91 Chapter 91: Finishing Together (2/2)
”Yes. I somehow managed to run ahead of the others. Sorry, I got too carried away.”
Harrison tried not to sound smug as he replied. He was first, as he thought he would. This meant that he had proven his physical capabilities and displayed to everyone that he was number one. That he was the strongest, and thus the most qualified to lead the team of Jing Tian representatives as its captain.
Feng Hai merely gave him a glance, and nodded.
”You can go get a shower, and eat. That's all the training for today.”
”Thank you, Instructor Feng.” Harrison raised an eyebrow. He thought that Feng Hai would be more impressed with his performance, but his reaction was a little too lukewarm. He had received some acknowledgement, though, so that was probably good enough.
Lily and Cody were next, after an hour. And three hours after them, at around six and just before dark, Alicia and Pearl brought the majority of the group through the gates. By the time we drew close to the camp, I had dropped back toward the rear, having cleared quite a few of the obstacles. Obviously I wasn't the only one. Craig, Theodore and Dong Fang Yue Chu stepped forward to help me. The girls also played a part in overcoming obstacles. It wasn't just rocks. Sometimes it was a bridge that was falling apart, and it required someone's expertise. Obviously I wasn't the type to bridge a crumbling bridge. And Craig could jump further than me, so when we reached the edge of a cliff, he jumped over, grabbed a rope and tossed it over for us to tie it, and then we moved along the rope to cross the chasm.
Stuff like that.
Working together, we were somehow able to have the whole group make it back to the training camp before it got dark.
It wasn't just obstacles. There were a few members who were on the verge of giving up, but we had motivated and encouraged each other. United in spirit, we managed to persevere until the very end, while singing or shouting or even conversing with each other on the most mundane things, to take our minds off the physical exhaustion and pain.
”Excellent.”
Feng Hai beamed when he caught sight of our whole group limping the last few dozen meters toward the camp. He clapped as we cleared the final distance and nodded enthusiastically, approval and praise shining on his face.
”All of you finished together! Great job working together and encouraging each other! That's the kind of team spirit I would like to see in the representatives!”
”Thank you, sir,” Alicia managed as she heaved wearily.
”All of you, go get a shower, and then grab some chow from the cafeteria. My treat today.” Feng Hai grinned. ”Again, well done. That's all the training for today, so you can rest after dinner. Do whatever you want. The lounge is open.”
”Thank you, sir!”
The lounge was filled with sofas, a pool table, a television, game consoles and various other leisure devices. We rarely earned the privilege to enter the lounge, having been told that the place was off-limits yesterday. As such, we were elated when we heard it was open for use. Though…judging from how exhausted and broken we all were, I doubted any of us were in any condition to use it.
Feng Hai probably knew that, which was why he opened it for our use. Personally, I planned to go to bed immediately after dinner.
Unfortunately for Adam and Terence, they were the most miserable of the bunch. They only reached the camp at nine in the evening, after the sun had set. Their faces still bore bruises from the rocks I accidentally kicked back at them. While rolling about, injured, they ended up drawing the attention from monsters elsewhere in the forest, and were attacked. They used their magic without reserves, but inadvertently escaped to the track while still using spells when they ended up getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of Ruby Spiders. In the end, while they were able to survive, they were disqualified from today's training and lost all their points.
Sucks to be them.
*
Over the next two weeks, we underwent nothing but physical training. I had expected Feng Hai to teach us combat techniques or magic spells, but…nothing.
And Dong Fang Yue Chu's fears proved to be unfounded. Even though we originally thought we would be training in Sen Lin Forest, we never actually went inside the forest. We merely skirted the edges of Sen Lin Forest, but none of us actually went inside it. All we did was run, do pushups, sit-ups and other physical exercises.
I swear, we were all going to become Saitama at this rate.
In the end, we didn't, and the training camp ended. A few students were eliminated, which was only natural. Given there were about thirty students in the training camp, and there could only be ten representatives, including reserves, about twenty students would have to face bitter disappointment. A few from the Super Power Society, a few from other societies, and even one from Holy Saints were eliminated by the end of the two weeks.
”As for the rest of you, you get a break. Rest well, and we'll continue the training camp in a week!” Feng Hai was grinning ominously. ”This is just the beginning. All the physical training so far is just to give you a taste of hell, but you haven't gone through true hell yet! The real training begins in a week's time! The group training in Sen Lin Forest will be the real thing!”
Everyone glanced at each other uneasily, but no one objected. By now we were familiar with Feng Hai's temper. He had a short fuse, but he was fair and reasonable. He would never force us into anything that was impossible for us to do. He knew our limits, and while he encouraged us to break them, he didn't just dump unreasonable objectives that would destroy us. He was also aware of the need to maintain morale and avoided crushing our confidence completely. After all, self-belief was important to improving oneself.
So none of us complained. We all nodded.
”Yes, sir!”
”Thank you, sir!”
”Oh, don't thank me yet.” Feng Hai's grin spread across his handsome but scarred face. ”You'll be cursing me during the group training.”