The second day of team training brought a completely new challenge.
Yesterday's exercise had been a game of communication—you guess, I describe. It tested awareness, teamwork, and quick thinking.
Today, however, there would be no games.
Only labor.
Only endurance.
Only strategy.
Instructor Zhang Biao led the trainees to the training grounds early in the morning. His hands were clasped behind his back, and the cruel smile on his face made everyone uneasy before he even spoke.
He stopped in the center of a wide, empty field and looked at the three assembled teams.
"Today's task is simple."
He pointed to the hard earth beneath their feet.
"Each team must dig one pit."
The students waited for the rest of the explanation.
Zhang Biao grinned wider.
"A cubic pit."
"Ten meters long."
"Ten meters wide."
"Twenty meters deep."
The crowd instantly erupted in disbelief.
"What?!"
"That's impossible!"
"Twenty meters deep?!"
But Zhang Biao had not finished.
"With your bare hands."
The shouting stopped for one second.
Then chaos exploded again.
"No tools?!"
"You're joking!"
"How are we supposed to dig through this ground with our hands?"
Someone raised the most obvious question aloud.
Zhang Biao folded his arms and nodded happily.
"Correct."
"No tools."
"No machinery."
"No weapons."
"Not even the ashes from your Ember Remains."
"You have only your bodies and your Spiritual Power."
He looked at the horrified students and added casually:
"Begin."
The Challenge Begins
The three teams immediately rushed to their designated areas.
Some students panicked.
Some complained.
Others were already studying the ground.
Among the third group, Zhao Mu remained calm.
He raised one hand and spoke clearly.
"Spiritual Power concentrated around the hands can strengthen them enough to break soil."
"But doing so requires precise control."
His own proficiency in Spiritual Power Control had already reached a high level, so for him, this was no issue.
The problem was his team.
Compared to the other two groups, their overall strength was weaker.
If they used a normal digging method, they would certainly lose.
So Zhao Mu began assigning roles immediately.
"Anyone with Earth-affinity abilities, step forward."
Six people came out of the crowd.
He nodded.
"You'll be the main force for breaking the ground."
Then he called for the Water-affinity users.
"You are responsible for moistening the soil."
"If we soften the earth beneath the surface, the pressure of excavation will decrease."
Then he turned to the remaining members.
"The rest of you will rotate support."
"When the diggers tire, replace them."
"Carry soil out and keep the area clear."
His calm commands immediately steadied the team.
While the others began preparing, Zhao Mu crouched and pressed his palm to the ground.
The surface was extremely hard.
Almost like concrete.
He knocked on it lightly.
Dense.
Dry.
Compact.
Then he pressed deeper and sensed faint moisture beneath.
His eyes narrowed.
Interesting…
Shao Han Shows Off
Before Zhao Mu could continue thinking, a loud voice echoed from nearby.
"Everyone, move aside!"
He turned and saw the second team parting to make room for their captain, Shao Han.
Shao Han stood proudly in the center of the field, chin raised high.
When he noticed Zhao Mu watching, a smug smile appeared on his face.
"Zhao Mu!"
"The difference between you and me lies in true mastery of Spiritual Ability."
"Those previous competitions were just warm-ups."
"Now I'll show you real power."
He took a deep breath.
Then a terrifying chill spread outward from his body.
The surrounding trainees instantly shivered as if they had stepped into an ice cave.
Several hurried backward.
Zhao Mu watched carefully.
A surge of Spiritual Power rose from Shao Han—but unlike ordinary blue spiritual energy, his power was ice-blue.
"Ice and Wind dual-attribute…"
Zhao Mu muttered.
He remembered hearing of Shao Han's talents during the Awakening Ceremony.
Frost began spreading over Shao Han's arms.
The ice thickened rapidly, layer upon layer, until it formed visible armor around both fists.
Nearby, Zhu Meng gasped.
"He's already cultivated Spirit Power Manifestation to this level?"
Spirit Power Manifestation
At first, Spiritual Power was invisible energy.
But with cultivation, it could transform according to one's elemental affinity.
That stage was known as Spirit Power Trait Manifestation.
A fire user could manifest flames.
An earth user could harden stone.
A beast-type user like Zhu Meng could partially transform.
Once that threshold was crossed, combat strength rose dramatically.
And in suitable environments, the power became even greater.
Shao Han roared and lifted his right fist.
Frost winds swirled violently around him.
Then he slammed downward.
"Boom!"
His fist struck the ground like a hammer.
The earth sank inward, creating a deep impact crater.
But the hole itself was less than twenty centimeters wide.
Meng Qiuqiu blinked.
"That's it?"
"He shouted so much for that?"
Zhao Mu did not answer immediately.
Instead, he said:
"Keep watching."
The next second, Shao Han smirked and glanced proudly toward Zhao Mu.
Then—
Crack!
The ground split apart.
From the point of impact, huge fractures spread in every direction like a spider web.
The entire ten-meter area trembled.
Chunks of hardened earth shattered upward.
Meng Qiuqiu screamed.
"What the hell?!"
"Combat Level 9 monsters are terrifying!"
Zhao Mu shook his head.
"He didn't break it with raw strength."
"He infused ice energy underground."
"There is moisture beneath the dry surface."
"When frozen, the soil became brittle."
"Then one strike shattered everything."
He nodded slightly.
"Smart method."
The second team immediately cheered and rushed forward to clear the loosened earth.
Mo Guanguan's Explosive Method
Before anyone could fully recover, a clear phoenix cry rang out from the first team.
All heads turned.
Flames erupted skyward.
At the center stood Mo Guanguan.
Crimson fire spiraled around her body like storm clouds.
Her aura was fierce and overwhelming.
She had entered the next major stage.
When Spiritual Power reached sufficient intensity, it could be projected outward in a technique known as Release.
That difference alone created a vast gap between Battle Rank 10 and Combat Level 9.
Mo Guanguan clenched her fist.
Then punched downward.
A pillar of flame twisted like a fiery dragon drill and smashed into the ground.
Boom!
Earth exploded.
A crater half a meter deep and several meters wide instantly formed.
The surrounding students were speechless.
Compared to ordinary digging, this was practically cheating.
Zhao Mu frowned.
If his team followed conventional methods, they would never win.
Zhu Meng Volunteers
At that moment, Zhu Meng stepped forward beside Zhao Mu.
A low growl came from his throat.
Powerful Spiritual Energy surged around him.
Hair spread across his body.
His muscles expanded.
Moments later, he transformed into a majestic lion-man hybrid with claws like knives.
"If it's digging ground…"
"Leave it to me!"
His claws slashed through the dirt easily.
Several teammates immediately cheered.
But Zhao Mu raised a hand.
"Wait."
Zhu Meng stopped.
Everyone looked at Zhao Mu anxiously.
The other two teams had already started making visible progress.
One had shattered the ground with ice.
The other blasted it apart with fire.
Meanwhile, Zhao Mu's team had barely begun.
Yet Zhao Mu still stared silently at the ten-meter square of earth before them.
He did not move.
He did not rush.
He simply thought.
A Captain Must Think First
"Sharpening the axe does not delay chopping wood," Zhao Mu said quietly.
"Blindly wasting energy is foolish."
The team fell silent.
They trusted him enough not to interrupt.
Zhao Mu continued observing the terrain.
The surface was hardened.
But only the top layer.
Below it was denser soil.
Below that, moisture.
A ten-meter square.
Twenty meters deep.
The challenge was not merely digging.
It was efficiency.
The first two teams were using brute force to break ground.
Impressive.
But expensive.
Their methods consumed enormous Spiritual Power.
If they exhausted themselves too early, their speed would collapse.
Zhao Mu's eyes gradually brightened.
He began calculating.
Volume.
Weight.
Soil pressure.
Collapse angles.
Rotation schedules.
Transport efficiency.
Then suddenly—
He smiled.
A bold idea had formed.
The Winning Method
He stood and looked at his team.
"I know how to beat them."
Everyone straightened instantly.
Meng Qiuqiu asked eagerly:
"What do we do?"
Zhao Mu pointed at the marked ten-meter square.
"We are not digging a pit."
The others looked confused.
He pointed again.
"We are building a tunnel network."
Silence.
Then shock.
Zhao Mu explained rapidly.
"The other teams are trying to remove the entire surface first."
"That costs too much power."
"We break a small central entrance."
"Then tunnel downward in layers."
"Earth users reinforce walls."
"Water users soften lower soil."
"Transport teams create a relay system."
"We remove less material at a time."
"We use gravity to collapse sections inward under control."
His eyes shone with confidence.
"Let the earth help us dig itself."
The team stared in amazement.
This was no longer a contest of strength.
It was a contest of intelligence.
Zhao Mu stepped forward and thrust his hand into the soil.
"Everyone to positions."
"Now we begin."
Around them, the first two teams were still roaring and smashing the ground with brute force.
But Zhao Mu's team moved like a machine.
Quiet.
Precise.
Efficient.
And for the first time that morning—
The weaker team saw a real chance to win.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)