Translator: CinderTL
On the second level of the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder, atop a vast platform, Jiang Ye's figure reappeared.
"Huff!"
He gasped for breath, collapsing onto the ground.
Having cultivated for so long, Jiang Ye had never been in such a wretched state—this was a first.
The reason was simple: the torment he had just endured had been agonizingly prolonged.
"Sss~ That hurts!"
Even after the trial had ended, waves of excruciating pain continued to surge through his body.
"Damn it! Just recalling it makes the pain return?"
Jiang Ye felt as if he were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Though he had escaped the ordeal, phantom pains still lingered.
Rumble!
Suddenly, a massive golden stone monument rose before Jiang Ye.
Etched across its surface in bold, sweeping strokes were the words:
[Limitless Grandmaster!]
[Congratulations! You have ascended to the second level of the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder and obtained the Immortal Monument!]
[Calculating rewards...]
Jiang Ye's eyes widened at the sight.
"Could this Immortal Monument be some kind of strength certification?" he mused.
His breakthrough to Limitless Grandmaster had already earned him system rewards.
Climbing the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder and passing its trials seemed to grant additional rewards through a separate mechanism.
[Your trial time: 3 hours, 30 minutes, and 59 seconds, surpassing 99% of Martial Dao Grandmasters. You have tempered yourself through endless suffering, forging your flesh into a furnace, overcoming countless tribulations to reach the pinnacle.]
[Unlocked Title: Find Joy in Suffering!]
[Settlement Rewards]
[Find Joy in Suffering, Finding Resolve in Suffering, Comprehension Enhancement]
[Find Joy in Suffering: While in a state of suffering, all attributes receive a significant temporary boost. The deeper the suffering, the greater the enhancement.]
[Finding Resolve in Suffering: While in a state of suffering, you maintain absolute clarity of mind, steadfastly guarding your resolve, unshaken by any calamity.]
[Comprehension Enhancement: Permanently increases comprehension by 10%.]
Jiang Ye stared at the rewards panel, his expression twisting into something strange.
Find joy in suffering?
Could this actually make him feel pleasure in pain?
He didn't want to awaken some weird attribute, damn it!
And this "Finding Resolve in Suffering"—staying clear-headed even in agony?
"What a living hell," Jiang Ye muttered, shaking his head slightly. This not-so-bright Low-Martial System really managed to come up with new surprises every time.
Never mind.
He glanced at the rewards, his eyes brightening slightly.
"Another 10% increase to comprehension."
It wasn't much, but the consistency was what mattered. If each level granted a 10% boost, the cumulative effect would be terrifying.
However, to drastically improve comprehension in a short time, he'd need to exploit bugs.
For example, "Patriarch's Friend" and "Holy Maiden as Servant" both offered massive comprehension boosts.
For Jiang Ye, these rewards were already quite generous.
Take the "Find Joy in Suffering" and "Finding Resolve in Suffering" rewards, for instance.
Though Jiang Ye felt deeply uneasy about them...
He had to admit, though, that these two rewards would prove invaluable in the future.
"I should re-evaluate and verify them," Jiang Ye thought.
Just as he had this thought, a sharp pain shot through his body.
"No, too painful. I need to take it slow," Jiang Ye muttered to himself.
After enduring over three hours of 'torture,' even his formidable Martial Dao Will was beginning to falter.
He needed to do something else to relax.
With this in mind, Jiang Ye glanced toward the first floor.
"Got it!"
His eyes lit up, and he immediately strode toward the first floor.
Two hours later, Jiang Ye emerged from the first floor's illusionary realm assessment, his body completely limp and relaxed.
In this illusionary realm, he had experienced the attentive service of five young women.
Under the tender care of these five stunning beauties, both his body and mind had been thoroughly soothed.
The earlier pain had been completely forgotten.
"Who would have thought the first floor's illusionary realm training would have such an effect?" he mused, genuinely surprised.
Jiang Ye recalled the earlier torture, but this time, he felt no pain.
He could now fearlessly attempt the second-layer assessment again!
From now on, after completing the second-layer assessment, I'll return to the first layer to relax, then go back to the second layer, Jiang Ye thought to himself. If I keep repeating this cycle, could I just keep going forever?
His eyes lit up at the thought.
Without hesitation, Jiang Ye immediately returned to the second layer.
You have passed the second-layer assessment. You may repeat the assessment, but you will not receive any further rewards.
You may continue to climb to the third layer.
"Repeat the second-layer assessment!" Jiang Ye declared without hesitation.
Buzz!
His consciousness plunged into darkness.
The next moment, he found himself back in the dimly lit room, its walls lined with torture instruments.
Jiang Ye took a deep breath, his eyes burning with determination.
System, let's see how far you can push me!
Buzz!
The torture rack suddenly shuddered violently.
"Fuck!"
A searing pain erupted, flooding Jiang Ye's mind.
Jiang Ye's eyes widened.
What happened to finding joy in suffering? Why does it still hurt so much?!
Time passed.
Amidst the endless agony, Jiang Ye realized something.
This so-called "Find Joy in Suffering" wasn't about him actually deriving pleasure from pain. After all, he didn't have any such strange proclivities.
Its true effect was to significantly increase his pain tolerance.
His core attributes—attack, defense, and agility—were temporarily boosted to extreme levels.
In other words, he could endure the pain for much longer!
Combined with the "Finding Resolve in Suffering" effect, which allowed him to remain steadfast in the face of adversity and cling to his true self, Jiang Ye gradually adapted to this level of torment.
Time flew by.
Two hours.
Three hours.
Four hours.
In the blink of an eye, four hours had passed.
By now, the trial had deployed every conceivable method of torture. Even the most brutal methods like slow slicing and dismemberment seemed like child's play compared to what he was enduring.
Any ordinary person would have long since succumbed to the inhuman torment and passed out from the pain.
But Jiang Ye persisted!
Another two hours passed.
Finally, Jiang Ye could endure no longer and withdrew from the trial.
Trial Time: 6 hours, 20 minutes, 35 seconds
"Three hours longer than my first attempt," Jiang Ye noted, studying the panel.
This wasn't just the effect of finding joy in suffering or finding resolve in suffering; it also demonstrated his increased tolerance for pain.
"The longer I endure, the greater the pain becomes."
"But if I keep honing myself, one day I'll become completely immune to pain."
This would be an absolutely astonishing feat.
Imagine someone utterly fearless of pain—how terrifying would they be?
Nothing in the world could ever break them!
"The physical transformation should be complete by now."
Jiang Ye suddenly grinned. "Let's go see."
He felt a surge of anticipation.
What exactly would it be like to possess a top-tier physique?
"Ugh... that hurts." Just as he tried to move, a sharp pain shot through his body.
"I'll go relax on the first floor first."
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner
📗 80+ FREE Chapters & 180+ Early Access Chapters available. 2 New Chapters Daily.
🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE