Silence reigned the world before the storm came.
The Sky Academy, Deep-sea Academy, and even Zhongzhou State suddenly became calm.
The friction between the Six seemed to have completely disappeared, and everything was calm.
Li Tianlan’s demonic special training began at a fast pace in a calm atmosphere, without the slightest delay. Thunder G.o.d was responsible for improving his marksmanship, and Tribulation was in charge of improving his battle strength. From the very beginning, the sheer intensity of the frenzied training had stretched him to the limit.
He spent 15 hours training every day; five hours for marksmanship and two hours for driving, and during the rest of the time, his only task was to follow Tribulation to practice the Buddhist Incantation of Nine Words.
He spent an hour having meals every day.
He consumed three hours for meditation.
And he used two hours for rest.
The remaining three hours were used to learn skills about actual combat.
There was no rule in actual combat. He probably would have Tribulation, who suppressed his strength at the Qi-controlling Realm, or have Thunder G.o.d, who suppressed his strength at the Ice-condensing Realm, as his opponent. And it was likely that the three would fight together.
He had hardly any free time among the 24 hours every day.
He had to practice his marksmanship and the Buddhist Incantation of Nine Words, to meditate, and to fight.
Zhuang Huayang personally marked out a remote training ground for the three. In the warehouse of the training ground, a few single beds were set aside for rest. Most of the time, Li Tianlan kept repeating the boring yet substantial training.
By the end of the first torturous week, Li Tianlan, who had known a variety of firearms, was able to hit the target with every shot.
At the same time, he could drive the vehicle at the limiting speed.
His realm at the Peak of the Qi-controlling Realm increasingly stabilized.
At the second week.
Li Tianlan was able to drive around the obstacles that Thunder G.o.d set up as fast as he could and get to the finish line within the allotted time.
At the same time, he started to practice using sniper rifles.
At the third week, the vehicle training was removed. His rest time every day changed from two hours to an hour. The extra one hour was added to the actual combat training.
Li Tianlan came into contact with the weapon named Skyattack during the fourth week.
The Skyattack was loaded with ordinary bullets, but Li Tianlan still succeeded in breaking the movable target two kilometers away with two shots.
Li Tianlan was at the Qi-controlling Realm currently, however, he was knocked unconscious by Tribulation, who was at the same realm as him, in the actual combat training he had the very day. He was then doused with cold water and continued to train.
Finally, he realized the horror of this valuable treasure of Dongcheng Clan. He used to think that Skyattack was just like any other sniper rifles. It was only when he opened fire that he realized it was a heavy sniper rifle which enabled him to kill a Thunder-shocking Realm expert with one shot. He wouldn’t even be able to pull the trigger if he didn’t possess the Wind and Thunder Veins at the current realm.
The interior design of Skyattack was intricate and complex. Unlike the design idea of any other guns, it had achieved real perfection in the pursuit of lethality and destructive power. Furthermore, its inner firing pin was not made of ultra-hard tungsten steel which could resist high temperature, but of a special substance discovered by Dongcheng Clan only in recent years. This led to the fact that a lot of force was required if anyone should pull the trigger of Skyattack. And that was one of the keys to making a weapon this powerful as well.
With Li Tianlan’s current physical strength, five shots in a row were enough to exhaust his strength. If a person didn’t possess the Thunder Vein and his realm was under the Fire-flaming Realm, he was unable to pull the trigger, even if he owned Skyattack.
So since the fourth week, Li Tianlan was in a state of weakness every time he was fighting with Tribulation or Thunder G.o.d.
He became more and more silent, but his attack grew increasingly swifter and fiercer.
Tribulation was still able to beat Li Tianlan, even on the condition that he suppressed his strength at the Qi-controlling Realm, but he was feeling more and more pressure.
When Thunder G.o.d—an expert at the Peak of the Thunder-shocking Realm, was in the actual combat with Li Tianlan, he was prostrated with fear. By the fourth week, he no longer suppressed his strength in the Ice-condensing Realm but promoted it to the Fire-flaming Realm.
Li Tianlan did not express any opinion, he just attacked madly and blindly.
His attacks were crazier and crazier. Every move of his was full of out-and-out killing intent and sword intent, incisive and vivid.
During a week of almost non-stop crazy training, Li Tianlan was changing almost every day; he became sharper and sharper. Now he looked like the youthful Tribulation, but every move of his was full of a grand aura compared with Tribulation.
The sword intent hidden in his heart was being developed little by little. Like a famous sword which was long dusty but still of great sharpness, he was unsheathed little by little and was about to shine in the world.
He kept fighting all along.
There seemed to be a faint tendency in him to break through the Peak to the Fulfilment Stage of the Qi-controlling Realm. His strength was getting stronger and stronger. In the day-to-day, non-stop training, his potential had been relentlessly exploited. In a short period of one month, his spirit completely changed. His every move was of unrivaled sharpness.
More than half of the fourth week pa.s.sed.
When Thunder G.o.d finally realized that the strength in the stabilization phase of the Fire-flaming Realm was not enough to suppress Li Tianlan, he directly promoted his strength to the Peak of the Fire-flaming Realm, without hesitation.
Li Tianlan was knocked unconscious again.
“Can he continue to practice?” said Tribulation, who looked colder than anyone else.
His voice was low and hoa.r.s.e and it carried a subtle hint of worry.
He was able to be indifferent to anyone. But there were only two people in the whole world that he cared about most; one was his sister Situ Cangyue, another was Li Tianlan.
After a month of special training, he could definitely be able to figure out Li Tianlan’s current state.
Li Tianlan had now reached the absolute limit, both physical and mental. To continue the practice may be able to further stimulate his potential, but it may also damage his foundation. Even Tribulation hesitated before this crucial step.
During this month, Li Tianlan’s spirit was almost in the state of tension at any time, and his body was trained under high pressure. His physical power would be consumed almost every day. He then would use hours of meditation and sleep to regain his physical power. With or without a full recovery, he would continue training the next day.
For a month, neither did Tribulation hear any complaint from Li Tianlan, nor did he see him lose heart or retreat. His face and the expressions in his eyes were always calm. Even Tribulation was shocked by the determination and ferocity behind the calm.
As a human being in the world, it was nothing serious to be cruel to others, for the real cruel one dared to be cruel to himself.
Desperation was the only feeling Tribulation could feel from Li Tianlan now.
He could ignore the body and even the soul. He was willing to pay any price to be strong!
“He must!”
On the empty training ground, Thunder G.o.d looked at the unconscious Li Tianlan in front of him, his eyes soft, but his voice calm and determined. “It’s nothing to him. He was able to survive in a situation that was so desperate back then. He’s just a little bit more tired now. It’s nothing compared to what he’s been through.”
“Back then?”
Tribulation moved a little bit and was confused. His eyes behind the silver mask fell on Thunder G.o.d.
Thunder G.o.d hesitated a little bit.
In his line of sight, Li Tianlan lay unconscious on the ground, his eyes closed, looking relaxed and serene.
Thunder G.o.d hesitated, turned around, and finally came up to Tribulation.
“Have you ever experienced real despair?
Thunder G.o.d asked earnestly, handing Tribulation a cigarette.
Tribulation’s pupils contracted slightly. It was an ordinary sentence, but in his ears, it was chilling.
He took the cigarette but did not light it and continued to remain silent.
“Tianlan has.”
Thunder G.o.d pointed at Li Tianlan and whispered, “This boy entered the Thunder-shocking Realm once, but he chose to start it all over again. Do you know about it?”
Tribulation nodded and answered thoughtfully, “Hmm, the desert.”
“Yes.”
Thunder G.o.d nodded. He took a deep drag on his cigarette and continued with a smile, “Since he was able to come out of the desert alive, there’s nothing he can’t take now.”
Tribulation was puzzled. He was silent for a moment before he spoke softly, “When you say despair, do you mean his recultivation of Martial Arts?”
“No.”
Thunder G.o.d took a deep breath and was silent for a long time before he spoke softly, “It’s the real despair.”
“Very few people know about it, and I’m a witness. I was the one who went to the border to take him to the desert, watching him get the Heavenly King Heart buried deep in the desert.”
Tribulation remained silent, waiting for Thunder G.o.d to go on.
“I suppose you know the prison in the desert, which claims to be one of the most complicated labyrinths in the Dark World.”
Thunder G.o.d asked all of a sudden.
Tribulation nodded, without saying a word.
“In fact, underneath the prison, there is a tunnel whose internal structure resembles the labyrinth on the ground, and every intersection is exactly the same.”
Thunder G.o.d added insipidly, “It’s just that the s.p.a.ce of the underground labyrinth is a little smaller.”
Tribulation’s pupils suddenly contracted, and he turned directly around and asked, “How small?!”
“Very small.”
Thunder G.o.d continued calmly, “That s.p.a.ce is less than half a meter both on length and width, and it’s hot and humid. If anyone climbs in, he can only lie on his stomach. Not to mention stand up, his back is likely to touch the top if he stretches his arms slightly. Can you imagine such a s.p.a.ce?”
Tribulation’s breathing was getting faster for no reason.
“That tunnel is the Heavenly King Heart in the desert.”
Thunder G.o.d’s tone became calmer. “You can’t imagine it, neither can I. In a tunnel where you can only crawl in one position, you can only move forward, not backward, and you can’t even change positions. There’s no sound, no light, no extra s.p.a.ce, no food or water in the tunnel. You can’t see anything, and you can only hear your own breathing and heartbeat. The whole world seems to be squeezing you in the dark. All you can do is move on, and you must remain extremely calm. Since the tunnel is a labyrinth, a single wrong step may lead to complete loss in the dark environment. To get lost means to die.
“In that environment, let alone ordinary people, how long can we insist? Absolute depression and darkness lead to real despair. I don’t know about you, but I think if I go in there, I wouldn’t be able to hold on for half a day and I’d be completely mad. Darkness and repression are not terrible, but one’s own Internal Demons are the most terrible.
“And Tianlan has been through everything I’ve said, in the tunnel that only allows people to hold one position, and in the tunnel that has nothing other than darkness and oppressive feeling. He entered by the entrance and exited by the exit. After three whole days, he was neither dead nor mad. After experiencing the true despair, Tianlan literally cut off all the Internal Demons. Not to mention Thunder-shocking Realm experts, how many Invincible Realm experts can achieve the absolute concentration of the will?
“That’s Tianlan’s Heavenly King Heart. It may not be as useful as the real Heavenly King Heart, but in terms of the will, it is even more useful. I dare not say anything else, but I’m certain that Tianlan’s will is absolutely indestructible.”
A drop of sweat ran down Tribulation’s temple. He stood where he was, without moving.
Thunder G.o.d’s words may sound nothing serious, but if one were put in that environment, he would know that the atmosphere of despair was enough to drive anyone completely insane.
Thunder G.o.d finished one cigarette and whispered, “So although the current special training is hard, it’s nothing for Tianlan. After he came out of the desert alive, he can bear anything in his life.”