Chapter 91: Utterly Shameless (First Update)

Snow Valley Training Camp.

With snow swirling across the sky, Seeing Li Zheng and the other hardcore players stood on the training ground, bare-chested, lifting stone hammers to strike the crystal wall in front of them again and again.

"Eighty! Eighty! Eighty!"

"So tired, so hungry, what's the point of hammering this thing?"

"I've done less physical labor in my entire life than I have in this damn training camp; they're treating us like beasts of burden. When will this end?"

Complaints filled the voice channel, and Seeing Li Zheng, the leader, helplessly said:

"Stop talking nonsense. We have to finish hammering anyway, so let's just get it over with and rest."

"I hope the rewards this time are rich enough, or I'll go crazy." Eating Dirt couldn't help but add another complaint.

This training project by Instructor Kuang Sha required them to shatter the crystal wall using stone hammers.

After continuous hammering, Seeing Li Zheng and the others felt their Hukou go numb from the shock, yet the crystal wall's surface only bore shallow scratches, showing no sign of breaking.

To continue the mission, they could only grit their teeth and persist.

During this, their Hukou cracked and bled, while sweat constantly streamed down their foreheads.

Turning to look, the beasts of all races were working especially hard in training, completely disregarding bodily damage, hammering the crystal wall in front of them with a "clang-clang" sound.

Yet amidst the hammering of the crystal wall, the occasional "gurgle" from their stomachs could be heard.

This was the aftereffect of the cafeteria hunger-staving battle, and also the way Snow Valley Training Camp students welcomed the Water Valley Training Camp students.

It added an extra training course not required by the instructors: hunger-staving training.

After three consecutive days of hunger-staving training, the Poluo Race no longer had the arrogance they possessed upon arrival, yet still refused to bow and submit, demanding to eat according to the Water Valley Training Camp's rules, ranked by strength.

Only after the Poluo Race finished eating could students of other races take their turn.

Regarding this, Seeing Li Zheng and the others did not indulge them.

The strategy was to sneakily gorge behind their backs, while on the surface, no one ate.

To the eyes of all races, their talent for staving off hunger was maxed out.

But after consecutive group brawls, Seeing Li Zheng and the other hardcore players also felt regret.

In their eyes, free spiritual food equaled free body-forging experience; eating even one more bite was a profit, an opportunity not available in the newbie village.

But to resist bullying, they chose to persist in the manner of a true man.

During this, they had considered finding a chance during the melee to secretly stuff spiritual food into their spatial bags, to take out and eat later when returning to their rooms at night.

But this idea, after consulting the guide, was found to be unreliable.

Several supervisors in the cafeteria were observing the direction of their group brawls; the moment spiritual food was stuffed into a spatial bag, it would be discovered.

One of the cafeteria's rules was that no spiritual food could be taken away, otherwise the fixed 15-minute eating time would lose its meaning.

The goal was to make them fight for every second.

According to Instructor Kuang Sha, this time limit would gradually decrease as they entered Phase Two and Phase Three of the training camp.

After graduation, when they reached the battlefield, it would be even more so.

The war between the Frontline Retrograde Legion and various powerful races was extremely fierce, sometimes so brutal that there was no time to eat.

While explaining the regulations, Instructor Kuang Sha smiled and stated that at his worst on the front lines, he had fought continuously for 10 days against the Soul Return Race, without even time to stop and rest or eat, finally fighting until his physical strength was exhausted and he fainted, only to be carried back to the rear by comrades-in-arms.

The gradually increasing regulations of the training camp were to let them adapt in advance to the high-intensity front-line battlefield.

And the rule forbidding taking food away also eliminated Seeing Li Zheng and the others' thoughts of cheating, forcing them to barely get by every night gnawing on canned food purchased from Shangcheng.

Occasionally, if lucky, spiritual fish meat would be listed on the trading hall; after snatching it, the brothers would fight to share it.

Having persisted until now, Seeing Li Zheng and the other hardcore players felt bitterness in their hearts.

With high-intensity training, relying solely on food cans was insufficient to fill the body's deficit; without spiritual food to replenish the excessive consumption, the feeling of hunger constantly lingered in their hearts.

This also made Seeing Li Zheng recall what the God of Wealth had once said: the food in the cans was meaningless, even inferior to cultivating and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

At that time, he did not understand the meaning of this statement, but now he understood the reason.

Once body strength reached a certain level, the replenishment provided by ordinary food to the body became very limited.

In the foreseeable future, as player levels continuously rose, spiritual food would become the primary food to solve hunger, and cans containing 1 point of Shou Shou Jili would be gradually phased out.

Besides the torment brought by training and hunger-staving, Seeing Li Zheng and the others also had happy moments in the training camp.

For example, the medicinal bath held once every two days.

Each medicinal bath brought an increase of over 7,000 points of body-forging experience.

This yield was far superior to hunting evil spirits and monsters outside.

Importantly, the improvement in body-forging experience also brought bonuses to all attributes of the main body.

Every player in the Hardcore Group had reached level 3, and Seeing Li Zheng's body-forging level had even reached level 5.

This meant five Painful Painful Minghun could be inlaid on the Star Pulse, and the main body form could inherit the full attribute bonuses of five Painful Painful Minghun.

Regrettably, within the training camp, one could not increase the level of inlaid Painful Painful Minghun through hunting; the attributes inheritable by the initially inlaid Painful Painful Minghun were very limited.

Time moved to evening.

The last streak of sunset on the horizon quietly vanished beneath the ground line, replaced by a deep and tranquil blue-purple sky, while the training camp was covered by a thin veil of energy.

It was mealtime again.

Seeing Li Zheng and the others, led by Instructor Kuang Sha, arrived at the cafeteria.

Upon entering, the rich and tempting aroma of food instantly rushed to their noses.

Seeing Li Zheng's gaze swept over the serving counter; meat bones and various vegetables steamed, weaving together a rich flavor mixed with the unique scent of spices; just smelling it allowed one to foresee the wonderful taste of the rich energy particles hidden in the broth.

His gaze swept to the other serving counter, where fresh spiritual fruits emitted a clear fragrance; his eyes seemed able to capture traces of sweetness, causing Seeing Li Zheng to subconsciously swallow, his mouth filling with saliva.

On the serving counter further back, spiritual roots resembling noodles were paired with sizzling roasted meat, with various sauces arranged nearby, emitting an irresistible tempting aura.

Inside the cafeteria, the aromas emitted by various spiritual foods intertwined, forming a unique "symphony of delicacies," which not only awakened all students' desire for food but also stirred bitterness in their hearts.

Because these spiritual foods were destined to be out of their reach.

At this moment, Li Zheng looked toward Gui Tong, who was not far beside him.

This rival, who had asked with a domineering tone upon arrival what clan they belonged to, now gazed at the food with unmasked greed, like a starving wolf, with burning flames in his eyes; his craving for food was like parched earth yearning for rain.

Merely from his gaze, the stomachs of the trainees let out low, continuous gurgles, starting a pre-meal chorus that rose and fell one after another.

But everyone understood that no one would get to eat this meal.

They had fought for three days and starved for three days; no one had yielded.

Until a victor was decided, or until Chief Instructor Kuang Sha ordered the cafeteria brawl to stop, the great battle would have to continue.

But precisely because the brawl was unavoidable, the trainees cherished the brief calm before the fight all the more; their breathing grew heavier during this time, as if trying to inhale the scent of food from the air.

"Hey! Luo Zi, come here and scratch your master's itch!"

Just then, Li Zheng stepped forward.

His shout was like the starting gun at a sports meet, shattering the pre-meal calm; the cafeteria battle was about to erupt.

Within a few short minutes, it was as if a violent storm swept over this place that should have been orderly.

Tables were ruthlessly overturned, trays became weapons for brawling, spiritual food mixed with sauce on the serving counters spilled across the floor... The air was filled with the aroma of meals and the dull thuds of fists hitting flesh.

The chaotic scene lasted for 15 minutes before ending.

When the cafeteria managers appeared, the trainees who could still stand dragged the already collapsed trainees out of the cafeteria and dumped them outside the main door.

This battle had no winner; all the trainees looked utterly wretched.

Bruises on their faces, footprints on their clothes, messy hair... The worst off was a trainee from the Iron-Faced Clan of the Shui Gu Training Camp; pinned to the ground by players and Four-Eyes Clan trainees, he was beaten in a double-team assault until his eyes swelled and his jaw dislocated, now lying on the ground gasping for breath.

The great battle ended, but the training did not.

Kuang Sha arrived shortly after, set the dislocated trainee's bones, then led them to the training ground to introduce new training exercises.

There was no combat training in the first-phase training camp, nor any learning of fighting techniques; all training exercises had the core goal of forging willpower.

The point was for them to endure pain, then overcome inner struggles through willpower.

This process was already full of torment; the added hunger endurance training stripped away even the final enjoyment within the training.

The pain came to an end at ten o'clock at night.

Back in their rooms, after closing the doors, Li Zheng and the others opened the Trading Hall and began searching for ingredients.

"Wow, there's a piece of insect meat for sale in Shangcheng; this stuff is delicious."

"Insect meat looks a bit disgusting, with folds on it like a brain; the taste is far inferior to spiritual fish meat. It's a pity fish meat is too hard to buy; every time it's listed, it's swept clean. We're not sure if there are too few fishing enthusiasts, or if they always go empty-handed."

"Did you contact the fishing enthusiasts from the Demon Sect? Their spiritual fish output is quite large."

"We contacted them; their spiritual fish were reserved by several guilds long ago. How could any be left for us?"

"Stop complaining; insect meat tastes much better than canned food. We should thank the appearance of the Battle Insect Clan, giving us another choice while we gnaw on cans."

"Time to eat, time to eat! I'm about to faint from hunger. When will this end? I want to eat the grand meal in the cafeteria."

After dividing the insect meat, Li Zheng and the others began to gnaw on canned food in large mouthfuls.

But the taste of the canned food was terrible.

Having eaten spiritual food, their taste buds and bodies' needs for food changed; cheap foods like canned goods became hard to swallow.

Eating too much also made them feel sick of it.

But to train normally tomorrow, they still chose to continue eating.

Half an hour later, after finishing their meal, the hardcore player group discussed daily life in the training camp.

Sha Xin Dong: I wonder what those beasts are doing at night?

Qiong Dao Chi Tu: What else could they be doing? Lying in bed on empty stomachs, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, thinking only of the various spiritual foods in the cafeteria; the more they think, the hungrier they get; the hungrier they get, the more they think; then the next day, listlessly continuing training.

Jia Ting Gong Xiang Yi Fu: At least we have something to eat; they are truly enduring. So strong, especially the Po Luo Clan; their hunger endurance is clearly far superior to the Four-Eyes Clan.

You Xi Ban Zhuan Dang: I think the Four-Eyes Clan can endure hunger better; their poor state is because their energy was drained by us earlier, and they haven't recovered from the great injury to their vitality. I don't believe the Po Luo Clan can withstand seven days without eating like the Four-Eyes Clan.

Just then, Ling Chong, who was rubbing his stomach, interjected:

Bao Zi Tou Ling Chong: By the way, is night fighting prohibited in the training camp?

Qiong Dao Chi Tu: Night fighting? What night fighting?

As soon as Chi Tu finished speaking, he suddenly froze; everyone's gaze turned squarely to Ling Chong, suddenly realizing what was on his mind.

You Xi Ban Zhuan Dang: What do you mean, you kid?

Bao Zi Tou Ling Chong: We just ate and are full of energy; they are staying up late enduring hunger. We hold an absolute advantage in status. Since the advantage is ours, why not sneak over under the cover of night and take them down?

Qiong Dao Chi Tu: You kid... that's smart. Kuang Sha never said we can't beat people up during sleeping hours. Wouldn't it be delightful to sneak over and beat them up?

You Xi Ban Zhuan Dang: I raise both hands and both feet in agreement. Let's ramp up the intensity; not only will we stop them from eating, but we'll also prevent them from sleeping.

Jia Ting Gong Xiang Yi Fu: Damn, Ling Chong, you usually seem simple-minded, but I didn't expect you to be so scheming. You even came up with such a sinister trick.

Hao Wan Bu Ke: Hahaha, absolutely feasible. We can fix the problem of mental exhaustion by purchasing spirit-healing potions in Shangcheng; they are truly effective.

With the idea formed, Li Zheng and the others immediately opened Shangcheng, purchased a bottle of spirit-repair potion, and drank it.

Like a gentle warm breeze brushing across the heart, their mental fatigue quickly recovered under the nourishment of the energy.

Afterwards, they opened the door and, under the night sky, went to the room where the Four-Eyes Clan freshmen were staying.

Before approaching, they heard strange sounds.

Sha Xin frowned slightly at this moment: "There are many frogs croaking; did you hear them?"

Qiong Dao Chi Tu: Hear your head! That's obviously stomachs protesting, you idiot Sha Xin.

During the exchange, Li Zheng arrived before the Four-Eyes Clan's door and lightly knocked with his hand:

"Tong Zi, are you asleep?"

Rustling sounds came from inside; then the door opened, and Gui Tong, looking haggard, looked at Li Zheng with a puzzled expression:

"Li Zheng, what brings you here so late, you rascal?"

Li Zheng glanced at the brothers behind him, then pointed at the room:

"Let's talk inside."

"Fine." Gui Tong stepped aside, and Li Zheng and the others immediately entered the room.

Under the puzzled gazes of the Four-Eyed Clan freshmen, Li Zheng and the others explained the purpose of their visit once inside.

After hearing his account, the corner of Gui Tong's mouth twitched:

"If they can't sleep, doesn't that mean we can't sleep either?"

"Exactly. Just outlast them with them, add an extra late-night course, and grind them until they collapse." Li Zheng nodded solemnly.

Hearing these words, the expressions of Gui Tong and his clansmen grew complex.

The Player Clan beasts were clearly planning another grand stunt, betting their own sleep time while trying to drag them into staying awake as well.

To the Four-Eyed Clan freshmen, this behavior was nothing short of the scum of scum, refusing to let them have even the final rest period of the training camp.

Yet they found it hard to refuse.

Since the Player Clan had the courage to propose this, if they lacked the courage to follow, it would be truly shameful.

Two thoughts clashed violently in their minds. As the representative of the Four-Eyed Clan, Gui Tong took a deep breath and spoke with determination:

"We're in."

"Tongzi, I knew you rascal were reliable."

"Don't pat my shoulder. We are only temporarily allying to fight the Po Luo Clan; once they leave, we'll deal with you."

"Oh, I'm so scared, hahaha."

"You really deserve a beating. I want to beat you right now."

After reaching a consensus, Li Zheng and the others split up to go to the rooms of other clans in the Snow Valley Training Camp, proposing the idea of adding extra courses.

On the other side.

Po Luo, who was sitting cross-legged cultivating and nourishing his body by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, suddenly opened his eyes at this moment and spoke in a deep voice:

"Everyone open your eyes. I have an idea."

The clansmen, who hadn't been sleeping anyway, opened their eyes and looked at E Luo.

"Enduring this isn't a solution. Relying solely on absorbing spiritual energy cannot replenish our physical consumption. We should use our advantages to attack their weaknesses."

As he spoke, Po Luo's gaze swept over his clansmen:

"Our Po Luo Clan's racial talent allows us to quickly restore our mental state through cultivation. Since they have set up hunger training for us, we should also add an extra training course for them."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on the corner of Po Luo's mouth:

"I will make sure they don't sleep well."

Having finished speaking, Po Luo stood up:

"You all disperse and notify the freshmen of the other clans. Tonight, we raid the Snow Valley and let them experience what true pain is."

The night was like ink, and the training camp was shrouded by a heavy curtain.

The energy lamps hanging on metal poles by the roadside swayed in the wind, their ends rubbing together to produce a "creak" sound.

Borrowing the faint light of the aurora in the sky, a group of figures merged into the night and hurried along, heading toward the rest area of the Water Valley Training Camp.

Shortly after, bypassing the fence beside the barracks, the trainees of the Snow Valley Training Camp, led by Li Zheng, entered the rest area of the Water Valley trainees' barracks.

"Shh, walk lightly. We've arrived. In a moment, we'll split into five groups. Once we push the doors open, we'll beat them up. The main point is to catch them off guard."

At this moment, Li Zheng raised his hand and quietly gave the battle plan. The freshmen of the various clans behind him also stopped one by one.

By the moonlight, one could see the wicked grins on their faces, like a group of weasels preparing to steal chickens, unable to hide their excitement.

After fighting each other for so many days, thinking of the upcoming moment of revenge, they felt a sense of satisfaction in their hearts.

But just as Li Zheng and the others were preparing to move forward, they discovered a group of figures sneaking out of a room not far away, heading toward the entrance of their camp.

Seeing this scene, the expressions of Li Zheng and the others became very strange.

At this time, the fast-rushing dark shadows also spotted them, froze in place one by one, and then a familiar voice came:

"Who's there?"

Facing the question from that familiar voice, how could Li Zheng and the others not understand what was happening.

After a brief silence, Li Zheng let out a loud howl and led the brothers of the Snow Valley Training Camp to pounce on the Water Valley Training Camp freshmen:

"Shameless! You are truly shameless, trying to ambush us under the cover of night. Got you now!"

"How hateful! As reserve warriors, you actually have the idea of ambushing others. It's utterly disgraceful. Fortunately, we predicted your shameless actions in advance, otherwise you would have succeeded." Gui Tong also cooperated fully in spitting out curses.

"Wang Ba, you only know how to play dirty. If you have the guts, come out openly. What kind of skill is an ambush?"

"Good thing we had a premonition that you would come to ambush us and prepared in advance. Got you now, I spit."

Under the shameless counter-accusations of Li Zheng and the other liver-hardcore player clan members, the trainees of the Snow Valley Training Camp followed suit, focusing on "the villain accuses first," loudly denouncing the shameless behavior of the Water Valley Training Camp trainees, and then pounced on them to deliver heavy punches.

On the other side, the trainees of the Water Valley Training Camp also understood the situation.

Obviously, the trainees of the Snow Valley Training Camp coincidentally had the same idea as them: both wanted to launch an ambush under the cover of night to mentally torture the other, resulting in a collision.

But what made the freshmen of the Water Valley Training Camp feel angry was:

Everyone was playing dirty, yet the trainees of the Snow Valley Training Camp spoke with such righteousness, turning the tables and accusing others.

Most importantly, this was the Water Valley Training Camp's campsite. They had already entered the fence of our camp, yet they dared to claim they had premonitions of their ambush and were lying in wait for defense in advance.

This level of shamelessness was comparable to the sinister Player Clan beasts.

And it was very likely they learned it from the Player Clan.

"Beat them!" E Luo, the leader, shouted angrily at this moment, and then took the lead, grabbing a trainee from the Bronze Clan who was pouncing, pinning him to the ground, and pounding his face with two loud "clang-clang" punches.

The all-night battle was about to erupt.

Trainees on both sides vented the anger accumulated in their hearts with every punch they threw at the trainees of the opposing camp.

Yet, with unspoken understanding, whether they were new recruits from the Snow Valley Camp or rising stars from the Water Valley Camp, even beaten until their noses and faces were bruised, none cried out in pain.

They feared that an overly fierce brawl would wake the instructors sleeping in other rest areas.

It didn't matter if they didn't sleep; if the instructors couldn't sleep, it would be them who suffered.

Now, they all wanted to beat the other side into submission, so how could they be willing to let the brawl end easily?

Even while holding back the pain, they had to continue fighting.

Amidst the brawl, figures constantly fell, but whether they were new recruits from the Snow Valley Camp or new recruits from the Water Valley Camp, they unspokenly refrained from attacking the fallen trainees, instead turning their targets toward other standing enemies from the opposing camp.

This brawl differed from the cafeteria battle; there was no fifteen-minute time limit.

Thus, both sides shared the same thought: knocking down the entire opposing force meant victory!

Morning.

The first ray of sunlight peeked over the horizon, the sky turning red; the world under the falling heavy snow swayed on the edge between dream and wakefulness.

Distant snow mountains refracted Jin Guang under the light; a few snow birds cried as they flew over the camp, the tranquility shrouded by night quietly withdrew, and vibrant life spread and revived.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of war drums beating the earth rose; morning training time had arrived.

Instructor Kuang Sha, accompanied by three instructors, arrived at the training ground right on time, but when their gaze swept toward the assembly point, they couldn't help but freeze.

Not a single trainee had arrived at the assembly point; everyone was late.

Instructor Kuang Sha's expression instantly became extremely awkward; breaking the rules was absolutely unacceptable in his eyes, and this group of trainees had already violated the taboo in his eyes.

Unable to endure it any longer, Instructor Kuang Sha transformed into a streak of light and flew toward the rest area of the Snow Valley Camp trainees.

After his figure landed, he released his perception.

To his surprise, as his perception swept over every room, he discovered that not a single trainee was present in the rest area.

Confused in his heart, he immediately flew into the sky and rushed toward the new recruits' rest area of the Water Valley Camp.

Several minutes later, Instructor Kuang Sha landed at the rest area where the Water Valley Camp trainees were located.

When he saw the scene before his eyes, the anger in his heart dissipated, and his expression appeared extremely helpless.

Trainees from both camps lay on the ground with bruised noses and faces; the scene was incredibly brutal, and after sweeping his gaze, he couldn't find a single intact face; all were swollen, even swollen by several layers.

This included the strongest combat power on both sides, Po Luo and Seeing Gui Tong; before fainting, they maintained a fighting posture with their fists pressed against each other's cheeks.

"Sigh."

Instructor Kuang Sha couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Having managed the Snow Valley Camp for so many years, this was the first time he had seen training pushed to such an extent.

(End of this chapter)