The streets were bustling with activity.
People were moving into the outer city with their families in tow.
"What's going on?"
After three weeks of seclusion, Tang Wen returned to the outer city and was greeted by this lively scene.
The newcomers were dressed in various clothes, exuding a foul, sour odor.
For ordinary people, water was precious. Drinking water was barely sufficient, and bathing was out of the question.
Li Ge recognized Tang Wen and approached with a bow to explain:
"These are the first batch of refugees who passed the trials."
"What trials?"
"Well, some of them are farmers who reclaimed land by the lake and grew enough crops. Others are craftsmen who produced sufficient goods.
But most are Martial Apprentices and Martial Practitioners who joined the hunting squads and hunted a certain number of prey in the south."
The cooperation between the camp and the Sand Wolf pack had already begun.
The Black Hyena Hound packs and saber-toothed cat groups further south in the wilderness were nearly wiped out with the Sand Wolves leading the way.
Except for a few that fled further south, the herbivores they raised were all taken by Flame Camp.
The hunting guards of Flame Camp also suffered casualties, with most of the dead and injured being recently joined refugees.
They wanted to join Flame Camp and move to the outer city, so they had no choice but to fight desperately.
"We want to join too!"
"We've also contributed!"
Suddenly, a clamor arose at the outer city gate.
A group of ragged Scavengers, numbering over a hundred, stood together shouting.
Around them, more and more refugees gathered.
"My child died in battle, but you said his contribution wasn't enough. Wuwuwu, my poor child."
"My husband, my brother, they all died, but you only gave our family a hundred catties of foxtail millet, which was stolen the same day."
"We just want to survive."
"..."
Tang Wen noticed that those who stepped forward were the elderly, weak, women, and children.
They knelt on the ground with their children, crying and wailing.
The onlookers watched them with expressions of sorrow, sympathy, or schadenfreude.
Commander Zhang stepped out.
The camp guards lined up.
Tang Wen didn't watch any longer, nor did he feel like going out of the city.
He turned and headed towards the inner city, suddenly recalling what people from other factions had said about Commander Qian in Five Families City:
"Every faction, every person, including you and me, including those Transcendents, who isn't struggling to survive! Why should your Flame Camp play the good guys? Huh? Why?!"
The cries at the gate grew louder, and more people gathered, completely blocking the entrance.
Tang Wen continued towards the inner city palace. After a few deep breaths, he exhaled a stifled breath, his eyes firming up.
Why?
Of course, because we're the strongest!
Time to go back and train!
"Weren't you going to swim by the lake? Why are you back?"
Qian Dong, on duty at the gate, handed Tang Wen a small handful of peanuts, about three or four in total.
Tang Wen didn't take them, pointing instead to the courtyard where he secluded himself.
Qian Dong didn't mind, pursing his lips and saying, "You're really a training maniac. Go, go, hurry up!"
Whoosh!
Tang Wen snatched the peanuts from him and left with flair.
"Damn it!" Qian Dong chased after him for a couple of steps, but seeing the bulging muscles in Tang Wen's arms, as if he was about to strike, he quickly retreated, saving face by saying, "I'm magnanimous, I won't stoop to your level."
After saying this, he looked around, and his subordinates nodded in agreement, seemingly approving of his words.
Qian Dong breathed a sigh of relief: "It's not that I'm cowardly, but who in the camp, besides the generals, dares to claim they can surely defeat this monster?"
Tang Wen, munching on peanuts, felt inexplicably better.
Returning to the underground chamber, he resumed his monotonous routine of sleeping when tired, eating when hungry, and training after meals.
Mountain Splitter Cannon, Head-on Cannon, Half-step Blast, Dragon Emerges from Water, Ocean Bottom Tremor, Eight-Armed Divine Fist...
These five fist techniques, he had honed to perfection.
Except for the tenth move of the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist: Mountain Blasting Cannon, which still eluded him.
In the past, he might have gone to great lengths to figure it out.
At least to understand the principle of force application.
But now, as the Experience Panel accumulated to a certain level, these intricacies were automatically comprehended.
So why bother racking his brains?
Better to spend that time practicing a few more punches.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
After over a hundred punches, Tang Wen's stamina was completely drained. Like a patron who had been served by eight girls, he collapsed on the ground, not even wanting to move a finger.
"Enough! Time to sleep."
He closed his eyes.
But being overly fatigued, he found it hard to fall asleep.
He reviewed today's training:
"Eight Section Brocade, Earth Fire Primordial Stand, Traceless Step... I've practiced everything I should. Hmm, no, there's one more thing."
With great determination, Tang Wen opened his eyes and began visualizing the Golden Bell Shield.
His brows furrowed, his eyes bloodshot, and his fingers involuntarily clenched into fists.
Black defense slowly crept up his fist, inch by inch, with great effort.
After a while, it finally covered his right fist.
Then the left fist!
Due to his depleted mental energy, it took a full three minutes!
Tang Wen's gaze gradually lost focus, his temples throbbed, and his body arched like a shrimp.
This was the manifestation of pushing his mental energy to the limit!
The black defense slowly covered the nail of his left fist.
Thud—his body collapsed, and he fell into a deep sleep.
This sleep was longer, lasting a full three hours.
According to his knowledge from his past life, it was two sleep cycles.
Upon waking, he opened the Experience Panel. Aside from a slight increase in experience points, there were no other changes.
Training is not a matter of a single day.
Being able to see visible progress every day is already a great fortune.
After eating something, the chamber began to shake again.
Clang! Clang!
Meanwhile, outside the courtyard gate stood a graceful and elegant beauty.
She was even taller than Qian Dong, with a figure like a perfect supermodel.
Qian Dong stood as far away from her as possible: "Bad timing, it's started again! This guy, he's not human, he's simply not human!"
Zhou Bing, amused and somewhat proud, listened outside the courtyard for a while, watching the large Blood Raven staring at her from the gate.
In the end, she did not enter.
Her seclusion had not ended; she had come out just to relax for a day.
Since her seclusion began, the camp had invested a vast amount of resources in her.
For example, Superior Exotic Beast meat, Transcendent Beast meat, Green Water Python potion, Transcendent Green Water Python potion, and so on.
Not to mention the material resources, there were also the Queen and Old Xia, personally teaching her the key points of the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist, demonstrating it themselves, and more.
These things were invaluable, no matter how much money one had.
And she believed that Tang Wen had better talent than her.
If these resources were invested in Tang Wen, the results would be even better than using them on her.
But the camp would never do that.
You can't put all your eggs in one basket.
Now, Zhou Bing was already a second-rank Martial Master, and before coming out, she had been contemplating the Vibration Fist.
Once the Vibration Fist is mastered, it will grant combat power comparable to that of a first-class Martial Master.
I wonder how surprised Xiao Wen will be then?
A faint smile curved Zhou Bing's lips, slightly easing the regret of not seeing Tang Wen.
As she walked away, Qian Dong's expression turned complicated: "Zhou Bing has grown even stronger! That aura is definitely not something a third-class Martial Master could possess."
Perhaps I should apply for a period of seclusion myself after some time?
He recalled how he, Zhou Bing, and Tang Wen had all advanced to become Martial Masters and Commanders together.
Now, the other two had left him far behind.
Especially that Tang Wen, who had actually defeated a first-class Martial Master.
In the secret chamber, unaware that he had missed his ice beauty, Tang Wen's body once again involuntarily arched like a shrimp being fried at high heat!
In reality, his current sensation wasn't much better than being deep-fried.
His already exhausted mental energy was being squeezed repeatedly, wringing out the last dregs. The intense discomfort made him want to pass out at any moment.
However, Tang Wen's efforts always bore fruit.
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