Dark Moon Era

The ‘devil training’ period that the new reserved warriors of every year had to spend in the First Reserved Camp took a whole month. According to the general instructor of the new recruits, Instructor Thuja, “It’s a process where the normal transform into marvels. It might seem or sound unbelievable, but the logic behind the whole process is simple: to destroy and rebuild.”

Indeed, the logic was to destroy and rebuild.

Compared to the old civilization, when a scrawny man wanted to become a macho hunk, he would need to undergo power training.

Extreme recovery could repair torn muscles during training. Combined with a great amount of protein replenishment, the muscles would be mended faster and be stronger than before. Using this concept as a base, evolved muscles would gradually form.

It might sound like an easy task, but when Tang Ling and the other reserved warriors experienced the training, it was hellish torture.

The devil training period of the First Reserved Camp was far from being a joke.

In this isolated camp, the reserved warriors only had six hours of sleep every day. All the other miscellaneous activities such as eating, bathing, and going to the toilet were all grouped to being completed within 40 minutes per day.

So, what were they doing for the rest of the day?

Training, training, and training!

It was not complicated. Despite every training session covering the fundamentals, it was also frustrating.

The first session of the day after waking up in the morning was an hour of running with 50 kgs of weight.

After that, it would be intensive power training. There were no extra or excessive movements as all of them were core exercises such as deep squats with extra weights, push-ups, sit-ups, planks, and so on.

Then, it would be cardio training which involved extreme sprinting at different speeds coupled with all sorts of jumping and leaping.

Right after that would be another round of power training for the core.

Finally, after the second round of power training, everyone could rest, but for only less than ten minutes, before they had to continue with cardio training which was in the form of swimming.

At the very end of the day was agility training which was also the most despicable session.

Wooden logs were hung on the ceiling and as they swung around, the reserved warriors had to run through the course ten rounds within the given time.

The short Andy was able to easily complete the last training due to his height, but everyone else could not escape the torture of ending up with a swollen face or nose.

Back in the old civilization, such high-intensity training was overwhelming even for the most professional athletes or the strongest special-ops soldiers.

However, to the reserved warriors, it was just the beginning.

Devil training period gave them no window to breathe. The weight or burden would increase every three days. It was either a change in weight, increased distance in running or even an increase in the number of wooden logs during the agility training.

During the training period, there was no such word as rest. They only had two options: keep up or be disqualified.

No one wanted to give in though. At least, on the last day of the devil training period, everyone managed to keep up to standard.

Of course, the result of their training was astonishing as well.

At least, now Tang Ling could easily carry a hundred kilograms of weight while running for 7 to 8 consecutive hours at a constant speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

******

“Total time, 56 seconds. Rate of dodging, 92%. Pass.” Instructor Thuja pressed his stopwatch and announced Tang Ling’s agility training result.

Right after his words subsided, a bunch of relaxed conversation buzzed around them.

According to the rules, agility training was the last of the daily training routine, and after that, every new warrior would have the privilege to enjoy a round of professional massage and ice-cold bath to reduce their muscle ache on the second day.

During that time, loud moans, which sounded similar to pigs being killed, would reverberate throughout the camp. Even the quietest girls, Vian and Christina, would react the same.

The professional masseuse was skillful, but when their weary muscles were massaged strongly, the sourish pain was not something anyone could endure. This rang especially true during the extreme enjoyment, the ice-cold bath.

However, compared to the devil training, it was still the most anticipated session. even if the process was a little bit uncomfortable, the relaxation that followed was beautiful.

Moreover, after the massage and the bath, both dinner and sleep would be the most delightful thing throughout the day, would it not?

“Tang Ling’s 92% rate of dodging is only 1% lower than Andy’s! He’s amazing!”

The same daily routine killed all the surprise and the possibility of something exciting happening, so discussing their results every day was the most heated discussion among them.

Tang Ling’s improvement was indeed the most obvious. Stamina-wise, he was only behind Orston and Amir. In terms of agility, he was only behind Andy and Amir.

As for strength, he was on par with Amir and only behind Orston and Yu.

Combining all the results, everyone acknowledged that Tang Ling’s improvement was the best among them.

Amir was a genius after all, and the same went for Orston and Yu. Even though the two of them were no better than Amir, the support from their respective families enhanced their fundamentals to be better than the others.

Therefore, after Tang Ling finished the agility training as the last participant, the straightforward Christina could not help but praise him.

Compared to the bright genius, everyone was happier to see the miracles from a commoner like Tang Ling who bashfully turned red at Christina’s recognition.

Orston spat unwillingly and grumbled, “Christina, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for this little guy here, have you? Why not tell him to arm wrestle me? I’m game anytime.”

Christina rolled her eyes at him. The boastful boy always showed disdain towards those who performed well in their tests.

Yu quietly leaned against a tree, tossing a dagger up and down repeatedly. He was still mumbling on his own, but he managed to seize the chance to mock Orston, “Then, when can your dodging rate reach 90%, Orston?”

Dodging was Orston’s weak point. His agility was probably the weakest of all. After being mocked by Yu, he was rendered speechless before growling in embarrassment, “Yu, do you want to have a go?”

“Anytime,” Yu said casually.

Then, Instructor Thuja also casually intervened, “Don’t mind me. Go fight each other for all you like. I like energetic kids, so I guess I shall increase your training load, hmm?”

His words attracted Orston’s whimper and everyone else laughed. Even Tang Ling could not hold back his urge to chuckle.

The weather was extremely hot since it was in the middle of summer. The red sunset added a layer of reddish-golden glow on top of everyone in the camp as though the teenagers were burning their youth.

After a month of tough training, the simple and repetitive daily routine, and their time spent together, the seven new warriors did not just go through extreme improvement, but it was also the key to strengthen the bond among them.

Only the youth from all seven teenagers was able to transcend backgrounds and suppress the pain from the past so that they could enter a new relationship with the others, including Tang Ling.

He liked living here since it was not necessary for him to overthink. All he had to do was give his best in the daily training, and while his companions might surround him with competition, there was also a pure and healthy relationship.

Although the old wounds still existed, it did not stop the new warmth from coming in to melt a frosty corner of the iceberg in Tang Ling’s heart.