37 Fierce Beast Sand Snake (1/2)

Marching forward, the group dared not even talk together with their friends. Everyone had the words that the captain had said in mind, and focused on nothing else than moving forward.

Everyone was on high alert. Some feared that they would encounter bandits, others were certain that they would be left behind.

Some felt despair at the fact that they would be traveling for two months and that they might not have brought enough food and drink, while others were feeling less worried as they already knew about this and had packed enough dried rations to last for two months.

Although Ordinary Warriors had walked down the path of cultivation, they were still much more like average mortals, and they needed to eat at least once a day to have enough energy to move forward steadily.

There were no breaks throughout their journey before the sun started to set. ”The temperatures here in the desert turn very cold at night,” the captain warned. ”I would suggest you get some sleep so that we can continue forward tomorrow. Those who do not get enough sleep might fall behind tomorrow.”

Worry filled the hearts of all present, and they hurried down to sleep. Many of them had not brought anything as they thought the army would provide everything they needed, having forgotten all about how long the journey to the recruitment camp would be.

Manager Su was aware of everything that had happened, and he had packed anything that Xue Wei might be in need of. Although some had looked at him as if he was stupid before, because of the massive bag that he had on his back, now they all looked on with jealousy at the blankets and dried meat he withdrew from the bag.

He wrapped the blanket around him and started chewing on the dried meat before he placed his legs across one another and rested his hands in his lap.

He was going to cultivate throughout the night. Now that he was joining the army, he knew it was no longer appropriate for him to use the herbal concoctions for baths. He was not even aware if he would be able to get his hands on any herbs or beast cores.

Xue Wei knew nothing about the recruitment camp. He knew it was the place where every recruit from the entire Heping Kingdom would be gathered, and that he would have to go through rigorous fighting and training before he could be considered a real soldier, ready to be shipped into the army.

In such an environment, he would progress rapidly. His superiors would always push him, and although he would lack the energy from the herbal concoctions, he should still be able to rely on his special physique to absorb energy faster.

At the same time, he would be able to hone his skills with his techniques. He would experience real life-and-death battles, and he would not be subject to everyone's ridicule.

Xue Wei was excited about going to the army. He was excited about being pushed to his limits day after day, and he was looking forward to the day he would be on the front lines fighting against Fierce and Primordial Beasts.

It was not only him; every young person felt the adrenaline pump in their blood. This was a completely new experience for all of them. Most of them had never before left Tiankong City, and now they were going to the central region of Heping Kingdom.

As a result, they were all unable to fall asleep. Sleep was the first thing that a cultivator could go without, as their bodies were being nurtured through meditation and absorption of Qi, but only a handful of the youngsters had been able to cultivate throughout the night. The rest had been far too scared or excited.

Xue Wei was one of the young men who had managed to cultivate throughout the night, and as the sun's first beams of light shot through the morning air, Xue Wei stopped cultivating. He took the blanket he had on his back and packed it down, after which he found his canteen and a strip of dried meat.

Gnawing on the dry rations, Xue Wei felt that although they were anything but delicious, they could fill up his stomach. Meanwhile, a group of the commoner youngsters were looking at the nobles with jealousy and salivating expressions.

Especially some of Li Jian's followers were being looked at with great jealousy. They had small meat buns with them that they gulped down greedily. Others, like Li Jian and Shen Mu, also had some different fruits to eat. It was clear that their mothers had felt worried for them and had packed snacks and other goodies to make their trip towards the army as pleasant as possible.

Xue Wei had no one to think like a mother for him. He had heard from Xiao Lei that his mother died when giving birth to him, and the first ten years of his life were spent together with his father.

When his father died, Xiao Lei took over looking after him, but he too also had to leave. The only one left who cared about Xue Wei was Manager Su, who, although he looked at Xue Wei as a grandson, was not prone to spoiling him.

Xue Wei did not mind, though. He knew that he was truly valued highly by Xiao Lei and it made him feel all the affection he needed.

As they had eaten their breakfast, everyone got ready to move forward again. Another day of traveling was in front of them, and while some of them felt uncomfortable and hungry, the majority felt fine.

Some had been out hunting. Although there were not many animals in the desert, there were some plants and mortal animals that could easily be caught.

The captain had not stopped anyone. If they died, then so be it. His job was just to guide them towards the recruitment camp; he did not have the task of looking after them.

Traveling through the desert, the captain and his men were casual. None of them were on high alert.

”Although we are going to go through some dangerous areas, this is one of the safest places on our entire journey,” one of the guards said to his comrade, someone who had never tried guiding youngsters to the training camp before.