Preparations Before Military Training

"Even if he were the Son of Heaven himself, murder still had to be paid for with a life!" Wang Meng snorted when he heard Meng Xuanxuan's words. Of course, he was not taking his temper out on her; he was simply stating the facts.

"You won't need to do anything, Brother Wang. I'll twist off his head with my own hands and avenge A-Long and A-Qiang!" Tang Yu's face was as hard as iron. Even without Wang Meng saying anything, he would make Dukavi pay the price.

Tang Yu did not mention that Xia Linlin was involved in this matter as well. For some reason, he was deeply unwilling to bring up her name. It was not because he was protecting her; he simply did not want to.

After leaving the Force Martial Arts Gym, Tang Yu gazed at the bustling city beneath the night sky, its crowds flowing endlessly past one another, and could not help sighing. May this peace last forever.

When he raised his head again, he had regained his usual composure and confidence. It was as if he had buried certain things deep in his heart and deliberately forced himself to stop thinking about them.

Just as Wang Meng had said, so what if he were the Son of Heaven? Whoever needed killing still had to be killed!

"I'll take you home," Meng Xuanxuan said to Tang Yu.

"No need. I'll walk back and clear my head while I'm at it." Tang Yu shook his head, signaling for Meng Xuanxuan to leave first and not worry about him.

Watching Meng Xuanxuan drive away, Tang Yu blended into the lively city streets. Perhaps he had never done this before in all his life. Tang Yu thought to himself.

Lincheng Estate was nearly a hundred kilometers from the Force Martial Arts Gym in Suhang City, but that distance was nothing to Tang Yu. Like a cheetah racing through the night, he was nimble and swift. He passed through the bustling streets and alleyways, and not only did his speed not slow, it increased even further. Every step covered seven or eight meters, sometimes even more than ten.

Traveling at nearly fifty kilometers per hour, Tang Yu reached the entrance to Lincheng Estate a little after ten that night, after roughly two hours. A light sheen of sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing was slightly rushed. Those were perfectly normal physiological reactions.

The Force within his body had been completely exhausted, yet Tang Yu did not feel particularly weak. Instead, he suddenly felt as if every cell in his body were starving, desperately craving something to eat. This was not physical hunger, but a hunger rising from the depths of his soul. Only quiet cultivation followed by replenishment with various nutrient solutions could satisfy it. However, Tang Yu was in no mood for that right now, because he had seen someone!

"Tang Yu, are you still angry with me?" Her voice was as gentle as moonlight spilling across rippling water, tranquil and elegant. Yet the more she spoke this way, the harder it became for Tang Yu to control the fury in his heart!

"Get lost!" Tang Yu growled, barely suppressing all the grief and indignation within him. Xia Linlin's delicate body trembled at that single word. Her face turned even paler, and she could not help taking several steps back.

"I had my reasons!" She bit down on her pearly teeth so hard that blood seeped from her lips, but Tang Yu remained unmoved.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Tang Yu forcibly pushed down the anger in his heart and spoke to Xia Linlin as calmly as he could. What a familiar face. What a familiar voice. Unfortunately, she was no longer the same person. She was no longer the Xia Linlin in his heart.

Seeing the icy look in Tang Yu's eyes, Xia Linlin knew that the impression she had left in his heart could probably never be repaired. Tears began to flow uncontrollably. She turned and got into a black sedan parked by the roadside, then vanished into the night.

Only after Xia Linlin had left did Tang Yu slowly close his eyes and dispel the gloom in his heart. He seemed to have returned to his former self, though only he himself perhaps knew what he truly felt.

After returning home, Tang Yu immediately entered his cultivation room. In truth, it was merely a space remodeled from the basement. Land resources on Earth were extremely scarce. Those who could afford detached homes were all members of the upper-middle class or above, while countless citizens could only squeeze into government subsidized housing dozens or even hundreds of stories tall and barely get by.

"Whew..."

Calming himself and focusing his mind, Tang Yu sank his consciousness into the black crystal between his brows. His spirit felt clearer than ever before. He broke down every move and stance in the Shattering Heart Palm, comparing them one by one against the teachings in the Primordial Martial Way and Qin Bo's annotations. Through this comparison, Tang Yu gradually grasped its essence and gained some insights of his own into the basic force-generating techniques of the Shattering Heart Palm and the Primordial Martial Way.

Time flowed like water. When he opened his eyes again, it was already deep in the night. Under the moonlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling window, his eyes shone especially brightly in the darkness.

Martial arts techniques seemed to have little meaning in the modern age of mechs, but that was not actually the case. Once a person removed their mech, human life was incredibly fragile, sometimes even more fragile than certain mutant creatures. Therefore, the three major military academies on Earth, including the newly established military academy on Mars, all focused on this when testing new students.

Military training!

It was both training and a test—a test of one's physical endurance, stamina, strength, and willpower. Anyone who failed to meet those standards would find it difficult to survive in the harsh environment of space.

After graduating, nearly every university student chose to spend several years gaining experience on newly discovered life-bearing planets. Even picking up a little management experience there could be highly beneficial. However, the living environments on those planets could differ drastically from Earth's. Temperature, gravity, climate, and surroundings were all factors that affected human survival. The wider environment could not be changed, so humanity could only begin by changing itself. Human technology had flourished for more than three hundred years, yet even now, it had only barely made Mars suitable for ordinary people to live on. As for Jupiter, that was an exception—an exception no one understood.

The admission notice made it very clear: report on July 5, and military training would officially begin on July 10. It was a long-standing tradition. Times had changed, but its purpose had not: higher! Farther! Stronger!

Counting the days, there were still ten left. Tang Yu set aside thoughts of cultivation, returned to his bedroom, turned on his computer, and began looking through guides on military training.

Military training nowadays was nothing like military training before the Great Cataclysm. Compared to the present day, the military training of that era seemed more like child's play to Tang Yu. Still, it was understandable. Human physical fitness had generally been low back then; if they had done things the way they did now, no one knew how many people would have died.

Today's military training was the real test. Since every citizen was a soldier and all public institutions were military academies, the requirements for students' physical fitness were extremely high. Every year's military training even had a target rate for injuries and disabilities. It was not much different from actually serving in the military. If there was any difference, it was that the target rate was probably much lower.

Military Training Guide, Rule One: Remember to bring nutrient solution! Remember to bring nutrient solution! Remember to bring nutrient solution! Important things had to be said three times!

According to past practice, after three days of theoretical military training, students would be directly airdropped into the tropical rainforest for a half-month survival test. No matter where one was, survival came first. If you lost contact on some life-bearing planet, the first thing you had to consider was how to survive. And today's tropical rainforest was no longer like the tropical rainforest from before the Great Cataclysm.

It covered the entire African Plate as well as part of the European Plate. Vast numbers of mutant creatures lived and reproduced there. It was an environment of survival of the fittest, where the weak were prey to the strong. Many species that had lost their competitive edge had mostly gone extinct or lived in protected habitats built by humans for people to admire. None of the creatures capable of surviving in the wild were easy to deal with.

Military Training Guide, Rule Two: Beware of your companions!

Such things had happened before, yet they did not seem to be explicitly forbidden. For half a month, each person was only allowed to carry three nutrient solutions—one every five days. Bringing more would result in immediate disqualification.

Although one nutrient solution was enough to sustain the physiological needs of a normal adult for around five days, students also had to face harsh living conditions and mutant creatures that could threaten their lives at any moment. The expenditure would be much greater, making resources especially precious.

It was difficult to survive without companions, but once you had companions, you also had to think carefully about these issues.

Military Training Guide, Rule Three: Survive!

It all came back to the essence. This was the most basic rule, and also the most important one. If you did not have enough nutrient solution, you could steal it. In that kind of environment, everyone was the same. No one would blame you for it.

Tang Yu then searched for more information about the tropical rainforest. There were still many mutant creatures within it that humanity had yet to fully understand. Although nearly all mutant creatures above Level Five had been wiped out, no one could guarantee that some unexpected surprise would not occur.

Mechs, weapons, and all kinds of survival equipment were forbidden. The only thing students could do was struggle to survive on instinct. That instinct had reminded humanity of this truth to the present day, which was why the Federal Government could continue to thrive with such vitality. Even when facing the invasion of the unknown and powerful Mechanical Clan, all citizens remained full of hope for the Federal Government.

"Going to school is expensive too!" Tang Yu stretched, smacked his lips, and could not help sighing. Tuition was thirty thousand Federation Credits per semester, nearly a year's income for an ordinary family. Nutrient solutions were even more outrageously expensive, costing five or six thousand Federation Credits each. Especially during this period, their price could even rise above ten thousand.

Fortunately, he had made a fortune earlier and earned over a million. Those expenses were not a problem, though he would probably need to be more frugal in the future.

Before he knew it, dawn had arrived. Even Tang Yu felt a trace of fatigue. He had spent several days lying in the hospital, and his sleep schedule had been completely disrupted. The more he thought about it, the sleepier he became. In the end, he simply fell onto the bed and went to sleep. Even an awakened Force martial artist only had better innate genes than ordinary people and still needed to eat, drink, relieve themselves, and sleep. Unless they were Force martial artists with gene values exceeding 300, like Wang Meng, who could go three to five days without eating, drinking, or sleeping. Even then, though, it would probably take several nutrient solutions to replenish the cost.