Ch 5- Abyss Soul Hell Body

Inside the stone room,

Crick-Creeaackk-Criiik

From the depths of Diablo's body, a fundamental change was occurring. His muscles stretched and contracted. His bones reforged and remolded themselves to become more durable. His veins and capillaries pumped rapidly, speeding up his blood circulation. His very body was slowly changing, and his mind was clearing up.

Diablo practiced the Abyss Soul Hell Body Technique diligently, circulating his internal qi throughout every nook and cranny of his body.

There are many different types of mystical energies in the multiverse. Among them, one of the fundamental energies is Qi. Qi helps a living person strengthen their body's potential. It is widely used by beings in the multiverse who rely on physical power, especially martial artists.

The Technique "Abyss Soul Hell Body" also uses qi. However, everything in existence has a backlash. While qi strengthens the body, it also shortens the person's lifespan by using their vitality, also known as life energy, to increase the body's potential. This instruction is clearly stated in "Abyss Soul Hell Body," which is why only young people train in it. They are full of vitality, and once they cross the age of twenty, their vitality starts to wane, rendering the practice ineffective.

But Diablo didn't care about his lost lifespan. He was extremely cruel to himself, knowing that in the world, nothing comes for free. Everything has a cost, especially things that benefit you in the short term, like the technique "Abyss Soul Hell Body." Despite knowing the side effects, he practiced it rigorously every day.

Slowly, gradually, and meticulously, he was sculpting his body to become an unparalleled retainer for holding qi.

How long had it been?

Ba-dump!

Finally, the sounds of his bones creaking and blood circulating stopped. The very quality of his soul had slightly increased again.

It's changed again this time.

Diablo opened his eyes, feeling refreshed. It wasn't very noticeable, but Diablo's eyes were slightly different compared to last night. The change was so minuscule that nobody would notice it unless they tried to dissect him. However, Diablo was clearly aware of his own change. He clenched and unclenched his fist, adjusting to his new changes.

The candle flame from last night had burned out already, and it was early morning. It was a new day of training, and the perfect chance for Diablo to test his new strength.

Diablo nodded to himself with a satisfied smile. Looking at the burnt-out wick, he guessed the time.

Is it almost three o'clock?

It was probably around the end of the night and about to break into the early morning dawn. It was time for the children who were sleeping in their rooms to start waking up. Some of the children could not wake up yet due to the injuries they sustained. If the children broke one of the 3 nots, they would get a slap with a stick by one of the instructors. Of course, this wasn't just some light slap. It was bone-crushing and bruising. Hence why some of them were not waking up. Of course, Diablo never got beaten, since he did his best to not only survive but grow stronger.

"Everyone, gather around in a few minutes!"

Sure enough, there was a loud shout from one of the instructors outside the children's rooms. At the sound, Diablo opened the door of the stone chamber assigned to him and went outside. Thanks to the practice of the Abyss Soul Hell Body technique, Diablo didn't need to rest, and all his body fatigue had gone away.

For the past half year, all the children in the Cave of Latent Demons had been learning how to defend themselves and develop their bodies through endurance and strength training. However, they had many more ordeals and different kinds of training to undertake. The Cave of Latent Demons was a 10-year-long training program. Therefore, it was paramount for the children to develop their bodies before undergoing any of the later tests.

Hm?

There were always a very small number of children who had developed early on and had a better start than others by learning some qi cultivation techniques or body cultivation techniques through their family backgrounds. They might not have been the types to practice during their sleeping hours, but they must have practiced and developed themselves prior to coming here.

Of course, Diablo was also among the children who cultivated his body, though not prior, but he came under talented children in the group. Many children were eliminated in the early trials of the Cave of Latent Demons due to not having the physical limits to cultivate, but there were still children who were enduring it.

All of this brutal training was being endured with the small body of a child. Of course, it was hard enough not to die, but he couldn't die here early. On the other hand, Diablo felt quite proud when he thought about it. While practicing this grueling training as a child, it was hard to enjoy life in a cave. But, when Diablo thought of the long road ahead of him and the promise he had given to his mother, he felt empowered.

As Diablo was lost in thought, the children gathered one by one at the gathering place. The Cave of Latent Demons consisted of four halls. Two hundred and fifty children were placed in each hall. The number of children who had survived until now was about 130. It was cruel but a fact that nearly half of the children died after a year of training. More would die though. They were still only in the first year of the 10-year training. On the other hand, he felt compassion for them. However, Diablo had to keep his mind steeled towards his goal. He didn't have time or feelings to spare for the other children who would die since he needed to survive as well.

Diablo closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about it. His brief look of pity and compassion was erased, and only determination could be seen in his eyes. Then the instructors who ordered the assembly appeared.

Looks like the morning training is about to begin.

Morning training in the Cave of Latent Demons was Awakening and Endurance Training. Young demon children were awakened at the stroke of midnight by a deafening gong. They must immediately begin a grueling endurance run through the cave's treacherous terrain, which includes lava pits, ice caverns, and razor-sharp stalagmites. Failure to complete the run within the allotted time results in severe punishment.

That wasn't all, however. Originally, no matter how hard it was to climb and run as difficult as these, if you kept running and climbing the same place, one was bound to find little areas to rest and certain places that were easier on the body to climb. To prevent that, the instructors changed the order of the mountain peaks and terrain the children had to climb every 10 days. Thanks to this, even simple climbing became very difficult training. On top of that, today was the designated day that the peak they had to climb and run would change again.

The children slowly all gathered into the hall and stood there, shaking off their early morning fatigue. Just then, the last five instructors came into sight. They were carrying large sacks on their backs, and when they put them down on the floor, a loud thud rang out inside the cave. At a glance, it was clear that whatever was in the bag weighed a lot. Though they were young, the children were no fools and noticed it too. Due to the harsh training up till now, if the children didn't adapt a fast sense of wits, they would die inevitably.

What is that?

At the moment when all the children's attention was focused on the bag, including Diablo, the senior instructor, who was at the forefront, smiled grimly and put his hand in the bag. He pulled out several iron-weight bracers.

"From today onwards, the level of difficulty in your training will increase! All of you will step forward and take these!"

As soon as the senior instructor finished speaking, other instructors turned the sacks over their shoulders and poured the iron bracers on the ground that were inside their respective bags.

Hmm, arm and leg bracers.

As soon as Diablo saw the weights get pulled out, he immediately realized what they were for and how he could benefit from this. It was one of the most primitive ways to strengthen a body and muscles. Yet, surprisingly, despite countless years and different methods of training being found, this simple weight training was still incredibly effective.

If the children wore these bracers and climbed up the mountain peaks for their morning training every day, it was inevitable that those who endured would attain incredible benefits for their bodies. Although some of them might die at a faster rate, it was also a high-risk, high-reward type of training.

As simple as it is, this is actually something amazing for me.

Thinking so, Diablo received his bracers from one of the instructors handing them out and attached one to each of his limbs. The weight of each iron bracer that he received was about 7.5 kg. Wearing one on each forearm and ankle, Diablo placed them in the spots that would help distribute the strain evenly throughout his body and keep his strength balanced.

Among the children, there were some who could not stand from the sudden increase in weight applied to them. To adapt properly and climb the mountain, the children would need some time to get used to the sudden increase in weight. But the instructors were harsh. There was no time to adapt since this was not just a simple training session. They needed to nurture the strong ones that would bring a bright future to hell.

"I will give you 4 hours. Climb the mountain, take a flag, and bring it back here. There are only 100 flags. Those who do not bring one down will not receive breakfast," the instructor commanded.

The meals served to the children in the Cave of Latent Demons were incredibly nourishing

However, they were small in portion and that meant every meal of the day was crucial. Missing a meal, would mean even more pain and possibly death by starvation.

When the words hit the childrens ears, their eyes turned fierce and determined. Since there were only 100 flags, around 30 of them would not have breakfast.

Some of the children had already bolted out of the hall and started climbing the mountain. On the other hand, the children, who were a bit more calculative with their actions, did not immediately climb the mountain but rather, seemed lost in thought.

Seeing the scene unfold in front of him, Diablo clicked his tongue. The ones waiting, will strike the weakened ones and take their flags.

He knew what they were thinking. As it was such a steep and arduous mountain to climb, adding weights on top of the already exhausted kids was bound to make them incredibly tired and exhausted.

These calculating kids who were lost in thought, were most definitely going to attack these weakened kids.

He must be thinking the same thing. diablo glanced at a demon across from him on the other side of the hall. He was one of the largest demon who had pretty good talent, he was known as No. 185. 

Most of the children, if attacked by him as they descended down the hill would lose their flag. Whats disappointing is that he doesnt even know the value of hard work, and wants to take the shortcuts to power.

Diablo clicked his tongue in disgust and turned away.

Of course, it wasnt like Diablo was an upright and moral person either, he even thought about it for a brief moment as well. He would be able to definitely eat his breakfast easily without much trouble.

This was an opportunity to train and get stronger. With his goal in mind, he would do anything to achieve it. That being said, to achieve his goal, he needed to climb this mountain without complaints

No. 25 just started to move. Diablo saw that No. 25 had started to move. He wasnt sure why she was ranked 25th, because as far as he could tell, she was definitely the most monstrous talent in this entire Cave of Latent Demons.

Diablo closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

Whooh.

And then he shot forwards towards the peaK