The rest of the afternoon blurred into a grueling sequence of clacking wood and bruised flesh. Solomon fully embraced his role as a strict disciplinarian, transforming the dirt ring into a nightmare for the royal guards.
Every five minutes, a loud smack echoed across the courtyard. A tall sentry attempted the spinning deflection, but his shoulders remained entirely rigid. Solomon stepped inside the man’s guard and drove a swift left hook directly into his cheekbone.
"Your kinetic transfer is completely broken," Solomon critiqued, watching the soldier stumble into the dirt with a bleeding lip.
He moved to the next man in line. The guard swung his wooden sword in a clumsy, forceful chop. Solomon slapped the blade aside and delivered a punishing jab to the man’s nose. "You locked your ankles again. Let the momentum carry you."
The brutal corrections continued relentlessly. By the end of the second hour, ten soldiers dropped their practice weapons and limped off the training ground, clutching swollen eyes and bruised jaws. They completely abandoned the lesson, entirely unwilling to endure another strike.
During the following hour, six more guards threw in the towel, groaning in pain as they nursed their battered ribs and bleeding faces.
[Mezz_3863: Solo Man is handing out concussions instead of lessons.]
[1Fizzy: bro is making them pay with interest.]
[James_hayes: this is just a legal beatdown at this point.]
[Xenedra: those guards are regretting their life choices.]
[Fatal_Beauty: my jaw hurts just watching this.]
By late evening, only a single soldier remained standing among the twenty selected men. The young guard, Jianyu, swung his wooden practice sword with a desperate focus.
Solomon had only punched Jianyu a few dozen times throughout the entire day, and he actively pulled his punches to ensure the boy sustained minimal damage compared to his peers.
Solomon had two distinct reasons for sparing him. Firstly, Jianyu had kept his mouth completely shut and refused to laugh when Commander Feng insulted the academy students at the front doors.
And the second and the main reason was...
Just as the sun dipped beneath the palace walls, Unit Commander Wei and Unit Leader Gao stormed onto the training grounds. They surveyed the retreating, bruised soldiers limping toward the medical wing and glared at the silver-haired teenager.
"What exactly did you do to my men?!" Gao screamed, placing a hand on his scabbard. "You were supposed to teach them a sword technique, not beat them half to death!"
Solomon rested his greatsword against the ground and casually stretched his neck. "That is exactly what I was doing. Whenever they ignored my advice or executed a flawed movement, I corrected them physically. That is how the instructors teach us at the sect. It is a completely standard training method."
Commander Wei stepped forward, his face flushed with frustration. "That is absolutely not how a proper educator operates! Teaching requires patience and careful guidance. You are supposed to build a soldier’s confidence, outline their mechanical errors verbally, and ensure their bodies can withstand the burden without breaking their spirits!"
Wei gestured wildly at the empty dirt ring. "You do not shatter their jaws for misplacing a boot! You must nurture their potential so they actually retain the information!"
"I corrected their mistakes by teaching them basic professionalism and manners," Solomon replied smoothly.
"This is incredibly unprofessional and highly unethical!" Gao shouted, pointing an accusing finger. "You are an instructor! A real instructor demonstrates the form, observes the attempt, and offers constructive feedback. You just battered them!"
Solomon raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "You promised that I would teach them on my own terms. You gave me your word that you would not interfere or question my methods."
"We stood by our words and we did not interfere," Gao shot back, his voice echoing across the quiet courtyard. "But what you did to my squad looks entirely personal! You beat them simply because you could! You used our agreement as a legal shield to enact some petty grudge with ulterior motives!"
[Stephen-Wood: Gao actually figured it out lol.]
[Foodball: bro read him like a book.]
[Grim: Solo Man getting called out.]
[M00N: the unit leader is not entirely wrong.]
[Tyler_Klare: deny everything Solo Man!]
Solomon shook his head, denying the allegations with a perfectly calm expression. "Your men were simply unfit to learn the legacy of the Azure Dragon Sect. They lacked the discipline and the physical coordination to handle the burden."
He uncrossed his arms and pointed directly at Jianyu, who stood nearby practicing the footwork.
"If my methods are so terrible, explain him," Solomon argued, gesturing to the young guard. "Jianyu is talented and eager to learn. He did not give up like those fragile, weak-willed soldiers you sent me. He can already perform the first two steps smoothly and has the foundational sweep mastered."
Jianyu stopped his practice swing and stood taller, visibly proud of the unexpected praise.
That was the main reason why he had spared Jianwu.
Solomon needed a successful outcome to validate his teaching methods. ’If every single soldier quits, the commanders will claim I intentionally sabotaged the lesson,’ Solomon reasoned inwardly. ’I needed at least one prodigy to prove my innocence.’
Commander Wei and Unit Leader Gao followed Solomon’s finger. They watched Jianyu execute the initial deflection arc of the Azure Crane Blade with fluid precision. All their previous accusations and arguments instantly crumbled.
They could not logically blame Solomon for a personal vendetta when a soldier had successfully acquired the promised martial art under his exact tutelage.
Wei ground his teeth together, realizing he had been completely outmaneuvered.
"Even still, you should not have beaten them to that extreme," Wei complained, dropping his authoritative tone. "Nineteen of my best men are severely injured now. They cannot perform their guard duties for at least a week. The royal sermon takes place in exactly two days! How are we supposed to protect the palace with a crippled perimeter squad?"
"If a few hours of physical correction puts them in a hospital bed, they would not have contributed much against an actual assassin anyway," Solomon responded bluntly.
Wei and Gao scowled deeply. Unable to formulate a valid counterargument, the two officers turned around and marched off the training grounds in complete frustration.
"You can send another team tomorrow!" Solomon called out after them. "I will gladly teach the next batch!"
[1Fizzy: AHAHAHA SEND ANOTHER TEAM!]
[Scott_Carson: bro wants to beat up the whole army.]
[Zoomtech: do not mess with Solo Man!]
[James_hayes: the commanders are fuming.]
[IceWaterKat: Solo Man just dismantled their entire military force.]
[Brerell: the pettiness is legendary.]