Chapter 610
Chapter 610
Two days later, Shen Lang, Li Qianqiu, and Master Nando arrived at the training grounds early to wait for them.
Most would assume that the three thousand nine hundred men would trickle back one by one, not return as a single group, just as they had left. The differences in individual stamina were unavoidable. Even in a marathon, there could be a gap of several hours between the first and last person to cross the finish line. How much more so for a forced march of three hundred and fifty li?
The sky gradually brightened before the sun had even risen. An endless anxiety churned within Shen Lang.
‘Why haven't any of the three thousand nine hundred returned yet? Someone should have been back by now. My calculations showed that ninety-five percent of them should be able to return on time. The most exceptional soldiers among them should have been able to make it back in forty hours. But not a single one has returned yet. What am I going to do? If they don't return on time, do I really have to expel all of them from the Nirvana Army, just as I commanded? If I do that, the Second Nirvana Army will cease to exist. But if I don't follow through and rescind my first order, the very soul of this army will vanish with it.’
The sky grew brighter and brighter, the sun poised to rise at any moment. Even the usually confident Shen Lang felt his boundless self-assurance plummet, replaced by nothing but anxious waiting.
‘It couldn't be this disastrous, could it? I won't be utterly humiliated, will I? Not a single person has returned on time… Could there have been an accident?’
Just then, a tremor ran through the ground, and countless birds took flight from the nearby forest.
Then, an orderly army emerged.
The three thousand nine hundred men, who had been orderly when they began their march, were still just as orderly upon their return. There was not a hint of disarray or straggling among them. Even as they reached the point of physical collapse, they maintained absolute discipline.
There was still half an hour until sunrise. All three thousand nine hundred members of the Nirvana Army had returned to the barracks on time, completing the three-hundred-and-fifty-li march in a total of 47.5 hours.
Shen Lang realized why they had only just returned. Only half of the three thousand nine hundred men were uninjured; the rest were all wounded.
Hundreds were so battered they could barely move and had to be carried by their comrades. A dozen had already died, but even their bodies were carried back by the remaining soldiers.
Some soldiers could have arrived earlier, but they refused to abandon their comrades, not even those who had already perished. That was why they had only just returned. They carried not only their injured and deceased comrades but also the packs they had shouldered at the start, leaving nothing behind.
The sight stunned everyone present. Some were so moved that their bodies trembled, their eyes brimming with hot tears.
Shen Lang was among them. He knew this Nirvana Army would be exceptional, but he had never imagined they would be this exceptional. The training had been brutal, and in response, they had displayed a vitality and unity that was all the more astounding, stirring the very soul.
Master Nando was so thrilled he was in a trance. His legs trembling, he suddenly rose from his wheelchair.
The three thousand-some men of the Second Nirvana Army stood in formation on the training grounds. There were no complaints, no mournful cries; they still stood ramrod straight. Only the muscles all over their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
None of them had yet set down the burdens they carried.
“Set down your packs! Return to the barracks for your medicinal baths! Take the deceased to the morgue! The severely wounded to the infirmary for the severely wounded! The lightly wounded to the infirmary for the lightly wounded!”
At the command, the three thousand-some men set down their packs in an orderly fashion, organized them, and returned to their ranks.
Then, without need for further specific orders, they acted as commanded. The dead were taken to the morgue, and the severely and lightly wounded were escorted to their respective infirmaries. Dozens of physicians rushed over to treat them.
An Jae-se led his disciples quickly to the infirmary for the severely wounded, where only the most gravely injured were gathered. Some had broken bones, some had been bitten by venomous snakes, and others were covered in blood. Shen Lang personally performed many of the surgeries.
After some time had passed, the Sword King's wife, Madam Qiu, exclaimed in a surprised voice.
“Master Nando, you’re standing. You stood up!”
Nando was startled. Only then did he realize he was on his feet.
‘When did I stand up? How did I not even realize?’
It had been seven or eight days since his surgery. He had been bedridden for the first few days, and after that, he had remained in his wheelchair, no different from before the operation.
But just a moment ago, as he watched the Second Nirvana Army with a thrill, a surge of heat had risen within him. He had stood up instinctively.
A moment later, he was overcome with shock and wild joy. He could stand on his own—something he couldn't do before. Since the tendons in his limbs had been severed, his hands had been completely weak, trembling uncontrollably, though he could lift them slightly with great effort. His legs, however, had no strength at all; he could never stand on his own. After the tendons were cut, the remaining stumps had healed incorrectly, tangling into a messy clump. Whenever he tried to stand, his entire network of tendons would seize up and spasm. The pain was one thing, but it felt as if all his tendons would snap again. He couldn't even straighten or bend his legs, let alone stand.
But now, he could stand on those same legs. It was a little painful, but he no longer felt that sensation of his tendons tearing or of being about to collapse. Shen Lang's surgery had successfully reattached all his major tendons.
“Hahaha, I’m standing. I’m standing…!”
Overjoyed, Master Nando’s eyes filled with hot tears.
Shen Lang said, “Don’t get too excited. Control yourself. You must be free of great joy or sorrow, otherwise it may hinder your recovery. That’s enough. Please sit down now. Don’t stand for too long. Slowly, slowly…”
Shen Lang wasn’t joking. Intense emotions could have a significant impact on the body’s recovery.
Master Nando closed his eyes and, for the first time, recited a mind-calming mantra. In an instant, he entered a state as still as a dry well, without a single ripple.
After finding his composure, Master Nando opened his eyes and said, “Young Master Shen, please operate on my hands as soon as possible. I must teach that army. They are the finest children. I have never seen such fine children in my life. They will be the glory of my lifetime. No matter how many outstanding disciples I have taught in the past, they cannot compare to them! As you said, I will achieve nirvana with them.”
“Very well. Once your legs have recovered to a certain extent, I will operate on your hands immediately!”
* * *
The next day.
The entire Second Nirvana Army held a brief but solemn ceremony for the fifteen soldiers who had died. Their bodies were immediately cremated.
Half of the ashes were scattered into the sea, and the other half were buried in the earth, with trees planted as their gravestones.
The three thousand-some men wept silently, nearly all of them clenching their teeth and making a silent vow.
‘I must become stronger. Next time, absolutely no one among us will die! I will never let another brother leave us forever during training.’
* * *
Following this, the three thousand-some men began a frenzied regimen of strength training. They trained for eighteen out of twenty-four hours a day—it was hellish.
After completing their training with bows that had a draw weight of one and a half dan, they immediately switched to bows with a two-dan draw weight.
This two-dan bow had a draw weight of over 250 pounds and was made entirely of steel.
Everyone drew their bowstrings daily, holding each draw for a full minute before releasing. They did this thirty times an hour, three hundred times a day.
Such astonishingly high-intensity training could cause severe injuries, but fortunately, they could endure it thanks to their modified bloodlines. If an ordinary person were to train like this, their bones would have long since broken and their frames twisted.
But even with their modified bloodlines, they all had to drink large quantities of medicinal tonics and take medicinal baths every day. Otherwise, even bodies of steel would not be able to withstand it. For them, this high-intensity training pushed the power of their bloodlines to the absolute limit.
Besides them, Master Nando also trained arduously. He couldn't walk yet and could only do rehabilitation exercises by lifting his legs, and even that had to be done in moderation. Besides his daily rehabilitation, he spent a great deal of time devising how to train the Nirvana Army.
* * *
Half a month later.
The Second Nirvana Army conducted another forced march. It was the same three-hundred-and-fifty-li round trip, but this time they had to carry a two-hundred-and-eighty-jin pack and still return within forty-eight hours.
This time, almost every member of the Nirvana Army had thoroughly memorized the route, contemplating how to avoid death—especially how to avoid falling from cliffs and what first aid to administer if bitten by a venomous snake.
Though unspoken, everyone made a silent vow. This time, there must be zero fatalities. Getting injured was fine, even becoming disabled was acceptable, because a disabled person could still serve the Nirvana Army by doing clerical work or acting as a medic. They were perceptive and focused, putting their all into everything they learned.
So, for this march, Shen Lang had immense faith in them.
And indeed! After only forty-five hours, all three thousand eight hundred-some men returned together. Their formation was orderly and completely unbroken. There were still injuries, but the number of wounded had dropped significantly.
The number of fatalities was zero.
* * *
A month later.
Shen Lang performed surgery on Master Nando's arms, and once again, it was a great success. In seven hours, Shen Lang incised and reattached the severed tendons in both his arms.
However, Shen Lang repeatedly warned the Master not to harbor delusions of recovering his martial arts, telling him he should be grateful just to be able to walk and use his hands normally.
This time, however, Master Nando was more confident about the outcome of the surgery than Shen Lang. He kept saying that he had a good feeling about the operation and was confident.
The Second Nirvana Army began training with bows that had a draw weight of two and a half dan.
This kind of training was truly insane. No army would ever train with bows of this weight. It wasn't even possible to mass-produce such powerful bows from wood. Shen Lang had used low-carbon steel to forge them, but he couldn't find a suitable bowstring. Fortunately, since these were training bows, it didn't matter how thick the string was, so they made it progressively thicker using the highest quality silk.
The Nirvana Army soon moved on to rapid-draw training. They drew their bowstrings twenty times a minute, a thousand times an hour, for a total of ten thousand draws a day.
Ordinary soldiers would go completely insane under such a regimen. They hadn't even fired a single arrow yet, only drawn the bowstring. Moreover, the intensity of the training was ten, even twenty times that of other elite armies.
But those with transformed bloodlines displayed unparalleled focus and were able to continue training. They had no complaints; in fact, they were engrossed in the training.
With every draw of the bowstring, it was as if they were in deep communion with their bows, feeling the power of the string and the bow itself. Where was the force applied? Where was its core? They could feel which parts of the bow cried out in pain and which parts sang with exhilaration.