Chapter 19: Training

Ninja School.

"Lian Yejun, have you heard?" Nara Motoya approached Lian Ye with a look of regret: "Uchiha Reifeng got beaten yesterday, and it looks pretty bad!"

How could Lian Ye not know about this?

He knows it all too well!

But he pretends not to know.

A flicker of curiosity crossed Lian Ye's eyes just right, and he asked, "Really or not?"

"Of course it's true." Nara Motoya said it firmly.

"Ha, heaven has eyes!" Lian Ye couldn't help laughing, "This kid totally had it coming!"

Nara Hon observed Lian Ye's reaction without changing expression.

Seeing his surprised yet somewhat gloating look, he couldn't help wondering.

Could it really not be Lian Yejun's doing?

But yesterday, Uchiha Reifeng had just provoked Lian Ye in the morning, and at noon he was beaten up in a sack.

The timing is too coincidental, making it hard not to suspect him.

Lian Ye saw this, raised his eyebrows, and exclaimed in shock:

"You wouldn't think I did it, would you?"

Nara Motoya remained silent, his expression saying, "Otherwise?"

"That guy has provoked so many people; getting sacked and beaten is normal..."

Lian Ye said this while casually glancing at Hinata Yuki not far away.

Nara Motoya followed Lian Ye's gaze and fell into thought.

Uchiha Reifeng is indeed arrogant and domineering in daily life, having offended more than just Lian Ye.

Thinking this way, it's also possible that Hinata Yuki did it out of revenge...

Hinata Yuki, sitting in his seat, always felt someone gossiping behind his back, and he shifted uneasily.

He had no idea he had already been targeted by someone and was about to become the scapegoat.

"I think Uchiha Jing could also be responsible." Lian Ye whispered.

"Uchiha Jing?" Nara Motoya looked dubiously at the Mirror, who was chatting happily with Yuanfei Rizhan and Zhi Cun Tuan Zang.

Uchiha Jing noticed Nara Motoya's gaze, broke into a gentle smile, and friendly nodded at him.

"Lian Yejun, you're not joking, are you?" Nara Motoya looked incredulous.

Uchiha Jing is so gentle; how could he do such a thing?

Lian Ye seemed to see his thoughts and explained, "You should know that honest people are actually the most frightening... Usually bullying them causes no trouble, but if one day you push them too far, they'll do something terrifying."

"Oh, I see, thank you for the lesson." Nara Motoya nodded seriously, feeling Lian Ye's words made sense.

He knew that Uchiha Reifeng and others were intentionally excluding Uchiha Jing, and it was reasonable for Jing, pushed to the edge, to beat Reifeng.

"Uchiha Reifeng has provoked so many people; getting beaten is normal. Stop suspecting me—I'm not the type to strike from the shadows."

"Indeed, it doesn't seem like it."

"Then that's settled, right?"

"But I still think Lian Yejun, you're more suspicious..."

Lian Ye: "..."

"Alright, alright, what else is there to say?"

After a reasonable, evidence-based analysis for half a day, the result was still self-doubt.

"Prejudice in people's hearts is a big mountain." Lian Ye looked hurt.

Nara Motoya was a bit confused, wondering if it really wasn't Lian Yejun's doing.

Had I misunderstood him?

Thinking this, Nara Motoya said, "Lian Yejun, I believe you!"

"Ha, that's right—I'm not that kind of person."

Lian Ye, relying on his superb acting, finally managed to fool Nara Motoya into submission.

If he kept going, even he would almost believe it.

Lian Ye had just dealt with Nara Motoya when the homeroom teacher, Senju Takuma, walked into the classroom: "Everyone, gather on the playground!"

On the playground.

Everyone chatted, wondering what the homeroom teacher wanted to do.

"The morning lesson is simple: just complete endurance training, strength training, and balance training!"

Senju Takuma announced the training content.

"Training already? How annoying..." Nara Motoya muttered quietly.

Lian Ye had no particular opinion; he was already used to high-intensity training, and even a day without training made his whole body uncomfortable.

After all, to improve strength there are no shortcuts; only diligent cultivation can make one stronger.

"First, run a hundred laps to warm up!"

With the whistle, the Class A students began running along the track.

A hundred laps were still acceptable for the Class A students.

Most of them are clan ninjas who have been training their bodies since childhood.

Although they are only six or seven years old, they have at least trained for one or two years.

When Konoha was first founded, the ninjas' strength far surpassed that of later generations.

Before, it was the perilous Warring States Period; a little carelessness could cost one's life, and the weaker one was, the more likely to die—so to preserve themselves, they had to constantly increase their strength.

After running a hundred laps, everyone was a little out of breath.

Senju Takuma gave them no rest, immediately moving on to strength training.

Special training equipment was set up on the field; the trainees paired up and cooperated to complete weighted squats, push‑ups, and similar exercises.

After the strength training, everyone was exhausted and lay on the ground.

"I can't go on, Lian Yejun—I'm dead tired." Nara Motoya's face turned pale as he lay on the ground, gasping heavily.

Lian Ye's complexion was also poor, his lips turning white.

Such high‑intensity training was hard even for him to bear.

They had thought ninja school training would be easy, but they were wrong—here the training is even stricter!

"Rest ten minutes, then we'll do balance training."

As soon as the words fell, complaints rose up all around.

Noticing the students' resentful looks, Senju Takuma felt helpless.

He also thought the training was too harsh, but this was the plan set by Lord Feijian, so he could only follow it.

As Qianshou Feijian said, "【Class A are all good seedlings; they must be given intensity.】"

Many geniuses have appeared in ninja‑world history, but few end up becoming famous.

That's because only those who grow up become true geniuses!

Those who die midway don't count…

Senju Takuma knew Lord Feijian meant to have them grow quickly and become true geniuses!

That is also why the training plan is so strict.

Of course, the foundation of all this is that these children have talent.

Without talent, they wouldn't be placed in Class A.

One could say that these children before us, if they grow up, will surely become the pillars of the village.

Rest time is over.

Next, a series of high‑difficulty stretching and balance exercises will be conducted.

The trainees must walk quickly on the narrow balance beam while striking various poses; a slight mistake will cause them to fall.

One fall means ten laps, two falls twenty laps, and so on.

Lian Ye controlled his breathing, focused completely on his body, and successfully passed the balance beam.

Nara Motoya wasn't so lucky; he slipped and fell, earning him ten laps.

Already exhausted, now having to run another ten laps was adding insult to injury, wearing him out to the point of nearly falling apart.

As expected, he lost his footing again and fell heavily, this time earning twenty laps.

Nara Motoya stared at the long track, feeling his vision darken, on the verge of collapse.

Of course, unlucky fellows like him are not few.

Lian Ye glanced around, roughly estimating that only ten people had passed the balance beam so far.

He knew Yuanfei Rizhan, Shuihu Menyan, Uchiha Jing, and Hinata Yuki; the rest were strangers to him.

"Tuan Cang, hang in there!" Yuanfei Rizhan shouted at the top of his lungs.

At that moment, Zhi Cun Tuan Zang was fully focused, eyes locked on the balance beam beneath his feet, sweat beading on his forehead, almost succeeding.

As a result, Yuanfei Rizhan's sudden shout startled him, causing him to lose balance instantly and fall to the ground.

"Ri Zhan, you bastard!"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang flushed with anger, neck thickening, and roared.

"Haha, sorry about that, Tuan Cang."

Yuanfei Rizhan scratched his head, a sheepish smile appearing on his face.

Lian Ye's mouth twitched slightly; he wondered if that guy had done it on purpose.