In the endless world, 'just' meant sixteen hours, meaning forty-eight hours of study time had already been wasted. Qian Jin, just like the previous two days, gave only hurried instructions before leaving the cave, heading once more to the searing lake to practice the Fengyun Jin Shen (Wind and Cloud Gold Body).

Days like this repeated endlessly. Unconsciously, nearly a month slipped by. Qian Jin was nearly driven mad by his inability to find beasts for trials; he feared the beasts might actually avoid him. In the misty, turbulent waters of the lake, Qian Jin's silhouette was long gone from the shallow edges.

The old man stood on the shore, gazing at the water ten meters out, where Qian Jin’s body was curled up as ever, resembling a boiled prawn.

The Blazing Lake was unlike any ordinary lake; it wasn't just the terrifying heat contained within the water, but the closer one got to the center, the higher the temperature soared!

To Qian Jin, the water ten meters from the shore felt like dipping a crab in; there was no need to wait—pull it out instantly, and it would be perfectly boiled, savory and fragrant.

Hot! Though only ten meters from the bank, the temperature had nearly doubled. Qian Jin felt that if he were to pull out his internal organs now, they could easily serve as several fine dishes.

In the scalding water, Qian Jin’s breathing was far slower than before, yet the vitality radiating from him was more vigorous than at any previous moment. His body seemed taller than when he first entered the Four Seasons Valley; his surging blood pulsed with powerful life force, causing his growth to accelerate beyond the norm.

Beneath the shimmering water, Qian Jin’s skin was flushed red, faintly emitting a subtle, radiant sheen, appearing incredibly resilient and rigid, as if swords could not wound him.

Although still curled up, Qian Jin’s expression was no longer one of pure agony like when he first entered the lake. In water hot enough to rapidly cook raw flesh, his brows remained tightly knit, showing only discomfort, not true suffering.

“Wind without form, impervious to blade and sword. Cloud without image, gathering and scattering in uncertainty.” Qian Jin increasingly grasped the meaning of these words. His Dou Jin (Battle Energy) fused into his skin, permeated his muscles, merged with his bones, and flowed into his blood. Gradually, he shifted from purely passive endurance to occasionally seizing a modicum of initiative—and when he did, the effect was more than ten times stronger than when passive.

After nearly a month of practice, not only had Qian Jin’s body been fortified, but his internal Dou Mai (Battle Meridian) was over ten times wider than that of a Level Ten Warrior. If it had been a near-stagnant stream that could wither at any moment, now it was a ceaselessly flowing current.

Splash! Qian Jin burst from the water, threw his head back, and swam to the shore with a grin. He climbed out, pulled on his clothes, and stomped the ground hard, instantly leaving a deep indentation.

The old man’s eyes could not conceal his astonishment. He had expected this to take three months, perhaps even half a year. Yet, this lad, recklessly driving himself toward the lake’s center, had actually managed to master the first layer ahead of schedule.

“Now, both your stamina and physique far surpass that of a Level Ten Warrior.”

The old man circled Qian Jin’s body twice, then suddenly produced a piece of wood as thick as a small leg. Without warning, he swung it down, the stick unleashing a harsh whistle through the air as it savagely smashed towards Qian Jin’s body.

Qian Jin didn't even raise his head. He casually channeled Dou Jin into his raised hand; his muscles instantly tensed and bulged into sharply defined ridges. Even his skin momentarily flushed slightly red as he braced to receive the log, which could easily pulverize bone.

CRACK!

The wooden log, thick as a thigh, snapped in two with a dull thud, sending splinters scattering everywhere. One half tumbled rapidly through the air, but Qian Jin’s skin showed no mark; his muscles instantly returned to a fluid softness, his skin glowing with vibrant life.

“It’s no exaggeration to call you possessing skin of bronze and bone of iron now,” the old man praised. “That blow of mine could turn a tiger’s skull to mush, yet you blocked it with a casual lift. It seems you have barely managed to forge the Stone Body.”

“Stone Body?” Qian Jin clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within and the newfound resilience of his frame, and asked, “Isn’t it the Fengyun Jin Shen?”

The old man shook his right index finger repeatedly: “Did you think the Fengyun Jin Shen was easy to master? I tell you, the Fengyun Jin Shen is divided into: Stone Body, Iron Body, Net Body, Bronze Body, Silver Body, and Gold Body. To have achieved the Stone Body means your physique has attained hardness close to, or even surpassing, stone. Do you truly wish to know what happens when the Fengyun Jin Shen is refined to its peak?”

Qian Jin raised an eyebrow and looked at the old man quizzically. “You don’t know?”

“I do not,” the old man answered honestly.

“The one who created the Fengyun Jin Shen never reached its peak?” Qian Jin was slightly taken aback.

“No.” The old man’s honesty left Qian Jin feeling a little dizzy. “No one has ever succeeded. Even Bu Jue Tian, who conceived it, only left behind a methodology that should work for successors of the Cloud Dao who practice the Fengyun Jin Shen.”

Qian Jin nodded in understanding. The Fengyun Jin Shen required immense suffering. Anyone without a deep-seated obsession simply couldn’t persist; one slip, and they’d truly be boiled alive.

“In truth, beyond gaining the Fengyun Jin Shen and the Dou Mai this time,” the old man said, a hint of challenge in his smile, “your greatest gain has been your willpower and tolerance.”

Qian Jin nodded again in agreement. “Tolerance. If I take a blade strike in battle, the ability to endure longer means my second attack will naturally be faster, very likely securing a decisive victory.”

The satisfied smile the old man had worn these past few days was especially pronounced today. It was already a blessing to gain a disciple with martial talent; this one not only had strong warrior aptitude but, more rarely, possessed the analytical mind most warriors lacked.

“Very good. Tomorrow, besides continuing to practice the Fengyun Jin Shen, you will spend a few days consolidating what you've learned. I will set up a Dou Ling Grand Array for you. Then, we will begin pushing toward the Demon Subduing Warrior realm,” the old man stated, then vanished into the mist as usual.

Qian Jin felt little surprise. The ceaseless practice of the Fengyun Jin Shen and the agony of that ordeal had cultivated a sense of composure; he no longer jumped at every event but instead carefully analyzed his successes and failures during his time in the lake.

The Warrior’s Precepts: After every survival, whether victorious or defeated, one must reflect and examine oneself to achieve greater progress.

Passing through the forest of strange rocks, Qian Jin entered the small woods. His relaxed expression suddenly turned grave. His body instantly sensed a dangerous aura outside the tree line, stimulating every cell to leap rapidly. His Level Ten Dou Jin, surging through the now-widened Dou Mai, instantly flooded his legs. A powerful recoil force propelled him high off the thick layer of snow on the ground, and his body shot forward like a sharp arrow toward the edge of the woods.

In the open space before the cave, more than ten gray wolves, nearly two meters long, bared their sharp canines, white foam dripping from their muzzles. They crouched low, hind legs coiled, glaring menacingly at the female swordswoman Shui Lian Ying'er, who stood inside the cave entrance holding a large stone. Two of the gray wolves already had streaks of blood trickling from their foreheads.

Standing in the center of the wolf pack was a massive ape, nearly three meters tall, covered in green fur, walking upright. Its most peculiar feature was that in addition to the two strong arms on its left and right sides, a third thick arm sprouted directly from the center of its chest!

A magical beast! A First-Order Magical Beast: the Green-Skinned Three-Armed Ape! Its body was immensely strong, and its three arms possessed the strength of tigers and leopards!

A long, lingering howl suddenly echoed through the valley. A stout gray wolf spotted Shui Lian Ying’er just as she repelled one attacker. Before she could turn, the wolf leaped high, opening its sharp jaws toward the cave entrance, its target locked squarely on the delicate, pale neck of Shui Lian Ying’er.

Shui Lian Ying’er saw the leaping wolf with her peripheral vision, but her body could not react fast enough. A streak of blazing light suddenly ripped across the sky, dragging a luminous trail, sweeping in with overwhelming, tyrannical killing intent, and slamming brutally into the wolf’s midsection!

The light flashed abruptly, and the wolf’s body split in two mid-air. Blood burst into a series of scarlet blossoms against the sky. The two halves of the wolf dropped to the ground like overstuffed sacks of sand, landing with heavy thuds. Not quite dead, it continued to spew bloody foam and let out mournful cries as it struggled to rise.

The gleaming Zhanmadao (Horse-Slaying Saber) sliced down like a bolt of lightning from nowhere, brutally severing the wolf’s body in half. Half the blade sunk into the earth, while the other half shimmered with a chilling, piercing gleam. The residual force of the blow caused the saber’s body to vibrate slightly. The pack of more than ten wolves, which had been howling and launching waves of attack, instantly froze in place, collectively staring at the imposing Zhanmadao, a subtle hint of terror flashing in their eyes.

That strike had come too fast! Too fierce! The wolves instinctively developed a profound fear of the saber. Soon, they began searching for the source of the weapon, spotting Qian Jin charging rapidly in the distance.

With just a single glance, the dozen wolves simultaneously recoiled a step; the sharp killing intent physically forced them backward, their heads nearly burying themselves toward the ground as they emitted low, whimpering sounds.

The enormous Green-Skinned Three-Armed Ape at the center of the pack turned its head toward the charging Qian Jin with a flicker of surprise. Such a small creature dared to slay one of its subordinates in the presence of the great Three-Armed Ape.

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