Chapter 44: Genius Training Camp

The training camp was huge, and there were quite a few students. Including the old students from previous years, there were a total of 150 people. However, only 10 would manage to graduate every three years, making the ratio extremely harsh.

Lu Yuan quickly familiarized himself with his room, which was rather spacious with two beds, two closets, two desks, and nothing else.

One of the beds already had bedding on it, indicating that it was already occupied, while the other, which had nothing on it, would belong to Lu Yuan from now on.

After two hours had passed since Lu Yuan entered his room, a teenager suddenly walked in. The teenager had a rather cold personality, and upon seeing Lu Yuan's appearance, a hint of alertness appeared on his face.

Although Lu Yuan was six years old, his body could easily pass for that of a 10-year-old boy, which apparently attracted the teenager's animosity.

It was only after Lu Yuan introduced himself and Deputy Hal returned with bedding that the teenager finally let his guard down a bit.

If Lu Yuan was a six-year-old child, then there was nothing to worry about, the teenager thought.

...

After ignoring Lu Yuan for a while, the teenager finally decided to introduce himself, realizing that they were going to share the same dorm for some time.

He introduced himself as Yuan Xin, and since Lu Yuan had already introduced himself, he no longer did so again, and instead, asked about the Training Camp.

"You've been in the Training Camp for so long, is there anything I should be aware of in this place?"

Yuan Xin was about 10 years old, and as per the Camp's rules, geniuses could not join after the age of 7. Hence, he must have been in the Camp for at least 3 years and should be one of the students about to enter the Selection Tournament.

"...There are only two things you need to pay attention to in the Camp," Yuan Xin replied after a moment of silence. "The first thing is the training. Every day, the instructors will assign different tasks to the students, and no matter how hard or difficult the task is, you must complete it. If not, you will be expelled!"

"The second thing is other students. Only ten students will be able to graduate in the Selection Tournament every three years, so many students have formed groups to specifically target the most talented newly entered students to suppress their growth and ensure that they cannot develop."

Lu Yuan quickly understood, although it might sound like cheating or against the rules, it was part of the competition. All the children who could enter here were geniuses, and if a student could get others to follow them, it could be considered that student's own ability. This place was not like Nuoding City, where children could depend on their background to succeed. The only thing that mattered here was strength.

"So, which forces are formed in this training camp?" Lu Yuan asked.

Yuan Xin looked at him and replied, "I won't talk about the smaller forces. I will only tell you about the four most powerful ones."

"The most powerful is the Wind Hall, led by Lin Feng. He has a Ghost Panther Martial Soul, is 10 years old, and is a Rank 22 Agility Attack System Spirit Grand Master. With no less than 20 Spirit Masters under his command, he ranks first in strength."

"Next is the Yan Sect, led by Yan Xiang. He has a Green Thunder Elephant Martial Soul, is 10 years old, and is a Rank 21 Spirit Grand Master. With no less than 10 Spirit Masters under his command, he takes second place."

"Then there is the Qin Sect, led by Qin Yuan. He has a Purgatory Demon Wolf Martial Soul, is 10 years old this year, and is a Rank 21 Spirit Grand Master with no less than 10 Spirit Masters under him. He ranks third."

"Lastly, the Purple Misty Hall, led by Feng Yuyan, only recruits female members. She has a Purple Misty Rose Martial Soul, is 10 years old, and is a Rank 21 Spirit Grand Master. The Purple Misty Hall ranks fourth in overall strength."

"I am a member of the Yan Sect, and for the sake of being my roommate, if you are willing, I can introduce you to join our Yan Sect." Finishing explaining, Yuan Xin offered.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I won't join any of the forces." Lu Yuan said with a chuckle.

"Are you sure? Newcomers will face harassment from many people if they don't have a force to protect them. You don't think you can walk around just because you have a good sponsor, right? The Training Camp is all about strength," Yuan Xin said.

"Of course not," Lu Yuan smiled slightly. "Since I've been here, everyone is my competition. As for those who want to look for a fight, let them come! I'm not a vegetarian either."

"You're very confident. I hope your strength is as good as you say," Yuan Xin shook his head. Those who could enter the training camp were all geniuses, and geniuses usually had their eyes above their heads.

Reckless students like Lu Yuan, who had just entered the Training Camp, feared neither heaven nor earth, and this included himself.

When the students of the Training Camp gave him a lesson, only then would he know what a higher heaven was.

Yuan Xin believed that Lu Yuan would soon realize that the little strength he boasted of was insignificant in the Training Camp and learn his lesson.

However, Yuan Xin was unaware that this only applied to ordinary students, and Lu Yuan was anything but ordinary.

While Yuan Xin believed that the other students at the Camp were powerful, Lu Yuan saw them as no different from sacrificial chickens.

Upon discovering that the strongest individual in the Training Camp was only a Rank 22 Spirit Grand Master, He lost interest. Having previously slain Evil Spirit Grand Masters and even using a Rank 25 Yu Tianheng as a sharpening stone, what was the significance of these so-called geniuses of the Training Camp?

Besides, joining one of these forces within the Camp would be a waste of opportunity for Lu Yuan to demonstrate his true abilities to the higher-ups in the Spirit Hall. His primary interest was the training methods in the Camp, and he hoped that they would be sufficient to satisfy his needs.

Naturally, Yuan Xin was unaware of Lu Yuan's thoughts, or else he would have dismissed them as pure arrogance.

There were times when one's horizon determined their mentality.

As Lu Yuan rejected Yuan Xin's good intentions, Yuan Xin lost interest in him. Although they were roommates, they had only met casually.

As it gradually grew dark, Lu Yuan grew hungry and asked Yuan Xin for the location of the cafeteria, where he had his first dinner at the Camp.

The food there was not bad, with a nutritious mix of meat, vegetables, and fruit, including a small piece of spirit beast meat for each student.

After dinner, Lu Yuan returned to his dormitory and began to meditate.

As the internal energy of the Pure Qi Sutra circulated through his body, Lu Yuan's strength began to increase minute by minute.

…

It was early morning and for Lu Yuan, it would be his first day participating in the Training Camp.

Li Xin, as the Chief Instructor and the same person who greeted him at the entrance of the Camp, had the final say on the training of each student.

"Your task today is to carry twenty pounds of weight and run twenty laps around the training camp, any questions?" Li Xin looked straight at Lu Yuan and said.

"No problem." One lap around the Training Camp was 2 kilometers, running twenty laps was only 40 kilometers, and there was no restriction on the use of soul power, this might be very cruel training for ordinary Spirit Masters, but for Lu Yuan, it was just an appetizer.

"No problem?" Li Xin smiled, he wanted to see how many laps this kid could complete.

"Start then." Li Xin gave the command and Lu Yuan's figure ran off.

Deputy Hal looked at Li Xin and asked, "Isn't this kind of training a bit hard for a six-year-old?"

Li Xin replied with a smile, "Do you think he can't finish it?"

Deputy Hal expressed his doubts, "It's difficult, even with the use of soul power, his body won't be able to endure it. Running forty kilometers with a weight of twenty pounds, even a high-ranking Spirit Master like him would have a hard time completing it."

Li Xin, however, had faith in Lu Yuan's abilities, "Heh! Hal, you're underestimating him too much. I think not only will he be able to run the twenty laps, he probably won't even use his soul power."

Hal was skeptical and asked, "How is that possible? Running forty kilometers without using his soul power, carrying twenty pounds of weight... such intense training, probably only a few students in the entire Training Camp can complete it. But all of them are Spirit Grand Masters. How is it possible for this guy to accomplish such a feat?"

Li Xin confidently responded, "Then how about we make a bet?"

If yesterday he was still unaware of what Lu Yuan was capable of, after a lot of research, he believed he already knew quite a bit about him.

Having been able to kill Spirit Grand Masters in the Spirit Master realm and possessing a first Spirit Ring that was beyond 800 years, Lu Yuan's strength was definitely not as simple as it seemed.

As a high-ranking Spirit Saint and Chief Instructor of the Genius Training Camp, his status was not low, and even if ordinary people did not know the truth about the matters of the Phoenix Village, he knew quite a bit.

While he was uncertain of the Supreme Pontiff's intentions in having Lu Yuan participate in the Selection Tournament, he had no doubt that Lu Yuan could get one of the 10 places, but it was not so easy to get the championship, those other geniuses were also very talented, so he first wanted to observe what Lu Yuan was capable of.

Lu Yuan didn't know what Li Xin was thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. The intensity of this training was not enough for him!

At an even pace, in just half a quarter of an hour, Lu Yuan had already completed five laps.

"Is this kid that fast? But such a speed is very physically demanding," Li Xin shook his head. It seemed to him that Lu Yuan had not considered the distribution of his physical strength at all. If Lu Yuan rushed like this, he would run out of energy after a few more laps, and Li Xin couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in his heart.

"Instructor Li, it looks like you're going to lose!" Hal, who had trained many students, knew that Lu Yuan's speed was too fast for him to last long.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and Lu Yuan had already finished running ten laps.

"Huh, this kid's speed doesn't seem to have slowed down at all. Ten laps have already passed," Li Xin was a little surprised.

"Maybe he has better stamina, but if he rushes like this, even better stamina will be useless. In a few more laps, he won't be able to continue," Hal still didn't think Lu Yuan would make it.

Another quarter of an hour had passed, and by then, Lu Yuan had already completed fifteen laps, and his speed had never slowed down.

"Looks like we were short-sighted. This kid is not simple!" Looking at Lu Yuan, whose pace was still just as even, Li Xin knew that he had underestimated this kid.

"How is this possible? How can a Rank 18 Spirit Master have so much stamina?" Hal was very surprised.

At seventeen laps, Lu Yuan's speed was still the same.

On the eighteenth lap, Li Xin had surprise in his eyes, and Hal's mouth dropped open.

On the nineteenth lap, Li Xin's eyes sparkled, and Hal's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Finally, on the final lap, Lu Yuan increased his speed even more! This surprised not only Li Xin and Hal but also the other students in the camp.

"How many laps has this boy done?" Asked a burly teenager to another one dressed in purple standing next to him.

"Twenty laps, I think," the purple-clad teenager had an expression of intense surprise on his face.

"The iron suit on the kid's back must weigh twenty pounds, to be able to run twenty laps with twenty pounds of weight and still not slow down at all, this kid is something."

"It's not simple at all, but he should have used his soul power, right?" the purple-clad teenager asked.

"That's for sure, if he didn't use soul power, even I wouldn't be able to run twenty laps with twenty pounds of weight at such a speed, but still, this kid is very impressive."

The burly teenager said, "Yuan Xin, if I remember correctly, this kid is in the same dorm as you, right? What do you think about inviting him to our Yan Sect?"

It turned out that the purple-clad teenager was Lu Yuan's roommate, Yuan Xin.

"Boss, I've already invited him, but he refused," Yuan Xin smiled bitterly as he repeated everything Lu Yuan told him the day before.

"Heh! This guy has quite the backbone, he's a bit interesting, I, Yan Xiang, like that!" This burly young man was Yan Xiang, the leader of the Yan Sect.

"But I think that this fellow Qin Yuan should have noticed this guy, that fellow is despicable, remind the kid to be careful." Looking at a teenager dressed in red not far away, Yan Xiang said.

"Alright, boss!" Yuan Xin nodded his head.

Among the four great forces in the Training Camp, the Wind Hall was the most powerful, and its leader, Lin Feng, a Rank 22 Spirit Grand Master, was the number one expert in the entire camp. He rarely bothered to bully other students.

The second most powerful force was Yan Xiang's Yan Sect, which was slightly stronger than Qin Yuan's Qin Sect. Yan Xiang was a rough and forceful man who admired the strong and did not bother to bully the weak.

Qin Yuan, on the other hand, was different. Just like his Martial Soul, the Purgatory Demon Wolf, he liked to bully the weak and fear the strong.

He had a very bad reputation throughout the Training Camp, having bullied dozens of exceptionally talented students.

Despite this, his extraordinary strength and the Spirit Masters attached to Qin Sect made even Yan Xiang and Lin Feng wary of him. Thus, Qin Yuan had been running rampant throughout the camp, often bullying lone students and small forces.

Lu Yuan's impressive performance would undoubtedly catch his attention, and it was likely that Qin Yuan would make a move against him.

However, Lu Yuan was unaware of this possibility, and even if he did know, he would not give such a jumping clown any consideration.

After completing the twenty laps, sweat was dripping down Lu Yuan's forehead.

Li Xin looked at him with surprise in his eyes, realizing that he had underestimated the young boy's abilities.

"Lu Yuan, you really didn't use your soul power?" On the other side, Hal looked at Lu Yuan with a hint of surprise still in his eyes that hadn't faded.

"No." Lu Yuan replied, it was only 40 kilometers, he didn't need to use his soul power.

"That was all for your training today, you can go back now." Although Li Xin was still in awe, being a Spirit Saint, he quickly regained his composure.

"Yes, Instructor!" Lu Yuan obediently responded. He wasn't too tired from the exercise, but he felt uncomfortable with the clothes sticking to his body due to the sweat, so he decided to head back to his dormitory to wash up and change.

After Lu Yuan left, Li Xing suddenly smiled.

"What are you smiling about, Instructor Li?" Hal asked, puzzled.

"Hahaha, it's been a long time since I've seen such a monstrous student since the Golden Generation entered. This is interesting, I'd like to see how strong this kid really is." Li Xing's eyes gleamed with excitement as he spoke.

...

The sensation of sweat clinging to his body was always uncomfortable for Lu Yuan, so as soon as he returned to his dormitory, he took a shower and changed into fresh clothes, feeling instantly refreshed.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and after tending to his personal hygiene, Lu Yuan headed to the cafeteria, where the sight of students eating felt both familiar and distant to him.

For many years, he had relied on the Nuoding Academy cafeteria for sustenance, and even just a few months ago, he still ate there, sometimes alone and sometimes with Xiao Wu.

However, the most memorable meals for Lu Yuan had been the dinners he had had in these few months in Heaven Dou City, and there was only one reason for that: he had been in the company of Qian Renxue.

The two always had many topics to talk about, ranging from superficial conversations on general or trivial topics to intellectual discussions where they challenged each other's perspectives. Qian Renxue also enjoyed funny conversations, and Lu Yuan's repertoire of anecdotes from his previous life never failed to make her laugh out loud from time to time.

"Here, Lu Yuan!" Yuan Xin's voice interrupted Lu Yuan's thoughts. The sound was a bit cold, but he recognized it. Lu Yuan turned to see Yuan Xin waving at him, accompanied by two other teenagers who seemed friendly with each other. Lu Yuan assumed they were members of the Yan Sect.

Although Lu Yuan wasn't interested in joining any force and didn't need to, he felt he didn't lose anything by giving Yuan Xin a face, so taking his plate, he walked over to them.

The lively cafeteria fell silent after Yuan Xin's shout, and the sound of Lu Yuan's footsteps could be heard clearly.

"Is that the boy from this morning?" a red-clad teenager not far from them asked.

"That's the boy, Boss Qin. I heard that he's in the same dormitory as Yuan Xin," one of the Yan Sect members replied.

"Yuan Xin's roommate, huh? Looks like this kid will probably join the Yan Sect," Qin Yuan said as he looked at Lu Yuan with an unkind gaze.

"Boss Qin, do you want me to teach him a lesson?" a yellow-haired teenager sitting beside Qin Yuan asked eagerly.

Qin Yuan's lips quirked into a fierce smile. "Li Zhi, since you mention it, then go and teach that kid a lesson."

"As you wish, Boss." Li Zhi burst out laughing and got up from his seat.

"Hey, this little brother, you seem to be new, what's your name?" Lu Yuan was walking leisurely when a figure suddenly stepped in front of him.

Lu Yuan raised his head faintly and asked, "What do you want?"

"Our Boss Qin invited you. Will you come and give him face?" Li Zhi replied with a threatening smile.

"Sorry, my friend is waiting for me." Lu Yuan shook his head and refused, what would he know who the heck his boss was?

"Kid, our boss Qin invited you because he holds you in high esteem, don't you dare not give him a face!" Li Zhi said viciously as he bowed his head slightly.

"Heh!" Lu Yuan scoffed. "Not giving people face is kind of my thing. Do you want me to teach you how it's done?"

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Li Zhi's eyes narrowed. "Boy, you're courting death!" he said, clenching his fist and throwing it towards Lu Yuan's chest.

"Li Zhi, you dare!" Yuan Xin, who had been paying attention, saw Li Zhi's action and immediately shouted.

Hearing Yuan Xin's voice, Li Zhi's heart was filled with disdain, with Boss Qin backing him up, what would he not dare to do to a newly admitted student?

This punch came extremely fast and was quite powerful, and in Li Zhi's opinion, it was enough to seriously injure Lu Yuan.

Pop!

But before his fist could hit, a palm blocked it with such force that Li Zhi couldn't move an inch forward, no matter how much strength he used.

At the same time, a voice rang out, "Is that all? Disappointing."

Li Zhi looked up and saw an indifferent face with a slight coldness.