As Nangong Lingyun spoke, Ning Rongrong's eyes widened bit by bit until they were extremely large. After he finished speaking, her entire face seemed to freeze completely, filled with disbelief.
She was completely stunned.
Before this, her understanding of hard Cultivation was probably something like meditating for two hours a day to Cultivate spirit power.
Even if Kaiyuan Academy was a bit inhumane and doubled those two hours to four or even six hours, that should be enough, right?
She never expected that the entire twenty-four hours of the day wouldn't even have a minute of free Space.
Weren't they afraid of working people to death?
Ning Rongrong turned her head, wanting to see if any other classmates would stand up and question it.
But the result was an incredibly terrifying discovery: everyone present had a matter-of-course expression.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, who, like her, had just joined the battle team and Kaiyuan Academy, didn't have the slightest objection on her face.
On the contrary, she seemed to appreciate this style, her eyes bright.
Crazy, these people are all crazy.
Ning Rongrong wailed in her heart, then put on a faint smile and mustered the courage to ask Nangong Lingyun:
"Isn't there... any rest Time?
Um... it seems like you forgot to say when we can rest, right?"
"You didn't mishear, and I didn't misspeak. There is no rest Time.
Even if you are seriously injured, we have healing system, recovery system, and food system here, ensuring you'll be lively and kicking the next day.
Oh, that's not right, it seems there is a little bit."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up suddenly. Compared to nothing, a little bit was still good.
Then she heard Nangong Lingyun say calmly:
"After the morning's Ultimate physical training, after starting the medicinal bath, you will faint for about an hour.
This Time should be considered rest, right?"
"Cultivate to the point of fainting?"
Ning Rongrong's expression froze again, her mouth half-open, not knowing what to say.
That expression was no longer just shock; it was as if she had been hit hard on the back of the head with a club.
Her heart sank deeply, as if falling into a bottomless abyss, and she felt tens of thousands of alpacas galloping through her mind.
There was indeed rest, but the way of resting was a billion times different from what she had imagined.
"Xiao Wu, tell her our motto."
"Why sleep long in life, when you will surely slumber after death."
"Ah?"
Ning Rongrong's face twitched fiercely. These words directly made her vision go dark, and she felt terrible all over.
How could anyone say such a thing?
But Nangong Lingyun completely ignored it.
"Very good. Since everyone has no objections, then the first collective training of the newly formed battle team will now officially begin.
The first item is a warm-up exercise: a sixteen point eight kilometer cross-country run with weights, which is one lap around Kaiyuan Academy.
The two newcomers will not carry weights today, to familiarize themselves with the process and difficulty, but must complete it within forty minutes."
"Wait, wait..."
Ning Rongrong shouted in terror, wanting to remind everyone how far sixteen kilometers actually was—even a carriage would take ten minutes to travel that distance.
But the others beside her had already started to move.
They took out sandbags and weighted vests from their spirit tools, putting them on quickly and skillfully.
Then, they moved their necks, ankles, knees, and waists.
Nangong Lingyun also put on a set of special armor, a dark black color with countless bright silver runes engraved on it.
This thing was purchased from the System shop.
Its defensive capabilities weren't outstanding, but it was extremely heavy and could add ten to a hundred times the gravity to himself.
After a moment, he raised his arm and shouted,
"Let's go."
Before his voice faded, he had already darted out like an arrow, with the others behind him following closely in a line.
Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and, seeing this, had no choice but to quickly catch up.
Kaiyuan Academy covers a very large area, totaling more than fourteen square kilometers, which is equivalent to twenty-three thousand mu.
The edge roughly presents an irregular trapezoid, encompassing various terrains such as mountains, rivers, lakes, and forests, with a large number of simulated Cultivation grounds distributed within.
To go around it once means having to climb mountains, wade through water, cross lakes, and pass through forests, which is not an easy task.
The team had only just run out for a short while when Ning Rongrong was surprised to find that she couldn't keep up.
Clearly, they weren't using Spirit abilities and were carrying obviously heavy weights, but these people could often leap three to five meters with a light tap of their toes. They didn't even bother dodging ordinary obstacles, directly leaping over them.
As a Spirit Master, she could also jump five meters or even further at once, but that required exerting all her strength or Spirit empowerment, and she couldn't do it so easily and freely.
She tried to keep up, but after only one kilometer, her legs felt like they were filled with lead, and her breathing was completely disordered, panting heavily.
However, at this moment, a voice came from her ear.
"You two are just starting training, you can use Spirit abilities to assist. After you adapt, gradually reduce your reliance on Spirits."
"Pay attention to adjusting your running posture. Your arms should swing with your steps, which can help maintain your body's balance.
Also, land on your soles, not your heels, which can reduce the recoil when landing."
"No matter how tired, painful, or uncomfortable you are, you must never stop, even if you move forward step by step, crawling forward with your hands on the ground, otherwise the previous part will have been for nothing."
"Spirit power is the most precious and versatile power you have. When you can't hold on, you can try actively injecting Spirit power into your legs, which will bring unexpected surprises."
… …
Ning Rongrong tried her best, but after more than an hour, she lay on the ground like a dead fish, unable to move even a bit.
Especially when looking at the mountain in front of her, which was at least a thousand meters high and had a very steep slope, her eyes were filled with despair.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, a familiar figure suddenly appeared above her head.
She quickly explained:
"I really, can't, run anymore."
Her speech was intermittent, her face as red as a cooked shrimp, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.
"Have some water first."
Nangong Lingyun took out a water bottle with two long rabbit ears standing upright on it, grabbed the rabbit ears, and twisted. The bottle cap was removed.
Then he stood there quietly waiting.
After a few minutes, when Ning Rongrong's breathing was not so rapid, he began to speak:
"To be honest, your performance today is a bit beyond my original expectations.
I thought that a young lady from a large aristocratic family and Sect like you would deliberately lie on the ground and play dead after running a few steps, or secretly sneak away and take shortcuts or something.
I didn't expect that you could actually persevere until now."
"However, what you think is your limit is not the true upper limit of your body and power, let alone the end of your willpower.
The fatigue you are feeling now is just an illusion caused by not having exercised so much in the past.
As long as you stubbornly get up again, you can still continue to move forward.
In the Time ahead, I will always be by your side until I find that you have reached the true limit of your body."