"Buzz..."
Faint ripples spread through the air. The force around Er Dongsheng gathered steadily, and every cell, every tendon and bone, began to tremble!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It felt as though countless little hammers were pounding his body. Tiny pops sounded in his ears as his body purged dead cells!
His cells packed closer together, and every tendon, bone, and scrap of flesh gleamed! Old injuries caused by improper training healed without his even noticing!
Everything was taking a turn for the better!
He lifted a bowl of Abyss Tree Heart soup beside him and gulped it down. Vital energy surged forth like a tide, carrying boundless Abyssal Aura toward his heart. It wrapped around the entire organ and began to temper it!
Temper the tendons, bones, and skin outside; cultivate a breath of energy within. Though he still could not produce that energy, the new Basic Body Tempering had given Er Dongsheng a way to temper his internal organs!
A demon's most important internal organ was its heart. Rumor had it that a demon could survive without its head, but without its heart, death was certain!
Sizzle!
He diverted a great surge of vital energy to temper the scales on his skin. The glossy black scales deepened toward pitch-black. Now and then, a tempered scale flashed with a faint black light, revealing a mysterious marking—some long, some short, some intricate, some simple. He had no idea what they were.
Looking closely, he could sense an unfathomably mysterious aura drifting from them!
That was what made Basic Body Tempering so remarkable!
It cultivated vital energy within while tempering the tendons, bones, and skin without. What excited Er Dongsheng most was that, during the external tempering, a few scales occasionally developed mysterious Spirit Runes. Those scales became far stronger, both in overall defense and in the resilience of their cells!
He did not understand why, but he could feel that he had grown stronger!
Every bit of strength improved his chances of surviving in the Abyss! Lately, he had felt as though a great crisis was coming. Whether that feeling was true or false, growing stronger was urgent!
"Phew!"
Er Dongsheng let out a long breath and ended his training. He stood and stretched, sending countless cracks popping through his bones!
"Now this is training! That awkward feeling of using the wrong technique is finally gone!" He nodded in satisfaction. He could not have been happier with Basic Body Tempering!
"Now, time to stretch my limbs in the space! That'll wrap up today's training!" In a blink, Er Dongsheng vanished. Less than a second later, he reappeared in the same spot, a little trinket in his hand!
"Well, well. I didn't expect to get anything today. Not bad luck!"
This supplementary game space was a place to fight oneself: one copy, two copies, three, or even more! It allowed one challenge a day, with random difficulty and a ten-minute limit. His True Form entered, and whether he won or lost, he would be teleported out instantly. Of course, if he paced the fight well, he could choose to stay the full ten minutes. That depended on how well he controlled the battle!
Er Dongsheng felt he had found a fine place to let off steam. The copies of himself were somewhat stiff and mechanical, but enough of them could still give him trouble! And if he used this ability well, it might come in handy someday—for dodging danger, for instance!
Unfortunately, he could not use the space in the middle of a fight. He had to relax completely and wait to enter, just like the cast time on a town-return spell in a game. The slightest interruption would stop him!
"What a rotten setup. Is this payback for playing too many games in my past life?"
"Ha! Old God really has soaked every last shred of his dignity. What a shameless old soak!"
He gazed at the tiny orb of light in his hand and tapped it gently. A message emerged!
"Method for brewing tiger bone wine. Ingredients—several essence-rich bones from an Abyssal Demon Tiger, one jar of wine brewed from Blueberry Fruit, one small piece of Abyss Tree Heart. Detailed method... Effect: slightly accelerates recovery from injuries."
Er Dongsheng shook his head with a wry look. It really was just a trinket—a recipe for tiger bone wine. Even without the knowledge in the orb, he could have made it himself!
"Just as I thought. Utterly useless!" After that complaint, Er Dongsheng put the odds and ends out of mind and left the training cave. There was the little girl again, imperiously lecturing a pitiful Lesser Imp!
Heh. Ever since something Er Dongsheng had said, the little girl had fallen in love with playing teacher. Every few days, she taught the Lesser Imp things Er Dongsheng had once taught her, like making soup and doing sums!
Unfortunately, the Lesser Imp was nowhere near as clever as the little girl!
Sure enough, its stupidity had her hopping mad again! The bamboo switch in her hand cracked through the air!
The glee with which she swung it made Er Dongsheng's eye twitch!
It certainly looked as if the little girl was building her confidence at someone else's expense. Er Dongsheng had used that very switch to supervise her martial arts practice, and she had taken her share of hits!
Smack!
"Wrong again!"
"Brother said three plus four equals eight. You count one hand, then... then three more... yes, three! One hand and three fingers make eight! Understand?" The little girl counted on her fingers, then gave the Lesser Imp another sharp swat!
"You're so stupid! How could it equal six?" As she spoke, she raised the switch again. This time the Lesser Imp had learned its lesson and scurried well out of reach. Right or wrong, it got hit either way!
"Come over here!" she snapped. Why was this student so disobedient? She had been so good back then!
"Lulu won't hit you anymore! Come here!" Her big eyes rolled, and the little girl put on an innocent, adorable face. That silly Lesser Imp always fell for it!
Just wait till you come over here. Lulu will show you! the little one thought fiercely.
Unfortunately for her, the trick failed this time. With her back to the cave, she had not seen Er Dongsheng come out. She was still feigning innocence to lure the Lesser Imp closer!
Pat!
A large hand landed lightly on the little one's head!
"Tell me, what's three plus four? Did I tell you it was eight?"
A familiar voice came from behind the Little Succubus, followed by another firm tap on her head!
"Huh?" Her big ears fluttered. She spun around, broke into a run, and leaped onto Er Dongsheng!
"Brother, you're done training! Lulu missed you so much!" Her big eyes fixed on him as she rubbed her little face against him!
"Oh, stop changing the subject. Acting cute won't work on me." He tapped her head again.
"We only saw each other this morning. How much could you possibly have missed me?"
"But Lulu really..."
"What's three plus four?"
"Um, it's, it's... eight~~~~"
"Hmm?" Er Dongsheng frowned!
"No, no! It's six! Yes, six!"
"Six? What did I teach you? Think carefully. What does it equal?"
Er Dongsheng had already seized the bamboo switch. It seemed the little one had grown unruly these past few days! The ancients were right: a strict teacher produced outstanding students! This child would never learn without a few swats!
"It equals, it equals..." The Little Succubus clung to Er Dongsheng, her huge eyes darting about as she searched for a way out!
"Whoa...!" she exclaimed.
"What is it?" The little scamp was up to something again. She did this every time.
"Lulu's tummy hurts! I ate too many ice chips! Waaah, Lulu needs the toilet!"
"Oh, really? Answer the question first. A moment won't hurt." Little girl, you've got a long way to go before you can fool me! In my past life, students trying to escape punishment used every trick under the sun, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. That excuse of yours is terrible! Not an ounce of skill in it!
"Huh?" The little girl froze. The trick that had worked a hundred times had actually failed today!!!!
"How... how is that possible?" A thousand Abyssal grass-mud horses galloped across her forehead. The little girl was lost!
"Answer me! Get it wrong and you'll get the switch!"
"Uh... uh..." Watching the switch draw closer, the little one suddenly...
"Waaah! Lulu doesn't know! Lulu forgot! Waaaaah!" An even louder wail burst from her mouth!
"Waaaaah!!! Lulu hates Sibya! It's all his fault Lulu forgot! Waaaaah!" The little one brought out her last resort and, while she was at it, shoved all the blame onto Sibya, the bewildered Lesser Imp standing nearby!
Well, it seemed...
There was no dealing with this little one!
"All right, all right. It equals seven. Remember that!" Er Dongsheng stroked her head. He knew she was pretending to cry, but seeing her like this, he still could not bring himself to strike her!
After all, she was his only little sister!
"Yes, seven! That's what Lulu thought too! Sibya's so stupid he confused Lulu!" The little one wore a look that said she had been right all along, and gave Sibya a scornful glare for good measure! She clearly held a grudge against the Lesser Imp now. Sibya was in for a hard time!
"Yes, yes! Young Mistress Lulu is very clever. Sibya is too stupid!"
I mean... what does any of this have to do with you?
Why are you butting in, you little bastard?
Honestly, you two are much of a muchness. One says eight, the other says six. One too many, one too few—perfectly balanced!
Crying is the worst, don't you think?!!!!
Before you continue