The muscular teen Lu Ren sneaked into the training camp early in the morning, looking at the smart token in his hand with delight, and said,
"This is my dad's ID token, which can send messages and trigger alarms. With this, I can finally mess with that Xiao Ye."
"Hmph, willpower training cranked all the way up, and give him the thickest-skinned beast to fight!"
Lu Ren had always been petty since he was a kid. Nangong Siyao was his goddess, his White Moonlight.
Before awakening, their families had arranged for them to form a contract, but after awakening, Nangong Siyao's template had a problem; she claimed to be an SSS-level template and said that unless her template restored, she would never contract with anyone. So, Lu Ren became incredibly sensitive to the words "SSS-level."
If it weren't for this SSS-level template thing, even if Nangong Siyao wasn't into him, they'd still have contracted under their elders' arrangement. But now, everything was in vain.
*This made Lu Ren both angry and filled with regret!* *If only he could do it again, he'd definitely stop Nangong Siyao from awakening.*
As soon as six-thirty hit, everyone gathered in the training plaza.
The Contractors arrived sleepy-eyed, fluffy-haired, clearly tossed around all night by their partners—not a single one looked well-rested.
The male and female bald instructors, known as training maniacs, watched this scene and nodded in satisfaction.
The more chaos, the better their chemistry, which helped with their Summoned Beast rapport. Still, nobody could slack off on training.
"This week's training plan is,"
"One, physical fitness training."
"Two, willpower training."
"Three, Beast-Eared Girl training."
"Four, Demon Beast contact training."
"Five, related knowledge education."
"Six, simulated battles."
The bald male instructor announced the plan, then looked around and said, "The order of these exercises doesn't matter, as long as you finish, you'll get Crystal Core rewards!"
Down below, all the Contractors' eyes lit up—Crystal Cores!
The two bald instructors led the Contractors to a 1,000-square-meter gravity running track.
"First session, physical fitness training. In Blue Star's apocalypse, the Contractors' physical abilities—even in human form—affect their Summoned Beast's mental state. Starting now, everyone does weighted running."
"Fifty kilos of weight, ten-kilometer run, go!"
Just then, a beep sounded from the bald instructor's pocket; he took out his Communication Device for a look.
[Focus on training Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi; set their difficulty to Hell Level]
The bald instructor's face changed. It was a command from the Pavilion Master of the City Guard Army—the highest authority!
[Roger that] the bald instructor replied.
Watching the Contractors step onto the gravity track in the distance, the bald instructor fixated on Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi, *SSS-level, huh? A tier above my SS-level talent...real prodigies. No way could he use normal training for them.*
On the gravity track, Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi quickly adapted to the fifty-kilo weight and soon pulled ahead.
Next up were the S-level Summoned Beast Contractors. For those who inherited some Summoned Beast strength, fifty kilos wasn't too tough.
For the A-level Summoned Beast Contractors, it got hard. They'd just entered the ranks, inherited barely any power, and had to settle for speed-walking.
Last was C-level, with Nangong Siyao, who didn't inherit Summoned Beast strength at all. With fifty kilos, she nearly tripped with every step.
After ten kilometers, ten minutes later, Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi finished their training first.
The bald instructor logged a note, Each receives one second-tier Crystal Core!
"One hundred kilos now, keep running—another ten kilometers," the bald instructor said to the two, who weren't even sweating.
So Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi hit the track again.
"Whoosh!" The two of them, now lugging one hundred kilos, easily overtook the other Contractors, finishing their session in no time.
The bald instructor wrote in his little notebook, Plus, Xiao Ye, Cheng Bingxi: Each gets two second-tier Crystal Cores, so three each in total.
Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi looked at the reward tallied in the instructor's book, their eyes twinkling with dollar signs.
"So many Crystal Cores—I can hit another level up!"
Finishing training got them this much loot; clearly, Base City wasn't messing around.
"Ten-minute break. Two hundred kilos next, another ten kilometers."
This was when the S-level Summoned Beast Contractors finally wrapped up their fifty-kilo ten-kilometer run. Drenched in sweat, they glanced over at Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi, stunned.
*Damn, two laps with bonuses and they're moving on to two hundred kilos?*
Lu Ren had a gleam of smugness in his eyes. *Ha! Two hundred kilos—let's see you two get flattened!*
At that moment, the bald instructor said, "I've logged your rewards. You S-level Summoned Beast Contractors rest for ten minutes, then start the ten-kilometer run with one hundred kilos."
"Uh—" The grin on Lu Ren's face froze,
*One hundred kilos for ten kilometers... yeah, he probably wouldn't make it.*
And so, two groups of Contractors began their respective training—one group SSS-level, Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi; the other, three S-level Contractor pairs.
This time, Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi ran noticeably slower, sweat beading on their foreheads, but they still knocked it out within half an hour.
The bald instructor noted in his book, Xiao Ye, Cheng Bingxi: Plus, reward of three second-tier Crystal Cores each, now six each in total.
"Take a break, three hundred kilos next, another ten kilometers," said the bald instructor.
Only now did the A-level Summoned Beast Contractors finally finish their first fifty-kilo session. When they heard the instructor's latest command, they were floored.
*Three hundred kilos? Are these guys even human?*
*We just finished our first set, and they're starting the fourth? That's just nuts.*
Still slogging along the track, Lu Ren was in high spirits. Despite being drenched in sweat, *he really wanted to see Xiao Ye flop.*
*Three hundred kilos, huh? You two really think you can hack it?*
Soon, Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi started round four. After strapping on three hundred kilos, Xiao Ye found it tough to jog, so he stuck to a brisk walk.
Nearby, Nangong Siyao was drenched in sweat, as if at her limit, each step costing enormous effort.
Xiao Ye walked up next to her, surprised, "Nangong Siyao, are you dying out here or what?"
"I'm fine." Even though she was about to collapse, she clenched her jaw, "Just two hundred meters left!"
Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi overtook her.
Nangong Siyao looked up at their weight tags and was stunned—three hundred kilos? *So this is SSS-level!*
*Nangong Siyao truly felt the power of the SSS-level template, fueling her longing to find a way to restore her own. If she could be SSS-level again, she'd pay any price.*
Finally, Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi hit their limit; thirty minutes later, they finished the three hundred kilo session, flopping on the grass as sweat poured dangerously down their faces and chins.
The second group of S-level Contractors still hadn't finished, but Lu Ren stared at Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi, *feeling overjoyed to see them so wiped out.*
The bald instructor wrote down their rewards, Plus, Xiao Ye, Cheng Bingxi: six second-tier Crystal Cores each, for a total of twelve each—twenty-four in all.
"Huff, huff, huff!" Nangong Siyao finally completed her fifty-kilo session. She collapsed beside Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi, chest heaving, out of breath.
(The big climax's coming up—please add to your collection and keep reading!)