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Ning Rongrong's face twisted with irritation. "Who's sleeping in? We're up before dawn training. Maybe you mean someone else, someone who slacks off and blames it on talent." Her sharp glance cut through the group.
Yu Xiaogang's cheeks reddened with frustration. "You—"
Flender stepped in quickly, his voice calm. "Alright, Xiogang, go on."
Yu Xiaogang exhaled heavily, his eyes scanning the eight students before him. "I've analyzed all your martial souls and abilities. Starting today, you'll begin specialized training. Ning Tian, step forward."
...…..
Just like in the original story, Yu Xiaogang intended to have them spar, critique their efforts with his seasoned insight, and then assign his notorious rock-carrying exercise. But this time, he swapped Tang San for Ning Tian, likely aiming to put the newcomer in his place.
Ning Tian, however, was a force beyond Yu Xiaogang's calculations. With a single flash of his first soul skill, Sword Radiance, he shattered Dai Mubai's White Tiger Barrier and White Tiger Vajra Transformation, brushing aside the White Tiger Light Wave like it was nothing. Next, he took down Tang San with ease. Ma Hongjun, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing fell just as swiftly. His strength was fierce, his speed blinding—only Tang San, peering through his Purple Demon Eye, could follow the blur of motion. But even then, Tang San's body, worn out from a night of stomach troubles, collapsed.
Yu Xiaogang, who'd hoped to cement his authority, stood dumbfounded. Still, he pressed on, his tone stern as he lectured them. "If you'd done this or that, you could've dodged Ning Tian's blade or even turned the tables." Then came the punishment: rock-carrying and saltwater-drinking, all under the guise of building "teamwork."
No one argued, not even Ning Tian, which raised a few eyebrows. At the village entrance, eight bamboo baskets brimming with stones waited alongside a barrel of saltwater. Their task: twelve laps around the village, no use of soul power allowed. Ning Tian's basket dwarfed the others, loaded with hundreds of pounds, yet he didn't flinch.
As they started, Dai Mubai surged ahead, his anger fueling his pace. Ning Tian, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing kept a steady rhythm behind him. Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, and a faltering Tang San trailed further back, with Oscar slowly moving at the rear.
Ning Rongrong stayed close thanks to Ning Tian quietly shifting most of her rocks into his own basket. Zhu Zhuqing, however, refused help, her resolve set on strengthening hersel.
Catching sight of Dai Mubai slowing down, Ning Rongrong tilted her head. "Ning Tian, this training's a joke. Why play along?"
Ning Tian, unbothered by the weight, replied evenly, "Haven't you felt it yet?"
"Felt what?" Ning Rongrong blinked, and Zhu Zhuqing glanced over, curious.
"Before and after the rocks," Ning Tian said. "Notice any difference?"
Ning Rongrong's cheeks warmed. If anything, her fondness for Ning Tian had grown, he'd shouldered her load without hesitation, and seeing him carry it so effortlessly only deepened her respect.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded slowly. "I have." The strain was forging her soul bone into her body more smoothly.
"I reckon Yu Xiaogang's pushing this to prove he's in charge," Ning Tian said with a faint smirk. "But for us, it's a chance to build trust. We'll need it when real enemies come."
He didn't voice the rest: slowing Tang San's progress, letting him stew over his poison soul rings, and piling extra pressure on Tang Hao. With that, Ning Tian sped up, passing Dai Mubai. Out of sight, he popped a strong laxative pill. Nearby, Tang San, relishing a quiet moment with Xiao Wu suddenly stopped, abandoning his basket to dive into the bushes. A chorus of unpleasant sounds followed.
Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar gaped. "He's really losing it," they thought. "Those poison soul rings must be tearing him apart."
They didn't linger, pressing on with their laps. By the second round, Ning Tian had taken everyone's rocks except Dai Mubai's and Oscar's. Tang San still crouched in the bush, so Ning Tian grabbed his share too, shifting the effects to Tang Hao.
Dai Mubai and Oscar clung to their baskets, determined to outlast Ning Tian. But by the end, worn out, they dumped their loads on him anyway. Ning Tian bore it all without a hitch, leaving them fuming. Then, citing "team spirit," he made them take turns carrying a limp Tang San—enforcing it with a glare that promised trouble otherwise.
By dusk, the seven finished their twelve laps together at the village entrance. Yu Xiaogang, seeing their synchronized arrival, assumed his plan had worked, fostering unity. He couldn't help but marvel at Ning Tian's endurance, what kind of beast could haul that weight and still stand tall?
......
The days passed on with Yu Xiaogang's routine: an hour or two of sparring, then rock-carrying and saltwater gulps. Ning Tian kept his own rhythm—morning sword drills, daytime tasks, evening meditation, and daily doses of "Silver Na Pipa Little Trumpet" and laxatives.
After a month and a half, Ning Tian's soul power climbed to level thirty-four. Two months in, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Ma Hongjun each broke through to levels twenty-eight, twenty-seven, and twenty-nine. Three months later, Xiao Wu hit level thirty-two—a shock to most, given her soul ring was just three months old. Ning Tian wasn't surprised; as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, her potential outstripped them all when she focused.
Even Dai Mubai, stuck at level thirty-seven for months, felt his bottleneck crack, reaching level thirty-eight. His talent held firm, despite his… personal setback.
Tang San and Oscar, though, lingered at level thirty-one. Oscar's pace made sense for a food-type Spirit Master, but Tang San's halt, despite his over-limit third soul ring, was troubling. Constant diarrhea left him little time to cultivate.
Tang San's trust in Yu Xiaogang strained. What started as devotion turned to doubt, then dulled into disappointment. He drifted from his mentor. Meanwhile, Dai Mubai and Oscar, stuck lugging Tang San during training, grew bitter toward both him and Ning Tian. Dai Mubai's resentment burned hottest—Tang San had wielded the blade that unmanned him.
Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun leaned toward Ning Tian, leaving Tang San sidelined. Only Xiao Wu stayed close, though her loyalty masked a scheme.
Physically, they'd all changed. Dai Mubai bulked up but lost his rugged edge, his voice pitching higher, his manner softening oddly. Oscar, disdained by Ning Rongrong, slipped back into scruffiness, bonding with Dai Mubai.
Tang San changed most starkly. Sun and strain darkened his skin, his hunch deepened, his limbs thickened into a clumsy, bearish frame. Ning Tian, by contrast, refined his form—matching Dai Mubai's 1.8-meter height with a lean build that drew eyes from Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, though they held back.
Ma Hongjun shed his roundness. Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong stayed trim, thanks to Ning Rongrong's premium sunscreen. Zhu Zhuqing gained the most, after three months of toil, her Black Widow External Soul Bone fused fully, aided by Ning Tian's daily soul power pressure.
Ning Tian, upon merging his Eight Spider Lances, offloaded the unfused side effects to Tang San, ensuring any future soul bones Tang San gained could still be stripped away.
After three months, Yu Xiaogang called off the "intense training," granting a seven-day break. Oscar and Dai Mubai crashed into bed, Zhu Zhuqing honed her Nether Hundred Claws, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong shopped in Soutuo City after two days' rest, and Ma Hongjun hit the brothel.
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