Growth Under Pressure

Dai Mubai and Le Bai were both people who kept their word.

Early the next morning, Dai Mubai provided Le Bai with a large amount of materials.

By that afternoon, Le Bai had finished crafting the Soul Tools for the three of them.

Since none of them had any particular requirements for the appearance, Le Bai made them all in the style of wrist guards and simply named these wrist guard-shaped Soul Tools "Pressure Bracers."

"Come on, come on. These are your Pressure Bracers. Put them on properly, but don't rush to inject Soul Power yet. Let me explain how to use them first."

As dusk approached, Le Bai called the three, who had completed their day's training, into the room and handed each of them a wrist guard. "You all heard what the Dean and I said in the Dean's Office yesterday, so you should already know the general precautions. But there are some details I didn't have time to mention."

The three of them knew Le Bai well and knew he would not joke about training. After putting on the wrist guards, they made no unnecessary movements and listened seriously to Le Bai.

"First, let's talk about adjusting the pressure."

Le Bai pointed at the decorative-looking patterns on the surface of the wrist guard. "These things that look like patterns are actually markings. As the amount of Soul Power injected increases, the patterns will light up in stages, like this."

Le Bai demonstrated. Part of the pattern on the wrist guard around his wrist lit up, and within the illuminated section was a differently colored number.

"See this 'one'?"

Le Bai pointed at the number. "It means the Soul Power I've injected has reached the level of one Soul Ring, or Level Ten. It also means the pressure has reached the set 'Level One.' It works similarly from there, with the maximum being Level Nine pressure, corresponding to Level Ninety Soul Power. But I've never encountered anyone with Level Ninety Soul Power, so I'm not sure whether this Soul Tool can actually withstand Soul Power that high."

"Le Bai,"

Dai Mubai asked, "if that's the case, then to keep the wrist guard activated, our Soul Power has to be constantly consumed?"

"Yes, Soul Power will be continuously consumed."

Le Bai confirmed, "but as long as you activate the Limiting Valve, the consumption of Soul Power can be greatly reduced. If you can master Parallel Thinking—I mean, the Distraction Dual-Use technique—then the recovery effect from keeping your Soul Power circulating can offset that consumption. I don't think it should be much of a problem."

Among those present, Le Bai and Oscar were both highly proficient in Distraction Dual-Use. Ma Hongjun had already gotten the hang of it as well. Only Dai Mubai had average talent in this area and had practiced for too short a time, so he could not yet consume and recover Soul Power at the same time like the other three.

"Damn it, why is Distraction Dual-Use so difficult?!"

Dai Mubai scratched his head of golden hair in frustration.

"The Pressure Bracer is a great opportunity for you!"

Le Bai pointed at the wrist guard. "You can use this to practice Distraction Dual-Use too. As long as Boss Dai doesn't activate the Limiting Valve, you'll have to constantly pay attention to the amount of Soul Power you inject into it. That way, while exercising, Boss Dai can also practice Distraction Dual-Use. But when your Soul Power is unstable, the pressure will fluctuate repeatedly, and it'll be very uncomfortable."

"It's fine!"

Dai Mubai looked resolute. "It's only physical discomfort. I can endure it! It's better than suffering mentally in the future!"

"Well said! Just as expected of Boss Dai!"

Le Bai praised Dai Mubai, then suggested, "Go eat and bathe first, then gather here before dark. Tonight, you'll get to experience the wonderful feeling of rapid Soul Power growth under pressure!"

"Okay!" ×3

That night:

"Ah! It hurts, it hurts so much... It feels like my organs are about to be squeezed out..."

"I-I can't move, I can't breathe..."

"It's so hard to control the Soul Power injection. This hurts, damn it! The pressure changed again! Hiss—my Soul Power is almost depleted again!"

Ghostly wails and howls echoed continuously from the room until dawn.

Tormented by the Soul Tool's effects all night, the three of them were exhausted in both body and mind.

"You performed far better than I expected!"

Le Bai's assessment was the complete opposite of the three's assessment of themselves. "I originally thought you'd definitely run into danger and need my help. As expected, all three of you are quite talented!"

"..." ×3

The three were so exhausted that they did not even have the strength to speak.

"But it won't do for you to always be in such a miserable state."

Le Bai opened the door. "I'll go ask the Dean about the teachers' requirements for the Soul Tools' appearances. You three get some rest."

"..." ×3

The three said nothing, but all raised a hand and gave a thumbs-up to show they understood.

A month later, Le Bai finally completed every style of Soul Tool requested by the academy's teachers.

Since they were not as urgently needed as Oscar and the others' were, Le Bai only made them once every few days.

After the Shrek teachers received their Soul Tools, familiarized themselves with the controls, and adapted to the sensation of pressure all over their bodies, they all gave them high praise.

After a month of adaptation and training, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai finally managed to keep the Soul Tools activated all day while completing their daily training.

Under the pressure produced by the Soul Tools, the efficiency of their Soul Power growth increased noticeably. Huge rewards always gave people the motivation to grind.

Although it had been especially painful at first, once they got through the first few days, persisting was not too difficult. After all, this was not the first time they had followed a training plan made by Le Bai, and they had long been mentally prepared.

In the blink of an eye, another half year passed.

The three besides Le Bai finally managed to maintain their usual daily training volume under pressure equal to their own Soul Power Level.

"Xiao Ao, how many laps do I have left?"

"Huh? Shouldn't you be counting that yourself, Boss Dai?"

"Ninth lap. Six laps left."

"Ha, Hongjun, you're still the best."

"Boss Dai, you still have the energy to say so much. If Le Bai sees you, he'll definitely increase your workload again."

"Aren't you the same?"

"You two, Le Bai should be almost a lap ahead of us by now."

"..." ×2 (instantly fell silent)

A few seconds later, Le Bai quickly caught up to them from behind with light steps. Then he slowed down and ran alongside them. "I've finished today's training. Next, I'm going to do Soul Power Control training. You should have adapted to pressure training by now, so starting tomorrow, Soul Power Control training will resume as well."

Oscar and Dai Mubai's faces darkened, while Ma Hongjun showed no particular reaction.

Seeing this, Le Bai reminded them faintly, "Oscar and Boss Dai, don't you think the training plans I've made for you recently haven't been as extreme as before?"

At that, the two immediately realized it.

Le Bai continued, "Did you think I hadn't noticed your progress, or that I'd lowered my expectations of you? Please, have a little faith in me, will you? I had obviously deliberately left you time for independent training. Unfortunately, you two have gradually started slacking off lately and haven't been as proactive as Hongjun. So I can only be a little stricter and train with you."

After saying that, Le Bai accelerated and ran off.

After a long while, Oscar and Dai Mubai finally asked Ma Hongjun, "Did you notice Le Bai's intentions a long time ago?"

Ma Hongjun looked at them expressionlessly. "What else?"

The two were left speechless.

Then they both took a deep breath and cursed, "Fuck!"