CHAPTER 226: TRAINING II

But even after all that...

Their torture still wasn’t finished.

They ate lunch like prisoners on their last meal. Han Yi lay on the table like a corpse. Mu Chen shook every time he lifted his chopsticks. Yue ate silently with dead eyes. Lei Feng stared at his food like it had personally wronged him.

Ling?

Ling ate normally.

Calm. Quiet. Completely fine.

Tian Lei finally entered the hall.

Han Yi immediately started shaking.

"No... no no no... please... go away..."

Mu Chen hid behind Yue.

"I’m not here. I’m invisible."

Yue leaned to the side.

"I am betraying you. Hiding behind me won’t help."

Lei Feng saluted weakly.

"Instructor Tian... I would like to resign... from life..."

Tian Lei ignored all of them and simply said:

"Finish eating. Afternoon training begins in ten minutes."

Han Yi fell off his chair.

"TEN MINUTES?!"

Mu Chen grabbed the edge of the table.

"My arms won’t move in ten minutes!"

Yue groaned.

"I haven’t even finished chewing!"

Lei Feng clutched his heart.

"I thought we had two hours..."

Tian Lei blinked.

"It has been two hours."

The group froze.

Then slowly turned to the windows.

The sun was already lower.

Han Yi covered his face.

"No way... did we... did we eat that slowly?"

Mu Chen whispered,

"My body moved like an old turtle... I accept it..."

Yue stood up.

"Fine. Let’s just go. If we die, we die."

Lei Feng nodded.

"My tombstone will read: ’Killed by training.’"

They dragged themselves back outside.

The afternoon sun wasn’t even hot, but it felt like a personal enemy.

Tian Lei stood beside a large hill.

"Climb it," he said calmly.

Han Yi stared.

"With what legs?!"

Mu Chen’s eyes widened.

"This hill is huge..."

Yue let out a long breath.

"And steep... why is it so steep..."

Lei Feng looked ready to cry.

"Is this even legal...?"

Tian Lei pointed again.

"Climb. All the way. Without stopping."

Han Yi shook his head.

"Nope. I refuse. I will run away. I will escape this sect."

Ling grabbed the back of his collar before he could move.

He dangled again.

"BETRAYAL!! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON OUR SIDE!!"

Ling blinked.

"I am. That’s why I’m helping you finish."

Han Yi kicked his legs helplessly.

"I don’t want this kind of help!!"

But despite their complaints...

They climbed.

Slowly.

Painfully.

Step by shaky step.

Yue gritted her teeth.

"We’re doing this... even if it kills us..."

Mu Chen nodded.

"My spirit already left... but my body will finish..."

Lei Feng pushed forward.

"For honor... no, not honor... for survival..."

Han Yi sobbed.

"For nothing! I gain nothing from this!!"

Ling walked behind them.

Calm.

Steady.

Unbothered.

Halfway up, Han Yi dropped to his knees.

"I’m done... I’m not moving... carry me..."

Yue didn’t even look at him.

"Move or I’ll roll you down the hill."

Han Yi screamed.

"No! I’ll move!! Don’t roll me!!"

They kept going.

Minutes felt like hours.

Hours felt like years.

By the time they reached the top, the world was spinning around them.

Mu Chen flopped onto the grass.

"I’m never climbing anything again..."

Lei Feng fell beside him.

"My legs are gone... they fell off somewhere on the way..."

Yue sat down, panting hard.

"I hate that man... but also respect him... but also hate him..."

Han Yi lay face-first on the ground.

"Someone... bury me... right here..."

Tian Lei reached the top calmly.

"You did well," he said.

Everyone froze.

Han Yi slowly looked up.

"...Wait... what? He praised us? He actually praised us?!"

Tian Lei nodded.

"Yes. Now for the final exercise."

The group screamed in perfect harmony:

"THERE’S A FINAL EXERCISE?!"

Tian Lei pointed downhill.

"Run back."

Silence.

Then Han Yi shouted at the sky:

"WHY IS THE HEAVENS SO CRUEL?!"

They ran.

Or rather...

They rolled,

stumbled,

tripped,

crawled,

and somehow made it back down.

By the time they reached the bottom, they couldn’t even talk anymore.

Tian Lei looked at them and finally said:

"Training is over for today."

Han Yi burst into tears.

"THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! I LOVE YOU!!"

Yue dragged him away.

"Don’t say that. You’ll regret it tomorrow."

Mu Chen collapsed.

"I will never forgive my past self... for joining this..."

Lei Feng nodded.

"Tomorrow... I will die..."

Ling stood beside them.

Perfectly fine.

"Good work," she said softly.

Han Yi glared weakly.

"You’re not human... you’re a training demon..."

Ling blinked.

"...Thank you?"

They crawled back to their rooms.

Too tired to think.

Too tired to breathe properly.

And when they finally fell into their beds...

They all had the same thought:

Our suffering... will continue tomorrow.

And they were right.

Because the next morning...

Before the sun even woke up...

Before the birds could chirp...

Before any sane person would move...

A loud knock BOOMED through their doors.

BANG BANG BANG

Han Yi shot up from bed like he’d been stabbed.

"WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?! WHO’S DYING?!"

Mu Chen fell off his bed.

"I can’t feel my legs... I think they refused to wake up..."

Yue sat up slowly, clutching her head.

"...Is it morning already...? Did we even sleep...?"

Lei Feng lay flat on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"...Take me, heavens... I am ready..."

Ling stood outside their rooms, knocking again.

"It’s time," she said calmly.

Han Yi screamed through the door,

"TIME FOR WHAT?! MY FUNERAL?!"

"No," Ling replied. "Morning training."

Silence.

Then four voices shouted inside at once:

"NOOOOOOOOOO—!!"

Han Yi dragged himself to the door on his elbows.

"I swear... this sect is cursed... cursed..."

Yue stumbled out, hair messy, eyes dead.

"If Tian Lei appears in front of me right now, I will cry. Not fight... just cry."

Mu Chen limped out after her.

"My back... it made a sound when I moved... a bad sound..."

Lei Feng crawled out like a defeated worm.

"I request... that someone carries me... no? Oh... okay..."

Ling stood there, perfectly neat, perfectly awake, perfectly alive.

"Good morning," she said with a polite bow.

Han Yi pointed at her with a shaky finger.

"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!"

Ling blinked.

"...Like what?"

"FUNCTIONING!!" he screamed.

Ling tilted her head.

"Sleep well. Wake up. Be ready."

Mu Chen whispered,

"She speaks simple steps... but the steps are impossible..."

Yue stretched, groaning loudly.

"Let’s get this over with..."

They walked outside.

And there he was.

Tian Lei.

Standing with his hands behind his back, watching the sunrise like some peaceful immortal.

Han Yi squinted at him.

"How... how can someone look peaceful knowing they’re about to destroy people...?"

Tian Lei turned to them.

"You’re late."

Han Yi coughed.

"We’re not late. Time is fast. Time betrayed us."

Tian Lei ignored him.

"Warm-up. Two laps."

Han Yi almost collapsed right there.

"WARM-UP?! TWO LAPS IS WARM-UP NOW?!"

Mu Chen sighed.

"I miss yesterday... yesterday was easier..."

Yue jabbed him with her elbow.

"No, it wasn’t. Don’t lie to yourself."

Lei Feng raised his trembling hand.

"Instructor... my body is still in recovery..."

Tian Lei nodded.

"Good. Then it will recover faster."

Han Yi whispered,

"That is not how healing works..."

But they ran.

Mostly limped.

Partially stumbled.

Sometimes crawled.

Ling ran beside them, steady and graceful.

Halfway through the second lap, Han Yi wheezed,

"I swear... if a demon attacks us right now... I will not fight... I will just lie down..."

Mu Chen nodded.

"I’ll join you... maybe the demon will step on us and end our suffering..."

Yue punched Mu Chen lightly.

"Don’t wish for death. Wish for strength."

Lei Feng gasped,

"I wish for strength... but death is okay too..."

They finished the two laps.

Barely.

Tian Lei nodded.

"Good. Now stretching."

Han Yi fell backward.

"Stretching?! No! We’ll snap in half!"

Tian Lei gestured to Ling.

"Demonstrate."

Ling stepped forward and began stretching like a professional.

Perfect form.

Perfect balance.

Perfect everything.

Han Yi stared at her.

"She’s not a training demon... she’s a training goddess..."

Mu Chen whispered,

"How does her spine bend like that...?"

Yue shook her head.

"Let’s not question it. Our bodies can’t do that."

Lei Feng nodded.

"My body is made of suffering. It does not bend."

They attempted to stretch.

More groaning.

More whining.

Several pops that did not sound healthy.

Tian Lei corrected their posture every two seconds.

"Back straight."

"Wrong angle."

"Don’t lock your knees."

"No, that’s not humanly possible," Han Yi muttered. "We’re human, Instructor. Humans break."

When stretching finally ended, Tian Lei said:

"Now we begin real training."

Han Yi’s soul left his body again.

"That wasn’t real?!"

Yue clenched her fists.

"Okay... okay... we can do this..."

Mu Chen whispered,

"No we can’t..."

Lei Feng gulped.

"I am scared... deeply..."

Ling smiled softly.

"Let’s try our best."

Han Yi stared at her.

"Ling... you’re too pure for this torture..."

Tian Lei clapped once.

"Follow me."

And as they walked toward a new field full of unfamiliar tools, wooden logs, sandbags, and a suspiciously deep ditch...

Only one thought passed through their minds:

Today... will be worse than yesterday.