Just as he had expected, the amount of Storm claws he could produce using the 1.5% had now doubled. He was still using the same amount of energy however, due its density as well as purity being higher the load it could now handle had doubled.
Zilan was delighted by this outcome. He was appreciating this second level of the Cloud Inheritance Palace more and more.
“No wonder Hihi claimed that this was the perfect environment for training Infinite Rain. Just by baring some pain and constantly exhausting my energy I can solidify my foundations as well as my energy.”
Of course, one needed to possess a body strong enough to be able to endure constant pressure coupled with quick sequences of energy starvation before being fed just 5% of their full capacity.
Think about it, would you be able to survive a week being starved in the middle of a terrifying sand storm with only a single bite of bread and mouthful of water as your daily source of energy?
Well, that times a hundred was the level of difficulty this sort of training posed. It was only that Zilan’s foundations and abilities were so perverse that even this supposed hellish training method seemed somewhat okay to him. If it was a normal Dragon or Spring Dragon going through this training then let’s just say their experience would be one that was filled with nightmares.
First of all, their bodies would not be able to handle the unique pressure of the environment, let alone that relentless, sudden spike. After all, Zilan’s body was both born of the Universe as well as part of the pure Spring Dragon line. Not to mention his Blood force was of a higher quality than Beast force. Put all this together and you have an existence that simply could not be measured by normal standards.
Second of all, their bodies would definitely take damage upon exhausting all of their energy trying to defend against that spike. If the Rain Dragon King knew that there was actually a being at the soul-compression stage capable of experiencing the spike and then immediately getting back up for another round he would probably feel more shame than pride that his technique had fallen in the right hands. After all, he was not capable such a feat when he was at Zilan’s cultivation level.
……………
*Click*
*Click*
There was a number 8 in place of the sky. Seeing this, Zilan laughed before sitting down and playing around with the two liquid Storm claws.
His plan was simple. Wait for the spike in pressure to come again before using the rest of his energy to combat it.
He had a feeling that the longer he could hold out against that ferocious torrent of pressure, the better the tempering. Too bad for him that even after an hour of waiting the spike did not appear.
“What’s going on?” Scratching his head, he stood, pacing whilst thinking.
“Let’s give it a try.”
Zilan used another 1.5% of the energy he had and created 2 more Storm claws bringing the total to 4.
*Click*
*Click*
The number in the sky went down to 6. Seeing this Zilan should have been happy but instead he was expressionless.
‘Where is it? Where is the spike?’
Another hour swiftly went by and yet again the thing he was looking forward to the most did not appear.
He calmly analysed the situation before using another 1.5% of his energy, bringing the total number of Storm claws to his current limit of 6.
*Click*
As soon as the number in the sky turned to 4, the spike Zilan had been patiently waiting for suddenly appeared.
“Bastard.” Cursed Zilan.
With only 0.5% of his energy left in his ‘tank’, the pressure effortlessly crushed his Storm claws. This time he had nothing in his ‘tank’ to back them up thus after the initial struggle, everything was gone and Zilan had to start from the beginning.
He was angry. Not because his Storm claws were crushed but rather because he thought he had an idea as to the requirements necessary for the spike in pressure to occur.
It may sound crazy but Zilan strongly believed that only when he had no power to resist would the spike appear. In the beginning when his ‘modified’ creations were too weak, it surfaced. When the density of his Blood force was still too weak to resist, it surfaced. And now when he used all but 0.5% of his energy, the spike surfaced. All the other times when he was patiently waiting for it to come out, it didn’t appear but the moment it sensed his weakness, it instantly rushed out.
This was like a General of a million-strong army who only went to war with enemies who possessed 100 or less soldiers. Unreasonable to the extreme!
This was the first time he’d heard of a training environment that didn’t want to help the trainee advance.
“You only appear when you know you can beat me down? You don’t want to fight it out with me? Then let me ask you, why the f**k do you exist?”
The whole point was to temper him. Even in normal martial arts training, it was common practice for one to have his brothers/mates constantly hit him/her periodically and rhythmically with just the right amount of strength so that he/she could strengthen/temper their bodies. Never had there been a situation where a one hit KO led to sufficient tempering/strengthening.
Gradual shocks of mild electricity, poison and some other potentially lethal items could help you build a resistance towards them over time however, a sudden bolt of lightning or bite from an extremely venomous snake would kill you and would serve no purpose to you building a resistance even if you manage to survive.
Thinking up to here, Zilan was done with today’s [Rain Storm] training. He’ll leave finding a solution for next time.
………………….
“Shadow, optimise this area to facilitate training [Rain Drizzle] to [Small Success] stage of Mastery.”
The surroundings faintly trembled before quickly being erased. A mountain range surrounded by mist and rain took form, stretching as far as Zilan could see.
The tallest mountain in the range was so far reaching and tall that Zilan could barely see its top. On its side though, a peculiar, gigantic hole, the size of a large lake could be seen. Even in this ethereal environment, it stuck out like a sore thumb.
Shadow coach tapped Zilan and his eyes widened in disbelief.
“You’re telling me that hole is a replica of a cave the Rain Dragon King once lived in.” He knew he wouldn’t get a reaction from the unfeeling Shadow coach but he still commented. He was astonished by the sheer scale of the cave.
And this was when the Rain Dragon King was only a few hundred years old. Obtaining the title of King was not even a dream at this point of his life and he was still relying on [Survival of the Rain Dragon] to remain alive.
This was a key stage in the development of the Rain Dragon King and it was in this place that he gained insight into [Rain Drizzle].
Of course, at this stage, he was not knowledgeable on the Universal Rain nor was he thinking of creating a life saving technique that could help escape even supreme beings. No, what this young Rain Dragon wanted was just to create a technique that could increase his speed.
Due to his gargantuan size, his speed was his Achilles heel therefore whenever danger was around he had no choice but to activate [Survival of the Rain Dragon] blending in with the environment. This unfortunately put him in unimaginable risk. He was after all hiding right in front of the person who wanted to kill him. Not to mention, his body was so huge that should his enemy randomly attack the area due to anger and/or frustration, he would definitely be discovered.
It was this desperation that led to the birth of [Rain Drizzle].
Within that cave were countless scribbles, experiments, failures and records of [Rain Drizzle]’s creation. Learning from it would definitely yield great results and should Zilan comprehend what the Rain Dragon King did back then, his training to the [Small Success] stage would be a breeze.
“Let’s go.”
Important announcement ;
If you would like to read up to 8 chapters in advance without having to wait days, then check out my Patreon page.
