Chapter 22: Ninth Fortress 22

Gu Xianqing didn’t appear.

Damn it, she didn’t show up again!

An He opened her eyes and sprang up like a carp flipping, carefully combing through the details—could Gu Xianqing’s ability be tied to distance, too far away to invade her dreams?

That shouldn’t be right. Back then, that woman had hounded her for three whole years across another world. How could distance be an issue now?

An He slipped on her shoes and paced the room. Gu Xianqing had said she had her own matters to attend to, busy to this extent—what kind of trouble was it?

Killing? Arson?

Was it dangerous? Could she die?

Would she never come back?

—Perfect!

…

No, that wasn’t good. She still needed Gu Xianqing’s help.

Her shoe kicked the bedframe with a sharp creak, snapping An He out of her jumbled thoughts. She froze in place, staring blankly. On this matter, she seemed prone to slipping into unstable moods, wasting too much mental energy just dwelling on it.

An He stared at the bedframe in silence for a long moment, then bent down to carefully tie her laces.

To hell with Gu Xianqing.

She pushed open the room’s window. The light outside was soft, like the sunlight at seven in the morning.

A new day had dawned. An He zoned out for a bit—she’d slept straight from yesterday afternoon until this morning.

No dreams last night, not the kind you forget, but a full, dreamless night. For An He, it felt like a reward from the heavens for her hard work, utterly precious.

The ample sleep left her in great spirits today, exhaustion swept away, complexion much improved. She rubbed her cheeks, grabbed the wash kit issued by Thorn Lamp, headed to the communal sink, and then ate breakfast in the mess hall.

At eight in the morning, Heidi knocked on An He’s door.

Heidi was wearing her goggles, looking like she had tasks ahead today.

“I saw how wiped out you were last night, so I didn’t come by,” Heidi said from the doorway. “Oh, right—Asta’s room will have to wait. She’s already at the training field waiting for you. She asked me to pass the word.”

“Training field? Has my training started already?” An He pulled on her jacket.

“Yeah, the commander’s orders were to begin immediately,” Heidi replied. “There’s a dedicated Thorn Lamp training ground in the East District. I’ll show you the way.”

On the way past the Iron Wall, An He noticed Ide’s efficiency was top-notch. Just yesterday afternoon, she’d suggested bolstering defenses against humans, and today, the wall was already being fitted with cannons, guns, and some kind of high-speed steel pellet launcher.

Those tiny solid projectiles were useless against Bone Eaters, but their mechanical kinetic force could shred human flesh.

An He was deeply moved. Being around these decisive women felt truly wonderful.

At the East District Training Field, An He spotted Asta from afar.

Asta was impossible to miss, her cold steel supports integrated into her body. She stood in the center of the field as if she’d never been bedridden, her vigor undimmed—she was still the divine warrior.

The training field wasn’t huge, like a sports ground, but space-efficient: running tracks, shooting ranges, sparring rings laid out without a scrap of wasted land.

There was an indoor section too. Heidi said that was for later classes.

Heidi dropped her off and drove away immediately to handle her own duties. Everyone in the fortress had their work.

“Teacher.” An He stood before Asta, smiling. “Remember what we talked about? Am I finally somebody now?”

Asta looked down at her. “Not bad. Smile more—you won’t be smiling after this.”

An He blinked, and Asta handed her a sheet of paper.

“This is the schedule I made for you.”

An He glanced at it. Asta’s prediction was spot on—her smile faded.

The sheet was packed with physical training. For the next two months, barring missions, An He had to rise at six, run fifteen kilometers fully geared around the fortress interior.

Fully geared meant heavy weapons and ammo, everything Thorn Lamp took on missions. Until she knew their weight and positions instinctively, could grab and use them without thinking.

Every other day, weighted cross-country around the Mines—plenty of weight vests and ankle blocks piled in the field corner.

The rest: hand-to-hand, shooting and archery, wilderness ambushes, theory classes.

Every slot listed Asta as instructor. Meaning An He would spend the whole day with her until seven at night.

This intensity was unscientific. Weren’t they worried about rhabdomyolysis?

An He eyed the timetable, precise to the second, her eyelid twitching. Ide had mentioned compressing the program yesterday; she’d braced herself, but not enough.

Had she called her “teacher” too soon? Could she take it back?

“No Nestsoul training? Just physical?” An He looked up uncertainly, suspecting an oversight.

“Your current state—rushing Nestsoul training won’t help much. At least half a month to build your cardio and core first, with theory interspersed,” Asta explained. “But only with strong fitness will Nestsoul techniques click. Like learning to crawl before walking.”

That made sense…

But…

“One hundred crunches, one hundred push-ups…” An He read the next half-hour’s plan, labeled “warm-up.”

Warm-up? Then what? Might as well kill her now.

Asta had no idea how fragile a fresh grad with lazy limbs could be.

She had no clue!

“What’s wrong? Too tough?” Asta asked, puzzled.

Huh? Wasn’t it?

An He’s mouth turned down, smile gone.

“I saw your initial checkup. This is pushing it for you. But I’ll guide you—we can’t take it slow.” Asta softened. “Time’s short. At minimum, drop fat, build muscle fast.”

Body fat—hit right in the sore spot. An He touched her belly. Gu Xianqing had teased her soft flesh, weak muscles, comfy to lie on.

That punchable face flashed in her mind, igniting sudden fire.

She focused, resolute. “Not too hard. I’ll do it!”

“Good.” Asta approved of her grit. “I’ll warm up with you—like rehab.”

An He opened her mouth. Who rehabbed with a hundred push-ups?

She glanced at Asta’s height and build—on a Thorn Lamp, it made sense.

“Will this make me taller?” An He clutched the paper, gazing up at her teacher. Except Lola, ten cm taller, all Embedded Spirit Bodies towered over her. In one-on-one battlefield scraps, size was huge; in the animal kingdom, even more.

“How old are you, still dreaming of growing?” Asta eyed her, then reached out to pat An He’s head. “Hmm… you are special.”

Asta ruffled it twice.

“But small has its perks. We always say everyone has strengths.” Asta dropped her hand. “Your Innate Talent ties to speed—your build aids agility. Perfect fit, no need to mope.”

“Thanks. That helps.” An He smoothed her hair.

Thinking it over, she’d leveraged it: slipped effortlessly into a Bone Eater’s gut for the fungal cluster. Ide and Asta never fought like that.

And in future pinches, easier to hide.

Asta turned. “Need to test some data. Follow me—your punching power first.”

The Ninth Fortress’s tester was crude, ten scales: four pass, seven good, nine+ elite.

Asta demoed first with her good left hand: fist flew, wind whistled, padded post shuddered. Bang! Iron weight slammed to “nine.”

Asta paused, turned. “Punch power comes from waist, abs, legs too. Tense your core.”

No reaction, but An He guessed pre-injury Asta hit near “ten.”

Seemed doable—Asta made it look easy.

An He brimmed with confidence, feeling unstoppable.

Asta reset the weight.

An He breathed deep, tensed, punched. Crack!—weight shot out. Decent, she thought.

But Asta’s merciless jab hit first: “Were you tickling it?”

Result: “four.”

Barely passing.

Machine broken?

An He figured she beat average joes—enough grit bursts for survival. Not like desk-jockey youths with dead glutes and biceps.

But Asta wasn’t impressed.

In Asta’s eyes, “four” was nothing.

“Guess I’ll add punching drills.” Asta, stern as coach, said. “Heavy bag too.”

“Teacher…” An He’s brows and lips drooped.

“Unwilling?” Asta patted her head. “We use weapons, but close quarters happen. Hard fists, strong grip—you crush throats first. Essential. Got it?”

Throat crush. An He curled her fingers. No wonder she couldn’t choke Gu Xianqing.

Unacceptable.

She looked up, firm. “Got it! I’ll train!”

The grueling, monotonous training began. Basic muscle activation: after push-ups and “warm-ups,” Asta had her strap on the lightest two-kilo vest for two kilometers.

An He sweated buckets, shirt soaked. Not like short panic sprints—sustained effort tested will to the limit.

Then, no break: hold a gun level.

Couldn’t. An He shook, body out of control.

Asta coached: “Master your body.”

“Feel your body.”

“Breathe. Control every muscle.”

Focus: sensation, control.

Feeling each flex, pulse, An He marveled at the body’s wonder.

Lifting a foot: arch, calf, thigh; core tight; elbow swing for balance; breathe, eyes forward.

No excess muscle. They synced for powerful steps.

Those steps let her pounce like a cheetah.

Under Asta’s push, An He realized: body as precise machine, one move triggers all.

This was control.

“Master your body, and Nestsoul’s easy—the commander told you, it’s part of you.” End of day, Asta summed up, hauling limp An He up. “Need my Mechanical Legs for support?”

An He smiled and waved her off, forcing herself to stand straight on her own. She didn’t even need to wait until the next day—she already felt sore all over. But the refreshing clarity after sweating it out, combined with the joy of her newfound realizations, washed away those aches.

She was even starting to enjoy the discomfort a little.

“Nice willpower,” Asta said, still offering a steadying hand but this time without scooping her up like a squirming chick. “Your willpower has always been top-notch. That’ll be the key to victory, An He. You’ll make an excellent warrior.”

Hearing her mentor’s praise made all that sweat feel worth it.

“Thorn Lamp’s meals are coarse grains and low-fat rations. Hope you enjoy,” Asta said as she led An He to the dining area.

“Teacher, mind if I ask something?” An He chewed slowly on her mouthful of black bread.

“What?”

“Have you ever seen anyone’s Nestsoul that wasn’t some kind of beast or animal?” An He tossed out the question. Gu Xianqing’s cryptic words still echoed in her mind—what did she mean that the Ninth Fortress’s understanding was outdated?

She’d asked Heidi the exact same thing, but got no real answer.

“Everyone in the Ninth Fortress has beast-type Nestsouls. I heard once that someone in the Third Fortress had an insect one, but that’s not exactly rare. It’s all pretty much the same.”

Asta’s response was similar to Heidi’s.

An He just murmured an “oh” and smoothly pivoted to questions about Nestsoul training.

It wasn’t until An He got a chance to ask Lola that she received a completely different answer.

Lola looked at her. “The third batch of test subjects failed long ago. Tell me—you’ve seen a Nestsoul in human form, haven’t you?”