Chapter 14 Taking The Plunge

The next morning Mo Xiaowen woke up, a frown gracing his face. 'I really don't want to.... but I have to.... damn it why didn't I just quit when Zhao Wuji stayed whining!' Mo Xiaowen complained inwardly.

He then went towards his desk and grabbed the box containing the Body Tearing Grass. 'I made no paste on purpose so I'd have to force myself.' With that thought his grabbed a grass and inched it towards his mouth.

Just he was about to consume it, he remember that day over a year ago. A supervisor had arrived at the training grounds early in the morning and stopped all the disciples of his batch from beginning their training.

The man then handed them each a Body Tearing Grass and forced them to consume it. Naturally, all 200 of them ended up writhing on the floor in agony. Not one of them could properly resist the effects of the grass back then.

"....Even if I don't eat this grass, I'll be the best in my batch in a few months, regardless if I earn the Body Tempering Pills." Mo Xiaowen convinced himself, moving the grass away from his mouth.

But deep down, he knew that was never his goal. "I want to surpass myself not those bums!" Without a second thought, Mo Xiaowen plunged his hand along with the grass into his mouth.

"FUCK! I REGRET EVERYTHING!" He howled in pain before rolling on the ground. Many men had suffered a hit to the nuts, but even that paled in comparison to the pain brought about by the Body Tearing Grass.

That day every disciple in the vicinity of Mo Xiaowen's residence heard a terrible cry, one that stoked their own memories of an experience they'd rather forget.

"That's Mo Xiaowen right, don't tell me he actually took Body Tearing Grass?"

"Well he did trade for it that one time...."

"No, it can't be, no one's that insane! You'd have to be a masochist to withstand that or have a very rare condition. And last time I checked none of us fulfilled those requirements over a year ago."

The disciples discussed amongst themselves. Little did they know they hit the nail on the head almost immediately. Very few pains in the world could compare to the Body Tearing Grass, so having suffered that pain, they almost instinctually resonated with Mo Xiaowen's cry.

Nearly 20 minutes later, Mo Xiaowen got up off the floor, his body covered in sweat from head to toe. "I survived..." He muttered to himself as he inspected his own body. In reality besides the pain the Body Tearing Grass had no consequences which was an upside.

Not only that but Mo Xiaowen had another point going for him. Due to his use of the Body Tearing Paste, he was at least accustomed to a high level of pain, otherwise even standing afterwards would've been a struggle.

'If I picture the pain as pushing me forward then its no long pain. Mhm its not longer pain.' He consoled himself before exiting his residence and heading to the training grounds.

On his way a number of disciples shot him odd looks. His previous screaming was hard to ignore, but that wasn't the only reason. His eyes also held a tinge of soullessness in them.

After a few seconds of looking at him, they then ignored him. They had barely interacted with Mo Xiaowen in the past and weren't planning on starting now.

Sometime later, Mo Xiaowen made it to the storage facility and grabbed a 4 tonne weight. It felt much lighter than it had over 2 months ago. He was extremely close to the 5th Stage, otherwise he wouldn't have decided to take the grass.

'Normally it'd take 4 months to reach the 5th Stage from the 4th, yet I am about to do it in nearly half the time. The Body Tearing Paste isn't that good so it must be because of some other reason.' Mo Xiaowen pondered as he ran with the weight.

During training he always went faster, and longer than the rest of the disciples. Pushing himself further and further. In the past one could argue this was because they were slacking, but overtime they got over Zhao Wuji's departure and even began working harder.

Then it hit Mo Xiaowen. 'Hard work, it does pay off.' He smiled before running even faster with the weight. Naturally he had always believed in this truth, but he never had anything concrete. Reaching the 4th Stage had been par for the course, but being this close to the 5th Stage was definitely abnormal.

If cultivation was an endless road, then to Mo Xiaowen, every step he took with the weight on his back, was like another step on that endless road. One taking him to higher and higher heights.

"No matter who appears from the Royal Academy, it doesn't matter. Nothing will stand between me and my Body Tempering Pills!" Mo Xiaowen declared to himself, fortunately no one was in earshot otherwise that would have been a bit awkward.

Time ticked by, everyday Mo Xiaowen ate one Body Tearing Grass, and everyday screaming could be heard from his residence. And in the blink of an eye, the day arrived.

The disciples of batches 899, 898, and 897 were made to line up outside the gate of the Demonic Cliff Sect to greet the Royal Academy. Even if they would duel today, it was still a friendly duel and greeting an opponent with respect was important. At the end of the day they were all part of the Flood Dragon Kingdom.

"Excuse me supervisor, yesterday's lunch isn't really agreeing with my stomach, may I go use the bathroom?" Mo Xiaowen requested clutching his abdomen.

"Huh? You should've handled this earlier, whatever just go." The supervisor shook his head before allowing Mo Xiaowen to take off.

Leaving the gate, Mo Xiaowen headed up steps entering the Sect. But he didn't go to the bathroom, rather he headed straight to the training grounds. 'If I can just train for another hour I'll reach the 5th Stage, I can feel it!'