Shi Lang did not spare any second in tempering the students. They were simply walking on the edge of death for the past month. Day and night, Shi Lang would beat them, grind them, motivate them, and teach them all sorts of skills.
The medical pods were swapped with hybrid simulation pods. While they were recovering from the injuries during the class, they would spend time inside the simulation realm, and learn different things. The capabilities of the people were increasing at a rapid pace. After one month of constant pressure, the impurities in their foundation were removed.
Shi Lang had transformed the class into a small unit of the military, they could now go head to head with the advanced class, and the results tied. This was the effect of a month of training. During this time, Quo Lina had advanced to a level where her gaze could stun the enemy for a second. She was simply the biggest treasure in the class.
That wasn’t all, Chou had advanced in the aspect of body refinement, and he was able to take Shi Lang’s attacks without breaking his bones. Well, fine, twenty percent of Shi Lang’s force and not his full force.
If that were to happen, regardless of anything, Chou might have to be scrubbed off the floor. Theseus had undergone a transformation. He was smart and good at applying his battle skills, they were all micro-managed and very lethal. He would use his sharp mind to attack the vital points to control the opponent, then he would go in for the kill.
The comprehension they all had differed from each other. During the last month, communication between the students was scarce. They would support each other morally, but never help in overcoming the obstacles related to cultivation. This was the only rule Shi Lang had laid down for them if they tried to break the rule. He crushed them.
Yes, one time, Quo Lina tried to help Chou, and she was left to crawl to the med bay with two of her legs broken. She was an exemplary student, in both ways. If she was outstanding in terms of her skills, she was also the most punished student. Her heart compelled her to do the right thing and help her friends.
After she was crushed, she was very defiant and challenged Shi Lang to battles, although she lost every single time, in the end, Shi Lang told her that her helping hand will only divert them from the path of their own. This diversion will cause their skills to be limited in the future. Only then did the compassion in her heart come to a temporary stop.
She was a good girl and did not like to see her friends be troubled. After a month in training, they were all given a day to go back home and rest. In the meantime, Shi Lang went back home to deal with things at home. He was going to bring Tao to stay in the school lodgings with him. At home, he will not be able to give her the training she needed.
His parents will go crazy if they saw the young darling of their lives going through the process of body tempering. The young man came back home and found that the parents were preparing to take Tao on a vacation. Shi Lang decided to be the villain, and said, “Mom, you two are causing me trouble.”
Luna looked at him and said, “What do you mean? Are we stopping you from training her?”
Shi Lang simply sighed and said, “Have you seen me strengthening myself? Have you seen how many times I have come back drenched in sweat and blood when I was in school?”
The parents were stunned, they realized that they have never really seen their son working hard. Although Luna did find traces of blood on his clothes and sometimes she found him too exhausted to even sit down and eat dinner with them, she just thought that her son was weak and this was why he was unable to take the load from the competition.
She did not want to tell him to give up and break his heart. Shi John has seen him a few times, but not when he was battered from tempering his body in the gravity chamber to the point that his bones were dislocated.
Shi Lang did not know how many times his school life had he visited the infirmary or was told by the teachers that he would need to wait for a period of time before he could resume cultivating. Luna wanted to say something when Shi Lang said, “Mom, Tao has a special body, she is alive because I have put on some seals on her, if her body did not grow strong enough to tolerate the impact of that energy, she will die.”
He laid it down thick on them. The parents were shocked, and they exchanged glances, Luna asked, “Are you sure you are not doing this because you do not want us to take her on vacation?”
Shi Lang gazed at her strangely and said, “Can you stop watching all those bullshit dramas?”
Then he went to Shi Tao’s room, earlier he sensed that the little girl was eavesdropping on them. He pushed open the door and found the girl sitting in front of the study table, acting as if nothing happened. He sighed and said, “Tao, I know you heard it all.”
Shi Tao lowered her head in guilt, after all, it was bad manners to eavesdrop. The young man patted her head and said, “Do you wish to have a happy time with your grandparents?”
The girl dazedly nodded. Shi Lang said, “When you are strong enough you can go out with them. Right now, you have seals placed on your body. I told you earlier, right?”
Shi Tao nodded, she was aware of everything. Shi Lang had told her stuff on their first meeting only. The young man said, “If you did not get strong enough then you will not have much time left to enjoy with them. I do not want to push you through anything but I am helpless, after all, I cannot have my lovely daughter die, right?”
He did not want to hide anything from her, the sooner she understood the gravity of the situation the better it would be for her and her future. Shi Tao has been schooling in a simulation pod for a month now, and she understood a lot of things now. When Shi Lang called her daughter, she smiled slightly.
Shi Lang caught this reaction and said, “How about it? Till mom comes back, we two stay in the school, and then take a break with her and grandparents to tour?”
Shi Tao nodded but did not raise her head. She was very shy. Shi Lang rubbed her head gently and packed her stuff in suitcases. The next morning, he carried the girl in his arms while a smart suitcase followed the two. Luna looked at the scene and sighed. She said, “Do you really have to take her away?”
Shi Lang was about to reply when Shi Tao said, “Granny, Tao will be back soon. D-dad promised me that we can all take a vacation when mom comes back.”
The two old people were stunned, not by the fact that their princess was advocating for her abducter, but by the way she addressed Shi Lang. Before today, Shi Lang was called Lang by her and Amelia was Amy. However, she called them dad and mom, which was too surprising.
Luna was happy and said, “Yes, yes, my love, we will do as you say.”
Then her eyes turned into knives as she glared at her son and said, “If my baby suffered in your care. I will disown you.”
Shi Lang shivered, he could tell that his mother would actually do this. He had to be careful in teaching Shi Tao. He nodded to the old couple and took the child to the school. Federal Star Academy allowed the teachers to bring their children around and teach them personally, however, if they used the resources from the school, the teacher will be punished severely.
…
The class was gathered in the detention center, which was now dubbed, Demon Hall, by the students. The training sessions here were too scary for them. Shi Lang stood in front of the students who were meditating. Today, another cassock was added to the queue, Shi Tao was sitting there with them.
Shi Lang gave her a simple task, which was to focus on her breathing and try to match the breathing of the senior students. This way she would be able to understand the importance of breathing in cultivation with ease. Children did not try to understand the logic behind things, they imitated others.
Quo Lina suddenly opened her eyes and said, “Teacher, I have a question.”
Shi Lang nodded and the girl continued, “Teacher, can we participate in the federal competition?”
This question made the whole class fling open their eyelids. Shi Lang looked at their faces and said, “Do you know the risks of this competition?”
The people nodded, and Shi Tao asked curiously, “What is Federal Competition?”