Once he had moved away from that terrifying threshold and shifted his weight fully back onto the twentieth step, the pressure remained as heavy as a mountain, but the tearing sensation inside his body, which had been on the verge of collapse, suddenly eased.
Lin Xia panted heavily, letting blood mixed with sweat drip onto the cold stone steps. At last, the light of Grassy Terrain stabilized and began to work again, laboriously mending the injuries caused in that brief moment and soothing his cramped muscles.
Lin Xia didn't look any higher, nor did he pay attention to the various gazes cast up at him from below.
Instead, he sat cross-legged where he was, closed his eyes, and circulated his Soul Power with all his might. Working together with Grassy Terrain, he healed his injuries, steadied his breathing, and adapted to and tempered himself against the extreme gravity field of the twentieth step on an even deeper level.
Another hour passed.
When Lin Xia opened his eyes again, his gaze was clear and composed.
His face was still pale, but the weightiness forged into him from within by the grinding pressure of gravity was far stronger than before he began the climb.
His Soul Power had been hammered and compressed again and again under the extreme pressure. Not a trace of its former superficiality remained; it had become exceptionally solid, flowing through his toughened meridians like mercury.
This was a qualitative improvement, nothing like a simple increase in Soul Power.
Lin Xia slowly rose to his feet and stretched his limbs, feeling the small gains in his physical strength brought about by the extreme pressure.
Then, with a visibly tired but resolute Bulbasaur at his side, he made no further attempt to climb higher. Instead, he began descending toward the