Ecstasy surged through Luo Feng like an electric current, almost making him tremble.
But Lin Mo's icy words immediately brought him back to reality:
"There's just one thing: the process won't be easy."
"Your meridians have been blocked for a long time, and after three months of interference from my aura, they're extremely fragile."
"Forcibly clearing them with my soul power will be a little painful."
"But it'll be quick. You need to prepare yourself."
Pain?
Luo Feng almost laughed.
For the past three months, what he had endured was more than physical pain.
It was the mental torment of being sliced apart day after day, the despair of watching hope go out bit by bit!
It was the agony of knives twisting in his heart whenever he thought of the hardship his family might face in the future!
Compared with all that, what was physical pain?
"Teacher, go ahead!"
Luo Feng straightened his back, his eyes burning without a trace of fear.
"As long as I can recover my strength, as long as I can grow stronger, your disciple can endure any amount of pain!"
"Good."
"Close your eyes, focus your mind, and relax your body. No matter what happens, you must not faint or resist."
Lin Mo's voice grew ethereal and imposing, like an ancient incantation.
Luo Feng immediately did as he was told, sitting cross-legged on the hard wooden bed.
He closed his eyes, trying to calm his excitement and regulate his breathing.
The next moment.
A strange, faint trembling sensation, seemingly from the depths of his soul, came from the sea of consciousness between Luo Feng's brows.
Immediately afterward, he sensed a power that was cool and condensed, yet as vast as a sea of stars.
It slowly spread from the depths of his sea of consciousness.
Like invisible mercury, it began to seep through his body.
At first, there was only a faint coolness and tingling, as though countless tiny electric currents were roaming beneath his skin.
But the sensation soon changed.
When that cool power touched the so-called meridian nodes within his body.
"Ah!"
Luo Feng clenched his teeth fiercely, a desperately suppressed groan escaping his throat!
Pain!
Indescribable, excruciating pain!
It wasn't the pain of torn muscles or broken bones.
Rather, it erupted from the very depths of his life, from every cell in his body.
A pain that seemed ready to tear his very existence apart, reconstruct it, and grind it to pieces!
Cold sweat poured out like a waterfall, soaking Luo Feng's clothes.
His body began to tremble violently beyond his control, and veins bulged on the surface of his skin.
His skin rapidly turned bright red, his teeth chattered, and even a trace of bloody foam seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"Hold steady! It'll be quick. Keep going for another dozen or so hours and it'll be over."
"What? A dozen or so hours!"
Luo Feng's consciousness, torn nearly to pieces by the agonizing pain, heard that measure of time.
He jolted and nearly screamed!
How was this quick? This was clearly torture with no end in sight!
"Tea... teacher!"
Luo Feng forced out a hoarse cry, seemingly from the depths of his soul, his consciousness tossed about by waves of agony.
"Didn't you say it would only hurt a little, and that I just had to endure it for a bit?"
"What does this little bit of pain amount to?"
Lin Mo's voice remained cold and indifferent.
"True life evolution, a genetic leap, is even more painful than this."
"All right, stop talking nonsense and endure it."
Just like that, time seemed to stretch on without end.
To Luo Feng, every second was as hard to endure as a century.
He didn't know how much time had passed before all the tearing pain.
Reached its peak at that instant, then abruptly vanished like a receding tide!
In its place came an indescribable feeling of unimpeded flow throughout his body!
Luo Feng unconsciously began to breathe deeply and powerfully.
With each exhalation, he expelled a few turbid impurities with a bloody smell.
An unprecedented sense of power erupted within him!
His eyes snapped open!
A sharp glint flashed through them and vanished.
He instinctively gripped the bed board.
"Crack!"
The edge of the bed board, where he had unconsciously grabbed it, burst apart!
Intermediate War General?
He raised his head, though his face was pale.
His entire body was drenched in grime and sweat, leaving him in a sorry state.
But his eyes were astonishingly bright, full of ecstasy and disbelief.
"Teacher, I broke through!"
His voice was a little hoarse, but it carried excitement he couldn't suppress.
"Mm."
Lin Mo's voice rang out again, as indifferent as ever.
"The initial clearing is complete. You now have the physical foundation of an Intermediate War General."
"And your efficiency at absorbing cosmic energy should be more than ten times what it was before."
More than ten times?
Luo Feng's heart began pounding again.
That meant his cultivation speed would far surpass what it had been before! Far surpass that of ordinary martial artists!
"However."
Lin Mo changed the subject, his tone serious:
"This is only the beginning. The universe is vast, and existences beyond Beyond War God can be found everywhere in it."
"Do not become complacent with where you are."
"Yes, teacher!"
Without hesitation, Luo Feng closed his eyes and focused again.
He began trying to guide the cosmic energy surging into his body according to the basic cultivation method.
Now, he felt the cosmic energy circulate smoothly through his meridians.
He felt his strength growing bit by bit, his body being strengthened little by little.
Luo Feng immersed himself in an unprecedented sense of fulfillment and joy.
Every breath was more effective than an hour of cultivation had been before.
The leap in efficiency almost intoxicated him.
Deep in his consciousness, Lin Mo's remaining wisp of thought quietly watched Luo Feng guide the energy.
Lin Mo felt somewhat gratified, but suddenly, he clearly sensed his own condition rapidly deteriorating.
"Alas."
Lin Mo let out a sigh.
It seemed to pierce through endless space and time, echoing in the deepest part of Luo Feng's sea of consciousness.
"I've only just awakened, and my remnant soul isn't stable yet, as expected."
"Forcibly drawing on the power of my soul's origin to help Luo Feng was still too much of a strain."
Lin Mo murmured to himself.
Though the seemingly simple clearing of the meridians hadn't consumed too much.
He had, after all, only just awakened and hadn't had much soul power to begin with.
Lin Mo felt waves of weakness and emptiness coming from the depths of his soul.
It was an exhaustion originating from the very source of his existence, far more than simply running out of energy.
He needed to slumber, needed time to repair and stabilize this wisp of his remnant soul.
"Luo Feng."
Lin Mo's voice, flat but carrying a trace of barely concealed exhaustion.
Rang directly in Luo Feng's consciousness, interrupting his cultivation just as he was settling into it.
Luo Feng's mind sharpened. He immediately withdrew from cultivation and answered respectfully:
"Teacher, what are your instructions?"
A thought stirred in his mind. His teacher had suddenly interrupted him.
Could it be that his teacher found the Genetic Origin Energy Cultivation Method he practiced too rudimentary and was going to bestow a higher-grade secret technique on him?
At the thought, a warm current surged through his heart.
On Earth, when martial artists took a master, the master would often bestow secret techniques, weapons, and resources.
How much more so for a powerful teacher from the universe?
He restrained his excitement and ventured to speak:
"Teacher, on our Earth."
"After a disciple takes a master, the master usually bestows some secret techniques and resources and gives guidance on the path ahead."
"I wonder if it's the same between master and disciple in the vast universe?"
He asked cautiously, but his eyes were full of anticipation.