Tempering

Yu Xiaofeng had never expected that after going to such great lengths to capture him, they only wanted him to deal with Tang San. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

But upon further thought, he felt something was off. Why had such a group suddenly appeared?

Was it because he had transmigrated here and changed history?

Or had such a group existed all along?

Yu Xiaofeng was deeply puzzled. He probed, "Do you have a grudge against Tang San?"

The man did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Are you ready?"

Seeing that he would not answer directly, Yu Xiaofeng decided to gamble. "I've already died once. At worst, I'll die again. You want my help but won't tell me why. Why should I help you?"

"Come on, give me a quick death."

Yu Xiaofeng's words made the man, who had always stood high above him, suddenly freeze. After a moment of silence, the man suddenly laughed.

The laughter was dark and eerie, impossible to describe. This time, because of the man's laughter, Yu Xiaofeng finally saw his blurry outline beyond those eyes.

This was not a human at all. After everything he had experienced, how could he not know that where there were gods, there would surely be demons?

Seeing Yu Xiaofeng's emotional reaction, the man narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "Are you wondering why I don't kill Tang San myself?"

Yu Xiaofeng said, "That's right. You can clearly kill him yourself, so why go through such a huge detour?"

The man continued narrowing his eyes. "Do you think I don't want to?"

"If I make a move, Tang San will know. The history of Douluo Continent will change. Do you think, as a god, he would allow me to do that?"

"Tang San cannot die, but he can be marginalized. He can be prevented from becoming a god for the rest of his life, until he dies of old age."

Yu Xiaofeng looked at the man before him. Whenever he spoke the name Tang San, he gave off the feeling that he would not rest until Tang San was dead.

Yu Xiaofeng realized that he had already been drawn into a conspiracy, and behind it, gods were likely involved—more than one of them.

The man looked at Yu Xiaofeng and spoke again. "You're very smart. It seems you've already figured it out."

"As long as you pass my trial, what you gain will surely be greater than what you give."

"And if you become a god before Tang San does and cut off his resource advantage, perhaps after you become a god, the two of us may have a chance to cooperate. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"You're very weak right now. Aren't you going to find yourself a better backer?"

Yu Xiaofeng knew very well that the man made sense. His life was already in someone else's hands, so what was there to act tough about? He should know when to stop while he was ahead.

He immediately said to the man, "I'm ready. I hope everything you said is true."

The man sneered. "Only if you survive despite being weak will you be qualified to negotiate terms with me."

A dim light shot from the man's hand. Red light appeared beneath Yu Xiaofeng's feet, and as it spun, a crack split open in the ground.

Yu Xiaofeng cried out and fell straight in.

"Don't disappoint me. Stay alive. If there had been enough time, the moment you angered me just now, you would already be dead. You really are lucky..."

The man's voice drifted over slowly... but he had already vanished from where he stood.

Yu Xiaofeng stood still in a dim space. He discovered that there was not even the slightest trace of light here. They said that once a person's eyes adapted to the environment, they could see their own hands even in total darkness, but without the Rebirth Eye, he could see absolutely nothing here.

Yu Xiaofeng heard a sound approaching from afar.

Just as the sound was about to reach him, Yu Xiaofeng's expression changed completely. He cried out, "Is that repulsive force?"

Yu Xiaofeng circulated his Soul Power and shouted, "Divine Realm Shield!"

Bang! Bang!

Yu Xiaofeng was struck head-on by the incoming repulsive force and sent tumbling more than thirty meters away.

The Divine Realm Shield cracked instantly. Yu Xiaofeng spat out a mouthful of blood, his face full of horror.

He discovered that the repulsive-force attack from before was similar to his own methods, but its power was more than a hundred times greater than his.

He did not think the man wanted to torture him to death by deliberately placing him here. If that were the case, why use repulsive force to attack him?

Wouldn't a knife be more satisfying?

Torturing him one cut at a time would certainly be more suitable.

If that possibility was ruled out, then the answer became clear. Perhaps the man really was testing him and using this space to temper him.

As Yu Xiaofeng got back to his feet and sensed his own repulsive force, realization dawned on him again.

Repulsive force could manifest in many ways. He could use his imagination to achieve unexpected effects, and naturally, the goal was to kill his target.

So why did he still have to cling to the techniques from Naruto?

The second attack arrived again. This time, Yu Xiaofeng did not activate the Divine Realm Shield. It was not that he wanted to die, but that he realized this space was enormous. If he could evade the attack, why insist on taking it head-on?

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yu Xiaofeng moved in quick flashes. Thanks to the changes he had made to his body over the past five years, his speed was not merely fast.

After a muffled sound, Yu Xiaofeng discovered that the two attacks were roughly five minutes apart. Gradually, he began adapting to the environment, thinking as he dealt with whatever came next.

Elsewhere

The man watched Yu Xiaofeng in the crystal ball and laughed. "Not bad. You can be taught. But this is only an appetizer. I hope you improve in the next wave of attacks. Becoming a god is not determined solely by soul rings and Soul Power. Soul skills are also a very powerful method."

(Soul skills: similar to martial arts manuals. They are mentioned in the original work; please look them up yourself.)

Over three hours, the attacks came faster and faster. From once every five minutes at the start, they now came once every minute. Yu Xiaofeng was terrified, but he discovered that he also felt a faint thrill of excitement.

When another attack came, Yu Xiaofeng gathered Soul Power in his feet. With the special nature of repulsive force, his running was far beyond what ordinary soul masters could match. Every burst of movement could only be described as launching himself.

The instant the tips of his feet touched the ground, he shot out like a cannonball. His speed was so fast that comparing it to lightning was no exaggeration.

By this point, the attacks had gradually changed from pinpoint strikes into sweeping "sheets."

It was clearly impossible to rely on speed alone to evade them. Yu Xiaofeng gathered a black Spirit Power Ball in his right hand, sneered at the incoming attack ahead of him, and said, "Taste my Spirit Power Bomb."

Yu Xiaofeng threw out the Spirit Power Ball. The man instantly shot to his feet in shock. "Why didn't I think of condensing Soul Power into a single point and throwing it out?"

"It's no different from Tang San's hidden weapons."

"No, Tang San's hidden weapons are poisoned, and they only consume weapons. But if Soul Power is condensed into a single point, it consumes one's own strength. In a prolonged battle, the one who loses will definitely be himself."

"Foolish. You're playing with fire and will burn yourself."

The man shook his head and sat down again. He believed Yu Xiaofeng's move would soon prove his judgment correct.