Calling this place as hell was indeed suitable. Ye Jiao could feel that her hand had started to feel numb as she climbed up. This was the first time she climbed a wall this high, but she knew that she had to make sure her body was pressed against the wall as close as possible because the inertia might make her fall.*
Both her legs and arms were numb, but she didn't want to give up. She continued to climb up when she heard a sudden shrill scream not far from her.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA."
She could guess that someone must have fallen. She didn't dare to imagine what had happened to the boy as she focused her attention to the wall before her. Her arms and legs continued to move, forcing her muscles to move her body up.
Right arm, right leg, left arm, left leg…
Ye Jiao didn't know how long time had passed when she finally saw the top. Her heartbeat increased slightly as she realized that the torment would be over soon. She sped up a bit while maintaining her form and reached the top faster than before.
A man was already waiting for her at the top. He passed her a glance.
"You have better physique than others, but you're still very weak. Lunch is over there, your time is one hour before the next step."
"Thank you."
Ye Jiao propped her body up. Her muscles were screaming at her because of the strain she gave them, but she didn't really care. Sitting on the ground, she focused on absorbing Eon Energy from the surroundings.
As she had guessed, this place was abundant with Eon Energy. The amount of Eon Energy that needed more than one hour to collect before could be pulled inside in mere minutes. It was amazing, yet she knew that it was also because her body was taking the initiative to pull them in to recover her body.
The man watched Ye Jiao train while waiting for other children. He nodded his head lightly.
'She's a bit smarter than the rest.'
Most children would run to the table to eat first, but this girl chose to recover her energy. In this world, it was extremely important to recover their Eon Energy because anything could happen to them. As for food, it was not going anywhere and they were given much more time than before.
Rather than worrying about their stomachs, it would be better to nourish their bodies and strengthen their muscles.
After around 50 minutes, Ye Jiao opened her eyes and stood up. Her muscle still felt sore, but she didn't have much time left. She ran to the table and picked up the bread and meat before stuffing them into her mouth. Her way of eating was uncultured, but right now, who would care about manners?
"Three more minutes."
Ye Jiao nodded her head and swallowed her food as fast as possible. She picked up the nearby glass of water and quenched her thirst. The water tasted bitter, but it felt really good to her.
Before the time was up, Ye Jiao had stood before the man. She was ready to depart for the next training.
"For the next six hours, you have to survive on yourself," the man explained generously. He didn't usually like to explain things to new children, but Ye Jiao caught his eyes with her performance. It might be subtle, but it was already more than enough to tell him that she was different from other children.
"Where?"
"I'll bring you there. You can do whatever you want in the forest," the man replied. He picked up Ye Jiao with one arm and jumped to the other side of the cliff. Using his Eon Energy, he slowed himself down and landed with ease.
Ye Jiao's eyes widened as she scanned her surroundings. Seeing the shape of the cliff behind her, she realized that this mountain-like cliff must be in the shape of a circle with a separate forest in the middle. It meant that they could only get out after the time was up with the help of these people.
After all, climbing up the cliff again was clearly not a good option.
The man put Ye Jiao down before disappearing once again. By manipulating his Eon Energy, he could easily climb up the cliff and return back to his post, leaving the children in the middle of the forest.
'What should I do now?'
Ye Jiao looked around, trying to find out anything that could help her find an answer to her question. In the next second, she heard the sound of a howl not far from her.
Her body tensed up while her mind screamed,
'THERE ARE WOLVES HERE? Are those people crazy leaving us in the middle of a forest full of wolves?'
If only the voice of the wolves was far from her, Ye Jiao would surely speak out her mind. It was no wonder her senior told her that the most important thing for her here was to survive. Trying to pick a fight with numerous wolves as kids who had just formed their core was simply insane.
From what she remembered, most wolves were rank 1 or even unranked. Unranked beasts would be easier to handle, but wolves were the exception. Not because they were strong or fast, but because of their number.
Yes, wolves always stayed in packs.
Ye Jiao swiftly climbed one of the trees as she scanned her surroundings. There was no trace of wolves nearby, but they would surely come towards her direction not long after this.
"I can't fight against them because I'm too weak…" Ye Jiao murmured.
Running was also not an option because she knew that she couldn't beat their speed. If she was caught in the middle of a pack of wolves, the only option for her was to climb trees because wolves couldn't climb trees.
But, what would be the purpose of this training if she just hid for six hours?
Ye Jiao leaned on the tree as she sat down. "Never mind, I better train my circulation while thinking."
With that, she started her training.
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(A/N):
*Basic law of physics: inertia and gravity.