Training (Part Two)

It was three in the morning.

Tang Xuan looked up at the bright moon in the sky. Another beautiful day was about to begin.

Clang, clang, clang! Tang Xuan rang the assembly bell. Its urgent pealing sent the seven sleeping students scrambling outside. Tang San arrived first again, with Oscar a step behind him. Xiao Wu and the other two girls arrived next. Dai Mubai burst through the door and raced over, dragging Ma Hongjun along. Ma Hongjun looked as though he was still half asleep. Panting heavily, Dai Mubai pulled him to a stop beside Tang San.

Tang Xuan estimated the time. This time, they really had taken less than ten minutes. Not bad!

"Put on your Weighted Vests and follow me." With that, Tang Xuan spread his Dragon Wings and flew away.

"Ugh, what's all this about in the middle of the night?" Ma Hongjun yawned, his eyes still bleary with sleep. "I hadn't even finished putting my pants on before Boss Dai dragged me out." As he spoke, he actually tugged his pants up.

"Fatty, have a conscience. If I hadn't dragged you out, you would've been late."

"If Tang San hadn't woken me, I would've been late too," Oscar said beside them. "San, your brother really caught us off guard. We've only slept for less than four hours, haven't we?"

Listening to their complaints, Tang San smiled. "You'll be fine once you get used to it. My brother's doing this for our own good."

"But Brother San, I have to say, Brother Xuan is getting scarier and scarier." Xiao Wu yawned too. Dragging people out of bed in the middle of the night to train-was he trying to leave them any room to live?

Tang San had already put on his Weighted Vest. He glanced at Tang Xuan's receding figure. "Come on, everyone. My brother's already flown a long way ahead. If we wait any longer, we won't catch up, and then we'll be punished again." With that, Tang San took off first, and everyone followed.

There were still about four hours until dawn when Tang Xuan led them on a long cross-country run. It was not until noon that he brought the seven back to the Academy. After a brief rest, they plunged into their afternoon training. The physical training intensified day after day, and three weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Yet the three returning students-Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun-felt those three weeks had lasted longer than their three years at the Academy.

To ensure that the seven could temper their bodies under such intense training without damaging their foundations, he gave each of them a Body Tempering Pill every week to strengthen those foundations.

That day marked a full month since their physical training had begun. Strangely enough, they had already begun embracing it enthusiastically. Oscar had finally broken through to rank thirty the day before, but Tang Xuan had told him to keep building up his reserves, so he had not gone to hunt for a Soul Ring. The seven chatted and laughed on the Training Ground as they waited for Tang Xuan. They were still wearing their training Weighted Vests, now several times heavier than their original weight, but carrying them was no longer as taxing as it had been at the start. As they chatted, Tang Xuan descended from the sky and landed before them.

Dai Mubai stepped forward and clapped Tang Xuan on the shoulder. "Xuan, what's on the agenda today?" After a month together, everyone had grown much closer. Dai Mubai was already quite familiar with Tang Xuan.

"Yeah, Brother Xuan, tell us. What are we doing today? Push-ups, squats, frog jumps-I can handle all of them now. I guarantee I'll finish the training!" Ma Hongjun thumped his chest and declared confidently. A month of training had slimmed him down considerably, and his Soul Power had reached the peak of rank twenty-nine. He might break through before long.

"That's right, Brother Xuan. Hurry up and give us our assignments," Ning Rongrong urged, her enthusiasm rising too.

Seeing how confident everyone looked, Tang Xuan said, "From now on, I'll be joining you for some of the training. We'll start with a weighted cross-country run shortly." Seeing that the seven had already put on their Weighted Vests, Tang Xuan hurried to put on his own. He had not joined their earlier training because those basic exercises no longer did much for him.

Ma Hongjun tried to pick up a piece of Tang Xuan's Weighted Vest to have a look, but he could not lift it. Tang Xuan's Weighted Vest weighed a thousand jin and had been forged through countless rounds of hammering and refining. Tang Xuan easily took the piece from Ma Hongjun's hands and put it on.

"Brother Xuan, just how heavy is your Weighted Vest?" Ma Hongjun asked curiously.

"It's not that heavy. Just over a thousand jin."

Tang Xuan's words startled everyone. Even Tang San, whose vest was the heaviest among the seven, was only carrying around two hundred jin.

"We'll take the usual route, but speed isn't the goal today. You'll need to meditate and cultivate as you go, so you can run a little slower."

All seven were astonished. "Xuan, meditation requires intense concentration. Meditating while running won't work, will it?" Oscar questioned.

"Fatty can walk, eat, and talk at the same time. Why should running while meditating be impossible? Besides, this exercise is meant to train your concentration. Let's get moving." With that, Tang Xuan ran off first, leaving the seven no choice but to follow.

Most of the route consisted of rugged, uneven mountain trails. Yet Tang Xuan ran as though he were treading level ground. The seven behind him had run this route dozens of times, but now they kept tripping over rocks, tumbling into bushes, or crashing into trees, cutting thoroughly sorry figures.

"Remember to adjust your breathing. Don't let it fall into disorder. Keep your mind calm and feel your surroundings with your heart. Your eyes aren't the only way to see the road; you can also feel your way along it with your heart." Seeing their sorry state, Tang Xuan called out a reminder.

The seven quickly adjusted their breathing and calmed their minds. Once they tried this method, they found that it really did help. Tang San and Dai Mubai were already following steadily behind Tang Xuan.

The fact that Tang Xuan could cultivate even under these conditions deepened their admiration for him. Here was a genius with greater talent than theirs who still worked harder than they did.

"Xuan, you really know your stuff!" After adopting this method, things really did go much more smoothly.

"Brother Xuan, let me tell you, I... Ah!" Ma Hongjun wanted to say something, but the moment his attention slipped, he crashed into another tree. Everyone helplessly pressed a hand to their forehead.

At noon, Tang Xuan brought Zhao Wuji to the training area.

Zhao Wuji looked everyone over. "I'll be training you today." Everyone turned toward Tang Xuan, who nodded.

Zhao Wuji had enjoyed a leisurely month. Ever since Tang Xuan arrived, he had not even needed to oversee the students' training. What he did not know was that, starting today, he would become their unpaid workhorse.

"From today onward, most of our physical training will take place under Teacher Zhao's gravitational suppression," Tang Xuan explained.

"The training quota is five hundred push-ups, five hundred burpees, and five hundred squats for each of the boys. The girls will do three hundred of each. That's our provisional quota. Spread out and get started." Tang Xuan quickly joined the group, and all eight promptly lowered themselves to the ground.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Zhao Wuji felt rather gratified.

"Little Monsters, here I go!"

"Third Soul Skill: Gravity Enhancement!" Zhao Wuji's purple third Soul Ring lit up, and the eight on the ground instantly felt even the air grow heavy. Tang Xuan checked everyone's condition and spoke to Zhao Wuji.

"Teacher Zhao, increase the gravity a little more."

Zhao Wuji increased the gravity as requested. His main role was to support Tang Xuan's training.

Tang Xuan began exercising as though nothing had changed, while the other seven were nearly flattened. On top of the gravity, they were still wearing their Weighted Vests. Tang Xuan performed his push-ups at an unhurried pace. Gravity at this intensity still had little effect on him, but it was already the others' limit.

Zhao Wuji found a chair, sat down, and began drinking tea. It was only his third Soul Skill. As long as he had enough Soul Power, he could maintain it for as long as he liked.

"Xuan... really knows how to have fun! He even thought up something like this," Dai Mubai said as he did his push-ups.

"This kind of training is much harder than running dozens of kilometers cross-country," Oscar said.

"Brother Xuan, you're a real devil!" Ma Hongjun wailed.

After only a few dozen repetitions, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were pressed flat against the ground by the gravity. Zhu Zhuqing was still struggling to hold herself up.

"Xiao Wu, are you all right?" Tang San asked.

"Brother, I'm fine. Don't worry." The two girls pushed themselves back up.

After they finished these physical exercises, Tang Xuan had everyone stand under the suppression and circulate their Soul Power. He stayed with them throughout the training and only dismissed them once the bright moon was high in the sky.

Zhao Wuji regretted it now. If every day was going to be like this, how was he supposed to get through the days ahead?

In the days that followed, their lives settled into a routine. They jogged while meditating in the morning, continued their physical training under Zhao Wuji's gravitational suppression from noon through the afternoon, and began another round of purely physical training in the middle of the night. Even counting the time spent eating, drinking, relieving themselves, and sleeping, they never had more than six hours of rest a day.

During that month's training, Tang Xuan emphasized physical fitness while also attending to their Soul Power cultivation. Performing physical exercises and circulating their power under gravitational suppression meant facing resistance at every turn. Yet that was precisely what allowed them to make greater gains. Its body-tempering benefits went without saying, and it was equally beneficial to Soul Power cultivation. It could improve their everyday cultivation efficiency as well as the speed at which their Soul Power circulated and recovered.

Imagine recovering Soul Power faster than your opponent in battle-your chances of winning would be greater. Of course, it also helped them advance in rank. At the end of the month, Ma Hongjun finally broke through from the peak of rank twenty-nine to rank thirty! Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing each advanced one rank as well, reaching ranks twenty-eight and twenty-nine respectively. But Dai Mubai surprised Tang Xuan the most. A high-ranking Soul Elder had actually reached the peak of rank thirty-eight in just these two months, leaving him only a hair's breadth from rank thirty-nine. Even Tang San had only advanced one rank, barely breaking through to rank thirty-six, while Dai Mubai had gained half a rank more than Tang San.

Perhaps because of Tang Xuan, all seven had begun working hard. Tang Xuan noticed that Dai Mubai had become steadier than before. Even after advancing, he did not make much of a show of it. Ma Hongjun, on the other hand, behaved so recklessly after breaking through to rank thirty that he was practically begging for a beating. And he really did get one. Dai Mubai and the others beat him up together, and even the usually aloof Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward to give him a few kicks. The greatest lesson Ma Hongjun took away from everyone's instruction was: I was wrong! ╰(⇀‸↼)╯