Chapter 65
As they gathered in front of the mansion before the sun rose, Ling Jian and Ling Tian were already standing there waiting for them. The first thing Ling Tian did was to scold them all ferociously. As they saw that Ling Tian had arrived before them, they were full of guilt and shame. A bunch of fully grown men actually had a poorer sense of time than a child.
Following which, it was the first day of Ling Tian’s test. Ling Tian commanded them to run from the gates of the Ling mansion to the newly developing Ling Family Courtyard, pluck a branch from the willow forest, before returning.
Ling Tian did not give them a specific time to meet. He only pushed Ling Jian into their crowd and instructed that the one who reached there last will have to carry Ling Jian back. As for Ling Jian’s training, it was half of the Blood Iron Warriors. He was only required to run to the willow forest.
Furthermore, those who came in the last ten places will have to wash the clothes of the first ten who came back and have their meals reduced and given to those from the first ten places. For a day, those from the first ten places can instruct those from the last ten places to do anything. Ling Tian then reminded them — while there is no time limit, he will have a final time limit in his heart. If they were to exceed it, they would all have to scram!
As everyone heard that, they all sucked in a breath of cold air. Without knowing the time limit which their young n.o.ble set for them, how would they be able to pace themselves? Furthermore, it was at least 40 miles from the Ling mansion to the Ling Family Courtyard. The to and fro journey would be a total of 80 miles for them. By the time they were to finish the run, they would definitely be completely exhausted! [1]
After Ling Tian finished giving out instructions, he turned back into the mansion. He only said that they were not allowed to resort to any tricks. If they felt that it was unreasonable, they can leave at anytime. If they were still going to be in a daze, they should go back home to be in a daze.
The moment Ling Tian said that, they all sprinted towards the streets.
As Ling Tian looked at their backs, he could not help but shake his head as he thought, "A bunch of unruly mob. I can’t believe they do not know how to run in step even though they are from the army. If they were to adjust their footsteps to be in unison, it would make all of their lives much easier. It is obvious that the army did not train them in such an area. This is also good,
With regards to the time given for them to return, Ling Tian had set it to four hours. This was something that Ling Tian felt was a relaxed timing for the special forces from his previous life. While Ling Tian had never been a soldier or been in an army camp in his previous life, he was not a stranger to military training. Being born in an aristocratic family, even if he was not a main descendant, he had to have a certain understanding of the army as well.
Surprisingly, the physical fitness of these men were extraordinarily good. They were all able to return within Ling Tian’s stipulated timing. The fastest person who came back was actually an hour earlier than his stipulated timing. As the last person returned, the sun was already up high in the sky. As they all returned to where Ling Tian stayed, they all sat down and panted heavily with perspiration all over their bodies. As for the last person who returned, who was also the person who carried Ling Jian, his tongue was already sticking out from his mouth.
Ling Tian then walked out from his room calmly. As he saw how pathetic they looked, he frowned and roared, "This is also called elites? Mmm? Elites who look like dead dogs? Stand up and line up properly!"
"The first ten, take a step forward." Then, 10 people including Feng Mo took a step forward emotionlessly. These 10 people were all standing up straight with their breaths smoother than the rest. They all formed a row in front of Ling Tian, with delight on their faces. Ling Tian carefully studied all of them before nodding slowly.
"The last ten, take a step forward." then, 10 people stepped out with their heads lowered in embarra.s.sment panting heavily. Especially the last man who returned, he stood up with great difficulty, almost falling back down to the ground before standing up with great difficulty.
If they had ran at a uniformed pace, they would definitely not be in such a poor condition. They were only afraid that they would be eliminated by Ling Tian if they were late. Thus, they were running at full speed even up to the end. With an enormous pressure and the exhaustion of their bodies, they were reduced to such a state.
Ling Tian then nodded and revealed for a warm smile, "You guys, good! Very good. Cool down your bodies for a while. Before you guys recover, your are not allowed to drink anything." This was from Ling Tian’s experience in the previous world, He knew that if they were to drink water when they were so exhausted, it would greatly reduce the effects of training. Drinking water after their bodies recovered from the exhaustion would be the best way to maximize their training.
He then turned to look at the first ten with a chilly gaze, "As for the ten of you, you guys are really fast…"
Hearing the unfriendly tone in Ling Tian’s voice, these 10 Blood Iron Warriors felt that something was wrong. They were all extremely puzzled — we all came back with the fastest speed, exceeding the rest by a great margin. Why does it seem that young n.o.ble is extremely displeased?
Ling Tian then looked at them coldly and said, "From today on, the clothes of the last ten people will be washed by all of you. All of their jobs apart from training will also be done by the ten of you. Your lunch will be reduced by half."
As Ling Tian said that, everyone was dumbfounded! Many of them were tempted to shout out, "What kind of a logic is this? Not only did they have no rewards for coming back early, they were even punished?" Everyone was completely at a loss.
The first ten who came back were also in shock, with even a trace of anger. Finally, a burly man walked out and shouted, "Young n.o.ble, I’m unresigned!"
"Oh?" Ling Tian turned and looked at him with strictness in his eyes, "What are you unresigned about?"
The man then replied, "We are faster than the rest of them by an hour. Such a result far exceeds those from the last 10 places. Why are we the ones getting punished instead of them? Don’t tell me it is wrong for us to listen to young n.o.ble’s orders to run back as fast as we can?" As he said that, all 10 of them revealed a face of being wronged.
Ling Tian then slowly nodded as he asked the rest, "Do the rest of you feel this way also?"
The other nine of them looked at him and nodded.
Ling Tian then laughed coldly, "Good! I will let you guys understand! But after I explain it to all of you, all of your punishments must be doubled!"
The ten of them then replied in unison, "As long as young n.o.ble is able to tell us where we went wrong. If we are really in the wrong, we are willing to be punished!"
Ling Tian then snorted, "Do you know why I want you guys? I want a team! I do not want individuals! While you guys are fast and managed to meet my required timing, you guys abandoned your comrades! Abandoned your brothers! You guys know that they are exhausted already but did not help them out. Can I ask, if such a thing were to happen on the battlefield, what will your crimes be? You dare to say that you are wronged in front of me? Are you guys really wronged?"
[1]: Note that the Chinese miles is only 500 meters.