Under the blood-red light, Evan Parker's figure appeared as terrifying as a demon. If Evan Parker could see himself, he would surely be shocked—wasn’t this strange red glow the same one that appeared when he saw that person standing alone in the void, right at the moment of their final defeat? Why would it now appear on his own body? Could it be that he already possessed strength on par with that person?

Although the eruption of true energy was painful, it wasn’t without its benefits. At the very least, those obstacles in his meridians that he could never break through could not withstand this kind of true energy for long. The explosive force would gradually shatter those barriers, restoring smooth flow. In this sense, it could truly be called a blessing in disguise.

Almost no one could endure such pain. What was even harder was that, while enduring the pain, he could not allow his mind to wander for even a moment. He had to control his true energy under these conditions, preventing it from running wild. If he failed, he could only await the most pitiful outcome.

Evan Parker had not expected that simply entering the water would bring about such changes. If he had known, he would have been more cautious, perhaps starting his practice closer to the shore. Now, however, there was no way to retreat, and he had already reached the final stage. It was do or die—there was no other choice.

At the final hurdle, a solid wall still seemed to stand before his true energy. Evan Parker had no idea where such an obstacle came from. On the shore, Evan Parker had already managed to circulate his true energy throughout his body, ignoring those invisible barriers, almost completely unaffected. He never expected that, upon entering the water, things would turn out like this.

No matter what, this barrier had to be broken through. Otherwise, Evan Parker would end up just like that person standing in midair—not reduced to ashes, perhaps, but very likely left a cripple.

Now, Evan Parker seemed to vaguely understand: anyone who practiced martial arts or cultivation would face bottlenecks and challenges at the moment of breakthrough. But if, unfortunately, they encountered that monster in the lake, then sadly, the difficulties they faced would likely increase a hundredfold.

Fortunately, Evan Parker had slowly grown accustomed to the disturbances caused by that monster over the past few years. What he faced now was merely a more intense transformation. The expert who was reduced to ashes was rather unlucky—he had probably progressed smoothly until the most critical moment, when he was affected by the monster beneath the ground, unable to withstand the violent mental shock, and was thus struck to ashes by heavenly thunder.

Chapter 5: Tempering in the Lake (Part 2)

The high wall before his true energy remained unchanged. The circulating true energy was blocked by an invisible barrier on the final stretch back to his dantian. At this moment, the intense pain throughout his body and the chaotic, repeating images and sounds in his mind became even clearer and more violent. Evan Parker felt as if he were not in the calm waters of Fist Mark Lake, but rather in the midst of a raging storm with wild winds and giant waves.

His body felt as if it no longer belonged to him, drifting with the storms in his mind like duckweed in the wind. Behind his tightly closed eyes, vivid scenes flashed as if projected before him, making it impossible to distinguish illusion from reality. The scent of blood, violence, and madness swirled wildly around him, trying to lure out the memories of his military days—those scenes of slaughter and rivers of blood—tempting him to become once again the god of war he had been in the army.

If Evan Parker's mind relaxed even a little, that explosive true energy, suppressed for so long, would surely erupt in an instant. Evan Parker was certain that, at that moment, he would unleash a power unlike anything he had ever known, delivering the most brilliant strike of his life. However, after that, he would be left a cripple.

He had no idea what kind of monster this was, so fond of causing martial artists or cultivators to fail at such moments. Could it be that his failure would somehow increase its power? It was just a guess, but seemed very likely. Otherwise, with a punch as terrifying as that person's, how could the monster have become so powerful just a few years later? Perhaps it had absorbed the essence of that person's final attack.

His true energy continued to gather strength, trying to break through the barrier in one go, while the red light around Evan Parker kept flickering eerily. The blood-like lake water tightly surrounded Evan Parker. Gradually, wisps of mist began to rise from the area near Evan Parker on the lake's surface. White mist slowly steamed up from where it touched Evan Parker's body, drifting into the air.

The mist grew thicker and thicker, but, strangely, did not dissipate into the air. Instead, it began to gather around Evan Parker, as if he possessed a tremendous attraction, drawing the mist to cling tightly to his body, lingering for a long time. The mist became denser and denser, tightly wrapping the part of Evan Parker exposed above the water. From a distance, it looked like a white cocoon.