The Internal Organs

At the 19-kilometer mark, the swelling and pain in my meridians finally disappeared completely.

Instead, a gentle flow of heat is steadily circulating along a complete circuit within the body.

After enduring all four layers of tempering—skin, muscles, bones, and meridians— Wang Xingyu could clearly feel the power contained within his body—every muscle, every bone, and every meridian seemed to have been recalibrated, coordinated and precise.

For a fleeting moment, he even considered challenging Power Attack System to a duel, to see just how many punches his current physical body could withstand.

As for trying it on Xiao Wu next to me, forget it.

I'm afraid Xiao Wu could knock him off the tree with one punch right now.

The entire 19-kilometer stretch was peaceful, without any new trials or pain.

The two of them took a good rest in this rare buffer zone, allowing their bodies to fully recover from the previous ordeal.

On the third day, 20 kilometers.

A soreness rose from deep within his torso, starting below his right rib and slowly spreading upwards along both sides of his body, all the way to his eye sockets.

My eyes started to feel sore and swollen, as if I had stayed up all night and then stared at a bright light for too long. Occasionally, there was a slight overlap at the edges of my vision.

"What are they tempering? Their eyes?" Xiao Wu rubbed her eyes.

"Possibly."

Wang Xingyu closed his eyes and sensed the surrounding Force. "The Force here is predominantly wood-based, which suits me perfectly."

He sat cross-legged and tested his cultivation speed, which was almost four times faster than before.

The wood-attribute Force at a distance of twenty kilometers seemed to be specially prepared for wood-attribute Soul Master. He only stayed there for three days, and his Soul Power broke through from level fifty-one to level fifty-two.

On the fourth day, the field of vision was indeed wider and clearer than before, and even the fine veins on the branches and leaves in the distance that were previously invisible to the naked eye were clearly visible.

Wang Xingyu wanted to stay a few more days, but after four days, his cultivation speed returned to normal.

We can only keep going uphill, and the speed remains at 500 meters per day.

At 22 kilometers, my heartbeat suddenly quickened.

It wasn't an accident; my heart was pounding loudly in my chest, each beat clearly audible.

The body temperature rose accordingly, and a thin layer of sweat seeped out of the skin.

The two had long since stopped wearing the thick clothes they had put on to cope with the cold at high altitudes, and even after taking them back into their regular clothes, they still felt hot.

The temperature of the surrounding air was also rising, feeling at least back up to the teens.

"Is this a test to temper the heart?" Xiao Wu fanned herself with her hand. "But why is it so hot? It's like I'm on fire."

"On fire?" This gave Wang Xingyu an idea.

The Force attribute was biased towards wood for the first two kilometers, but now it's biased towards fire.

After wood comes fire, and the part being tempered changes from the eyes to the heart—but it doesn't start from the eyes, it starts from the torso.

The torso contains the internal organs.

He vaguely remembered that the five internal organs and six bowels had some kind of correspondence with the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), but he couldn't tell exactly which organ corresponded to which bowel or which element corresponded to which organ.

I didn't take notes carefully when I watched the movie, so now I have to figure it out myself.

I should have just watched that movie.

However, whether you can understand it or not doesn't affect your climb to the top.

After the heart is tempered, blood flow becomes smoother, nutrient delivery efficiency is significantly improved, and recovery time is reduced by nearly half for the same amount of physical exertion.

Four days later, after traveling more than 24 kilometers, the scorching heat suddenly subsided, and the temperature dropped noticeably. However, the two did not feel too cold, which should be the result of their hearts being tempered.

At the 24-kilometer mark, another change occurred. A persistent warm sensation arose in my abdomen. Even though I hadn't eaten much, my stomach felt like I had just drunk a bowl of hot soup, and my mouth had a sweet aftertaste.

The surrounding Force was stable and heavy, as if it were being supported by the earth. It was not as strong as the previous wood element, but it still had the effect of accelerating cultivation.

Wang Xingyu followed up his previous reasoning—wood represents the eyes, fire represents the heart, and the Force attribute of this level is earth-based, so it should be the stomach that needs to be tempered.

Twenty-six kilometers, and my breathing changed.

Each inhalation lasted longer than before, and the exhalation was more thorough. Subtle scents in the air that were previously imperceptible—the slightly astringent smell of tree bark and the sweet aroma of leaves—became clearly identifiable.

The surrounding Force carried a sharp, piercing quality, like a freshly quenched blade.

This stage is like gold, but it's the lungs that are being tempered.

Twenty-eight kilometers, the final hurdle.

The humidity in the air has increased significantly, giving it a moist feel.

Hearing became clearer, and he could hear faint muffled sounds coming from deep within his bones when he moved.

In addition, there was another change—they felt the urge to urinate. Logically speaking, since the two of them ate the leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life, the energy of the leaves was pure, without impurities, and completely digested, so they shouldn't have these symptoms.

Thankfully, it was just the urge to urinate; I didn't actually need to go to the toilet. Otherwise, where would I find a toilet at 10,000 meters in the air?

The element of this level is water, and the kidneys should be being tempered.

Thus, the cycle of the five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—has ended, and the tempering of the five internal organs has been completed.

Then comes the 30 kilometers, and the last 5 kilometers.

Wang Xingyu took the first step up, but before he could even reach the 30-kilometer mark, he turned back.

Xiao Wu found it a bit strange, but Wang Xingyu gestured for her to try it too.

She climbed over the line, stood for a moment, then stepped back, her tone tinged with surprise. "There's no Soul Power up there—no, no Force."

I felt it.

Wang Xingyu rubbed the goosebumps that had just been raised on his arms by the cold wind. "So the previous training was to prepare for the last five kilometers. Without training the body, I probably wouldn't be able to make it."

"What should we do then?"

"We still have plenty of time, let's go up and give it a try."

The ten-year assessment period is just the beginning; it's estimated that only about two months have passed so far.

The two sat cross-legged at a distance of 29 kilometers, absorbing the Force with all their might, filling every inch of their bodies with the space to store Soul Power.

Make sure the Soul Power stored in your body is enough to last for a while.

The two put on the thick clothes they had taken off in the high-temperature section, then put on several more layers, wrapped their collars tightly, and crossed the 30-kilometer boundary again.

In an instant, the biting cold wind stabbed in from all directions like knives, making people sway and their eyebrows instantly frosted over.

The temperature is estimated to be close to minus forty degrees Celsius.

The two immediately activated their Soul Power, circulating it rapidly through their meridians. A warm feeling spread from their bodies, and they were finally less cold.

The leaves of the ancient tree have no effect here and cannot replenish Soul Power.

Fortunately, there was no gravity, and the two of them simply climbed upwards step by step, braving the cold wind.