Endurance Training Method, Transformation Through Ultimate Pressure

"Relax, relax, you can do this!" Su Yan muttered to himself.

Wearing only shorts, cinched tight at the waist, he stood at the far right of the waterfall. Taking a deep breath, he reached his hand into the cascading water.

Instantly, a tremendous force slammed against his hand.

Su Yan felt as if a burly man weighing several hundred jin had viciously slapped his palm.

Numb with pain.

Su Yan sucked in air through his teeth, truly wondering what state of mind his master had been in when designing this training method. This wasn't training—it should be called ordeal, the ordeal of hell.

"Ahhh—" Su Yan roared and leaped up.

The rocks had been specially treated; they looked smooth but weren't slippery at all.

His body was bound with powerful spider silk personally produced by Bibi Dong, the other end held firmly in her hand. The moment he felt he couldn't hold on, a tug on the silk would have Bibi Dong pull him from the waterfall's crushing pressure and toss him into the river.

Was this reasonable? It was *river*sonable.

Su Yan took his historic first step.

Nearly everyone present held their breath.

The waterfall swallowed Su Yan, unleashing its immense force without restraint.

Su Yan felt as if a thousand jin had landed on his back.

Heavy!

Gritting his silver teeth, he slowly straightened his waist amidst the torrent, "enjoying" the waterfall masseur's kneading of his shoulders and neck, and took his second step forward.

In an instant, the pressure on his body multiplied geometrically.

Roaring, Su Yan charged forward five more steps—seven steps total, the span of a single poem—and that was his limit.

Across the river, Xue Ke wore large sunglasses under an oversized sun umbrella. Beside her sat a wooden round table with an exquisite fruit platter and a cup of bubbling, dark-brown, unidentified beverage. She raised her hand and wrote in her notebook: "Brother Su Yan, seven steps."

Then, picking up the mysterious drink, she placed the straw between her delicate lips, her tongue flicking to catch the tip, and slowly sipped. The dark-brown liquid surged up the straw, and an unprecedented joy exploded in her mouth.

Xue Ke let out a long, satisfied breath.

Her teacher was right—combat wasn't everything for a Soul Master. She was suited to being an assistant instructor, learning the relevant theories, judging whether these foods and drinks were suitable for long-term consumption by Soul Masters.

Watching Su Yan across the river, his face twisted into a mask of agony under the waterfall's assault, Xue Ke's heart ached. She immediately took another gulp of the mysterious liquid. Training was destined to be painful, but this water—so blissful!

On the opposite bank, Zhu Zhuqing fastened her spider silk, her cold eyes fixed on the waterfall. She leaped without hesitation, taking five consecutive steps, falling two steps behind Su Yan.

As a fellow beast-type Soul Master, Zhu Zhuqing belonged to the Agility Attack System, her physical strength relatively weaker. Her forte lay in speed and offense.

Next, Tang Chi hesitated, wavering. Before he could even step onto the rock, the waterfall slammed him into the river. He floundered a few times before Bibi Dong grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.

"Saintess Instructor, I'm a tool-type Soul Master. Do I have to do this too?" Tang Chi pinched his own thin arms and legs. Wouldn't this just shatter him outright?

"Physical strength is the foundation of foundations, whether you're a beast-type or tool-type Soul Master." Bibi Dong set him back at the starting point and said softly, "You don't want to swing a hammer with all your might one day and have your own hand snap off, do you?"

Tang Chi pondered, seemingly envisioning the horrific scene of his own severed hand flying backward after a powerful hammer strike. He shuddered violently and, without further hesitation, leaped into the waterfall, managing three steps before stopping.

Yin Fang had mentally prepared himself, but after jumping in, he realized his preparation was far from sufficient. The first step alone left him nearly unable to move. That Su Yan at the front, who could take seven steps—what an incredibly powerful body! Unimaginable!

His name was Yin Fang, and now he was truly square with fear.

The last to appear was Pikachu.

Its golden claws pointed at the waterfall, then at itself, with a hint of confusion: "Pika~"

"Pikachu, you need to train too, you know." Bibi Dong bent down, smiling at it.

"Pika!" Pikachu startled, stepping back half a pace, as if it could see a demon lurking behind Bibi Dong's shadowy smile.

It stood on the rock, gathered itself, and leaped into the waterfall. After several steps, it stopped just ahead of Tang Chi—converted, that was four steps!

All five combatants were in position. Bibi Dong landed on the opposite bank, took five bells from her belt, clipped them onto each of the five spider silks, then tied all the silks to a large tree behind her. She shouted across the river: "Half an hour countdown, begin!"

After that, she lit a fire, set up two forked sticks, and placed a horizontal log directly above the flames.

Once everything was ready, she pulled out a beach chair, set it under the sun umbrella, lay down contentedly, and took out a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to sip.

"Teacher, no need to time it?" Xue Ke asked.

"No need." Bibi Dong set down the orange juice, eyeing the bubbling, dark-brown drink across the way. "If I just told you to hold on until your limit, what would you do?"

"Me?" Xue Ke bit the end of her pen, thinking for a moment. "I might stop when I think I can't hold on anymore."

"When your mind thinks you can't hold on, your body often still has reserves. It's a common protective mechanism." Bibi Dong's gaze was unwavering. "But once there's a clear time goal..."

"I understand!" Xue Ke's eyes lit up. "That way, the goal is half an hour. You grit your teeth and push through until time runs out or you hit your physical limit!"

"Exactly." Bibi Dong pointed at the drink. "That—is it good?"

Xue Ke, jotting down key points in her notebook, looked up in confusion: "Teacher, what?"

"That fizzy drink. I saw Xiao Yan enjoying it so much, so I asked the chefs in New Divine Land for some."

"Teacher, want to try?" Xue Ke handed the cup over.

Bibi Dong took the cup and drank. An unprecedented thrill burst in her mouth.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the bubbling beverage. "Mmm—too bad it's not orange flavor!"

Time passed minute by minute. About half an hour later, the four people and one mouse showed no sign of letting up. Bibi Dong shouted loudly, "Ten minutes left!"

Su Yan had already sat cross-legged, entering a state of selflessness. While receiving the pressure from the waterfall, he circulated the Yi Jin Jing within his body.

Under the heavy pressure, each circulation was arduous, but the improvement brought by each cycle was several times greater than usual.

Zhu Zhuqing caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye and also tried to sit cross-legged. After struggling for a long time, she finally completed a soul power circulation.

Golden lightning continuously seeped from Pikachu's electric pouches, and the yellow soul ring on its back flickered with light.

Tang Chi, his body tense as he bathed in the waterfall, gritted his teeth and said, "This is taking forever!"

Yin Fang's body was trembling, gradually sinking downward. "I... can't hold on."

Ding-a-ling!

A bell rang. Bibi Dong grabbed the strong spider silk, dragged Yin Fang to the shore, took out a towel, and wrapped him up tightly. She looped the strong spider silk over the wood above the fire and hung Yin Fang over the flames to roast.

In short, to dry him off.

Thirty minutes later, Tang Chi let out his last breath, fell into the water, and became the second person to be dried.

Another half hour passed. Zhu Zhuqing and Pikachu both exhausted their strength at the same time and fell into the water.

Only Su Yan remained, still bathing in the waterfall.

Su Yan felt as if he had entered a very special state of meditation, as though he himself were this mountain, this water, this river.

His meridians were like the waterfall, endlessly pouring out soul power.

And at his dantian, where soul power converged, it was like this river, receiving the soul power and then flowing it out to his limbs and bones.

He suddenly opened his eyes, slowly stood up, and under everyone's puzzled gazes, took another step forward.

The eighth step!