"Huh!" A hint of doubt flashed in Cang Yin's voice: "What's going on? Is this Li so useless?"
The man holding the compass also raised an eyebrow: "She was actually hit by a heavy hammer?"
"An ordinary person, if hit even once, has a high chance of being eliminated. But she… she actually endured it."
On the second level, these geniuses who had already cleared the first level were discussing amongst themselves.
"What's the use of enduring it? Endure it once, can she endure it a second and third time?"
"I feel now that we don't need to spend so much energy on her. The City Lord values her, but only because she's the daughter of an old friend. She herself might not have much potential for breakthrough."
"She cleared the sixth mountain, perhaps the City Lord used some method to force her growth?"
"Hard to say! The City Lord has countless rare treasures. Even a pig, after being fed for so many years, should be able to ascend to heaven."
"Haha, what you said is a bit too crude."
"Just speaking some truths."
Everyone discussed freely.
You Lan slowly opened her eyes.
She frowned, looking at Li Shuang expressionlessly.
In just this short time, Li Shuang had been hit by a heavy hammer again.
If her soul wasn't strong enough, she would have been eliminated by now.
The peerless genius personally trained by the City Lord, was she really only at this level?
She had finally mustered her fighting spirit, was it all for nothing?
You Lan stared intently at Li Shuang.
No, something was definitely wrong.
How could someone trained by the City Lord be a complete waste?
She was clearly about to clear the first level just now, why suddenly couldn't she even dodge?
Another heavy profound iron hammer spun towards her. Li Shuang didn't dodge or evade, and took another blow head-on.
You Lan stood up, her gaze fixed on Li Shuang with a serious expression.
No.
It was indeed wrong!
This Li, she was doing it on purpose.
She clearly had hundreds of opportunities to dodge, but not only did she not dodge, she even moved a step forward, allowing the hammer to hit her directly.
What did she want to do?
What was she after?
Was she asking for a beating?
There must be a reason behind this!
After being hit by several hammers in a row, Li Shuang's face was slightly pale, but her eyes were unusually bright, and she actually looked to be in a good mood.
Li Shuang's mood was indeed good.
She had finally found a shortcut to quickly establish a connection with the runes.
And that was!
Head-on collision!
It turned out.
Neither dodging nor forcibly changing the trajectory of the profound iron hammer was the best way to clear the level.
Just now, at her wit's end, she suddenly remembered her refining process.
An ordinary ore, initially unremarkable, but after being tempered a thousand times, even the most common ore can shine brightly.
Each strike of the hammer is a process of removing impurities.
Only after all impurities are removed can the ore reach its most perfect state.
Now.
She saw herself as a piece of ore.
And these spinning profound iron hammers were tempering her a thousand times over.
These runes contained all the mysteries of the Thousand Machine Hammer Array.
Originally, this was not something she could comprehend.
But.
After each collision, a subtle insight would emerge in her mind.
These insights accumulated little by little.
When they condensed to a certain degree…
Another cornerstone would be added to her path of integration!
What she wanted to walk was the path of integration that reached the heavens. Therefore, she gave up on directly advancing on the sixth mountain.
She originally thought that she would need a very long time to establish a connection with all things.
But…
In the Soul Golden Altar, these flashing runes would greatly shorten this process!
The key to this first stage was not about clearing it quickly!
This level could both temper the soul and, through the runes, comprehend the way of all things!
Such a good place.
The sooner one left, wouldn't the harvest be less?
Li Shuang made up her mind!
She was absolutely going to stay here for a full three days!
Li Shuang endured the blows of the profound iron hammer again and again, and her soul body seemed to become more and more lustrous.
On the second level.
The geniuses who had been mocking her earlier suddenly froze.
Even if they were foolish, they had realized by now.
This Li, she was clearly doing it on purpose!
What was she doing?
She was using the profound iron hammer to temper her soul!
"It… it can be done like this?" one person murmured.
"Then by clearing it quickly, aren't we actually losing out?"
"You can't say that. Let me ask you, if it were you, how many times could you withstand a direct hit from the profound iron hammer?"
A silence fell over the scene.
You Lan pursed her lips.
That's right.
How many times could she withstand it?
For a moment, she didn't know the answer.
"For ordinary people, using this method is tantamount to being eliminated early," someone calmly stated. "Even for us, it would just be a few more times before we're ultimately eliminated."
They all knew now that this profound iron hammer could perhaps temper the soul.
But…
How many people in the world could do such a thing?
Ordinary people trying to imitate it would only accelerate their demise.
"This Li… she's still enduring!" Someone looked dazed.
Above Li Shuang's head, a green lotus now appeared. Each time the heavy hammer struck, the light of this green lotus seemed to condense even more.
"Soul phenomenon," Feng Yu murmured. "Her soul is definitely not simple."
"Is this also the City Lord's teaching?"
"More than that. Her choice to use the profound iron hammer to temper her soul must also have been taught by the City Lord."
"She can withstand so many hits, could it be that the City Lord gave her some treasure?"
Those who had been mocking her earlier now spoke with a hint of sourness.
These voices occasionally reached Li Shuang's ears, but fortunately, her mind was calm and undisturbed, long past being affected by such sounds.
In the City Lord's mansion.
The City Lord looked at Li Shuang's increasingly condensed green lotus and suddenly smiled.
This Li…
She truly gave her too many surprises.
To think of tempering the soul with a heavy hammer, to this extent.
The City Lord also heard the malicious speculations of those people, and she raised an eyebrow.
A distant voice resonated simultaneously in the Soul Golden Altar and the City of Ten Thousand Laws.
"To ensure fairness, I have never mentioned the conditions of any of the stages within the Soul Golden Altar to Li. Nor have I given Li any extra protective treasures."
Everyone had been discussing animatedly.
Upon hearing this voice, they immediately fell silent.
The few geniuses who had just been whispering instantly turned pale.
The City Lord never concerned herself with such trivial matters.
Now… she was actively vindicating Li?
Li Shuang was also a little surprised to hear this voice.
She didn't really care how others speculated.
The next moment.
The City Lord's voice also echoed in Li Shuang's mind.
"Shine your brightest."