Everyone was of the same rank, so they basically just announced their names.
After hearing their introductions, the black-clothed elder’s face did not show any signs of shock. He said drily, “My name is Nightmare. I believe that you’ll remember my name for a long time. This is Demon Island. Where you’re standing now is the central part of Demon Island, Demon Valley, and I’m the demon here. You can also call me Old Demon Nightmare.”
Old Demon Nightmare? He was clearly a man. Why would he call himself a demon?
Tang Wulin felt somewhat shocked, but he did not question the elder any further.
“Senior, what do we do now?” asked Tang Wulin. He must be clear about what they would be tasked with!
Nightmare chuckled. “There’s no need to rush. You’ll have plenty to do later. This will be your resting place from now on. Remember, never let your curiosity lead you to the destructive light. If you’re tainted by the light, no one can save you. Understood?”
Destructive light? Of course, Tang Wulin was curious. He was not the only one. The others were also wondering as to what that column of light was. They had already been terrified for half a day just by glancing at the purple column which shot toward the skies. The thing was truly dreadful! Also, they could feel that the reason the outer parts of this Demon Island were filled with dead zones was most probably directly related to this destructive light.
“You all have just arrived today. Your military training will start tomorrow. You are to find your own food, as there’s plenty of that in the forest. Alright, that’ll be all.” After he had finished talking, Old Demon Nightmare turned around and left. His body suddenly turned illusory. He seemed to have moved swiftly and vanished before everyone’s eyes.
Old Demon Nightmare had left. Tang Wulin said, “Everyone, let’s take a break here and recover our stamina and soul power before anything else. The life source here is extremely dense, so it’ll be a big help for us.”
The others could hardly wait. They came from a place where there was absolutely no origin energy to a place where the life source was dense. How could they not make the most of every moment they had? For a soul master, what could be more important than being at full soul power?
While his companions rested, Tang Wulin also sat down cross-legged. He focused his spirits and meditated. The density of the life source here was much higher than what he felt anywhere else. Even the life source on Sea God’s Island was not as thick as this. This was highly beneficial to his cultivation. If he cultivated the Bluesilver Emperor in a place where the life source was dense, he could definitely achieve twice the results with half the effort.
Tang Wulin was just about to enter into his meditative state when he suddenly sensed danger. He instinctively opened his eyes and saw a black figure aiming a whip at him.
‘Not good!’
He raised his arms instinctively and pushed outward at the same time.
However, the black figure had come too quickly. Tang Wulin grunted. A huge force reached his body and he was whipped so hard that he was tossed backward.
He was not the only one. The other members of Shrek Seven Monsters suffered the same attacks. Caught off guard, the seven of them were whipped until they reeled to the left and right as.
What had just happened?
They swiftly unleashed their martial souls at the same time as they hastily gathered together. However, they could feel pangs of intense pain radiating through their bodies.
When they lowered their heads to look, they saw that small perforations appeared on their bodies where they had been whipped and there were faint traces of blood flowing out. The stabbing pains then began to feel like scorching hot burns.
Xie Xie was the first one to let out a wail. He moved to cover where he was pricked just now.
“Don’t move!” Tang Wulin grabbed his hand. He felt the same strong stabbing pain. What shocked him even more was that despite his bloodline power, he could not dampen the feeling of the pain.
“Poison?” Ye Xinglan resisted the pain strongly, but her expression changed.
“With your level of alertness, how could you possibly be the Shrek Seven Monsters? Don’t tell me that you thought that this place was safe?” Old Demon Nightmare’s voice came from all around them.
“Enjoy this neurotoxin. Don’t bother trying to heal yourselves or resist with your soul powers. It’s useless. You’ll heal naturally after being in pain for two hours. Mmm, hurry up and let me see your pained expressions. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt such joy.”
Neurotoxins!
While Old Demon Nightmare was talking, the pain Tang Wulin and the others felt had been rapidly intensifying. The few assault system soul masters were slightly better off. Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xu Lizhi were already ghastly pale. They were in so much pain that they were trembling. If they did not grit their teeth to bear with it, they might have given in to the pain long before this.
They finally understood where the ‘nightmare’ from Old Demon Nightmare came from.
However, they had just arrived! Also, was this not overkill if he just wanted to increase their alertness?
Tang Wulin’s condition was less severe. Not that he felt no pain, but his endurance was much stronger than an ordinary person’s. After being tortured so many times by the Golden Dragon King bloodline, his threshold for pain was extremely high.
However, under such conditions, his forehead was drenched with sweat, and his body trembled slightly.
“Ahh!” Xie Xie could finally take it no longer and cried out once more. When he cried out, it was like he had given a signal. The others also moaned and groaned as they could not help but give voice to their pain.
‘We have to bear this pain for two hours!’ Tang Wulin’s heart twitched. ‘Is this a style of training as well?’
Merely ten minutes had passed. Other than Tang Wulin, Ye Xinglan, and Yuanen Yehui, the other four members were already rolling on the ground.
Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan were sitting cross-legged on the floor. Their bodies were twitching continuously, and they were not far from collapsing.
When they thought about it, the entire affair seemed slightly strange. This pain they felt kept intensifying.
Tang Wulin could still manage to stand, but his body started swaying as well.
At that moment, the sensation of pain suddenly weakened. Then, it started to subside.
The human body’s potential was limitless. They were still in pain, but at least they felt much better when it lessened.
Finally, another ten minutes had passed. When the sensation of pain had reduced to a level that they could endure, everyone managed to sit up.
“That was ruthless of him. We haven’t even done anything yet. Is he trying to show us who’s boss?” Xie Xie complained.
Tang Wulin smiled wryly, “It’s us who’ve been too careless. Even Elder Cai and Grandteacher dreaded the military training here, so we should have been more careful. After this, whenever we’re taking a break, we must have someone on guard duty. Fortunately, the two hours of pain the senior told us was just a lie.”
Yuanen Yehui suddenly said, “It might not be. I’ve studied a bit about neurotoxins. These things don’t go away that easily. It might be coming in stages…”
She had barely finished when the pain intensified again all of a sudden. As expected, it was not that easily done away with.
They were in pain for ten minutes, and the pain would subside for ten minutes before it returned again.
The physical torture this process gave them was one thing, but the torture this had on their spirits were extremely intense! It was as though Nightmare was controlling the pain they felt so that it was not enough to make them faint, but still made sure they experienced agony in the extreme.
An hour later, everyone was drenched in sweat and on the verge of collapsing.
Tang Wulin sat down as well. Ye Xinglan, Yuanen Yehui and he could still manage to support their bodies as they sat. It was already an incredible feat for the four others to be able to maintain their consciousness.
When it was not that painful, Xu Lizhi freed his hands and made Recovery Pork Buns for everyone to ensure that they had enough stamina.
Xie Xie looked at Tang Wulin. “Captain, can you knock me out cold? I can’t take this anymore. It’s agonizing. It even reaches my bones. The spasms of pain are more than I can bear.”
Yuanen Yehui glared at Xie Xie, “You can’t-you can’t faint. If you’re unconscious, then the neurotoxin might harm your internal organs. You can only utilize your soul power to protect yourself while you’re conscious. You’ll be alright once you bear with it. Xie Xie, hang in there.” As she said this, Yuanen Yehui stretched her hand toward Xie Xie and pulled him to her side.
With Yuanen Yehui to lean on, Xie Xie’s emotions stabilized somewhat.
At this moment, a voice rang out in praise, “Not bad. An hour has passed, and you’ve not fainted yet. Your levels of endurance are quite formidable. Since you’ve shown such outstanding performances, I’ll say that all of you have passed the first trial.”
Old Demon Nightmare reappeared in everyone’s line of sight. He held a small jar in his hand. He walked up to Tang Wulin and passed the jar to him. “A fall into the pit, a gain for your wit. I don’t have to tell you what to do, do I? This is the antidote. Apply it directly onto your wounds.”
Tang Wulin received the jar with a bitter smile. He said with slight helplessness, “Elder Nightmare, you’ve truly shown us who’s boss right away.”
Old Demon Nightmare said flatly, “Since you’re here, we’ll have to take responsibility for you. Everything that you’re experiencing now might very well be what you’ll be facing in the future. The human body has a very important characteristic, and it’s that its endurance for the second encounter would be as different as the earth is from the skies compared to the first time. This is especially true for your mental endurance. Alright, that’ll be all.”
With that, he stood up and disappeared again.