Time slipped by quietly for several months as Jie Ming immersed himself in research and practice.
Charles’ Elemental Body Tempering Technique and the Body Forging Technique were indeed simple enough, with an abundance of reference materials, making Jie Ming’s progress in this area exceptionally smooth.
In just a few months, Jie Ming developed a unique Body Forging Technique tailored to himself.
This method incorporated the technical principles of Charles’ Elemental Body Tempering Technique, replacing the spiritual energy controlled in the original forging technique with elements, guiding elemental energy to temper his body and unleash its deepest potential.
A month ago, his body forging had officially begun.
The results were remarkable.
A hallmark of the cultivation world’s body forging methods was their deeper understanding of the self, allowing external resources to significantly enhance training effects.
These so-called resources, besides specific potions and materials, primarily relied on spiritual energy.
In theory, as long as there was enough spiritual energy, the speed of physical enhancement could reach astonishing levels.
For the adapted Body Forging Technique to suit the wizarding world’s environment, the required resource naturally shifted from spiritual energy to elements.Fortunately, elements were the one thing Jie Ming had in abundance!
Not to mention the elemental storage runic artifacts he had developed, the level-six small-scale elemental pool he had purchased from Clark for experiments was more than enough to last him a long time.
He used the elemental energy stored in the small-scale elemental pool to continuously wash and temper his body.
Each surge of elemental energy brought the tearing and reformation of muscles, the resonance and strengthening of bones.
His body grew visibly stronger, with smooth, explosive muscle lines and tougher skin.
With a light clench of his fist, a faint sonic boom could even be heard in the air.
Under the supply of vast resources, in just one month, Jie Ming’s physical condition underwent earth-shattering changes.
Of course, there were obvious drawbacks—his progress was too rapid.
As his physical strength surged, Jie Ming gradually noticed a decline in his control over his body.
He became somewhat “clumsy,” unintentionally exerting too much force during delicate tasks.
During meditation, the explosive growth of his physical strength occasionally disrupted his mental stability.
This sense of losing control wasn’t entirely negative, but it served as a warning: his body’s enhancement speed had outpaced his mental and willpower control.
Even more troubling, he could sense that a significant portion of his body’s potential remained untapped, like a sleeping giant waiting to be awakened.
If he continued strengthening at this pace, the rapid decline in his ability to control his body, combined with the untapped potential, would cause his physical enhancement to hit a bottleneck.
He needed to synchronize his body and mind, fully mastering this explosive power.
How could he quickly gain control over this surging physical strength?
The best method, of course, was… a passionate fight!
In the thrill of intense combat, the body’s instincts would rapidly adapt to its strength, and the mind would focus intensely, mastering every muscle’s explosive power with precision.
Fortunately, Jie Ming wasn’t short on sparring partners at this stage.
After identifying his issue, he activated a spatial teleportation array and arrived at the Infernal Sulfur plane.
This molten gold landscape remained as wild and majestic as ever.
The air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur, and distant volcanoes continuously spewed scorching smoke and lava.
Jie Ming chose an undeveloped area, untouched by the “construction team,” preserving its primal ecosystem and the wildest lifeforms.
Instead of using the subtle Eye of Detection, he unleashed his mental energy, locking onto several massive, ferocious magical beasts nearby.
Such blatant mental probing was nothing short of a naked provocation to these beasts.
The moment they sensed him, the beast horde roared in fury.
Jie Ming didn’t use any witchcraft, relying solely on his element-tempered, powerful body as he charged into the raging beast horde.
“Roar!”
A giant molten hound, covered in volcanic rock armor, lunged first, bringing with it the stench of sulfur and the searing heat of lava.
Jie Ming didn’t retreat but advanced, his eyes gleaming with intensity.
Clenching his fist, his muscles tensed, and he threw a straight punch!
The air was compressed, emitting a sonic boom as the punch, carrying immense force, smashed into the molten hound’s skull.
Bang!
The tough rock armor shattered like tofu under Jie Ming’s raw physical strength.
The molten hound let out a wail, its massive body sent flying by the punch, crashing heavily into a distant charred rock wall, leaving a huge crater.
But this was just the beginning.
More magical beasts were drawn by the battle’s fluctuations, their forms varied—some physically robust, others spewing venom or flames.
Jie Ming weaved through the horde, each punch and kick carrying air-tearing force.
He didn’t dodge or shield himself, letting the beasts’ claws rip, venom corrode, and flames burn.
He simply swung his fists repeatedly, feeling every muscle contraction, every burst of power.
Pain!
Bone-deep, excruciating pain!
Each time a claw tore through, corrosive venom splashed, or lava scorched him, Jie Ming felt intense agony.
But he didn’t flinch. Instead, he transformed the pain into a sharper perception of his body.
He experimented with using less force to subdue opponents, dodging vital points at trickier angles, and unleashing stronger power over shorter distances.
After days of relentless “contributions” from the magical beasts, Jie Ming clearly felt his body control improving.
The sense of losing control gradually faded, replaced by a mastery of strength that felt instinctive.
“Not enough.”
Jie Ming assessed his body.
The issue of uncontrolled strength was resolved, but the untapped potential within him remained untouched.
This level of tempering could no longer meet his needs.
He needed an opponent who could push his physical strength to its limits while subjecting him to higher-level damage.
His gaze settled on the region’s apex predator—a second-tier living spirit, the Flame Lord.
The Flame Lord resided near a massive volcanic crater, its body not of flesh but condensed from pure flame and molten lava.
Its towering form was like a mountain, wreathed in blazing fire.
As Jie Ming approached, the Flame Lord let out a deafening roar, the lava surging as if the entire volcano echoed its fury.
“Come on!” Jie Ming’s eyes burned with fighting spirit.
He took a deep breath, the elemental energy within him accelerating through the Body Forging Technique, tempering his body further.
He charged at the Flame Lord, fast as lightning, leaving two rows of footprints on the charred ground.
Sensing the provocation, the Flame Lord swung its massive molten arm, bringing a wave of searing fire as it slammed toward Jie Ming.
Jie Ming didn’t dodge, meeting it with a punch!
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out as Jie Ming’s fist collided with the molten arm.
Terrifying recoil surged through his arm, every bone groaning under the strain.
Jie Ming’s body was blasted back dozens of meters, his feet plowing deep trenches in the scorched earth.
During the fight, he hadn’t activated any protective witchcraft, not even a basic shield.
This left his arm burning with intense pain, his skin scorched, revealing patches of charred marks.
Yet, Jie Ming was exhilarated.
This power!
This pain!
He could clearly feel his arm’s cells dying and regenerating under the intense impact and burns.
With each regeneration, they gained a slight increase in fire resistance.
Unlike Qi Refinement, body cultivation was designed from its inception for greater combat prowess.
Even the most basic body forging techniques had the trait of evolving infinitely through combat.
And Jie Ming, during his research, had deliberately preserved this characteristic of the Body Forging Technique.
Seeing its first strike fail, the Flame Lord roared in anger.
More fire runes lit up around it, frantically drawing in the surrounding fire elements, condensing them into thick molten pillars that bombarded Jie Ming like fountains.
Jie Ming darted through the pillars, his speed blinding, but he didn’t fully evade.
He deliberately let the pillars graze his body, even taking a few direct hits.
Each contact sent tremors of pain through him, but after the pain, a warm current flowed from deep within, his cells repairing under the elements’ influence and growing tougher.
Whoosh!
A fire pillar struck Jie Ming’s chest head-on.
He grunted, his body sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
His robe instantly turned to ash, revealing scorched skin and even charred muscle tissue.
The Flame Lord pressed its advantage, raising a massive molten foot with the force to crush mountains, stomping toward Jie Ming!
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Jie Ming rolled to dodge.
He knew the Flame Lord’s power exceeded his current physical limits.
He could feel the exhaustion deep in his body. Continuing the fight, even if it improved him through the Body Forging Technique, risked irreversible damage.
He sought tempering, not self-destruction.
“That’s enough for today, see ya!” Jie Ming grinned through the pain.
He stomped the ground, activating his flight runic artifact, his body turning into a blur as he sped into the distance.
The Flame Lord let out an unwilling roar, but Jie Ming was too fast, vanishing into the rolling sulfur smoke in an instant.
Jie Ming fled the battlefield in a battered state, covered in scorch marks, some areas exposing bone, but a satisfied smile played on his lips.
The results were clear!
He could distinctly feel that his body had undergone unprecedented tempering in the fight with the Flame Lord.
Once his injuries fully healed, a significant portion of his untapped potential would be realized, and his physical condition would improve further.
Moreover, due to the Body Forging Technique’s unique nature, he could sense his body’s fire resistance had greatly increased post-healing.
“Short-term goal: make my body fully adapt to fire damage and gain high fire resistance!” Jie Ming clenched his fist, feeling the vibrant life force within.
“Long-term goal…” He looked up at the sulfur-clouded sky, his eyes gleaming. “Gain resistance to all types of damage!”