Rapid Elimination

An Jing's exploration of Xuanming Manor ended without result, and for the first time in a long while, he did not sleep well.

Beast roars, flesh and blood, grinding teeth, and a pounding heart left An Jing feeling inexplicably restless in his dreams; only the clear, ringing sound of a sword could calm him slightly.

The strange visions in his dreams, his unstable sleep, and the heavy burden on his mind made An Jing's state during morning practice appear quite listless.

However, this did not arouse suspicion from others, as the vast majority of children who had eaten the beast meat displayed the same symptoms, and even more severely than An Jing.

Yet, this was not entirely a bad thing.

A few days later, everyone discovered the effects of the "beast meat" and "medicinal decoctions" they had been consuming.

First, the duration of their fatigue after training had significantly decreased, and their strength was indeed gradually increasing.

Various movements that once felt difficult and training sessions that previously left them lacking stamina gradually became easier... Of course, the instructors who noticed this would immediately intensify the training, but the children rarely felt that sense of powerlessness or internal nutritional deficiency anymore.

An Jing felt the same; under the training at Xuanming Manor and the abundant supply of food and medicine, his body, which had been somewhat depleted from his time as a refugee, had fully recovered.

Furthermore, because he received a much larger supply of beast meat than the other boys and girls, the muscle and fat he had rebuilt—which had initially been somewhat soft—condensed and tightened once more. They clung to his increasingly sturdy bones, leaving him looking unremarkable from the outside.

Only by truly coming into contact with his body could one be astonished to realize just how robust An Jing's flesh and bones had become.

As time passed, the boys and girls were growing at an astonishing speed.

But, as time passed, more and more people were being eliminated.

Those who used more resources but whose growth was unsatisfactory were naturally weeded out.

After Zhang Ying, it was Ye Xiuyuan's turn.

One morning, two weeks later, Ye Xiuyuan also left Xuanming Manor.

This had become the norm at Xuanming Manor; people were constantly heading down the mountain, and people were constantly leaving.

Gu Yeqi wiped away tears over this, while Cang Linzu acted tough and dismissive, though in reality, he cried secretly in the latrines.

Even Zhan Feng was too depressed to finish his dinner, as Ye Xiuyuan had been teaching him how to read and write; if not for Ye Xiuyuan's guidance, he wouldn't even be able to read the Huangtian Sutra fluently.

He had once been a beggar who only wanted to be full, but he still wanted to learn to write, because only those who could read could eat better things.

Although Ye Xiuyuan was always quoting lessons from ancient texts, always talking about the old days when his family was prosperous, and always hesitant and sighing, he was the strategist of An Jing's small circle. He had many clever ideas and was easygoing, so everyone liked him very much.

After another period of time, Zhan Feng left as well. This tall, simple-minded beggar had been muttering before bed that he must persist the longest so he could eat more meat, as he wouldn't be able to eat it once he went down the mountain.

More acquaintances and friends whose names he knew had left.

Half of the "friends" in An Jing's dormitory were gone, and the original two hundred or so children at Xuanming Manor had gradually dwindled to just over a hundred.

An Jing remained silent. He kept his composure and never spoke a word.

Some had secretly complained about An Jing's heartlessness, while others retorted that An Jing was not heartless; he remembered everyone's name, he just knew early on that those people were weak and couldn't keep up with the pace, so it was a good thing they left.

Some said that An Jing was the one who judged who should stay and who should go, while others claimed that An Jing was actually a ruthless machine of steel who only knew how to practice martial arts and study, a born powerhouse.

An Jing was noncommittal toward these assessments; he was not as heartless as they imagined, nor was he that sentimental.

When the first round of eliminations began, he already knew this was inevitable; eventually, many "familiar faces" would be unable to keep up and would be eliminated.

He simply accepted it and silently remembered.

At that time, the children's grief was still genuine and pure.

But as time went on and partings occurred again and again, everyone's hearts gradually grew cold and hardened.

Gradually, the children of Xuanming Manor began to think this was nothing strange.

Being left behind was proof of their excellence. This made them feel fortunate and proud, and although those who left were friends, it had only been a few months of companionship after all.

Though they missed them, they were not overly saddened.

Those who valued relationships, those who had truly become close friends, hoped for a day of reunion after going down the mountain.

But for most, they were gradually forgotten.

As the intensity of the training gradually increased, everyone was busy training every day, ending their drills in exhaustion, eating greedily, and falling into a deep sleep with a blank mind.

No one could remember everyone who had left.

Except for An Jing.

From beginning to end, no matter who left, An Jing silently observed and committed them to memory.

On the surface, he said nothing, but inwardly, surging doubts arose.

Only he remembered the face of every single person, which was why he knew that those who left... the vast majority, at least nine out of ten, were the ones who had failed to suppress their impulses after eating the beast meat and had "roared" in public.

These people happened to be the group whose absorption efficiency of the beast meat was not high enough and whose growth rate was not fast enough.

"What exactly is the purpose of that beast meat and those medicinal decoctions?"

"And who was that voice that warned me not to go near the Medicine Pavilion?"

"Why did it warn me?"

These were the greatest doubts in An Jing's heart during this recent period.

Setting aside that strange voice, ever since the first time they ate the beast meat, every ten days, the boys and girls of the manor would eat beast meat and drink herbal decoctions once.

The number of children who could not endure the heat and medicinal power of the meat grew smaller, but perhaps because of this, the children's personalities had also undergone some changes.

It wasn't obvious, but it was certainly there—everyone's personality was becoming increasingly steady.

But calling it steady might be more accurate to describe it as extreme or radical.

The calm became even calmer, the silent became even more silent, and those who were passionate on the surface became indifferent, yet they were even more enthusiastic than before toward their truly close friends.

Even An Jing couldn't help but feel this way; his relationship with Gu Yeqi and Cang Linzu was getting better and better, while it was becoming harder for An Jing to truly accept the other children as friends.

If he felt this way, it went without saying for the others.

--Is this the effect of the beast meat, or the effect of the medicinal herbs?

An Jing couldn't be sure; he only knew that his dreams were becoming increasingly restless.

He woke up in a start from his dreams several times in the middle of the night, always hearing strange sounds—some like wild beasts gnashing their teeth, some like the clanging of blades, and others like the rushing of a river of blood, stirring up anger and causing inexplicable resentment.

These things weren't actually important; the real question was, why was Xuanming Manor doing this?

"Could it be because of puberty?"

An Jing speculated: "Or perhaps the awakening of a 'dead soldier' or destiny requires this kind of extreme personality?"

Based on their age, most of the children collected by Xuanming Manor were beginning to enter puberty, reaching a period of rapid growth.

Fierce beast meat could promote development, making people stronger and more powerful, while the medicinal concoctions could suppress impulses, preventing the children from rebelling due to adolescent urges, which would affect training progress and cause them to miss this rapid growth phase.

Those who couldn't suppress their own impulses had no way to successfully pass through this rapid growth phase, which was why they were abandoned and sent down the mountain.

An Jing was, after all, the son of a martial family, and he was naturally very clear about his own physical development; it wasn't strange that Xuanming Manor would choose to use medicinal agents for this level of consideration.

Everyone's temperament changing... living in this isolated manor, with many instructors and lecturers teaching by example, it was bound to become extreme.

As for his own strange dreams, perhaps they were just a side effect brought on by physical growth?