Source Energy and Imprints

Ronan nodded, gestured for the youths to start running, and those who lagged behind were met with the instructors' whips. The run continued until the first light of dawn at six o'clock when Ronan called it to an end. Breakfast followed, and it was surprisingly plentiful, with each person receiving enough to fill their stomachs. Not only was the food sufficient, but it was also well-balanced, containing some drugs to stimulate growth, which made some of it taste strange.

Many of the youths ate ravenously, and Asher was famished too. He was normally strong, otherwise, he wouldn't have survived five years in the harsh wilderness. But Ronan's long run had nearly drained him entirely, and the lieutenant indeed had his eye on him. Whenever Asher pulled slightly ahead and then slowed to conserve energy, the sneering lieutenant would personally crack the whip, forcing him to sprint at full speed.

So it went that Asher led the group by three whole laps!

Now, even his fingers trembled as he reached for the bread. Asher took a deep breath to quell his hunger and forced himself to eat slowly; he wasn't in a rush. Some of the youths who ate too quickly were now clutching their stomachs and rolling on the ground in pain. Ronan had the instructors carry these few away and walked among the youths, reminding them, "Remember, after severe exertion, avoid eating large amounts quickly. It could kill you, especially if you've been starving for a couple of days in the wild. Initially, it's best to only drink water and control the amount strictly!"

Realizing the lieutenant's point, the youths had an epiphany; even eating was a science.

"After you finish eating, you'll have 15 minutes of rest, and then it's strength training!" Ronan's announcement brought bitter expressions to the youths' faces.

The next two months passed in a blur of endurance, strength, and various other trainings, interspersed with instructors' attacks with whips, clubs, knives, and even hand-to-hand combat. The instructors attacked at any time and place except for at night, to ensure the youths got enough sleep.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be training; it would be torture.

Two months flew by, and Asher gradually adapted to this life. Some techniques taught by Ronan were very similar to what he had learned from the snow wolves. Yet, there were many things the wolves couldn't teach him, for humans had a complete system of knowledge transmission, which was worlds apart from the wolves' reliance on experience.

On the first day of the third month, after breakfast, Ronan unexpectedly didn't have the youths do strength training but gathered them in the square instead. Six more had been eliminated over the two months of training, leaving twenty-nine.

Ronan looked at the remaining youths with his trademark smile, "Your performance has truly surprised me. I thought at least half of you would be gone by now, but look how many are left. Congratulations, you little devils, because now you'll have the chance to touch the true power of this world!"

"Listen, if this were a war academy on Babylon, those verbose academics would start with the principles. But this is a training camp, and in a few months, one of you lucky devils will participate in the Death Arena. So I don't have time to explain; you just need to know that the true power of the world, even the entire universe, is called Source Energy!"

"As to what Source Energy is, I'll give you the most direct impression. But before that, I must tell you, Source Energy is of two types: cosmic Source Energy and life Source Energy. As for the details, the instructors will give you a manual later, and you can read it during your rest. We'll leave cosmic Source Energy aside for now; that's a mighty force not even the strongest among you can hope to touch just yet. It requires talent more than effort. What you need to grasp and master is life Source Energy!"

Asher's body trembled slightly; he had some understanding of the light he saw emanating from Byfang and others. If not mistaken, it was what the lieutenant referred to as life Source Energy.

The youth pondered, and Ronan, seeing his thoughtful expression, continued with a slight smile, "What is life? At its most superficial, it's the result of male and female mating. But is it really that simple? No, competition is everywhere in the universe. Every birth is a product of fierce competition. When your father releases his life essence into your mother, you have only a one in several million, even a billion, chance of being born!"

"Out of millions of sperm, only the strongest and fastest can merge with the egg and begin the journey of life. From another perspective, those of you fortunate enough to be born already carry the best genes from both your parents." Ronan paused, allowing the youths time to digest his words, then continued, "Life Source Energy is about awakening the hidden energy in genes, extracting, absorbing, and strengthening it, distinguishing you from ordinary people. As a wielder of Source Energy, you'll have the chance to obtain wealth and power beyond what normal people can imagine in their lifetimes. Source Energy is power, and with power, anywhere in the universe can be paradise! Without power, you're nothing but sheep to the slaughter!"

His voice boomed like thunder, as it had on their first meeting, forcibly embedding every word into each youth's mind.

"Now, let's give you little devils a glimpse of what Source Energy can really bring to a person..." Ronan raised his right hand, his arm as thick as a woman's thigh, muscles bulging, veins writhing like earthworms. Then, faint lights like fireflies began to appear on his arm. They were so subtle, yet visible to the naked eye, eliciting gasps from many of the youths.

The lights traced patterns on Ronan's arm, resembling electronic circuits, and eventually converged on the back of his hand, forming an imprint that glowed like a blade.

"Listen, awakening your genetic potential is just the first step, what we call the 'spark' of Source Energy. Lighting the spark is merely obtaining a pass to the vast world. To light the spark and form a Source Energy vortex is this stage, and at this point, such a person is called a Source Energy wielder."

"But don't think you're anything special yet; Source Energy wielders are at the bottom of the system. In real warfare, they're just cannon fodder. To be of any use, you need to form nine Source Energy vortices like me and then condense the first genetic circuit. That moment will be the most important of your life. The formation of a genetic circuit will result in something like this imprint on my hand. We call it an 'imprint.'"

"An imprint is akin to talent; what kind of imprint you form is related to your genetic potential. Once you have an imprint, you'll unlock your first ability. Then, by training your Source Energy and increasing its strength, forming more genetic circuits to fill your imprint, you'll awaken more and more powerful abilities. In this cycle, you may step by step reach the pinnacle of the Source Energy pyramid." Ronan waved his hand and added, "Every imprint is unique, just as each of you is unique. The imprint on my hand is called 'Steel Edge,' and its first ability makes my arm as hard as steel and as sharp as a blade!"

As Ronan explained, the youths were spellbound, their faces showing they were entranced. Ronan had opened the door to a whole new world for them, and what lay beyond that door was for the youths to explore. Of course, that would be after they had Source Energy.

At least, after they ignited the spark of Source Energy.

Looking down at the youths, Ronan spoke like a wolf that had been baiting its prey before finally baring its ferocious teeth, "You lucky devils, if you weren't in this training camp, you might never have had the chance you have now. In seven days, the first batch of Awakening Elixirs will arrive. They will help you to stimulate your latent Source Energy as quickly as possible. Be warned, this elixir is extremely damaging to your nervous system, and ordinary people can only use it two to three times. Exceeding this limit will cause your nervous system to die, leaving you a fool!"

The youths gasped, and Ronan's next words crushed the excitement they had just felt.

"Furthermore, in the next two months, you must ignite your spark. By the early hours of the sixtieth day, any waste who can't ignite their spark will be eliminated!"

In the past two months, the youths had come to understand that elimination meant death. And now they had only two months, with a maximum of three doses of the elixir, to stimulate and ignite their Source Energy spark. The time was short, and the challenge immense, unprecedented. Of the twenty-nine youths standing there, it was unknown how many would remain in two months.

It was foreseeable that the number would not be large. After all, Source Energy wielders were far from being abundant.

The training intensified from that day on, with Ronan pushing the limits of the various exercises. His standards were always just beyond what the youths could achieve. His precision was so exact that he even added weight for some special individuals, like Asher, whose training load was now twice that of the others!