Chapter Nine: The Mysterious Ring

The Blue Emperor Academy was built atop a high mountain on the outskirts of Silo City, an affiliate city of the Eternal Alliance. From the academy, one could vaguely glimpse the spires of Silo City, and especially at night, when the myriad lights shone, the scene possessed a unique charm.

But with the arrival of this torrential downpour, naturally few people still had the leisure to climb the mountain for sightseeing.

By the time Luo Chen reached the back mountain, the pouring rain had already descended. Countless raindrops wove together into dense curtains; the night was exceptionally dark, and visibility was limited to within ten meters. The low, oppressive sky flickered with lightning and rumbled with thunder, evoking a sense of terror.

The thunderous roar was unceasing. A massive silver stream crashed down from the heavens—a waterfall over a hundred meters tall. Thanks to the heavy rain, the volume of water was immense, and the great waterfall was a spectacular sight. Torrents cascaded straight down, crashing into the deep pool below, producing an enormous, eerie sound that could easily be mistaken for thunder mixed in with the rain.

This great waterfall was aptly named—Thunderfall.

Howling winds and the torrential rain only amplified Thunderfall’s might. It was like a primeval beast, roaring deafeningly to display its unrivaled power.

Luo Chen arrived beside the waterfall, took off his outer clothes, and from more than ten meters up, leaped directly into the Flying Dragon Pool beneath Thunderfall. His skill in the water, honed right here, allowed him to surface with the agility of a fish. He swam to a clearing at the edge of the pool, took a deep breath, and walked toward the base of Thunderfall.

The sound waves beneath the waterfall were undoubtedly at their strongest here, almost enough to make a person faint, and the pressure on the eardrums was nauseating. The torrent struck with the force of dozens of high-pressure water jets at once.

Luo Chen drew a deep breath, stepped into the edge of the falls, and immediately felt as though he bore a heavy stone on his back. His legs felt leaden, and this was only the peripheral stream at the waterfall’s edge. He dared not step too far at once, lest he lose his balance. Inch by painstaking inch, he moved forward like a snail, the pressure increasing with every step. Luo Chen held his breath, as if his feet had taken root, bearing the immense weight as he pressed toward the heart of the falls.

Seeing such a tiny human daring to defy its majesty, Thunderfall seemed enraged. It roared as it plunged down, striking Luo Chen’s not particularly sturdy body with overwhelming force.

Luo Chen struggled forward another few meters before his breath finally gave out. The pressure had reached its limit. His steady body wobbled, his feet slipped, and he could no longer stand. The waterfall hurled him into the Flying Dragon Pool, but he quickly swam to shore and headed for the falls again.

Again and again, Luo Chen braved Thunderfall, again and again he was swept away. Persevering without rest, he appeared to be engaging in a futile task, but in truth, this was one of his cultivation methods.

Once internal cultivation was complete and a warrior’s spiritual energy reached saturation, further progress required external training to exhaust the used spiritual energy, allowing the intake of new energy—much like expelling carbon dioxide so the body can absorb oxygen anew.

In the training of spiritual warriors, there were two forms: internal and external cultivation. Internal cultivation was akin to the qigong of ancient times, refining the body through the absorption of spiritual energy. Yet, the resilient physique a powerful spiritual warrior required could not be forged by internal cultivation alone; it had to be supplemented with external training. This expenditure of strength left the body “hungry” for energy, and it would absorb spiritual energy like a sponge, growing stronger and more resilient with every cycle, and increasing its capacity for energy absorption.

There were many ways to engage in external training. The conventional ones included running, weightlifting, chopping, and so on. But there was a more effective method: training under pressure, such as in a gravity chamber, where the gravitational force could be double, several times, or even more the norm. This greatly enhanced a warrior’s tolerance for pressure in actual combat.

But training in the gravity chamber was expensive, and Luo Chen could not afford the costly sessions. Dissatisfied with only conventional exercise, he devised a method of leveraging the force of Thunderfall for his practice.

Each time he was swept away by the torrent, Luo Chen would scramble ashore without resting, heading straight back into the waterfall. Tonight, his goal was not only cultivation, but also to vent his frustrations—he was truly weighed down by gloom.

He did not know how long this self-punishment lasted. Until, after being swept away once more, Luo Chen dragged himself from the Flying Dragon Pool, utterly spent, and collapsed onto a boulder in the clearing, lying on his back, gasping for breath.

“Gah, gah...” Luo Chen panted like an ox, letting the rain beat down on his face, mingling with the sweat as it streamed away.

Not far off, the waterfall seemed to mock Luo Chen’s overreaching ambition—Boy, are you finished now? Opposing me is courting death!

Luo Chen extended the middle finger of his left hand toward Thunderfall, his face full of contempt. “Damn you! Someday, I swear I’ll conquer you!”

A bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the world for an instant. In that brief flash, Luo Chen cried out in surprise, for he had seen something strange.

Hardly daring to believe it, he grabbed his left hand with his right—not to admire the perfection of his gesture, but because, upon his left middle finger, there was a black, ancient-looking ring.

The ring had nothing special about it—not even the simplest of engravings; it was little more than a plain metal band.

The mystery lay in its presence.

Rings were a common ornament handed down from ancient civilization, but Luo Chen had never worn one.

So, when had this ring appeared on his finger?

[Chapter Three! From midnight last night until now, less than ten hours have passed, and the author has already updated three chapters. Only four places remain before reaching the front page of the Newcomers’ Ranking—just within reach! Brothers, give a little more support and help push the story to the top! Even if you have no recommendation tickets, you can log in and click on this book—member clicks count heavily toward popularity, which is very helpful for the series. If it makes the charts, the author will keep up the explosive updates!]