All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes

Chapter 15 - 15 15 Rapid Elimination

15: Chapter 15 Rapid Elimination 15: Chapter 15 Rapid Elimination An Jing’s

An Jing remained silent.

He always stayed calm, never speaking out.

Some had complained in secret about An Jing’s heartlessness, others countered saying An Jing was not heartless; he remembered everyone’s name, he just knew early on that those people were weak and could not keep up, so their departure was actually for the better.

Some said An Jing was the one who decided who would leave and who would stay, some even said An Jing was actually a heartless steel machine, knowing only martial arts and learning, a born strongman.

An Jing was indifferent to these comments; he was not as heartless as they imagined, nor was he particularly sentimental.

From the first round of elimination, he had already known it was inevitable; ultimately, many ‘familiar people’ would not be able to keep up and would be eliminated.

He simply accepted it, quietly remembering.

At that time, the children’s sadness was still genuine, still pure.

But as time passed and separations happened over and over, everyone’s hearts gradually grew cold and hardened.

Gradually, the children of Hanging Fate Manor began to think this was not such a strange thing after all.

Being left was proof of their excellence.

This made them feel fortunate, made them feel proud, and though those who left were friends, they were ultimately only acquaintances of a few months.

Although An Jing missed the past, it did not make him overly sad.

Those who genuinely became close friends, forged by bonds of affection, looked forward to reuniting after descending the mountain someday.

But more often, people were gradually forgotten.

As the intensity of training increased, everyone was busy training every day, finishing rehearsals exhausted, eating greedily, and falling into a blank sleep.

No one could remember everyone who left.

Except An Jing.

From beginning to end, no matter who left, An Jing silently observed and remembered.

He appeared silent on the outside, but a torrent of uncertainties surged inside him.

He alone remembered every face, so he knew that most of the departures, at least nine out of ten, were those who could not suppress the impulse after consuming ferocious beast meat and roared publicly.

These people, coincidentally, were also the ones who absorbed the beast meat’s effects insufficiently and grew at a slower pace.

“What exactly is the purpose of that beast meat and the potions?”

“And who was the voice that warned me not to go near the Medicine Pavilion?”

“And why did it warn me?”

These were the greatest uncertainties in An Jing’s mind lately.

Setting aside that strange voice, from the first time they ate ferocious beast meat, every ten days the youth in the manor could eat the meat again along with some herbal potions.

Children increasingly managed not to succumb to the overwhelming heat and medical effects of the meat.

Perhaps it was for this reason that their personalities began to shift.

It wasn’t obvious, but it certainly existed—their personalities became progressively more subdued.

But saying they were subdued might be more akin to being radical and extreme?

Those who were calm became calmer, the silent became more so, and the previously enthusiastic ones appeared indifferent, yet they became even more passionate toward their true friends.

Even An Jing felt this way; his relationships with Gu Yeqi and Cang Linzu improved, while it became increasingly difficult for other children to truly be acknowledged by An Jing as friends.

He felt this way, let alone others.

—Was this the effect of the beast meat, or the herbal medicine?

An Jing could not be sure; he only knew that his dreams were becoming increasingly restless.

He awoke from nightmares several times, always hearing strange sounds, sometimes like fierce beasts gnashing teeth, or swords clashing, or even the rushing sounds of a blood river, which inexplicably stirred up anger in him.

These actually weren’t important; the real concern was why Hanging Fate Manor was doing this.

“Could it be because of puberty?”

An Jing speculated, “Or perhaps it’s the awakening of a ‘Loyal Warrior’ or the ‘Heavenly Mandate’ that requires such extreme personalities?”

According to age, most of the children collected by Hanging Fate Manor were entering puberty—a period of rapid growth.

Ferocious beast meat could promote development, making individuals stronger and more robust, and potions could suppress impulses to prevent rebellious behavior during puberty from interfering with training progress and missing this critical period of rapid growth.

Those who couldn’t suppress their impulses were unable to get through this period smoothly, so they were abandoned and sent down the mountain.

Being a son of the Martial Family, An Jing was naturally very aware of his own physical development, so it wasn’t surprising that Hanging Fate Manor considered using medicinal potions for suppression.

Everyone’s personality change… in such a secluded manor life where numerous instructors taught both verbally and by example, it was inevitable to become extreme.

As for his strange dreams, perhaps they were a side effect of physical growth?