Second Chapter, Shock

Instructor Su had already made the instructors of the other peaks quite dissatisfied by breaking the rules for Little Rain Peak.

However, when they thought of Instructor Su's background, no one truly dared accuse her to her face. The White-Browed Old Man was only responsible for overseeing the Sea Trials, and he absolutely did not dare truly offend Instructor Su. Relying on his seniority, he could only offer a few perfunctory words of admonishment. If Instructor Su refused to listen, he would not say anything more.

As for the boy currently being beaten, in the White-Browed Old Man's opinion, he had probably cultivated some unique body-tempering technique and possessed an unusual constitution. His ability to withstand blows was indeed outstanding.

However, the Azure Cloud Sect had gathered so many outstanding disciples from across the empire. Compared with those monstrous geniuses of the empire, this little fellow was nothing special. He had passed the Sea Trials, but the trial assessment that followed would not be so simple. Perhaps he would not be able to pass it.

Thirty li away.

The strength of the four men had finally run out. They could no longer summon the slightest bit of energy, and all of them collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily without moving.

They had likewise come to participate in the Sea Trials. Killing that Viscera Refining Realm boy had merely been an additional task, but now they were exhausted to the point of death. Forget about beating that boy—they could not even pass the Sea Trials anymore. One had to know that there were still at least five or six li ahead. In their current condition, even getting back to their feet was extremely difficult.

Luo Zheng shook his arms. At this moment, he was refreshed and full of vigor. The impurities in his five viscera and six bowels had been purified quite a bit under the pounding of this feast of fists today. If he endured a few more rounds of punches like these, he could probably reach the peak of the Viscera Refining Realm within a short time.

Unfortunately, opportunities like this did not come often, and Luo Zheng was clearly still unsatisfied.

When he saw the scholar glaring at him with a venomous expression, he walked over, squatted down before him, and asked, "From what you said just now, the Young Master Wang you mentioned should be Wang Hengzhi, right?"

The scholar sneered. "Since you know that, why aren't you quickly kneeling down and awaiting death? Young Master Wang is an Aristocratic Clan Disciple. You provoked him—do you think you still have a chance to live? Even if you enter the Azure Cloud Sect, you'll still be dead."

Luo Zheng nodded and smiled. "Help me deliver a message to Young Master Wang. He and I have no enmity or grievance. Tell him not to drag me into the entanglement between Luo Peiran and me."

"What a joke. Who is Young Master Wang? Would he listen to you? Do you have the qualifications to speak with him? Killing you would be nothing more than a single word from him..." the scholar continued sneering.

"Bang!"

The scholar had only gotten halfway through his words when Luo Zheng suddenly slammed a heavy fist into his lower jaw. His entire body was sent flying and spun through the air once before being forcibly pressed back onto the ground. The scholar's teeth shattered across the ground, and his mouth filled with blood. This time, he could no longer speak.

Luo Zheng rubbed his fist and said coldly, "Getting you to deliver a message is such a hassle. You just keep yammering on and on. Did you really think I had no temper? You people beat me for so long, so this one punch is already cheap enough for you, right?"

It was truly just as Luo Zheng had said. The four men had chased him and beaten him for half a day. Although they had been shocked by Luo Zheng's abnormal defensive power, Luo Zheng had fled the entire way without retaliating even once. They stubbornly believed that Luo Zheng was merely a turtle hiding inside its shell and posed no threat to them.

But the punch Luo Zheng had just thrown had been vicious and utterly merciless.

The other three instantly understood. This fellow was absolutely not a turtle, but a ferocious lion!

After grasping this point, they stared blankly at Luo Zheng like frightened rabbits. The three of them were completely drained of strength. Even if they wanted to run, they could not, much less fight back.

Luo Zheng found the burly man and asked, "Did you hear what I said just now? Do I need to repeat it?"

"I heard you clearly, I heard you clearly. I'll relay your words to Young Master Wang." The burly man forced a smile onto his face. He was someone who understood the times. If he refused to behave now, he would end up exactly like the scholar. That would simply be asking for trouble.

Only then did Luo Zheng nod in satisfaction. He stopped paying attention to the group and continued forward along the road.

At present, Luo Zheng was the only person on the entire road. Although he had passed the Sea Trials, he wanted to see whether he could continue onward.

After that chase, he had run another five or six li. Running five more li ahead should bring him to the endpoint of the Marrow Refining Realm assessment. He wanted to test where his limit lay.

Under four thousand jin of pressure, his speed had already become extremely slow. Even jogging the rest of the way took him nearly half an hour. At last, he saw the stone stele ahead.

When a Marrow Refining Realm cultivator reached this stone stele, it counted as passing the Sea Trials. Yet the road still had not reached its end. He did not know how much the pressure would increase after crossing the stele.

Luo Zheng arrived before the stele. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his leg and stepped over it.

The instant he crossed the stele, an extraordinarily terrifying pressure bore down upon him.

"Thud!"

It was as though a great mountain had been dropped onto Luo Zheng, crushing him firmly against the ground.

"This pressure is a little too great!"

Luo Zheng's face, stomach, and limbs were stuck tightly to the ground as if glued there. He could not move at all.

He struggled desperately to lift his head, but felt as though his skull weighed tens of thousands of jin. No matter how hard he tried, he could not raise it.

Luo Zheng felt rather depressed. Ten li meant one thousand jin of pressure, twenty li meant two thousand jin, and thirty li meant four thousand jin. By rights, this forty-li stretch should have eight thousand jin of pressure. Yet he now felt a force of tens of thousands of jin. The pressure seemed to have surged tenfold!

I refuse to believe this!

Luo Zheng's temper flared. He communicated with the two Dragon Scales within his body and drew their power into himself. Then he let out a furious roar and circulated the strength throughout his body.

"Rise for me!"

The strength in his entire body burst forth. The veins on his body bulged, every muscle swelled to its limit, and a bronze-colored radiance emanated from him.

Against such a fierce force, Luo Zheng forcibly pushed his body up with both hands.

However, he was still in a squatting position and had not fully stood up.

"Again!"

Luo Zheng took a deep breath. This time, he poured all his strength into his legs, pressed his hands against his thighs, and slowly raised himself in an extremely awkward posture.

His movement was incredibly slow, rising almost by the fraction of an inch.

The simplest action of all—going from a squat to standing—actually took the time it took an incense stick to burn.

By now, he was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving violently. It felt as if all the strength in his body was about to be exhausted.

But he still managed to stand.

He had stood up, but taking even one step forward was an arduous task.

It was easy to foresee that the moment he lifted both feet, his body would immediately lose its balance, and he would plunge headfirst onto the ground...

Yet at that very moment, he suddenly felt warm currents continuously welling up within his body.

"What's going on?"

Warm currents kept surging from his arms, torso, and legs. Moreover, those currents surged with tremendous force, and their quantity was far greater than before.

Luo Zheng's face was filled with confusion. No one was pounding him now, so how could warm currents be produced?

"I understand!" Having figured it out, Luo Zheng's face immediately revealed a trace of wild joy.

The reason his body could produce warm currents was that external force had entered his body and been transformed into warm currents by it, allowing them to cleanse his fleshly body.

Now, no one was beating him, but the external pressure had already reached a terrifying level. That pressure was no weaker than the force of another person's blows. His body was converting this pressure into warm currents and beginning to cleanse his fleshly body!

This pressure flowed endlessly and surged without cease, acting evenly across Luo Zheng's entire body. Thus, warm currents circulated everywhere from head to toe.

This high-pressure environment was actually an excellent place for Luo Zheng to cultivate. Overjoyed, he stood where he was, closed his eyes, and let the warm currents purge the impurities from his organs.

Luo Zheng was enjoying himself, but he had frightened the White-Browed Old Man and Instructor Su on the other side.

The first thirty li of this road in the Azure Cloud Sect were used to hold the Sea Trials. Under normal circumstances, cultivators in the Bone Refining Realm, Viscera Refining Realm, and Marrow Refining Realm would dye their respective jade pendants red, and that would count as advancing.

However, the region beyond thirty li was a cultivation area reserved for those in the Innate Secret Realm.

The pressure within reached a terrifying fifty thousand jin, equivalent to the force of fifty cauldrons. Simply standing inside was like having fifty enormous cauldrons pressing down upon one's body.

Under such terrifying pressure, forget about those in the Marrow Refining Realm—even Half-Step to the Innate Realm cultivators could only retreat in the face of it. Only after entering the Innate Secret Realm could one withstand this pressure.

If an ordinary Bone Refining Realm or Viscera Refining Realm cultivator were thrown inside, his entire body would probably be crushed to pieces immediately.

Although this boy's body was incomparably tough and could withstand the attacks of four Marrow Refining Realm cultivators, facing the power of fifty cauldrons would probably leave him in grave danger.

The two of them realized the seriousness of the situation. They each leaped onto a Flying Carriage and hurried forward.

With the speed of the Flying Carriages, thirty li passed in the blink of an eye.

The two leaped down from their respective Flying Carriages, only to discover that Luo Zheng was not only safe and sound—he had even climbed up from the ground!

The White-Browed Old Man murmured when he saw this scene, "I've presided over the Sea Trials for so many years, but I've never seen this. I've truly never seen..."

Instructor Su covered her small mouth with both jade hands. Her beautiful eyes were likewise filled with shock. This boy clearly only had the strength of the Viscera Refining Realm, so how exactly had he withstood the pressure of fifty cauldrons—and even stood up?