Chapter 201: Hard Training

That morning, beneath the waterfall, Rod repeatedly stepped from the shore toward those poles, only to fall into the pool again and again in a humiliating manner. After countless failures, Rod wasn’t stupid—he learned a lot from them. The gravity of the falling water was secondary; what really mattered was maintaining his center of balance. Added to this were the currents in the pool and the buoyancy of being in water, making it extremely difficult to stand steadily on those slippery poles. It was simply impossible to stand on one’s own, so combat energy had to play its role at this moment! The moment of falling, instead of retreating the combat energy, one had to channel it fully to help stick to the poles like suction cups. After mastering some techniques, Rod fared much better in the afternoon. From taking his first step to the second, third, and fourth! He didn’t rush to practice his sword skills or movement techniques; instead, he focused on adapting to the environment—after all, preparation is key to success. Once this principle was understood, everything else became easier. By the time Rod could take thirty-six steps in one go, it was already around three or four in the afternoon, though he still seemed unsteady, as if he might fall at any moment. It wasn’t until he could take those thirty-six steps smoothly and firmly that it was already late at night. After practicing nonstop all day, through relentless effort, he finally completed these tasks. His body had turned terrifyingly pale from staying in the water for so long, and his feet were peeling, but Rod cared nothing about this. All he cared about was his training. As long as he could improve his strength, what did a little hardship matter? If he couldn’t endure such hardship, he wouldn’t have reached where he is now. How much hardship had he endured before? This was nothing—without the ability to endure such hardship, there was no talk of moving forward.

Taking a deep breath, Rod leaped once again from the shore and landed on the post in the pool. His combat energy flowed into his feet, instantly anchoring them firmly to the post like two octopus suckers! Then he began to take steps—slowly at first, but with unwavering stability, not the slightest wobble. After that came the second step, the third, and his speed gradually increased. As he stepped on the post, the force of falling from the waterfall was minimized. Even the current in the pool couldn’t affect him thanks to his combat energy defense.

Once he got used to the position of the post, Rod could take each step effortlessly, as steady as a mountain yet as light as a swallow.

“This kid… not bad!” From a distance, a towering figure watched Rod moving freely in the pool. After a brief pause, he muttered to himself with a wry smile.

He himself had been at this level before and came here to train. It had taken him three days under that elder’s guidance just to adapt to these peculiar posts. He had given Rod five days, not expecting much, just hoping to put pressure on him to hurry up. Who would have thought that in just one day, Rod would adapt to such an environment? It seemed completing this stage of training in five days wouldn’t be a problem at all.

“The youth is truly formidable!” With a sigh, he placed his hands behind his back and turned toward the cave—there was no need for him to worry here anymore.

This time, Rod walked three full circuits before stopping, panting slightly. “Still not enough!” Normally, with his current strength, he could run continuously for an hour without even breaking a sweat. But now, after just three rounds—taking barely over ten minutes—he was already out of breath. The difficulty of this training was still very high. Rod wasn’t satisfied with his progress. He was always the kind of person who wanted to do his best and pay attention to every detail. Unbeknownst to him, if it were anyone else, they would be secretly smiling at having achieved so much in such a short time—let alone being dissatisfied with themselves.

Of course, those people didn’t have his level of respect. What kind of person was Melon? A master at the Yin-Yang Mysterious Yellow realm. To receive his guidance was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—how many people could even get that? Guidance from someone of such strength was rare and hard to come by. It was only Rod who was lucky enough to stumble upon it.

Dragging his tired body back into the cave, he saw that Melon merely gave a casual greeting before Rod quickly began his training. By the end of the day, he found that the recovery speed of his combat energy by the pond was far slower—less than one-tenth of its usual rate. Could this be another special effect of the pond? Yet, every bit of combat energy recovered there was extremely pure! This gave Rod hope for improvement. Relying solely on his own to compress his combat energy was already extremely difficult, time-consuming, laborious, and unproductive. The pond, on the other hand, provided him with a favorable environment and opportunity.

Early in the morning, before the sky was fully bright, Rod had already prepared everything and rushed toward the pond, moving at full speed. It took him less than a moment to reach it. Melon, watching Rod’s diligence, nodded in satisfaction, knowing he had not chosen the wrong person. After all, achieving such a level at such a young age couldn’t be done just by talent. Talent was important, but diligence and hard work were even more crucial; otherwise, everything would be in vain.

On the second day of training, after getting used to the stances, Rod began practicing. With a basic foundation, he no longer fell into the pond like a fool, but combining sword moves with his movements still created a stark difference from walking bare-handed. Naturally, he had to start over from scratch. It took another day for Rod to barely adapt to training on it, but the results were good—enough to let him enjoy the challenge.

On the third morning, just as Rod was about to leave, Melon pulled him back and handed him a pile of steel plates, telling him to wear them. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were actually close-fitting vests made of steel plates and weight belts for his calves. His arms also needed them! He didn’t know what material the steel plates were made of, but their weight was terrifyingly heavy. The seemingly simple set of equipment weighed at least a thousand pounds. The moment he put them on, Rod even felt his combat energy’s flow slow down by one level. It seemed this material affected his combat energy, prompting him to look at Melon with confusion.

“Take these. The steel plates contain materials from the Sealing Stone, which will suppress the surge of your combat energy. You’re strong in brute force, but your explosive power is lacking. Explosive power also requires thorough training. A critical strike in a life-or-death moment tests one’s explosive power. While sufficient explosive power may not guarantee invincibility, it can at least give you a significant edge in victory,” Melon said calmly in response to Rod’s doubts. Looking at the set of equipment, a hint of nostalgia appeared in his eyes. Hadn’t he trained wearing something similar before? The most arduous part of training had only just begun.

Nodding, Rod felt a warmth in his heart. Melon’s willingness to help him filled him with gratitude. Without wasting time, he quickly got ready and rushed toward the waterfall.

The Sealing Stone was an extremely rare magical material. Even the slightest amount of it could drive people wild, and it was a taboo for magicians and warriors alike. It could seal a person’s combat energy and magical power, showing just how terrifying it was. Yet due to its extreme rarity and value, it was impossible to obtain even with great wealth. Materials for the Sealing Stone were usually found within seals.

The flow of combat energy in his body had slowed to one-tenth of its original speed—slow and difficult, as if there were obstacles everywhere. This made Rod very uncomfortable. Under such conditions, his strength had dropped to the level of a Saint. Coupled with the heavy weight pressing down, and the additional force from the waterfall and the water currents in the pool, Rod knew it was no less than ten thousand times the gravity in the Void Space—there was a strong similarity between the two.

That day’s training felt like returning to the first day: greatly increased gravity, slower flow of combat energy, less energy generated, slower movements, and greater difficulty maintaining balance. He fell into the water several times, and getting back up was a huge challenge each time.

Rod trained until nearly dawn before stopping. Only then could he barely complete a round of sword moves without incident.

The fourth day was approaching quickly, so Rod didn’t go back. Instead, he sat by the pool to train again. By the time he opened his eyes again, the sunrise had reached the mountainside. He hurriedly resumed his training.

The fourth day was slightly better. He gradually grasped the essentials, but moving around remained difficult.

It wasn’t until after the fifth day’s training that Rod could barely bring out some of his speed, but it was still far from what he could achieve without any weight.

On this day, Rod continued practicing until the dawn of the sixth day before stopping. Five days of training had passed, yet he was not too satisfied with his results. With his current equipment, his strength in water was barely comparable to that of a Saint-level warrior at the late great perfection stage—the gap was still too large. The sixth day was when Melon said this stage would end. Would he be satisfied with Rod’s results? Rod had no idea!
By the time Rod recovered from his training, Melon had already arrived beside him, smiling at him. Yet that smile made Rod feel extremely uncomfortable!