Three Years in the Blink of an Eye

Ten Thousand Layered Mountain, at the thousandth step.

The terrifying gravity, magnified a thousandfold, made even the surrounding air extraordinarily heavy. From afar, the scene looked blurred and distorted. Even a grain of sand drifting in from the distance could strike the ground with a dull thud under the thousandfold gravity.

"Buzzz—"

Shi Jue sat cross-legged, his upper garments undone to reveal his muscular body. He did not circulate the power of Bone Script; instead, the surging blood and qi within him counteracted the dreadful external gravity.

A hazy layer of light flowed over his skin, carrying a faint hint of purple. Magnified, it would reveal extremely tiny Lightning Dao Runes.

Tribulation Liquid had not only remolded his foundation, but also laid a solid groundwork for his future cultivation of Lightning Dao Treasure Arts. It had greatly increased his affinity with lightning as well.

Other than replenishing food, he had spent more than three years on Ten Thousand Layered Mountain, even sleeping there. Only he knew how much suffering he had endured.

Broken bones, torn flesh, shattered organs—such things had become commonplace over the past few years. Most of the steps beyond the hundredth had been stained with his blood.

Even when he was covered in wounds, he could only endure it alone.

Although the life force within the Tribulation Liquid could restore his injuries at astonishing speed, the pain honed him every single time.

More often than not, the pain had knocked him unconscious before the Tribulation Liquid healed him again.

Though he was still a Mortal Body, every inch of his flesh now radiated crystalline treasure light. Up close, one could even smell a fragrance like that of a precious human medicine.

"I should have around a hundred thousand jin of strength now," Shi Jue muttered.

He had only just turned seven. From Liu Shen, he had learned that Shi Hao had reached the hundred-thousand-jin extreme limit of the Blood Moving Realm at six and a half years old—nearly a year earlier than in the original story. By now, he should have opened several Heavenly Passages already.

The abundant blood and qi coursing through his body made it all feel somewhat unreal. Reaching the extreme limit of Blood Moving had been something of a shortcut.

His little face was now quite handsome, his eyes brimming with youthful vigor. He looked far more dashing than when he had been a little boy.

And the flowing hair he had once possessed had grown back over the past few years.

"Not bad. In less than four years, you completely absorbed the Tribulation Liquid. You surpassed my expectations."

Liu Shen's voice rang out. She was rather satisfied with Shi Jue's performance.

"Liu Shen, I feel that aside from brute strength, I don't have any real offensive methods."

Shi Jue frowned and voiced the problem he currently faced.

All these years, he had relied solely on gravity to pressure himself. His combat experience was still zero. Shi Hao had fought countless battles in the Great Wilderness and was far superior to him in that regard.

"You understand your own situation quite clearly. Leave the Void God Realm first. I will make arrangements afterward."

The next moment, Shi Jue felt an irresistible pulling force that instantly dragged him out of the Void God Realm.

"Shi Jue? You're out!" A surprised voice sounded. Shi Hao was holding a peculiar Glow-White Bone.

The Primordial True Scripture?

Shi Jue recognized the Treasure Bone at a glance. It was incomplete and lacked the Myriad Spirits Diagram, but it was still an extraordinarily valuable treasure.

"Yeah, I just came out of the Void God Realm. Little Dot, you've gotten so strong!"

He could clearly sense the vigorous blood and qi within Shi Hao. Even though Shi Jue had now reached a hundred thousand jin of strength, he was still no match for him. He could not help marveling at Shi Hao's monstrous talent.

"You're not bad either. Want to spar?"

Shi Hao could also feel a faint pressure coming from Shi Jue. This was the first time he had experienced such a thing since opening his Heavenly Passages.

"Shi Hao, you've opened at least three Heavenly Passages, haven't you? Let's talk after I break through." Shi Jue rolled his eyes.

"Little Jue, you're back. Are you going there again?"

Old Clan Chief Shi Yunfeng walked out. Compared to a few years ago, there were more white hairs on his head, and he looked much older. Yet the kind and amiable smile on his face remained unchanged.

"Yes, Clan Chief Grandpa. My physical strength has reached a hundred thousand jin. The next step is breaking through to the Heavenly Passage Realm." Shi Jue smiled.

He felt that his strength exceeded a hundred thousand jin, probably reaching around a hundred and twenty thousand. The thousandth step of Ten Thousand Layered Mountain was not yet his limit.

But he also knew that this was the effect of the Tribulation Liquid. So even if he was slightly stronger than Shi Hao, he did not become complacent.

"With a single swing of your arm, you can exert a hundred and thirty thousand jin of force. You have absorbed nearly all the divine essence of that Tribulation Liquid. Even among the geniuses I have seen, Little Jue, you stand out from the rest." Liu Shen's voice sounded.

Three years had passed, and the willow branches on the trunk were no longer countable on one's fingers. There were now more than a dozen, reaching into the heavens and earth like Order Divine Chains. They shone with countless rays of divine light and a hazy glow, rooted in the void as they absorbed the essence of heaven and earth.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Shi Yunfeng said "good" three times in a row, the smile on his face growing even brighter. "Little Hao and Little Jue, you two are the pride of Stone Village!"

"Huh? You have two thousand jin more than me?"

Shi Hao froze. Because he had felt pressure from Shi Jue, he had cultivated even more frantically. He had surpassed the original story's hundred and eight thousand jin by another twenty thousand, reaching an astonishing hundred and twenty-eight thousand jin.

He could have reached a hundred and thirty thousand jin as well, but after eating a Treasure Egg from the Five-Colored Peacock King, its divine essence had been too rich. Unable to suppress it in time, he had followed the momentum and broken through to the Heavenly Passage Realm, opening four Heavenly Passages at once.

"Little Jue's strength came from the Tribulation Liquid. Otherwise, attaining a hundred thousand jin of physical strength would have been nearly impossible. The two of you will walk different paths in the future, so there is no need to take it too seriously," Liu Shen said calmly.

A hundred and thirty thousand jin?

Even Shi Jue was surprised. It was ten thousand jin more than he had expected and two thousand more than Shi Hao. Still, he did not care much. A difference of two thousand jin was practically negligible.

The Tribulation Liquid truly deserved its reputation as an incomparably precious divine treasure of heaven and earth. He did not dare use the same method as last time to draw down a lightning tribulation again.

"Hahaha, we'll celebrate for you two today! Tonight, the whole village will feast!" Shi Yunfeng felt as if he had grown several years younger.

"Shi Jue, how about we compete to see who can eat more?"

Shi Hao's eyes lit up, and drool was already spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Sure. Just don't end up losing to me."

After eating dry rations for nearly four years, Shi Jue's mouth had practically gone numb from blandness. He was hungry too, though not as exaggeratedly as Shi Hao.

A bonfire was lit, and the people of Stone Village spread mats across the open ground beside the lake. All kinds of ferocious beast meat dishes were laid out atop them as everyone enjoyed the feast together.

"Ah!"

Shi Jue immediately began wolfing down the food. The dishes made by the aunties were still the best—he nearly cried.

The Stone Village villagers were all delighted. At the same time, some of the aunties looked at their own children with frustrated disappointment. All they did every day was cause trouble or go hunting with their fathers, never cultivating properly.

From now on, updates will normally be at this time.