Chapter 132: It's All That Xia Jing's Fault!

The martial instructor arranged a full day's training for Xia Jing, Chen Fang, Zhang Jie, Hu Bing, and ten others.

First, paired sparring to warm up for a quarter of an hour.

Then came the extreme running drill.

【Extreme Running】 means maintaining top speed from the start, quickly burning through all stamina, then continuing to jog slowly on willpower alone.

Upon reaching their limit, the martial instructor would call a halt based on each person's condition.

But stopping didn't mean rest—it meant continuing to spar with the martial instructor.

After an hour and a half, people were already being called to a halt one after another.

"Wang Meng, come attack me! Quickly!"

The martial instructor lashed out with a whip.

"Tiger Roar Fist!"

Wang Meng charged at the training martial instructor and threw punches, his fist-shakes trembling, his movements badly distorted.

"Boom!" The training martial instructor sent Wang Meng sprawling with a light kick.

"Get up. You have to believe in your own potential, use willpower to gather your strength." The training martial instructor said, "When you feel you can't hold on any longer, that's exactly when you should train! Hurry up!"

Wang Meng was gasping for breath, his whole body burning with pain, every inch of muscle trembling, yet he still struggled to get up.

His body was completely out of control, every movement distorted. Wang Meng now looked like a drunken strongman. The training martial instructor easily dodged his attacks and knocked him down again.

"Boom!" With that final collapse, Wang Meng couldn't get up this time and passed out on the spot.

"Whoosh~" A physician rushed over and began treating Wang Meng.

"Couldn't even last a full hour." The training martial instructor shook his head slightly. "Wang Meng is the weakest in skill and willpower among this group of ten."

When their stamina was full, these martial artists could each achieve 'unified control' of their physical strength, 'mastery over the whole body,' precisely controlling every movement and fully unleashing the power of their Wu Ji.

But after extreme training, that realm was hard to maintain. Only those with tough willpower could still strike with precision right before collapsing, keeping their Wu Ji's power from dropping too much.

After training for an hour and a half.

Of the ten-person group, only Xia Jing, Chen Fang, Hu Bing, and Zhang Jie were still running. The other six had already reached their limit long ago, passed out, been treated, and finished one round of training.

"The gap between me and the geniuses of the Four Great Martial Divisions is still too obvious." Wang Meng watched the four who were still running and couldn't help sighing inwardly.

"Gurgle~" As he watched, Wang Meng's stomach growled—he was hungry.

The other five were about the same; after an hour and a half of extreme training, they were starving by now.

But hunger could only be endured; food supplies all depended on what Zhao Xing, that military farmer, grew.

If he didn't grow anything, these people would have nothing to eat.

Enduring hunger was also part of the training!

"Do you think that Zhao Xing can keep ten people like us well-fed?" Wang Meng chatted with the person beside him. "Our group is strong, and we eat a lot too."

"Who knows." The person beside him shrugged. "I heard from Chen Fang that this Zhao Xing is a top-grade genius from the Terrain Court of the Military Farmers Bureau. A genius like that shouldn't keep us starving for long."

"Just relax. In a day, a military farmer can grow enough second-grade supplies one way or another."

"The logic is similar to the first training round. They wouldn't assign a poor military farmer to follow a group. Back then with 【Impossible Training】, the military farmers only had to hold out to win, while the martial artists were scored by knockdown count."

"It's assumed that whatever food the military farmers grow in a day is enough to restore the martial artists in their group."

"Of the fifty flying boats that descended to the Terrain Court, the martial artists on board were all a relatively strong batch."

"That's what they say, but what if he deliberately starves us? That's possible too, isn't it?" Wang Meng asked.

"It's possible, but he wants points too." The person beside him sneered. "Is he going to throw away his own score?"

"What if other groups get paired with weaker military farmers who aren't great at farming? Not enough food—won't they score poorly in the speed-eating training?"

"Depends on luck, just like the last round. Some people get lucky and might coast to a pretty high ranking in the end, but that usually doesn't happen. Didn't we just say it? The military farmers paired with us are all about the same—enough to feed everyone."

"Of course, it's only been an hour and a half. The first batch shouldn't be much."

"Fair point. Even if he has a grudge with Xia Jing, he wouldn't deliberately starve him…hmm?" Wang Meng was speaking when he suddenly looked in a certain direction.

Not far away, a cyan whirlwind rose up and flew toward them.

"Oh, speak of food and food arrives." Wang Meng immediately beamed. "It's only been an hour and a half—this Zhao Xing really isn't just a name."

"Brothers, food's here." The other six stood up one after another.

The training martial instructor also noticed Zhao Xing's arrival.

He glanced at the cyan whirlwind, a strange glint flashing through his eyes.

Wang Meng and the others couldn't see clearly, but he saw through it at a glance: the cyan whirlwind was carrying a massive amount of fruit!

"So many? Could it be second-grade supplies?" The training martial instructor was fairly familiar with the military farmers' rules. Supplies came in second, third, and fourth-grade tiers.

Second-grade supplies were easier to grow, so naturally the quantity was larger. A thousand jin only earned base points, showing the difficulty wasn't particularly high.

The higher the grade, the smaller the quantity, but the more points awarded—that was where the military farmers' skill really showed.

"Halt!" The training martial instructor stopped Xia Jing and the other three's training. "Assemble!"

Swish swish swish~

The ten quickly gathered beside the training martial instructor.

"Next, replenish your stamina!"

Once the military farmer provided food, they had to start eating right away—speed-eating training was also a top priority.

Back when Zhao Xing was at Chen Shijie's residence, he ate extremely fast at meals too—old habits from a long time in the army.

"You must eat the food the military farmer grew as fast as possible to restore combat ability."

"Every ten jin counts as one portion. The more portions eaten and the faster the time, the higher your speed-eating training score!"

Just as the training martial instructor was speaking.

Zhao Xing also rode the gale wind and arrived before the martial artists.

When the ten martial artists clearly saw the quantity of supplies carried in that gale wind, they couldn't help widening their eyes.

Too many!

They hadn't expected that in just an hour and a half, Zhao Xing had already delivered so much.

Swish~

Judge Zhou Ming also appeared in front of the martial artists.

"Commander Liu." Zhou Ming greeted the martial arts trainer Liu Yongli. "Shenwei Army's Zhao Xing has already grown third-tier supplies, totaling five thousand jin. Please arrange ten martial artists immediately for the fast-eating training."

How much?!

Even Wang Meng was shocked!

Third-tier supplies, five thousand jin?!

Chen Fang, Zhang Jie, and Hu Bing nearby also widened their eyes.

That's too much, isn't it? Was this really grown in just an hour and a half?!

Xia Jing's mouth twitched, and he glanced up at Zhao Xing in the sky.

The other party responded with a slight smile.

"Ahem… alright." Liu Yongli pointed to the empty ground beside him. "Please place them here."

"Crash~"

Zhao Xing waved his hand, and a gentle gale swept across the empty ground.

After the wind passed, a small hill made of hemp-fish fruits appeared on the ground.

"These are third-tier supplies, hemp-fish fruits. After consuming them, one can quickly recover their primal energy."

Zhou Ming explained to the physician beside him.

The latter adjusted his forehead and went to fetch his medical kit.

Hey, hey, hey, physician, what do you mean by that? Can these hemp-fish fruits actually be eaten or not? Why are you going to get your kit?!

The ten martial artists beside them saw this scene and, before even starting to eat, already had an ominous premonition.

"My lord, how should these hemp-fish fruits be eaten?" Wang Meng asked cautiously.

"It's not complicated, just eat them skin and all." Zhou Ming said with a smile.

If it's not complicated, why are you smiling?

Does your schadenfreude have to be this obvious?!

Zhao Xing glanced at Zhou Ming. It seemed this judge was also a fellow who enjoyed the show.

"Begin." Liu Yongli gave the order.

The ten martial artists began walking toward the hemp-fish fruit hill and started their gluttony-method training.

Zhou Ming didn't leave; he wanted to watch the show.

Zhao Xing also didn't leave. He wasn't in a hurry to go back and replant; he had to watch Xia Jing eat to feel satisfied!

"Crunch!"

Xia Jing took a bite of the hemp-fish fruit. The taste was very astringent and hard to get down.

Once the skin broke, juice immediately flowed out.

A strong fishy smell hit his nose, the stench was intense, like a fish that had been dead for several days, belly-up, being served up.

Xia Jing had disliked eating fish since childhood, let alone one like this; the taste was simply suffocating.

"Crunch~"

Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, he steeled himself and swallowed it into his stomach, where it immediately churned like rivers and seas.

But Xia Jing stubbornly didn't even furrow his brow.

He knew Zhao Xing was watching from above. If he showed any expression now, wouldn't that be playing right into the other's hands?

"I, Xia Jing, am a proper Hou Fu heir; how could I possibly fear this mere food!"

"I'll eat it!"

In a few quick bites, Xia Jing swallowed a fist-sized hemp-fish fruit into his stomach.

He even remembered to smile at Zhao Xing: "Thanks to Agricultural Officer Zhao for delivering the meal. These hemp-fish fruits taste quite good, very much to my liking!"

Chen Fang, Zhang Jie, Hu Bing, and the others immediately looked at Xia Jing with strange expressions.

Bro, your mouth is way too tough.

You can actually say this thing tastes good?

But seeing that Xia Jing was looking upward, they immediately understood.

The man was competing!

"Brother Xia is too kind. This is merely the duty of an army agricultural officer." Zhao Xing said with a smile. "I've heard Brother Xia is the number one genius of the Azure Dragon Martial Office; your gluttony method must be top-notch as well. In fast-eating training, Brother Xia is surely the martial office's number one."

Tough talk, is it? Then let me see just how tough your mouth is!

Zhou Ming watched the verbal sparring between these two and couldn't help but be amused.

Xia Jing refused to admit defeat.

Zhao Xing took the opportunity to offer a fatal compliment, putting Xia Jing on a pedestal to roast him.

You, Xia Jing, this number one genius, surely can't eat less than everyone else, can you?!

"I won't disappoint Brother Zhao!" After Xia Jing finished speaking, he quickly activated his gluttony method to absorb the primal energy from the fruit flesh.

"Hmm?" The moment he activated the gluttony method once, Xia Jing got a jolt.

A tingling sensation, as if he'd been shocked by electricity.

At first, it wasn't very intense.

But with every activation, he got another jolt.

Xia Jing's gluttony method was at the third layer, with fast absorption efficiency, so the frequency of the electric shocks was even higher.

"Damnable thing, absorbing the numbing fish fruit's Yuan Qi still feels like getting electrocuted!" Xia Jing cursed furiously in his heart, but since he'd already talked tough, he could only pretend to be calm and keep eating.

He ate two in a row, and that was barely a pound.

Ten pounds is one portion; for Xia Jing to finish one portion, he'd have to eat twenty.

But halfway through eating, Xia Jing suddenly felt a vague twisting pain in his abdomen.

His Qi and blood circulation was no longer flowing smoothly.

Damn this numbing fish fruit, it's actually poisonous!!

"Gluttony Heaven and Earth!"

Xia Jing circulated his cultivation method and rapidly expelled the toxins.

He was indeed impressive — after finishing the first portion, his speed was the fastest.

The rest of the people weren't putting on an act like Xia Jing; their faces were written all over with bitterness.

"Holy shit, this is way too disgusting, my mouth is full of dead fish stench!"

"Brother Chen, Brother Hu, does it go numb when you eat it?" Zhang Jie asked in a low voice.

"Numb. The faster you absorb Yuan Qi, the heavier this feeling gets." Chen Fang's brows were tightly furrowed and had never relaxed.

"Crap, I think I've been poisoned!" Hu Bing's expression changed slightly.

"What? It comes with poison too?" Wang Meng beside him was immediately startled. "Why don't I feel anything?"

"You eat slowly, you haven't felt the trace amounts of toxin yet." Hu Bing quickly sat cross-legged and circulated his cultivation method. "Once you finish a portion, you'll understand."

"This..." Wang Meng looked at the purple-black fruit in his hand, at a loss for words.

He didn't seem to be that hungry anymore.

"Getting assigned to Steward Zhao for this training, that's just rotten luck."

"Shh, keep your voice down, you want to die?!"

"Can't blame Steward Zhao either, it's all that Xia Jing's fault! How did we end up in a group with him?"

"True enough, he actually had the nerve to stubbornly insist it tasted good — won't that just make Zhao Xing double down on us?!"

"Sigh..."

Zhao Xing, up in the sky above, watched Xia Jing finish five portions before leaving.

After seeing Zhao Xing leave, Xia Jing immediately lost his composure, his brows tightly furrowed, his stomach churning like rivers and seas overturning, making him unable to resist the urge to vomit.

And at this moment, Zhao Xing suddenly turned back for a glance and let out a cold laugh.

He had used 【Keen Observation】 to watch for a full three quarter-hours, and ultimately confirmed that Xia Jing's earlier stubbornness was deliberate — besides being a bit unwilling to lose, there was also some other calculation.

"He wants me to think that digesting the numbing fish fruit is no big deal for him."

"The aim is to make me switch to a different food next time?"

"Could it be that he doesn't like that fishy smell, that he dislikes strong-flavored food?"

Keen Observation could grasp the psychological fluctuations of others; although Xia Jing had hidden it well, Zhao Xing still discovered this point.

"Good, very good."

Zhao Xing returned to the flying boat and immediately began searching through the bamboo-text boxes.

"You can tough-talk your way through third-tier supplies, let me see if you can still tough-talk your way through fourth-tier!"

"If I don't make you cry from eating, my years as Military Steward have been for nothing!"

Zhao Xing laughed coldly as he rummaged through.

"Got it!"

After rummaging through the fourth-tier bamboo-text boxes for a long time, Zhao Xing's gaze landed on a sapling.

"Hehehehehehe~"

After finding a sapling to his liking, Zhao Xing let out a strange laugh.

Zhou Ming, who was just returning from the martial artists' side, saw Zhao Xing's appearance — a sinister grin on his face while rummaging — and couldn't help but instinctively take a step back: "Why is his laugh so creepy... Hmm? He's planning to plant this?"

"Hiss! Having offended this kid, Xia Jing is going to have a rough time..."

Second update before twelve o'clock, not sure when the third update will be, but it'll definitely get written, bros don't stay up.