Chapter 203: Realization

A gentle breeze blew, the sun shone brightly, and a rainbow arched across the sky above the waterfall—truly beautiful. Water droplets fell onto the lake surface like crystal-clear gems, and under the sunlight, the lake reflected dazzling light. The breeze created ripples on the water’s surface, causing the reflected light to shimmer even more intensely.

Meiron left, leaving Rod alone in this open area once again, along with a few small animals that passed by from time to time. A couple of fish occasionally leaping out of the lake added a sense of peace to the scene.

The sound of the waterfall crashing down was like a melody filling the air.

Taking a deep breath and gathering his combat energy, Rod jumped and first practiced on the lower water platforms before moving on to the deeper ones. With a step, he sank lower, coming into contact with the finer water platforms. The buoyancy became more noticeable, and as the waves rippled, he floated around. Losing his balance, he slipped and fell into the water in a mess.

The difficulty had increased exponentially, bringing Rod back to the situation he faced on his first day of training. He kept falling and getting back up, with each attempt being strenuous. It was a miserable ordeal.

His entire body was soaked, and his wet hair stuck tightly to his face, causing discomfort. Strangely, ever since he became corrupted, his hair had remained black, with its original fiery red color disappearing completely.

Not knowing how many times he had slipped, Rod climbed out of the pool onto the shore, gasping for breath. It was an exhausting task that required both physical strength and combat energy, yet the results were minimal. He hadn’t succeeded even once in the entire morning.

Closing his eyes slightly, Rod fell into deep thought, trying to figure out what was going wrong. Everything else was under control—except for the center of his body. Under the influence of buoyancy, it was extremely difficult to control. In fact, even in the water, Rod felt he couldn’t even exert the strength of an imperial-level warrior. He was glad there were no powerful water-type magical beasts in this pool; otherwise, he would have been in real trouble.

On this day, Rod was in a miserable state, utterly exhausted. It wasn’t until late at night that he climbed out of the lake once again. He had no idea how many times he had fallen or how much water he had drunk. His entire body was drenched. In such an open area, with the cool breeze blowing at night, there was indeed a slight chill. Rod, with his body soaked through, couldn’t help but shiver.

The results and reflections of the day only allowed Rod to manage to take a few steps forward despite his injuries. He was still far from his goal. Ten days now seemed incredibly tight.

He had no intention of going back. Rod didn’t plan to return in the coming days. He built a fire, caught two fish from the pond, and started grilling them. It was rare to feel hunger—such a sensation hadn’t occurred in a long time. Today, he was truly exhausted.

Staring at the flames, he fell into deep thought. Fen Tian was still asleep, and it was unclear when he would recover. That guy had clearly suffered significant damage in the battles a few days ago; this time, his injuries were quite serious.

The gentle breeze blew, causing the flames to dance and emit a low hum, as if they might go out at any moment. Yet they persisted stubbornly, remaining steady despite the wind, never straying from their origin, never leaving the fire.

As he watched, Rod became somewhat absorbed. The fire, with its strength and dominance, seemed to grant him some insights.

Drifting with the wind, yet unshaken by the eight winds—his heart stood firm like a rock. He murmured to himself, “Combining hardness and softness!” Suddenly, Rod let out a loud shout, slapping his thigh fiercely, his face filled with excitement. He had understood something! He had grasped some key principles!

From these flames before him, he understood the essence of his cultivation and found ways to address his weaknesses. Indeed, it was difficult to maintain focus underwater since the body kept floating. But perhaps he could adapt the characteristics of fire to make changes—could he make his body float with the water while keeping his lower body as steady as a rock, unshaken by the winds? Could he focus his energy on the soles of his feet, using the body’s movements to help maintain stability? All these ideas became clear to Rod in an instant, as if he had been enlightened.

Filled with excitement and joy, Rod smiled—a genuine, heartfelt smile. He felt impatient. He couldn’t wait to put his ideas into practice to see if they worked, as they at least gave him some hope and a plan.

Just as Rod was about to get up to conduct the experiment, a burnt smell came his way. He quickly looked down and realized that his daze moments earlier had caused the fish he was cooking to burn. Fortunately, he noticed it in time, leaving room for redemption. He finished cooking the fish and had a satisfying meal. It had to be said that his cooking skills were quite good—the aroma was enticing, and he truly enjoyed a delicious feast. After everything was done, Rod was full of energy. Unable to hold back any longer, he leaped into the pond to test his idea. At first, he kept falling because he couldn’t master the technique, but as he practiced more, his performance improved with each attempt, becoming more and more perfect. Gradually, Rod adapted to this state. In the water, with each step he took, his body moved like a lone boat adrift on the ocean, bobbing up and down, seemingly on the verge of capsizing or being swept away by a wave. Yet, that solitary boat stood firm. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that his lower body was as stable as a mountain, completely unlike his upper body, which swayed uncontrollably—like an octopus firmly clinging to a small rock. One step, two steps, three steps… eventually reaching sixty or seventy steps. It seemed dangerous, but he persevered. Over time, his skills continued to improve. By the time the morning sun shone over the land, Rod could already take 108 steps smoothly, successfully completing a full cycle of training. By then, he could walk a full cycle steadily at a decent pace. Sweaty and with a smile on his face, he had succeeded—his theory worked, his judgment was correct. Now that he had succeeded, all that remained was to refine his skills and increase his speed while practicing moves. Ten days—yesterday it still seemed incredibly distant and stressful, but today it felt effortless, with no problems at all! Back on shore, he collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, his face pale. A whole day of training had pushed Rod’s body to its limit; his combat energy was depleted, his strength waned, and exhaustion set in. Staying in the water for so long also caused his skin to become pale and wrinkled, looking terrifying, with many areas peeling off, a sight of desolation. But Rod didn’t care about any of this. All that mattered was that he had succeeded, that he had persevered. Looking at the sunrise, his face was filled with a smile.

Then he found a quiet place, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate. It might be impossible to practice during the day today—his combat energy had been depleted too much, so he needed to train thoroughly. As Rod entered a state of meditation, Melon’s figure appeared in the distance. Watching Rod immersed in meditation, Melon nodded slightly, feeling satisfied and moved. In just one day, this kid had already grasped the essence of it. It seemed that ten days would be enough for him to complete the tasks assigned to him. In just fifteen days, or half a month, he would finish the first and second stages of training.

An extraordinary kid, with extraordinary achievements. It had taken him nearly half a year to accomplish these things back then. It’s truly frustrating when comparing oneself to others. If that senior were still alive, seeing such a talented individual would surely drive him crazy. Those who were considered quite talented in his eyes back then would probably seem like complete failures now.

With a sigh, Melon turned and left. He understood that new talents emerge with each generation, each dominating for hundreds of years, and that the waves behind push those ahead, while the former die on the shore. He felt somewhat relieved. Although Rod wasn’t his disciple, and he didn’t have the right to be one, at least he had witnessed Rod’s growth and rise, seeing him reach the pinnacle of the world—this was enough.

For the first time, Melon’s heart was moved. For the first time, he felt a strong desire to follow this kid, Rod, to watch him rise to prominence, to see him dominate the world, to see him triumph over all challenges! What a wonderful thing that would be.

In the following days, after mastering this technique, Rod kept improving. Now, his upper body no longer showed any instability. After summarizing his progress, he replaced the drastic movements with minimal, almost imperceptible fluctuations, achieving perfect control over his center of gravity.

Starting on the sixth day, he began practicing sword techniques, which were initially challenging. But as time passed, there were no more issues. By the ninth day, he could execute any move flawlessly, unaffected by anything. The water pillars posed no threat to him at all. He completed the second stage of training as planned, within ten days, achieving excellent results! All he had to do now was wait for Melon’s evaluation and verification the next day. What was the third stage? After facing two challenges in a row, Rod was filled with anticipation and longing—such training results were truly remarkable.

In half a month, he clearly felt his progress; he was now just half a step away from the intermediate divine level. Perhaps after this training session, he would be able to reach that level, and then there would be no problem in participating in that competition.