"Ouch, I can't take it anymore. How can a snake have so many expressions and mannerisms? I'm dying of laughter."
Leaning against a large tree with one hand and rubbing his stomach with the other, Wang Zhong was laughing so hard he couldn't straighten up.
But as he laughed, Wang Zhong suddenly looked at the hand he was resting on the tree, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"What's going on? Do the trees here no longer have magma inside?"
He placed both hands on the trunk. The previous heat and burning sensation were completely gone, replaced by a comfortable warmth, as if he were in a hot spring.
His soul power probed in, and the scorching magma instantly ignited it.
"The magma is still here, but this feels completely different from when I touched it before."
Wang Zhong stared at his hands blankly, his eyes full of thought. His body had undergone an unexpected change without him realizing it.
He took a few deep breaths. The hot air rushed into his lungs, causing a slight burning pain. The air was still dry and hot.
He touched his forehead, temples, and body. The fine sweat that had been constantly trickling down since he entered the forest was now gone. Even during the fierce battle with the Blazing Serpent, his body hadn't sweated.
"My physique has been strengthened!"
This conclusion made Wang Zhong's eyelids twitch. With no progress in his Eight Gates Dunjia, a significant improvement in his physique and strength was evident. The source of this progress was obvious.
"Ba Ji Tian!"
Wang Zhong's gaze became incredibly excited. Ba Ji Tian, which he had practiced for years without any progress, had actually shown significant improvement here.
"What is the reason for this?"
"The Blazing Serpent? No, the intensity of the battle with it wouldn't even count as a warm-up. How could it cause Ba Ji Tian to improve?"
"If it's not that, then there's only one reason: the heat and high temperature contained within the lava land itself. It has replenished what Ba Ji Tian needs!"
"Weapons, humanoid weapons! The cultivation method of Ba Ji Tian is to treat the human body as a raw embryo and forge it through extreme pressure and tempering, making it indestructible."
"But the body is merely a raw embryo. Without the tempering of flames, how can it continuously become harder and transform into a true weapon?"
Thinking of this, Wang Zhong's eyes grew more and more excited. He had discovered the true method for cultivating Ba Ji Tian.
"The stimulation from the external environment is the necessary foundation for Ba Ji Tian cultivation!"
"If my guess is correct, not only the Lava Land, but other places like sand dunes, wind valleys, and snow cliffs could also be greatly beneficial for Ba Ji Tian's cultivation."
With this excitement, Wang Zhong turned and sprinted back towards the volcano he had escaped from earlier. He needed to personally verify this conjecture.
He leaped among the branches, avoiding the still flowing lava underfoot. By the time Wang Zhong reached the volcano, the eruption had already stopped. With a few jumps, he landed on the stone corridor.
Despite the intense volcanic eruption, the stone corridor was undamaged. Even though lava was still flowing outside, there was no trace of it here.
Returning to the volcano, the intense heat washed over him. His body, which had begun to adapt, was once again covered in sweat. He took off his clothes, exposing his lean but well-defined muscular body to the air.
"Let's start by trying the most basic physical training."
With this in mind, Wang Zhong began to walk slowly around the outer edge of the stone corridor, his body and lungs carefully sensing the air.
His skin became hot and scorching as it came into contact with the air. The air he inhaled felt like sand grains, stimulating his trachea and body to tremble.
But Wang Zhong endured the pain. After walking several laps and allowing his body to adapt somewhat, his pace quickened, from a slow jog to a run, and finally to an extremely high-speed sprint.
The hot air rushed towards him with his running, and the air he inhaled was no longer just like sand; it turned into knives, constantly charging through Wang Zhong's body, making his face flush and veins bulge on his forehead and neck.
Even so, Wang Zhong's steps did not falter. He gritted his teeth and continued to persevere. An hour later, when he was drenched in sweat, his body pushed to its limit, and his stamina nearly depleted.
A cool sensation and a warm flow began to emerge from every part of his body like bamboo shoots after rain. They nourished his trachea and lungs, which were scorched by the heat, and also circulated throughout his body, repairing the damaged meridians, bones, and even skin from this extreme, desperate training.
Sweat streamed down, and with almost every step he took, a large amount of sweat pooled beneath his feet. His speed had significantly decreased, but when this cool sensation and warm flow appeared simultaneously, Wang Zhong's spirit jolted.
This was the effect of the precious medicinal herbs he had consumed after his body reached its limit. But this time, Wang Zhong felt a clear difference.
Previously, the cool sensation and warm energy only served to replenish and repair. But this time, due to being in the extremely hot Lava Land, the hot and cool energies, after repairing his body, did not dissipate immediately. Instead, they continuously stimulated his muscles, meridians, and bones.
Under this stimulation, Wang Zhong could clearly feel his muscles and meridians becoming tougher, and his bones growing sturdier.
Although it was only a small change, after years of training and with absolute control over his body, he could not be mistaken.
"Yes, my guess is correct!"
This discovery filled Wang Zhong with surprise and joy. Even though he was completely drenched and looked disheveled, the smile on his face was exceptionally bright.
Ba Ji Tian, a powerful technique that could only be cultivated after surviving eight extreme and life-threatening planets for a full year on each.
Its moves pursued ultimate destruction and lethality. Its method of transforming the body into a weapon also dictated an extremely high, almost monstrous, requirement for the user's physical strength.
Living on eight harsh planets honed the body.
Eight years was the requirement for ordinary people. But being on the Douluo Continent, with soul power and martial spirits, coupled with Wang Zhong's nearly inexhaustible supply of precious medicinal herbs for body replenishment and nourishment, he could significantly shorten this time.
Perhaps five years, perhaps two, maybe only one year, or even less.
What others took eight years, or even longer, to cultivate, Wang Zhong, upon finding the method to get started, could master, learn, and even excel at with an speed that others could not match.
"Lu Xiaoshuang, just you wait!"
"In half a year, I will defeat you in front of all the teachers and students!"
Wang Zhong clenched his fist, his eyes brimming with intense confidence.
The annual inter-grade competition for first-year students was held in the first half of the year, while the overall inter-grade competition was organized in the second half.
At that time, students from the first to fifth grades would all participate or observe what was considered the grandest annual event of the Spirit Hall Academy.