Commencement of plans

Ace had a simple plan, which took him three days. Yet, there were no regrets he had about his planning.

The steps he had included were simple, but behind each of them was a purpose that would arise from the concept of the plan.

The first step to his plan was to gather everyone, including his disciples. Every morning, he would require them to execute physical training without the assistance of their spiritual energy.

Note: Spiritual energy stands for spirit energy, but is used at certain times to make the text smoother.

The purpose of this is to take their mind off cultivation while strengthening their physical body.

Through the process of strengthening their physical body, these young geniuses will be able to develop themselves further. By focusing on the weaker parts of their cultivation body first, they'll enable their body to gather and contain spirit energy in their body.

Thus strengthening the weaker parts of their body and allowing them to contain more spirit energy. Providing them with spirit energy to execute attacks beyond their peak because of the increase in spirit energy.

In the afternoon, they would cultivate under the sweltering sun at a spot without any cover, which took him half a day of searching to locate the best venue.

In the evening, the time was for them to decide whatever they wanted to do, except for one decision which Ace would forbid at all costs.

They wouldn't be allowed to make a cultivation breakthrough at all costs unless it happened naturally because their body wasn't able to accommodate any more spirit energy.

There was also another exception. Ace would assist everyone in making a cultivation breakthrough for both himself for the mission, and the young geniuses who needed it for their strength to improve tremendously.

The next day, during the wee hours, when everyone was still sleeping, Ace left his room.

After performing some light exercises, he gathered everyone to the empty area, which was directly near the fortress.

"Sect Master Ace, why did you gather us here and inform us to wear clothes suitable for exercising?"

Grace asked on behalf of others except for the disciples of the Nirvana Sect since they have full trust in Ace.

"We're going to start physical training. Physical training without any spirit energy to be precise."

Ace explained as he commenced the physical training immediately. Firstly, everyone was going for a morning run. The best way they could start their day, isn't it?

The area they were going to run around was in the forest. Ace had already decided on the running path, which was marked by a red line on the ground.

What the other young geniuses didn't know was that the run would be a hundred kilometers long.

While ten kilometers ran by a mortal would only feel like a kilometer run to them even with just their physical bodies, the upcoming run would be a ten kilometers run to a mortal in terms of fatigue, and it was only the first segment.

The upcoming physical training which Ace had planned out was only going to get tougher. The young geniuses had to devote most of their time to cultivating spirit energy. To them, there was no reason to train their physical bodies any further.

Few cultivators in the cultivation world knew about the hidden benefits of training the physical body, and Ace was one of the few who had tasted its full benefits for himself.

The results were more than his expectations when he first started, which was why he saw this as an opportunity to help these young geniuses improve.

"Sect Master Ace, are we just going to run around without any weights or anything? I don't see a need for such simple physical training considering our physique, which has been nourished by spirit energy."

Link, who had received personal guidance from Ace a few days ago, asked politely out of curiosity, to understand his cultivation progress better.

The others joined in the conversation as well, curious as to what Ace's rationale behind this was.

"That's a secret for now, but all of you can rest assured that I mean no harm towards all of you."

Ace said with confidence as everyone got back into position and started the run with him, admiring the scenery along the way.

Out of almost a hundred of them, however, there was only a minority that was controlling their breathing.

Some were admiring the scenery while some were just waiting for this to be over.

Yet, this was the worst decision that these young geniuses could have chosen.

At just the thirty kilometers mark, some of them started to experience leg pain, nauseousness, and other symptoms, which should only happen to mortals.

When they wanted to recover their body quickly through the assistance of spirit energy, however, they were stopped by Ace almost immediately.

"Those of you who wanted to use spirit energy, I would suggest you take back that decision right now and start pacing yourself. Of course, you can also choose to drop out, but remember, the moment you make that decision, I'll give up on you without any hesitation."

Ace warned without turning back as he maintained the pace of one kilometer per minute. His speed wasn't accelerating just because he was still full of energy, but neither was he going to slow down just for the other young geniuses.

Ace needed them to understand the importance of pacing themselves, especially during a battle that they should always maintain their calm, to conserve their energy to deal with any tricky situations that might arise.

The geniuses weren't just ordinary cultivators as compared to others. Each of these geniuses had strong willpower, to begin with, this was the first reason they could even make it to where they are today.

With just sheer willpower alone, these geniuses were able to keep going after they found the constant pace their body had to maintain throughout the run.

However, there was a limit to sheer willpower. Halfway through the run, most of the young geniuses were only gritting their teeth and continuing through their determination to stay with the pack.

Is this as far as my body can handle? One of the young geniuses, which was slower than everyone else, questioned in his mind before his body fell towards the ground.

"Be careful."

Another cultivator, from another cultivation force, retreated backward when he saw this other youth falling towards the ground.

"Why did you help me?"

The supported youth asked in a daze, only to receive a surprising answer.

"It's because we're allies right now, and maybe in the future, we can still cooperate for missions or any scenarios where we meet up."

"Thanks for your concern."

Just like this, the run continued with more and more people falling onto the ground, and by the time they reached the endpoint, everyone was so exhausted they collapsed.

For the first time in their life, they realized that being able to inhale fresh air was a luxury.

Even Alexander, Grace, and the other members of the Nirvana Sect fell prey to the challenge this time. It was tiring, but the reason behind this run would soon shock them once they know about it.

Time will prove everything, and even yield the answers to time, at a certain point of time.

"All of you, stand back up. If you want to rest, walk around and inhale the fresh air while allowing your muscles to recover. As cultivators, the recovery process should be quick."

Even though everyone was reluctant to stand up after finding their comfort spot, they still did as told as Link once again, posed another question.

"Sect Master Ace, what are we going to do next?"

"Next? We're going to be training your hand-eye coordination by testing your skills with projectiles."

Ace replied while raising his voice so that everyone else could hear him, thus sparing him the trouble of having to repeat himself for a second time.

"There's a second training?"