Super Combat Soldier

Chapter 1140: Chapter 1139: Persevere, Persevere, and Persevere Again

[Today is the traditional Chinese Qixi Festival, wishing all book lovers a happy Valentine’s Day, and wishing my wife a happy Valentine’s Day, I love you, my wife!]

For more than three whole months, Ye Tianchen had not left the Fire Well. He sat cross-legged inside it, allowing his Divine Thought to enter into his world of the physical body, and then began cultivation. He was purely aiming to break through the Cultivation Realm of his physical body. Every day, Ye Tianchen practiced jumping with the strength of his body, wanting to leap onto the white staircase.

He didn’t know if he had jumped hundreds of thousands or millions of times. Ye Tianchen had lost count. He only knew that for over three months, apart from lying on the ground to rest when every cell in his body was in pain and he could not stand, the rest of the time was spent incessantly repeating the jumps. To leap a few thousand meters high relying solely on physical strength was indeed difficult, not just for ordinary people, but even for powerful Martial Artists, few could achieve it.

On this day, it had been three and a half months since Ye Tianchen stayed in the Flame Valley. During these more than three months, Ye Tianchen endured great hardship, a kind of hardship not just anyone could withstand. Even powerful Martial Artists could barely endure such labor, such monotonous jumping, repeating the same actions and doing the same thing daily, enough to drive anyone crazy. It is a dual torture of body and mind, yet Ye Tianchen gritted his teeth and persevered. His willpower was strong, a person who certainly would not easily admit defeat.

”I must break through today; I can no longer waste time here. Succeed or die trying!” Ye Tianchen, looking at the few-thousand-meter high sky and the white staircase hanging in mid-air, tightly clenched his fist and said.

Ye Tianchen clenched his fists, his knees slightly bent, preparing for a jumping motion, and his eyes were fixed on the white staircase. That was his target, with a target in his eyes and a target in his heart. He forcefully pushed off the ground with both feet, charging upwards.

Bam!

With this burst, Ye Tianchen even crushed the void with his step; just his physical strength alone, how terrifying was it? Yet, Ye Tianchen felt nothing of it. His thoughts were simple, just one thought—to rush to the high platform a few thousand meters up and grab the white staircase.

Swish!

Ye Tianchen’s entire body rose off the ground. This was the power of his physical body, purely the power of the body, transformed into starlight-like, rushing towards the white staircase. However, as he got into mid-air, Ye Tianchen felt his speed slow down a bit due to the strong invisible resistance. Nonetheless, having jumped here for more than three months, Ye Tianchen gained some insight. As he was about to lose his upward momentum in mid-air, he stepped his right foot onto his left instep and vigorously lifted with his left foot while forcefully pressing down with his right, using such self-power to once again charge towards the white staircase.

”Damn it, just a little more...” Ye Tianchen thought to himself, looking at the already within reach target, but his power was exhausted, and he couldn’t think of any other way. He desperately shook both palms downward, leveraging a bit of resistance to charge forward a little more.

Pop!

At the last moment, though still unable to set his feet on the white staircase, Ye Tianchen extended his hand to grab the edge of the white staircase firmly. He was dripping with sweat and gasping for air—it was truly difficult. This kind of toil was not something just anyone could endure. Ye Tianchen persevered, having jumped for more than three months like a dog, yet still unable to stand on the white staircase, only grasping its edge, looking extremely disheveled. He never imagined that breaking through merely the power of the physical body would be so difficult, far harder than breaking through the Cultivation Realm. No wonder very few Martial Artists throughout history tried to break through the realm of the physical body alone. It’s not that they hadn’t thought of it, but it’s just exceedingly difficult. Martial Artists attempting this are akin to fools, but Ye Tianchen was determined to be that fool. He firmly believed in his Martial Arts insights, and that this was his own Martial Arts path, which he would continue to persistently pursue.

”Damn, it’s really not easy. After more than three months of effort, I can only grasp the edge of the white staircase. It’s truly too difficult—harder than any of my prior cultivation experiences, harder than crossing the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Tribulation. Seems like I had strayed in my previous physical body tempering; my earlier efforts were far lacking. This kind of physical body refinement is the true cultivation of the physical body. Though exhausting and arduous, the tempered body is unprecedentedly powerful!” Ye Tianchen thought to himself.

In the past, Ye Tianchen always emphasized the tempering of the physical body, which aligned with his concept of Martial Arts cultivation. The importance of the physical body was something Ye Tianchen had formed a unique perspective on long ago. Ye Tianchen had thought that his physical body tempering was already quite strong compared to his peers. In several pure physical strength battles before, he had also achieved victory. It was only now he realized that his physical body power was still far off. The true supremes of the Ancient Alien Race, their offspring’s physical power alone could shatter a galaxy. How terrifying was that power? Just a single slap with pure physical strength could burst a star. Compared to that, his physical power was still lacking.

He finally caught the edge of the white staircase, marking the fruit of over three months of hard work. With just a bit of success, Ye Tianchen could leap several kilometers high with pure physical strength. In the real Martial Arts World, this would be considered an extraordinary feat, one that very few Martial Artists could achieve. Grasping the edge of the white staircase, although Ye Tianchen was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, he allowed himself a moment of relaxation. After a brief rest to recover some stamina, he would climb the white staircase and finally advance his physical power to the Late Stage Martial Saint.

Crackling!

Suddenly, just as Ye Tianchen let out a sigh of relief, feeling he had grasped the edge of the white staircase and only needed some recovery to climb it, a surge of thunder power shot out from the white staircase. It struck Ye Tianchen’s arm gripping the edge from above, instantly making him feel intense pain. It wasn’t just intense pain; if it were only pain, Ye Tianchen’s willpower could endure it. The key was when this power of thunder and lightning struck his arm, he not only felt pain but also numbness; his entire right arm went numb, causing him to fall from the edge of the white staircase.

Bang!

”Damn it, even though this is a world of the physical body and not substantial, I can still feel the pain. Falling from such a height without True Qi protection is tough to bear!” Ye Tianchen cursed as he got up from the ground. He looked at the white staircase still hanging high above, feeling utterly frustrated. After painstakingly cultivating for over three months, relying solely on physical strength to leap thousands of meters high, painstakingly grasping the edge of the white staircase’s border, he hadn’t even had time to catch his breath and recover a bit of strength before a surge of thunder power knocked him down again. Although the fall wasn’t fatal, it was incredibly vexing.

”You want to play with me, huh? Then I’ll play with you properly...”

Ye Tianchen gritted his teeth and once again charged towards the white staircase thousands of meters high. Using the same method, leveraging his left and right foot mid-air for an extra boost, he again reached the edge of the white staircase. This time, Ye Tianchen didn’t reach with one hand for the edge but both hands.

Crackling!

Another surge of thunder power descended, like a Thunder Snake, darting out from the white staircase and striking Ye Tianchen’s hands. As soon as Ye Tianchen’s hands reached the edge of the white staircase, the thunder power hit him, giving Ye Tianchen no chance to make another move, just knocking him down again.

Bang!

Ye Tianchen fell to the ground once more, but he immediately stood up and, without saying a word, leapt toward the white staircase in the sky again. At this point, there was nothing more to say. It was all about his perseverance and constant honing; he had to conquer this white staircase.

Again and again, he jumped up, only to be knocked down. Ye Tianchen’s entire body had not a single intact spot. Although the environment was a virtual world of the physical body, he could still feel the pain. Yet he never gave up. He was someone who grew stronger in the face of adversity, never surrendering. The more difficult something was, the more he wanted to challenge it. His willpower wasn’t just talk; it never ceased. Each leap ended in a fall, but Ye Tianchen was gaining experience. He was not just recklessly persistent.

”This power of thunder and lightning isn’t that strong, yet it can still knock me down, almost as if someone is controlling it. The moment my hands touch the edge of the white staircase, the thunderous power arrives instantly. I must create a slight gap...” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast a recommendation or monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com)