CHAPTER 230: TRAINING VI

Tian Lei’s hands came together loudly, like thunder striking.

He pointed at each of them.

"Sleep early. Before dawn... you run again."

Han Yi fell backward.

"Noooo... Why is there always running?!"

Mu Chen covered his face.

"Running is pain... walking is pain... breathing is pain... existing is pain..."

Yue whispered,

"Just... let dawn never come..."

Lei Feng raised a shaking hand into the air.

"I volunteer to sleep forever..."

Ling stood and bowed to Tian Lei.

"Thank you for today’s training."

Han Yi choked on air, pointing at her again.

"STOP THANKING HIM!! YOU FEED HIS POWER!!"

Tian Lei ignored them and walked off into the night like a looming executioner.

Silence filled the courtyard.

Then Han Yi slowly stood up, wobbling like a newborn deer.

"I... have a plan..."

Mu Chen glanced up.

"A plan to quit...? I support it..."

"No!" Han Yi declared proudly.

"A plan... to survive tomorrow!"

Yue’s eyes widened with the tiniest spark of hope.

"Really...?"

"Yes!" Han Yi clenched his fist dramatically.

"We avoid death... by avoiding training!"

Lei Feng gasped.

"Brilliant... absolutely brilliant..."

Mu Chen blinked.

"Wait... how do we do that...?"

Han Yi froze.

He had no plan.

Ling tilted her head.

"Training is mandatory. You cannot avoid it."

Han Yi deflated instantly.

"I KNEW IT. There is no escape..."

Yue sighed.

"Sleep... let’s just sleep..."

Lei Feng nodded.

"My consciousness... is leaving... goodbye..."

One by one, they dragged themselves to their rooms.

The candlelight dimmed.

The wind howled outside.

Han Yi crawled into bed.

"If anyone asks... I wasn’t here... I vanished... I dissolved..."

Mu Chen flopped onto his pillow like a corpse.

"I hope my dreams are better than my life..."

Yue lay down carefully, whispering to herself.

"I can... survive... just a little longer..."

Lei Feng curled up, whispering to the sky.

"If I die... tell my story..."

Ling tucked herself into bed neatly, calm as always.

"Tomorrow will be a new chance to grow."

Han Yi yelled from his room,

"STOP BEING POSITIVE!! IT HURTS US MORE!!"

And finally...

The darkness took them.

Pain awaits.

Fear awaits.

Regret awaits.

But so does...

Strength.

The night passed quietly.

The next morning...

the cycle would begin again.

The night ended far too quickly.

Before the first rooster even considered opening its beak—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Tian Lei’s fist hammered on their doors like a war drum.

Han Yi sat up instantly.

"NO! I WASN’T READY! I WAS DREAMING OF PEACE!!"

Mu Chen rolled off the bed.

"I can’t even fall out of bed properly anymore..."

Yue opened one eye.

"Is... is it dawn already...?"

Lei Feng didn’t move.

Maybe he was pretending to be dead.

Maybe he actually was.

Ling woke up perfectly, folding her blanket in a crisp square.

"Good morning."

Han Yi shouted through his wall,

"LING, PLEASE, CAN YOU AT LEAST PRETEND TO SUFFER!?"

They stumbled outside.

Tian Lei stood there, arms crossed.

Cold.

Unmoving.

Judgment incarnate.

"Warm‑up. Four laps."

Han Yi screamed so loudly birds flew away.

"FOUR?! IT WAS THREE YESTERDAY!! THIS IS ILLEGAL!!"

Mu Chen clutched his chest.

"My heart is filing a complaint..."

Yue rubbed her temples.

"I’m going to cry... again..."

Lei Feng slowly raised a hand.

"...I volunteer to be buried alive..."

Ling nodded like this was completely normal.

"Yes, Tian Lei."

Han Yi pointed at her.

"No! Don’t say yes! Say ANYTHING ELSE!!"

But they began running.

If yesterday looked bad...

Today was worse.

Han Yi stumbled six steps, then folded like a lawn chair.

"I can’t feel my legs — WAIT, I CAN’T FEEL ANYTHING!!"

Mu Chen gasped loudly with every breath.

"My lungs... are leaving me behind..."

Yue tried so hard...

But her body rejected the concept of movement.

"I am... slowing down... I’ve stopped... send help..."

Lei Feng just crawled at this point.

"This counts... this is a lap... spiritually..."

Ling ran smoothly at the front.

Like a cloud.

Like a feather.

Like she was enjoying this.

Han Yi cried,

"You’re not human!! You’re a training demon sent to torture us!!"

Eventually — somehow — they finished.

Collapsed.

Dying.

Gone.

Tian Lei watched them like they were not humans but... disappointing worms.

"Good. Strength training."

Han Yi rolled onto his back and stared into the sky.

"What is strength...? What is life...? I have neither..."

Mu Chen laid face‑first on the ground.

"Leave me here... let nature reclaim me..."

Yue sat up, eyes empty.

"I want to scream... but I have no sound left..."

Lei Feng held up a shaking hand.

"No more... no more... I can see my ancestors..."

Ling raised her hand politely.

"Tian Lei, may we have a slightly longer break?"

Han Yi gasped.

"LING... DID YOU JUST... REQUEST MERCY?!"

Tian Lei blinked.

For the first time ever...

He nodded.

"...Five minute break."

All four of them shot up like resurrected zombies.

Han Yi shouted,

"LING IS OUR SAVIOR! OUR HERO! OUR PROTECTOR!"

Mu Chen wept,

"I saw a miracle... I saw a real miracle..."

Yue exhaled in disbelief.

"He agreed... he actually agreed..."

Lei Feng placed a hand on his chest.

"My heart... it beats with hope again..."

Ling just smiled.

"We are a team. We survive together."

Han Yi looked at her.

For once, sincerely.

"...Thank you."

Tian Lei clapped once.

"Break is over."

Han Yi collapsed again.

"HOPE IS DEAD!!"

And the suffering continued.

More pain.

More fear.

More regret.

But also...

A spark of something new.

Teamwork.

Trust.

And maybe...

One day...

Strength.

Even if Han Yi still swore he’d die first.

Later that afternoon...

They stood in a shaky line, bodies trembling, sweat dripping like waterfalls.

Tian Lei paced in front of them.

"You are weak," he said plainly.

Han Yi nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, sir. Absolutely. Extreme weakness. We excel in weakness."

Mu Chen whispered,

"Don’t encourage him..."

Tian Lei continued,

"But... you are improving."

Han Yi froze mid‑nod.

"Wait— what?"

Yue blinked, confused.

"We... are...?"

Lei Feng looked down at his noodle‑like arms.

"I don’t feel improved..."

Ling smiled with pride.

"It is thanks to you, Tian Lei."

Han Yi jabbed a finger at her again.

"STOP PRAISING HIM! YOU’RE MAKING THINGS WORSE!"

Tian Lei ignored them.

"Tomorrow, the trials will begin."

Every jaw dropped.

Han Yi stammered,

"Trials...? As in... trial trials?? The deadly ones?? The ones where people stop being alive??"