Chapter 65: A Swift Path to Cultivation

In the vast, boundless southern reaches of the Dark Forest, near the Graveyard of Death, a mighty waterfall thundered down, its force unyielding. Beneath its cascading torrents lay a broad, deep pool, its edges giving rise to three slender streams that wound their way into the forest. Towering trees stood lush and verdant all around, and strange, massive stones were scattered across the landscape. In the pool, fish darted through the shimmering water.

The silver flow, like the Milky Way pouring from the heavens, gathered in the pool below, roaring with deafening intensity. The river-like torrent crashed fiercely, striking the rocks beneath and sending water spraying in every direction, creating a spectacle of splashing waves.

In a slightly sheltered corner beneath the waterfall, a hard, round stone jutted from the water. Atop it sat a man, his body exposed, muscles taut and powerful, legs crossed and knees together, accepting the relentless impact of the waterfall with his own flesh.

The rushing water hammered against him, producing a tremendous crackling sound. His body swayed ever so slightly, his expression cold and indifferent. The veins beneath his skin throbbed, and a faint, dusky radiance flickered across his flesh.

This man was Han Shuo. From the moment he arrived at the Graveyard of Death, his first task was to fully digest the battle energy left in his body by the assassin known as "Remnant Shadow."

After advancing his demonic arts from the "Solid" stage to "Pulse Expansion," Han Shuo's body had undergone a profound transformation. Even the behavior of battle energy within him had changed. The energy injected by the assassin during the incident at the Buster Trading Company had been firmly contained by his demonic force. Han Shuo initially believed it would fuse as usual, gradually dissolving as he went about his business.

Yet reality proved him wrong. This time, the battle energy was not assimilated by the demonic force. Instead, the demonic force seemed to deliberately loosen its grip, allowing the injected energy to rampage through his meridians, causing repeated damage, even fracturing some bones that could not withstand the strain.

Ordinarily, this would be an agonizing ordeal. However, during his cultivation, Han Shuo discovered that the meridians and bones damaged by the battle energy, once reforged by the demonic force, underwent even greater transformations. The reconstructed meridians became broader and tougher than before, allowing the demonic force to flow several times faster through them. The bones as well grew far more resilient.

Understanding this, Han Shuo was delighted to realize that, if he continued cultivating at this pace, following the principle of destruction and rebirth inherent to demonic arts, his progress in the "Pulse Expansion" stage would increase severalfold compared to normal cultivation.

While marveling at how demonic cultivation was truly a path of self-torture and risk, Han Shuo happened upon this waterfall. Inspired by his insights into the importance of tempering the body, he decided to experiment with using the waterfall's force for training. The results confirmed his intuition.

Beneath the waterfall, enduring its ferocious blows with his body and feeling the pain of battle energy rampaging through his meridians, Han Shuo found his progress in demonic arts accelerating dramatically. The meridians battered by the energy grew astonishingly tough and resilient.

However, the waterfall’s central current was the most powerful. Han Shuo attempted to withstand it, but was quickly overwhelmed—dizzy and nearly unconscious after three seconds, unable to remain seated atop the stone. Forced to retreat, he trained at the less violent edges, hoping that as his body strengthened further, he would one day endure the waterfall’s fiercest, central torrent.

Thus, he lived by the pool, catching fish when hungry and spending all other time cultivating. He had no sense of how much time had passed. Eventually, as he felt the assassin’s lingering battle energy disappear from his body, he noticed his progress in the "Pulse Expansion" stage slowing once more.

“It seems that to break through this stage more quickly, I must find another way. This slow cultivation won’t do,” Han Shuo muttered to himself. Agile as a fish, he leaped into the pool, caught two bizarre-looking fish, swam to the shore, dressed, and began roasting his catch.

After eating his fill and preparing to return to the Graveyard of Death, he heard faint footsteps nearby. Now, his senses were sharper than ever; he focused and quickly moved towards the source of the sound. In this dark forest, danger lurked everywhere.

There were not only high-level magical beasts and strange races, but all manner of adventurers seeking fortune. Han Shuo had even once witnessed a silver dragon soaring through the sky toward the deeper southern reaches of the forest.

Dragons were the most powerful beings in this world. Legends said they possessed bodies harder than iron and stone, wielded boundless magical power, and ranked above even the highest class of magical beasts—superior to Level One beasts, the most formidable of all. Where dragons appeared, treasures often followed, and any dragon-slaying hero would be celebrated by all.

Naturally, with his current strength, Han Shuo had no intention of playing the dragon-slayer. Still, the appearance of the silver dragon made him realize that the deeper reaches of the Dark Forest held even greater terrors.

After a short while, Han Shuo arrived at the scene, guided by the sounds. Taking in the surroundings, a smile appeared on his face—he hadn’t expected to encounter familiar faces here.

About a dozen dwarves, stout and burly, their long beards braided, each barely more than a meter tall, wielded iron hammers, axes, and mining shovels as they battled thirty or so forest ogres. Two dwarves lay dead, pierced by spears. Despite being outmatched, the remaining dwarves, faces flushed with determination, stood their ground and fought bravely, refusing to flee.

Han Shuo was no longer ignorant of the wondrous races of the Mystic Continent. Dwarves possessed extraordinary brewing skills, and were even more adept at forging weapons. Stubborn and passionate about drink, their tempers were fierce, but once befriended, they became generous beyond measure.

Watching these dwarves—knowing they were outmatched, yet brandishing their hammers and axes, shouting as they fought fearlessly—Han Shuo found himself admiring them.

He also considered the dwarves’ expertise in brewing and forging, which might benefit him. With this thought, Han Shuo suddenly charged forward, his dagger flashing as he struck down a forest ogre.

Standing between the ogres and dwarves, Han Shuo recited a magic incantation and summoned his little skeleton. The ogre leader’s green face twisted in terror as he cried out, “That evil human has returned with his demon—retreat! Everyone retreat!”

The forest ogres clearly feared the little skeleton with seven bone spikes protruding from its back. As soon as it appeared, the ogres, led by their chief, scattered in panic.

“Mighty warrior, I, Bennett, thank you for your help,” said the strongest dwarf, raising his hammer and saluting Han Shuo in dwarven fashion.

“No need for thanks. Your courageous spirit is truly admirable. By the way, why did the forest ogres attack you?” Han Shuo replied, polite and gracious.

“Bah! Those greedy brutes are nothing but robbers. They never work, always thinking of ways to steal from others. They demanded we forge weapons for them without pay, to make their pillaging easier. When we refused, they kept harassing us, slaughtering our kin,” Bennett grumbled, his beard bristling with fury.

Han Shuo nodded in agreement. “So that’s it. Last time, they tried to rob our caravan as well. Truly despicable villains!”

“Noble warrior, you have saved us. We must reward you with fine wine. Please, come to our village with us!” Bennett said, extending a friendly invitation.