Everyone came to the training room the next morning and found Li Cangyu already waiting there with a stack of printed forms in his hand. He distributed it to the four teenagers and said, “For the next week, you will train according to my arrangements. After each training section, I will look at the results. If you don’t pass, there will be overtime.”

  This was the same as not doing homework for school and then being forced to stay behind after class by the teacher.

  The teenagers took the forms that detailed the training items and times for each person.

  The Dragon Warriors Club had many training software for e-sports players. For example, there was the software for practicing speed. After it was started, English letters would randomly appear on the screen. The speed at which the letters appeared could be adjusted.The fingers had to quickly press the right letter after seeing it to eliminate the letter, otherwise it would be game over.

  The walking software had a variety of random labyrinth maps. Some had cliffs which would cause the players to fall to their deaths if they were even slightly careless, which tested the player’s psychological quality and movement operations. There was also a software to practice skills. The player could freely choose a race and class in the initial interface then enter a single player instance to challenge a boss. This allowed them to become familiar with the gameplay of different classes.

  Gu Siming was very familiar with these training softwares and Zhuo Hang showed no curiosity at all. Xiao Han and Li Xiaojiang looked excited because this was their first contact with the software.

  In the morning, everyone trained according to the captain’s arrangements and no tiredness could be seen on their faces.

  This lasted until the afternoon when Li Cangyu looked over the training videos and frowned. “Xiao Han, your hand speed training is not qualified. Change it to 400 keystrokes per minute and then re-train for one hour.”

  Xiao Han lowered his head and replied, “Oh…”

  “Xiao Li, it took you too long to play the boss. Practice again for two hours.”

  Li Xiaojiang made a mistake and hung his head. “I, I know.”

  “Xiao Zhuo, there were five mistakes that occurred 10 times during your movement training. The error rate is too high. Do it again!”

  Zhuo Hang also lowered his head. “Okay.”

  The only one not trained was Gu Siming. He had trained in the Dragon Warriors camp for half a year and his foundation was relatively solid. He was happily thinking he was passed over when Li Cangyu came to him. “Xiao Gu, did you master the white magician’s skills?”

  Gu Siming was embarrassed. “Er…I’m not very familiar with them.”

  Li Cangyu ordered, “Open an account in the arena. Once your winning rate is more than 95%, come and report to me.”

  Gu Siming also hung his head. “Yes, I know…”

  Bai Xuan looked at the four youths who had lowered heads and couldn’t help smiling. He went up to Li Cangyu and whispered, “Aren’t you afraid your requests are too strict?”

  Li Cangyu helplessly shrugged. “There is no other way. The time is tight and I must increase their training intensity.”

  ***

  Xiao Han sat in front of the computer and adjusted the hand speed to 400 according to Master’s instructions. It was very difficult.

  His usual steady hand speed was 350/min. It was slightly higher when unleashing an outbreak of attacks. Now he adjusted the hand speed to 400/min, which was equivalent to pressing six to seven keys in one second. It could be imagined how fast the fingers needed to be.

  He had been pressing the keys for less than half an hour when he felt his fingers becoming very tired.

  He saw the words ‘game over’ appear on the screen and wanted to take a short break. However, he turned back and saw Master looking sharply at him. Xiao Han immediately shrank back, straightened his back and continued with the training software.

  ***

  Li Xiaojiang was even more miserable. He originally had a slow nature and his hand speed was naturally the slowest in the whole team. If he faced a boss alone, he was often chased by the boss and couldn’t cast his skills. He could only rely on using the terrain, making it difficult for him to end the battle in 10 minutes like the captain said.

  \r \r \r

  It took him more than 15 minutes to kill the boss. Li Xiaojiang was discouraged and gritted his teeth while staring at the computer. He obviously didn’t know what to do. Bai Xuan smiled and reassured him. “Don’t worry, concentrate slowly.”

  Li Xiaojiang took a deep breath, focused on the computer screen and placed his fingers on the keyboard again.

  ***

  The big-headed Zhuo Hang was also suffering.

  Cat God found a particularly complicated map for him. There were many cliffs and the road was as narrow as steel wire. If his fingers shook even a little bit then he would fall into. He only moved 20 metres when he fell down.

  Zhuo Hang really wanted to remove the key caps on the keyboard one by one.

  Xie Shurong saw his depressed expression and couldn’t help laughing. “Fierce hunter, quickly get up and continue.”

  Zhuo Hang endured the impulse to hit the wall and spoke into Xie Shurong’s ears. “Brother Tree, do you have a special method?”

  Xie Shurong stated, “Practice makes perfect.”

  “…” You should’ve just not said anything!

  Zhuo Hang nodded in a depressed manner. “I’ll try again…”

  ***

  Gu Siming opened a white magician account to PK with people in the arena. Cat God gave him the task of achieving a 95% winning rate i.e. he had to win at least 95 games out of 100.

  The result was that he met several masters just after he started and lost three games in a row, making Gu Siming depressed.

  He didn’t know that Uncle Zhang, sitting opposite him, was stealing his wins. Yes, the three games that Gu Siming lost were all Zhang Jueming’s accounts playing with him. He was the owner of a leveling studio and had a basket of accounts in his hand.

  Zhang Jueming’s state wasn’t as good as the past but he had a large amount of experience. His understanding of Miracle was more thorough than Xiao Gu. In addition, Xiao Gu wasn’t familiar with a white magician while Zhang Jueming was a white magician. It was natural that Gu Siming couldn’t fight back in these three matches.

  He lost three rounds so reaching a 95% winning rate was even more difficult. Gu Siming suddenly felt pressure that was as heavy as a mountain.

  ***

  The afternoon training was particularly difficult. The excitement of the four teenagers had already disappeared.

  At 5 o’clock when the training ended, Li Cangyu received the videos of the four people and they naturally all failed.

  Li Cangyu had a solemn expression as he stated, “You all failed. Stay and train for another hour.”

  The four people hung their heads. “Yes…”

  Their faces were pathetic.

  Bai Xuan had a soft heart but he knew that Li Cangyu was acting like a captain towards the young children. He found it hard to meddle and said, “Then shall we go to dinner first?”

  Li Cangyu said, “Then let’s go.”

  Bai Xuan, A’Shu and Old Zhang went to dinner first while Li Cangyu stayed to supervise the training.

  One hour felt longer than a century, especially when everyone was hungry. Zhuo Hang particularly wanted to protest. ‘Cat God, it is illegal for you to abuse minors like this! I want to eat, I’m so hungry!’ He was so tired and dizzy that he couldn’t see what was on the computer and… fell to his death.

  Xiao Han was also angry but he had a stubborn personality. He was angry but insisted on continuing to tap on the keyboard.

  Li Xiaojiang’s eyes were wet and he was almost crying. Obviously, one afternoon of practice had made him very depressed. His lips were bitten until they cracked and he looked very pitiful as his stomach growled.

  Xiao Gu’s state was relatively good. After all, he was a little madman who wasn’t afraid of staying up all night. He was just depressed from losing in the arena during the afternoon and it was like dark clouds were floating above his head.

  Li Cangyu supervised them for another hour before mercifully letting them go. “Okay, go eat dinner.”

  The four youths immediately jumped up and rushed to the canteen.

  They spent all afternoon training and were dizzy from hunger. The four people rushed to get a plate full of food and stuffed things into their mouths. They didn’t care about anything else.

  Li Cangyu watched the young teenagers sitting together while eating and couldn’t help smiling.

  ‘Do you see what I am capable of? Don’t worry, this is just the beginning.’

  ***

  In the next training session, Li Cangyu made them work overtime again. They gradually became used to eating dinner at 6 o’clock.

  It was only one extra hour a day but once this accumulated, Li Cangyu believed that it would certainly be effective.

  One week of training passed and it was finally the weekend. Li Cangyu mercifully gave everyone a day off.

  That night, Li Cangyu called everyone together to open a ‘symposium.’

  Several people sat in the living room and Li Cangyu asked softly, “How do you feel about this week’s training?”

  All four lowered their heads and didn’t speak.

  Li Yunyu said, “Didn’t you say you could hold on? How is it? Do you feel very tired?”

  The four men’s heads hung lower and they wanted to bury their heads in their chests.

  “The daily training of other teams is the same as what I arranged for you. I repeated the same operations every day, tapping on the keyboard from morning until night. The life of a professional player is actually very boring.” Li Cangyu paused and his tone became serious. “It is practicing basic operations like this that you won’t make mistakes on the field. One minute on the stage, 10 years under the stage, do you understand this principle?”

  “Yes.” The four young men nodded.

  Li Cangyu smiled. “Come and talk to me about your feelings. Xiao Gu first.”

  Xiao Gu replied positively. “My white magician’s winning rate has reached 90%. I will be able to complete the task next week. Then I will change to a black magician to play the arena.”

  Xiao Han went on to say, “I feel there is some improvement in my hand speed. It used to be around 350 and now I estimate it to be around 380. The goal of 400 hand speed will be completed soon.”

  Zhuo Hang said, “Cough, I walked 50 metres in the maze. I am 50 metres from the finish line so I will continue to work hard, Cat God!”

  Li Xiaojiang’s face was red and he spoke in a very embarrassed manner. “I, I, I am still very slow playing the boss. I will speed up.”

  Li Cangyu’s eyes swept over the four teenagers and found that they were staring at him with shining eyes. He couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t be discouraged. The high-intensity training tasks I have arranged are tailor-made for you. Once this stage’s training is over, you will look back and find that your level has improved.”

  The four immediately replied in unison. “Yes!”

  Bai Xuan also came to Li Cangyu’s dormitory to join in on the fun. He found the four teenagers sitting side by side on the sofa while listening to Cat God. Their tired and annoyed expressions were gone, replaced by confidence…

  He knew that Li Cangyu’s way of dealing with the players was to abuse them before holding them up to raise their confidence. Under Li Cangyu’s training, their psychological state would be very strong.

  However, they were young and this week’s training put them under too much pressure. Some people had dark circles under their eyes, which was distressing for Bai Xuan to see.

  Bai Xuan headed to the refrigerator to take out some fruit and cut it, saying, “We should relax this weekend. Eat some fruit.”

  The four teenagers looked at Li Cangyu, who waved his hand. “Eat.”

  It was as if they heard an imperial decree. Everyone immediately grabbed the fruit to eat. Li Xiaojiang had the slowest movements and half the plate was empty before he could grab anything. Li Xiaojiang stared with a dazed expression and Bai Xuan handed an apple to him.

  Bai Xuan sat on the sofa and looked at Li Cangyu. “I saw a message on the internet today. The large-scale update for the Miracle national server will start on Monday. In addition to the skills adjustment of some classes, the biggest update will be to the arena. The points in the arena will be reset to 0 and the rules will change to those of the new competition rules.”

  Li Cangyu speculated, “It seems that the officials plan to release the new system in advance, allowing players and netizens to familiarize themselves with it.”

  “Yes.” Bai Xuan asked, “What are you going to do? Should we team up to play the arena?”

  Li Cangyu looked at the young children eavesdropping while eating fruit and grinned. “Of course we will go. The arena update means many teams will be using side accounts to test the waters. How can our Canglan team be lacking?”