Although he was in the icy lake water, at this moment Evan Parker could not feel any of the cold; his body felt as if it were in a boiling cauldron, to the point where he could barely catch his breath. However, Evan Parker paid no attention to these sensations. Past experiences and lessons had taught him that everything he saw before his eyes, heard in his ears, and sensed in his mind was all an illusion. Only by holding fast to his own resolve and enduring could he achieve victory.

He never once stopped controlling his true essence. Even though the true essence in his meridians was already boiling to the point of bursting, it was still firmly confined within the boundaries of his meridians, unable to take even a single step beyond. This was thanks to the years Evan Parker had spent tempering his meridians; without such resilient meridians, he would have been overwhelmed by the true essence from the very beginning.

The white mist surrounding Evan Parker seemed to be dyed red by the omnipresent crimson light, wrapping Evan Parker in a blood-like shroud. For such a long time, Evan Parker made no movement at all, simply maintaining that head-down, feet-up posture, floating motionless in the lake.

The moon had already risen high, and midnight had passed. Yet this final barrier stubbornly blocked all of Evan Parker's true essence halfway back to his dantian, refusing to let go.

The persistence at this last checkpoint had, without him realizing, lasted the entire afternoon and half the night, with no progress at all. Normally, a full circulation would take only a few hundred breaths, so this situation seemed both strange and terrifying. With such a long duration, anyone with even slightly less determination would have given up quickly. Even those with strong willpower could not possibly maintain such perseverance at a single point for so long.

The hardest part was still the endurance of the meridians. If the flow of true essence could not complete a full circulation and was congested at the final point, meridians that were not tough enough or lacked sufficient capacity could easily be damaged. Even if the meridians were not harmed, under such pressure, failing to firmly control the true energy would ultimately result in a backlash, leading to deviation and inner demons.

It seemed as if this monstrous trial was meant to test all these things, and even if one succeeded, there might not be any dramatic breakthrough. In that case, choosing to cultivate in this place seemed somewhat not worth the risk.

Only someone like Evan Parker would stubbornly choose this location for cultivation. Certainly, it was related to his retirement from the military, but it also reflected the persistence in his character.

The moon was visibly setting in the west, and the eastern sky was tinged with pale light. The final barrier still showed no sign of being broken. However, all the painful illusions could no longer affect Evan Parker; it was as if he and that monstrous force had reached a dynamic balance, neither able to overcome the other, both simply holding on to see who would prevail first.

As the sun gradually rose, the red light enveloping Evan Parker began to slowly fade, eventually disappearing without a trace. The water surface and the mist around Evan Parker also returned to normal.

With the fading of the red light, the invisible barrier between the true essence and the dantian also slowly lost its strength. The powerful true essence, even before the barrier had completely vanished, broke through the shackles in one fell swoop and rushed back to the dantian. Such a sudden return of immense true energy to the dantian could have caused injury, but fortunately Evan Parker was well prepared, so there was no harm from the impact.

Thus, a full circulation was finally completed, and the struggle with that unknown monstrous force ended in Evan Parker's victory.

After soaking in the water for a whole day and night, his body felt somewhat uncomfortable. Moving his joints, which had become a bit stiff in the water, and knowing he could not last much longer, Evan Parker still mustered his strength and swam back to the shore.

It was only about ten zhang from the shore; who knew what kind of obstacles awaited at the center of Fist Mark Lake? However, this intense interference had made Evan Parker feel he had gained a lot. If he could withstand this level of mental pressure, what inner demons or distracting thoughts could ever defeat him in the future?

Chapter Six: The Martial Artist's Predicament (Part One)

On the shore, he sat cross-legged in the most standard "five hearts facing the sky" posture to meditate and recover his energy. After this experience, the minor disturbances that appeared in his mind during cultivation on land—like mosquitoes buzzing before his eyes—could hardly affect him. He quickly mobilized his true energy, and soon completed thirty-six full cycles of deep breathing and energy circulation. Afterward, his whole body felt light, his dantian was full, and he felt an indescribable sense of ease and comfort.

His clothes were already completely dry. Looking at the calm Fist Mark Lake, Evan Parker was struck by a sudden idea and shouted toward the lake with his energy: "Thank you! I’ll be back soon!" Then he turned and left. After a day and night, he needed to eat something to fill his stomach.

Once Evan Parker's figure disappeared, a ripple suddenly appeared in the calm center of the lake. The ripple quickly spread to the shore, and as it passed, the water surface rose and fell as if nodding in response.