Chapter 107: I Need You to Aid My Cultivation (13)

"Master, are you… really sure about this position?"

"Yes, right here! It's fine if your hand goes a little higher, I can take it."

"But this position, I'm afraid it really won't do…"

"Don't worry about me, follow my orders, go ahead boldly! Get to it!"

"…Alright, since you insist, then as you wish."

The petite succubus sighed, helplessly stretched out her small hand toward the youth before her, and gently beckoned a few times with an up-and-down motion.

Poof!

A giant hand condensed from lava suddenly surged up from the lava pool and grabbed Herbert—who looked utterly miniature in comparison—in one swift snatch!

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

Accompanied by ear-piercing sounds of charring, the white-haired youth was refined away in an instant—of course, such a thing would not actually happen.

Herbert's flesh, fire immunity!

But even so, the way he looked at this moment was honestly not all that relaxed.

Granted, flames and high temperatures could not destroy Herbert's body.

But suffocation and high pressure could.

The lava covered his face, leaving only a small opening for his mouth and nose to breathe, but the crushing pressure squeezing in from all sides left his chest barely able to rise and fall.

Herbert felt as if he had been buried alive, completely unable to breathe normally.

But in this critical situation, Herbert did not call a halt.

On the contrary, he actually began to laugh in delight at this very moment!

"Heh! Heh… cough cough! Ha ha ha!"

After adjusting a little, Herbert opened his eyes wide, winked at the succubus, and forced out a smile: "Flora, don't stop! You can use a little more force, I'm fine."

Flora stared at Herbert for quite a while, shook her head helplessly, raised her hand in a loose grip, and sighed: "Understood."

"Everything… as you wish."

Crack. Crack. Crack.

As Flora moved, the giant lava hand gradually tightened, and Herbert seemed to hear his bones letting out wail after wail all across his body.

He could almost feel fine cracks forming on his bones, his flesh squeezed and deformed, his organs beginning to wander about inside his body…

Fully conscious as he felt his body step by step heading toward destruction, Herbert couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha!"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly it!"

Herbert was certainly not a masochist.

If he had a choice, compared to being abused, he would much rather be the one doing the abusing.

But right now, he had no choice.

Or rather, he had taken the initiative to choose this path—fast, yes, but dozens of times more dangerous.

Herbert gave his own death-seeking act a name that sounded like it would draw plenty of clicks—"Reincarnation in Another World Starts with Stewing Oneself in an Iron Pot!"

Utterly nonsensical, but it felt like the kind of title that would surely tempt some curious soul to click in and have a taste.

Abstract as the name might be, Herbert's actions actually followed a very clear logic.

Because Herbert, through repeated testing, had discovered a pattern—the effect of flames in strengthening the body was best before the energy had fully accumulated; once it reached its peak, the rate of improvement would slow dramatically.

And to maintain that prolonged state of almost-but-not-quite full, well, he had already learned that back in second grade of elementary school.

Fully mastered!

Yes.

It's exactly like those math problems about a swimming pool where water is being drained and filled at the same time—the whole point is a baffling kind of waste.

What the problem-setters actually want to test isn't certain, but they are definitely wasting water and time.

To simplify and reorganize: there is input at the same time as there is output.

High pressure destroys Herbert's body, the energy accumulated within repairs the body, the lava's high temperature replenishes his energy…

These three work in concert, forming a dynamically balanced assembly line.

Without high pressure to destroy his physique, Herbert's accumulated energy would have nowhere to vent, and the rate of body strengthening would stagnate and slow once it hit its peak.

Without the body's repair ability—no explanation needed, he would have been crushed to death long ago.

Without the high temperature replenishment, his accumulated energy would quickly run out, and he would be crushed to death as well.

And with these three indispensable elements working together, he was now simultaneously repairing and strengthening his injuries while furiously absorbing energy to reinforce his body.

Say what you will, the method is wild—truly wild—but the results are genuinely fast.

A two-pronged approach is not as simple as one plus one; the effect more than doubled!

In just this short while, Herbert could feel his body had already been strengthened by a full twenty percent compared to before!

High temperature and high pressure—this is the forbidden power of the pressure cooker!

If he kept up this momentum, he wouldn't need to wait the originally planned week; he would soon reach the early stage of Gao Jie, and then keep growing stronger!

Early Gao Jie was the limit that the evolved Blessing could impart to the body, but it was not his.

Herbert was going to grow even stronger!

Logically speaking, such a dangerous act should have been carried out with a more trusted partner.

Even if not someone like the Zhaodazhu Sect monastery leadership, it should have been a more trustworthy monster girl like Valentina.

So why on earth did he choose Flora?

There were two reasons.

First, Flora was adept at controlling lava, satisfying the most basic requirement of providing high temperature.

Second, Valentina is unsuitable.

This isn't disrespect or distrust—it's that Valentina truly cannot do this job.

This is a delicate task requiring fine control, demanding thorough communication and detailed coordination with the operator beforehand.

Valentina can indeed spit fire, and her body can exert pressure, but… she has no sense of restraint.

Herbert truly worries he might be accidentally crushed to death by her…

His current frail frame is no harder than porcelain in her eyes; a single misstep and he'd shatter into pieces.

Herbert trusts Valentina won't deliberately harm him, but he doesn't trust her claws.

Because he's already tried it!

And nearly got crushed outright… forget it, forget it.

The kid isn't smart, but he's strong. JPG

As for Flora, though she cannot be fully trusted, as long as she still has her own agenda, she can still be granted basic trust for now.

After all, smart people know when to act and when not to.

Puff, puff, puff…

In the silent hell of molten rock, only the sound of bursting liquid could be heard; even Crete had grown too tired to curse, and hung upside down, she stared fixedly at the Holy Knight crushed by the molten rock.

Bubbles swelled on the scorching surface of the molten rock, growing larger as pressure lessened, until they burst at their limit.

Puff.

Finally, when all heat was absorbed, the fiery molten rock hardened into a black, rigid crust.

Crack.

A crack appeared on the solidified igneous surface, and a white, powerful arm shot out abruptly, waving to the side.

Flora fluttered her small wings and flew over, offering the prepared clothes with both hands.

Crack, crack, crack…

Moments later, fully dressed, Herbert stepped slowly out of the stone shell.

【"Congratulations! You've been born!"】

He ignored the Jester God's teasing, turned back to look at the "stone egg" he had shattered, blinked, and stroked his chin as he pondered:

"You know, this really does feel like being a monkey?"

Thank you to Super Orichalcum God and __isAJoke for the donations!

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(End of Chapter)