As the most popular training ground of the Combat faculty, the Lava Chamber contributed in supporting the finances of the faculty. Its uniqueness stemmed from the magma plume buried underground, which spread throughout the entire mountain peak and reached the bottom of Green Forest Lake.
It had a long history, and it was stated in the history books that the lake had not existed about a thousand years ago. There was only a famous volcano that had existed there.
The geological formations changed over the thousand years, forming the Green Forest Lake. It had hidden the magma plume until Ethereal Dao College chose this plot of land. It was only after the Spirit Inception Era that they had the ability to guide the magma out and create the Combat faculty's Lava Chamber.
It was an extensive region and looked like a behemoth's head from afar.
In the middle of the beast head's brows was a flame totem. Even at night, the burning flame did not seem to extinguish. If one entered through the behemoth's mouth and ventured deep into the Combat faculty mountain's interior, one would encounter more than a hundred sealed cultivation chambers.
Every cultivation chamber had an array formation that could draw upon the underground magma once activated and make the cultivation chamber reach a stunning temperature immediately.
Typically speaking, those who could enter the Lava Chamber had cultivation levels of the perfected Blood Qi level. Many would have hopes of using the high temperatures to force their body to seal all their sweat pores shut. By insulating themselves from the heat, they would be aided in entering the Physical Seal level.
After all, the three levels of the Ancient Martial realm were all about building a foundation. The goal was to craft a flawless body in whatever circumstances they were originally in. Blood Qi was to ensure vigorous vitality, allowing a mortal to be able to withstand the stunning metamorphic changes the body would experience in cultivation.
The Physical Seal level was about sealing off all the sweat pores of a person's body. By isolating the inside from the outside, not only would the body become detached, it could also prevent any Blood Qi from leaking. Once this delicate control was achieved, one could not only produce strength much greater than the Blood Qi level, one could also forge toward the Physical Seal level seamlessly.
Precisely because this was the unique characteristic of the Physical Seal level, the Lava Chamber had very extraordinary effects—up to a certain level—when it came to helping to breakthrough. In theory, if one was determined enough to enter the Lava Chamber without any qualms about death, they could draw on the magma plume to a particular level and temperature. It could lead to either death from heatstroke or the successful achievement of the Physical Seal level, breaking past the Blood Qi level!
However, such people were uncommon. Under ordinary circumstances, being able to last more than two hours was an impressive feat. Even Zhuo Yifan had only managed to last six hours.
In the thirty or so years since the beginning of the Spirit Inception Era, one extraordinary person had appeared in Ethereal Dao College. The person had sealed himself in the Lava Chamber for three days and three nights, creating a legend that remained untouched to date.
The person was the previous Federation President. Legend had it that one day after he came out of the Lava Chamber, he said one sentence that shocked Ethereal Dao College. It also became a famous slogan of the Dao Enlightenment faculty and used by countless people.
"I am enlightening myself on the Dao!"
It was late at night, and when Wang Baole's rotund figured rolled over, he directly charged straight into the behemoth's mouth. There were still quite a number of people cultivating in the Lava Chamber, and although the number was fewer than in the day, about 90% of the cultivation chambers were full. On the display board outside, one could see that the indicator lights of seven cultivation chambers were still unlit.
There were people coming in and out the behemoth's head, and in fact, there was no need for anyone to stand guard at the entrance. Each chamber required a student's Dao College identity card for entry.
As for the Spirit Stones charge for the chamber's use, it could be settled through the identity card. Up to this day, no one had dared owe a Spirit Stone debt to the Combat faculty's strongmen who focused on cultivating in Ancient Martial Arts.
Although there were many students entering and exiting the Lava Chambers, Wang Baole was too fast. Many people only felt a wind blow past them and vaguely saw a red fatty dashing away. Before they could even identify him, his figure had disappeared.
However, Wang Baole had underestimated his influence.
"I think I saw a red meatball."
"It looks quite familiar. It seems I have an impression of that in my memory."
Outside the Lava Chamber were a few Combat faculty students who were about to leave. They were left collectively stunned as they exchanged glances and saw each other's eyes widen.
"Wang Baole! He became fat again?"
As they exclaimed outside, Wang Baole dashed deep into the mountain through the behemoth's mouth and found an empty cultivation chamber. He quickly took out his identity jade pendant to open the door, and after squeezing his body in with some difficulty, he heaved a sigh of relief before closing the door.
As he rubbed his painful belly, Wang Baole felt even more depressed. If I were any fatter, I wouldn't have been able to enter.
The cultivation chamber was not large and was only about ten square meters in size. The other students would find it spacious if they came, but after Wang Baole sat down and looked at his surroundings, he immediately felt like he was sitting in a tiny cage.
This feeling left him despondent. He subconsciously wanted to take out snacks to vent his anger but realized that he had not brought any in his eagerness. He was nearly driven mad at that realization.
I want to lose weight! Wang Baole clenched his teeth and, through great difficulty, found the controls to the array formation. He activated it without hesitation, and immediately, a hot surge of air spewed out from the ground. It instantly spread through the chamber, and other than the spot where he sat being a little normal, the other areas began to glow red.
At such high temperatures, Wang Baole still found it difficult to breathe despite there being a ventilation hole. It took him quite a while to catch his breath as sweat was constantly pouring out of his body.
Unlike how others attempted to seal their sweat pores in the chamber, Wang Baole did the opposite. He tried his best to relax his body and open up all his sweat pores to absorb the heat.
It's not enough! Wang Baole wiped away his sweat, and after sensing the spirit fat in his body, he adjusted the temperature again. Immediately, the already scorching temperatures were raised quite significantly.
However, Wang Baole felt that it was insufficient. Therefore, he kept adjusting the settings until the surrounding four walls started glowing red. Although his lips were parched, even to the point of feeling like his organs were about to be cooked to a crisp, he was delighted to realize that his spirit fat was gradually breaking up when the heat passed through his sweat pores.
Praise the heavens! Wang Baole instantly became excited. He quickly maintained the heat and closed his eyes, withstanding the torturous feeling of having his spirit fat melt.
Although the temperature was high to the point of feeling like he was almost evaporating from it, he put up with it while clenching his teeth in excitement once he noticed his fat decreasing.
Two hours passed, and Wang Baole was still enduring the grueling heat. It continued for four hours, six hours… until it was bright outside.
The Combat faculty's Lava Chamber had no lack of students visiting it. Every morning, there would always be people lining up to enter. People were waiting at the moment, not feeling any sense of urgency since there were more than a hundred rooms. Those who entered would usually exit in less than two hours.
Soon after, there were people entering and people exiting. The people who were waiting would chat with each other to kill the time. They would also occasionally look at the lights on the display board. When one of them went off, it meant that a person had come out.
Time slowly went from dawn to noon before it turned to dusk. Batches of students entered and exited, but at that moment, a keenly observant student who had been waiting for a long while noticed an abnormality.
"Strange, Room 39's light seems to have… never gone off. Have any of you seen it go off?"
He was only asking the students beside him out of curiosity, but gradually, when everyone carefully searched through their memories, they seemed to realize that none of them had seen the light go off. All the students outside the Lava Chamber were immediately alarmed.
They spent another two hours watching it, and when they realized that Room 39's light remained lit, the shock they felt was hardly describable.
"Guys, look at Room 39. Heavens, we have already been observing it for four hours. It has never gone off at all. I recall that it was lit even in the day!"
"Did that actually happen?"
"Are you guys seeing things? How is it possible. The one with the longest record is Zhuo Yifan. All he managed was six hours."
As the crowd discussed, this rare phenomenon immediately piqued their curiosity. Therefore, the crowd decided against cultivating that day and instead sat outside the Lava Chamber to observe.
They slowly turned short of breath as their eyes gradually widened.
After several hours, when it was late in the night, the number of students outside the Lava Chamber kept growing. There were nearly a hundred students with mouths all agape in shock as if they had seen a ghost. There were constant discussions with many sending voice transmissions to their friends. This matter also broke out on the Spirit Intranet.
"A godly person has appeared in the Combat faculty's Lava Chamber!"
"According to estimates, the person in Room 39 of the Combat faculty's Lava Chamber has lasted more than twenty hours!"
"A record has been broken. It has completely broken Zhuo Yifan's record!"
The thread on the Spirit Intranet instantly gained attention across the entire Lower Academy Island. It drew gasps when the students from all the faculties saw it. The Lava Chamber was famous, and there was only one person in history who had spent more than twenty hours in there!
If the light to Room 39 extinguished at that moment, it would have been fine, for it made sense. However, while countless people on the Lower Academy Island were paying attention to this matter, the light continued staying lit until dawn!
This caused an uproar throughout the Lower Academy Island. This even caught the attention of the teachers. No one entered the Lava Chamber anymore. Everyone stood outside, staring at Room 39's indicator light that remained lit.
"Heavens, it's almost two days."
"He's about to challenge the previous Federation President's record!"
"Who is he? I will offer ten Spirit Stones for any clues. Once confirmed, it will be given out!"
Be it in the actual world or on the Spirit Intranet, there were all sorts of discussions happening. Finally, the few students of the Combat faculty who had been outside the Lava Chamber two nights ago posted a notice on the Spirit Intranet!
"The person in the Lava Chamber's Room 39 is… Wang Baole from the Dharmic Armament faculty!"
"I can swear that I saw him roll in there quickly while dressed in his specially-recruited student robes!"
The moment that was said, the other faculties did not react much to it and only felt skepticism. However, there was an uproar among the students of the Combat faculty who had been dealt a blow by Wang Baole, especially Zhuo Yifan and his friends. They were burning with rage as they stormed straight for the Lava Chamber.
"Darn Fatty Wang. You didn't go to the Beast Taming faculty's Mt. Scenic Cloud, the Array Runes faculty's Eight Treasures Chart, or the Traps faculty's Frost Ice Tower, but targeted our Combat faculty. Are you bullying us from the Combat faculty?"
From their point of view, this new action by Wang Baole was a sequel to the running and weight-lifting provocations!
While the entire Lower Academy Island had become rapturous and Zhuo Yifan along with his friends were burning with fury, Wang Baole, who had lasted two days and nights in the Lava Chamber, was completely covered in sweat. He was even seeing stars.
He found breathing difficult and was almost at his limits. The Lava Chamber's interior was at a very high temperature, evaporating Wang Baole's sweat. This made clouds linger inside the Lava Chamber.
I feel like… I'm almost cooked. Wang Baole was shuddering with fear. He was really worried about being cooked alive. That would be quite a huge joke!
There was a certain group of people in this world who were especially stubborn and also very terrifying. These people were known as… dieters.
During the weight-loss process, they would feel a special kind of happiness that would intensify as the effects of the weight loss became more apparent. It would reach an astounding level.
Especially… if one could achieve stunning results in a very short amount of time. Wang Baole was clearly such a person. He was barely putting up with the worry that he would be cooked alive. However, when he saw how much his body had slimmed down over the past two days and nights, he suddenly felt very excited.
Screw it, I'll either cook myself alive or unmistakably slim down! Wang Baole clenched his teeth as he raised his right hand to strike the array formation's switch. Immediately, the Lava Chamber quaked once again as even higher temperatures immediately surrounded him.
The entire Lava Chamber appeared warped. Wang Baole's body and even his breath were fiery hot. His body, both inside and out, felt like it was burning.
The reason he could endure for so long was that his body had accumulated large amounts of spirit fat. As he experienced the burning, his spirit fat melted and Spirit Qi spread across his body, constantly nourishing his flesh and blood.
Under this nourishment, his Blood Qi was also being enhanced, especially when the temperature was increased. Immediately, the Blood Qi within Wang Baole radiated out of his body as a red glow.
If anyone were to see the vibrant Blood Qi, they would definitely be alarmed. The mightiness of the Blood Qi that exuded violent intent far exceeded the level of other people in the same realm, perhaps due to the absorption of the fiery hot temperatures.
With him already nearly at the perfected Blood Qi level prior to this, after two full days of the sweltering heat, his Blood Qi had reached the limits of the human body.
He was only a little short of breaking through to the Physical Seal realm!
It could even be said that he could have broken through already, but Wang Baole had been forcefully repressing it, causing his body to barely maintain himself at the Blood Qi realm and not reach the Physical Seal realm. He knew very well that once he stepped into the Physical Seal realm, he would be insulated from the hot air, forming two different worlds inside and outside his body. Then, his weight loss plans… would end up ineffective.
Under this forced insistence, Wang Baole's body began to tremble involuntarily as his fat gradually reduced. As he experienced his pain and excitement, there were more and more people gathering outside the Lava Chamber. The gasps and exclamations became more common.
"Three… Three days!"
"Could this Wang Baole have died inside…"
"That's way too much. Heavens, is he doing it to break through?"
While many people engaged in discussion, Zhuo Yifan and company went from anger to depression. There were really no two ways about it. There had only been one instance of someone being capable of staying in the Lava Chamber for three days in Ethereal Dao College.
The discussion about Wang Baole on the Spirit Intranet turned more intense. Amid the discussion, someone even began accepting bets on whether Wang Baole would be able to break the former Federation President's record.
Hence, under the close scrutiny and discussion among countless people, the day soon passed, and night came. There were still many people outside the Lava Chamber paying close attention to the matter.
There were even some students who looked very professional. They were even holding recording devices and live streaming. There was a long-faced youth whose hair was tied up into that of a Daoist's hairstyle, and he had quite a number of freckles, but his eyes were very bright. He held his recording device high up and was speaking loudly in excitement.
"Thank you, ClearSky, for your Cave Abode. Thank you, Ash, for your Airship.
"Hey guys, I'm your host, Little Daoist, and your support is the greatest motivation for me. We are now beginning the countdown to the most exciting moment. After this night passes, Wang Baole will have broken the record!
"Send your gifts! As long as someone gives me, your host, Little Daoist, a Rocket today, I'll dig up the secret as to how Wang Baole managed to endure for three days and three nights at the cost of my life!"
That night, as such live streams happened outside the Lava Chamber, the Spirit Intranet seemed to boil in excitement.
The youth, who called himself Little Daoist, even live streamed the entire night without succumbing to fatigue.
When the rays of dawn shone on everyone, Wang Baole's body also reached its limit inside the Lava Chamber. He was bright red, and his entire body was swaying.
Losing weight is so miserable… Wang Baole realized that he could no longer repress his Blood Qi realm any further. With a lamenting cry, loud booms that sounded like drumbeats instantly emanated from his body.
The booms echoed and stirred up the devouring seed in him. Immediately, a stunning suction force began devouring all the heat in the Lava Chamber, causing an unprecedented level of heat to fill his body.
As the clouds swirled around him, his spirit fat shrank at a discernible pace, and all his sweat pores also closed rapidly in that instant. Finally, as though they were sealed, his body's interior was insulated from his exterior completely!
At that moment, the fourth night passed outside the Combat faculty's Lava Chamber. Countless students were already shocked to their very cores. At that moment, the amount of time that the indicator had remained alit for Lava Chamber Room 39 had surpassed Ethereal Dao College's record!
There were even teachers paying close attention to the matter, and the talk on the Spirit Intranet also turned more intense.
"It's been three days and four nights; Wang Baole has broken the record!"
"He has surpassed the former Federation President!"
Among the crowd, the shouts from the live streaming students came from everywhere, especially the long-faced youth. He held his recording device high and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Guys, did you see it? Wang Baole has broken the record. Shouldn't such a marvelous moment be a time when gifts are given?"
"I'm repeating. As long as I receive a Rocket, I will find out the secret!"
As a din erupted outside the Lava Chamber due to the cacophonous discussions by the students, Room 39's indicator light suddenly went off.
Someone noticed it almost the instant the indicator light went off as he exclaimed, "Look, the indicator light has switched off!"
"Wang Baole is coming out!"
The live streaming Little Daoist was even more excited as he dashed through the crowd and stood right at the front. He did not forget his live stream and said loudly, "Wang Baole is about to appear. Guys, do you have any Rockets?"
At that moment, all eyes outside the Lava Chamber stared at the entrance simultaneously. Every student watching the live stream on the Spirit Intranet waited in anticipation.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, they immediately felt a surge of hot air billow out from the behemoth's mouth, and it instantly spread in every direction, raising the temperature of the surroundings quite substantially.
"It's so hot!"
"Room 39 must have opened. It's the gust of hot air that came out of it!"
The hot air surrounded them, instantly filling the crowd with anticipation once again. Immediately following that, a figure slowly appeared in front of them. It looked like a little fatty. He was walking out one step at a time while leaning with one of his hands against the wall.
With his appearance and his figure becoming clear, a suppression more stunning than the Blood Qi realm spread out!
It was Wang Baole. He had thinned a lot more than when he first entered the Lava Chamber. However, he was a little pale and looked a little weak. Yet, the aura his body exuded was extremely keen; it had an indescribable, suppressive might that could acutely be felt!
This was precisely… the aura—a result of being insulated from the world—that one could clearly feel after the Physical Seal realm was broken through. Such an aura did not last very long and would typically become unobvious a few days after the breakthrough.
The instant Wang Baole appeared, the people outside the Lava Chamber let out incredulous exclamations.
"This aura… He has indeed broken through!"
"The Physical Seal realm!"
"His entire body is independent, as though he is isolated from the world. This… is the Physical Seal realm!"
Exclamations erupted, stunning Wang Baole, who had just come out. His mind was still abuzz. He was not only physically weak due to the rapid weight loss; the high temperatures had also made him mentally exhausted. So, he was somewhat dazed by the huge crowd in front of him.
At that moment, the live streaming students in the crowd rapidly approached, especially Little Daoist. He was the first to step forward and appear beside Wang Baole. He seemed to be extraordinarily excited as he raised the recording device high to include Wang Baole and himself. He was extremely passionate.
"Guys, look! This is our fellow student, Wang Baole. Although his face cannot be seen entirely on-screen because it is a little large, you should still send some gifts! Those without gifts can also subscribe to my channel!"
The long-faced Little Daoist looked excited as he looked at Wang Baole. He did not care about Wang Baole's status or feelings. He knew very clearly that with him live streaming, even if Wang Baole was irritated by him, he would not act out since it was happening live.
Wang Baole was still somewhat in a daze as he took a glance at the long-faced Little Daoist and saw the number of people and gifts in the recording device that he was holding high in the sky. His exhausted face naturally suffused a look of disparagement.
"Is this how you live stream? With that bit of popularity, you won't get many gifts. A total of just two Rockets? Did you give them yourself?"
Upon hearing that, Little Daoist turned a little embarrassed as he quickly changed the topic while facing his recording device.
"Guys, do you find Wang Baole handsome or not? If he's handsome, reply 1, if not, reply 2."
"Are you a newbie? How can you do that?" Wang Baole frowned and grabbed the recording device and aimed it at his face, shouting in the process.
"Brothers, if you find me handsome, reply 1. If you find me especially handsome, reply 2. Those that do not say a word are agreeing to the fact that I'm the most handsome person in the entire universe!"
Little Daoist was taken aback. Instantly, the screen was filled with unprecedented activity. The word 'shameless' filled the screen.
Wang Baole looked at the dazed Little Daoist with a smug look.
"See that? Look at the amount of activity. Guys, as long as you send a Rocket, Little Daoist over here will spend two hours in the Lava Chamber. The more Rockets he receives, the longer he will spend in there!"
In the span of a few seconds, the screen was filled with more than twenty Rockets, with them whistling across the screen.
Little Daoist was instantly dumbfounded as he widened his eyes in shock. He drew a gasp and felt his back turn cold. A cold sweat broke out as he was about to utter something as an explanation when Wang Baole threw the recording device back at him.
"Did you see that? This is how you get gifts!" Wang Baole held his hands behind his back, feeling pleased with himself. He thought to himself, How dare you say my face is huge!
With an inward snort, he left under the watchful gazes of the astounded crowd.
Little Daoist was left holding his recording device, with tears nearly streaming down his cheeks. He saw Rockets constantly whistling across his device's screen.
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GOT IT