The freezing wind howled as heavy snow fell, turning the region known as Lake Labynkyr into a land of utter desolation.
There was no sign of human life—only an endless expanse of white.
No one could remain here for long. The place was a sealed basin nestled among mountains.
The entire basin was locked in by surrounding peaks, with northern winds funneling frigid air from the Arctic Ocean into it, piling up into a frozen hell of -65°C at the basin's lowest point.
At the center lay a frozen lake spanning dozens of square kiloters, its surface sealed beneath a five-ter-thick layer of ice.
And yet, this dead zone was the perfect training ground for Matthew.
The cold cut into his skin like blades, while the freezing air poured relentlessly into his lungs, trying to stiffen him completely—turn him into part of this frozen land.
But his physique was simply too strong.
By the edge of the ice lake, he wore only a thin tank top and shorts. His body burned like a furnace, releasing waves of heat that ford visible white vapor around him.
In his hands, he gripped a chain. At the other end was a massive boulder weighing hundreds of tons, which he dragged along the frozen shoreline at a sprint.
Behind him, it carved a long trench into the ground.
He didn't use Haki. He didn't use the force-generating techniques of the Six Powers.
Only his raw physical strength.
He circled the lake several tis. The snowstorm continued, leaving the world a blinding white.
When he finished, he wrapped the chain around his upper body and hoisted the massive rock onto his back.
Compared to the enormous boulder—several tis taller than himself—he looked insignificant.
Yet with a wild shout, Matthew leapt into the air, explosive power launching him high above the center of the frozen lake.
His body fell like a teor.
Boom!
Crackling black lightning erupted as a thunderous explosion rang out. Carrying the massive rock, Matthew smashed through the thick ice and plunged straight to the bottom of the lake.
The enormous impact sent towering columns of water surging upward.
The splashing water froze almost instantly in the frigid air, forming countless icicles that rained back down.
Amid the bubbling currents, Matthew continued to sink.
According to official records, the lake was 320 ters deep. Underground waterways connected it directly to the Arctic Ocean.
After researching it, this was precisely why Matthew had chosen it as his training ground.
And the results proved he was right.
At a depth of 320 ters, the water pressure reached 31 atmospheres.
Every inch of his body endured imnse compression, as if a small mountain were pressing down on him evenly. His flesh, bones, and organs were all being slowly squeezed.
An ordinary person wouldn't last even a second here—their chest would collapse, their lungs crushed instantly by the pressure.
But for Matthew, this was the ultimate environnt to train his body's resistance.
This level of pressure provided exactly the kind of strain he needed—let alone while carrying a boulder weighing hundreds of tons.
For the first ti in a long while, Matthew felt genuine difficulty.
Yet it was precisely this hardship that thrilled him.
He welcod pressure, because only sufficient pressure could drive his growth to its limits.
At the bottom of the lake, every movent he made while bearing the massive rock triggered a chain reaction. The crushing force pressed against him from both inside and out.
It was undeniably difficult.
But he remained intensely focused.
He concentrated fully, sensing every change within his body—every muscle, every bone, every organ, every cell.
Until, at last, he entered a state of complete absorption, forgetting everything else.
...
Ti slowly passed, and before anyone noticed, the sky above the ice lake had already dimd.
Several hours had actually gone by—three or four hours in total.
The ice covering the lake surface had long frozen over again.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, the once calm waters beneath the ice beca violent. In the next instant, a massive boulder smashed through the ice, sending water spraying dozens of ters into the air as Matthew's figure burst out along with it.
He flew into the air, arriving in front of the falling boulder, then twisted his body and delivered a kick.
The kick struck the massive rock heavily. With a burst of shockwaves, the boulder changed direction and flew toward the riverbank.
Bang!
The boulder crashed heavily onto the shore, sending snow and ice shards scattering everywhere. Matthew's figure turned into a golden streak of light, cutting through the night and the snowstorm as he landed lightly on top of the rock.
"Huff… huff…"
Matthew collapsed onto the boulder, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he gasped for breath. Cold air rushed into his lungs—the icy sensation and the long-missed oxygen brought him an overwhelming sense of relief.
Unlike the surrounding freezing temperatures, his blood was now circulating at high speed throughout his body, turning him into a furnace.
The intense heat even dried his soaked tank top and shorts in a short amount of ti.
The surface of the rock he was sitting on also beca dry in a ring around him.
"Cough… I almost… suffocated," Matthew gasped, a trace of lingering fear on his face.
He glanced at his waterproof wristwatch—three hours and fifty minutes.
Nearly four hours.
His body had long since reached its limit.
The pressure he had subjected himself to was simply too extre. Just the 320-ter water pressure alone, combined with the hundreds-of-tons boulder, already amounted to inhuman-level training.
And on top of that, he had been at the bottom of a lake, forced to endure oxygen deprivation.
Long-term breath-holding was extrely dangerous and also highly energy-consuming.
Once the human body is deprived of oxygen, the heart rate spikes, the heart pounds violently, and oxygen consumption increases dramatically.
At that point, the body instinctively begins to struggle—muscles stiffen, energy is rapidly burned, lactic acid accumulates. The longer one holds their breath, the more exhausted they beco, and the harder it is to continue holding on.
That was why ordinary people, when deprived of oxygen, would collapse, feel dizzy, and lose strength in their limbs.
Matthew was no exception.
The reason he surpassed normal humans was because his physique was monstrous—especially his lung capacity and stamina. His breath-holding ti far exceeded that of ordinary people.
But there was also the water pressure and the massive rock on his back.
On top of that, he had been constantly moving underwater—punching, kicking, running, and occasionally using Soru, one of the Six Powers, a high-speed technique that involved stomping the ground dozens of tis in an instant.
Such explosive bursts of speed and power also consud enormous stamina.
Layer after layer of these "debuffs" stacked up, and he had nearly pushed himself into complete suffocation.
Fortunately, in the end, he successfully grasped Life Return (Seii Kikan).
He could freely control every cell in his body—muscles, hair, nerves—so that mind and body beca one, extending even to his pores.
This allowed him to amplify the body's weakest instincts to the extre—a superhuman ability.
Matthew opened all the pores in his body and began absorbing the trace oxygen dissolved in the water.
Then, with a final burst of power, he escaped from the bottom of the lake and returned to the shore.
Of course, it wasn't as if he had truly been in a state of complete suffocation the entire ti. With the Glint-Glint Fruit's elentalization and high mobility, he could have broken free from the chain and escaped at the last mont.
Overall, this training session had significantly enhanced his physical strength once again.
And more importantly, he had comprehended Life Return—an imnse gain.
From now on, he would be able to endure longer training sessions at the bottom of the lake until he fully adapted to the water pressure and load.
But right now, he was exhausted—and starving.
Soon, his breathing gradually steadied. He turned his gaze toward the shore in the distance, where two large tal crates and a deployed parachute lay.
Those were supplies and daily necessities delivered via airdrop.
He needed to have a proper feast.
...
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