A Weary Look at Last

"Ahhh! What is this?! Why is it wrapped around my legs?!"

In the empty forest, panicked cries echoed without end, startling a row of resting birds into flight.

"Don't be afraid. It's just mud. Once you wade out, you can wash it off. Besides, it's only calf-deep, so you won't sink in." Tang Ling stood on a tree branch, smiling as she looked down at the three boys and girls below, each wearing a different expression.

Ning Rongrong had gone pale from fright when she stepped in; Xue Qingxi looked utterly disgusted by the mud coating his legs due to his cleanliness obsession; Tang San remained calm, simply wanting to get out as quickly as possible.

"Really? Sister Lingling, it really is just mud?" Ning Rongrong swiftly looked up, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes as she gazed at Tang Ling pitifully.

Tang Ling nodded solemnly, then pointed ahead. "Keep moving, everyone. I'll be with you!" She sat smiling on the branch, swinging her legs as she watched them.

Tang San looked up at her and froze for a moment before quickly taking a second step, dragging his heavy mud-covered legs forward.

Seeing this, Xue Qingxi suppressed his disgust and stepped forward after him. Left behind, Ning Rongrong looked at the two ahead of her, gritted her teeth, and struggled forward.

Tang Ling watched their movements, nodding approvingly as she saw them off.

Tang Yiyin and Tang Ersui, perched on another tree, exchanged baffled looks. Hadn't they said this swamp was full of poisonous insects? Why wasn't a single one in sight?

Tang Ling, who had painstakingly smoked all three of their clothes with insect-repelling incense, quietly hid her achievements and fame.

"Brother Xue, give me a hand. I can't go on." Ning Rongrong stretched out both hands and looked breathlessly at Xue Qingxi, who was two steps ahead.

Xue Qingxi glanced at the teachers some distance away, then walked over and supported her.

"How are you two so relaxed?" Ning Rongrong rested her hand on his arm and looked at him in astonishment.

"Because I practiced martial arts for six years, and Third Brother practiced for nine." Xue Qingxi grabbed Ning Rongrong's arm in return and turned to keep walking.

Ning Rongrong hurried after him. Recalling how neither of them had smiled before entering, she asked doubtfully, "Did you know this was a mud pit before we came in?"

"Of course not." Xue Qingxi shook his head. Before Ning Rongrong could sigh in relief, he continued, "We just knew this path definitely wouldn't be easy."

"Why?" Ning Rongrong panted heavily, asking one word at a time with her mouth dry as sand.

"Because this counts as body conditioning. I've trained in all sorts of strange ways." Xue Qingxi looked back at her, a bitter smile at the corner of his lips.

He really couldn't think about the first year after he began martial arts training. The more he thought about it, the more exhausted he felt.

Ning Rongrong looked at him, and her little face turned even paler. Trembling, she looked back at Tang Ling, who was smiling gently from the tree, and instantly shuddered.

"I think I underestimated things!" Ning Rongrong snapped her head back around, grief written all over her face.

"Too late! Take me as an example—I thought the same thing back then." Xue Qingxi gave her a perfectly fake smile.

The two exchanged a glance and supported one another as they inched forward step by step.

"Rongrong should be at her limit by now, right?" Seeing Ning Rongrong reach halfway across, Tang Ling hung upside down from a branch and looked up at her.

Then she grabbed her and pulled her up. "You haven't done body conditioning before, so half is enough for now." She handed her a bottle of salt water.

"Thank you, Sister Ling." Ning Rongrong leaned weakly against the tree trunk, taking tiny sips from the bottle.

"Will all our future training be like this?" After finishing the water, Ning Rongrong looked dimly at Tang Ling, appearing utterly pitiful.

"Of course not~" Tang Ling chuckled and rubbed her head. "You're a support.

During battle, you stand in the rear, so speed is what matters. You don't need to learn much of this kind of body conditioning that trains stamina.

For now, you only need to practice running and reaction speed."

"Okay! I'll train hard!" After hearing that, Ning Rongrong's fighting spirit instantly flared up. The future suddenly seemed bright.

Below, Xue Qingxi looked up and exchanged a smile with Tang San. Then they sighed over Ning Rongrong's habit of forgetting pain once she had eaten; she seemed to have forgotten how she had stepped right into the mud earlier.

An hour later, under Tang Ling and the others' watchful eyes, Xue Qingxi and Tang San, supporting each other, staggered out of the mud pit.

"I need to rest before I clean off this mud." Xue Qingxi dropped all concern for appearances and plopped down on the ground, hanging his head as he spoke weakly.

Tang San glanced at him, then dragged his muddy legs over to Tang Ling's side. "Senior Sister, I'm so tired!"

Seeing the fatigue on his face, Tang Ling reached out, rubbed his cheek, and praised him. "A-Xuan did wonderfully. Sit down and rest."

Tang San obediently sat on the wooden chair beside her, smiling as he watched Tang Ling.

On the other side, Xue Qingxi secretly rolled his eyes at the sight. He hadn't even sweated a drop, and he had looked completely relaxed when he came out. Now he actually looked weary?

Once Ersui had set up the tent, Ning Rongrong and the other two took turns going inside for a thorough wash.

At lunchtime, the three who normally ate at an unhurried pace all quickly finished the rice in their bowls.

"No rush, eat slowly. I had Ersui cook plenty." Tang Ling raised her hand to add some food to Tang San's bowl, smiling at the three before her.

Ning Rongrong nodded, but her hands never stopped moving. The other two young men had no intention of slowing down either.

After the meal, they lounged comfortably in their seats, quietly savoring the tranquility of the forest.

"Sister Ling, the reaction training you mentioned isn't going to be in there, is it?"

After resting and walking for a while, Ning Rongrong had completely forgotten the hardships of the morning. She now stared in disbelief at the vast flower patch before her.

"Yes." Tang Ling looked at her and nodded with a smile. "Bursting Sun Flowers. Their Spirit Skill fires tiny seeds. This entire patch is only around one hundred and eighty years old.

Sword Grandfather said that your Spirit Rings are one hundred years and two hundred seventy years, respectively. Dodging their attacks should be easy for you.

Use your second Spirit Skill on yourself and give it a try."

Tang Ling looked at her encouragingly. Ning Rongrong looked back, then gritted her teeth and nodded.

Standing outside the flower patch, she summoned her martial spirit and used her Spirit Skill. "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Seven treasures turn with glazed light, seven treasures have names: second, speed!"

As soon as she finished, two yellow Spirit Rings descended. The girl dashed toward the Bursting Sun Flowers' attack range, her movements awkward but swift as she dodged the flying seeds.

Tang Ling nodded approvingly, then turned to look at Xue Qingxi and Tang San.

Before she could speak, a scream from behind caught her attention.

She quickly spun around and saw the person who had just entered the flower patch dragging a lump of unknown black matter, shouting as she ran out with an awkward gait.

"Sister Ling, I found a dead person in there!"