"According to the records in the first part of *Hua Guang*, breaking through the fifth level is a difficult hurdle faced by countless humans on countless planets." Xu Jingming's expression became a bit more solemn. According to Xuan's description, the difficulty of levels one to four was relatively low.

Breaking through to the fifth level, however, was much more difficult.

This step...

Was also a qualitative change in the evolution of humanity in the vast universe. Success meant becoming a cosmic lifeform!

"The first step to breaking through is being able to clearly sense all the cells in your body!" Xu Jingming tried to sense them. "My body has evolved to Super Tier 99%, and I can indeed sense them more clearly. But it's still far from clearly sensing all the cells."

Some cells in the body were large, some were small. He could sense the larger cells, but the smaller ones were blurry.

"According to the records in the inheritance, one must make one's mind and consciousness stronger in order to sense them clearly." Xu Jingming was extremely solemn. "The way to strengthen one's mind and consciousness is the Five Methods of Mind Cultivation."

"Among the Five Methods of Mind Cultivation, I persevere in the Twelve Styles of Refining Apertures and the Star Observation Technique every day! Now I'll add 'A Thousand Hammers and a Hundred Refinements, Refining the Mind and Will,' and reading." Xu Jingming thought.

As for the practice among the five methods, it needed to be carried out after reading and understanding the mind, and it took a long time. It was obviously not suitable for the time being.

"I'll read for three hours every day, and spend the rest of the time using a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements to temper my mind and will."

"There are twelve methods to temper the mind and will."

Xu Jingming had not carried out will-tempering training before because this item took too much time. Once this item was carried out, the cultivation of spearmanship, shield techniques, and other aspects would be greatly reduced.

...

"The first item in tempering the will is hunger."

In the personal practice field, Xu Jingming set his personal state.

"Hunger to a certain extent can drive people crazy and cause pain! And over time, the degree of hunger will increase. In this tempering, you must overcome hunger and continue to practice spearmanship! The longer you persist, the better. You can place your favorite food and wine next to you, but you must not eat or drink." Xu Jingming remembered the description of this method and completely set the scene.

On a stone table next to him, many of his favorite delicacies appeared, including various pasta, water, and meat.

"Let the degree of hunger start from level 8!"

Xu Jingming set everything up, and his body immediately fell into a state of extreme hunger.

"Oh!"

Involuntarily, his body shivered. Xu Jingming felt his stomach trembling. The feeling of hunger was transmitted throughout his body through every neural network. He was so hungry, so truly hungry. When he saw the food on the stone table, the delicacies he had liked in the past, Xu Jingming's eyes couldn't help but light up, and his desire soared tenfold or a hundredfold. He really wanted to eat!

"Persist, this is just the beginning." Xu Jingming picked up his spear and practiced the Rainbow Transformation Spear Technique. The Rainbow Transformation Spear Technique was pure and simple, with only one thrust! Now that he was suffering from hunger, he didn't have the energy to think about too complex moves. Instead, the most focused Rainbow Transformation Spear Technique could distract him from the torment of hunger.

Persist!

Persist!

As long as he clicked 'Restore Body State to Peak,' he could get rid of the state of hunger.

The delicacies on the stone table next to him would make him feel happy if he ate them.

But he couldn't click to restore his state, and he couldn't eat or drink.

Every minute and every second was torment, and it became more and more difficult as time went on.

"It's too hard. The hunger in the virtual world is 100% virtual, and the degree of hunger can continue to soar, level 10, level 11... A body that has reached 99% evolution at the fourth level can resist a high degree of hunger, but can the mental will withstand it?"

"It's too hard."

"It's too hard for me."

Xu Jingming's spearmanship was becoming somewhat inaccurate.

"Am I crazy? Why am I torturing myself like this?"

"There are twelve methods of tempering the will. Why do I have to torture myself with this method?"

"Exercising the brain and the Star Observation Technique can slowly improve the mind-refining effect. Why do I have to rely on tempering the will?"

"Give up..."

"Give up..."

Every second became more and more unbearable.

The feeling of hunger blurred Xu Jingming's vision, and his whole will began to blur. Without even thinking, purely out of the instinct of life, he finally reached out and gently clicked on the panel that had been floating next to him, restoring his state.

Restore to peak!

"I, I..." Xu Jingming woke up and realized that he was lying on the ground. At this moment, his whole body was extremely comfortable, and the feeling of comfort made him intoxicated.

After experiencing such terrible hunger, he realized how wonderful it was not to be hungry.

"I lasted for 32 minutes and 17 seconds?" Xu Jingming looked at the record. "When I finally collapsed, the degree of hunger had reached level 10?" As time went on, especially while practicing spearmanship, the degree of hunger slowly increased.

"Level 10 hunger is so terrifying?" Xu Jingming thought to himself.

"According to Xuan's records, there are three realms of will-tempering."

"The first realm is perseverance. It is also the most common realm. The longer you persist in resisting, the stronger your mental resilience and willpower will be."

"The second realm is calmness. Being able to calmly face all pain and torment, and feel that pain and torment are only a part of physiology. It will not affect psychological fluctuations." Xu Jingming found it difficult to understand this realm. "This kind of hunger doesn't affect psychological fluctuations? Only as a part of physiology? Is that even human?"

Having experienced hunger, he knew how unbearable it was.

"The third realm is ardor! No matter how great the tribulation, it will only make the mind and will more ardent and more condensed. The mind and will are as condensed as a blade! Tribulation will only make the blade sharper."

"Three realms. More and more outrageous."

Xu Jingming shook his head.

"Next, the second method of tempering the will." Xu Jingming continued.

...

"The second item is the Small Black Room."

"Closing oneself in a small black room that is slightly larger than a person, where one cannot straighten one's arms or stand up straight, and must stand with one's back bent. The completely dark small black room is forbidden to have any sound. The virtual world will detect 'brain waves.' If brain waves exceed the normal range, the training will fail."

Xu Jingming was currently in the small black room.

The small black room was very small.

He had to stand with his back bent, with his hands propped on his knees. This was the most comfortable position relatively speaking.

"No sound, such a small space? It's really depressing." Xu Jingming found it difficult to turn around. The four walls of the small black room were all black and identical. A sense of oppression enveloped him, making Xu Jingming quite uncomfortable.

Only three minutes.

"Brain waves exceed the normal range. Training failed." A prompt appeared, and the small black room disappeared.

"What? I just felt a little depressed and uncomfortable, and I failed?" Xu Jingming frowned. "Does that mean that in this situation, I have to make myself relaxed and happy enough?"

...

"The third item is Curses from Ten Thousand People."

"The stronger one is, the more one cares about self-esteem. In the curses of ten thousand people, can you remain calm? Once brain waves exceed the normal range, the training will be considered a failure."

Xu Jingming thought about the settings.

"Being spat on and cursed by countless people? And I can't resist? And I have to keep my brain waves within the normal range?" Xu Jingming shook his head at the thought of this item. "Am I a masochist?"

Enduring hunger and other torments, Xu Jingming could comfort himself with the words of the ancients: When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it always first frustrates his spirit and will, exhausts his muscles and bones, starves his body and skin, empties and impoverishes him, and frustrates his undertakings. In this way, it stimulates his mind, tempers his nature, and enhances his abilities.

But Xu Jingming still cared about his self-esteem. Even if he forced himself to endure the spittle and curses of the crowd, his brain would be emotionally agitated just thinking about it, and he couldn't face it calmly at all.

...

Xu Jingming tried each of the twelve methods of tempering the will.

Some of them changed his expression just by thinking about them. For example, three of them were criminal punishments.

"More terrifying than the tortures recorded in history books. Am I crazy to torture myself like this?" Xu Jingming shook his head. "Xuan himself said that these methods are suitable for some people, but not necessarily for everyone."