bin quickly pulled away, looked at his already fractured right palm, and screamed, "Lin Feng, you're so ruthless!"

"Instructor Yao Bin, you made the first move. I didn't provoke you. What do you mean, ruthless? Let's just say, one can't afford to be too soft. If people don't provoke me, I won't provoke them. But if they do, I will certainly retaliate! You understand that, right?"

Lin Feng's words instantly made Yao Bin's face turn livid, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't beat Lin Feng, and if he continued to taunt him, Lin Feng might retaliate, and he would face consequences he couldn't bear.

Therefore, after weighing his options, Yao Bin merely glared furiously at Lin Feng, not daring to say another word.

"Lin Feng, you injured Instructor Yao Bin, fracturing his right hand and affecting tomorrow's training. What do you have to say for yourself?" Tan Long said, staring at Lin Feng with a serious expression.

"What?" Lin Feng was taken aback.

"A new recruit fighting, especially fighting an instructor, is an even graver offense. But seeing as you're a newcomer unfamiliar with the rules, I'll be lenient. I'll confine you to the 'small dark room' for one night. Do you have anything to say?" Tan Long continued calmly.

Yet, the iciness in his tone sent a chill down one's spine.

"Heh heh, Instructor Tan, how did I assault an instructor? It was Instructor Yao Bin who tried to attack me; I was merely defending myself. No matter what you say, I didn't fight. At most, it can only be considered that I shook hands with Instructor Yao Bin."

Lin Feng could clearly see that Tan Long wanted to punish him, so he certainly wasn't going to submit and be led around by the nose by Tan Long.

Of course, throughout the entire process, he had indeed only shaken Yao Bin's hand; it was just that his grip had been a bit too strong, crushing Yao Bin's bones.

"Quibbling!" Tan Long shot Lin Feng a cold, hard glance.

"I am the deputy instructor of the Fire Cloud Special Operations Unit. Even though you're not my direct subordinate, as your superior sharing the same dormitory, I have the right to discipline you for your ideological and political errors! If you quibble again, I'll confine you to the small dark room for a whole day!" Tan Long said furiously.

The small dark room was a tiny, completely lightless room where a person could only curl up. Being locked inside for an extended period in the pitch-black darkness, with no sight of day, would cause a person's mental state to collapse and induce hallucinations; it was truly terrifying.

In the army, confinement in the small dark room was considered a severe punishment.

"Quibbling? Instructor Tan, you're punishing me without distinguishing right from wrong, and you won't even let me explain? You're abusing your authority to bully me! As I said, I only shook hands with Instructor Yao Bin; it wasn't a brawl. This gentleman, Lu Pengju, can testify for me," Lin Feng said, pointing at Lu Pengju.

The stunned Lu Pengju, seeing the situation, quickly said, "Instructor Tan, please don't lower yourself to the level of us new recruits. Just now, Lin Feng really did only shake hands with Instructor Yao Bin. Please, be magnanimous and overlook this..."

"Hmph! Shake hands? If you've got the nerve, why don't you try shaking hands with me?!" Tan Long cut Lu Pengju off, flinging his hand out angrily.

Upon hearing this, Lu Pengju's jaw dropped as he stared at Lin Feng in shock.

It was obvious from Tan Long's words that he intended to openly bully Lin Feng. He called it a handshake, but it was actually a contest of strength against Lin Feng. His goal, of course, was to avenge Yao Bin!

"Instructor Tan, it's so late. Why don't we sleep first? We can discuss this tomorrow..." Lu Pengju suggested, again trying to mediate.

But Tan Long remained unmoved, extending his right hand towards Lin Feng. "A superior officer is offering to shake your hand. As a new recruit, do you dare refuse?" His voice carried a threatening tone.

Lin Feng looked at Tan Long, paused for a moment, then a relaxed smile spread across his face. "How could I dare refuse? For Instructor Tan to offer me, Lin Feng, a handshake is a great honor indeed. A true honor..."

As he spoke, under Lu Pengju's astonished gaze, Lin Feng also extended his right hand and grasped Tan Long's.

The two hands gripped each other tightly. Lu Pengju could see the strength in their grips steadily increasing, yet their expressions remained unchanged.

Damn, another inner strength cultivator!

Feeling the strength in Tan Long's hand, Lin Feng was inwardly shocked. He had only been at this training base for a day and had already encountered several inner strength cultivators! Just how much about this world did he still not know?

While Lin Feng was surprised, Tan Long, opposite him, though his expression remained impassive, was equally, if not more, astounded inwardly.

No wonder Lin Feng could defeat Huang Yixiang! His Inner Strength has already reached the late stage of the second layer!

Shocked inwardly, Tan Long suddenly increased the strength in his grip.

His cultivation was also at the peak of the second layer of Inner Strength!

In an instant, both men mobilized the Inner Strength throughout their bodies, concentrating it entirely into their clasped hands. For a moment, a visible current of energy seemed to swirl around their palms.

Lu Pengju was not an inner strength cultivator, so he couldn't see the surging, invisible Inner Strength. However, standing close by, he could sense that both men were continuously increasing the force in their hands. It currently seemed they were evenly matched!

"Instructor Tan, Lin Feng, haha, why don't we discuss this tomorrow? We're all dormmates. You've been shaking hands for so long now, haha, your bond must be quite deep..." Lu Pengju said with a chuckle.

"You little punk, shut your damn mouth!" Yao Bin, at the side, yelled at Lu Pengju. "Go to sleep right now, or I'll sort you out!"

Although Yao Bin wasn't an inner strength cultivator and his strength was no match for Lin Feng's, he was a former special forces soldier. Compared to Lu Pengju in terms of overall strength, he was still confident. Thus, he started acting arrogantly in front of Lu Pengju again.

Lu Pengju was startled at first, then forced a smile and quickly said, "Okay, okay, I'll go to sleep now..." With that, he hastily stripped off his clothes and pants, revealing red boxers, and scrambled into bed.

The Inner Strength between their palms continued to surge. The two had been shaking hands for nearly ten minutes.

Yet, neither seemed to have gained the upper hand.

"Instructor Tan, if we continue shaking hands like this, I'm afraid we could go on all night and you still wouldn't get the result you're looking for, right?"

Slowly accumulating his strength, Lin Feng, a smile on his face, suddenly spoke to Tan Long, whose face had already started to flush red.

Thanks to "▓_﹏Vows, Such Nonsenseヾ◆" for the 588 book coins! What a lucky number! What more can I say? You've already gifted two lots of 588 book coins, so Hong Qi has to show some appreciation, right? Bonus chapters incoming! Three updates today! If the recommendation tickets keep rolling in and the coin rewards are plentiful, Hong Qi will go all out for four updates!!! Keep the support coming!

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