Chapter 13

Tang Yan woke up from his meditation, and the sky had already turned dark. In the cave, Ailinda was still working hard to dispel the threat of the ice crystals. Her pale face indicated that she was enduring immense pain, and her delicate body occasionally trembled slightly.

Tang Ying, perhaps tired, had curled up in a corner and fallen asleep.

Outside, the surroundings were quiet and dim, with the occasional roar of beasts faintly heard, adding a touch of danger to the dense forest at night.

Tang Yan quietly left the cave, camouflaged himself outside, and walked toward the nearby waterfall.

This body was too weak, lacking strength and flexibility, making it particularly awkward during combat.

In just two days, Tang Yan had deeply experienced the cruelty of this world. There were no laws, no morals, only a world where the strong preyed on the weak. Here, 'killing' was not so difficult.

To live better, to earn respect, to get what he wanted, he must become stronger! Only by becoming stronger!

The most urgent task now was to strengthen this body, at least to make it more flexible.

Tang Yan found some appropriately sized stones nearby, wrapped them around his back and limbs, and plunged into the icy lake, swimming toward the turbulent area where the waterfall hit the lake.

The lake was very wide, extending deep into the forest, but it was not very deep, with the bottom faintly visible. The shallow areas were less than two meters deep. The waterfall in front of him was about twenty-five meters high and seven to eight meters wide, with a strong impact due to the abundant water flow.

Even before reaching the impact area, Tang Yan felt the strong current.

Tang Yan did not rush in but stopped eight meters away from the impact area, using the weight of the stones to sink to a depth of four meters at the bottom of the lake.

The water surged and swirled, creating small whirlpools that even fish could not approach. But this was exactly the environment Tang Yan wanted.

He intended to train his physical strength in this natural pressure and chaotic force area!

Holding his breath, he focused and stood still, first trying to maintain his balance and not be swept away by the whirlpools.

But as soon as he sank to the bottom, his feet slipped, and he lost his balance, being swept away by the turbulent water for four to five meters.

Plop! Tang Yan surfaced to take a deep breath, then dived back to the bottom, returning to his original position and trying to stabilize his balance again. However, he was quickly swept away by the surging water.

Again and again... Tang Yan clenched his teeth, being swept away and swimming back repeatedly until his body became so sore and heavy that he could hardly move. He then crawled onto a rock exposed on the lake surface to catch his breath before diving back into the water.

Continuously striving, persistently pushing, constantly unlocking his potential.

In his previous life, Tang Yan sought thrills, experienced life and death, and became particularly ruthless, not only to others but also to himself.

The water pressure at the bottom of the lake was very heavy, combined with the impact of the water and the weight of the stones, making it a nearly self-destructive training for anyone.

Roar! At the bottom of the lake, Tang Yan's veins bulged, his muscles tensed, and he let out a low, deep growl, resisting the pressure and the water, making various stretching movements. At this moment, his entire body felt as if it were filled with lead, his muscles tightly tensed, and his heartbeat was slow and chaotic, but Tang Yan still persisted.

He did not use his spiritual energy, purely using his physical strength to resist the impact and pressure, pushing his body to the limit to train his physical fitness.

"Where is he?" Tang Ying woke up, finding Tang Yan gone from the cave, feeling curious. She cautiously poked her head out, looked around, and noticed the distant lake.

The waterfall cascaded down, hitting the calm lake surface, creating layers of waves and splashing mist. Under the cool moonlight, it was a beautiful and dazzling sight.

Plop! Amid the noisy roar of the waterfall, a head emerged from the lake surface, quickly diving back to the bottom.

The lake surface continued to ripple, with waves stirred up by the waterfall.

After about a minute, the head emerged again, gasping for breath, then diving back to the bottom.

Again and again, back and forth.

"Is that Tang Yan? What is he doing?" Tang Ying became increasingly curious and quietly left the cave, hiding in the bushes near the lake.

Plop! After fifty rounds, Tang Yan suddenly burst out of the lake, struggling to catch his breath, and almost collapsed onto a rock in the middle of the lake, his muscles trembling uncontrollably, and his consciousness feeling somewhat dazed.

The short distance of a few meters almost made him sink to the bottom of the lake.

Tang Yan lay on the edge of the rock, too weak to climb up, and lay there, breathing heavily, feeling the strange sensation of his muscles trembling and the numbness and swelling throughout his body. After a while, he slightly recovered and climbed onto the rock.

At this moment, he silently circulated his spiritual energy, a warm current spreading throughout his body, feeling incredibly comfortable. Because he had just undergone extreme training, his cells and meridians were in an abnormally active state, like hungry wolves waiting for food.

The spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, being voraciously consumed by the acupoints, meridians, and cells, mutually refining and fusing.

Invisibly, his meridians and muscles seemed to become slightly tougher, and the flow of spiritual energy was noticeably faster.

When his physical strength was basically restored, Tang Yan re-secured the stones on his body and dived back to the bottom of the lake.

Continue!!

"Is he training his body?" In the bushes, Tang Ying's expression was indescribably strange. When did this spoiled brat reform? But even if he reformed, there was no need to self-destruct like this!

Is this really Tang Yan?

Recalling the events of the day, scenes flashed through her mind. When danger struck, Tang Yan's fierce appearance, his brutal attack, and his cunning and shrewdness—all of it seemed like a dream.

Tang Yan, the second son of the Tang family in Juxiang City, was a notorious spoiled brat in the northern wilderness of the empire, cowardly, bullying, and promiscuous. He started peeking at people bathing at the age of ten, sleeping with maids at twelve, visiting brothels at thirteen, and becoming increasingly lawless from fifteen, spending his days with a group of ruffians.

Just thinking about it, a long list of misdeeds came to mind.

Sometimes, Tang Ying was puzzled. How could a man have not a single redeeming quality?

To live like this, one must have some skill.

Comparing the past with the present, Tang Ying even doubted if this person was her cousin. Apart from his promiscuous nature, everything else was different.

Most importantly, Tang Yan knew martial arts!

The more she thought and compared, the more she felt something was wrong, and she became more cautious.

Again, is this person really Tang Yan?

Immersed in his training, Tang Yan almost entered a state of obsession, constantly training and refining, repeating the process, almost without stopping. When he was extremely hungry, he would catch some fish and shrimp in the lake, eat them raw after a simple preparation, and then continue diving to the bottom of the lake after a brief rest.

Whenever he reached his limit, he would use his spiritual energy to refine himself!

Through continuous effort, the excess fat on his body disappeared at a visible rate, and the outlines of solid muscles began to show. His meridians widened by at least one-tenth, becoming tougher than before, and the flow of spiritual energy was much faster.

Starting from the second night, Tang Yan began practicing combat techniques at the bottom of the lake, no longer just training his strength.

The combat technique he learned in his previous life was the Eight Extremes Fist. "Literature has Tai Chi to pacify the world, martial arts have the Eight Extremes to shake the universe." The fierce and powerful techniques were most suitable for close combat. Practicing the Eight Extremes Fist at the bottom of the lake could appropriately enhance flexibility and skill.

By the third day at noon, through gradual approach and continuous improvement, Tang Yan successfully reached the core of the waterfall impact area, sitting on a smooth rock, cross-legged, using his strength to resist the wild impact of the waterfall.

The surging water fell from a height of thirty meters, creating an overwhelming pressure that almost crushed Tang Yan's bones, making it difficult to breathe.

Tang Yan let out a low, deep growl, firmly resisting the terrifying impact, constantly reminding himself, and constantly pushing his limits.

... Persist... Persist... Keep persisting...

Crack!

In the midst of his struggle, a faint, childish laugh suddenly emerged from deep within his dantian, cold and eerie. Instantly, a thread of evil aura spread from the deepest part, diffusing through the dantian and flowing through his meridians as he extracted spiritual energy.

Tang Yan, immersed in his intense training, did not notice this strange phenomenon, continuing to refine his body and absorb the intense energy. Gradually, his breathing became heavy, and an evil aura enveloped his body. In the dantian, a gray mist flowed wildly, waves surging and rolling, mysterious and unpredictable.

Tang Yan's throat emitted a faint growl, and he felt a ghostly whisper in his ear, cold and deep. He was immersed in it, unable to break free.

A moment later!

"Ugh!!" Tang Yan's eyes suddenly opened, a blood-red light flashing in his eyes. A roar like a beast's echoed through his throat, and intense green flames uncontrollably appeared on his hands, burning fiercely, turning the surging water into a mist.

Tang Yan struggled to stand up but was immediately swept to the bottom of the lake by the powerful waterfall. At the moment of his outburst, a faint but clear golden light suddenly burst from his forehead!

"What was that sound?" Ailinda, in the cave, immediately opened her azure eyes, listening intently with a look of surprise.

"It sounds like... Tang Yan?" Tang Ying, half asleep, also woke up.

"Tang Yan? What's wrong with Tang Yan?" This was Ailinda's first awakening in three days. Her face was no longer green, and she could勉强 make some movements, but there were still a large number of ice crystals inside and outside her body, hindering the flow of her spiritual energy and freezing her body.

"He has been training under the waterfall these past few days. I guess... it might be him..." Tang Ying was hesitant and uncertain. She sensed a clear evil and murderous intent from the roar, more like a wild beast than a human.

Ailinda's expression changed slightly: "Training? Under the waterfall? He's crazy!"

"He is a madman now."

"Go check, be careful."

On the rippling lake surface, Tang Yan floated quietly. The evil aura had dissipated, and a golden dot on his forehead slowly faded. His consciousness was somewhat dazed. He had clearly been training under the waterfall, but in a moment of distraction, he found himself here.

His body was icy and stiff, but his forehead emitted a warm sensation, as if nurturing his body.

"Tang Yan? Tang Yan!" A clear voice called from a distance.

Tang Yan took a deep breath, recovering from his daze.

"Tang Yan, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Tang Ying came to the lakeside and called out to Tang Yan in the lake.

Tang Yan's body was sore and stiff. He struggled to swim to the shore, tearing off his clothes, revealing a significantly more muscular upper body: "How long have I been in there?"

"Pervert!" Tang Ying spat, quickly turning around: "Three days!"

"Oh." Tang Yan silently felt the changes in his body as he walked toward the cave, sensing something was not quite right.

In the dense forest a kilometer away from the valley, two white-clad figures stopped, listening intently to the surroundings.

"Did you hear that?"

"Was it a scream?"

"Human or beast?"

"It seems... like a beast, but I'm not sure."

"Should we check?"

"Be careful!"

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