All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes

An Jing's search in Hanging Fate Manor ended in vain, and he had not slept well in a long time.

The roars of beasts, flesh and blood, grinding teeth, and a pounding heart always caused An Jing to feel inexplicably restless in his dreams, only the clear sound of a sword's hum could slightly calm him.

The phenomena in his dreams, unstable sleep, and his burdensome thoughts made An Jing appear quite listless during his morning practice.

However, this did not raise suspicions among others, as most of the children who ate the ferocious beast meat exhibited the same behavior, and some were even worse than An Jing.

But, this was not entirely a bad thing.

After a few days, everyone also discovered the effects of the 'Ferocious Beast Meat' and 'Potion' they were consuming.

First, their fatigue after training was significantly reduced, and their strength was indeed gradually increasing.

Motions that initially felt difficult, and trainings where they lacked physical strength, gradually became easier... Of course, once the instructors realized this, they immediately intensified the training, but the students rarely felt that overpowering sense of fatigue and nutritional deficiency from their bodies.

An Jing felt the same. With the training in Hanging Fate Manor and the abundant food and medicine supplied, his body, which had been somewhat depleted due to fleeing, had completely recovered.

Even more so, because he received far more ferocious beast meat than the other boys and girls, those muscles and fats that had redeveloped but felt somewhat flabby, once again tightened and clung to his increasingly sturdy bones, making him appear unremarkable from the outside.

Only those who truly came into contact with his body could realize in amazement how strong An Jing's flesh and bones really were.

As time passed, the young boys and girls were growing at a remarkable pace.

But, as time passed, more and more were being eliminated.

Those who utilized more resources but did not grow satisfactorily were naturally eliminated.

Following Zhang Ying, it was Ye Xiuyuan.

One early morning, two decades later, Ye Xiuyuan also left Hanging Fate Manor.

This had become the norm at Hanging Fate Manor, constantly having people descend the mountain, constantly having people leave.

Gu Yeqi wept for this, while Cang Linzu scoffed disdainfully yet cried secretly in the toilet.

Even Zhan Feng sullenly did not finish his dinner, for Ye Xiuyuan had taught him how to read and write, without which he would not have been able to read 'Imperial Heaven Scripture' smoothly.

He was once a beggar who only wanted to eat his fill, yet he still wanted to learn to write because only those who could read had access to better food.

Although Ye Xiuyuan often spoke of ancient teachings, often talked about the glory days of his family, hesitated and sighed a lot, he also played a role similar to a military advisor in An Jing's small group like a clever strategist, and everyone liked him.

After some time passed, Zhan Feng also left. This tall, simple-minded beggar still muttered before bed that he must last the longest time so that he could eat more meat as once he descended the mountain, it would no longer be available.

More and more familiar names and faces left.

An Jing's 'friends' in the same dormitory had left by half, while the original two hundred plus children in Hanging Fate Manor gradually dwindled to just over a hundred.

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?