Fang Yichi emerged with his head down, eyes on Mei Lie, who floated above, seemingly indifferent to everything—except her tea.
After a few moments savoring the drink, she exhaled a warm breath and finally cast an unreadable gaze at her disciple.
"Your punishment is to wear a bracelet that will increase your body's gravity tenfold. For the next seven days," she said with the same calm tone as before. But deep in her eyes, a trace of pride flickered—barely perceptible.
'I thought he wouldn't make it past a hundred steps… But four hundred? And he even broke through a realm? Using water essence?'
She still had doubts about that last part but chose not to ask. She respected the secrets of her disciples—and Fang Yichi was no ordinary one, especially having survived with grave injuries early on.
'I hope luck stays on your side... I want to see how far you can go.' Mei Lie felt a growing excitement. The higher he rose, the better for her.
"Yes, Master," Fang Yichi replied, accepting the punishment without complaint.
The next second, two black metal bracelets appeared on his arms. They were plain, but heavy. Before he could even react properly, he felt himself sinking once again into the depths of the lake.
Even after advancing to the initial stage of Skin Refinement, he couldn't withstand the new weight.
Mei Lie simply smiled with a touch of mischief. "Forget your home, disciple. For the next seven days, this lake will be your home. And if you keep failing… you'll stay here until you reach the waterfall."
Under the translucent water, Fang Yichi heard her words in his mind, but stayed silent. 'How am I supposed to survive without food? Is this also part of the training?'
He wondered as he tried to get up. The pressure was ten times worse. Each movement made his bones creak—he even heard cracks. Something broke. He didn't know where—only that it hurt. Badly.
Gritting his teeth, he stopped resisting the gravity. Instead, he focused on cultivating.
Inside his body, the blue rune lit up. In the next instant, it began drawing water from outside. As it touched his skin, it shimmered like raindrops hitting the ground. The essence seeped into his flesh—and from there, the body took care of the rest.
The rune only attracted and filtered the essence. The pain, the success, the failure—it all depended solely on the host.
And Fang Yichi knew this. With cultivation underway, he did nothing else. If he continued trying to force his way through the pressure, he would only end up seriously injured. The best path was to wait.
"Even if I hate losing... what can I do? Prove I'm not weak by pushing through this and ending up broken afterward?"
He considered the thought, but ultimately rejected it. It wasn't worth it. It was foolish. Even if it earned him more of his master's approval, it would still be idiotic.
"It's better to overcome this by trusting in my own ability. This is training, not a test. And I have time."
Fang Yichi sat cross-legged, clearing his mind, simply tempering his skin. Patiently.
Outside, Mei Lie clapped silently upon seeing him.
"Many cultivate recklessly and end up harming themselves. Fang Yichi, good boy. Patience is valuable. If you can't do it now, cultivate, grow stronger, and try again. Cultivation is going against the current—but if you're too fast, you'll end up breaking your own legs."
It was a metaphor Mei Lie had coined, but it still revealed much about the path of cultivators.
***
Two days later.
In those days, Fang Yichi remained still, not moving a single inch. His underwater breathing had become normal, thanks to the runes and his excessive cultivation of water essence. He had become so attuned to the environment, he seemed like a merman.
Hunger, though, was intense. His body was thin, but not in danger. Being a cultivator had boosted his endurance. At the very least, he felt he could survive five days without food or water.
When he opened his eyes, Fang Yichi went through his second skin transformation. After a few moments, the energy dissipated. His skin became even clearer, and his face more delicate.
He had no visible muscles—his physical strength was laughable—but his skin could now withstand a knife's edge. Fang Yichi had officially reached the intermediate stage.
"Why don't I feel happy?" Fang Yichi muttered. Unlike before, he felt no joy. The only thing he felt was hunger. And thirst.
Sticking out his tongue, he began drinking the clear water. Whether it was potable or not, he didn't care. He drank it anyway.
It tasted salty—pure salt. It was awful. He grimaced, but kept drinking. Eventually, his thirst faded, but the hunger persisted.
When he stood up, the crushing pressure was gone. What once felt like ten now felt like one. His advancement had raised his resistance.
Staggering through the water, he soon spotted a strange fish—nearly a meter long, with blue skin and yellow scales. It appeared out of nowhere.
Then, a voice whispered in his mind:
"If you want to eat, defeat that fish. Its meat is delicious."
Hearing this, Fang Yichi frowned, wondering how it was possible.
'Am I really in a transparent lake?'
He began to doubt. He guessed the water was actually salty, but due to some formation, it looked sweet and clean.
That was his hunch—something he planned to confirm once he reached the waterfall.
***
Staring at the fish ahead, Fang Yichi began to salivate. Droplets fell from his mouth. His eyes gleamed with hunger for that juicy meat.
The fish, seeing that look, shuddered. It felt danger. It tried to turn back—but a barrier blocked the way. With no choice, it swam desperately to the right, skirting the barrier.
Seeing his meal flee and with his stomach growling, Fang Yichi thought of nothing else but catching it!
In that moment, he kicked off his black shoes, flinging them into the water. Grabbing one, he spun his body a full 360 degrees for momentum, then hurled it.
The shoe sliced through the water like a wave, spraying droplets as its speed ramped up by the second.
The fish trembled. Looking back, it saw a flying shoe speeding toward it like a shark.
In less than a second, before it could do anything, the shoe struck it square on the head. Its mind went blank instantly.
Fang Yichi swam over to the dead fish and slipped his shoes back on. Just as he was about to crouch down, he saw something...