The morning after the eventful family visit dawned crisp and clear, carrying with it the promise of a new, more focused beginning. The air at Shrek Academy was still tinged with the faint scent of sawdust and fresh earth as construction crews, dispatched with breathtaking speed by the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect, began the initial survey for the new facilities.
But for Zhang Tian and Ning Rongrong, the day held a different kind of promise. It was the promise of pain.
They stood in their secluded clearing, the dew still clinging to the leaves, the world quiet and still.
"Alright, Rongrong," Zhang Tian began, his voice devoid of its usual playful teasing, replaced by the crisp, no-nonsense tone of an instructor. "Today is a physical conditioning day. For the first two weeks, we will do this once every three days. This will give your body ample time to recover and adapt. After that, we will increase it to once every two days, and eventually, to every day. We are not just building endurance; we are rebuilding your entire muscular structure."
Ning Rongrong, dressed in a simple, practical training outfit she had purchased in Suotuo City, nodded, her face set with a grim determination. The memory of her exhaustion was still fresh, but so was the memory of Zhang Tian's unwavering support. She would not fail.
"Today's training will be different from last time," he continued. "We will focus on dynamic agility, reaction speed, and combat awareness under pressure."
He gestured to the clearing, and at his command, the ground came alive. His Blood Silver Grass erupted, but not into the simple obstacle course of before. This was a far more complex and insidious creation. There were the familiar low walls and shifting tripwires, but now, thick vines snaked up the trunks of the surrounding trees, forming a dense canopy. From this canopy hung dozens of smaller, whip-like tendrils, like a forest of hanging snakes. Scattered throughout this three-dimensional maze were the small, colored bells from their previous training.
"Your goal is the same," he explained. "Navigate the course and strike the bells I call out. The difference is that the attacks will now come from all directions. From above, below, and the sides. Stay alert."
While she took a moment to mentally prepare, he began his own preparations. From his storage spirit tool, he produced a series of heavy, dark metal plates. They were weights, custom-forged to his specifications. He strapped them to his wrists, his ankles, and a heavy vest across his torso. The total weight was well over one hundred kilograms.
Ning Rongrong watched, her eyes wide. "Are you going to train with all that on?"
He just smiled. "My course is a bit more challenging."
And it was. On the other side of the clearing, a second, far more terrifying obstacle course had taken shape. It was denser, the gaps narrower, the angles more extreme. And in the air, he had woven several free-floating orbs of vines, which spun and moved erratically, occasionally firing blunted, hardened needles in random directions.
Her training began. The moment she entered the course, it became a whirlwind of motion. She sprinted forward, her mind already working, trying to process the complex environment.
"Blue!" Zhang Tian's voice called out.
She spotted the blue bell hanging from a low branch and lunged for it, striking it with her palm. As she did, a vine whipped out from the canopy above, aimed at her head. She yelped and dropped into a roll, the vine whistling harmlessly over her. She came up, panting, and immediately had to leap over a wall of vines that had just erupted from the ground.
It was a grueling, relentless dance. She was constantly moving, constantly reacting. The physical exertion was immense, but the mental strain was even greater. She had to track the bells, listen for his commands, and watch for attacks from every conceivable angle, all at the same time.
While she struggled, Zhang Tian moved through his own course. Even with the immense weight holding him down, he flowed through the deadly maze with an eerie, supernatural grace. He was practicing the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. His feet barely seemed to touch the ground as he weaved between lashing vines and dodged swarms of hardened needles. He would leap onto a tree trunk, run sideways for a few steps, and then flip backwards onto a swaying vine, his balance perfect, his movements a symphony of controlled power. It was ten times the difficulty, ten times the intensity, and he made it look like a casual stroll.
After more than half the day had passed, with Ning Rongrong on the verge of total collapse, Zhang Tian finally called a halt to the agility drills. He led her, stumbling with exhaustion, back to the main academy grounds.
Zhao Wuji, who was overseeing the Shrek Six's monotonous training routine, saw them approach. A curious, expectant look was on his face.
"Teacher Zhao," Zhang Tian called out politely. "If you would be so kind."
A wide grin spread across Zhao Wuji's face. "The gravity training again, boy? I was wondering when you'd ask. How much today?"
"Three times gravity for me," Zhang Tian said calmly. "And two for Rongrong. She's still adapting."
The students who were on their training paused, staring in disbelief. They were already struggling under their own weight and seemed like they would collapse at any moment, and these two were voluntarily subjecting themselves to even more?
Zhao Wuji roared with laughter. "I like your style, kid! Fine!"
His third spirit ring lit up, and the familiar, invisible pressure descended. Ning Rongrong gasped, her already aching muscles screaming in protest as the force pressed down on her.
Zhang Tian, under a force that would have crushed a normal person, merely settled into a low horse stance, his legs trembling slightly but holding firm.
"Now, Rongrong," he said, his voice strained but steady. "We practice what we learned. Dodge."
He sent a single, slow-moving vine slithering towards her. To her, it felt like it was moving at a snail's pace, yet lifting her own legs to move out of its way was a monumental effort. It was a battle of inches, a slow-motion dance of pure willpower.
The session was short, only fifteen minutes, but it felt like an eternity. When Zhao Wuji finally released the pressure, Ning Rongrong collapsed in a heap, unable to even moan, her body completely spent.
Zhang Tian, however, remained standing, his body drenched in sweat, his breathing deep and controlled. He had not only endured the triple gravity but had been secretly circulating his Mysterious Heaven Skill throughout the entire ordeal, using the immense pressure to further temper his body and purify his spirit power.
The next day was dedicated to Spirit Power control. After their usual breakfast, they retreated to their clearing. The game of colored orbs resumed, but it was more complex now. The orbs moved faster, the sequences were longer, and sometimes, he would have two orbs of the same color, forcing her to make a choice.
Her progress was tangible. Her control was becoming finer, more instinctive. She could now feel the faint beginnings of the fourth aperture, the pathway to the next level of her clan's secret art, becoming clearer in her mind.
At the end of the day, as they sat resting, Zhang Tian looked at her, a serious expression on his face.
"Your control is improving rapidly, Rongrong," he said. "Soon, it will be good enough. Eventually, I will teach you to control your spirit power in a different way. A way that will allow you to strengthen your body, to defend yourself, and even… to attack someone who dares to get close to you."
Ning Rongrong stared at him, her tired mind struggling to process his words. "Attack? With my spirit power? But... as far as I know, that's impossible. The Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Pagoda has no offensive capabilities at all. I've never heard of anyone being able to do that."
Zhang Tian shook his head, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "I don't know why it's considered impossible. Perhaps it's because everyone in the world is too reliant on the abilities granted by their spirit rings and spirit bones. They see their spirits as a vessel for these abilities that are not their own. They never stop to consider the raw power of their spirit power. Nobody truly focuses on pure spirit control to unleash attacks, when it is, in fact, entirely possible."
He offered her a mysterious smile. "I will teach it to you later, when your control is refined enough. For now, let's go. Your body needs to recover."
It had become their routine. After a grueling day of training, they would head to Suotuo City for a luxurious, healing medicinal bath. The past two days had followed this pattern, a cycle of intense effort and deep recovery.
But today, as they reached the outskirts of the city, Zhang Tian didn't turn towards the familiar hot springs establishment. Instead, he led her down a less-traveled path, towards a dense, quiet patch of woods that bordered the city walls.
"Where are we going?" Ning Rongrong asked, her curiosity piqued.
"A demonstration," he replied simply. "What I am about to show you is a secret. I cannot risk showing it at the academy, not with that powerful individual lurking in the shadows."
Ning Rongrong nodded, her expression turning serious. She understood his caution.
He led her to a small, secluded glade, surrounded by thick trees that blocked them from view. In the center of the glade was a large, grey boulder, as tall as a man.
"Watch closely," he said.
He stood before her, took a deep breath, and extended his right hand, palm up. He began to focus, his spirit power gathering. A visible shimmer of energy began to swirl above his palm. It was raw, untamed spirit power, drawn directly from his body. The air crackled as the energy condensed, spinning faster and faster, coalescing into a perfect, white-hot sphere of pure, churning power. It was connected to his palm by a thin, stable stream of energy, a tether of pure control.
The sight was breathtaking. Ning Rongrong stared, mesmerized. She had seen spirit abilities her whole life, but she had never seen anything like this. This wasn't an ability from a ring; this was raw creation.
With a final, sharp intake of breath, Zhang Tian moved. He didn't throw the sphere. He lunged forward and slammed his palm, and the spinning ball of energy it held, directly into the face of the massive boulder.
The moment of impact was silent. For a split second, nothing happened. Then, the boulder seemed to shudder from within. Cracks, like a spider's web, erupted across its surface. And then, with a deafening CRACK that echoed through the woods, the entire boulder disintegrated. It didn't just break; it was reduced to a cloud of fine, grey dust and smithereens that drifted away on the breeze.
Ning Rongrong's jaw dropped. She stared at the empty space where the boulder had been, then back at Zhang Tian, who stood calmly, lowering his hand. The destructive power was immense. It was a pure, unadulterated force.
"This," Zhang Tian said, turning to face her, "is a skill created from pure spirit power control. As you can see, it has no added attributes like fire or ice. But its destructive force is roughly equivalent to a third-ring ability from a dedicated Power Attack Spirit Master."
He gestured to the cloud of dust. "The disadvantages are clear. It requires an incredibly high level of spirit power control to form and maintain the sphere. And it consumes a significant amount of spirit power in a single burst. But for a support master like you, who may one day be cornered with no allies in sight, having a trump card like this… it could be the difference between life and death."
The implications hit Ning Rongrong like a physical blow. To be able to fight back, to have an offensive power of her own… it was a dream she had never dared to entertain.
She rushed forward, grabbing his arm, her eyes shining with an almost manic excitement. "Zhang Tian! Teach me! Please! How do I do that?! How can I make that ball of spirit power and smash it into my opponents?!"
He smiled at her unrestrained enthusiasm. "It won't be that simple, Rongrong," he said gently. "For me to achieve this level of control, I trained for nearly six years. Much of that was research and experimentation, of course. But by my estimation, even with my guidance, it will take you at least one full year of diligent, daily practice to reach the level of control required to form even a small, unstable sphere."
Her excitement didn't waver. "I'll do it!" she declared, her voice filled with an iron resolve. "I'll train diligently every single day! I promise!"
He smiled, pleased with her determination. "Good. But you must also promise me something else. You cannot teach this method to anyone. Not your father, not your grandfathers. No one. This is a spirit skill I created personally. Until I can develop countermeasures to ensure it cannot be easily used against us, it must remain our secret."
"I promise," she said without a moment's hesitation. "I won't even tell my daddy about this. It will be our secret."
"Excellent," he nodded. "Then your new training begins now. The first step is to learn how to infuse parts of your body with your spirit power, not to cast a skill, but to physically reinforce yourself."
He pointed to a smaller, fist-sized rock on the ground. "Your first exercise is simple. Infuse your hand with your spirit power, and punch that rock. You will continue to do this until you can shatter it with a single, reinforced punch."
He explained the three core benefits. "First, you will learn to protect your hands, and by extension, your entire body, with a flexible shield of spirit power. Second, you will learn how to enhance the physical force of your own attacks. Third, the constant, fine control required to do this without injuring yourself will refine your spirit power, making it denser and purer. This is the foundation upon which all other offensive skills will be built."
Ning Rongrong looked at the rock, then at her own delicate hands, and then back at Zhang Tian. A fierce, determined fire lit up her eyes.
And so, for the next week, a new, strange routine was added to their training. Every day, after the grueling agility drills and the mentally taxing control games, Ning Rongrong could be found in their secluded clearing, her small fists glowing with a faint light, repeatedly, methodically, punching a rock.
At the end of that week, as promised, the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect delivered. A convoy of carriages arrived at Shrek Academy, bearing gifts that transformed the shabby grounds overnight.
Two new, state-of-the-art simulation fields—one shimmering with a gem-like light, the other shrouded in an eerie darkness—were constructed with incredible speed and efficiency.
But for Zhang Tian, the true treasures were delivered to him personally. A sect elder presented him with a beautifully crafted ring. "The Rising Dragon Jade Ring," the elder explained. "A storage spirit tool with over two hundred cubic meters of space."
Another, more strangely pulsating bracelet, was also given to him. "The Life Jade Treasure Bracelet. It can safely house living creatures, as you requested."
He also received a series of heavy crates filled with one-kilogram samples of dozens of different rare ores and metals from the sect's vaults—Blazing Sun Iron, Deep Sea Mithril, Star Patterned Steel—each with unique properties he was eager to test.
Finally, he was given a small, locked chest containing four strange, ancient-looking spirit tools discovered in some forgotten ruins. There was a small, perpetually warm jade pendant, a compass whose needle spun erratically, a single, featureless silver bracer, and a cracked, empty potion bottle that seemed to absorb light. They were curiosities, low-grade and of little practical use to the sect, but for Zhang Tian, they were invaluable subjects for research.
He accepted the gifts with a deep sense of satisfaction. The first phase of his plan was complete. The resources were secured. His alliance was solidified. And his training, and Ning Rongrong's, continued, a relentless, quiet revolution unfolding in the shadow of the Grandmaster's rigid dogma.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon