Chapter 70: Chapter 67: One Year of Cultivation
Mu Chen’s eyes flashed with unrestrained excitent. But at that mont, a piece of cracked Profound Ice reflected his image. He turned his head and caught sight of the figure in the ice. Mu Chen reflexively took two quick steps back. When he saw the figure retreat two steps as well, he was too stunned to speak.
The figure in the Profound Ice was about 1.7 ters tall, with fair skin and bright, ice-blue hair that reached his back. At the center of his brow was an ice-blue, diamond-shaped mark. But what was truly astonishing was his eyes. What a pair of bewitching pupils they were! They were vertical, purple slits, frad by strange black markings around the sockets. Encircling these pupils, six ice-blue, snowflake-like Ice Crystals spun ceaselessly.
This was practically a carbon copy of the Profound Old Ghost!
Mu Chen was about to cry out, but when he saw the figure in the Profound Ice had no right arm, he fell silent. ’No right arm... That’s... ?’
In disbelief, Mu Chen quickly walked over to the shattered piece of Profound Ice. After a careful look, he had no choice but to confirm that the figure was indeed him. But this sudden change was incredibly hard for him to accept. In this world, there were people with ice-blue hair, of course, but not many. Most people had black hair.
He gave a helpless smile. "Well, this look is certainly striking. I could probably make a living as a pretty boy."
After speaking, Mu Chen spat on the ground. Thinking of his Master, he flicked his wrist, and the black Scroll appeared in his hand. He gently unrolled it, and a luminous figure of the Profound Old Ghost slowly materialized.
"Silly boy, the fact that you’re opening this Scroll for the last ti proves you haven’t disappointed your Master. Hahaha, you did a good job!"
Hearing his Master’s heartfelt laughter, Mu Chen’s eyes welled with tears again. This was the first ti his Master had ever told him he had done a good job. In his mory, his Master had always been that bastard old man who constantly pushed him, constantly crushed his confidence. But the expression on the projection’s face revealed a deep love and great expectations for him.
"Heh, I never thought I’d have such a sentintal mont. Kid, the power in this Scroll is nearly exhausted. You must promise your Master that you’ll do the things I’m about to say."
"Without your Master’s restraints, you should now be able to open your eyes easily. And you’ve probably noticed they’re different. What I want to tell you is that those eyes were my first gift to you when we t. I didn’t really have anything else of value, so I gave you these Purple Sky Demon Pupils. With them, you can see through any Illusion Realm. And if your Spiritual Power becos strong enough, you can even foresee an opponent’s attack and discern its weaknesses."
"The last thing I demand of you is this: do not open these eyes lightly. You are still very weak. If anyone finds out you possess such heaven-defying eyes, they will undoubtedly eliminate you out of fear or jealousy. So, before you are strong enough, do not open your eyes unless you have absolutely no other choice. If you do use them, then you must kill anyone who sees them with all your strength. Otherwise, the trouble will be endless."
Hearing this, Mu Chen finally understood why his Master had never let him open his eyes for nearly two years. If these eyes were truly as heaven-defying as his Master claid, they would indeed put him in grave danger. The tree that stands out from the forest is the one the wind will destroy.
At this thought, Mu Chen closed his eyes again. Instantly, the changes to his eyes faded away, and they returned to their normal appearance.
"From now on, no matter where you go, you must carry the Nine Spirits Profound Jade Fan with you at all tis." The Profound Old Ghost sighed. "It’s been with
for so many years, and I’ve always felt it holds a heaven-shattering secret. As for what that secret is... I left this world before I could uncover it. So, the task of solving this mystery now falls to you. Until then, the Nine Spirits Profound Jade Fan must never leave your side."
"Finally, I have a piece of information for you. Consider it my last parting gift. There is a deadly, isolated place that contains a miraculous liquid. I don’t know its na, so I called it Naless Water. This liquid possesses an imnse life force. I discovered it by chance long ago while traveling the continent. At the ti, very few people in the world could harm , so I never took it, leaving it where it was. Only after I t you did I recall this strange substance. If you get the chance, you should go there. It might be possible to regenerate your severed arm."
"But, silly boy, there are two powerful Venerable Beasts inside. They’ve been fighting each other for years, so no one who enters ever returns alive. It has slowly beco a land of death. Therefore, without the strength of the Martial Spirit Level, you must not set foot in there. Only when you reach the Martial Spirit Realm... using... the... Wild... Thunder Force... movent... technique... can you... barely... survive... Re... m... ber... you... must... not... act... rashly... The map... I put... it... in the Extre Spirit Pearl... Without... Martial... Spirit... Level... power, you can’t retrieve it. This is the last task I give you. To open the main gate of the palace, insert the Iron Box of the Nine Spirits Profound Jade Fan into the recess on the left side. My good disciple... I look forward to the day you’ve grown strong enough for us to et again..."
As he finished speaking, the Profound Old Ghost revealed a satisfied smile. The Scroll’s power was clearly exhausted, and his voice had beco broken and intermittent. After his final words, the entire Scroll flashed brightly once more before turning into a cloud of ash with a soft POOF.
Mu Chen was too shocked to speak. ’A strange liquid... a chance to regenerate my severed arm...’ He sank heavily to his knees. ’So... Master was thinking of
all along, paving my path to power so perfectly.’ Silently, Mu Chen knelt in place for a long, long ti as a single, crystalline tear slid from the corner of his eye. "Master, Chen’Er will take your words to heart."
Slowly rising to his feet, Mu Chen easily lifted the massive black box that had lain on the ground for a hundred thousand years. Now that it had fully acknowledged him as its master, Mu Chen could control its weight at will. A section of the Shattered Star Lock Chain naturally extended, securing the massive black box firmly across the small of his back. With the box on his back, Mu Chen didn’t leave. Instead, he followed the palace map recorded in his mind and found a huge Cold Pool.
According to the description on his Master’s map, Mu Chen knew the purpose of this Cold Pool. By using one’s Spiritual Power, a person inside the pool could alter the water’s density, increasing the pressure exerted on their body. His Master had built this massive palace here precisely because of this Cold Pool; it was where he had tempered nearly all of his strength.
’I’ve broken through to the Martial Master Realm, and my total strength is over four thousand jin. That’s more than four tis an ordinary Martial Master. But to truly leverage the weight of the Nine Spirits Profound Jade Fan, it’s still not enough!’
CLANK!
With a heavy thud, the massive black box at his waist suddenly grew heavier, and a strained look appeared on Mu Chen’s face. ’Six thousand jin! This should be my current limit.’
That day, Mu Chen did nothing else. He simply began the most primitive form of training, circling the massive Cold Pool by "running"—or, more accurately, walking—under a heavy load. He was following his Master’s words: one’s foundation is what defines their ultimate limit. When your strength reaches a certain level, your foundation determines the true peak of that level. That was why he chose to run with weights, carrying the massive black box on his waist. The waist connects the entire body; once its strength increases, the strength throughout the body will rise in unison.
To put it another way, if a Martial Artist were a bucket, the waist would be its shortest stave. No matter how strong other parts of your body are, if your waist strength isn’t on par, you can never fully exert your power. Therefore, the thod Mu Chen chose was the most effective for Body Forging.
For an ordinary Martial Artist at the Martial Master Realm, a weight of six thousand jin would feel like a mountain crushing down on them. They would be lucky just to not be flattened, let alone carry it while walking. But Mu Chen did it. Though his steps were slow, they were steady. Step by step, sweat stread endlessly down his cheeks, yet his expression remained resolute. Even as his pace slowed to a crawl, eventually taking him several breaths to move a single step, he never gave up. His breathing grew ragged, and his heartbeat was so loud it seed to thrum through his chest into the open air, but Mu Chen never uttered a single groan. He knew that strength training was about breaking one’s limits ti and ti again. And the key to breaking those limits was perseverance—an unyielding Willpower!
’Is my consciousness fading? No! It’s not enough! I can keep going! I can endure!’ He repeated this to himself again and again. Mu Chen’s body was already moving on autopilot, chanically shuffling forward. All he could hold onto was a single, clear thread of Willpower.
Finally, just as the last sliver of his Willpower was about to shatter, a warm current instantly flooded his body. His muscles were like a parched field after a long drought, frantically absorbing the gushing warmth. He had done it. He had successfully broken through his own limit for the first ti!
"Heh heh..." Panting, Mu Chen felt the surge of strength that ca with his breakthrough and gave a dopey grin. He knew this was just the beginning. The training ahead would only grow harder; the limits of the human body were not so easily surpassed.
THUD!
Finally, having broken through his limit for the first ti, Mu Chen’s remaining Willpower completely gave way. Like a string pulled taut for too long that suddenly snaps, his entire body was overco with exhaustion.
*Snore... snore... snore...*
Soon, the sound of snoring filled the Profound Ice Palace...
Mu Chen had faced such tedious days many tis before. He gradually grew accustod to this life, even coming to like it. Hard work was not a bad thing. Ti flew by, and in a flash, four months had passed. By now, Mu Chen could finally control the massive black box at a weight of eight thousand jin.
In the bright Profound Ice Palace, a white-clad figure flickered and leaped about. Beneath his feet, two corporeal-looking orange Martial Rings displayed the fruits of his labor over this period.
Feeling his ever-expanding power, Mu Chen’s expression didn’t change much. Six months of silent training had thoroughly tempered his disposition. It was safe to say his ntal fortitude now far surpassed that of others his age.
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