Training (Part One)

Early the next morning, Tang Xuan arrived at the Training Ground. As he gazed at the mountain village shrouded in thin mist, a beautiful day began.

Tang Xuan picked up the bell hammer and struck the bell hard. Dong... dong... dong! Its deep toll rang throughout the Academy.

"Everyone, assemble at the Training Ground within ten minutes!" Tang Xuan sank his breath into his lower abdomen and shouted. He woke everyone, including Flender, who was so startled that he fell out of bed. Holding his lower back, Flender climbed off the floor and lay down again.

"That damned little Xuan. Can't he keep his voice down? He's disturbing my sweet dreams."

A few minutes later, someone arrived. Tang Xuan glanced over his shoulder. As expected, it was Tang San. The ten minutes were nearly up, yet only one person had appeared. Looks like I've been too nice.

Another ten minutes passed before the other six finally trickled in. After Oscar talked her around yesterday, Ning Rongrong had stayed as well. Tang Xuan watched them in grim silence. The seven standing below the platform held their breath, not daring to move. Last night, the man before them had once again demonstrated his strength: at twelve years old, he had earned the Soul Fighting Arena's Purple-Gold Soul Fighting rank! Only a handful of people across the entire continent had reached that rank, let alone at twelve. Flender had also announced yesterday that Tang Xuan would become their teaching assistant. Facing him now, all seven felt uneasy.

"I won't explain my appointment as teaching assistant again. Now, I have the following requirements," Tang Xuan told the seven.

"First, follow orders and remain ready at all times. I'll begin training at irregular intervals. Second, take this seriously. Treat every training session seriously, and no one is allowed to give up. Third, obey absolutely during training. I don't want to hear any objections. Is that clear?" Tang Xuan asked sternly.

"Clear!" the seven answered in unison.

"Good. Then we'll begin the first stage of training now." With that, he stepped down from the Flag Platform.

"We're starting already? We haven't even had breakfast!" Ma Hongjun said.

Tang Xuan silenced him with a dagger-sharp glare. With that attitude, you still want breakfast? Go fill your belly with the northwest wind!

"The first stage of training is designed to strengthen your bodies, push you beyond your physical limits, and awaken your potential. Each of you will carry fifteen kilograms and run laps around the village. No one stops without my permission. The Weighted Vests are at the Village Entrance. Begin immediately!"

Tang Xuan's tone was severe. The seven hurried toward the Village Entrance.

Their willingness to obey is decent enough. As for how they actually perform, we'll have to wait and see, Tang Xuan thought as he watched them from behind. He released his Dragon Wings and followed.

The seven ran on the ground while Tang Xuan supervised from the air. At first, their speeds were evenly matched, and they kept their formation. After the tenth lap, however, their pace began to vary. Tang San and Xiao Wu led the pack; their foundations were stronger than the others'. Close behind was Dai Mubai, whose soul power was the highest. His expression was somber, and he seemed much quieter than before. His soul power and stamina were both respectable. Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing ran in the second group. Both held firm convictions and possessed exceptional perseverance. Bringing up the rear were Ma Hongjun and Ning Rongrong. One was lazy, while the other's physical fitness was far too poor. Overall, they lagged far behind the others.

"Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing both have plenty of potential worth developing. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun still need a good hammering to grind away some of their sharp edges." Tang Xuan landed on the trunk of a large tree, took out paper and a pen, and wrote something down.

After the twentieth lap, Ma Hongjun began wanting to give up.

"Oh, heavens! I... I can't do it. I can't run anymore. If I keep going, I'll really be done for! Hah... hah..." Seeing that Tang Xuan had disappeared, he slumped onto the ground and began slacking off.

Tang San and the others ahead turned back to look at him. "Hang in there, Fatty. A man can't say he can't do it," Dai Mubai told Ma Hongjun.

Everyone started running again. Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's figure recede into the distance, Dai Mubai left Ma Hongjun behind and chased after her with all his strength. This time, Ma Hongjun fell to the very back.

"Hmph! Even if you beat me to death, I'm not running. Put a blade to my neck, and I won't even blink." He remained sprawled where he was, ignoring the others as they ran farther away.

Bracing his hands against the ground, Ma Hongjun looked up at the sky. Something resembling a shooting star seemed to be flying toward him. It drew closer and closer, heading straight for him.

"Holy crap! Who threw that sword?!" Once he realized that the object flying toward him was a sword, Ma Hongjun frantically kicked his feet, barely scooting backward. The incoming sword plunged firmly into the ground in front of his crotch, only inches from his manhood. Ma Hongjun swallowed, cold sweat pouring off him. Holy crap, good thing I moved just now, or I'd have been finished! Looking up, he saw Tang Xuan in the air, watching him with a smile. Somehow, the sword that had been stuck in front of his crotch was already back in Tang Xuan's hand. Although Tang Xuan's smile was perfectly genial, Ma Hongjun found him more terrifying than a demon. A chill ran down his spine. He stood and hitched up his trousers, forcing an air of composure.

"Well, uh, I'll keep running." With that, he shot off at more than twice his previous speed, soon catching up with the others ahead. Oscar was astonished when Ma Hongjun suddenly overtook him.

"Damn, when did Fatty get this fierce? No way! You think you're passing me? Not a chance!" Oscar gave chase with all his might. Now Ning Rongrong was the only one left at the rear. Let life's blows rain down on this young lady even harder.

"Third Brother, how much longer do we have to run?" Xiao Wu asked Tang San as they ran. Tang San looked back, searching for Tang Xuan. "Xiao Wu, I don't know either. My brother's gone. Hang in there a little longer." Truthfully, their current load posed no challenge to him whatsoever. The weights he had used in his earlier training already exceeded fifteen kilograms. But since Tang Xuan had told him to run, he ran along with everyone else.

Finally, on the fiftieth lap, Tang Xuan let them stop. The sun had already climbed directly overhead, and it was past noon. Tang Xuan gave them ten minutes to eat.

"Remember, whenever I call you to assemble, you get only ten minutes to respond. You may take less time, but never more." With that, Tang Xuan left.

At the dining table, Ma Hongjun recounted his terrifying experience that morning while eating.

"Xiao Wu, is your Brother Xuan always this strict?" Ning Rongrong asked.

"He's not that bad. Brother Xuan's usually pretty nice."

"Nice?" Ma Hongjun picked up the conversation, grease coating his mouth. "Do you know how close that sword came to me this morning? Just a few inches! A few inches! If I hadn't dodged quickly enough, my family line would've ended right there!" No matter how he tried, Ma Hongjun couldn't connect Tang Xuan with the word "nice." Even thinking about it frightened him. He stuffed another chicken drumstick into his mouth.

The moment ten minutes were up, the assembly bell rang, and everyone hurried outside.

"Next, change your Weighted Vests. Dai Mubai, switch to twenty-five kilograms. Ma Hongjun, twenty. Oscar and Ning Rongrong, yours stay the same at fifteen. Xiao Wu, twenty-five. Tang San, fifty." The replacement Weighted Vests lay before them, and everyone quickly changed. Only Oscar and Ning Rongrong, the two support-type Soul Masters, kept theirs.

"Now, do you see those things behind me?" Tang Xuan pointed to the strange structures behind him. "Tang San and Xiao Wu will demonstrate at the front. The rest of you will follow in order and copy them."

"Begin." Tang Xuan stepped aside. He had modeled these obstacles on the training courses used for special forces soldiers back on Earth. But since the seven were Soul Masters, with stronger bodies than ordinary people on Earth, the difficulty and intensity were even greater. Tang San and Xiao Wu had trained under Tang Xuan before, so they navigated the obstacles smoothly, though a little slowly. Tang Xuan had tailored each person's Weighted Vest specifically to them, matching their individual limits precisely.

The five behind them were another story. They either fell from the horizontal logs and overhead ladders or snagged their clothes on the wire. Before they had even completed one circuit, the wire had torn their clothing and cut their skin.

Without any rest, the seven jumped into the Mud Pit carrying an enormous log and began doing sit-ups. They gritted their teeth with every rise. The log weighed over five hundred kilograms. Tang Xuan had sent Zhao Wuji into the forest to cut fresh timber, then soaked it in water overnight, making it incredibly heavy.

"Thirty-nine, forty, forty-one... seventy-two... ninety-five..." The seven counted together. Mud had already coated their bodies; only their faces remained barely recognizable.

After the shock she had received, Ning Rongrong no longer complained about the hardship or exhaustion of training. She trained alongside everyone else in the mud. This was her journey of transformation, as well as Tang Xuan's reshaping of all seven. Tang Xuan stood beside the Mud Pit, quietly watching each rise and fall. Their movements gradually slowed, but this was only the first day. He demanded little else, as long as they didn't give up.

Before they knew it, the moon shone bright amid sparse stars. "Two hundred eighty-nine... two hundred ninety-seven... three hundred..." The seven were still doing sit-ups, with pauses between each one.

"That's enough. We'll stop here for today." Hearing this, the seven felt as though they had been granted a royal pardon. They pushed the log aside and climbed out of the Mud Pit.

Looking at the seven mud-covered figures, he said, "After you wash, go to those two rooms and soak in a medicinal bath for an hour." He pointed toward two rooms in the distance.

"After your medicinal bath and dinner, go straight to bed."

"Remember, I'll begin training at irregular intervals." With that, Tang Xuan turned and left.

Covered from head to toe in mud, the seven waddled like penguins, one after another, toward the washing area.

After returning to his quarters, Tang Xuan began drafting the next training plan. Today had merely been a test of the waters.