As the Body Training continued, the pressure grew higher with each passing day — especially after the first week ended.
During the first seven days, all the ten-year-old youngsters managed to meet their daily targets. But when the second week began, the targets increased by two levels on the very first day. Still, by sunset, almost everyone completed their tasks — their determination burning brighter than their fatigue.
Some of the stronger youths began helping others through difficult challenges — climbing steep hills, balancing on tree trunks, and swimming across the cold river. These tasks soon became part of their daily routine, shaping both their strength and unity.
By the end of the second week, the twenty young trainees had become more familiar with one another — their timing, rhythm, and spirit growing in sync. A few even started extra preparation, training harder to improve their endurance and condition.
While the children were busy with their training, the village itself seemed to lose its youthful energy. The laughter and play that once filled the streets were gone, replaced by quiet determination. Yet, the elders and parents didn't stay idle — they gathered herbs, medicinal plants, and nutritious foods from the nearby forest to help the children recover and grow stronger.
The village, though more lively during the day with everyone's efforts, had lost its shine of youth. At night, the sound of the young trainees' pain could be heard — soft groans and whispers from sore muscles, aching arms, and trembling legs. Their bodies were changing, struggling, and growing — showing both the pain and pride of their hard-earned progress.
As the third week of Body Training began, the difficulty rose to another level. Each youngster now had to complete over eighteen full rounds of the village — a number that seemed impossible at first. Yet, with the help of nourishing food, herbal medicines, and constant care from their elders, their bodies had grown stronger and more resilient.
Some of the children even showed surprising progress — leaping down from the tops of trees and landing firmly on the ground without feeling pain. Their movements had become faster, their breathing more stable, and their stamina far greater than before. The signs of true transformation were beginning to show.
However, not everyone could keep up. Some of the weaker boys and girls had reached their limits — their bodies trembling, muscles sore, and faces pale from exhaustion. The pressure was becoming too much, and even a small increase in difficulty could break them. Yet they refused to stop, for the final week of training was said to be the key test — the one that would decide their true strength.
To prepare for it, the young trainees added indoor training to their routine. They practiced push-ups, squats, sit-ups, handstands, balance stances, stone lifting, and even breathing meditation to strengthen their inner energy. Every morning before sunrise and every night before sleep, they pushed their bodies a little further — building not just strength, but discipline and spirit.
Each day of the third week felt like a battle between will and exhaustion. Yet in that struggle, the future warriors of the village were being shaped — slowly, painfully, but surely.
By the end of the third week, the usual medicinal herbs and tonics that once fueled their recovery began to lose their effect. The same herbal liquid that once healed their muscle pain and fatigue now felt no different from ordinary water. The elders noticed this change quickly — the children's bodies had adapted to the basic medicines, and their growth had reached a new stage.
Realizing this, the elders and parents gathered together and decided to use higher-grade mortal herbs, ones known to awaken deeper strength within the body. These were rare and powerful — often kept for emergencies or great warriors — but now, the children had earned the right to use them.
Among them was the Blue Lotus, a sacred herb said to purify the blood and strengthen the body's inner energy. Along with it, they prepared Ironroot Grass, which hardens muscles and bones, Fiery Ginseng, which boosts stamina and warmth in the body, and Moon Dew Essence, a gentle liquid that soothes pain and helps the body recover overnight.
Every evening, the elders mixed these herbs into special tonics and steamed meals. The smell of herbs spread through the village like mist, wrapping every house in warmth and hope. The children, though still aching from training, began to feel new strength returning — their bodies toughening, their senses sharpening, and their energy rising once more.
The third week ended not in rest, but in quiet determination. The final week was coming — the time when every drop of sweat, pain, and willpower would be tested to its very limit.
The sun had already fallen beyond the far ridge, leaving behind only faint streaks of red in the clouds. The moon now hung high and round, spilling its soft, silvery light over the quiet village below. The night air was cool, brushing against the wooden gates and whispering through the trees.
On the eastern gate tower, four figures stood, their robes fluttering gently in the night breeze. At the center stood Elder Tao, calm and steady as always, his gaze fixed on the training fields below. To his right stood the four deputies — Tong Chen, Yan Zhi Lan, Liang Shan, and Xiao Ling — all watching the moonlit ground where the young trainees continued their final stretches before rest.
It had been three weeks since the beginning of the Body Training. What started as a simple endurance exercise had grown into something far greater. Each day, the youngsters were tasked to run around the entire village, a full fifty-mile round, their distance increasing steadily.
In the first week, they began with two rounds a day, adding one more round with each passing day — ending the week with eight.
By the start of the second week, the target rose higher, beginning from ten rounds, and by week's end they were completing sixteen.
The third week had been the hardest yet — beginning from eighteen rounds and ending with a grueling twenty-four.
Each of those runs meant hundreds of miles under the burning sun and through cold winds. Yet, by the end of the third week, every single one of the twenty trainees still stood — tired, battered, but unbroken.
But even the strongest medicine had begun to lose its power. The normal herbs and recovery tonics that once soothed their muscles now felt no different from water. The elders quickly realized that the children's bodies had adapted. To keep their progress alive, they began using higher-grade mortal herbs — Blue Lotus, known to purify the blood and strengthen the meridians; Ironroot Grass, which tempered bones and muscles; Fiery Ginseng, to ignite inner stamina; and Moon Dew Essence, to ease pain and restore calm during rest.
The fragrance of these powerful herbs filled the air each night, spreading through the village like a healing mist. Yet the truth was clear — these young bodies were nearing their limits. Some boys and girls still trained with fierce energy, but others now moved with visible strain, their faces pale, their breathing ragged.
Elder Tao's eyes softened as he watched them from above. He knew this was the moment everything would change.
"They have done well," murmured Deputy Liang Shan, folding his arms. "Each one has run more than a thousand miles in three weeks. Their bodies have grown harder than we expected."
"Yes," Elder Tao replied quietly, his gaze still on the children below. "But this… this was only preparation. We set these numbers knowing they could endure three weeks. The real test begins now."
The wind carried his words into the silence of the night. Below, the young trainees finished their last meditation, sweat gleaming like silver under the moonlight.
While the elders stood watching from the eastern gate tower, a sudden sound echoed across the night — a deep, heavy "thump" that broke the quiet air.
Below them, one by one, the young trainees reached the gate, their faces drenched in sweat, clothes soaked through, and breaths coming in harsh gasps. The ground trembled slightly as the first few collapsed to their knees, then to the earth itself, their bodies too tired to hold on any longer.
Thump... thump... thump...
Each fall was followed by another — twenty young figures collapsing one after another on the cold ground, their chests rising and falling rapidly, hearts pounding like war drums in the silence of the night. Their arms trembled, their legs ached, but not one of them cried out. Even through exhaustion, their eyes still burned faintly with determination.
From above, Elder Tao watched quietly, his expression unreadable, though his eyes carried a hint of pride. The four deputies stood beside him in silence.
"They have reached their limits," said Deputy Yan Zhi Lan, her voice soft, touched with worry.
"Yes," replied Liang Shan, nodding slowly. "But look at them… not one has given up before finishing. Even now, they fall only after the task is complete."
Elder Tao closed his eyes for a brief moment, his hands folded behind his back. "That," he said softly, "is the heart of a warrior. To fight until the last breath — not for glory, but for growth."
The moonlight fell gently upon the young bodies lying across the training ground — some still trembling, others already still, resting against the earth as if it were a long-awaited comfort. The faint fragrance of the Blue Lotus tonic drifted in the air, soothing their aching muscles and calming their rapid breaths.
The villagers nearby had gathered quietly, watching with awe and emotion. Some parents covered their mouths, their hearts torn between pride and worry. They could see how far their children had come — from playful youngsters to figures of endurance and will.
A long silence followed, broken only by the sound of the night wind and the steady rhythm of breathing.
Elder Tao looked over the training ground once more, his voice calm yet filled with strength as he spoke to the deputies beside him.
"This… marks the end of the third week of Body Training. Their pain is deep, but so is their progress. Remember this moment — for from now on, they will no longer train their bodies alone. The next test will train their spirit."
The moon hung silently above, bathing the exhausted youths in its pale glow. Their shadows stretched long across the earth — the shadows of children no more, but of warriors in the making.
And thus ended the third week — not with cheers or celebration, but with silence, pain, and quiet pride that would one day become strength unshakable.