Chapter 33

Li Yao was still struggling with the barbell, fighting against the iron in a desperate battle, pushing for the final set of squats.

He had no idea that in the dark corner behind him, an old man known as the "Scum of the Cultivation World" was whispering with a monstrous expert called the "Demon Blade," discussing a comprehensive upgrade to his special training.

Finally—

"Ten sets of squats, I did it!" Li Yao roared, his eyes rolling back as he fell straight backward with a thud. The sound of his body hitting the ground was so loud that it created a huge human-shaped splash of sweat around him.

Dazed, he felt Sun Biao feed him a pill the size of a baby's fist. As soon as it entered his mouth, it turned into an incredibly spicy liquid, rolling down his throat into his stomach.

The sensation was extremely intense, more so than eating a whole bowl of mustard. Li Yao's eyes watered, and he shot up from the ground, jumping three feet high. "Water, water, give me water!"

"Feeling good, kid?" Sun Biao asked with a smile.

"Huh?" Li Yao blinked, feeling his body from head to toe. Something strange was happening. Although his mouth was filled with an intense spiciness, the exhaustion he felt was completely gone, and his limbs were brimming with powerful energy. His physical condition had returned to its peak!

"Today was just an appetizer. The real training starts tomorrow. Any problems, Li Yao?" Sun Biao snapped his fingers, and Li Yao's cultivation suit shed like snake skin.

Li Yao, like a frightened rabbit, darted to the warehouse door in a few steps. He turned back, gritting his teeth. "Of course not! I'll be back tomorrow morning, you wait and see!"

"Great!" Sun Biao sneered, lowering his voice. "But I'm afraid you won't even be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning, little monster!"

...

At 8 PM, Li Yao arrived at the Military Dao Wolf Training Hall on time. He was full of confidence for the three-minute sparring session tonight.

Come on, he had endured the vicious, cunning, despicable, and brutal "Abandonment." Could he not withstand the Clown's three-minute attack?

However, when he saw the Clown and the bald hall master grinning strangely, he felt a bit uneasy.

Their smiles were like those of two starving wolves who had spotted a clean, well-seasoned rabbit. Li Yao felt a huge conspiracy lurking beneath their smiles!

"Are you hungry? Want to have a hearty meal first? Look, there's plenty of high-energy compressed military rations. Eat your fill!" the bald hall master smiled.

"After eating, you can take a bath with the enhancement potion and get a massage from a master to restore your peak condition!" the Clown said.

"You... have some kind of plot, right?" Li Yao felt like sitting on pins and needles, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The Clown and the bald hall master exchanged a glance and laughed. "No, absolutely not. Why would we have any plot? We just want you to be in your best condition to fight for five minutes!"

"Five minutes? It's supposed to be three minutes!" Li Yao jumped up.

The Clown held up two fingers. "Twenty thousand. If you can last five minutes, I'll give you twenty thousand!"

...

That night was very long.

Several kilometers above the underground ghost city, in a luxurious villa in the East District, which extended into an artificial lake, in the basement.

"Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!"

The whip tore through the air, deeply embedding itself into the back, producing a bone-chilling cracking sound.

Helian Lie was naked, his limbs spread in a "大" shape, tightly bound to the whipping frame.

A towering, muscular giant with black hair all over his body held a whip dipped in a special pain-inducing potion, mercilessly lashing him, as if trying to beat him to death.

Helian Lie had a stick in his mouth, which he had chewed to pieces, but he did not utter a single cry of pain. His eyes were fixed on the screen in front of him.

The large screen repeatedly played the entire battle between Li Yao and Zhao Liang at the No. 9 Gymnasium during the day.

Helian Lie's eyes were like those of a wolf or a tiger, wishing he could jump into the screen and tear Li Yao apart.

"Do you know why you are being punished?" the iron tower-like man behind him asked coldly, his voice sharp and shrill, contrasting strangely with his massive build.

"Father, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have caused trouble outside and disgraced the Helian family!" Helian Lie grunted.

"Bullshit!"

Helian Ba suddenly flew into a rage, kicking him with such force that the whipping frame cracked, sending Helian Lie flying into the wall.

The kick was so powerful that it left no room for mercy. Helian Lie's head hit the granite wall, creating a dent, and he fell to the ground, spitting out blood and three white teeth.

Helian Ba didn't even look, walking over and stomping on his son's face with his heavy boots, grinding it into the ground. "I don't like you causing trouble outside, but I hate even more that you fail so miserably! A lion uses all its strength to catch a rabbit. Even if the opponent is just a piece of trash from a regular class, you, a genius from the elite class, shouldn't be so careless. Remember, once someone becomes your enemy, they have the right to make you use your full strength. Understand?"

"Y-Yes, I understand. I won't underestimate any opponent again. I will take my revenge!" Helian Lie's skull creaked under his father's military boots as he screamed.

Helian Ba snorted. "Plan for the long term. Sun Biao has stepped in for the other side. For now, behave yourself and don't cause any more trouble!"

Helian Lie's eyes widened. "Are you just going to let it go? Dad, you're a board member of the school. Are you afraid of that old retired man, Sun Biao? Yes, I've heard he was a tough guy in the cultivation world when he was young, but he has too many enemies. He was severely injured decades ago, and his strength is less than 1%. He had to hide in Chisha No. 2 High School as a regular teacher. And now, he's so old, plagued by various diseases, and could die at any moment. Do we really need to be so afraid of him?"

Helian Ba glared, increasing the pressure on his foot. "What do you know? Cultivators are cultivators. Even with only 1% of their strength, even with only 1 second left to live, you can't be careless until they are completely dead! Besides, this old man hasn't said he will protect the other side forever. If I give him a month, he will let go after that. If he doesn't, it would be unreasonable. I'm just a board member, not the chairman. Even the chairman has to follow the rules of the circle. Otherwise, making a mortal enemy of a cultivator could lead to death at any moment, and you wouldn't even know how you died!"

"A month... Alright, I'll wait a month!" Under the military boots, Helian Lie's handsome face twisted with intense hatred.