Chapter 45

Chapter 44: Because I am a Fire Mountain Disciple. (4)

"Ugh..."

Every time he exhaled, dust flew up from the ground. Jiaoge, unable to even think about spitting out the dust that had entered his mouth, writhed on the ground.

'Crazy.'

His body was drained of all strength. The sky had turned yellow from the rolling, and his consciousness was fading in and out. If he was in this state, how much worse must the others be?

He struggled to lift his head and look around.

Total annihilation.

Not a single person was standing. In fact, they were all sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath like corpses. Only Yunzhong was sitting on the ground, propping himself up with his hands.

'Senior Brother.'

A surge of admiration welled up in Jiaoge’s heart.

In terms of raw talent, Jiaoge was slightly stronger than Yunzhong. His talent with the sword and his sense of competition clearly surpassed Yunzhong’s.

But at this moment, Jiaoge deeply understood why Yunzhong was the eldest senior brother.

Jiaoge couldn’t even move a finger, yet Yunzhong, who had undergone the same training, was still sitting up, catching his breath. This wasn’t a matter of skill; it was a matter of mental fortitude.

How could he not respect a senior brother who could do what he couldn’t?

On the other hand...

Jiaoge’s gaze turned to the opposite side.

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! What’s so light about this? Hey, those who are done with training, pass the sandbags to me... What? Why are you all lying down?"

'Freak.'

Jiaoge gritted his teeth.

The amount of training they had endured was immense. Qingming, as if he had made up his mind a few days ago, had pushed the three disciples to their limits, far beyond what they had experienced before. This was the result.

However, the reason they couldn’t rebel was simple: Qingming was right in front of them, training five times as much as they were.

Anyone with pride and a competitive spirit couldn’t voice their complaints in such a situation. Even if they were brimming with dissatisfaction, they would keep their mouths shut to avoid looking weak in front of others, right?

But Qingming, even after training five times as much as they did, showed no signs of fatigue and continued his training without a break.

"Ah, it’s already this late?"

Thud!

Qingming threw the sandbags he was carrying to the ground and clicked his tongue.

"What, you all spread out after doing so little. Tsk! These days, the younger generation is so weak. It wasn’t like this in my time."

'You’re the youngest, you know?'

The youngest one, and he’s acting like the older generation!

"Today’s training ends here. Eat and then we’ll have afternoon training. If anyone falls asleep or slacks off during training, I’ll double your workload tomorrow. Got it?"

'Demon!'

'Devil!'

'Bastard!'

They cursed him in their hearts, but unfortunately, Qingming couldn’t read minds.

"Then I’m off. Make sure to clean up the training equipment."

As Qingming walked away towards the Bai Mei Hall, the three disciples collectively sighed.

Meat.

Meat was visible.

Recently, Fire Mountain seemed to be overflowing with money, as meat was served at every meal. Even new chefs were seen entering and leaving the dining hall, indicating that they had hired new staff.

The three disciples, who used to light up at the sight of meat, now sat at the table for a long time without touching it.

"…Eat."

Yunzhong said weakly, but no one picked up their chopsticks.

"…I think I’ll throw up if I eat."

"I have no appetite."

"Seeing the meat makes me want to vomit. Is it time for me to die?"

None of them could bring themselves to put anything in their mouths.

"Senior Brother."

"…What?"

"Isn’t this a bit too much?"

Yunzhong couldn’t answer. But the complaints didn’t stop there.

"…I mean, we’re not against training. In fact, we haven’t been fully dedicated to training since we came to Fire Mountain, and I understand that it’s better to gain something from proper training than to waste time."

"But?"

"But this is too much. My whole body is in pain."

The other senior brothers seemed to share the same thoughts.

"…We’re going to die, Senior Brother."

"I could handle it before, but now it feels like I’m going to die."

"As soon as I enter my room, I fall asleep like a corpse. I’m scared I might die in my sleep."

"I can’t even hold my chopsticks. My hands are shaking."

Yunzhong sighed.

"Even if you tell me…"

"Still, if you say something, he might at least pretend to listen, right?"

"You’re the eldest senior brother."

Yunzhong frowned.

'But he’s not wrong.'

In the past, when similar situations arose, Jiaoge and Yunzhong would suppress their complaints. But this time, it wasn’t that simple.

Yunzhong was also reaching his limit.

While training, fatigue should be relieved to avoid hindering the next session. But recently, Qingming had been pushing them without giving them a chance to recover.

Every day felt like they were pushing beyond their limits. How could Yunzhong not feel fear when he went to the early morning training?

Yunzhong glanced at Jiaoge.

"Jiaoge."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

"What do you think?"

"Hmm…"

As Jiaoge hummed, everyone’s attention turned to him. Among the three disciples, Jiaoge, perhaps even more than Yunzhong, had the most influence.

"To be honest, it is a bit too much."

"Right?"

"Our bodies can’t take it. The problem is that the intensity keeps increasing day by day. I welcome intense training, but this is too harsh."

"…Hmm."

"Metal gets stronger the more it’s hammered, but a human body will break if hammered too much."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"The problem is…"

Jiaoge’s eyes narrowed.

"…That guy… No, Qingming, can’t possibly not understand this principle."

"Ugh."

Yunzhong groaned.

He had the same thought. The current training regimen was unsustainable. It was impossible for Qingming to be unaware that he was pushing them too hard.

Because it was Qingming.

"Let’s try to endure a bit longer. If things don’t change after some time, then we should speak up."

"Agreed. I won’t hold back then."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The important thing was that they had a promise to protest if the situation continued.

Whether it would make a difference was a separate issue.

"Let’s eat for now. Even if you don’t want to, force it down. We have afternoon training, and if we look weak, Uncle will scold us."

"Ugh."

"I’ll do my best."

"Phew."

With heavy hearts, they picked up their chopsticks. Jiaoge clicked his tongue at their pitiful state.

"Ugh."

Jiaoge made his way to his bed.

'Really, I feel like I’m going to die.'

Cleaning up was a feat. Despite being covered in dust, he wanted to just collapse on the bed, but he praised himself for the willpower to wash his clothes and body.

As a result, his eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, and he had no strength left in his body. It was a miracle he could still walk.

Thud.

Collapsing on the hard bed, Jiaoge sighed.

'When I wake up, it’ll be time for training again.'

Jiaoge didn’t have any complaints about Qingming’s training methods. He believed he could endure no matter how harsh it was, because ultimately, all the training would make him stronger.

But recently, he had some doubts.

Would his body break down first? Could his physical body endure this training indefinitely?

Before these doubts could deepen, sleep overtook him. Jiaoge stopped thinking and surrendered to the approaching sleep.

"Senior Brother."

"…Hmm."

"Senior Brother, wake up. Senior Brother."

" Hmm?"

Jiaoge forced his eyes open. A vague figure appeared in his blurry vision.

"Who!"

A heavy hand pressed him down as he tried to sit up.

"Don’t make a fuss. Just get up quietly."

"Qingming?"

"Hurry."

What was this lunatic doing in his room at this hour? How did he even get in?

"…What’s going on?"

Jiaoge struggled to sit up. Despite having slept for a while, he felt no less exhausted. The heaviness in his body only fueled his irritation.

At that moment, Qingming extended something to him.

"Here."

Seeing the small pill in Qingming’s hand, Jiaoge involuntarily furrowed his brow.

"What’s this?"

"A spirit pill."

"What?"

"Shh."

Jiaoge, who had inadvertently shouted, clamped his mouth shut.

"I had a hard time getting this. I’m giving it to you because you’re my senior brother."

"Is this really a spirit pill?"

"Have I been lying to you? You can tell just by the scent, can’t you?"

It was real.

A fresh, invigorating scent had been tickling Jiaoge’s nose for a while. He asked out of disbelief, unable to accept the situation.

What was a spirit pill? A pill that enhanced inner strength and purified the body. In the martial world, rumors of top-tier spirit pills could cause bloodshed and deaths.

Even a lesser spirit pill was no different. If it had even a slight effect on enhancing inner strength, its value far exceeded that of an equivalent amount of gold.

And he was giving it to someone else?

"It’s not poisoned."

"No, that’s not it!"

Jiaoge took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Why are you giving this to me? You should take it yourself."

"Because you need it."

"…."

"Take it quickly. Before the others find out. And keep it a secret that I gave you this. It’s only for you."

"…You."

Jiaoge opened his mouth to speak but closed it again.

Should he really take it?

Under normal circumstances, he would have pondered the situation, but in his extreme fatigue, he couldn’t think as clearly as usual. Moreover, the pill seemed to be a genuine spirit pill, and his exhausted body was reacting intensely to it.

"Take it. I’ll guide you."

"…Can I really take it?"

"I’m giving it to you because you’re my senior brother."

Qingming flicked the pill into Jiaoge’s mouth. Before he could react, the pill dissolved and slid down his throat.

He instinctively knew it was a real spirit pill.

"I’ll guide you, but don’t absorb it too quickly. Take at least a month to absorb it slowly."

"Okay, I got it."

"Turn around. I’m going to guide you now."

Jiaoge, slightly moved, turned to face Qingming and sat in a cross-legged position. Qingming smiled wickedly as he looked at Jiaoge’s back.

'You have to give water to a thirsty man to make him grateful.'

Qingming was already curious about the looks his senior brothers would have when they saw him at the training ground the next day.