Suffering builds character

"So, this array is called Stormfield Array."

"Stormfield Array?" Ren Ying repeated the array name quietly to himself.

"Stormfield Array is an array that constantly releases lightning within the set up range."

"You might want to know about its function, right?"

"Yes, please enlighten me, senior."

"Okay, as you know the book you had done comprehending is called Lightning Embrace right?"

"It is a body tempering skill created by myself during my cultivation journey. It makes use of lightning to temper and improve your physique into a stronger one."

"Now, why would I set up the Stormfield Array here?"

"To use its lightning for practice?" Ren Ying answered slowly in doubts while his eyes stared widely at Yang Chen.

"Hahaha, you did guessed it right."

"Why bother finding an actual lightning when you can just make one?"

"But how would I make use of it, senior Yang Chen?" 

"Heh, it's no fun to just tell you directly. Just practice the Lightning Embrace according to what you read, and you see."

Hearing this, Ren Ying couldn't wait to find out how the array would react after he did just as Yang Chen had instructed him.

Though, he didn't trust Yang Chen even for a little bit, Ren Ying was still confident that Yang Chen wouldn't do something that would put his life in danger.

Since he had turned into one of the Yang Chen pawns, naturally he would never allow Ren Ying to die, at least not before he completed his given tasks.

So, with no hesitation, Ren Ying began to practice the Lightning Embrace.

He did everything exactly as it was mentioned in the book.

Controlling the speeds of his entire Qi that flowed throughout his entire Qi vessel carefully and patiently to match the speed stated in the book.

After the speed looked roughly the same as it, Ren Ying divided his concentration into two parts.

One was focusing on maintaining the speed of the traveling Qi, while the other was inside his Dantian.

Ren Ying dedicated his remaining concentration to forming a terrifying blue-ish lightning symbol inside his Dantain.

But forming such symbol wasn't an easy deed. So, Ren Ying kept failing over and over again, to the point where it almost affected the other half of his concentration.

Outside, his face was twitching uncomfortably, and beads of sweat were streaming down from his forehead softly, increasing his discomfort even further as he gave his best against his internal struggle.

Seeing this, Yang Chen reminded him with his tone indifferent, "Ignore your physical discomfort. Do not let it affect you. It could only ruin you if you let it, junior Ren Ying."

When he heard Yang Chen words, Ren Ying let go of his outer physique sensation and controlled over it slowly.

And eventually his face turned neutral as he could no longer feel any attachment to his outer physique, just like forgetting about the existence and sensation of it after you enter your dream world.

Without any distraction, he kept on forming the lightning symbol without giving in to his previous failure.

...

Ultimately, after several failures, the lightning symbol inside his Dantian was almost fully formed, as only the top part of it was missing. 

While feeling the dry air he inhaled into his body, Ren Ying began to form the last part calmly. With a clear control of his Qi, he shaped it slowly without leaving any detail out for fear of failing in this crucial step.

Though this part didn't take much time, Ren Ying felt time flowing in a much slower rate, as if this small part would take longer compared to forming the rest of other parts.

As his perception of time slowed down, he noticed an improvement in his control over it, along with an easier time focusing, Ren Ying finally shaped the last part successfully.

Just then a lightning suddenly dropped in the center of his head.

BANG.

Ren Ying immediately spat out a little bit of blood from his mouth onto the surrounding ground, his concentration was broken upon the arrival of pains in every part of his body.

He felt his entire body slightly burned, especially his head, along with the burning smell that came along every time he inhaled.

He opened his eyes slightly with difficulty and saw Yang Chen laughing soundlessly at him.

Ren Ying thought, "Damn, did it affect my hearing too?"

But soon he just brushed it off, knowing that the loss of hearing would just be a temporary thing from his previous experience.

Ren Ying sat still in one place as his whole body went numb after taking the lightning head-on. He pondered everything one by one, using a mind that had turned slower due to the power of lightning

He had guessed it since the start that practicing the Lightning Embrace would attract the existing lightning toward him, which he had confirmed after he read its manual once.

So, Ren Ying had already assumed the function of this Stormfield Array set up by Yang Chen. Knowing this, he prepared himself mentally and physically to take on the lightning bolt release by the array.

As expected, he was right about it.

The Lightning Embrace body tempering technique required its practitioner to hone their body strength through the use of lightning. Meaning that they would be a walking lightning magnet, as long as they maintained the traveling speed of their Qi.

So, unintentionally, Ren Ying luckily saved himself from attracting anymore thunderbolts as his concentration was disrupted by it, decreasing the amount of pain he would have to endure.

The lightning symbol formed by him inside his Dantian could be considered a bridge for him to enter this state, while the speed of his Qi would be an energy needed to empower and keep that state going on.

Since the lightning symbol would stay there unless he went out of his way to destroy it, Ren Ying wouldn't have to go through such difficulty ever again if he desired to enter this state again next time.

While he was reflecting on how this technique works, his hearing sense finally came back as he heard the annoying voice coming from Yang Chen, "Sigh, seeing you like this reminded me of what I experienced back then, the first time I practiced it."

"That must be quite a memorable moment, senior."

"HEH... you regained your hearing sense back already?"

"If not?"

"You got quite a suitable physique for this technique, Ren Ying."

Then Yang Chen went on non-stop about the things he had suffered in the past with Lightning Embrace and how Ren Ying just happened to possess the same physique as him.

Ren Ying had his ears opened up, absorbing every experience that Yang Chen shared with him.

Only when he confirmed that Yang Chen had nothing left to share but his nonsense, Ren Ying spoke up when Yang Chen took his breathing break. "So, is that the reason why you didn't tell me about the function of this array?"

"Hahaha, suffering builds character." Yang Chen wanted to see the suffering face of Ren Ying, but he didn't admit it.

Ren Ying sighed helplessly at the weird personality of this guy.

"So what now? Do I need to keep practicing it that way?"

"Of course, junior. Though I would give you the healing pills to speed up your recovery, to make sure you gain as much progress as possible within this short time."

"Really? Thanks you, senior." 

Ren Ying expressed his gratitude while he was secretly looking forward to what this Yang Chen would come up with next.

Next, he would have to endure harsh training on both his mental and physical. 

Ren Ying's head began to hurt at the thought of spending almost an entire month in this small room. To make it worse, the lightning paralysis effect would prevent him from screaming out in pain.

And along with the healing pills, Ren YIng would definitely spend his time here, accompanied by unbearable pains every single moment.

Though Ren Ying could see that this was the best opportunity for him to adapt to this world, his eyes became determined.

He breathed deeply as he whispered to himself, "Let's hope that I don't lose my mind in this place..."

...

...

...

The sun stood proudly beyond the sky, blessing everybody beneath it with its warm light that reminded people of their unforgettable time.

While casting shadows of every shape onto the ground as if it acknowledged the existence of it.

Including the shadows of the countless trees surrounding the motionless pond.

Its green leaves, full of vitality, fall down from its branch onto the water from time to time, impacting the pond slightly.

As it returned to calmness, somewhere within the pond that reflected back the sky view, a face could be seen looking down at it with a resting expression; its deep night-like eyes filled with tiredness wandered around it.

The straightness of its nose, the fullness of its scarlet lip, along with the thick, dark eyebrows over the haunted pair of eyes, made the reflection quite beautiful to stare at, as if the face was meant to be one with it.

Ren Ying's long jet-black hairs flew slightly as the fresh winds hit him gently on his face.

He breathed in greedily as if there was no tomorrow.

It had been so long—almost a month to be specific since he lost his privilege to breathe such pure air.

He had almost forgotten the cooling sensation and freshness of it that would brighten up people's moods and give them motivation to keep on moving forward in such a cruel world.