For the discussions around him, Zhang Ergou had no mood at all.
At this moment, Zhang Ergou was drenched in sweat, and every step forward required great effort.
Looking at the mountain peak within reach, Zhang Ergou grew more tired the more he ran, sweat pouring from his head like a waterfall.
He wiped the sweat from his face and gritted his teeth, continuing to run forward.
In the end, Zhang Ergou was no longer running, but shuffling forward step by step, his heavy legs feeling like they weighed ten thousand jin.
When Zhang Ergou dragged his weary steps back to Lingyu Peak, the sun was already setting in the west. The entire round trip had taken nearly five to six hours.
"Damn it, this little master is exhausted!" Zhang Ergou collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily, completely losing his composure.
Even the pain of the Heavenly Phoenix Body Refinement hadn't exhausted him this much; relying solely on his physical strength, Zhang Ergou had almost failed to make it back.
It was purely through his own strong resilience that Zhang Ergou pushed through to the end, but at the very end, he was utterly spent.
This was the most tiring experience Zhang Ergou had felt since entering the Misty Sect.
Zhang Ergou lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky, motionless as if asleep.
"Eh! This kid actually made it!" Chi Yu, who had been observing from the shadows, felt a flicker of surprise and admiration in her eyes.
She hadn't expected Zhang Ergou to be so obedient, not using a shred of spiritual energy during his run, relying entirely on his physical strength, and persevering step by step.
With Zhang Ergou's current cultivation, a thirty-li distance, round trip, would normally take less than half an hour. But to do it solely with physical strength, while carrying ten thousand jin of armor, was a feat that even Chi Yu found astonishing.
Looking at Zhang Ergou, who was on the verge of falling asleep, a trace of pity appeared on Chi Yu's face, but this emotion quickly vanished.
To become a strong individual in this world, one must endure hardships and pay a price that ordinary people could not bear.
So-called geniuses were merely the result of accumulated efforts leading to a breakthrough.
Without a word, Chi Yu flickered and grabbed the lying Zhang Ergou, mounting her flying sword and heading towards a place surrounded by trees on the southeast side of Lingyu Peak.
Splash!
Zhang Ergou was unceremoniously thrown into a large pool. The water in the pool was a faint reddish color and carried a light medicinal fragrance.
Hiss!
The moment he was thrown into the pool, Zhang Ergou gasped. The water was not as comfortable as he had imagined; instead, he felt as if his entire body was being pricked by needles.
"Master, are you trying to torture this disciple to death? What is this? It hurts so much!" Zhang Ergou thrashed in the large pool, shouting towards Chi Yu on the shore.
"Brat, endure it. You are not to come out until I say so. Stay in there; it will be absolutely beneficial for you, with no drawbacks."
After saying this, Chi Yu turned and left, abandoning Zhang Ergou.
Zhang Ergou was furious but still obediently remained still. Immersed in the pool, the needle-like sensation did not lessen with the passage of time.
As Zhang Ergou soaked for longer, his body gradually adapted to the intense pain.
However, this pain was nothing compared to the bone-cracking agony he endured during the initial stages of cultivating the Heavenly Phoenix Body Refinement.
Thus, despite finding the indescribable pain difficult to bear, Zhang Ergou persisted. Without Chi Yu's instruction, he remained submerged in the pool, unmoving.
The next day, Zhang Ergou was pulled out of the pool by Chi Yu. He promptly fell into a deep sleep.
"How do you feel?" After helping Zhang Ergou change into clean clothes, Chi Yu reappeared before him, holding some food.
Looking at the food, Zhang Ergou's eyes lit up. Having gone hungry for a full day and night, he could now devour an ox. Last night, he was too exhausted to feel such hunger.
It wasn't until he saw the food in Chi Yu's hands this morning that Zhang Ergou realized he had never been this hungry before.
"Heh heh, Master, I feel great! My whole body has never felt so comfortable, but I'm so hungry." His gaze fixed on the food in Chi Yu's hands, Zhang Ergou couldn't help but want to pounce.
"Look at you. Such little ambition." Chi Yu rolled her beautiful eyes. "Here, go eat."
She handed the food directly to Zhang Ergou, knowing that if he wasn't fed, the subsequent training would be significantly hampered.
Without using spiritual energy, Zhang Ergou's exhaustion from yesterday had been purely based on his own reserves, which could only be replenished by food.
In less than fifteen minutes, Zhang Ergou, like a starving wild dog, devoured the entire plate of meat, patting his belly contentedly.
"So comfortable!" Zhang Ergou let out a satisfied burp.
Chi Yu, standing beside him, was stunned. This kid could really eat! That plate of beast meat, weighing at least twenty jin, had been completely consumed by Zhang Ergou.
Was this even human? Chi Yu suspected she had taken a humanoid monster as a disciple.
"Master, do I have to run again today?" After eating his fill, Zhang Ergou felt refreshed. The painful process of soaking in the unknown medicinal liquid last night had clearly yielded results.
After breakfast, he no longer felt the fatigue from yesterday. In fact, he felt full of strength, and even the ten-thousand-jin armor he wore didn't feel as heavy.
"Naturally, you must run. However, today I have an additional requirement: you must return within five hours. Otherwise, there will be no breakfast tomorrow."
Chi Yu said with a smile. She wanted to see the boy's potential. Yesterday, at the start of his run, he had relied solely on his own perseverance without using any spiritual energy.
He had completed the entire thirty-li journey. Today, she wanted to increase the difficulty and see what pleasant surprises this boy would bring her.
Without a word, Zhang Ergou turned and ran down Lingyu Peak, heading towards the distant mountain.
"The guy who was running yesterday has started running again."
"What's wrong with this kid? What kind of cultivation is this for a cultivator? It's utterly nonsensical."
Within the inner sect, disciples who had seen Zhang Ergou yesterday looked at his unusual behavior with expressions of surprise.
"I heard from the new junior brother that this Zhang Ergou is a body refiner. Could he be specializing in body refinement?"
"A body refiner?" A tall, handsome young man heard this and looked towards the slender figure running into the distance.
Zhang Ergou was oblivious to this, his head down as he ran. Although he didn't struggle as much today as he did yesterday, it was still solely through his physical strength, and every step required immense effort.