Translator: CinderTL
Time flowed ceaselessly within the Purification Pool.
In the blink of an eye, several hours had passed.
By now, many faces in the Purification Pool were contorted in agony, their bodies trembling violently.
Cosmic energy possessed transcendent properties, fundamentally altering the human body at its core.
This process was akin to cellular fragmentation and reconstruction.
The longer one endured the tempering, the greater the pain, but equally, the greater the benefits.
"Ah!"
Finally, someone couldn't bear it any longer. With a desperate roar, they stumbled out of the Purification Pool and fled through the exit tunnel.
A short while later, more figures began to rise shakily, abandoning the process.
Time continued to tick by relentlessly.
Before long, the cosmic tempering had been underway for three hours.
Over a hundred people had already withdrawn from the Purification Pool.
On the suspended platform, Zhang Jianwu observed the scene and nodded slightly. "Most of the first-time participants have already completed their tempering."
First-timers rarely endured the pain for long.
Those who had lasted this long were considered exceptionally resilient.
Cao Feng nodded. "The longer one practices the refinement method, the greater their pain tolerance becomes."
"Those participating for the first time have only just reached the Entry stage, so naturally they can't endure for long."
At this point, he glanced at Jiang Ye with surprise.
"That kid is still holding on," Cao Feng remarked, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Zhang Jianwu wasn't surprised. He had long recognized Jiang Ye's formidable Martial Dao Will. Even without mastering the Advancement Method, Jiang Ye could endure longer than most.
However, as time passed and the pain intensified, Zhang Jianwu knew Jiang Ye would soon reach his limit.
Inside the Purification Pool, Jiang Ye remained completely focused, oblivious to the outside world. His eyes were tightly closed as he concentrated on the stellar radiance within his Guanyuan Acupoint.
"Three hours have passed, and the stellar radiance in my Guanyuan Acupoint has exceeded three hundred strands," Jiang Ye calculated. "But to completely fill the acupoint, I'll need nearly ten thousand strands."
The gap remained significant.
Yet Jiang Ye felt unwavering confidence.
Just moments ago, he had discovered something truly exhilarating.
"As the pain intensifies, my absorption rate of stellar radiance seems to be gradually increasing!"
Jiang Ye speculated that this might be due to the effect of "Find Joy in Suffering."
Under the influence of pain, all his attributes received a substantial boost.
This overall enhancement also accelerated his absorption of stellar radiance.
"The deeper the pain, the greater the improvement," Jiang Ye thought, secretly delighted. "Following this pattern, the longer I stay here, the faster my absorption rate will become!"
Previously, he could only absorb a hundred strands of stellar radiance per minute.
Now, he could absorb at least three hundred strands per minute!
However, his absorption efficiency remained unchanged at 1%. Out of three hundred strands, fewer than three actually entered his Guanyuan Acupoint.
The attribute enhancements couldn't alter his innate talent.
Despite this limitation, Jiang Ye was still overjoyed.
"Keep pushing," he urged himself silently. "Strive to fill the Guanyuan Acupoint quickly, then begin refining the stellar energy here."
Refining within the Purification Pool would undoubtedly be more effective than doing it alone back home.
After all, the stellar energy stored in the Guanyuan Acupoint would gradually dissipate.
The only difference was the rate of dissipation, which was slower.
Jiang Ye closed his eyes and began absorbing the cosmic energy at full speed.
Two hours passed.
Four hours passed.
Unbeknownst to him, the cosmic tempering had already lasted over seven hours.
By this point, fewer than a hundred people remained in the Purification Pool.
Half of these remaining participants were students from Ancheng No. 1 High School.
Ancheng Third High School had fewer than twenty students left.
Outside the pool, Zeng Xueqing stared at Jiang Ye with disbelief. "Is this guy crazy?" she muttered. "How can he endure for so long?"
She considered her own strength to be roughly equal to Jiang Ye's. Yet she had only lasted less than four hours before withdrawing. Now, after seven hours, Jiang Ye was still inside.
Nearby, Lin Xuan from Ancheng No. 1 High School glared with a dark expression. "Damn it! Is this guy cheating?" he snarled. "How can someone with a Primitive innate talent last this long?"
On the floating platform above, Zhang Jianwu, Cao Feng, and Cang Haisong were equally astonished.
"This kid's Martial Dao Will is stronger than we thought," Zhang Jianwu murmured, frowning in contemplation. "He didn't show this level of strength during the Thunderfire Trial."
Beside him, Cang Haisong suddenly remarked, "Old Zhang, have you noticed? His absorption speed seems to have increased!"
Zhang Jianwu and Cao Feng exchanged sharp glances.
They had noticed it too.
Previously, Jiang Ye could only absorb a maximum of one hundred strands of stellar energy per minute.
But now?
He was absorbing five hundred strands per minute!
"At this rate, he's achieved Entry in the Advancement Method!" Cao Feng exclaimed in astonishment.
The longer one cultivates the Advancement Method, the faster their absorption speed becomes.
However, this varies from person to person.
When Jiang Ye was absorbing only one hundred strands per minute, they assumed he hadn't even reached Entry. After all, without the Primitive innate talent for this cultivation technique, there was no reference point.
But five hundred strands per minute?
This was undoubtedly Entry!
"Not just Entry," Cang Haisong added, his voice tinged with awe. "At this speed, he's even faster than Zhao Qingli and Lin Yushu!"
Zhao Qingli and Lin Yushu were both nearing Major Success in their refinement methods.
Could Jiang Ye's Advancement Method be nearing Major Success as well?
What kind of cosmic joke was this?!
Zhang Jianwu's eyes flashed as he recalled something Chen Zilu had said to him earlier.
"Could it be...?" His gaze flickered with speculation.
Just then, Jiang Ye suddenly stood up in the Purification Pool.
"Hmm?"
The three observers' eyes narrowed.
"Is he finally reaching his limit?" Cao Feng watched Jiang Ye intently.
But in the next moment, Jiang Ye walked to another purification spot and sat down again.
The corners of the three observers' eyes twitched in disbelief.
"This kid... does he think the previous spot didn't have enough stellar energy?" Zhang Jianwu and the others were speechless.
The cosmic tempering had reached its peak.
Everyone else was on the verge of collapse, writhing in agony.
Yet Jiang Ye was actually complaining about insufficient stellar energy and deliberately moved to a denser spot to absorb more.
Everyone knew that the denser the stellar energy, the more excruciating the pain!
Was Jiang Ye truly made of steel, impervious to pain?!
"Interesting," Cang Haisong suddenly chuckled. "I'm starting to wonder how long this student can endure."
Time ticked by relentlessly.
As the cosmic tempering progressed, each passing minute became increasingly unbearable.
Every participant felt as if they were trapped in a furnace heated to thousands of degrees, their pain reaching its breaking point.
Even Zhao Qingli bit her crimson lips tightly, her fair forehead drenched in sweat.
Lin Yushu had long abandoned any pretense of composure, his pockmarked face contorted into a grimace.
Another hour passed.
Wang Zi'ang finally couldn't endure it any longer and withdrew from the tempering.
Now, only two students remained from Ancheng Third High School: Zhao Qingli and Jiang Ye.
Ancheng No. 1 High School had fewer than ten participants left.
Time continued to flow.
The remaining students from Ancheng No. 1 High School gradually withdrew.
The tenth hour of the cosmic tempering arrived.
Only three figures remained in the Purification Pool.
(End of the Chapter)