Over the next few days, Lin Fan continued his hellish training, racing along with a mountain on his back. He had to run more than ten thousand li every day, and the mountain's weight was precisely the limit of what he could carry.
This was the most direct form of tempering. It brought his flesh, bone text, and spirit into close harmony, making it an effective way to cultivate in the blood moving realm and often forcing out his latent potential.
Yet, easy as it sounded, it was tremendously difficult. One slip in control, and the mountain would crush him beneath it, driving him underground.
At the same time, it tormented both body and mind. By the end of each day, Lin Fan was utterly drained and exhausted, as though his body no longer belonged to him.
But the gains were enormous. Ever since reaching a strength of a hundred thousand jin in one arm, Lin Fan had clearly felt his progress in the blood moving realm slow considerably. This method, however, allowed him to keep advancing with swift hooves and steady strides, which was exceptionally rare.
Rumble!
The earth shook. Every living creature in this stretch of the Great Wilderness stared blankly at the sight of a mountain racing along. It could hardly have been stranger!
Compared with the mountain, Lin Fan's height was insignificant, like an ant beside an elephant. Thus, as he ran with it on his back, anyone watching from afar would overlook him entirely.
"What the hell is that? A mountain bouncing along?" someone exclaimed, dumbstruck.
"Has the mountain gained sentience? Or... has it nurtured something incredible that's about to emerge?"
"Hurry, chase it!"
The area erupted into activity. Many people gave chase, employing their movement techniques to get to the bottom of this.
Seeing people pursuing him, Lin Fan picked up speed and pushed himself harder. He ran as swiftly as the wind, the mountain bouncing up and down in a thoroughly unbelievable spectacle.
"Hmm, something's odd here?" Everyone sensed something amiss. The mountain looked like a person scampering along, which made no sense whatsoever.
In the end, unable to shake the tails behind him, Lin Fan panted with exhaustion and shouted as he ran, "Uncles, please stop chasing me! There's no treasure here. I'm just training with a mountain on my back."
The voice coming from beneath the mountain was childish. Everyone froze upon hearing it, unable to believe their ears.
"It's actually a child? Surely he's a savage beast in human form? If he can carry a mountain at such a young age, just how strong must he be?"
"I'd say it's more than that. Only the young of an ancient savage beast could manage this. He must be a powerful savage beast with a pure bloodline." Some people's eyes widened and shone with delight.
Although it was not the Mountain Treasure, immortal essence, or rare divine material they had imagined, encountering a young beast with boundless potential was not bad either. If they captured and raised him, he could make a fine guardian in the future.
Still, many people held themselves back. With a child this powerful, offending him could be troublesome if he had someone backing him or belonged to a major faction.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man could not resist asking, "Little fellow, where's your elder? Why are you here all alone?"
"Probably sleeping. He told me to train by myself," Lin Fan said in his childish voice after a moment's thought.
He was not wrong. The old man had nothing to do all day. Apart from peeping, he simply lay on a large rock and slept.
"Might we ask where your elder is? We'd like to pay him a visit. Anyone who could teach such a sturdy, adorable child must have some insights we'd love to discuss." Another middle-aged man, plump and greasy-looking, spoke with a broad smile. He looked rather sleazy.
The man was probing, trying to find out how strong the person behind the child was and which faction he came from. If that person was weak, they would simply abduct the boy.
By now, how could Lin Fan fail to understand? Some of these people had developed crooked intentions toward him and were trying to coax information out of him so they could carry out an abduction.
His large, gemlike eyes turned, brimming with spirit and glinting with intelligence. "He's at the academy. You can go find him there!"
"The academy! Could it be the Heavenly Immortal Academy?" Everyone was startled. As far as they knew, the nearest academy was a major power.
"Yep, that's right!" Lin Fan said innocently. He dared not mention the Supreme Dao Arena. If he did, this bunch would probably attack him immediately.
Qi Daolin's reputation was truly terrible. He had ruined it completely by stealing teachings from a hundred schools. Notorious in every sense, he had provoked so many enemies that everyone clamored to beat him.
As a result, even the successor to his arena was hated by everyone who saw him.
"You're a disciple of the Heavenly Immortal Academy?"
This time, Lin Fan did not answer. He continued running with the mountain on his back.
Some lost interest and left, unwilling to offend a major power. Such a powerful child, right near that academy-there was hardly any doubt about it.
But some creatures remained suspicious and refused to believe it. They followed quietly behind to observe him, including several members of the Taotie, who were born able to devour all things and were insatiably greedy.
Naturally, they wanted to devour powerful bloodlines and supreme treasures. Doing so would make them stronger and allow them to acquire some of the imprints within.
Hum!
Suddenly, they shuddered all over, their backs turning cold. They nearly fell from the sky, as though some raging flood or ferocious beast had fixed its gaze upon them. Their souls trembled, and terror rose from the depths of their hearts.
"S-senior... we were wrong! We shouldn't have followed your disciple or harbored any designs on him!" The Taotie hurriedly bowed into the distance in apology, cold sweat streaming down their foreheads as they acted with utmost caution.
Before this pressure, they felt as insignificant as ants and trembled uncontrollably.
Only when disaster loomed did the Taotie realize how foolish they had been. If a child dared to train alone in the Great Wilderness, how could there not be some great figure watching over him?
Swish!
The next instant, several beams of divine light appeared in the void and pierced the brows of the Taotie who had taken human form. Their souls exploded, and they reverted to their original forms.
Then a radiant hand appeared, seized the mountain-sized beast corpses covered in purple scales out of thin air, and withdrew them.
It all happened swiftly and cleanly. Not a drop of blood fell, nor was so much as a blade of grass stirred, as though nothing had ever happened.
Only the Taotie who had just died knew what a terrifying existence they had faced. Even the divine fire realm offered no defense; they had been killed instantly.
That night, Lin Fan was half-dead with exhaustion. He plopped down on the ground, truly unwilling to move another inch. The old man's method was good, but far too dull and tedious.
Only someone like him, with an adult's soul living inside that small body, could endure it. Any other child would have run off long ago.
These past few days, that little girl Feng Wu had been keeping watch over the Tribulation-Transcending Divine Lotus Pool. Lin Fan had not dared go there for fear of being discovered. After all, having enjoyed those sights for so long, he could easily get beaten to death.
A gentle breeze blew, swaying the ancient trees and setting their leaves rustling without pause. A tempting fragrance drifted through the air, awakening his appetite.
"Gurgle..."
"That smells amazing. Where's it coming from? Could the old man be eating something?" Lin Fan propped up his weary body and followed the scent.
Sure enough, firelight flickered in a clearing. Qi Daolin was tending a pot, simmering ingredients within it. The fragrance of meat wafted out, accompanied by brilliant rosy light.
"I never see you work hard at cultivation, but the moment there's food, you come running!" Qi Daolin scolded.
"Dao Master, what are you talking about? Am I not working hard enough? Does that First Generation next door cultivate faster than I do?" Lin Fan rolled his eyes, then made himself entirely at home, sitting beside the pot without the slightest ceremony.
His eyes nearly bored into the pot, and drool ran from his mouth. The translucent meat was far too enticing, especially for someone who had exercised all day and was already starving.
"Can you compare yourself with her? You rely on your unusual constitution. Otherwise, how could you improve so quickly? Don't forget that she can attack with a Precious Art, while you can't. For now, you can only follow the path of sanctifying your flesh. How can you afford not to work harder?" Qi Daolin looked exasperated, as though lamenting iron's failure to become steel.
Lin Fan was speechless and indignant, but could not very well argue back. He could only vent through his appetite. He reached out, picked up a rich piece of meat, and popped it into his mouth, feasting heartily as rosy light filled his mouth.
"The meat is so delicious! It melts in your mouth. Dao Master, what savage beast did this come from?" Lin Fan wore an expression of enjoyment, utterly intoxicated.
"Just a Taotie in the divine fire realm," Qi Daolin said casually.
"What?!" Lin Fan was shocked, not by the species of the savage beast, but by its cultivation level.
It was already an outstanding specimen among pureblooded, heaven-tier savage beasts, a treasure from head to toe, its flesh and blood potent medicine. With its cultivation so high as well, how could a little blood moving realm cultivator like him withstand it?
"Ah... so hot!"
Lin Fan cried out as he felt vast torrents of essence surging inside him, blazing fiercely and battering every part of his body. His bones crackled as though they were about to explode.
He hurriedly sat cross-legged to refine it. He had just eaten a large chunk, and now holy light burst from his entire body, divine power boiled within him, and essence gushed from every pore. These were signs that he had overnourished himself.
Only after a long while did the place settle down. Drenched in sweat, Lin Fan let out a soft breath and said angrily, "Old man, you're trying to murder me!"
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