"All right, I'll do it. Do I jump straight into this Eight Trigrams Furnace?"
Tien Shinhan thought for only a moment before moving to leap straight into the Eight Trigrams Furnace without further ado.
"Wait!"
When the Grand Supreme Kai saw that Tien Shinhan had not even hesitated after hearing this method, she felt all the more that his obsession with martial arts had reached a level ordinary people could not imagine.
With such wholehearted devotion to martial arts, if he could not become a martial arts grandmaster, who could?
At that thought, the Grand Supreme Kai felt even more strongly that Tien Shinhan had potential, so she immediately stopped him and added,
"You really are a madman who would spare nothing for martial arts training.
But madmen are exactly the sort I appreciate.
Since I've already decided to lend you a hand, I might as well see this good deed through."
The Grand Supreme Kai gave Tien Shinhan a rather reflective look, as though she had made some major decision.
See this good deed through? Could there be some other benefit inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace besides the flames that can help him quickly absorb the Ultra Divine Water's medicinal power?
Tien Shinhan's eyes shifted slightly as he vaguely guessed at something.
The next moment, the Grand Supreme Kai continued speaking, confirming his guess.
"I began managing this Eight Trigrams Furnace tens of thousands of years ago.
As long as the flames in this Eight Trigrams Furnace keep burning, the barrier between the worlds of yin and yang remains impenetrable.
Any souls trying to pass from the yin world into the yang world, or wandering the yang world for special reasons, are burned to ashes by the flames in the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
Although the ashes produced by burning each soul are negligible, over many years they accumulate and condense at the bottom of the furnace.
As a result, a Five Elements Pill has formed at the bottom of the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
This Five Elements Pill is condensed from the essence left behind after souls are burned. Taking it can greatly increase mental power and improve comprehension.
And that comprehension naturally includes comprehension of martial arts.
If you have the ability to reach the bottom of the Eight Trigrams Furnace and retrieve that Five Elements Pill to take it, it should be a great help in mastering all sorts of martial arts in the future."
A Five Elements Pill?
There was actually a treasure like that?
Tien Shinhan remembered the events in which Goku came to the Eight Trigrams Furnace to help patch its bottom.
But he really had no recollection of this Five Elements Pill.
Perhaps it was because, in his memories, Goku came to the Grand Supreme Kai's place almost three years later, so he missed the Five Elements Pill?
That made sense. After all, by then, there had been a huge hole in the bottom of the Eight Trigrams Furnace. It was possible that the Five Elements Pill had been destroyed or lost in the process.
Now that he had come almost three years early and earned the Grand Supreme Kai's appreciation, this Five Elements Pill was an unexpected bonus!
As for whether he could withstand the flames inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Tien Shinhan was not worried.
After all, his current strength was much greater than that of Goku three years later in his memories.
If Goku could do it with a power level below a thousand, then with his current power level of over three thousand, there was no way he could not do it as long as he was careful!
"Thank you for bestowing this treasure on me, Lord Grand Supreme Kai. I'll definitely get the Five Elements Pill!"
Tien Shinhan respectfully thanked this "young woman" who had lived for tens of thousands of years.
The Grand Supreme Kai frowned at his words.
What she hated most was people calling her an old maid or an old hag.
Although Tien Shinhan had not touched on that just now, the "old" in her Chinese title was still "old"!
So she immediately corrected him.
"What do you mean, Lord Grand Supreme Kai? My name is Annin. You can call me Lady Annin!"
"Yes, Lady Annin!"
With that, Tien Shinhan jumped straight into the Eight Trigrams Furnace without any further delay.
Hearing Tien Shinhan correct his form of address so quickly, the Grand Supreme Kai nodded in satisfaction.
As for the Five Elements Pill, although it did indeed have the wondrous effects she had described, it was no treasure to her. Rather, it was merely furnace ash that took effort to clean out.
She could let Tien Shinhan obtain a treasure while having him clean out the furnace ash for her, preventing the Eight Trigrams Furnace from breaking due to excessive ash buildup. The Grand Supreme Kai felt she was simply a genius.
She had even come up with such a perfect plan to kill two birds with one stone.
"Oh no, I forgot to tell him not to stay in the Eight Trigrams Furnace for more than ten minutes!"
The intensity with which the flames in the Eight Trigrams Furnace burned the body and soul was not constant. After someone stayed inside for more than ten minutes, the burning intensity would multiply!
"Never mind. It's not as though I tied his hands and feet or closed the lid. If he can't stand it, he should jump out on his own."
But on second thought, the Grand Supreme Kai no longer felt that forgetting this warning was much of a mistake.
To be precise, she was the Grand Supreme Kai. How could she possibly make a mistake?
At that thought, she turned and walked toward her large house. When she had come out to meet Tien Shinhan, she had only eaten half a bowl of her favorite noodles.
Whoosh, whoosh-
Crimson flames blazed and billowed.
Earlier, even from a great distance away from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, one could already faintly feel the scorching heat.
Now that Tien Shinhan was inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, it was naturally unbearably hot.
The fierce flames were comparable to scalding magma and immediately sought to burn away every last strand of Tien Shinhan's hair.
Fortunately, Tien Shinhan had no hair to begin with, so the furnace flames did not get their way.
"Hah!"
Feeling the terrifying power of the flames, Tien Shinhan gathered the Ki within his body and spread it all over himself to increase his body's ability to withstand them.
As he fell, he endured the onslaught of the raging flames around him.
The process was agonizing, but amid the surging waves of heat, Tien Shinhan also felt the changes within his body.
The medicinal power of the Ultra Divine Water that had remained inside him was rapidly absorbed by his body as he fell.
Moreover, the tempering heat of the flames also activated Tien Shinhan's Limit Breakthrough trait.
His power level was rising rapidly.
3,100!
3,200!
By the time Tien Shinhan had completely absorbed the Ultra Divine Water's medicinal power and landed at the bottom of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, his power level had climbed all the way to 3,500!
And with a power level of 3,500, the surrounding flames that had previously forced Tien Shinhan to grit his teeth and endure no longer seemed frightening.
He had already adapted to the burning that these flames inflicted on his body and soul.
Growing stronger against stronger opposition, Tien Shinhan had adapted to the intensity of the Eight Trigrams Furnace's flames.
Sensing that the medicinal power within him had been completely absorbed, Tien Shinhan had achieved his original purpose for this trip.
Of course, having already reached the bottom of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he would not pass up a treasure like the Five Elements Pill.
So he began searching all around the bottom of the Eight Trigrams Furnace.
The bottom of the Eight Trigrams Furnace was vast, but Tien Shinhan searched quickly too.
Although the Five Elements Pill was only the size of an egg, Tien Shinhan still managed to find it after a few minutes.
Looking at the dull gray, plain-looking pill in his hand, Tien Shinhan could not help feeling a trace of doubt.
"Is this really the Five Elements Pill? Are we sure it isn't some kick-the-bucket pill?"
But after hesitating for a moment, Tien Shinhan decided to trust the Grand Supreme Kai this once.
People could not be judged by their appearance, and neither could the Five Elements Pill.
Perhaps it merely looked unremarkable, while its actual effects were astonishing?
Gulp~
Having made his decision, Tien Shinhan promptly popped the Five Elements Pill into his mouth.
"Hmm... it tastes like incense ash. Dry, spicy, and even a little irritating to the throat."
The Five Elements Pill did not taste particularly good.
But soon, its powerful soul-strengthening and comprehension-enhancing effects erupted, making Tien Shinhan inwardly exclaim that it was totally worth it.