If Zhong Ming knew what they were thinking, he would have just shrugged and told them he had no time to waste playing their games.
The fluctuations in his speed through the trials were all related to his cultivation.
When he advanced to Foundation Establishment, Zhong Ming's extraordinary physique, which broke all norms, underwent another evolution—his body's Lifebound Talent, Demon Lord Tai Sui, gave rise to a new Divine Technique: Calamity Evolution.
This Divine Technique allowed his body to rapidly develop resistances when facing calamities, disasters, and enduring harm, and even grow stronger through the tempering process.
Zhong Ming then discovered that this ability was a perfect match for the Qi Family's Path of Purgatory.
'The crushing pressure of the Path of Purgatory is a form of tempering, a calamity. And my Calamity Evolution is exactly what needs that tempering to increase my body's resistances...'
