Luo Feng, Three Years Later

Half a month passed quickly. Luo Feng soon stabilized his cultivation as a Warrior of the First Rank and gradually calmed the ripples in his heart. By now, he could endure about three minutes beneath the great waterfall. As he savored the coolness of the water, his mind became completely immersed in tranquility.

He sat there cross-legged and motionless, as though he had entered a meditative trance, immersed in the immensity of the waterfall's flow. Then he fell in again with a splash. This time, he had lasted a full five minutes.

Time passed and the stars wheeled overhead. Before he knew it, he had trained until noon, and Luo Feng came out of his frantic cultivation.

After getting dressed, Luo Feng couldn't help laughing. "Looks like this method of training my body is really useful. Maybe I really am a genius. I've only just begun. The Yulan Continent, the War God, the High Priest... It's the year 9806 of the Yulan Calendar, two hundred years before the story begins. In two hundred years, I'll definitely become someone who can rival you. No, I'll surpass you. It took Linley just over fifty years to surpass you. I refuse to believe I can't surpass you in two hundred. Just wait. I'll do it."

Time passed, and he had been training for more than half a year. Under his mad training day after day, coupled with the sharp increase in how much he ate each day, Luo Feng's body grew stronger and gradually began developing in the direction he had envisioned...

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Luo Feng panted heavily as he staggered up the mountain, one step at a time. He bore a boulder nearly half a meter tall firmly on his shoulder. The edges of the yellowish-brown rock had long since been worn perfectly smooth, and it looked to weigh several hundred jin.

As time went on, Luo Feng followed a set routine, trying all kinds of strength training with relentless intensity and continually breaking through his physical limits. His physical strength improved rapidly.

Three years later

A waterfall more than ten meters wide plunged straight down beside a huge pool a hundred meters across, like a flawless bolt of silver silk. The ceaseless torrent poured from a hundred-meter cliff and slammed into the massive green rocks at the bottom of the valley with a violent, powerful impact, erupting in thunderous roars.

White mist swirled through the air, and countless crystal-clear droplets scattered like lustrous pearls. In the bright, dazzling sunlight, they shone with a brilliance like that of a celestial paradise, beautiful enough to draw sighs of wonder!

Clad in trousers, Luo Feng stood steady in the depression at the very center of a massive green rock. He let the waterfall plunge from on high and pound against him, yet he remained immovable!

Luo Feng seemed to have transformed into an ancient stone statue. No sign of life could be sensed from him as he stood silently on the green rock beneath the waterfall, unaware of anything!

At last, the sun gradually rose, a dazzling orb climbing into the sky, and a fierce ray of sunlight shone gently upon him. Bathed in the rushing torrent, Luo Feng suddenly opened his eyes. Two terrifying rays of divine light shone from their depths, so cold they seemed capable of tearing through the unbroken curtain of water.

A gentle breeze blew, and all was silent.

Having finished his breathing exercises, Luo Feng slowly opened his deep, bright, yet icy eyes. He stood quietly atop the great, jutting green rock like a war god in golden armor. A light breeze stirred the dense leaves, making them rustle.

Luo Feng's heart was perfectly calm as he gazed at the sky, his thoughts sinking deep into contemplation. Years of training beneath the waterfall's pounding had made his mind as calm as the ripples of water. Whenever training left him frustrated, the torrent from above would wash it all away. The icy water always brought him a quiet, steady state of mind, and over time, his heart had become calm and unruffled.

"The peak of the Warrior of the Third Rank. I should be strong enough to cultivate that Battle-qi manual now, shouldn't I? It's already very difficult for me to break through again with my current strength. A ten-year-old at the peak of the Warrior of the Third Rank must be rare. My progress has certainly been fast! But the pain I've endured... Heh!"

"The Saint Domain? That's only the first step in the early stages of Coiling Dragon. Right now, I'm still only a Warrior of the Third Rank, but I can finally begin cultivating the Battle-qi manual. This age belongs to me, Luo Feng. At least until Linley becomes a god, this age is mine. War God, High Priest, wait for me to write another legend."

Although Luo Feng was only ten, he had already reached nearly 1.6 meters in height. His features were gradually becoming more defined, and his ink-black hair hung down to his waist. He had streamlined muscles like a cheetah's and a face as if carved with knife and axe. At this moment, he radiated a domineering air and boundless anticipation for the future.

The spring breeze turned the poplars around the open ground east of Yellow Sand Town green. On the open ground, a group of youths were training with great enthusiasm.

One child on the open ground wore only trousers, and his bare upper body was covered in sweat. He lay face down, taut as a drawn bowstring, his hands pressed firmly against the ground like the roots of an old tree. He didn't move, supporting himself only on his hands and toes. His entire body was taut.

"Drip!"

Sweat ran down his forehead and along the corner of his eye. His right eye began to sting, and he involuntarily squinted, but he didn't give up and continued holding on with all his might.

"Luo Fu, that's it! I know you can beat Han Mu. You can definitely break Han Mu's record!" The children around him who were close to him all began cheering him on.

"If you're a man, straighten yourself up! What's a little hardship like this? My little brother isn't that weak."

Luo Feng had come to the open ground to see the results of his little brother's cultivation on a rare day when he wasn't training. He hadn't expected to see this, and seeing how hard his brother was working, he joined in cheering him on.

Luo Fu roared, "I'm stronger than all of you now! Han Mu broke through to the Warrior of the Second Rank a few months ago. How could I fail at a little bit of training like this? What's his record worth? I'm going to keep up with my big brother. Nothing is impossible!"

Luo Fu remembered his big brother's words clearly: Han Mu had already reached the peak of the Warrior of the Second Rank and was only one step away from becoming a Warrior of the Third Rank.

Han Mu was two years older than Luo Feng. When Luo Feng was eight, Han Mu finally broke through to become a Warrior of the First Rank. Recalling his vow, Han Mu had come in a swaggering manner to teach Luo Feng a lesson. But Luo Feng had already broken through to become a Warrior of the Second Rank, so Han Mu naturally received another fierce beating. From then on, whenever Han Mu made a breakthrough, he would come looking for Luo Feng, hoping to wash away his humiliation. Naturally, he got beaten every time. Because of his age, Luo Fu, now seven and a half, was finally on the verge of a breakthrough, just a little short of reaching the Warrior of the First Rank.

By now, his arms ached as though countless ants were gnawing at them. His whole body trembled constantly, every muscle in every part of him quivering. The force of each muscle's trembling was so clear at this moment.

At last, Luo Fu could hold on no longer. A helpless expression appeared on his face as he fell limply to the ground. Cheers rose from his companions around him, but he could no longer hear them, for he had exhausted himself.

Morning training was finally over. Luo Feng nodded to the members of the guard around him and, carrying his still-unconscious brother, returned as usual to the thatched hut that held countless memories for the two brothers. The guards had no complaints this time. Over the past few years, the boy had quietly reached the Warrior of the Third Rank, enough to earn their respect.

"That feels good." After a long while, Luo Fu finally woke up. Sprawled on the bed with his whole body completely relaxed, he could clearly feel a tingling itch throughout his body as his muscles began to grow slowly after their workout.

"You're awake?" Luo Feng said mildly, sitting at his brother's bedside. "Mm. Brother, did I still fail to break Han Mu's record?" Luo Fu asked.

"You've already broken Han Mu's record. And congratulations: you're now a glorious and great Warrior of the First Rank." Remembering his brother's childhood ambition, Luo Feng couldn't help teasing him, placing particular emphasis on "Warrior of the First Rank."

"Huh? That's great! Brother, have I really become a Warrior of the First Rank? Haha, I'm a Warrior of the First Rank too! I'm a man now!" With that, he scrambled up, clenched his fists, and struck a strongman's pose, making even Luo Feng burst out laughing, a rare sight.