Qian Jin and the two girls had been at Four Season Valley for about three days and nights. If he was able to go into the Endless World every day for eight hours, that would be sixteen hours in the Endless World. This meant that he had wasted forty-eight hours of precious study hours.
Qian Jin did exactly what he didn't do for the last two days; after he quickly told the girls to be safe, he left the cave and headed to the extremely hot lake to practice the Wind and Cloud Golden Body.
This kind of life went by day by day and repeated itself. Soon, almost a month had passed by. Qian Jin wasn't able to find any beasts close by to establish his dominance, and he didn't dare to find beasts farther away because he was afraid that they might be very hungry and aggressive.
There was still a lot of mist above the surface of the lake, and there were still a lot of undercurrents under the surface of the lake. However, Qian Jin's figure was nowhere to be seen on the bank.
The elder stood by the side of the lake and looked at a location in the water that was about ten meters away from the bank. Like always, Qian Jin curled up his body and looked like a cooked shrimp.
The Burning Fire Lake was very different from ordinary lakes. It was not just extremely hot; the closer you got to the center of the Burning Fire Lake, the higher the temperature of the lake water!
Qian Jin was about ten meters away from the bank at the moment; he felt like if someone threw a crab beside him, that person could instantly take the crab out that was cooked and tasted delicious.
Hot! Although it was only ten meters away from the bank, the temperature in that area had already doubled compared with the water right beside the lake. Qian Jin felt like if he took out his internal organs, they could be put into a dish already.
Qian Jin was breathing a little slower in this hot lake water, but the vitality in his body was livelier than ever. His body seemed a bit taller than when he just entered Four Season Valley. The vitality and the healthiness of his blood caused his body to grow even faster than before.
In the greenish-blue water, Qian Jin's skin was red, but it was vaguely shiny. It looked very elastic and stiff at the same time, as if knives and blades couldn't cut through it.
Although his body was still curled up, the expression on Qian Jin's face wasn't the painful expression that was on his face when he just entered the lake for the first time. In the extremely hot water that could quickly cook raw meat, he frowned as he looked very uncomfortable; no pain could be spotted on his face.
"Wind has no particular form; no weapon can injure it. Cloud has no particular shape; no space can contain it." Qian Jin slowly understood this sentence more and more. The warrior energy merged into his skin, combined in with his muscles, strengthened his bones, and blended in with his blood. From the initial passive use of his warrior energy, he was able to learn and control some it and use it more actively. But the effectiveness of the warrior energy increased more than ten times after he was able to use it voluntarily.
After about a month of practice, Qian Jin's physical body was strengthened. On top of that, his energy connections also widened more than ten times compared with when he just became a Level 10 Warrior. If his energy connections before were only a thin branch of water that could be depleted in seconds, the energy connections were now like unstoppable rivers.
Flutter… Qian Jin's head popped out of the surface of the water and he smiled as he swam to the bank of the lake. After he got dressed, he stopped on the ground with force, which that left a very deep mark on the ground.
The elder's eyes were filled with surprised. He thought the Qian Jin would need about three month to half a year to master the first level, but he didn't expect Qian Jin to achieve the first level by risking his life and getting that close to the center of the lake.
"Now both your physical body and stamina are far superior compared with a Level 10 Warrior."
The elder walked around Qian Jin's body two cycles. Suddenly, a wooden stick that was as thick as a human leg appeared in the elder's hand, and the elder struck the wooden stick at Qian Jin's body viciously; this strike was so powerful that air-piercing sounds resonated around the stick.
However, Qian Jin didn't even raise his head. He raised his arm as he drew his warrior energy and strengthened his arm. His muscles tightened; they were perfectly shaped, and the lines and edges on his muscles were fully visible. Even his skin turned a bit red. He decided to take the wooden stick that could easily break a human's bone on directly.
Bam!
A muffle noise sounded as the wooden stick that was as thick as a human leg broke in half. Wood chips flew everywhere, and the top half of the wooden stick rotated and flipped in the air rapidly. Qian Jin's arm and skin didn't change at all; he relaxed, and his muscles returned to the soft and smooth state as light reflected off of his healthy skin.
"It won't be an exaggeration to say that you have copper skin and iron bones now." The elder praised, "That strike could even smash a tiger's head into muddy flesh, but you are able to block it by raising your arm easily. It looks like you have roughly achieved the level of Stone Body."
"Stone Body?" Qian Jin asked as he tightened his hands into fists and felt the explosive power in his body and the toughness of his body. "Isn't it called Wind and Cloud Golden Body?"
"The elder shook his right index finger as he explained, "Do you think that Wind and Cloud Golden Body is this easy to master? Let me tell you, there are six levels: Stone Body, Iron Body, Steel Body, Copper Body, Silver Body, and Golden Body. Since you mastered Stone Body, then that means the firmness of your body is close to and can even be better than the firmness of stone. I wish I knew the effect of mastering Wind and Cloud Golden Body and achieving the Golden Body."
Qian Jin raised his eyebrows and asked the elder perplexedly, "You don't know?"
"I don't know." The elder answered honestly.
"So even the creator of Wind of Cloud Golden Body didn't achieve the ultimate level?" Qian Jin was a bit surprised.
"No." The elder's honestly made Qian Jin's head dizzy. He said, "No one was able to achieve the ultimate level ever. Even the creator Berjurski only believed that this level could be achieved in theory. Among all inheritors of the Wind and Cloud Power Training Scroll, not a lot of people practiced Wind and Cloud Golden Body."
Qian Jin nodded as he really understood why. Practicing Wind and Cloud Golden Body required a lot sacrifice and needed tolerance to a lot of pain. People who didn't have a persistent goal could never really endure all that. Any accident could result in getting fully cooked by the heat.
"Actually, except for gaining the Wind and Cloud Stone Body and much wider energy connections… The real and best improvements are the improvements to your will power and endurance." The elder said with a smile on his face; he was really satisfied with Qian Jin's effort.
Qian Jin nodded again to show his agreement as he said, "Endurance. If my body and energy were both injured at the same time, since my endurance is better, my second attack would be faster than my opponents, so the crucial victory would probably be mine."
Although a satisfied smile had been stuck on the elder's face for the last couple days, his smile today was even brighter. He was lucky enough to get a disciple who was a talented warrior, but his new disciple had more than just the warrior talent. He also had the great mind and brain that most warriors didn't have.
"Great. Except for practicing Wind and Cloud Golden Body tomorrow, you should also get some rest so you will be in peak condition. After you fully master the first level of Wind and Cloud Golden Body, I will set up a Warrior Energy Concentration Array for you, so you can try to advance to a Demon Fighter." The elder left this sentence and disappeared into the mist like always.
Qian Jin wasn't too surprised or happy. After practicing Wind and Cloud Golden Body these days, the pain and torture cultivated a special worldly view for him. His internal state was no longer effected by the occurrence of one situation. His mind wasn't set on advancing to a Demon Fighter at all; he was carefully thinking about the correct and incorrect things that he did in the lake.
[Warrior's Code] - After surviving every battle, you had to reflect on yourself no matter if you lost or won. That was the only way to achieve the most improvement.
After getting through the stone forest that was filled with the strange Auckime Stones, Qian Jin stepped into the little forest. His relaxed expression suddenly changed to an alerted expression. He felt a very dangerous sensation coming from other side of the little forest. It stimulated every cell in Qian Jin's body; all of his cells were pumping and ready to move. His Level 10 Warrior Energy ran loose in his widened energy connections and instantly filled both of his legs. He stomped on the ground repetitively with the huge force, and the repulsion force caused his body to shoot out like a sharp arrow. He quickly rushed out of the forest.
In front of the open field in front of the cave, there were more than a dozen grey wolves that were more than two meters in length. Their sharp teeth were exposed, and white saliva and drool dripped from the side of their mouths. These wolves were groveling on the ground with their back legs straightened. They all stared at the female swordswoman Sophia who had a big stone in her hands viciously. Qian Jin looked at the situation more carefully and saw two grey wolves bleeding from their forehead.
In the middle of the wolf pack, there was a huge ape that was more than three meters tall that had green skin! What was special about it was that except for two long and strong arms on the sides of its body, it also had a thick arm coming out of the center of its chest!
Demon Beast! Level 1 Demon Beast, Green Skinned Three Armed Ape! It was very strong, and the strength in its three arms could tear tigers and leopards into pieces!
A suddenly wolf howl resonated in this valley that didn't die out. A large grey wolf suddenly jumped up and opened its mouth and shined it sharp teeth. It targeted and Sophia's white and pretty neck as it saw Sophia knock away another grey wolf, not having the chance to turn around.
Sophia saw this grey wolf who jumped into the air with her peripheral vision, but her body couldn't react fast enough. Suddenly, a bright light shined in the sky with a long tail. With a powerful demeanor and murderous intent, something chopped at this grey wolf by the waist!
As this light flashed by, this grey wolf was chopped in half in the air. Its blood spilled in the air. Like two punching bags that were filled with sand, both parts of the wolf's body fell to the ground. However, this wolf didn't die just yet. It spurted out a mouthful of blood and bloody foam as it whined and tried to get up.
The sharp Zhanmadao was like sudden lightning in the sky. It chopped through the wolf! With half of its blade struck into the ground, the body of the Zhanmadao was still vibrating with the residual force in it; half of its blade was still reflecting a chilling light.
The more than a dozen wolves that howled and tried to attack suddenly stood in their spots and stopped moving. They all looked at the Zhanmadao that had a majestic presence in unison; a sense of fright appeared in their eyes.
This strike and this blade came too fast! Too vicious! The wolf pack had a deep fear towards the Zhanmadao subconsciously. They all quickly looked back at the direction where the blade came from and saw Qian Jin, who wasn't too far away. He was sprinting and charging at them at such a high speed.
With just one look, all of the wolves took a step back subconsciously. The sharp murderous intent forced to them to back off abruptly. They all lowered their heads as if they wanted to bury them, and they let out deep whines.
The Green Skinned Three Armed Ape who was standing in the middle of the wolf pack also turned its head and was surprised to see Qian Jin rushing at him. "How dare this little creature kill one of my subordinates when he sees a great Three Armed Ape?" It thought.