In the center of the stone corridor, Wang Zhong was doing push-ups upside down, one after another. The two soul guiding devices that were originally on his hands had been removed and placed on his legs.
A total of twelve hundred catties of weight. Only Wang Zhong, who possessed the Eight Gates Dun Jia and Eight Extremes Heaven, dared to do this. Any other soul master of the same level, even someone like Zhang Shuai, would have instantly perished under the pressure.
Fine sweat trickled down his body, condensing into small streams that dripped from his chin. But before they could reach the ground, they were vaporized into steam by the scorching heat.
Just as Wang Zhong had speculated earlier, the center of the stone corridor was not simply close to the lava. The stepped stone corridors spiraling downwards were arranged in an extremely clever formation, converging the surrounding heat towards the center.
After more than half a month, even Wang Zhong could only withstand the heat here, which could cause ordinary people to spontaneously combust, by relying on his continuously improving Eight Extremes Heaven. He could train for a period, but it couldn't be too long, at most half an hour.
Otherwise, he too might be burned to death by that high temperature.
"Half an hour, the time is still a bit short."
He lightly placed his legs down and stood up straight. Wang Zhong slowly walked towards the outer edge of the stone corridor. He could feel that his body had reached its limit. Although he could forcefully stay, it would only be detrimental to his training and offer no benefits.
Upon reaching the outer edge, Wang Zhong plopped down on the ground and took out a large bottle of saline solution from his soul guiding device. He gulped down several mouthfuls, then let out a relieved sigh.
During this past half a month, apart from going out once to inform Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan of his whereabouts, he had prepared a large amount of saline solution in his soul guiding device to supplement his body's consumption.
As for food, there were many animals living in the simulated training environment, so Wang Zhong had no problem finding sustenance.
"Although I reached the center in just over half a month, I've felt my body's tolerance to flames growing stronger in the last few days. The improvement is almost negligible."
"Perhaps, I should go and explore other environments."
He removed the soul guiding devices from his legs and put them on his arms. Wang Zhong put on his clothes and walked out of the volcano.
Passing through the forest, he arrived at the original main road. Wang Zhong turned around and walked downwards.
Two men, wearing school uniforms, walked towards him, one tall and thin, the other short and plump. They were chatting as they walked.
The胖子 asked the tall and thin man, "Hey, Hao Ge, how far are you planning to go today? You're not going straight to the center of the lava land, are you?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? The center of the lava land, that's not a place for us Soul Sovereigns to enter! Even a Fire-attribute Soul Sect master would consider it remarkable to train at the edge of the stone corridor in the volcanic crater."
"Going any deeper, even they would be roasted to death."
"Even if we stay in the lava forest, we'll be uncomfortable for a long time. Don't speak if you don't understand."
The tall and thin man glared at the胖子 unhappily and said.
"Ah, yes, yes, Hao Ge is right."
The two men and Wang Zhong passed each other. They looked at each other for a moment, then parted ways and continued on their respective paths.
"Eh, Hao Ge, why is such a young child here? Didn't they say that soul masters below level thirty are not allowed in?"
"Mind your own business. Perhaps he's already a Soul Sovereign at this age."
"Nosy!"
The voices of the two men gradually faded away. Wang Zhong, busy rushing to the next simulated environment, didn't pay attention to their conversation.
Otherwise, he would have known how astonishing his accomplishment was. He had achieved what even Soul Sect masters couldn't, and in just over half a month, managing to endure for a full hour.
Running all the way, Wang Zhong stopped at a stone tablet. At the top of the stone tablet was a carved snowflake, and the board below had the words "Snowy Ice Cliff" written on it.
"Fire, then ice. I wonder if my body can withstand these two opposing environments."
Standing in front of the stone tablet, Wang Zhong hesitated. He wondered if he should go through the Stormy Sand Dunes or the Scorching Sun Rock Land first as a transition. After all, jumping directly into opposing environments seemed too dangerous.
"Ah, whatever. I'll go in first and see. If I don't try, how can I say I can't!"
"If I really can't bear it, I'll just retreat immediately."
Wang Zhong smacked his forehead, making up his mind. He lifted his foot and started walking along the small path inwards. After walking about a hundred meters, a cave, just wide enough for one person to pass through, appeared before his eyes. A stone tablet also stood next to the cave.
He walked forward and looked closely. It read, "Those whose strength has not reached Soul King, please retreat immediately! Those whose martial soul is not of the highest ice attribute, please retreat immediately!"
Two requirements, two urgent pleas to retreat, all reminding those entering of the danger of this place.
Glancing at the stone tablet, Wang Zhong still lifted his foot and darted into the cave. He had already made up his mind to see for himself. How could he be deterred by something like this without seeing it with his own eyes?
As soon as he stepped into the cave entrance, Wang Zhong felt as if he had passed through a thin layer of energy. When his foot officially landed inside the cave, an extremely piercing coldness, seeping through his shoes, shot directly from the soles of his feet to his brain.
This sudden coldness made Wang Zhong shiver violently. Even the breath he exhaled lightly instantly condensed into mist.
"Such exaggerated coldness, much more stimulating than the lava land."
"However, my body is indeed reacting again."
Feeling the same bodily changes as when he first entered the lava land, Wang Zhong said with a light smile.
He looked around. It was just an ordinary cave. Embedded in the walls, at intervals of a few steps, were glowing crystal stones, their faint light guiding the way forward.
Continuing further inside, after about another two hundred meters, the temperature grew colder and the chill became heavier. Just then, Wang Zhong saw a light ahead.
"This should be the exit!"
With a hint of excitement, Wang Zhong stepped out of the cave in one stride. The moment he stepped out, he was stunned.
What met his eyes was an extremely pure white world. There were no flowers or plants, no green trees. All there was were dead trees frozen into ice sculptures, and vast snow-capped mountains. Large snowflakes, like goose feathers, drifted down in the air.
The cold wind was piercingly sharp, blowing past Wang Zhong with mournful howls.
A single gust of cold wind covered Wang Zhong's body with a layer of fine ice shards.
"An icy world, a snow-covered land. Such words are perfectly suited for this place."
Wang Zhong hugged his chest, his teeth chattering. The words he spoke seemed frozen too, cold and stiff.
He tried to take a step forward, but Wang Zhong then realized that after standing there for just a short while, his shoes had become stuck to the ground with a thick layer of frost.
He circulated his soul power, dispelling some of the coldness within his body, and Wang Zhong forcefully lifted his foot, finally freeing it from the ice.
Taking a deep breath, the biting cold was a completely different sensation from the scorching heat of the lava land.
Although the sensations were different, the intensity and pain were exactly the same.
Stepping into the knee-deep snow on the ground, Wang Zhong spread his arms wide and walked towards the deeper parts. However, after only a short while, Wang Zhong's figure was completely submerged by the heavy snow, leaving behind a small snowdrift that seemed to move forward like a living thing.
The cold was bone-chilling, and his bones were trembling, but his strength was also increasing by a very noticeable margin. Otherwise, Wang Zhong wouldn't have rushed in so recklessly into such a world.
This visible improvement was always what Wang Zhong pursued.
A little physical pain was irrelevant. He was confident that he would adapt quickly.
But Wang Zhong overlooked one point: in the wind and snow, cold was the primary enemy, but ice and snow were the greatest adversaries to physical strength.