Forging The Body

"Aargh!"

Wei Fang felt so much pain that he screamed. It was different from the pain he felt when he received information directly into his soul. At that time, his mind was locked and he couldn't think of anything, but now his mind was crystal clear, so he could feel the pain more clearly.

He gritted his teeth and looked at his hand, which had already reddened. He could feel searing hot pain inside his hand; it was like he dipped his hand into lava in an active mountain; it was so hot and painful.

'System-sama, can the process of cultivation be halted?'

[Yes.]

Wei Fang heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that.

[But you need to continue to endure the pain in your meridian until the cultivation process is finished.]

Wei Fang wanted to strangle the system when he heard it. Why must you pause in the middle and give me hope? Fack!

After waiting for a while, Wei Fang finally got a bit used to the pain. While gritting his teeth, he observed his reddened hand.

He could feel the earth fire inside his hand, still as blazing as before. It was not wrong to say that his hand was roasted from the inside. Then he noticed that the earth fire was using his qi to sustain itself so as not to go out. It was like using his resources to torture him, causing him to swear.

Thinking about how he still needed to draw the earth fire into the rest of his body's meridian, he suddenly regretted his decision a little. But now that he was already riding a tiger, regret wouldn't do a thing, and it just made him more depressed.

Wei Fang just stayed still for a long time until he got used to the pain. Because if he tried to draw another earth fire to his body, given that he was distracted by the pain, he would most likely end up failing.

He started to draw another fire only after he was somewhat used to the pain. But it still needs several tries before he successfully draws it into the meridian in his foot.

And just like that, he drew strands of fire one by one into his body amidst the flowing tears and painful screams. With every strand of fire he successfully inserted into his body's meridian, the pain would be amplified, and he would need to wait for some time before continuing.

Just like that, amidst the vicious cycle, he finally finished imbuing all of his body's meridian with the earth fire. His whole body was glistening red like a tomato. A white steam was coming out of his pores, a testament to how high the temperature of his body is.

Wei Fang took out an herb from his dimensional pouch and swallowed it quickly. It was an herb with a water attribute. Throughout the process of drawing fire into his body, he didn't know how many water-attributed herbs he had been consuming. If not for it, he would most likely have died of dehydration long ago, considering the white steam that kept coming out of his pores.

He came out of the pill chamber and exhaled a stream of white steam. He was quite lucky that he had enough free time allocation and merit points until the end. If his merits point ran out in the middle of the process, he didn't know what to do. Maybe he would need his master's help at that time.

Now, he has successfully completed the first part of the body forging—the heating process. Now he needs to do the second part—forging.

In professional terms, it was to apply force to his body while the earth fire was inside his meridian. In simple terms, he needs a beating.

He staggered forward and walked towards Elder Zhao's room.

He knocked on the door and waited for a response. He didn't know how much time had passed since he entered the pill chamber; he wouldn't be surprised if more than half a day had passed. He only hoped that his master was still in her room.

"Cone in." A voice sounded from inside, which brought relief to Wei Fang.

He saw Elder Zhao scribing something on parchment; he didn't seem to pay attention to Wei Fang.

"Wait for a bit until I finish writing the results of my experiment." Elder Zaho said.

Wei Fang could only wait on the side, not daring to disturb Elder Zhao. He could only grit his teeth and wait.

"What brings you here this late into the night?" Elder Zhao lifted her head and looked at Wei Fang, but she was surprised to see the condition Wei Fang was in and asked, "What happened to you?"

"Master, I don't have time to explain right now; I am already at my limit." Wei Fang said with difficulty, "Master, can you tell me a place where you can apply force to your whole body?"

"Hmm? Do you mean something like a gravity room?"

'Gravity room? System-sama, is it doable?'

[Yes]

"Yes." Wei Fang answered shortly.

"Oh, there is one in the training hall, but you need to use merit points to use it." Elder Zhao said, "Actually, I can also help you."

"What do-"

Before he could finish his question, he sprawled on the floor. Mountain-like pressure pressed him down hard. He was unprepared, so he sprawled on the floor.

Now, he knew what Eldee Zhao meant by 'I can help you'. Realm suppression was the act of using a higher cultivation base to suppress those with a lower cultivation base.

Realm suppression comes in two types: spirit suppression and body suppression. Spirit suppression is pressure on the spirit. If the one who was pressured couldn't overcome it, there was a chance their spirit would break and their cultivation would never advance their whole life. Of course, those who could overcome it would also gain huge benefits.

While body suppression was pressure that was applied to the body, usually the one being suppressed would feel like they were pressed by a mountain, like how Wei Fang feels now.

Of course, realm suppression worked when the difference in cultivation was huge, like in two or three major realms. After all, it was not a secret that many people could fight across realms.

Under the tremendous pressure, Wei Fang got up and sat cross-legged. He closed his eyes and started to operate the Body Forging Method. Letting the earth fire in his body work in tandem with the pressure to forge his body.

Bit by bit, his body became stronger and stronger, while the earth fire in his body dissipated after he successfully forged his body.

When the last trace of earth fire in his body dissipated, Wei Fang opened his eyes.

"Thank you, master."

"Don't worry, it was my duty as your master. But I hope you prepare more thoroughly when you want to cultivate in the future; otherwise, no one knows what will happen." Said Elder Zhao as he retracted the pressure.

"Thank you for your guidance, master."

"Mmm."

Wei Fang then took out several herbs from his dimensional pouch. Now comes the next part of the process—quenching.

Wei Fang took one of the herbs and consumed it. A chilling sensation suddenly filled his stomach.

He circulated the chilling sensation from his stomach into the rest of his body, feeling that it was lacking. He consumed another herb, and another, and another.

When he opened his eyes again, there was only one herb left. Without wasting time, he prepared to execute his training routine, The Raging Fist.

According to the Body Forging Method, the next step was tempering to make his body, which had just strengthened, more flexible. And he just needed to execute some training routine to do it, and Raging Fist was the only training routine that he knew.

Just as he was about to do the training routine, a voice stopped him. "Stop!"

Wei Fang turned around and saw his master. "Do it outside! I am still in the middle of an experiment; if you train here, it will disturb me. In the first place, this room was dedicated to alchemy, so don't cultivate here any more in the future."

"Understood, Master."

Wei Fang hurriedly came out of the room and started his training just outside the room because he worried the herb effectiveness would be lost too much if he went back to his courtyard first.

After practicing for a while, he noticed that his mastery over the Raging Fist increased at a tremendous pace when he used it while executing the tempering phase of the Body Forging Method.

Wei Fang stopped his practice after he felt the herb's effect disappear from his body.

He clenched his fist, feeling the strength coursing through his body. He couldn't help but smile.

All that suffering was not in vain.