Julio got up and greeted them. However, it was evident that he was quite tired.
"Hey, so you also made this far already. Seems like being in the first five thousand won't be a problem for you."
Rean greeted him back too.
"From the looks of it, forget five thousand. I will be impressed if even half of it can make till the end."
Rean was correct. The majority of kids didn't have the mental fortitude to run without the support of their Spiritual Energy. In the very first 50km, more than three thousand already gave up. Let alone all the 300km.
Roan didn't waste time and immediately grabbed the food available for everyone.
"Stop wasting time and eat, we are leaving in thirty minutes."
Malaka and Rean nodded and ate the food given to them. However, Roan didn't take too much, just enough satiate their hunger. Too much food would only make things harder for them. They took 8 hours to reach the first resting post, but Roan is pretty sure that they will need more than 10 to arrive at the next one.
He also took some of the food and stuffed inside his and the other two's bags. His plan was to stop to rest somewhere in the middle between the two posts and rest 30 or so minutes before restarting. Naturally, he would need food again.
Julio also sat down and kept eating his food.
As Roan looked at that, he warned him.
"You are eating too much. It will definitely affect your performance if you try to run with too much food in your stomach. Stop for now and put some into your bag."
Julio looked at Roan and then at Rean and Malaka. He noticed that they were indeed eating a lot less than him. After pondering a bit, he nodded his head and put the food inside his bag as well.
"Okay. I will trust you."
Roan nodded and continue to eat, as well. He simply gave that advice because Julio and his Uncle helped answer their questions back in the City. Otherwise, he wouldn't even bother to say anything.
Thirty minutes later, Rean's group got up again.
"Eh?! Are we going already?"
Malaka was still feeling tired and especially bored with all the movement. In fact, even Julio was surprised, seeing that they were leaving so soon. However, Roan didn't care. He was the one who did all the kids' training back in the Varen Tribe, so he knew very well that Malaka could keep going.
"No complaining or there will be no food for you until we reach the next post."
Malaka sulked a bit but still got up as well.
But before leaving, Roan cast one last look at Julio.
"If you want, you can come as well. Considering the fact that you reached this place ahead of us, you probably received a lot more training than just cultivation and battle. It's just that you don't know how to administrate your pace. As long as you follow us, you will be able to arrive much faster."
Roan had a good impression of this Julio. Besides, it was a lot easier for him to see others' pretense with his experience. He had seen countless plots where people wore masks and ended killing someone. After all, he was there to collect their souls, so it was way too easy for him to tell. Considering the time he had lived, there wouldn't be many out there that can pretend in front of him. That being said, he was pretty sure that Julio really helped them out of his own will without any ulterior motives.
Julio's eyes then brightened before nodding.
"Okay!"
Rean was quite surprised at that scene, though.
"Oh my beloved brother, since when did you become a good samaritan?"
"Shut up!"
They resumed their jog, taking their time to walk and rest when Roan said so. Sure enough, the few kids that were still ahead of them began to fall behind too.
Nighttime came, and the decrease in the ambient's temperature helped them a little. The Dalamu Sect had prepared everything, including a well-illuminated path until the Sect Entrance. That way, the kids could keep their journey even during the night.
As Roan expected, their group really took over ten hours to reach the next rest point. However, they were not the only ones there. They could see quite a few kids already sleeping or just resting. Since they couldn't rely on their cultivation, they could only depend on their bodies' natural recovery.
"Alright, we will rest and sleep here for the next 8 hours. Rean, I will leave you to look after us in the first four hours. After that, wake me up, and I will watch the next four."
They might be inside the Dalamu Sect territory, but Roan simply wouldn't let his guard down.
Rean nodded without complaining. If Malaka wasn't with them, Rean and Roan could have done a lot more in this Marathon. So they were the ones in the best condition. Even if it was 4 hours of sleeping, they would be okay with just that. However, Malaka is different, so they had to give her a proper sleeping time if they want to arrive in the Sect intact.
Besides, Julio was there as well.
"Eh? What about me? I can watch during the night too!"
Chop!
Roan hit her head while showing an angry face.
"Go eat and then sleep! Rean and I are more than enough to watch over the night."
Just as Malaka was about to complain while rubbing her head, Rean patted did that for her instead.
"Hahaha! Don't worry, Roan said that because you are our secret weapon! If something wrong happens, we will be too tired to protect ourselves. So we will need to rely on you to protect us! But if you don't sleep well, who will drive the bad guys away?"
Malaka's eyes shined like the sun before nodding excitedly.
"Okay!"
Julio couldn't help but feel a little jealous of them. He was a single child and spent most of his time training. Julio didn't have many interactions like that with other kids either. Besides, he is 12 years old, 3 years more than Malaka, so he could at least tell that Rean and Roan were doing it simply because they cared about her. Although their way of treating her was quite different.
"Err... I can help with the watch too."
Roan shook his head.
"You should sleep, as well. I can see how the soreness on your body too. If you sleep little this night, you won't be able to keep with our pace tomorrow. Don't worry, Rean and I are different from you and Malaka. For us, 4 hours of sleep is much more than we need."
Julio seemed a little hesitant but nodded in the end. First of all, he was supposed to sleep alone, so having someone to watch would be good. His thoughts were that simple. Not to mention that, for some reason, he felt like he could trust Rean and Roan.
"Okay, but wake me up if something happens."
The twins nodded, and Rean sat down close to the place where they would rest. Roan didn't waste any time and stuffed the food in his mouth before falling asleep instantly! Roan's control over his own body and mind was really awe-inspiring.
However, there was a certain someone looking at all the kids in the second post without them knowing, especially at the four of them. He was floating in the skies, so high that even Rean and Roan would have difficulty noticing him.
'Those twins... Quite impressive. Even after an entire day, their bodies are far from their limit. Besides, the way they treat the one they care about is commendable. That is exactly what my side needs. Let's see how you will fare in the last 200km.'
That cultivator was none other than Elder Hulian, the one presiding over the entire exam this time around.