Qian Jin could barely endure the pain that made him want to open his mouth and roar. The lake seemed calm, but there were sudden undercurrents surging under the surface! The particular undercurrent came so fast that Qian Jin didn't even have the time to react. He felt like he was riding a high speed war horse and got smacked by an iron board. His bones were already softened by the hot lake water; under this huge impact, he felt like all of his bones were chipped and smashed into fine pieces. At the same time, he felt like all the warrior energy that liquefied had also infiltrated into his bones during this impact.
After Qian Jin was smashed by the current, he slightly opened his mouth in pain subconsciously. But as soon as his mouth opened a bit, the extremely hot lake water flowed into his mouth. The smell of cooked meat instantly appeared in his mouth. Also, after the undercurrent struck him from the front, another undercurrent struck him from the back.
At the moment, Qian Jin didn't just feel like all of the bones at the front half of his body shattered; he also felt like all of bones on his back were shattered into pieces as if he hit a hard iron board. All of the warrior energy that he spread over his back to protect himself was melted.
"Endure! I have to endure! - Wind has no particular form; no weapon can injure it. Cloud has no particular shape; no space can contain it."
Qian Jin quickly repeated that phrase in his head again and again. His will and goal of becoming a great warrior had supported him to stay below the surface of the lake and not get out as he endured this torturous pain.
The elder looked at Qian Jin through the surface of the water; Qian Jin's white skin was very red, like a cook lobster or crab. His warrior energy spread around his body numerous times, and it was melted and liquefied numerous times as well. Despite all this, Qian Jin didn't try to float up at all. The elder nodded in praise as he saw this.
"He is able to endure this torturous pain… does he want to become a great warrior that much? Has he never thought that it doesn't matter how hard an ordinary person works, since he can never catch up and surpass a bloodline warrior? What kind of will is supporting him? Although having the ability to endure all these things are good, it looks like he still doesn't understand the two sentences I told him. Otherwise, it won't be this painful; it would be a lot easier to endure."
"Wind has no particular form; no weapon can injure it. Cloud has no particular shape; no space can contain it!"
A light bulb went off in Qian Jin's brain, but he wasn't able to think due to the great amount of painful he was experiencing. He felt like he vaguely caught onto something.
He seemed to suddenly understand something as his body that curled up like a cook shrimp lightly shook.
"I'm wind! I have to particular form! No weapon can injure me! I'm cloud! I have no particular shape and no space can contain me!"
All the warrior energy in Qian Jin's body seemed to come to life. All the warrior energy was no long tightly spread over his body; they loosened up a bit as they melted easier. After the warrior energy was struck by the undercurrents, it offset most of the impact and dissipated like a cloud that was blown by a strong wind. It no longer tightly defended against it.
Pain! It was still painful! However, Qian Jin's body was in a different state; all the pores on his body were no longer tightly closed; they opened and closed as they expelled out blood clots caused by the impact of the undercurrents. Also, black mud-like liquid impurities in his body that hid in his body were also expelled. Before, the impurities couldn't even be expelled out by his warrior energy. However, after the high heat softened them, they were expelled out of the pores by the strikes from the undercurrents.
After the impurities in his body were expelled. The firmness of his body was on another level. Qian Jin felt like the energy connection between his energy reservoirs had at least doubled in size, and all of his warrior energy was filled with liveliness. When he relaxed his body, his muscles were soft like a surface of a pond of water. But when he tightened his body, his muscles were like a piece of iron. His endurance and physical power were greatly improved, and his ability to take a beating also increased.
One hour… two hours… Qian Jin bit onto the tube he had in his mouth that provided his with fresh air. His body was still curling up like a cooked shrimp as he allowed the undercurrents in the lake to strike him, while the heat of the lake boiled him. Blood leaked out of his nose every now and then when the undercurrents struck him. He was getting beat after all. He couldn't possibility stay unharmed in this strange lake.
The painful expression stayed on Qian Jin's face, but it got a lot lighter compared to when he just entered the water.
"How can he endure for so long as someone who just entered this lake for the very first time? He is brave to enter this Four Season Valley. His Level 10 Warrior Energy is above of all his peers, his mind is sharp and can make great split-second decisions, and his will power and endurance for pain are also impressive! Too bad… it's just too bad!" The elder shook his head as he sighed, "Too bad this kid isn't a bloodline warrior…"
"That's enough for today, you can come out now." The elder lightly reached into his robe and pulled out a long whip. Whoosh! The whip let out a sharp sound as it struck into the water like an iron blade. The moment it touched Qian Jin's skin, it turned soft and light. It coiled around Qian Jin's waist cleverly as the elder pulled him out of the water.
Qian Jin was on all fours on the ground as soon as he reached the bank of the lake. Both of his elbows held his torso off of the ground as he breathed heavily; both of his hands were on his throat trying to get rid of the pain and the fatigue from his body. All of the muscles on his body twitched rapidly as the lake water slid off of his hair and his skin.
Even all the training he experienced in the Endless World wasn't as painful as this; he really felt like he died and had just revived.
"How did it feel?" The elder asked nervously.
"Great! It felt great!" Qian Jin forced himself to look up at elder. Water dripped off of his chin and landed on the ground as he said, "If you don't believe me, you can jump in and give it a try." He smiled as he still felt the pain; the resulting smile was one that was uglier than his crying expression.
"I believe you!" The elder laughed. Since Qian Jin was still able to say stuff like this, it meant that his brain was still not cooked by the water and his IQ didn't drop.
Bam… Qian Jin no longer used his elbows to support himself; he let go of his elbows as he turned his waist. He lied on the ground and looked up at the clouds that moved slowly in the sky. As he felt like all of his muscles were getting cut by thousands of shape blades and smashed by hundreds of huge hammers, he also praised himself for enduring all that and still staying alive.
Even though he felt all the pain, Qian Jin believed that the level of power he could use and the amount of damage he could deal were far superior than before he jumped into the lake.
If he was able to battle with the Qian Jin that didn't go into the lake, he was confident that he could beat the crap out of himself easily. Just his energy connections alone that had tripled in size could do wonders for him; he was able to let out much more explosive power now.
"You have got some understanding of [Wind and Cloud Golden Body]. If you are able to endure all of this, it will help you a lot when you try to advance to a Demon Fighter."
"What percentage of success do I have in terms of becoming a Demon Fighter?"
"Why are you asking me when you already know the answer? 100% of course." The elder laughed as he sat down beside Qian Jin. "Although you could start advancing to the rank of Demon Fighter, I would advise you to slowly cultivate your energy connections and strengthen your physical body more. Although you can still do all these things after you become a Demon Fighter, I feel like doing all this and building a firmer foundation is better."
"Really? Become a Demon Fighter for sure?" A proud and grateful smile appeared on Qian Jin's face. He closed his eyes that were filled with satisfaction and thought, "Dad, I will come and get you after I leave this Four Season Valley! By that time, you don't have to bend your back and continue your lowly lifestyle; I will become the son that will make you honoured and proud!"
"Great, that's enough training on Wind and Cloud Golden Body." The elder walked into the mist and soon disappeared, but his voice still resonated around Qian Jin. "Memorize all the feelings and sensations that you felt in the lake today. Try to experience it deeper. Your body is different now, but you just haven't realized it yet."
"Haven't realized it yet? Am I that dumb?" Qian Jin raised his eyebrows as he said to himself, "The hot lake water didn't just melt my warrior energy; it melted my warrior energy and made them infiltrate my skin, my muscles, and my internal organs. The undercurrents also struck my bones and made the melted warrior energy infiltrate into them as well."
"Smart boy!"
The elder's praise came through the mist. After a warrior got to a certain level and rank, they could infiltrate into one's skin, muscles, and internal organs. Also, they could strengthen their body even more. However, that wasn't something that a Level 10 Warrior could do. But through the extreme method of Wind and Cloud Golden Body, one was able to strength his or her body to a high level.
Qian Jin rested for about three hours. He recovered all of his energy and strength and recovered, and most of the internal and external injuries that were caused by the strikes from the undercurrents also recovered. He jumped up easily and bowed at the direction of the mist where the elder left from. Then, he quickly turned around and left the lake.
The elder nodded in satisfaction as he stood in the thick mist. "This young man is polite and has most of the characteristics of the greatest warriors, but he lacks the most important one - bloodline! He is not a bloodline warrior!
"Although it's very unfortunate, if he is able to train hard and reach the first level in the Wind and Cloud Golden Body, he would have copper-like skin and iron-like bones." The elder said to himself as he shook his head. "The phrase 'Copper Skin and Iron Bones' is a great description; how did Berjurski think of it?"
Qian Jin walked in the stone forest; he raised his chin and looked up at the sky as his steps were light, yet powerful. All of the depressed and pressured feelings were completely wiped out! "What about bloodline warriors? What about Ultimate Bloodline Warriors? Who said that ordinary people couldn't surpass those who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths with their effort and luck? Wind and Cloud Power Training Scroll, energy stone lode, the Endless World!"
The three surprises and lucky encounters in the short period of time made Qian Jin feel like he could conquer the world. Zuroso, the greatest warrior without a bloodline had once said, "Don't ask the question of could I… ask the question of how!"
Although Zuroso had failed and lost in a battle with a Ultimate Bloodline Warrior, his attitude and story had empowered numerous ordinary warriors to reach for the sky and challenge the impossible.
But as time passed, legendary ordinary warriors like Zuroso had never appeared again, and most of the ordinary warriors lost their motivation and impulse.
"Ordinary people, most of the people in this world are ordinary! Why can't ordinary people shoot for the sky?" Qian Jin let out a roar that was empowered by his warrior energy. "I will achieve the goal that Zuroso couldn't achieve! I will become the greatest warrior! I will make everyone at the Qian Family open their eyes! I will make them value the ordinary people who contributed to the Qian Family greatly, and I will take away their ability to disregard my dad!"
Another night passed, and no animals or demon beasts came close to the cave. Qian Jin thought about finding a few animals that were weak from his perspective and attracting them close to this cave. He really wanted to kill some vicious animals to establish his dominance! Otherwise, he would lose so much sleep every night and not enter the Endless World to do more learning!