The Rise of the Fallen Prodigy

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was late autumn.The entire mountain forest had turned a withered yellow, except for the green bamboo and the pine and cypress trees that were still lush and verdant.Fallen leaves covered the path through the forest.Suddenly, a hurricane swept through, and the fallen leaves danced in the air. In the midst of the withered yellow, a blue figure leaped nimbly through the forest like a startled rabbit.It landed on the ground, and a flash of spirit and light appeared in its eyes. It moved its palms and let out a soft shout, and a palm print was suddenly struck out, accompanied by a howling gust of wind, crashing towards a several-zhang-high tree a zhang away.With a dull thud, the tree trembled. The few yellow leaves that were already about to fall could no longer withstand the impact of this huge force and fluttered in the air.The tree also seemed unable to bear this huge impact. A palm print about an inch deep was clearly visible on the trunk.The blue figure exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and looked at its hands with some joy, saying, "Master, I did it."As soon as the words fell, a ghostly white figure suddenly appeared, and it was Alistair.The blue figure was undoubtedly Liam Smith.Looking at the palm print on the trunk, Alistair showed no expression and said indifferently, "It's just a superficial resemblance. You've only just entered the door now. You still need to practice hard.""Yes, the disciple understands," Liam Smith nodded firmly."Alright, we haven't done today's lesson yet. Let's start.""Yes," Liam Smith said and then took off his coat and upper garment, baring his upper body.There was none of the fair skin that a family disciple who enjoyed glory and wealth would have. Liam Smith's body was covered with scars, both old and new. Every visible part of his body was covered with scars.Alistair didn't seem to care about this at all. With a wave of his right hand, a scarlet whip condensed from Soul Power lashed heavily on Liam Smith's body.Suddenly, a bloody mark appeared.Liam Smith seemed not to feel anything. It was neither painful nor itchy, and his expression was calm.In fact, he had endured this kind of whipping countless times in the past three months and had almost become numb to it.From not understanding it on the first day to accepting it calmly now, Liam Smith had undergone a qualitative transformation.He understood that this was the simplest cultivation method for strengthening the physique that Alistair had mentioned, and it was also a prerequisite for him to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Seal.The past three months had been an unforgettable experience for Liam Smith. How many times had he fainted because he couldn't bear the torture of his body and will?But Alistair would always step in to wake him up and then give him another round of almost brutal beatings.Liam Smith even thought several times that he would die, but in the end, he managed to hold on.The reason was that every time Alistair struck, he grasped the intensity very well. It was basically at Liam Smith's limit, and then, with Alistair's powerful cultivation for treatment, it was almost impossible for Liam Smith to die.At first, Alistair only used finger strength, palm strength, and fist strength to train him.But as time went by, gradually, Liam Smith basically became immune to these attacks. That is to say, continuing the training would not have much effect.Just when Liam Smith thought that the days of suffering were coming to an end, Alistair changed to another training method.It was this kind of soul whipping.This kind of whipping not only caused Liam Smith to suffer endless pain in his body but also made his will and Soul Power, which he thought were indestructible, tremble.Compared with the days when he carried the ink stone in the Cloud-Connecting Mountains before, this was like going from heaven to hell.Another whip came down, and Liam Smith frowned slightly but didn't make a sound, as if this body wasn't his own and he didn't feel anything at all.Alistair nodded secretly and said, "The kid is making progress quite fast. It's beyond the master's expectations.""Hehe, hasn't the disciple always been beyond the master's expectations?" Liam Smith forced a smile."Don't be complacent. Let's see how many times you can hold up today," Alistair said indifferently."Slap." Another whip lashed down, and Liam Smith's body trembled slightly, but he still didn't make a sound.He laughed loudly and said, "Master, is that all the strength you have?""Since you're deliberately asking for it, if the master doesn't fulfill your wish, it would be a shame, wouldn't it?" Alistair sneered.Another clearer and louder sound rang out, scaring away countless birds in the forest.Liam Smith couldn't help but groan. A more prominent blood mark appeared on his chest. Without a doubt, Alistair had increased his strength quite a bit this time.Looking at Liam Smith with some pride, Alistair teased, "Kid, if you can't hold on, just beg for mercy. Don't try to hold on.""We'll see if the master has the ability to make me," Liam Smith said with a faint smile."Good. You have backbone. Then don't blame the master for being ruthless."Liam Smith gave Alistair a sidelong glance and thought to himself: What's the use of blaming you? Every time you strike, you're "ruthless and cruel." It's useless to say it, so it's better not to say it.Seeing that Liam Smith didn't say anything, Alistair waved the soul whip in his hand again.The continuous sound of whipping echoed throughout the forest. After a full half a moment, Alistair had whipped twenty times in a row.But Liam Smith still gritted his teeth and held on. Although he was already sweating profusely and his body was covered with blood marks, he still didn't make a sound. The ground under his feet had been trampled into two footprints about an inch deep by Liam Smith, and the footprints were still getting deeper.Another heavy blow.Liam Smith couldn't hold it in anymore. The veins on his hands bulged, and he groaned."Twenty-two." Alistair waved the whip again.Liam Smith groaned and his body trembled slightly, his face turning red from holding back."Twenty-three."Liam Smith let out a soft shout to reduce the pain in his body and soul."Twenty-four.""...""Forty-nine." There was a glint of spirit and light in Alistair's eyes.Liam Smith staggered and almost fell down. He quickly supported himself on the ground, struggled to stand up, wiped the sweat from his head, and looked at the small pit that had already reached his calf. He showed a faint smile.Alistair nodded and showed a trace of approval. "Not bad. You can still stand after forty-nine lashes, which is a big improvement compared to yesterday. Today's training is done, and you can rest."After saying that, Alistair put away the soul whip, put his hands behind his back, and turned to leave."Master, wait a moment," Liam Smith raised his hand to stop Alistair.Alistair turned around and looked at Liam Smith with a puzzled expression, asking, "Do you have something else?"Liam Smith nodded, clasped his fists in front of him, and saluted Alistair. "Master, the disciple wants to continue training today.""You want to continue?" Alistair couldn't believe his ears and asked in surprise.Others might not know the power of this soul whip, but Alistair, as the caster, knew it very well. In terms of power alone, basically no warrior at the Refined Qi Realm could withstand even ten lashes.But Liam Smith's potential seemed to have no limit. He gave Alistair a surprise every day. Now, being able to hold on for forty-nine lashes had greatly exceeded Alistair's expectations.More than half a month ago, when Liam Smith could withstand thirty lashes, Alistair had already allowed Liam Smith to start cultivating the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Seal. In the past half month, he had just not wanted to interrupt the months of training and had let Liam Smith continue for the sake of safer cultivation.But judging from the current situation, Liam Smith already had enough physique and blood qi to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Seal, and there was no need to worry about any unexpected situations.But unexpectedly, Liam Smith took the initiative to ask to continue the training, which made Alistair a bit puzzled."Yeah," Liam Smith nodded.Alistair was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "No need. Judging from your current situation, you already have the ability to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Seal, and you've already achieved some results in the past half month. There's no need to continue the training."Unexpectedly, Liam Smith was very persistent. "The disciple just wants to see where his limit is.""Limit?" Alistair gave Liam Smith a sidelong glance and thought to himself, "You're a guy with no limit. Your limit is different every day. What's there to see?""Master, aren't you afraid?" Liam Smith saw that Alistair was a bit hesitant and teased, "You didn't hold back when you were hitting me before. Have you suddenly had a change of heart?""Change of heart, my foot," Alistair spat. "I just didn't expect there to be someone like you in the world, actually asking someone to beat you up.""Maybe I've gotten addicted to being beaten by the master during this time," Liam Smith chuckled.Alistair looked at Liam Smith meaningfully. He understood that the real purpose of Liam Smith's action was to use his hand to continue breaking through his limit.Although he felt a bit reluctant, as a master, he naturally hoped that his disciple's strength would increase.Alistair nodded in agreement and said indifferently, "Well, that's fine. I'm also curious about your limit."The scarlet soul whip lashed on Liam Smith's body again.Liam Smith, who had a smile on his face just now, suddenly froze, looking a bit pale. After a moment, he exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and recovered a little."Are you okay?" Alistair asked seriously."Of course. After all, I'm your disciple," Liam Smith forced a smile."Slap." Another heavy blow. Liam Smith's legs went numb, and he could hardly stand. He supported himself on the ground, began to pant heavily, and his body couldn't help but tremble.Alistair's hand raised in the air stopped. He looked at Liam Smith with some concern and said, "Kid, let's stop here today. If we continue, you might get internal injuries."Grimacing in pain, Liam Smith shook his head resolutely. "No. As long as I don't fall today, please don't stop, Master."Alistair wanted to say something more, but he knew Liam Smith's temper. Once he made a decision, he basically wouldn't change it, especially when it came to cultivation. As long as it was helpful for cultivation, he probably wouldn't give up even if he had to go through fire and water.Sighing slightly, Alistair waved the soul whip in his hand again.Although Liam Smith tried his best to control himself, the inhuman pain still made him cry out. With each lash of the soul whip, Liam Smith's cries became louder and louder.Finally, it turned into a howl.After another eleven lashes, Liam Smith finally couldn't hold on anymore. He fell heavily backward, trying to struggle to get up, but at this moment, his eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand catties. After blinking a few times with great difficulty, they finally closed completely. His whole body went limp, and he fainted.Alistair put away the soul whip and stared at Liam Smith. "Kid, why are you doing this to yourself?"All that answered him was the slightly chilly wind and the faint smile on Liam Smith's lips as he fainted.