It took a great deal of effort, but the small teams finally managed to cross the single-plank bridge, though most of them were completely soaked, looking like drowned rats. As for Chen Xi’s team, they remained stranded on the far bank. It seemed that without solving Chen Xi’s fear of water, disaster was inevitable for their squad. Of course, we didn't have time to wait around and laugh at their misfortune.

After the ordeal on the single-plank bridge, everyone was on edge; it seemed this transport route was riddled with traps. Indeed, about five hundred meters after leaving the bridge, a low wooden shed stood squarely in the middle of the path, barely reaching half a person's height. To pass through, one had to crouch. Normally, this wouldn't be difficult, but given their current situation—each carrying two hundred catties of ore—crouching placed an enormous strain on their backs and legs. Furthermore, the shed stretched for over forty meters. This meant the warriors had to maintain a crouch while carrying the heavy ore over the entire forty-meter span of the wooden structure.

Gallo remarked with feeling after just one glance, "It seems this stage is designed to test our back strength and the power of our calves."

"Haha, not bad!" The apprentices of Master Carpenter Lu were once again guarding the shed. "We spent a whole night putting this shed up! You all need to work hard!"

"Damn it, Xiao Man really has endless tricks," Abe was utterly defeated, staring at the low shed. "Is this path even meant for humans? Even a dog tunnel should be higher than this."

"Come on, stop complaining so much," Gallo advised. "Don't forget, if you fail the task, you're responsible for cleaning the entire village's latrines, cowsheds, and pigpens." Saying that, he immediately squatted down and ducked into the shed.

The others, having no choice, reluctantly followed suit.

Thus, over two hundred young warriors immediately adopted a duck-walk, swaying unsteadily toward the exit.

Abe and I were relatively lucky earlier; at least we hadn't fallen into the river. However, only when I bent down and entered the shed did I realize just how difficult this passage was. Because I couldn't stand upright, I had to walk while crouching. But the basket on my back prevented me from squatting too low, or the basket would scrape the ground, making movement impossible. Therefore, the most suitable posture was a half-squat, like walking in a horse stance. As warriors, our stability and leg power were formidable, but even so, after maintaining this posture for barely ten meters, I couldn't hold on any longer. My waist and knees ached terribly, and I couldn't even catch my breath. I had no choice but to collapse onto the ground. This caused quite a commotion; many warriors like me, unable to persist, also sank onto the ground.

"Hurry up and move! I can't hold on!" Behind me came Chen Jiang's urgent roar. His face was strangely distorted from trying to maintain the horse stance. He was clearly pushing himself not to sit down. Behind him, Jia Lin also looked exasperated. My sitting down had completely blocked their path.

Ah! The situation was the same for the other groups inside the shed. Warriors who couldn't move forward due to exhaustion were tightly bunched up, physically blocking those behind them.

Damn it! Anxiety surged through me. I tried desperately to force myself up, but after just a few steps, I plopped back down. This nearly drove Chen Jiang and the others behind me wild with frustration.

Over on the other side, Dong Ke of Team Thirteen, pushed hard by those behind him, resorted to a dog-crawl, using his hands to push himself through the shed. However, his body leaned too far forward, and the ore in his basket tumbled out with a clatter, spilling onto the ground. A few pieces bounced off his head as they fell. Fortunately, the ore pieces weren't very large; otherwise, they might have cracked his skull open.

Even so, the pain made him cry out for his mother and father. This sudden development caused chaos inside the shed, as if it had exploded.

"My ore! Help me pick it up!" Although Dong Ke was screaming in pain, his immediate reaction was to realize that losing the ore was unthinkable. He quickly lowered his head and started searching, which immediately blocked his partners following behind him.

"You're blocking my way! Hurry up and move! I can't take it anymore."

"To hell with it, stop crawling! Rest for a bit if you have to."

.....................................

Seeing Dong Ke's miserable state, I immediately abandoned the thought of using the dog-crawl. Those behind me were truly unbearable, so they finally sat down, waiting for me to recover my strength before moving on.

"Phew! This is a killer!" Gallo, the first to emerge from the shed, collapsed onto the ground, dripping sweat, frantically rubbing his calves and waist. "If this passage were any longer, my back would have snapped!"

Soon, others began scrambling out of the shed one after another, universally seen hugging their legs and massaging their lower backs, clearly suffering immensely.

Having barely managed to crawl through that deadly wooden tunnel, the warriors were all deeply shaken.

"This Xiao Man! Where did he learn so many tricks?" Abe gasped.

"I wonder what the next challenge will be," Dong Ke said just as he crawled out, immediately drawing mocking from the group of carpenter apprentices.

"Hey, you actually did it! Coming out like a crab!"

"Shut up!" Dong Ke immediately exploded in anger. It was clear that his humiliation would soon spread throughout the village.

"Haha, crawl away slowly!" The apprentices laughed and quickly ran off a long distance.

Shortly after, I also emerged from the shed. Only then did I feel like I had seen daylight again.

After a brief rest, the teams continued on their way.

However, Abe and the others' worries were unnecessary. After the wooden shed, they encountered no more strange obstacles until they reached Uncle Wei’s blacksmith shop, which gave everyone some relief. Still, this first run had already taken nearly half an hour. Calculating at this speed, almost no team would be able to complete the assignment. Everyone was astonished.

"Quickly! We need to make up for the lost time!" Gallo urged after setting down his basket.

"Yes!" The warriors of Team One immediately sprinted toward the mine entrance. The warriors of the other teams followed suit.

The sound of hurried footsteps and the warriors' powerful, rough chants once again echoed through Yinxing Small Village.

Subsequently, benefiting from the previous experience, the warriors moved significantly faster. However, slips and falls into the water on the single-plank bridge were still unavoidable. Inside the wooden shed, those with weaker stamina, like Abe and me, were still in a sorry state. But having learned their lesson, no one dared to use the crawl again. If they were truly exhausted, they would only rest momentarily before continuing. The comrades behind them, though frantic, knew that rushing was useless. It could be said that this forty-meter shed was the most arduous stage of the entire transport mission.

Although all the warriors exerted their utmost effort, by eight o'clock, only Gallo’s Team One had barely finished the task. The other teams dragged on until nine before completing their runs. This included our team. Naturally, we forfeited breakfast, and the unpleasant duty of cleaning the latrines fell upon us. Fortunately, the latrine cleaning was scheduled for a unified session in the afternoon, which somewhat balanced the mood of the warriors.

By this time, everyone was both exhausted and starving. Unfortunately, only Gallo's Team One got to enjoy breakfast. This left the hungry warriors furious, while Gallo and his crew at the dining table ate ravenously, ignoring the envious looks of the warriors gathered around them, who were practically drooling.

The villagers were also confused by this bizarre scene.

What kind of performance were these people putting on?

Nearby, Xiao Man watched the magic clock with an air of detached interest.

"Time's up. We move to the next phase of training now. Follow me." With that, Xiao Man strode away.

Team One followed spiritedly, while the other teams trailed behind, dispirited and dejected.

Before them lay an endless expanse of medicinal fields—those where the Dong Seedlings and Dragon's Beard Grass had already been harvested. Once harvested, these fields needed rapid plowing followed by the planting of Winter Nether Grass and Cold Essence Fruit, two types of medicinal herbs that could be harvested in the spring. At the edges of the fields, Aunt Xia and a group of women were busy plowing. However, upon seeing the arrival of the young men, they were overjoyed.

"Hehe, you've finally arrived!" Aunt Xia and the other farming aunties put down their tools.

"It looks like we're plowing fields this time," Gallo murmured, and the others had similar looks of realization.

"That's right, this work assignment is plowing the fields," Xiao Man shouted, pointing to the numbered wooden stakes in the field. "You should know that Brother Jiani's family desperately needs everyone's help, which is why I placed this training mission in the medicinal fields. While helping Sister-in-law Jiani, you can also train your back strength. Start training according to your stake numbers."

"It’s just plowing, we've done this job plenty of times before. Will it actually be useful?" Abe asked skeptically.

"Heh heh, who said you can plow like you did before?" Xiao Man revealed his devilish smile again and pointed to the plows resting by the fields. "In the past, plowing was done with draft oxen. Now, what you need to do is replace the oxen and pull the plows yourselves."

.....................

Silence swept the entire area. Everyone was stunned.

"Roar! What did you say? We have to replace oxen and pull the plows!" Abe and a few others finally reacted, shouting loudly.

"What? Any objections?" Xiao Man maintained his nonchalant expression. "You should know, this is the absolute best way to train back and leg strength!"

"But how can a person compare to an ox?" Someone immediately retorted.

"Do you want to quit?" Xiao Man's smile carried a chillingly strange quality.

Damn it! He had completely outmaneuvered them this time!

.......................

This time, no one dared to speak out in rebuttal.

"Think about it carefully, this truly is the best way to build back strength," Gallo mused, though he worried about how uncomfortable the plow harness would be on a person.

"Don't worry, these plows were modified by Master Lu and the others; they are perfectly suited for you," Aunt Xia said kindly.

"Alright then!" Gallo wasted no time. He immediately ran into the field and fitted the harness over his shoulders. And indeed, the modified plow rested perfectly across his shoulders.

"One person pulls the plow, and one person guides it. This is also to train your coordination. Everyone, work hard," Xiao Man said cheerfully, plopping down onto the edge of the field.

"Oh, right. If the task isn't finished before noon, you skip lunch," Xiao Man added as an afterthought. "The required workload is marked on the wooden stake for each small team."

"What? Skip lunch?" Someone immediately roared. "Hurry up then!"

***If they missed lunch too, wouldn't they starve? We were already so hungry our chests were touching our backs.

Thus, the remaining nineteen teams rushed into their respective work areas, some pulling the plows, others guiding them. The scene was lively. By this time, the sky was fully bright, and the villagers, drawn by the strange events in the field, began to gather. Soon, almost the entire village had assembled by the field edge to watch the spectacle.

"There are all sorts of strange things happening these days."

"Heh heh, you folks don't understand yet," Master Lu said proudly, puffing his pipe. "Xiao Man calls this training that doubles as production. Look, these young men are no worse than draft oxen."

"That’s for sure. Early this morning, the ore warehouse at my blacksmith shop was filled by them," Uncle Wei said, chuckling. "I have to admit, their efficiency is quite high."

"Heh heh," Aunt Xia said. "Look at Gallo; one person can match two oxen. That physique is truly something."

The villagers looked in the direction Aunt Xia pointed, where Gallo was running swiftly, pulling the plow, while Jiachen behind him guided the plow with one hand, looking completely composed, as if the thing pulling the plow were truly a draft ox. The onlookers marveled.

"Good heavens, this is even possible! Gallo is indeed Gallo."

The others in Team One were also full of energy.

The other teams were just as vigorous, driven by sheer force of will. It seemed missing breakfast had hit them hard. But the thought that if they failed this mission, they would miss lunch as well—that would be fatal starvation. Frankly, this novel method of training consumed far more physical energy than their previous morning drills, meaning they got hungry faster. Most of them hadn't eaten breakfast, so they were suffering acutely, but everyone knew missing lunch would be the most torturous ordeal.

"No wonder Xiao Man uses this method as punishment," Abe grumbled while pulling. "One wrong step and you lose everything. If I had eaten breakfast, I would have much more strength now."

"You're right," I replied while straining to pull the plow. "We absolutely must complete tomorrow's ore transport mission, or we'll be hungry through all the remaining training. Xiao Man's strategy is ruthless."

"I think he must have suffered this kind of hardship outside before to come up with a way to torture us like this," Chen Jiang also said, his face filled with indignation.

"Exactly. I don't believe that simple-minded wooden block Xiao Man could come up with such ingenious tricks," the captain of Team Eighteen, Chen Xi, analyzed. "The old Xiao Man never had so many twists."

"I'm also curious what he experienced in those two years outside. The whole person has changed—not only has his skill improved, but his mind has sharpened too."

"Do you think his methods are actually effective?"

"I think they must be. After all, Xiao Man wouldn't devise so many devilish tricks unless he’d experienced them firsthand. You saw that even big brother Chen Feng admitted he couldn't beat him now. This clearly shows how strong Xiao Man has become. It suggests he went through these things himself, which is why he knows these methods. If we just follow his training, we’ll succeed too."

"Yeah. Didn't you see Gallo? He was the most arrogant one, and now he’s as meek as a grandson. If this training method wasn't profoundly meaningful, given his personality, he would have rebelled long ago."

.......................

The warriors training in the field were constantly debating, yet their pace never slackened.

Many of the surrounding villagers were their families.

"Ada, keep going!"

"Brother, go!"

Ah! Someone was calling me. Looking over, I saw Xiao Jin and my mother cheering me on at the top of their lungs. My spirits immediately lifted, and I felt a surge of renewed strength.

"Roar! Gallo, keep up!"

"Abe, faster! Did you even eat?" This time it was Abe’s mother, noticing his pace slowing, who spoke with great dissatisfaction.

Seemingly inspired by Xiao Jin and my mother, the other villagers also began shouting encouragement to their sons or brothers.

"Mother, I really didn't eat breakfast!" Abe cried out miserably.

"Hmph! How dare you treat my Abe like this, Xiao Man, come out here!"

Oh no! It was Aunt An! I was shocked and quickly retreated into a corner.

Suddenly, the field and the sidelines erupted in fervor. Cheers and shouts echoed to the heavens. Anyone unfamiliar with the situation would have thought the village was hosting a grand festival. Eventually, even the Clan Leader and the Clan Mistress were alerted, bringing the young master and the third young lady to stand at the field's edge, joining the excitement.

"Father, Mother, we want Brother Man to teach us too!" The young master was particularly animated, his face full of longing, looking as if he wished he could jump in and pull the plow himself.

"I didn't expect such a commotion," the Clan Leader admitted, startled by the magnificent scene.

"Elder," Steward Chen Xi asked, "Do you think Xiao Man's method is sound?"

"Heh heh, you don't understand this yet," the Clan Leader said, gazing intently at the highly motivated warriors in the field. "The genius of this method is that it harmonizes production and training. Moreover, it allows them to unknowingly strengthen every part of their bodies during daily labor. The earlier foot-power training, the balance training on the single-plank bridge, and the waist-strengthening in the wooden shed—all hold deep wisdom. Furthermore, subsequent work in various production projects will specifically train their wrist strength, arm strength, and so on. Thus, completing a day's work also completes their physical training. This training is constant throughout the day and is far more effective than simple drills."

"Is that so? I didn't realize you had such insight, Elder," the Clan Mistress commented.

"I have no choice but to believe it," the Clan Leader replied, his expression complex. "What exactly happened in those two years that allowed Xiao Man, who used to be mediocre, to advance to this level?"

"Elder, if you wish to know, you can go ask him," the Clan Mistress suggested.

"Forget it. Everyone has their secrets," the Clan Leader sighed. "He is like Ah Chong in those days—impossible to read."

"Elder!" The Clan Mistress sounded worried. "Don't dwell on the past. With Xiao Man achieving this much now, I believe Ah Chong would be very happy if he knew."

..................................

In the blink of an eye, twelve o'clock arrived quickly.

"Phew! I'm exhausted!" The warriors in the field were all staggering, covered in yellow mud, looking miserable, yet everyone displayed a hint of relief.

"We finally finished," Abe said with lingering fear. "At least we have this lunch secured."

The onlookers had long since dispersed to attend to their own affairs. Xiao Man walked back to the edge of the field. "Everyone, follow me now." Without looking back, he headed toward the Chao River on the east side of the village. He must have more tricks up his sleeve. The relief the group felt moments ago turned back into apprehension.

Soon, everyone gathered on the bank of the Chao River.

"Before eating, there's a swimming session. Swim from here to the opposite bank and back. Consider it a shower. Clean clothes are placed here; compare the numbers when you return to change. Dirty clothes must be left where they are; someone will collect them. The time limit is twenty minutes. Anyone not back after the time limit also forfeits lunch," Xiao Man declared.

"Yes! Hooray!" The warriors immediately stripped down to their shorts and leaped into the river, bursting with energy and shouting with joy.

Twenty minutes—that would be enough time for us to thoroughly amuse ourselves. The time limit was only established to prevent us from getting so carried away that we'd lose all track of the clock.