Chapter 1832: Chapter 1832 Hell Week
Ye Liuyun had picked out more than fifty soldiers and told them, "You’ve been eliminated, go back to your original squads!"
"Huh?"
"Why?"
Someone asked in surprise.
"What was my instruction before I left? Whoever moves will be eliminated. Have you moved or not? You should know the answer to that." Ye Liuyun responded.
"I had to rub my eyes because the rainwater got in!" a soldier tried to justify.
Ye Liuyun scolded instantly, "Nonsense! More than five thousand people here, and you think you are special? Are you the only one with rainwater that gets into your eyes? Did I not tell you not to move, stay still like a zombie? You can’t even understand a simple command. You are of no use to me!"
"But, you can’t just eliminate us because we moved a muscle!" The soldier continued his argument.
Ye Liuyun swung his blade and instantly severed him in half.
His action completely stunned everyone. They hadn’t expected Ye Liuyun would kill so readily.
"You talk too much! If you can’t even obey to one simple command, what use are you to me?" Ye Liuyun said nonchalantly.
The eliminated fifty or so soldiers immediately turned and ran away in fear.
Ye Liuyun ignored them and concentrated on reorganizing the formation.
A wall of fire rosed from the ground up as he called upon the Golden Crow Sacred Flame. Rainwater hitting the firewall caused a plume of white smoke to rise.
"Soldiers, listen up! It’s time to test your courage! Maintain your current formation and spacing. Do not run. Male soldiers are not allowed to use genuine energy to form a protective shield for their bodies. Only female soldiers are allowed to use it to protect their clothing. Then, you shall march through the firewall at your normal marching speed."
After issuing the command, Ye Liuyun added, "Anyone who dares not march into the flame, should step forward now and I will let you leave."
None of his soldiers volunteered to leave, and thus, he ordered the march.
The martial practitioners at the front line of the march were the criminals released from the dungeon earlier.
Even if given the chance, they would not return to the dungeon. Consequently, they ventured forward into the blazing flame. The fire had melted their clothing to ash, their armour seared onto their skin, creating a sizzling noise as it did so. Yet, they persisted without making a sound.
They became an example for the next line behind. The ones following also bit their teeth and endured through it.
All across the group, the soldiers were mostly panting, or making a hissing sound. From time to time, there would be a soldier or two who paused or slowed their steps when confronted with the barrage of flames. Without question, those were instantly booted out of the team.
"Fearing merely a lick of flame, how dare you claim to be unafraid of death!"
After everyone had crossed the fire, Ye Liuyun finally retrieved the Golden Cow Sacred Flame as he chuckled wickedly, "Now that you are thoroughly warmed, I shall cool you down! Remember, you are not allowed to use your genuine energy.
Do you wonder what your genuine energy is used for? For killing? It’s not something you should use whenever you encounter danger. When two fighters of equal strength battle, it boils down to your genuine energy. Even one extra speck of genuine energy over your opponent can save your life."
After speaking, Ye Liuyun slowly started to release the Power of Ice, enveloping everyone.
But of course, he would only release enough to not freeze them to death.
But these soldiers’ flesh was burnt and attached to their armour. Their skin tore and ripped off the armour when the cold shrunk their skin, causing pain and numbness.
The cold hurt, but the soldiers gritted their teeth and kept going. The combination of the rain and the icy air caused them to shiver and their teeth chattered uncontrollably.
"Do you feel pain? Only if you had endured the pain, can you ignore it! The pain will harden your willpower surpassing stone or gem. When you achieved a level as such, your mere presence would instil fear in your enemy without you lifting a finger.
Of course, if you think it’s still hard to bear, just think about those five million spirit crystals, one hundred third-tier Elixir, and third-tier equipment..."
"Ah! I can’t take it anymore!" a soldier couldn’t bear it any longer, using his genuine energy to resist the cold while healing himself. However, he willingly stepped out and left the formation.
Following him, more soldiers who couldn’t withstand the cold left the line.
Even a soldier vented before he walked away, "I’m afraid we will die from training before we even get to the battlefield if we keep training like this,"
However, Ye Liuyun mockingly remarked, "You can never become a warrior with that kind of commitment. Continue to muddle through your life as a low-level soldier!"
After a while, as Ye Liuyun felt it was about the right time, he finally withdrew his Power of Ice.
"I will allow you a quarter of an hour to heal, gear up, and return to your formation. Time starts now!"
The soldiers immediately started treating their injuries and changed into a new set of armour.
When the quarter-hour was up, Ye Liuyun immediately ordered the soldiers to line up, those who dawdled were instantly kicked off the team.
This time, they were lined up into groups of three.
Leading the group from the front, Ye Liuyun explained the regulations, saying, "Soldiers, again, you are not permitted to use your genuine energy. Jog out of the city with me. Don’t talk while we move!"
With that, Ye Liuyun took the lead, guiding the group to jog out of the city.
Instead of showing off his troops, he preferred to drill his soldiers in formation.
Xiao Yunfang didn’t use her genuine energy and followed along at the back of the line.
It was habitual for martial cultivators to use their genuine energy while they ran, so suddenly being asked to run without using it had them gasping for breath. Even Xiao Yunfang felt somewhat strained, but she clenched her teeth and persevered.
Along the way, anyone who fell behind was immediately pulled out of the group by Ye Liuyun and eliminated.
They ran for more than 10 miles under Ye Liuyun’s lead before stopping in an open space.
He then called out the first row of three martial practitioners to demonstrate a formation movement to everyone and had them follow suit.
Throughout the process, they were not allowed to use their genuine energy.
Afterwards, Ye Liuyun began to inspect and correct their position and posture line by line, teaching them with immense patience.
When regular problems came up, he would show them himself the correct posture. During this, not a single martial practitioner was eliminated for showing incorrect posture.
He then made them practice again and again. They seemed clumsy without using their Genuine Energy during their action. Ye Liuyun, however, was adamant that every action be performed flawlessly.
They practised until the rain subsided, and dawn broke.
The soldiers, having trained without using genuine energy all night long, were utterly exhausted.
"Take a fifteen-minute break, then we continue the run!" Ye Liuyun ordered.
"Huh?" Some soldiers groaned about how torturous the training was.
However, despite their complaints, they promptly regrouped after fifteen minutes as told and ran under Ye Liuyun’s lead for another ten miles. They repeated the formation movements by turn until every soldier completed the practice flawlessly, and then Ye Liuyun proceeded to teach them more complex collaborations.
Whenever they were exhausted, they would be given fifteen minutes to rest before they were told to run and train again. Anyone who couldn’t keep up was eliminated.
After a fifteen-minute break, the troops first appeared exhausted, but three days later, Xiao Yunfang noticed the determination that gradually grew in their eyes.
Moreover, Ye Liuyun didn’t permit them to use their genuine energy during training. Therefore, these soldiers had an abundance of unused genuine energy they could utilise when they were brought to battle.
