Book 7 Chapter 14

Short-Term Focused Attribute Special Enhancement Training

- Move with intention, not chi

Be aware of what's going on around you

The uninformed astronomers are now using the Yeomdo's

I've been practicing under a rough and tumble coach.

It's called: Short-term intensive fast-track special enhancement training (短期集中速成特別强化訓練)!

The midsummer sun was so hot it burned my skin.

"Not chi, but will! Move with spirit, not matter."

The first thing the Yeomdo asked for was just one thing.

"Move the water in the jar that lies five zhang (about 15 meters) away!"

"But don't use your own words!"

The last condition was fatal.

"Yes?"

Everyone freaked out, and rightfully so.

"How?"

It was clear that this was going to be very difficult. They weren't sure if they could do it with their current capabilities.

"Move things with righteousness, not ki! Moving things with ki is something anyone can do. Don't try to move things by squeezing chi, but move things by righteousness, by will. Do it!"

I wasn't going to let it go just because I couldn't.

"That… that……."

Despite their frustration, the Heavenly Guards had no choice but to do what they had to do: they began their own special lesson.

Sweat trickled down my back like rain.

How much time has passed?

He couldn't tell how long it had been since he'd held himself in a mounted position, his gaze fixed on the bell five doors away, his sword stretched out in front of him. Every muscle in his body twisted and screamed. But the water in the jar five sheets away hadn't even bothered to stir.

No one could understand why they had to keep doing this seemingly pointless thing, when with sword energy, it would be like breaking a jar.

"You're supposed to do this in a day!"

It had already been two days since I'd started my special lesson.

"Take control of your being! Don't try to move your chi, move it with your will, and when you have a will, chi will happen by itself! Concentrate!"

"Your opponent will never forgive you for a lapse in concentration. The world of competition is cold."

"Concentrate! At the peak of concentration, the codger is in another world, another time."

His teachings were rigorous; he had a sense of mission that had to be accomplished.

"Don't be shy!"

They stood as if they were about to collapse. The stance they were taking was simple. They simply pointed their swords at the jar, stretched forward, legs in a mabose, body stiffened and still like a statue.

"Pay attention!"

Dye emphasized staying focused.

"Once the mind is scattered, that is the end of it. The enemy's sword will take your life before you can regroup."

There was sternness and determination in his words. This was a slippery slope. They were now performing a dance on the edge of death. The very act of practicing this grueling discipline while surrounded on all sides was like digging a grave and putting up a tombstone. It was a seemingly simple exercise, but one that demanded tremendous physical and mental strength.

Yeomdo's voice was resolute as he trained for the special short-term intensive attribute.

"The messengers of the roster are standing by your side. Whether you are dragged to them languidly, or slapped vigorously on the ass and laughed at, depends on your effort. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

A roar of voices erupted, and sweat, the product of passionate endeavor, dripped from their bodies like rain. The sweat alone would fill a bucket.

But this was only the beginning. The walls of trial still stood double and triple in their path. It was now up to them to decide whether they would leap over the obstacles or cower beneath them.

The water was still standing.

"Why isn't Bi Ryuyeon participating in this training?"

During the training, Qinghui asked. It was a pointless question. His stance was still unresolved. His leg muscles were screaming hard.

'Damn stupid question…….'

She wished she could refrain from asking such unanswerable questions as much as possible. How can it be that kids these days have no consideration for others?

Yeomdo said, grumbling inwardly.

"He's worthless, so it's a waste of time. I've got a guard on him now, so ignore him!"

It was the luxury of taking advantage of an unseen opportunity to let off steam. If not now, when will such an opportunity come again?

Right now, Bi Ryuyeon was in the midst of doing something very important, but he could never tell the children about it, because it was a secret between him and himself. He didn't want to be humiliated and beaten for revealing a secret.

At the very moment when everyone was sweating under the scorching sun, there was a man in the forest with a sharp gaze, searching the surroundings. His bangs were so long that they covered his eyes, and he was Bi Ryuyeon.

"Where would be good……."

His gaze, hidden by his long bangs, was cautious, serious, and missionary. His gaze flickered as he searched in thirty-six directions, then settled on one. He had finally found his target. His gaze sharpened like a hawk's eye on its prey.

"That's it! I finally found it!

Bi Ryuyeon chanted Jihwa-ja to herself.

The sprawling shade under the beautiful trees, more than I could hug at once, was an art form. The breeze whispering in my ears was just right. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find a place like this. Mureungdowon was like no other.

"Aha! That's it! This is it!"

The sky was high, the sun was warm, and the breeze was fresh. Breathe in the smell of the lush greenery, Bi Ryuyeon lay sprawled out in the shade. Buried in the earth, she looked up at the sky, where only white clouds floated leisurely.

"Peace!"

Peaceful?

Where is the peace in this situation, when all around you are enemies who want to end your life as soon as possible? It was a very unique sensibility.

Ryuyeon was completely indifferent to the sweaty training and intense passion under the scorching sun, and had been looking for a good place to take a nap. And all the hard work she's put in hasn't gone to waste.

"I'm going to take a nap!"

His eyelids fluttered shut, oblivious to his surroundings. The wind whispering in my ears was peaceful.

A day went by, two days went by, three days went by.

It was enough time to prove that the Zhu Clan and the Heavenly Sword Birds were not fools. They had been accepting Yidou's teachings and becoming more and more proficient over time. To varying degrees, but seeing the effects of his teachings, it was clear that they were not fools. Still, it would be a shame to have fools when I had carefully selected people who were capable.

Teaching saltiness was never easy, but everyone was making small progress.

精神一到, 何事不成!

The heart is the sword, the sword is the heart!

Few things in the world are easier to say than to do, and yet few things in the world are as difficult to accomplish as the practice of these words, but thanks to Yondo's forceful and rigorous training and talent, he was becoming more and more accomplished. The time it took to maintain a state of mental unity was getting longer and longer. But…….

"Move, move, move, move!

I cried out with all my heart, but the water in the jar was still the same.

On the fourth day, change finally came.

The water in the jar five sheets away has changed. The insolent creature had moved. A small, circular ripple drew across the surface of the jar. It was a small circle, but the difference between being still and moving even a fraction of an inch was as great as the difference between heaven and earth. It was the same as if something had come from nothing.

The will had begun to take on power. It also meant that his ability to manipulate chi had improved by leaps and bounds.

I didn't even think about moving my chi, but it spontaneously rose from my body and moved to move the water in the jar as if it had a will of its own. It was so natural that I didn't even realize it was moving in any way.

You have just begun to realize that when you move your mind, your ki will move itself.

It's been three days again since something came out of nothing.

On the third day!

The Yeomdo just made people stand up at sunrise. It was the last day of the promise. Judging by the lives around them, it didn't look like they'd be given much more time.

Time passed with the graceful curve of the sun. As more and more time passed, the colors of the Sword of Heaven and the Master of Ceremonies were not words, but ripples on the surface of the water in the jar, one after another, layer after layer.

"Fluff!"

As the dozens of ripples began to form, the first loser came out: the Heavenly Sword Sect's Yi Yun. In fact, she was still too weak to practice. It had been two sijin (four hours) since she had started practicing.

The ripples grew layer by layer, until finally they began to slowly spin and swirl.

Another one was eliminated. This time it was Hua Snow Jade, a disciple of the Volcano Sect from the Zhu Jia Clan, who declared that her delicate legs could no longer withstand the training and collapsed.

Next to fall was a single carpenter from a single family, whose cheerful, jovial personality apparently proved too much for her to endure.

"FUCK!"

Another person slumped to the ground. Surprisingly, it was a girl this time. The first of the male members to be eliminated was Kumho Sangho's Geum Young-ho, whose burly body had finally surrendered. Quite a bit of labor must have left his body today in the form of sweat.

The first man to fall was the disgraceful Luo Hak, who had gritted his teeth to come, not wanting to be the first of the Zhu Jia Clan to fall. He had no more patience left.

Next, Huang Bo collapsed. Even Huang Bo's responsibility and pride as the eldest daughter could no longer bind his body.

The vortex grew deeper and deeper.

As the whirlpool in the jar grew deeper and deeper, and the speed gradually increased, one by one the fallen grew. One by one, they lost their strength and collapsed. Their heart and stamina were already at their limits.

"……."

The Shaolin master, the epitome of bluntness, remained silent this time. It had been four sessions since they began training. There were now less than fifteen people left.

Their entire bodies were drenched, like someone who had just come out of the water. Even if they didn't say it, I could tell from ten feet away that every muscle in their bodies was screaming.

At the fifth hour, the water in the jar began to gurgle and overflow. The whirlpool's rotational force had begun to break free of the jar's restraints.

Six o'clock!

Those who made it this far were monstrously enduring. Their mental state had already been pushed to the limit.

Those remaining were now down to ten.

Among the men, Mo Yonghui, Cheong Hyeon, Nam Gung Sang, Hyun Woon, Hyo Ryong, Jang Hong, and surprisingly, Yoon Junho remain. Of the women, Qin Ling, Nan Gongshan, and Na Yerin remain. They remained until the very end to uphold the dignity of the Seven Peaks of Heaven. Tang Wenhui of the Zhu Clan and Mo Yongquan of the Mo Yong Clan did not make it to the end. However, they were more talented, skilled, and enduring than most men. They did not need to be protected by men. There were too many men in the world who needed to be protected.

They had forgotten they even existed. The illusion of pain had already fallen away from them.

The sun was now setting with the dusk over the western mountains.

The longest-lasting female members of the main troupe were Qin Ling and Nangong Shanshan, as they were the two most enduring members of the Heavenly Seven Peaks. However, they were not the longest-lasting female members of the Heavenly Martial Academy.

The water in the jar in front of them began to overflow more and more. It felt as if an invisible hand was scooping it out.

What was unexpected was that Yoon had persisted. The fact that he has made it this far after always being a non-factor is enough to surprise those around him. There has always been a tendency to dislike and ignore Yoon Jun-ho because he always seems young and dull. However, this incident proved that Yoon Jun-ho was fully qualified to participate in the training camp.

The question of who would be the last man standing was of great interest to onlookers.

"What is this?

Mo Yonghui suddenly felt an intense sense of disorientation. Time slowed down around him, and he could see everything clearly. It was a strange sensation, as if he had multiple eyes and was looking everywhere at the same time. Even the slightest sound was clearly audible. Every sound was separated, informationalized, and clearly transmitted to his ears. He didn't feel any pain.

It was a strange and intense sensation, like an electric shock going through my entire body. It was an intense feeling that I hadn't felt since I saw the Galactic Flowing Star Sword Technique at its peak.

The exhilarating sensation of a thunderbolt piercing a straight line from the white gray veins at the top of his head to the lava veins at the soles of his feet! A sensation he'd never been able to recapture. That mysterious sensation had returned to him now.

Mo Yonghui wasn't the only one who had this strange experience. The other eight had entered a trance-like state where they forgot they even existed.

Nine o'clock!

The shaking of my muscles that had been screaming stopped. The sweat that had been pouring like rain stopped spewing like a lie. Their bodies stood still, as if time had stopped. The beads of sweat on their flesh seemed to have cooled and blown into the air.

Like one immersed in silence, they stood, assimilated into the silence and darkness of the night. The sun had long since turned to moon over their heads. The moon rose and set, but their movements remained unchanged. Everyone watched them with bated breath. They seemed to be at peace, as if assimilated into nature.

In contrast to their stillness, the water in the jar in front of them was spinning madly and overflowing.

He had no intention of hiding his skills any longer, so he was going to bring everything he had to the table and face them head-on. He was painfully aware of his inadequacies. Jang Hong felt the same way.

"Ouch!"

Jinryung, who had been watching anxiously, gave a short shout. Finally, Yun Junho had fallen. Qin Lie couldn't stand it anymore in the seventh level, and he and Nangong Shanshan had fallen together, and now he could only watch without lifting a finger.

Yun Jun-ho collapsed very quietly. He had already lost consciousness. It happened so naturally that for a moment he didn't even realize he had fallen. There was not a drop of water left in the jar in front of him. A satisfied smile was on his face.

Twelve o'clock!

The day was dawning. The morning sun shone brilliantly, piercing the early morning darkness and sprinkling golden dust. A day had passed. The dawn's first rays pushed back the night's darkness, scattering clusters of light.

Everyone stayed up all night.

"Tsk!"

"Look at that!"

At Nan Gongshan's words, all eyes turned to the jar in front of the seven. The only ones still standing were Mo Yonghui, Qingfeng, Hyorong, Nan Gongsang, Shen Yun, Jang Hong, and, surprisingly, Na Yerin.

Their eyes caught a tiny crack. Seven days of special training had developed their five senses by leaps and bounds.

"The jar is cracking; it can't take the pressure of the water!"

This was happening to all seven of us, and we were about to break.

The jar was not where the seven gazes rested; they were looking elsewhere, beyond its existence.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

The cracks grew larger and larger, spreading their power throughout the jar. It was a spider's web of cracks.

"Tsk tsk!"

"Crispy!"

"Poof!"

Finally, the jars of the seven men exploded simultaneously. Swirling water splashed everywhere. It was like rain in a dry sky. The splashes momentarily obscured their vision.

When their eyes turned back to the training grounds, the results were finally in.

In the end, there was no last man standing. All seven men had fallen at the same time, having exhausted their physical and mental strength.

In the first light of dawn, the seven slept soundly together, their faces smiling with contentment instead of pain. The sun shone down on them, and the birdsong of the morning reached the ears of those who watched.

The students watching felt a surge of excitement, and it was only then that they realized they had passed through a gateway all night.

The people of yesterday were not the same as the people of today. They had changed. My heart swelled with pride.