976: A Lesson on Pain

A Lesson on Pain

The pain washed over John, leaving not a single inch of his body untouched. Both his body and soul felt as if they were being cooked alive, flayed in a million pieces, and burnt to ashes. It reminded him of the time he cultivated in the Elysian Lightning World, practicing the Celestial Lightning Script.  2

He had charred his body both inside and out multiple times while cultivating the script, at the time filling him with excruciating pain. The pain he felt at the moment was even worse, filling him with furious anger.

'Its always a fucking pain trial,' John grumbled internally though the excruciating pain, sitting down on the ground. 

While his tolerance to pain could be considered one of his most prodigious talents, and even his most heaven-defying one, the pain was still felt, nonetheless. Having pain tolerance did not mean he didn't feel it, it just meant he could endure it better than others. The pain he felt was just as excruciating as everyone else who entered this trial before. 

'My body feels as though it's exploding and imploding at the same time, turning to ash and freezing completely, being chopped apart into a million pieces every second. It's almost exactly like the Divine Source Monastery's pain trial, filling me with a different sensation of pain every second, endlessly,' John thought with difficulty though the pain, his pained frown deepening.

'And yet, this trial is even more painful than the Divine Source Monastery's pain trial, which guarded an entire fucking World Dimension Seed! Whoever created this trial is a fucking sadist!'

Despite the excruciating pain he was feeling, John endured it without breaking, not even for a moment. From absorbing the blood drops in his palace realm, to enduring the sinister aura, cultivating his celestial lightning script, battling against the most brutal heaven tribulations, absorbing ancient dragon-blood that broke his body and reforged it anew, the Divine Source Monastery pain trial, to being overwhelmed by spatial storms and crashing into a new world unguarded. John had been baptized in more pain the last few years than most cultivators experienced in their entire lives.

His mental will and soul had been tempered to a prodigal, heaven-defying level, making such a trial troublesome and annoying, but not impossible. 

Time ticked on, with John enduring the ceaseless pain, waiting for it to end. Time lost all meaning here, as there was nothing to see or hear. The only thing that existed in this pitch-black realm was him, and the pain he felt. He figured a day had passed so far, but couldn't be exactly sure. Teeth gritted, he endured in silence.

"How long is this going to take?" John roared out into the void. 

This was a complete waste of his time. While this trial was good for tempering his will and strengthening his soul, he had other methods at his disposal to accomplish the same, methods that he used daily. The trial had its benefits, but also its drawbacks.

'What I need right now is strength, not a tempered will and soul,' John thought through the pain. 'Every hour in this trial is an hour I'm not cultivating, not battling, not raising my strength. Pain tolerance will not help me find Lilian. Pain tolerance will not help me kill the Asura. I need to cultivate, now more than ever.'

John's thoughts shifted to the Asura, the horrifying creature that had forced him to flee to an entire new world. Memories of his escape, of the Asura's battle with the others flooded his mind, of the Asura's unstoppable power, of the Asura's horrifying aura, one that nearly drove cultivators as strong as Thunderzen to madness, who could only resist with the greatest of efforts, taking away from their overall combat prowess.

'Aura….' John mused, an insight forming in his mind. 'No...the Asura's aura and my aura should be the same in nature when I unleash my transformation. The only difference should be the sheer power of it. And yet, his aura was far more frightening, far more dangerous. It was an aura, but not just an aura…'

John's mind raced as he recalled that battle through the pain, his eyes alighting with a sudden insight.

'Pain…that aura from the Asura was not just an aura…it was a tempest of Daos. The Dao of Pain, as well as other Daos, naturally emanated, strengthening each other…to form a domain! A domain created not by essence or body Qi, but by one's very aura!'

…

In the audience room, the screen showed John sitting in the endless void, eyes closed, teeth gritted. Although the space John was in was pitch black, the guildmembers were able to see him in the void, as the screen altered the image.

They saw him sitting on the ground, a day already passed by. Cultivators were able to maintain focus and calm for durations far longer than a mortal was able to do, and yet, they were starting to get impatient. Compared to the exciting trials from before, this one was quite boring and dull to witness.

"How long is this trial going to take?" one of the younger members, a woman in her early twenties, asked loudly.

Others chimed up as well, turning to nearby elders of the guild to ask if they knew. Only several in the audience knew for certain, and they finally acquiesced to the questions.

"A month! We have to sit here for a whole month, watching this?" many of the youths grumbled after hearing the answer. 

"Also, why an entire month? If he can endure the pain for a day or two, surely he can endure it for a month! Isn't this just a waste of time?" a riled up guildmember asked, antsy to get back to their lives. 

They were not allowed to leave the room while the trial was taking place, and could only wait for it to be completed, or failed.

A soft sigh suddenly filled the room, barely audible, and yet more powerful than any of the loud voices filling the room. All eyes turned to the Grandmaster, who stood up from his seat and walked down the aisle towards the front of the room. He stood beneath the massive screen showing John's trial, and faced the audience.

His eyes turned to the one who had just asked the last question. The youth shrank back in his seat under the Grandmaster's glare, feeling completely tiny and embarrassed at his previous outburst.

"Pain has two aspects," the Grandmaster said, voice soft yet powerful. "Intensity, and duration. Most think of intensity when they think of pain, but duration is just as dangerous, if not more so."

His words received several dubious glances from the youths in the audience, who clearly doubted his words. They would rather experience weak pain for a long time, than strong pain for a short time.

"Think of an itch," the Grandmaster continued. "Us cultivators don't get itches anymore, but when we were still young and mortal, we all experienced itches, and all remember them. They were nothing more than a temporary nuisance, giving no pain at all, and only minor discomfort until scratched. And yet, something as minor as an itch, if left unstretched, can eventually build to a point of driving one insane. Duration is something that can turn something minor, into something significant, just as much as intensity can. His trial is to test his resistance to both kinds of pain. It would do you all well to remember that."

The Grandmaster sighed, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

"And the pain this boy is feeling right now is unlike anything you could possibly imagine. Just existing in that realm pushes one to the brink of insanity. You are unable to think, unable to move, unable to do anything but feel overwhelming pain, pain so excruciating that you start to consider death a more appealing solution. Surely waiting in comfort for a month while this boy suffers isn't so bad when you compare your current situations," he continued. "Fill the time with mediation and cultivation. This month does not have to be a wasted one. You can all-"

The Grandmaster cut off as he opened his eyes, and saw weird expressions on many faces. He frowned, as his words had not been that unreasonable, but noticed their gazes were focused above his head…on the screen.

He turned around and looked up at the screen.

"Didn't you say it's impossible to move and think?" one of the youths asked. "Then why is he meditating calmly, as if the pain trial does not even exist?"

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