Under the effects of the huge pile of fruits he had eaten, Zhang Tie traveled farther and farther down the path of cultivation at an unprecedented speed.
From a level thirteen Battle General to a level fourteen Battle Demon, the number of bright points his body needed to ignite rose from 233 to 377. He had to ignite a total of 144 bright points to complete this advancement. This time, Zhang Tie spent nearly 580 days—almost one year and seven months—making the leap.
Without the Soul Tribulation Realm, Zhang Tie did not know whether he could have completed such arduous cultivation alone in such a lonely, sealed environment. Setting everything else aside, the loneliness of having no chance to speak a single word to another person all year round could drive someone mad.
Over that year and more, Zhang Tie learned to sing, singing to himself.
Zhang Tie had never known how to sing before, nor had anyone taught him. At most, he could whistle or hum a few casual lines. But there were books on the subject in Soaring Heaven Academy's library. Zhang Tie found them and read through them, and after slowly puzzling things out, he learned how to sing and read sheet music.
The Theatrical Mask Bloodline possessed outstanding talent in this regard inherited from humanity's ancient ancestors. Combined with the precise control over his throat and techniques brought by Zhang Tie's formidable strength, along with his long, sustained breath, it was enough to make any human vocalist or singer from before the Great Cataclysm feel ashamed before him. The first time Zhang Tie heard his own singing, he nearly wept. He had never known that his voice could sound so good.
From then on, singing became one of Zhang Tie's ways of passing the lonely hours