Chapter Thirty-Three: Born to Fight

The moment the electricity was activated, the entire iron gate room sprang to life with bizarre, multicolored phantoms. The new recruits had no time even to glance around before the powerful current from the iron chairs forced them into the state of becoming ghost-men.

In that instant, the guardian spirits of demon ghosts surged into their hearts, bursting forth in dazzling streams of light. No wonder the demon ghost training grounds of the Military Academy were set underground; with so many recruits undergoing ghost-man transformation each day, who could fathom the commotion it would cause?

Du Huaishan, feeling the jolt of electricity, was struck rigid with pain. As the four-horned demon ghost entered his heart, his pupils began to emit a black-red glow, muscles writhing and swelling across his body. Centipede-like veins twisted around his forearms and temples.

One percent.

Compared to the agony of his first spirit-binding, this time, guided by Chang Suian, Du Huaishan consciously controlled the pace at which the demon ghost’s power fused with his own. Indeed, whether it was less demon energy injected or the special concoction and electric stimulation from the Yingzhou Army, his tinnitus eased significantly, leaving him with more energy to think.

Thump, thump, thump!

Du Huaishan could clearly sense his heart pounding furiously, far surpassing the human maximum of two hundred beats per minute. He recalled from college kinesiology that the supply of nutrients and oxygen depended on blood pumped by the heart. If the heart could pump a great volume or increase its frequency, the body’s athletic ability would be greatly enhanced.

In technical terms, the former is called stroke volume, the latter heart rate; together they form CO—cardiac output. Professional athletes excel physically because their CO is higher. Yet the human heart’s reserves are limited; cardiac output cannot rise infinitely. Within a certain range, increased heart rate boosts CO, but if too fast, the heart has too little time to draw blood from the veins, so though pumping speed increases, the volume per beat diminishes.

This threshold is at 150 beats per minute.

But Du Huaishan’s heart rate now exceeded that threshold nearly twofold, and his cardiac output not only didn’t weaken, but grew stronger. The demon ghost’s power had heightened his pumping ability!

It was as if a car’s original 2.0T four-cylinder engine had been replaced with a 3.0T six-cylinder—not just his heart, but—

Neural response, lungs, lung capacity and function, even the oxygen-carrying ability of his red blood cells, all were strengthened. Truly, “a tug at one strand moves the whole body.”

As Du Huaishan increased the fusion degree under the electric stimulus, he felt the four-horned demon ghost guardian spirit circling his heart, continually absorbing the mysterious energy from the Yingzhou Army’s medicine. Yet a small portion of this energy flowed through his vessels into his brain, vanishing there.

In ghost-man state, every muscle cell was filling, swelling, and finally splitting. On the surface, his arm muscles tore and grew before his eyes. Du Huaishan’s tinnitus intensified, chaotic noise disrupting his consciousness, his brain throbbing with pain, and something seemed to burst forth from his brow—two inch-long, black-red horns.

His heart pumped madly, blood in his veins like molten copper, pounding throughout his body. He clenched his teeth, relying on the will forged in his previous life to withstand the demon ghost energy’s assault on his mind.

Chang Suian stood before over fifty ghost-man recruits, watching their bodies’ degree of transformation. He was not alone; soldiers in face masks observed as well, adjusting the current as needed for each recruit’s state.

Du Huaishan’s current was increased further.

The intense pain from muscle and nerves, induced by the strong stimulation, partly distracted him from the demon ghost energy’s interference.

“Ah—!!”

Suddenly, a recruit could bear it no longer, let out a scream, and fell unconscious. The white-masked soldier immediately cut his power.

Next, the unconscious recruits toppled like dominoes, one after another, until only a handful remained.

Chang Suian’s pupils shifted, memorizing the faces of these few. Those with greater physical endurance and willpower often walk further down the path of wielding demon ghost power.

“Huaishan, I can’t take it anymore…” Gritting his teeth, Guo Tingyu managed these words before passing out.

At last, among more than fifty recruits, only Du Huaishan and the slender, agile female soldier with coiled hair remained.

The current was further increased. Du Huaishan’s body began to tremble and convulse, veins crawling across his face, his visage growing fierce. The black-red devil horns lengthened, even exuding black mist.

Two percent.

“Stop!” Chang Suian glanced at the time and called out.

Buzz.

The masked soldiers pressed the red button, and all electric chairs powered down.

Du Huaishan released the demon ghost energy, his mutated state vanishing, gasping for breath. Nearby, he heard someone else breathing heavily.

Their eyes met.

Was it her?

The female soldier with coiled hair looked even more disheveled; stray locks lay across her brow, but they could not mask her cold, blue-gray eyes.

“Rest a moment,” Chang Suian said, nothing more.

For he was already thunderstruck within, his mind ablaze with golden sparks.

Du Huaishan, on his very first demon ghost power training, had already surpassed two percent fusion!

He did not know the state of each recruit, but Du Huaishan was different; he knew well what had transpired with this young man on the Xintun battlefield.

Du Huaishan had only just completed his spirit-binding!

Chang Suian gave each recruit a fixed amount of red marrow medicine; how much could be absorbed by demon ghost energy depended on one’s fusion talent. Even if Du Huaishan had been training daily, his speed was astonishing!

Old Chen was right.

This boy truly is a genius when it comes to demon ghost power fusion!

He was born for battle!

After a long while, the recruits gradually awoke, discovering their handcuffs and leg irons had been unlocked and a steaming potato placed before them.

Grumble.

Indeed, after so much “punishment,” their hunger was real.

As everyone ate, Chang Suian spoke again: “The red marrow medicine contains great energy, enough for a normal person to digest in a week. From now on, except for rest days, you will come here for fusion stimulation after each day’s combat training.”

“Sir!” A recruit gnawing on a potato raised his hand.

“Speak.”

“Sergeant Chang, is the Military Academy planning to train only us new recruits?”

“No. Any recruit who excels in regular training will get a chance for spirit-binding. This room will see more and more people, but don’t worry—the red marrow medicine is in ample supply.”

“Sir! When can we undergo a second spirit-binding?”