Chapter 92

The Soul Refining Device emitted a faint glow, with energy clusters continuously spewing out from the cracks, drawn towards the Soul Refining Device. Tang Tian curiously watched the strands of light floating towards the Soul Refining Device under his feet.

As the energy clusters continuously merged into the Soul Refining Device, its glow became increasingly brilliant and intense. Suddenly, with a "pop," a flame emerged from the Soul Refining Device. Tang Tian was startled by the flame that sprang up from under his feet, but he quickly calmed down because the flame unexpectedly did not feel hot.

Tang Tian lowered his head and curiously observed the cold flame that emerged from the Soul Refining Device.

"The greatest function of the Soul Refining Device is to convert energy into a flame that can temper the martial soul. We call this flame the Soul Tempering Flame," Bing said calmly. "Since you have already condensed your martial soul, you can now try to support the Soul Tempering Flame with your martial soul."

"Support the Soul Tempering Flame?" Tang Tian was taken aback. "How do I support it?"

"Focus your attention on your martial soul and imagine it as a palm supporting the Soul Tempering Flame," Bing's tone became serious. "The first time you touch the Soul Tempering Flame, it will be very painful, but remember, no matter how much it hurts, you must not let the flame drop. If you drop it, you will fail completely."

Tang Tian's expression also became serious. "If I drop it, I fail?"

"Exactly," Bing glanced at Tang Tian. "Begin."

Tang Tian closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on his martial soul. This was the first time Tang Tian had concentrated so intensely on observing his martial soul. His martial soul was a dim flame, as if it could extinguish at any moment. Following Bing's method, Tang Tian began to imagine his martial soul as a palm.

Sure enough, as his thoughts changed, the flame-like martial soul slowly wriggled and deformed.

Soon, a translucent palm appeared above Tang Tian's head.

The palm slowly floated down to Tang Tian's feet, and the Soul Tempering Flame from the Soul Refining Device, as if attracted, floated onto the translucent palm.

The moment the Soul Tempering Flame landed on the translucent palm, Tang Tian felt a piercing pain in his mind, and he couldn't help but groan. The palm formed by the martial soul trembled, and the Soul Tempering Flame almost fell off. Tang Tian reacted quickly, focusing his mind and holding his breath to stabilize the Soul Tempering Flame.

Tang Tian's face contorted.

The piercing pain made his mind almost blank. He could even clearly feel the sizzling sound of the martial soul palm being burned by the Soul Tempering Flame. The martial soul and the mind were connected, and this intense pain directly pierced his mind, leaving him no escape. He couldn't divert his attention, and he needed to concentrate even more, making the pain of the martial soul tempering even more intense.

"Good, you will gradually adapt to this pain. Do you feel it's not as painful now? Because some of the impurities in your martial soul have been refined."

Bing's encouraging voice entered Tang Tian's ears. Whether it was due to Bing's hypnotic effect or the actual refinement, Tang Tian felt that the pain was indeed less intense.

"Very good, you did a great job, taking the most critical step. Next, you need to control your martial soul to attract more Soul Tempering Flame, but not too much. We will proceed step by step." Bing's steady voice gave a strong sense of security, and Tang Tian quickly calmed down.

Following Bing's guidance, Tang Tian carefully summoned another strand of Soul Tempering Flame. "Zzz," Tang Tian's mind trembled, and an indescribable intense pain pierced his brain like a needle.

Tang Tian's martial soul trembled again.

"Steady! No matter how much it hurts, you must stay steady!"

"Very good, you're doing great. You're starting to adapt, and your martial soul is becoming purer!"

"You've had enough rest. We need to start the next round of tempering. It won't be a problem for you. Good, like before, attract more Soul Tempering Flame."

...

Bing always controlled his speaking speed, trying to make it slow so that Tang Tian wouldn't feel the passage of time.

An hour passed.

Bing's attention remained highly focused, and his eyes never left Tang Tian.

He kept talking non-stop.

By this time, Tang Tian's mind began to gradually blur. Anyone has a limit to how much pain they can endure. He mechanically followed Bing's guidance, continuously attracting Soul Tempering Flame, round after round, completely unaware of how long he had been tempering.

The Soul Tempering Flame had grown to the size of a table, completely enveloping Tang Tian's martial soul.

Bing closely watched Tang Tian's martial soul within the Soul Tempering Flame. When he saw Tang Tian's martial soul gradually become translucent, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

It had been an hour and a half.

Energy clusters within a ten-meter radius, like sharks smelling blood, crazily floated towards the fireball above Tang Tian's head, making the Soul Tempering Flame even more intense.

Bing now held soul cores in his hands. These soul cores included those Tang Tian had accumulated and those he had scavenged from the corpses at the base. Bing flicked his finger, and a soul core directly merged into the Soul Tempering Flame.

The impurities were quickly refined, leaving only a strand of pure martial soul.

Tang Tian's martial soul immediately sensed this pure strand and instinctively devoured it.

"Exactly, that's it. Good, you can feel your martial soul growing stronger. Continue to attract the Soul Tempering Flame."

While encouraging Tang Tian, Bing continuously flicked more soul cores into the Soul Tempering Flame. Tang Tian's martial soul rapidly grew, and the enlarged martial soul produced a stronger attraction. The energy clusters around Tang Tian surged like a tide.

The fireball of the Soul Tempering Flame expanded dramatically.

Bing's expression became increasingly tense. There were only ten minutes left until two hours. The record of the Southern Cross Corps, which Bing had created, was two hours.

Bing, who had personal experience, knew much more than others. At this stage, the Soul Tempering Flame began to become unstable, gradually collapsing inward. The energy clusters spewing from the crack were not of a high rank, but as they continuously shrank, they would break through the fourth-rank barrier.

In other words, the fireball of the Soul Tempering Flame would break through the fourth rank.

The higher the rank of the Soul Tempering Flame, the more thorough the tempering of the martial soul.

The color of the Soul Tempering Flame began to change, from a deep blue to a greenish hue.

Intense pain continuously assaulted Tang Tian, as if his brain was being roasted. The pain grew more intense, so intense that he had to use all his strength, yes, all his strength, to hold on.

Bing's voice, in Tang Tian's ears, became vague and distant, now far and near. Tang Tian no longer had the strength to listen to Bing's words.

He was on the verge of collapse, his defenses wavering.

Two hours!

The color of the Soul Tempering Flame completely turned green.

Bing's expression was calm, but his heart was like a storm. Two hours! Tang Tian actually managed to last two hours, this arrogant, self-righteous guy...

Actually managed to last two hours!

Two hours! In the corps back then, no one except him had ever achieved it.

But now, Tang Tian was at the end of his rope! His body began to tremble more frequently and violently, the pain on his face becoming more evident, and his complexion turning pale.

Bing snapped to attention. This was not the time to be distracted. He knew that once he broke the two-hour mark, every second that followed would be incredibly precious. Each second would be worth a hundred times its value in the future.

He took a deep breath and roared, "Tang Tian!"

Tang Tian's figure paused under the fireball.

"Have you forgotten your dream? Have you forgotten the vow you made? Have you forgotten that you want to become the strongest person?"

"Tang Tian! Have you forgotten the taste of failure?"

"Tang Tian! Have you forgotten the ridicule you've endured over the years?"

"Tang Tian! Have you forgotten the times when you were powerless to change anything?"

"Do you want to give up?"

"Tang Tian, are you willing to give up like this?"

"Are you willing?"

The last four words, with Bing's immense excitement, were shouted with all his might.

Tang Tian's body paused, then began to tremble violently, a hint of blood appearing on his pale face. His fists, at some point, were tightly clenched!

"Tang Tian!" Bing took a deep breath and shouted, "Just ten more minutes! Just ten more minutes! The last ten minutes!"

"You can achieve your dream!"

"You can become the strongest man!"

"You can fulfill your vow!"

"Tang Tian!"

"Ten minutes! Just ten more minutes!"

"You can definitely do it!"

Bing almost gritted his teeth and roared with all his might. His fists, at some point, were tightly clenched, and his eyes were fixed on Tang Tian. After roaring, Bing suddenly felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he felt exhausted.

Come on, god-like boy...

Bing's whisper was barely audible.

Tang Tian's body trembled even more violently, like a sieve, on the verge of collapse.

Bing's expression was extremely tense. Two hours and three minutes!

The color of the Soul Tempering Flame completely turned green, a deep green like bronze, with the cold aura almost completely gone, replaced by a fierce and solemn presence. Energy clusters within a twenty-meter radius were all attracted, like snowflakes in a strong wind, crazily merging into the Soul Tempering Flame.

The green color of the Soul Tempering Flame continued to deepen.

Tang Tian's body continued to tremble, with even more intense and frequent pain.

But Tang Tian's mind was filled with those few words.

Are you willing?

Are you willing to give up like this?

Give up?

Give up... No, I won't give up... How can I give up... How can I... Never! Even if I die, I won't give up...

A surge of strength emerged from somewhere, and under the intense pain, Tang Tian's distorted face slowly formed a defiant and wild smile, looking incredibly ugly!

I am a god-like boy!

How can I give up?

I want to become the strongest man!

How can I give up?

How can I!

With a crackling sound, the green Soul Tempering Flame turned deep green, the color becoming darker until it turned black. At this point, the fireball of the Soul Tempering Flame had shrunk to the size of a bamboo basket. Suddenly, a silver light exploded from within the flame.

In an instant, the silver light spread like frost, and the silver flame carried a fierce and solemn aura.

The energy clusters in the entire crack were stirred, and Jing Hao was alarmed. He saw the energy clusters transform into hundreds of thousands of blue lights, converging in one direction.

Wait, that's where Tang Tian is training!

Jing Hao was shocked and sprinted with all his might. When he arrived and saw the scene, his body froze.

Under the fierce silver flame, the boy's figure was defiant and stubborn.