From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

Unaware of Hei Xu’s expectations, Li Yang moved and entered the Thunder Pool directly.

The moment he entered the Thunder Pool, Li Yang felt his body enveloped by bolts of lightning. Within them, he could clearly feel faint traces of Evil Qi.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a dense mass of lightning.

’So, body tempering in the Thunder Pool is about absorbing the Evil Qi from within the lightning?’ Li Yang wondered.

He completely lowered his body’s defenses.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

With no laws to block them, the bolts of lightning all surged forward and struck his body. Despite Li Yang’s great strength, he still felt a stinging pain in his flesh while completely defenseless.

’Absorb!’

Circulating his Cultivation Technique, Li Yang began to absorb the Evil Qi from the surrounding lightning, just as he would absorb Spiritual Power from the air when cultivating.

As he did, a wisp of Evil Qi surged forward and entered his body.

Li Yang felt his physical body grow slightly stronger the moment that wisp of Evil Qi entered it.

’Looks like I do have some physical Talent!’

A slight smile touched Li Yang’s lips as he noticed this.

If one’s physical Talent was poor, absorbing this Evil Qi would be very difficult. However, Li Yang hadn’t felt much difficulty at all.

Since he felt so little difficulty, it meant his body didn’t reject the Evil Qi. This also meant he could absorb even more of it!

This was, of course, a clear sign that Li Yang possessed a powerful physical Talent!

Thrilled, Li Yang focused his mind, pushed aside all other thoughts, and began to absorb the Evil Qi with all his might to temper his body.

...

Outside the Thunder Pool, several divine senses swept across the area. Unquestionably, only powerful Emperors could perform such a scan here!

”The human, Li Yang, has begun absorbing the Evil Qi inside the Thunder Pool.”

”How long do you think the human Li Yang can last inside the Thunder Pool?” asked Wuxu Emperor, who seemed to be their leader.

”Around three years, I’d estimate.”

”Few humans have powerful physiques. This Li Yang’s Talent for comprehending laws is immense, but a strong Talent for laws doesn’t mean his physical Talent is also strong.”

”That’s right. Most human geniuses can only last about three years in our Thunder Pool. It’s not a place you can stay in for as long as you want. Even if you don’t absorb Evil Qi, the pressure from the lightning on your body grows stronger the longer you stay. If you absorb too little Evil Qi, the lightning’s pressure will be even greater.”

The Thunder Spirit Race Emperors said one after another.

The Thunder Spirit Race’s Thunder Pool was very peculiar. The pressure the lightning exerted on a person’s body increased gradually. Only by absorbing enough Evil Qi could one cope with the constantly increasing pressure from the lightning.

The more Evil Qi one absorbed, the weaker the lightning’s pressure on the body became, which in turn allowed one to absorb even more Evil Qi.

Conversely, the less Evil Qi one absorbed, the stronger the lightning’s pressure on the body became, eventually making it impossible to endure.

Therefore, it wasn’t as if someone could stay in the Thunder Pool for as long as they wanted by deliberately not absorbing Evil Qi. That was impossible.

It was for this very reason that the time one could endure revealed the quality of their physical Talent.

These members of the Thunder Spirit Race were clearly very confident in their own people.

”In any case, there’s no way the human Li Yang can break the record set by our race’s geniuses.”

”Right. The Star Moon Stele tests one’s Talent for laws, so it’s not surprising that a monstrous genius like the human Li Yang could light it up with a purple glow. But physical Talent is not the same as Talent for laws. Even among the Emperors of the Human Race who have come here, few have possessed strong physical Talent.”

Anyone who could cultivate to the Emperor Level undoubtedly had an extremely powerful Talent for laws. They were all top-tier geniuses when they were still weak!

But the physical Talent of most Emperors was still very weak, inferior to that of their Thunder Spirit Race.

An Evil Qi domain could strengthen the body, dramatically increase overall power, and even provide insights into the mysteries of law domains. These benefits were enough to tempt any expert. Who wouldn’t want to cultivate it?

Unfortunately, without physical Talent, it was virtually impossible to form an Evil Qi domain. It was useless to even think about it.

”Never mind the human Li Yang. In the last ten billion years of our race’s history, we haven’t had a single genius who could endure for more than four years in the Thunder Pool.”

Wuxu Emperor shook his head as he listened to the others speak.

Enduring for four years in the Thunder Pool was a feat that required an extremely powerful physical Talent.

As for enduring for five years, that was simply freakish.

”The Thunder Pool is a supreme treasure. In addition to countless bolts of lightning, it also naturally gives birth to certain treasures. At the Star Lord Realm, one must endure for four years inside the Thunder Pool to obtain one of its treasures! The longer you endure, the more precious the treasure you receive. For ten billion years, our race has not produced a single genius who has obtained a treasure from the Thunder Pool,” Wuxu Emperor sighed.

Many treasures are born from special environments.

The Thunder Pool was filled with countless bolts of lightning, and over vast eons, it would naturally give birth to some lightning-attribute treasures.

The other Emperors fell silent. As a whole, the Thunder Spirit Race was not exceptionally powerful. Although they were nearly invincible among peers of the same realm, with some geniuses at the Peak of World Realm even able to match ordinary Deities, their top-tier combat strength was undoubtedly weak.

This was their greatest source of frustration.

...

While they were discussing him, Li Yang was completely oblivious. Before he knew it, three months had passed.

Li Yang hadn’t moved an inch, still focused on absorbing the Evil Qi from the lightning.

”Li Yang, kid, how are you feeling? Is the lightning’s pressure affecting you much? How long do you think you can last?”

Inside the Soul Crystal, Soul Ink watched Li Yang continuously absorbing the Evil Qi and asked in an even tone.

’Three months was usually enough time to get a basic read on someone’s physical Talent.’

Hearing Soul Ink’s question, Li Yang smiled. ”The lightning’s pressure isn’t affecting me much. I think I should be able to last... more than four years.”

He had previously learned the details about endurance times for absorbing Evil Qi from Elder Yuan Ye.

Based on the current pressure from the lightning, he could roughly estimate how long he would be able to last.

Li Yang’s eyes were filled with excitement. As he continued to absorb the energy, he could clearly feel his body slowly growing stronger. It felt as if his flesh was undergoing a wondrous transformation!

’This Thunder Pool is truly a great opportunity,’ Li Yang thought joyfully.

”Four years, hmm. Your physical Talent is decent. If you cultivate using Evil Qi Crystal Stones, you might have a chance to kill Deities when you break through to the World Realm,” Soul Ink said with a nod.

’Kill Deities while at the World Realm?’ Li Yang mused.

Those in the World Realm had limited lifespans, while Deities lived forever. The two were on completely different levels, but the possibility of killing a higher-level being was not nonexistent!

The Thunder Spirit Race, for example, famed for their physiques and for being invincible within their realm, had geniuses capable of such a feat.

Not dwelling on it, Li Yang remembered he was still only in the Star Lord Realm. He pushed other thoughts aside. All he needed to do now was to increase his strength and add to his trump cards as much as possible!

’Absorb!’

Focusing his mind, Li Yang continued to absorb the Evil Qi from the Thunder Pool!