"Okay, wait for me." But the little boy agreed directly and sprinted off without another word.
Watching the little boy’s thin, small back, the corners of Adam’s mouth curled up, he knew this kid wouldn’t give up easily, a boy who dared to stand alone against all the able-bodied men in the village, and feigned weakness to trick adults several times his size, how could he be someone who would say impossible?
In his eyes, there was only the drive to go all out.
When only one minute remained of the ten, there was still no sign of the little boy.
"Immortal Master, there is no need to wait, it’s very far to the village, with his foot speed, he’s probably still on the way back," Cecil said from the side.
"No, I believe in him." Adam smiled. He naturally wouldn’t assign an impossible puzzle.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Rapid footsteps rang out, on the path leading to the cliff, a figure covered in wounds, carrying an old cloth sack on his back, was sprinting toward them.
"How is this possible."
Cecil’s mouth hung open, how could this kid do it? It had been less than ten minutes, and he had actually made a round trip.
Looking at the injuries on the little boy’s body, Adam’s mouth curved upward, just as expected.
The round trip took so long because the cliff’s terrain was high, requiring a long detour to safely reach the bottom, however, all one had to do was skip the safe route, the side of the cliff had uneven, jagged rocks, by jumping down step by step, one could save a tremendous amount of time.
"He jumped down the side of the cliff and climbed back up, this fearless brat actually dared to do that?" Cecil exclaimed, he was filled with absolute shock at this little guy.
"I... I made it."
The little boy finally stumbled to a stop in front of Adam, his face covered in blood, panting heavily.
Adam looked at the boy’s right leg, it was already fractured, this kid’s willpower was astonishing.
Adam’s eyes narrowed slightly, he was extremely satisfied.
A gleam of appreciation flickered in his gaze. "Not bad, you’ve passed the first trial."
Panting heavily, the little boy looked up at Adam, eyes brimming with ruthless determination, as if he weren’t injured at all. "Immortal Master, whatever trials are next, bring them on."
Adam smiled faintly, he reached into his sleeve, pulled out a faintly glowing pill, and handed it to the boy. "This is a Marrow Cleansing Pill I specially refined, after consuming it, your meridians and bones will undergo a baptism, the pain will be extraordinary, if you can endure this agony, you will have passed the second trial."
This Marrow Cleansing Pill was his special concoction, its effects several tiers higher than ordinary ones.
He had checked the little boy’s talent, it wasn’t like those main characters in webnovels, it was remarkably ordinary, just stepping into the Qi Condensation Realm would require immense effort.
An ordinary Marrow Cleansing Pill could at most raise the boy’s potential ceiling to the Innate Realm, but Adam’s version could help him break all the way through to the Deity Realm.
But the price was correspondingly immense, the poorer the aptitude, the more intense the pain, he could even be tortured to death by it.
The little boy took the pill without hesitation and swallowed it down.
It melted in his mouth, an intense wave of pain instantly swept through his entire body, as if tens of thousands of needles were piercing his meridians and bones, the agony turned his face deathly pale, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, yet he clenched his teeth, refusing to make a single sound.
However, the suffering was far from over, the pain seemed to intensify.
His body convulsed violently, as if being torn apart by an invisible force, all his earlier fortitude evaporated, leaving nothing but endless agony and despair, his eyes were squeezed shut, and tears flowed uncontrollably.
Cecil watched from the side, heart pounding, such torment was difficult even for a grown adult, let alone a child of six or seven, he couldn’t help but look at the boy with newfound respect, this little guy was truly remarkable.
As time trickled by, the pain grew even more ferocious.
"Ahhh..."
"Ahhh..."
The boy’s miserable screams echoed across the cliff, his face was ghastly pale and contorted, lips trembling, he gritted his teeth as if enduring the most brutal torture in the world.
His body shook incessantly, every tremor felt like a heavy blow pushing him to the brink of unconsciousness, yet whenever he hovered on the edge of passing out, an even more savage wave of pain would rip him back to reality.
Even his screams turned hoarse, but the little boy never gave up, he never once begged to stop, it was as if an invisible force was propping him up.
Finally, as the sun began to set, about an hour later, the pain gradually subsided, however, the little boy had already lost consciousness.
The ground around him was soaked in sweat, but he had made it through.
Adam looked at the faint radiance emitting from the boy’s body, that was the sign of perfectly absorbing the pill’s efficacy.
This kid had exceeded his expectations once again, he had honestly thought the boy wouldn’t hold on, truth be told, if it were him, he might not have endured it either, that level of agony was absolutely not something an ordinary person could withstand.
"Immortal Master, is he...?" Cecil looked at the unconscious boy with concern.
"It’s fine, his life is not in danger, he has passed half of my trials, you may go back now, I am taking him with me." Adam shook his head, a gentle light washed over the little boy’s body.
The boy’s deathly pale face regained a good deal of color.
"That’s wonderful, this poor child." Cecil breathed a sigh of relief, although he was just an ordinary mortal, he could see the changes in the boy.
If nothing else, all the physical injuries on the boy’s body had completely healed.
...
The waves gently lapped against the reef, churning up layers of white sea foam that shimmered with a halo under the sunlight, the sea breeze, carrying a salty and damp aura, gently brushed past the small faces of the two little kids, two pairs of small feet stepped on the golden, soft sandy beach, leaving behind two trails of small footprints.
A/N:
Extra Chapters
Dragon - 1 Extra Chapters
Magic Castle - 5 Extra Chapters