At the foot of Slash Mountain
The sound of howling wind could be heard, dark clouds loomed above, as thunder roared, making the already ominous mountain feel even more eerie
Ilargia frowned "We haven't even stepped into Slash Mountain, but the winds are already extremely fierce"
Nika extended his arm, trying to touch the wind "With our current strength it's impossible to get to the peak, at most we will be able to travel a few hundred meters"
Asier stepped forward and looked at the peak of the mountain "Asier stepped forward and looked at the peak of the mountain. Slash Mountain is 2,400 meters tall, and every meter, the wind gets stronger. It's not too late to go back."
Nika gave a snort and stepped forward. After just three steps, he let out a grunt, the wind was so fierce that it was already cutting his skin.
"It seems this is going to be harder than expected, but just this much pain can´t stop me!!" he said with a fierce expression.
Asier and Ilargia, seeing their brother´s determination, looked at eachother and started climbing the mountain.
15 minutes later…
"I can't continue anymore, I'll be going down to heal my injuries" said Illargia, her body was covered in wounds, her robes were tattered, and her hair was disheveled.
Nika who was faring just a bit better than her said "We greatly underestimated the danger of this mountain; it took us 15 minutes to climb 50 meters and we are already at our limit"
"This mountain is so dangerous… no wonder people stay away " said Ilargia
Asier looked at her "I´m going to heal my injuries too, you must be carefull, Nika. Even if you are using you Strengthening Sunlight
With this, Ilargia and Asier started descending the mountain, while Nika tried going further up.
At the foot of the mountain "here, I´ll help you apply the healing paste on your wounds" said Ilargia while taking a black and smelly paste from her robe.
Asier applied the healing paste on his wounds. "Our wounds are not too severe, with the help of the healing paste we should be ready to climb again in an hour"
Five minutes later, Nika appeared before the two siblings, completely covered in blood "I managed to climb 65 meters, at this rate getting to the top will take us a few months"
After recovering for an hour, the three siblings started climbing again and this time they managed to climb to 70 meters and 85 meters.
After this attempt they climbed and descended the mountain many many times.
Nika staggered to the ground, his breaths ragged, blood streaking down his arms like rivulets of rain. He winced, pressing a trembling hand against a gash on his side. "We… made it to 250 meters the First day, it could've been worse," he rasped, a defiant grin forcing through the pain.
"Yes, our bodies are getting stronger and stronger every time we heal our injuries and now, we can even climb 100 meters without suffering any wounds," said Ilargia with a pained but happy face.
Asier had a satisfied expression "let's go back to the 150 meters mark, we will spend the night there and get used to the wind, we´ll continue climbing tomorrow"
After descending to the 150 meters mark, they made a simple hut with branches and spent the night there.
The next morning…
Ilargia winced as she peeled away her tattered sleeve, revealing a lattice of healing cuts. "This wind... it's brutal, but we're adapting. Yesterday, it tore us apart at 200 meters. Today? We brushed past 250 like it was nothing." She smiled through the pain, feeling the strange thrill of progress. "It's like our skin's learning to fight back."
Nika flexed his muscles "This method of strengthening our skin is amazing, I can feel that my skin is almost as hard as iron "
Asier grimaced, running a hand over the rough, scarred surface of his arm. "The pills can only take you so far—Iron Skin and no more. But this... enduring this mountain's wrath? We're already past that. We're doing what pills can't." He glanced at his siblings, a determined spark in his eyes. "And we're just getting started."
Ilargia glanced at the jagged rocks beneath their feet, a smirk playing on her lips. "Remember that old Oier's clan book? It talked about skins tougher than iron. Titanium, Steel, Diamond. But you'd need pills that even the Song Clan guards like treasure. I bet they'd kill just for one of those."
Nika huffed, clenching his fists. "Who cares. We're making our own path."
Asier rubbed his chin "Us getting iron skin so fast is thanks to our Special Physiques, our bodies were already stronger than normal Meat Training Stage cultivators, this also helped us endure the pain, judging by this, I guess they're extremely unique and powerful. Maybe achieving Diamond Skin isn't so far-fetched for us"
IIlargia's eyes sparkled with defiance. "Most cultivators hit their ceiling at Iron Skin. Even the mighty Song Clan barely has enough for a few Titanium Skin pills. Steel Skin? That's for the big shots in the middle region, and Diamond Skin... only the Three Great Clans and the Eight Great Sects can boast that kind of power." She glanced at her brothers, her voice brimming with pride. "But look at us—no pills, no sects. Just sheer willpower."
Nika's expression darkened, shadows flickering in his eyes. "What kind of power flows in our blood? To endure this, to grow stronger... It's not just luck. Our parents—what kind of people were they, really?" His voice dropped, burdened with a mix of awe and a hint of fear. "Were they even human?"
Asier's eyes darkened as he stared up at the swirling clouds above. "We'll find out about our parents one day," he murmured, almost to himself. The uncertainty gnawed at him like a wound that refused to heal. Every step closer to strength felt like a step closer to answers—or maybe just more questions.
The siblings continued climbing, they spent more than two weeks climbing the mountain until one day they could not progress further…
At the 1.900 mark, the siblings had set up a camp "the difference between the wind in the 1.999 mark and the wind in the 2.000 mark is simply like the difference between heaven and earth, if not for Asier noticing something strange, I would have been killed…" said Nika with a face full of fear
"It's very unfortunate, we are just a step away from obtaining Diamond Skin" said Ilargia with a dejected expression
Asier hesitated, his gaze fixed on the stormy peak. "It's a huge risk. One wrong move, and this wind could tear us apart. But…" He clenched his jaw, weighing the danger. "We can't turn back now. We'll set camp just below 2,000 meters and push until we can endure it."
"That's A good idea, let's start moving"
With this, the three siblings started to move their camp while climbing, by the third day, they set camp in the 1.999 meters mark. Five days after that…
Ilargia let out a triumphant roar, her fists clenched as she stared at her unscathed arms. "Diamond Skin! I can feel it... It's like I'm wearing armor made of the mountain itself." She spun to face her brothers, eyes burning with the thrill of victory. "Your turn."
"With this only Asier is left, Asier, how much time do you think it will take you to get Diamond Skin?" Asked Nika, with his natural muscular body and his Strengthening Sunlight Innate Ability he was the first to achieve the Diamond Skin
"I can feel I'm on the verge of getting Diamond Skin, it will take me an hour at most" said Asier
After 45 minutes Asier got up and said " I finally got it , but… it's weird, I have the feeling that I can strengthen my skin even more… "
"You feel it too? Asked Ilargia and Nika at the same time
"It doesn't matter, let's try if we can endure the 2.000 meter wind" said Asier using his pinky finger to test the wind
Last time they were here, the moment Nika´s hand entered the wind, he almost lost his hand. If not for Asier immediately getting him out, he would only have one hand today, but now only some minor cuts appeared in Asier´s finger.
Ilargia hesitated at the threshold of the brutal winds, her hand hovering in the air. She took a deep breath, then plunged forward. The air hissed against her skin, a constant threat of slicing deeper. "The mountain's letting us in... for now." She cast a wary glance at her brothers, knowing the slightest misstep could be fatal.
The three sibling walked no more than ten meters and they could not move further, they had to go back and heal
"Advancing past the 2.000 meters mark is way more difficult than before" said Nika
"Yes, but thanks to this we could confirm that our skin can be improved further" said Ilargia with a happy expression
Asier studied the jagged peak, lost in thought. "Climbing this cursed mountain... it's pushing us to limits no one's seen. By the time we reach the top, Diamond Skin will feel like child's play." He looked at his siblings, a rare flicker of excitement in his eyes. "We're forging something new, something stronger. We're making history."
Nika said "I once heard that there is a higher level of skin above the Diamond Skin, but the person I heard it from said that no one in history had this skin, and he did not know the name of it either"
Ilargia said with a fervent gaze "I once heard a merchant that came from the inner region say that in Wind Valley Ancient Sect, just a few years ago their holy daughter managed to surpass the Diamond Skin and obtain something called Godly Skin.
"This news shocked the inner region, because in the history of the strongest sect of our Windy Mountains Domain only four people had manage to get this Godly Skin"
"Us being able to surpass the Diamond Skin has probably something to do with our special Physiques, but right now we know nothing about them, if we want to know what they are and how to fully use them we will need to become stronger" Asier said
After learning that they could obtain the legendary Godly Skin, the three siblings started to climb the mountain with all they had, and in just twelve days they managed to reach the peak of the mountain and set up camp there
"Next is the Meat Training Stage," Asier said, flipping through the worn pages of Oier's Clan book. "It's not about cuts this time. Blunt force will toughen our muscles to match our skin. But unlike the Skin Training, each blow has to be precise. The stronger the skin, the more the meat can withstand… and grow."
Nika furrowed his brows "The book's clear. For the Meat Training Stage, there's no better teacher than combat. We need the impact, the force, the real struggle. Otherwise, we'll never grow past where we are now."
Ilargia rubbed her sore shoulder, remembering the mountain's harsh winds. "So we're trading blades for hammers. Great," she muttered, half-excited, half-dreading what was to come.
"We need more supplies from the village," Asier said, but his gaze remained fixed on the peak. Beyond the storm clouds, a faint, almost unearthly glow flickered. "But the real fight begins when we're back. The mountain isn't done testing us yet."