The Lord of Heaven: A Road to Eternity

Chapter 07: The Painful Process

The tempering process was far more brutal than he had imagined. Each single cycle meant: bones shattered… then rebuilt. And to reach the first stage—Bronze Dragon—he had to repeat that process a thousand times.

Han Nian clenched his jaw.

“A thousand…” He set his rhythm.

Fifty tempering cycles per day. That meant twenty full days of relentless suffering.

Day one.

The energy of the stalactite milk slammed into his bones once more.

Crack!

“ARGH!”

His scream echoed through the cave.

The pain did not lessen whether it was the second, third, or fourth time. Every time his bones were destroyed, his nerves felt as if they were being burned from within.

Sweat mixed with stalactite milk dripped from his body.

Day two.

Day three.

Day five.

The stalactite milk in the pool began to gradually diminish.

But his body… grew denser.

The bones in his arms were now as hard as black steel. His ribs were like a natural shield.

Yet every time the process restarted, the pain remained the same. No tolerance. No mercy. Han Nian nearly fainted several times. Tears unconsciously streamed from the corners of his eyes.

Not because he was weak. But because the human body naturally has limits in reacting to pain.

“If I give up now…” he muttered hoarsely, “then everything I’ve gained will be meaningless.”

He ground his teeth. “Again!”

Day ten. Halfway.

His spine had completely changed color in his inner vision, silvery with a faint sheen like scales.

But to maintain that structure, he had to destroy it again and again.

Crack! “Aaaghhh—!”

His screams grew lower, deeper. No longer cries of panic, but roars of defiance against fate.

Day fifteen. The pool’s energy had shrunk by nearly half.

Han Nian’s body emitted a heavy, invisible aura.

If another cultivator stood near him, they would feel a natural pressure from his physique alone.

But the suffering was not over.

Cycle 900.

Cycle 950.

Each time his bones shattered, the shadow of a dragon within his consciousness became clearer. Faint scales began to carve themselves into the structure of his bones.

Day twenty.

Night enveloped Death Mountain.

The sky outside was pitch black, with only a half-moon hanging grimly. Inside the cave, Han Nian underwent his final cycle.

“One thousand…” He drew a long breath.

Whummm!

His entire skeleton seemed to shatter simultaneously.

“AAAAARGHHH—!!!”

His scream shook the cave walls.

The seven-colored flame inside his body erupted outward, forming a vortex of light around him.

His bones collapsed—

Then in a fraction of a second—

Fused together again.

But this time it was different.

No longer silvery white.

Instead, they gleamed with a dark bronze light, like ancient metal forged over thousands of years.

The shadow of a colossal dragon appeared behind his body.

And—

ROAAARRR!!!

A dragon’s roar echoed from within the mountain.

The sound was not an illusion.

A real soundwave exploded out of the cave, spreading across Death Mountain.

Trees trembled. Nocturnal birds flew into panic. Ferocious beasts along the mountain slopes roared in fear before fleeing. Some spirit beasts even bowed down trembling, their primal instincts recognizing the pressure of dragon blood.

Inside the now-silent cave, Han Nian still sat cross-legged at the bottom of the nearly dried pool.

The last traces of stalactite milk energy swirled wildly around him, forming a thinning white vortex.

Bang!

A muffled explosion sounded from within his body.

A wave of energy swept out from his pores, causing the air in the cave to vibrate briefly before settling once more.

Han Nian slowly opened his eyes.

A faint golden glimmer flashed within his pupils. “Cultivation… Gold Level One Star.”

He could clearly feel the change. His dantian expanded again, its capacity increasing drastically. The energy within became denser, heavier, and purer than before.

His bones had fully reached the Bronze Dragon stage. Every slight movement created subtle pressure in the air.

But information from the True Dragon God Technique resurfaced in his mind.

If he wished to proceed to the next stage, Silver Dragon, then he had to undergo two thousand tempering cycles.

Han Nian fell silent for a moment. “Two thousand…”

He drew a deep breath. But this time, there was no hesitation. His body, having endured a thousand cycles, felt far more stable. His regeneration speed had increased. His tolerance to pain had also grown.

Without pause, he circulated the Dragon God Body Technique once more. The remaining energy in the pool was sucked in. The tempering process began again.

Crack!

But this time, he did not scream as loudly as before.

The pain was still there. Even deeper, because the bronze bones now had to be shattered to be rebuilt into silver.

But his body had adapted. The cycle speed increased. Where previously it was fifty times a day, now it became one hundred.

Each day, a hundred times his bones were destroyed and rebuilt. The water in the pool continued to shrink. The chalk-white color gradually turned murky.

Day one.

Day three.

Day five.

Cracks in his bronze bones now emitted faint silver glimmers before hardening again.

Day seven.

Only a third of the pool’s energy remained.

Han Nian remained seated in silence, his face pale but his gaze calm.

Day ten.

Bang!

Another muffled explosion sounded.

Golden energy burst outward before retracting back into his body.

“Gold Level… Two Stars.”

His dantian expanded again. The golden energy inside grew thicker. Meanwhile, the process toward Silver Dragon Bones had reached one thousand cycles.

Halfway.

But at that moment, the energy in the pool was completely exhausted. The remaining water turned pitch black, having lost all its spiritual essence.

The energy mist that once filled the cave disappeared.

Han Nian slowly opened his eyes. He stopped circulating his technique. With calm movements, he stood from the bottom of the pool and stepped out.

Black water dripped from his body.

When the last drop of liquid fell onto the stone floor, his figure became clear beneath the cave’s dim light.

His skin was now as white as the finest jade. Smooth. Refined. Yet beneath that softness lay terrifying strength. Every fiber of muscle contained explosive power beyond reason.

His face had changed as well.

His jawline was sharper. His skin flawless. His gaze deep and piercing. One of the effects of the stalactite milk was the complete refinement of the body’s foundation—including outward appearance.

Han Nian slowly clenched his fist. The air around him trembled. “Silver Dragon Bones… one thousand more times to go.”

He looked at the pool, now nothing more than a worthless black puddle.