"Sigh, two months have already passed!" Zhou Xuan sighed.
He recalled the scene of everyone standing up to salute Yan Yu, and this was the first time he had felt a sense of belonging to the training camp.
"Yes, time really flies!" Fang Ran nodded in agreement from the side.
"What, you don't want to leave then?" Shen Heng asked Zhou Xuan with a light laugh.
"No, we still have to go back, after all, home is there, isn't it?" Zhou Xuan said with a smile.
"Home...?"
Shen Heng murmured, his mind drifting back to his past life, but these memories were quickly overshadowed by images from this life.
"Oh, right, there's something you might not have heard," Cao Mingyu suddenly said.
"What news?" Everyone looked at Cao Mingyu.
"It seems Wu Hongxuan has broken through to the Tier 3."
"Huh?" Zhou Xuan looked at Cao Mingyu with some surprise, "Really?"
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Cao Mingyu said.
"But when I saw him yesterday, he seemed to be only at Tier 2, didn't he?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"He must have broken through last night. I only realized it when I ran into him in the advanced Origin Power room yesterday," Cao Mingyu explained.
"I see!" Zhou Xuan nodded in realization, then seemed to realize something and asked curiously, "If he breaks through to the Tier 3, will he be kicked out of the training camp?"
"This..."
Everyone was speechless.
Shen Heng thought for a moment and said:
"Probably not. Even if he breaks through to the Third Tier, a few instructors are more than enough to train him. Besides, breaking through to the Tier 3 is something that's bound to happen in the training camp."
"Uh..." The group didn't react for a moment.
Shen Heng explained, "Many people had already been at the Second Tier for quite some time, and then after coming to the training camp, they had access to the Origin Power room, so it's normal for them to break through to the Tier 3."
"It's rather strange that someone has only just broken through to the Tier 3."
"So, when headquarters was selecting members, did they deliberately filter out those who had spent more time in the Second Tier?" Fang Ran asked Shen Heng.
"Hmm." Shen Heng nodded, then continued, "Starting with Wu Hongxuan, there should be others breaking through to the Tier 3 one after another. I can't say how many, but there should be at least a few."
"Then it seems Xiao Xiangtong is next!" Zhou Xuan chimed in.
Everyone nodded, having no objection to this.
"And what's next?" Fang Ran continued.
Upon hearing Fang Ran's question, Shen Heng subconsciously turned to look at Cao Mingyu.
"Haha, I probably won't be next, but I should be able to break through to Tier 3 before the training camp ends!" Cao Mingyu laughed.
Shen Heng nodded slightly, feeling the rush of blood within his body.
Is it Tier 3?
It should be one or two months after the training camp ends.
Night, dormitory.
Shen Heng was sitting on his bed in the dormitory, breathing deeply.
Beside him, Zhou Xuan was on the phone with his family.
"Yeah, don't worry, I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself!"
"Hey Mom, it's your birthday today. You have to pay taxes for swearing!"
"How could I forget! Oh, and I ordered the cake. Eat it while you can, don't save it until it expires."
"Okay, I understand, I understand!"
"No, me too..."
A series of notification sounds came from Shen Heng's phone.
Shen Heng opened his eyes. He first glanced at Zhou Xuan, who was still making a phone call home, before picking up his own phone.
Open the message.
Daoist Master Li: Unleash your abilities
Hmm... Shen Heng looked at the message on his phone with some confusion.
He suddenly realized something, closed his eyes slightly, and extended his power outwards.
One thousand meters, two thousand meters, three thousand meters...
A deep, resonant voice came from a location more than three thousand meters away.
"Hey, Shen Heng, get over here right now!"
Is this how I use my ability...? Shen Heng stood up with a hint of helplessness.
"Hmm? Are you going out so late?" Zhou Xuan looked at Shen Heng with some doubt, then immediately replied into his phone:
"Oh, no, I was talking to my roommate on this side."
"What's he like as a person? He's a good guy, but he works too hard. All he does all day long, besides eating, drinking, and using the restroom, is repair and training."
"..."
Shen Heng glanced at Zhou Xuan, nodded simply, then opened the door and went out.
Just as I went downstairs, I heard another voice.
"Oh, and go get some seasonings from the cafeteria."
Seasonings?... Shen Heng paused, suddenly remembering Li Daoyi had sent him during the New Year—saying he would treat him to roasted Calamity Beast.
Thinking of this, Shen Heng silently adjusted his direction of travel.
He went to the cafeteria and got a few packets of common barbecue seasoning, then headed back towards the direction from which the sound had come.
Ten minutes later, Shen Heng pushed aside the vines in front of him and sat down by a fire.
He turned his head to look at the other side. Li Daoyi still had his charm, but his whole demeanor exuded an air of being well-groomed yet still messy.
Like Shen Heng, he sat directly on the ground, holding several skewers of meat and grilling them over the fire.
"Daoist priest, if you're going to grill meat, why come all this way to do it?"
"Shut up, I'm just offering you roasted Calamity Beast and you're still spouting so much nonsense." Li Daoyi said impatiently, raising his hand towards Shen Heng.
"Seasoning!"
Shen Heng handed over the salt, cumin, chili powder, and black pepper powder he had obtained from the cafeteria.
Li Daoyi took the seasoning, sprinkled it over the skewers, and answered Shen Heng's question.
"Although no one will dare say anything to me for grilling inside the base, those guys will definitely report it to that kid Zhao Yonggang, and then..."
"I don't want black pepper," Shen Heng interrupted.
Li Daoyi paused in his movements, then laughed and scolded:
"You're really not being polite!"
Despite saying that, he still divided the skewers in his hand into two portions.
" Zhao Yonggang will definitely say something to me then, saying I've led people astray or something, so I'm just going to grill it outside."
Shen Heng nodded, glancing at the sizzling grilled meat.
"What kind of Calamity Beast's flesh is this?"
" The Yellow Fang Beast!"
The Yellow Fang Beast is a Calamity Beast that looks somewhat like a saber-toothed tiger.
Shen Heng had never seen it either; he only knew of it because he had seen it in the Calamity Beast Illustrated Guide.
"Is it tasty?"
"Among the Calamity Beast I've eaten, this is probably above average," Li Daoyi said, handing over a skewer of grilled meat. "Here you go!"
"Thank you very much, Daoist Master!"
Shen Heng took the skewer and took a bite; the aroma of the grease exploded in his mouth.
The smoky aroma of charcoal grilling, mixed with the spiciness of cumin and chili, dances on the tongue, accompanied by a meaty texture unlike anything I've ever experienced before.
"How is it? Not bad, right?" Li Daoyi smiled and looked at Shen Heng.
"It's delicious!"
Shen Heng nodded in agreement.
These meat skewers are indeed quite different, but perhaps it's mainly because I've never eaten the Calamity Beast before.
Li Daoyi also picked up a skewer and took a bite, asking as he chewed:
How have you been doing at the training camp these past two months?