Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

”Oh, cut the sob story!” Han Ruoxi sat to one side, a towel draped over her shoulder as she pouted.

”Training is exhausting, sure, but is it really as bad as you’re making it out to be? It was just a few extra laps and a couple more drills, that’s all!”

”Easy for you to say!” Sun Yang rolled his eyes.

”You get to stand in the back and fire off energy blasts. Of course you’re comfortable.

Try charging the front line with a Pulse Gun like me. There isn’t a single part of my body that doesn’t ache by the end of the day.”

”That’s enough. Keep complaining, and the Captain will have you training for another hour,” Shen Qiuyue cut in coldly, leaning against the door.

”And don’t forget, how many friendly fire incidents did you have during training just now?”

”Come on, that was because the simulator was lagging! Why is everyone harping on my one little mistake?” Sun Yang sat up, a look of pure innocence on his face.

”At the end of the day, aren’t we training this hard so things will be easier for us in the future?”

”Easier? In your dreams!” Han Ruoxi shot him a disdainful look.

”When is the battlefield ever easy? The Insect Race isn’t some charity. You think they’ll see you’re tired and just let you off the hook?”

”Why are you just like the Captain? The moment you open your mouth, it’s ’Insect Race this, Insect Race that’!” Sun Yang sighed.

”Don’t you think we’re being a little too pessimistic sometimes? What if the Insect Race pulls back one day? Then we could...”

”Shut it!” Shen Qiuyue raised a hand, stopping him.

”What do you think the Insect Race is? Some pushover that’ll retreat just because they feel like it? Don’t even say something that naive. It’s embarrassing.”

”Alright, that’s enough arguing!” Bai Lin suddenly spoke up, his eyes still glued to the laptop in his hands.

”If you keep this up, your noise is going to interfere with my data analysis!”

”Noise?” Sun Yang’s eyes bulged in mock outrage.

”Man, why are you so cold? We’re just blowing off some steam, and you have the nerve to call it noise?”

”Your version of ’blowing off steam’ is too loud,” Bai Lin replied without looking up.

”If you have so much free time, you should take a look at today’s training logs.

I just ran some preliminary analysis. Turns out, your reaction times have significant room for improvement.”

”Reaction times?” Han Ruoxi leaned in for a look.

”Let me see... Ugh, Bai Lin, this chart is way too complicated. It’s making my head spin just looking at it!”

”It’s not complicated, you’re just too lazy to read it properly,” Bai Lin said, turning the laptop to face her.

”This is Sun Yang’s reaction curve. Look here—see the delay on these few lunges!”

”Hey, don’t single me out!” Sun Yang yelled.

”Besides, what’s wrong with my reaction time? Your chart looks fancy and all, but is it actually useful for anything?”

”Extremely useful,” Bai Lin explained patiently.

”If you can get your reaction time down into this range, your odds of survival in a real battle will go up by at least fifteen percent.”

”Fifteen percent? Seriously?” Sun Yang scratched his head, looking skeptical.

”It’s real.” Bai Lin tapped the screen lightly.

”The data doesn’t lie.”

”Alright, fine... That does sound pretty solid,” Sun Yang said, scratching his chin.

”But how am I supposed to shorten my reaction time? It’s not like you can improve it just by practicing, right?”

”Just practice more!” Li Chang’an’s voice suddenly boomed from the doorway, startling everyone in the room.

”Captain! When did you get here? You were completely silent!” Sun Yang yelped, nearly falling off the couch.

”I’ve been standing at the door listening to you all jabbering away,” Li Chang’an said as he walked in, grabbing a glass of water from the table and taking a sip.

”You all really have too much time on your hands.

Something like reaction time... how else do you improve it besides practice? Get more field time, put yourself under more pressure. It’ll improve eventually.”

”Easy for you to say, Captain,” Sun Yang muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching.

”But the training grounds aren’t the same as a real battlefield. The pressure is completely different!”

”Then we’ll just have to simulate battlefield pressure,” Li Chang’an said, sitting down and giving him a calm look.

”Tonight, we’re adding an extra high-pressure, full-squad simulation.

You said the training grounds and the battlefield are different? I’m going to let you feel what it’s like when they’re the same.”

”Tonight?!” Sun Yang shot to his feet in shock.

”Captain, that’s too brutal! We just finished training...”

”Yeah, Captain, if we train again tonight, our bodies won’t be able to take it!” Han Ruoxi chimed in, groaning.

”Cut us some slack, won’t you?”

”Cut the crap!” Li Chang’an’s tone was indisputable.

”This high-pressure simulation is to get you accustomed to unpredictable circumstances.

If you’re even afraid of this bit of training tonight, once you’re on a real battlefield, how long will you last?”

A silence fell over the room. No one dared to argue further.

”Alright, dismissed. Assemble at seven p.m. sharp!” Li Chang’an stood and clapped his hands.

”Get a good meal in you, and don’t let me see anyone slacking.”

The training ground that evening was laid out completely differently than it had been during the day.

Dim lighting, densely packed obstacles, and randomly appearing virtual enemies filled the entire area with a tense atmosphere.

”Alright everyone, you ready?” Li Chang’an called out from beside the control console.

”Ready as I’ll ever be...” Sun Yang mumbled from his place in the formation, his head hanging.

”But just looking at this setup is enough to make you nervous!”

”The more nervous you are, the more you’ll get out of this training,” Li Chang’an said as he pressed the activation button.

”Remember, the key here is teamwork.

No lone wolves, and don’t shrink from the pressure. Is that clear?”

”Crystal clear!” they all answered in unison.

”Good.” A slight smile touched the corner of Li Chang’an’s lips.

”Then let’s begin.”

With a single chime, the simulation officially began—virtual enemies suddenly leaping from behind obstacles, simulated barrages of fire raining down at random, and constantly shifting light, all of which tested each person’s reflexes and teamwork.

”Sun Yang, cover my left flank!” Han Ruoxi yelled, unleashing a blast of electricity.