The stars dotted the night sky, adorned by a crescent moon, clear and cool. Moonlight pierced through the dense canopy of leaves, dappling the quiet forest floor.

Di Yalan and Hu Long were out on patrol. Zhao Xin leaned against a tree trunk, breathing evenly, his eyes closed in rest.

Luo Hao stood near another ancient tree, his eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly never letting down his guard over the surroundings.

In the thick foliage of the tree he leaned against, Mu Yudie slept soundly. Having run all day, unable to expend even a trace of vital energy, she was utterly exhausted.

Luo Hao occasionally glanced up at Mu Yudie hidden in the leaves, a rare tenderness flickering in his eyes.

"Thump, thump!"

Luo Hao's thick brows furrowed. He looked at Shi Yan, who was walking slowly toward him, and asked with surprise, "Still not resting?"

"No," Shi Yan replied softly, nodding. He stopped beside Luo Hao and asked quietly, "In this area, would it be difficult for the enemy to find us?"

"Indeed, it would be difficult," Luo Hao smiled. "There are no fixed routes here, demonic beasts frequently appear, and martial artists are scattered everywhere. It's hard for the people of 'Dark Nether' to discern which traces might belong to us. Here, we should actually be more wary of the demonic beasts and those adventurous martial artists."

"So, it won't be that easy for them to track us down," Shi Yan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Uncle Luo, does releasing your gravity field consume too much vital energy?"

"Why do you ask that?" Luo Hao was momentarily stunned.

"I want to use your gravity field to temper my body. Under the gravity field, I must bear immense pressure, which can enhance my physical strength. I want to see what my limit is." Shi Yan said seriously. Deep down, he was unwilling to settle for mediocrity; he found constant arduous training dull and wanted to seek some excitement, to test his limits.

"Using the gravity field to hone yourself..." Luo Hao's eyes brightened, and he nodded. "It's a good method, but are you sure you want to try? If the enemy suddenly shows up when your entire body is exhausted, wouldn't you have no power to fight back?"

"I don't intend to use vital energy," Shi Yan smiled.

"Pure physical tempering?" Luo Hao was astonished.

"Yes."

Luo Hao frowned deeply, then spoke after a long pause, "You've just broken through to the Xiantian realm. It's not wrong to familiarize yourself with your body slowly now and temper it appropriately, but you've never strengthened your body before. To start training with the gravity field right away, without planning to use vital energy—this insane intensity—can you... withstand it?"

"I want to try," Shi Yan replied calmly.

"Alright! Come with me." Luo Hao nodded, quietly moving away into the distance, with Shi Yan silently following.

After the two left quietly, Mu Yudie, nestled in the dense leaves of the ancient tree, slowly opened her eyes.

Watching the two figures by the small river in the distance, Mu Yudie whispered, her beautiful eyes full of shock and confusion, "He just broke through to the Xiantian realm, and he dares to cultivate fiercely under the gravity field—has this fellow gone mad?"

The more Mu Yudie thought about it, the stranger it felt. She couldn't sleep, driven by curiosity. She skillfully slid down from the ancient tree and quietly crept toward Shi Yan and Luo Hao, intending to secretly observe the situation.

...

"I'll start with a five-times gravity field. Most Houtian realm martial artists, after specialized body tempering, can only withstand a five-times gravity field. You must act according to your capacity; if you feel your body can't take it, immediately stop high-intensity movements."

After stopping, Luo Hao added, "Since this is your first time trying, you can start by running laps around me. Without using vital energy, if you can complete ten laps, that counts as adaptation. Remember, gauge your limits!"

As Luo Hao finished speaking, a fierce fluctuation suddenly erupted from his body.

In an instant, with Luo Hao as the center, the gravity surged fivefold! The space beside him seemed to collapse; the air abruptly grew heavy, making it almost impossible to breathe.

An invisible pressure suddenly enveloped his entire body!

Shi Yan felt every cell in his body seemingly filled with sand and gravel. His body sank heavily, as if bearing hundreds of pounds of weight. The tendons and bones in his knees instantly tensed, his heart rate sharply increased, and his muscles constricted under the gravity.

The invisible pressure of the five-times gravity field forced his body to adjust instinctively. Just standing still made breathing significantly harder.

Truly powerful!

Shi Yan's heart jumped. Feeling the overwhelming pressure of the five-times gravity field, he thought that in a real combat environment, anyone entering Luo Hao's field would immediately be affected, unable to exert even ten percent of their usual strength, certainly being suppressed everywhere in a fight.

This was only five times gravity; how terrifying would ten times be?

Shi Yan recognized the horror of this "Martial Soul." He took a deep breath, driving the chaotic thoughts from his mind, and suddenly let out a low roar before abruptly beginning to run around Luo Hao.

As his body moved, the pressure of the gravity field intensified. His feet felt as if they were encased in countless lead blocks, weighing over a thousand pounds. The simplest act of running, under normal circumstances, transformed into the most dreadful torment.

Under the influence of the five-times gravity field, his body could not possibly lift off the ground, as if an iron hand from a giant was forcefully pressing him down, suffocating him.

After one lap, Shi Yan's running speed was halved.

After three laps, his speed slowed by half again.

After five laps, Shi Yan was no longer running; he was walking slowly...

On the sixth lap, Shi Yan's face flushed deep red, and the veins on his exposed arms trembled like small snakes, looking as if they might burst through his skin.

By the seventh lap, Shi Yan resembled a wild beast, his eyes red enough to spit fire—a sign of oxygen deprivation.

By the eighth lap, Shi Yan stumbled with every step, each one seeming to require all the strength he possessed, causing his body to tremble slightly upon impact.

At this point, Luo Hao could no longer watch. He shouted sternly, "This is your first time cultivating under the gravity field; don't push yourself this hard. This is already your limit! Enough! Stop! If you continue, you might actually be worked to death!"

Shi Yan looked up, his eyes red as if oozing blood, his voice hoarse, "Heh heh, this is just getting interesting. Let's continue!"

Luo Hao was stunned, one thought dominating his mind: This kid is insane!

In the nearby bushes, Mu Yudie covered her small mouth, her face filled with horror, as if she was seeing Shi Yan for the first time.

Shi Yan did not waste time arguing with Luo Hao. With another roar like a wounded beast, he resolutely continued to take steps, bent over, and completed another lap amidst the trembling of his bulging veins.

For the final lap, Shi Yan swayed precariously with every step, trembling slightly after landing, as if he might fall at any moment, as if he might breathe his last breath in the next second!

Even under these conditions, he managed to walk another full lap. Upon completing it, a strange smile of satisfaction touched the corner of Shi Yan's mouth.

Luo Hao snapped out of his stunned state. Seeing that Shi Yan hadn't collapsed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to first dissipate the gravity field before speaking to Shi Yan.

Mu Yudie tightly pressed her hand over her mouth, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief, seemingly unable to imagine that Shi Yan, only in the Houtian realm, could actually complete such an extreme challenge.

"One more lap," Shi Yan suddenly shouted low.

"What?" Luo Hao's body shook violently, his eyes sharp as blades. He roared, "Enough! Don't mess around!"

But before Luo Hao could dispel the gravity field, Shi Yan started walking again. This time, his body swayed every three steps. Midway through, he finally collapsed onto the ground.

Luo Hao was about to call out when he suddenly noticed Shi Yan using all fours, crawling like a demonic beast, moving forward as if deliberately seeking death.

It took a full half an hour for Shi Yan to crawl to the finish line, moving as slowly as a snail.

Mu Yudie in the grass watched him blankly, her mind utterly empty.

...E