Hell Training and the First Declaration of War

When Lin Xiao calmly said, "We are a team," Shi Lei and Su Yue felt a surge of blood rush from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads, their hearts filled with unprecedented excitement and valor.

They knew that from this moment on, their destinies were tightly bound to the young man before them, who appeared ordinary but harbored the entire world within his heart.

The road ahead might be a bottomless abyss, but with such companions, what was there to fear?!

"Lin Xiao, tell us what to do! I, Shi Lei, entrust my life to you today! Even if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, I won't flinch!" Shi Lei declared, pounding his chest, his voice booming like a bell.

Su Yue remained silent, but the determination and trust radiating from her eyes, as bright as stars, spoke volumes more than any words.

Lin Xiao's heart warmed as he looked at his companions' unreserved trust. He knew he had made the most crucial bet in this gamble.

"Good," Lin Xiao's face turned solemn. "I already have a preliminary idea for the training plan. But before that, we have one more important thing to do."

He turned and looked towards the crowd outside the dormitory area, who were gradually dispersing after the Vice Dean's departure but were still pointing and discussing from a distance.

"In three months, we will face the competition of thousands of geniuses from the entire outer courtyard. Even if the three of us are incredibly strong, we are still outnumbered. We need more power. We need to turn the entire Yellow Class Nine into our strength!"

Upon hearing this, the excitement on Shi Lei's face immediately faded. He scratched his head and said with some difficulty, "Lin Xiao, this... might be a bit difficult, right? You've seen those guys in Class Nine. They're all like eggplants hit by frost, completely demoralized by the academy. Asking them to challenge Heaven Class with us? I'm afraid they don't have the guts."

"Guts are trained. Spirit is forged through battle," Lin Xiao's lips curved into a confident smile. "What they lack is not talent or courage, but a reason to see hope. And we will be that reason."

That afternoon, news once again swept through the entire outer courtyard like a hurricane.

-- Lin Xiao, the chief student of Yellow Class Nine, is personally funding a "special training" for all Yellow Class Nine students with a monthly stipend of ten Merit Points!

Furthermore, he publicly declared: Any student who participates in the special training and improves their strength by one level within three months will receive an additional reward of one hundred Merit Points! Those who help the team achieve excellent results in the "Bloody Trial" will receive unlimited rewards!

The moment this news broke, the entire outer court exploded!

"Did I hear that right? Is Lin Xiao crazy? Where did he get so many Merit Points?" "I heard he got a reward of fifteen thousand Merit Points at the Gravity Tower in one go! This guy is rolling in wealth!" "Ten Merit Points a month! My heavens, that's almost the monthly stipend for Heaven Class! And you get it just for participating? Why don't we get such good deals!" "A hundred Merit Points for a breakthrough reward? He's trying to turn the entire Yellow Class Nine into a pack of wolves!"

Countless students from the outer courtyard, especially those in other Yellow Classes, regretted their choices immensely upon hearing the news. They were so envious their eyes turned red, wishing they could transfer to Yellow Class Nine immediately.

As for the students of Yellow Class Nine, the protagonists of this event, after an initial period of shock and disbelief, they were completely overcome by a mixture of elation and hesitation.

Elation because this pie falling from the sky was too big! Big enough to make them forget all their inferiority and dejection! Hesitation because they all knew Lin Xiao's "special training" had only one purpose—to challenge Heaven Class and fulfill the three-month promise with the Vice Dean!

That was a thorny path destined to oppose the entire academy! Did they really have the courage to go mad with Lin Xiao?

As dusk fell, at the exclusive training grounds of Yellow Class Nine.

Lin Xiao stood with his hands behind his back, waiting calmly. Shi Lei and Su Yue stood like two guardians, one on each side behind him.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched their shadows long.

Figures began to appear in the distance, one after another.

Most of them, in twos and threes, with a mixture of apprehension and hesitation on their faces, lingered at the edge of the training grounds, indecisive.

Lin Xiao did not rush them, merely watching calmly.

Finally, a thin, dark-skinned, seemingly timid young boy was the first to muster the courage to walk into the training grounds and stand before Lin Xiao.

"Chief Lin... Chief Lin..." the boy stammered nervously, "I... my name is Zhou Xiaoshu, I... I want to participate in the training!"

"Why?" Lin Xiao asked him calmly.

"Because... because I don't want to be looked down upon anymore!" A light, completely different from his frail appearance, suddenly burst from Zhou Xiaoshu's eyes. "I have poor talent and a poor family background. I accepted being assigned to Yellow Class! But I don't want to stay at the bottom forever, being trampled on like trash! I want to become stronger! Even if it's just once, I want to follow the Chief and see the scenery from the mountaintop!"

His words struck the hesitant students outside the field like a heavy hammer.

"Well said!"

One, two, three... more and more people emerged from the shadows, joining Zhou Xiaoshu.

Their faces still showed apprehension, but their eyes were also ignited with a flame called "hope"!

In the end, a total of thirty students from Yellow Class Nine, except for two or three who were completely self-abusive and unwilling to come, all twenty-seven arrived!

Looking at the young but determined faces before him, Lin Xiao finally revealed a satisfied smile.

He knew his first step had been successful.

"Very good."

He cleared his throat, his voice echoing throughout the training grounds.

"I am very happy that you have chosen to believe in me. I promise you that today will be the decision you will regret the least in your lives!"

"I won't say any grand, morale-boosting words. I will only tell you three things."

"First, from today onwards, you are no longer forgotten trash. You are members of 'Yellow Class Nine'! What you need to do is forget your past, hold your heads high, and puff out your chests!"

"Second, the training I have tailored for you will be hell! You will feel pain, you will feel despair, you might even want to give up. But I demand that you unconditionally obey my every command! Anyone who dares to quit midway will forever have no place in Yellow Class Nine!"

"Third!" Lin Xiao's gaze suddenly became sharp as a knife. "What I promise you is hope! Dignity! And absolute strength that will make everyone who looks down on us tremble! In three months, I want the name 'Yellow Class Nine' to resound throughout Cloud Creek Academy!"

His voice, filled with power and confidence, echoed like a spell in the ears of every student, making their blood boil!

"Now, everyone, line up around me!" Lin Xiao commanded sternly.

The twenty-seven students instinctively and quickly formed ranks according to his instructions.

"Very good. Our first lesson begins now!"

Lin Xiao's lips curved into a "demonic" smile.

"Everyone's target is the Gravity Tower! Today, everyone must endure the maximum gravity they can withstand for one hour! Those who fail will get no dinner!"

Hell had descended.

For the next month, the entire outer courtyard's students looked at the desperate members of Yellow Class Nine as if they were lunatics.

Every day, before dawn, Lin Xiao would lead them on cross-country runs with weights across the academy's tracks. In the mornings, they were driven into the Gravity Tower, enduring pressure that made their bones groan as their bodies were brutally tempered. In the afternoons, they would engage in various unbelievable yet astonishingly effective cooperative combat training sessions designed by Lin Xiao on the training grounds. By night, when everyone else was fast asleep, the dormitory area of Yellow Class Nine remained brightly lit. Lin Xiao would personally explain the mysteries of martial skills and impart his combat experience.

Lin Xiao was like the harshest drill sergeant from hell.

He used the System to precisely analyze each student's physical data, cultivation characteristics, and potential limits, then created a training plan so perfect it was precise down to the hour.

He perfectly combined military training from his past life, modern physical theory, and the cultivation system of this world.

What he taught them was no longer solo combat, but teamwork! Cooperation! Formations!

He exchanged Merit Points for a large quantity of body-tempering pills, distributing them to everyone as if they were free, ensuring the timeliest replenishment and repair after their extreme training.

With such luxurious resource investment and devilish training intensity, the "underachievers" of Yellow Class Nine began to undergo a transformation that was visible to the naked eye!

Their eyes were no longer lost. Their bodies were no longer weak. The dejected aura they carried was replaced by a new temperament called "iron-blooded" and "confidence"!

One month later.

When Yellow Class Nine reappeared collectively on the academy's martial arts field, everyone who saw them was too shocked to speak.

Their synchronized marching, their mountain-like imposing aura, the twenty-seven streams of battle intent converging together, capable of piercing the heavens!

How could this still be the same class of trash that was bullied by anyone? This was clearly an elite force that had just emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!

And at the very front of this team, the leading youth's aura became even more profound and unpredictable.

After a month of arduous cultivation, Lin Xiao's realm had steadily entered Body Refinement Seventh Level! Shi Lei and Su Yue had both broken through to Body Refinement Fifth Level! The remaining students had also improved by at least one minor realm!

Such a terrifying rate of progress was enough to make any genius from a Heaven Class feel ashamed!

Lin Xiao knew the time had come to show their strength.

On this day, he did not lead the team for training. Instead, he came alone to the most eye-catching place in the outer courtyard—the Life and Death Stage.

Beside the Life and Death Stage stood a huge "Merit Monument," which recorded the merit challenge records among all students.

Under the gaze of thousands of eyes, some astonished, some curious, some disdainful.

Lin Xiao walked to the Merit Monument, picked up the special rune pen used for recording, and with a flourish, wrote his first and most arrogant declaration of war since arriving at this academy!

[Yellow Class Nine, Lin Xiao, wagering all of my personal Heaven Class monthly stipend resources, challenges—]

[Heaven Class Three, Head Student, Li Tianyi!]

[Time: Three days later, Life and Death Stage!]

When the words "Li Tianyi" appeared on the Merit Monument, the entire crowd fell into dead silence.

Immediately following was a deafening uproar!

"Li Tianyi! He's challenging Li Tianyi first!"

"He's crazy! He's absolutely crazy! Li Tianyi is a peak Body Refinement Eighth Level expert! He's ranked eleventh on the outer courtyard's individual strength rankings! He's second only to monsters like Xiao Lang!"

"This isn't a challenge anymore, this is suicide!"

Ignoring all the noise and doubt around him.

Lin Xiao slowly put down the rune pen.

He turned around, his gaze piercing through the crowd, as if he saw the enraged figure at the top of the cultivation tower because of this news.

The corner of his mouth hooked into a cold arc.

Xiao Lang, I'll remove one of your claws for you first!