Firmament Sword

The soldier hadn’t used any True Essence, either!

But he had run these ten-odd li with complete ease, without even a single drop of sweat on his face!

This... was clearly the result of his daily training.

Hearing Xu Jie’s words, the soldier turned back and gave a good-natured smile. ”Don’t hate Instructor Zhou. He’s really doing this for your own good. The place we’re going this time isn’t as peaceful as you might imagine. The more you sweat today, the less you’ll bleed tomorrow. Get used to the training, and you’ll adapt.”

”Uh, sir...” Little Fatty didn’t know how to address the soldier, so he just asked, ”Do you guys train like this every day?”

The soldier chuckled good-naturedly. ”Just call me Er Gouzi. I don’t really have a proper name. Our usual training is much tougher than this. An overnight forced march of two or three hundred li is a common occurrence.”

Hearing the soldier’s words, many in the column fell silent.

In the past, at True Martial Academy, they would be sweating on the training grounds, resting peacefully in the shade, secretly crushing on a girl from the neighboring class, or complaining about how terrible the cafeteria food was.

They thought this was life. They believed they were destined to be above it all!

Because they... were the most outstanding elite class in the entire Cangqiong Kingdom!

They deserved the adoration of the masses, the applause, the cheers, and the flowers!

As for the battlefield, for war?

Those things had only existed in their imaginations, and in battle reports filled with nothing but cold words.

A victory here, a defeat there.

They had never seriously considered the stories behind those victories and defeats, nor had they ever cared about the price paid by the soldiers who fought to the death on the battlefield.

Today, after hearing the soldier’s words, they... finally understood, if only just a little.

Their exhausted bodies, at this moment, as if by a miracle, were suddenly filled with strength again!

Twenty li... Thirty li...

Gradually, the speed of the massive column began to drop. Some of the physically weaker people slowly fell from the first group to the second group... then the third...

Xu Luo’s brand-new military uniform was soaked, then dried, then soaked again. His face was pale, but he kept gritting his teeth, determined to stay in the first group!

Little Fatty Liu Feng was also persevering. If not for the brothers by his side, he probably would have been whining and dawdling with the last group long ago.

The original fifty-man squad, once a neat formation, had long since been broken up.

Devil Instructor Zhou didn’t make any adjustments, nor did he punish anyone. He sat calmly on his sturdy horse, his cold black armor glinting in the sun, his gaze firm, his expression unreadable.

”These kids have some potential, after all,” an adjutant commented from the side. ”After their formation broke, they began seeking out others with a similar pace to form new groups. Boss, if this keeps up, I think we might really be able to train a decent unit by the time we get to the south.”

Another adjutant chimed in, ”Exactly. The foundation these students have is plain to see. The worst of them are probably Tier Three or Four Swordsmen, and the better ones are already at the level of a Tier Two or Three Sword Master!”

Instructor Zhou sighed softly. ”You’re right, but these people are the future pillars of the kingdom. How can we let them die so easily on the battlefield? When that time comes, forget His Majesty and my father not forgiving me, I wouldn’t even be able to forgive myself!”

”I’m sure these little brats will come to understand all your painstaking efforts sooner or later, Boss,” the adjutant said.

A faint smile touched Instructor Zhou’s sculpted face. ”I don’t care whether they understand or not.”

...

”Third Brother, how are you doing? Can you still hold on?” Xu Jie asked, looking with concern at Xu Luo, who was clearly struggling with his stamina beside him.

”I’m fine, Second Brother. Don’t worry. A little trial like this won’t take me down!” Xu Luo’s feet began to trace the Seven-Star Positions as he silently executed the Shaking Light Step.

Doing this didn’t alleviate the pressure of his exhaustion; on the contrary, it added to his burden.

The Shaking Light Step was meant to be performed with True Essence, using it to power the footwork as one stepped through the stellar positions. But now, without the use of True Essence, he still had to hit each position perfectly... which required him to divert a massive amount of his concentration to the task.

To most people, performing a movement technique without True Essence was an act of pure self-torture.

But in Xu Luo’s eyes, this was the best way to hone his footwork!

’At least, on this matter, Master Mao hasn’t mocked me...’

Master Mao was hidden in a pocket on Xu Luo’s body, the only pocket that had remained dry and untouched by sweat.

Master Mao had been almost completely silent from the moment they set out. He only spoke once, when Devil Instructor Zhou had been spouting his arrogant threats. Master Mao had whispered in Xu Luo’s ear, ’I could slap a whole field of guys like that into the air...’

Xu Luo had ignored him, and Master Mao had said no more, continuing to sleep comfortably in Xu Luo’s pocket.

It wasn’t until Xu Luo, clearly on the verge of collapse from exhaustion, started to perform the Shaking Light Step that Master Mao spoke again, saying lazily, ’Idiot, you’re going to work yourself to death like this!’

’But as long as it doesn’t kill me, my strength will skyrocket, right?’ Xu Luo retorted.

Master Mao fell silent for a moment before replying, ’You’re just making things hard for yourself.’ Then he said no more.

”I’m exhausted!” Little Fatty Liu Feng grumbled, panting. ”If we run like this for ten days, all this precious fat of mine is going to abandon me... How tragic!”

Sui Yan, who had been running silently up ahead, said coolly, ”I’ve never been a fan of it anyway.”

Pfft...

A light chuckle came from nearby.

It was Sun Donghai, who had sidled up to them.

The benefits of his insane daily physical training were now on full display. Even the lead Soldier, Er Gouzi, couldn’t help but praise him a few times.

Sun Donghai was all laughs and jokes and had already hit it off with Er Gouzi and the other soldiers leading the group. His Jianghu personality made him feel like a fish in water in a place like this.

In contrast, Wei Ziting, Leng Ping, Zhao Mo, and Wang Ziweng were faring much worse.

They were either too disdainful or simply didn’t know how to interact with these soldiers, whom they had never given a second thought to in their daily lives.

However, these top young masters from the Imperial Capital maintained their usual dignity and pride, staying firmly within the first group.

Liu Feng rolled his eyes, glanced at Sun Donghai, and said while panting heavily, ”Sun Donghai, aren’t you tired?”

Sun Donghai smiled and said, ”It’s only fifty li, nothing much. I’ve run two hundred li with weights before.”

”Freak!” Liu Feng rolled his eyes dramatically and ignored the absurdly fit guy.

Sun Donghai sidled closer, frowning as he watched Xu Luo’s awkward footwork. ”Hey, Xu Luo, are you really trying to practice a movement technique? With your current constitution... this doesn’t seem like a great idea.”

Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Jie, and the others also watched Xu Luo with concern. Clearly, they didn’t quite approve of what he was doing either.

It wasn’t that they thought it was useless, but that it was completely unsuitable for the current situation!

”You guys can try it too,” Xu Luo said with a forced smile.

”I’ll give it a try.” Sun Donghai was quick to take the suggestion and began attempting to execute his own footwork without using a hint of True Essence.

”Not me! This is just asking for a beating!” Liu Feng shook his head like a rattle-drum. He already had no idea how he was going to last until the end; trying to perform a movement technique without True Essence? You could beat him to death and he still wouldn’t do it.

Sui Yan and Xu Jie thought about it, then also started to try.

Finally, Huangfu Chongzhi also quietly began to attempt his own movement technique without True Essence.

”How pathetic. Utterly reckless,” Wei Ziting sneered, watching the ones whose movements had suddenly turned clumsy.

Li Tie, at Wei Ziting’s side, also looked at Xu Luo’s group with scorn. ”What a waste of effort. And Young Master Sun, to actually fall for Xu Luo’s nonsense...”

But before he could finish, Li Tie noticed with some embarrassment that, not far away, Zhao Mo, Wang Ziweng, and Leng Ping had also slowed down. At the same time, their movements had all become strange!

”This... What’s wrong with them?” Li Tie was completely baffled, utterly disagreeing with their method.

Just like that, Xu Luo’s group, who had been in the lead pack, began falling back. Because they were all attempting to perform their footwork without True Essence, they soon dropped to the second group... then the third... In the end, they went from being front-runners to the second-to-last group in the entire column.

They were only a tiny bit faster than the group at the very back, who were suffering from severe exhaustion!

What was surprising, however, was that their new group was steadily growing in number.

After seeing what this group was doing, many other students from the True Martial Academy also began to change their pace and method.

”As expected of the Cangqiong Kingdom’s most elite. They catch on fast!” the adjutant who had initially called the students trash, dregs, and weaklings exclaimed with a look of admiration.

”How about that, Mo Shang? Convinced? Back in the day, it took you a full half-month to catch on, and only after you saw everyone else’s massive gains did you finally admit this was useful, hahaha!” another adjutant laughed, teasing Mo Shang.

”Nameless, you can shut up! Back then, you were in the very last group...”

Instructor Zhou sat atop his horse, quietly watching the students in the second-to-last group. A faint smile touched his icy face.

Xu Luo hadn’t expected his unintentional act to inspire so many others to follow.

But at this moment, Xu Luo had no energy to think about anything else. His stamina was overdrawn to its absolute limit. If not for his powerful willpower holding him up, he would have collapsed long ago.

On the rugged mountain road, their shadows were stretched long. The sun was already slanting to the west.

Just then, Adjutant Mo Shang’s voice rang out. ”Listen up, kids! Last ten li! Make it to the finish line, and you’ve won half the battle! Once you get there, you’re free to use your True Essence to hunt your own dinner. Good luck!”

Little Fatty Liu Feng rolled his eyes with great effort and muttered, ”I’m pretty sure I’ll just collapse the second I reach the finish line. What good is using True Essence if I don’t have any physical strength left...”

Xu Jie laughed. ”So now you understand the importance of stamina?”

With a woeful expression, Little Fatty said, ”I get it... I get it all too well. Right now, I don’t want anything. I just want to fall on the ground and not get up... to conserve my energy!”