Chapter 18: Fumbling (1/2)

Chapter 18: Fumbling

Translator: YHEditor: X

Defeating an amateur did not stir up Ai Hui’s emotions, but the short battle did give him the opportunity to witness his own improvement. The increased elemental energy had a direct effect on his strength. The metal elemental energy absorbed from the Suspending Golden Pagoda was much purer than that of common sources. The elemental energy within his body was still considerably weak, but a threefold increase in elemental energy implied much greater room for development.

Ai Hui walked toward the Suspending Golden Pagoda, stopping outside its front gate. With the previous experience still fresh in his mind, he did not hastily enter the grounds this time.

The howling gales within the pagoda were still as intimidating as ever.

Ai Hui took out the rope he just bought, tying one end to a rock the size of a wicker basket. He tied the other end to his waist, lifted the rock, and threw it into the pagoda.

The rope suddenly stretched taut and a powerful pulling force quickly followed. Ai Hui was well-prepared, but still he stumbled.

The terrible metal winds within the pagoda violently tossed the rock in every direction. The force that pulled on the rope was beyond Ai Hui’s expectations. He struggled to keep his body steady, but was still dragged toward the pagoda’s entrance.

Since was truly lucky to have made it out of the pagoda previously, Ai Hui felt a lingering fear.

The rope suddenly relaxed, as the force pulling him forward disappeared. Ai Hui was still exerting his power backward and was unprepared for the sudden change. He reacted quickly, gently tapping the floor with his palm as he fell before he soared back up and landed squarely on his feet.

The rope had snapped. Ai Hui pulled the broken end over to investigate and found that the rope had a large number of tiny pinhole-like punctures through it.

Discovering that a rope made of grass was not good enough, Ai Hui shook his head. The numerous tiny holes were caused by fine silver strands of metal elemental energy piercing the rope. The rock would probably not last much longer either. Within moments, the slamming sounds coming from within the pagoda came to a halt, and a crashing noise followed. The rock must have been shattered into a pile of small stones.

The metal winds were truly ferocious!

No wonder this training ground was only recommended to those who had opened their natal palaces.

Luckily, Ai Hui had a backup plan as he pulled out an iron chain that was as thick as his wrist. Dragging this iron chain all the way to the Suspending Golden Pagoda had worn him out. He flung one end of the iron chain into the pagoda, waited a while, then pulled it back out. The chains remained undamaged. The metal fences in the pagoda that Ai Hui saw during last visit gave him the idea that an iron chain might be able to withstand the metal wind.

Ai Hui expended a large amount of effort and spent an entire hour pushing a rock larger than himself to the pagoda. There was no other choice since he had smashed up all the surrounding rocks on his last visit.

He wrapped one end of the iron chain around the rock before attaching the other to his waist.

After ensuring that the ends were firmly secured, Ai Hui took a deep breath and jumped into the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

Once inside, Ai Hui was immediately swept up by the violent metal winds, spinning around like a top. A powerful force unexpectedly pulled at his waist, nearly snapping him into two. The iron chain wrapped around his waist was stretched so taut that it was perfectly straight. Seeing that his method worked, Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. He barely had time to rejoice before his back slammed into the wall. He promptly covered his head with his hands, curled into a ball, and allowed himself to bounce around like a rubber ball.

This time around, Ai Hui stayed inside for a shorter duration. Rather than wait until he had almost hit his limit, Ai Hui used the iron chain to pull himself out once he started to feel bloated.

Having dragged himself out of the pagoda, Ai Hui heaved a sigh of relief. The world inside the pagoda was completely different from the world outside of it. Ai Hui had managed his training well—his mind was clear and he still had some energy left.