Old Demon Nightmare’s words gave Tang Wulin some insight. He faintly understood the specialty of this military training, but he still could not put it into words yet.
Tang Wulin passed the jar to Ye Xinglan beside him. “You guys can apply this first, I’ll keep watch.” Currently, the pain he felt was not as intense anymore. Tang Wulin propped himself up. This time, he dared not let his guard down. He took out his Golden Dragon Spear and surveyed his surroundings with alertness.
Cavern.
Old Demon Nightmare materialized out of the shadows. There was a huge crystal orb with a diameter of one meter within the cavern. Shadows flickered and danced within it. Was this not precisely the current conditions of Tang Wulin and his companions?
Old Demon Blight stood before the crystal orb. He clicked his tongue. “Cruel, you’re truly cruel. Didn’t we agree to be gentler? How could you be so merciless at the beginning? What if they collapse when they couldn’t take it? We won’t have fun then.”
Old Demon Nightmare said pointedly, “Don’t give me that rubbish. I know just how excited you are. Do you think I don’t know you? Of course, we’ll have to adjust the level of difficulty according to the different situations. Since these little fellows were able to enter the valley with their own strengths, their bodies’ endurance must’ve been very good. So, let’s continue finding their limits slowly. They’re still so naïve that it’s amusing. They believe anything you tell them.”
Old Demon Blight snickered. “It’s only an hour, but you had to tell them that it’s two hours. What ointment did you just give them?”
Old Demon Nightmare smiled as well, a sinister smile. “You’ll find out very soon.”
Tang Wulin was the last one to apply the ointment to his wounds. After he applied the ointment, his wounds felt cold and refreshing. It was so soothing that it was indescribable. His wounds had swollen up due to the pain. However, after he applied the ointment, the swelling surprisingly subsided rapidly. The cooling effect truly helped ease the pain.
Xu Lizhi, Xie Xie, Ye Xinglan, and Yue Zhengyu had all sat up. Their expressions were those of relief.
At this very moment, Ye Xinglan who was the first to apply the ointment on her wounds twitched slightly. “It’s kind of itchy. Could it be that the wound’s healing already? That’s a bit too quick.”
She had just finished her sentence when Xu Lizhi’s expression also turned peculiar. He had applied the ointment on his wounds right after her. “Yeah, it’s really itchy!” He scratched softly around his wounds. He had made sure not to touch his wounds, but the itch worsened. His body started twitching uncontrollably.
“It’s so itchy!”
Tang Wulin’s colors drained. ‘Could this be due to the ointment?’
A few minutes later, his wounds began feeling extremely itchy. The itch was so bad that it made him want to tear himself to pieces.
Xu Lizhi could not stop his hands from scratching his body. The clothes on his body were torn in no time. Blood started oozing from his body from all the scratching.
Tang Wulin gritted his teeth. He resisted the itch with his indomitable willpower. He had a thought and the Bluesilver Emperor vines were unleashed. The vines quickly wrapped themselves around the arms and legs of his comrades and pulled their limbs apart to stop them from scratching themselves.
“Captain, let me scratch myself, let me scratch myself. It’s too itchy, I can’t take it anymore!” Xu Lizhi cried out.
They began wailing. The wails were many times more intense than when they were in pain just now. The pain was easier to bear with. Itchiness, on the other hand, was not.
The intense itchiness made everyone’s body twitch.
Tang Wulin drew a deep breath. His body trembled as he continued to unleash more Bluesilver Emperor vines. They not only wrapped themselves around his comrades’ limbs but also stuffed their mouths to prevent them from biting their tongues from the unbearable itch.
How was this military training? This was simply inhumane torture! No wonder they were called demons. They had been demons from the very beginning!
The intense suffering made everyone convulse violently. The itchiness lasted for a full thirty minutes. When the itchiness gradually subsided, everyone was almost at their last gasp. Xu Lizhi and Xu Xiaoyan’s conditions were the worst. Xu Lizhi even gave the impression that he had slimmed down somewhat.
Tang Wulin panted heavily. It was only now he slowly uncoiled his Bluesilver Emperor vines and gathered everyone near him.
Xu Lizhi and Xu Xiaoyan looked ghastly-pale as they were on the brink of consciousness. Xie Xie’s condition was slightly better than them as he leaned on Yuanen Yehui. Yue Zhengyu was pale as he embraced Xu Xiaoyan. His condition would not have been this bad had he not over-expended his life force previously. His body’s endurance had also weakened naturally.
Tang Wulin, Ye Xinglan, and Yuanen Yehui could still maintain their consciousness. However, their bodies still twitched ever so often and were trembling slightly.
Tang Wulin wielded the Golden Dragon Spear in his hands. He kept replenishing his stamina by absorbing the life source in the air through his deep breathing. As the captain, he had to overcome all obstacles no matter what happened. He still had to protect his comrades.
He could not deny that Old Demon Nightmare’s display of power had given them a well-learned lesson, and that was to never fully trust a person no matter what. They must also be vigilant at all times.
“Not bad, you’re doing better than I imagined. You must be hungry, eat up.” Old Demon Nightmare appeared out of nowhere. He carried a large food container in his hands and walked up to them. He opened the food container which had eight levels. Each level was filled with different delicacies. There were even fruits.
Old Demon Nightmare placed the food before them. Then, he smiled and made an inviting gesture. He turned around and vanished.
When he saw food, Tang Wulin’s heart wavered. He loved to eat, and he had just consumed a lot of energy just now. When he was faced with so many delicacies, he had a strong urge to charge toward the food.
However, should he charge over? Who knew if the food was poisoned? They had just survived an ordeal that nearly cost them their lives. If it happened again, nobody could guarantee their safety.
He would not eat. Regardless how attractive or wonderful the food appeared, he would not touch it. Tang Wulin’s heart kept telling him that it would not be a torture this time, that the food was edible. However, if he trusted Old Demon Nightmare this time, what would happen the next time? Who knew whether he would put them to the test again?”
Tang Wulin drew a deep breath and said with a deep voice, “From now onward, we won’t touch anything brought by Old Demon Nightmare. Be on your guard while you recover your stamina. You guys can rest, I’ll keep watch. If you’re hungry, eat some of the field rations first. When Xu Lizhi recovers, he can make buns for everyone.”
Ye Xinglan nodded. Starlight burst forth from her hands. Spots of starlight fell and slashed the food into pieces.
Tang Wulin exchanged looks with her. He understood that this was her way of reinforcing her belief.
“Wasting food is a shameful act! I can swear on my own good name that none of the food I’ve given you was foul. Your mental endurance is pitifully weak,” Old Demon Nightmare’s scornful voice sounded.
Tang Wulin was unmoved. “When you gave us the antidote back then, your good name was already tarnished. From now on, we won’t believe in a single word you say. Since our military training requires us to survive this place for two years, we’ll just have to do our best. You don’t have to trouble yourself over us.”
Cavern.
“They’ve gotten the hang of it so quickly! And they look so determined!” said Old Demon Blight with a face full of shock.
Old Demon Nightmare shrugged. “So what? This is just the beginning. It’s but an appetizer. There’re plenty of main courses waiting for them after this.”
Under Tang Wulin’s firm watch, his comrades’ stamina and soul powers gradually recovered. Old Demon Nightmare did not make another appearance. They took turns to rest. With the additional help from Xu Lizhi’s Recovery Pork Buns, everyone managed to regain their best conditions.
These were the perks of bringing a food-type tool soul master along. They never have to worry about food.