Chapter 32: Talent: Vigorous and Spirited (Please keep reading)

"Ah!!"

Lin Qi's eyes bulged violently as intense pain surged through his body.

His previously exhausted body began to twitch; his muscles tightened and shifted, and the muscles in his hands and legs cramped instantly.

"Hiss—"

The sudden onset of pain caused Lin Qi's face to contort instantly as he gasped for air.

"Why is it so painful? Aside from the first time, every 1% increase in fusion degree wasn't this agonizing?"

Confusion filled Lin Qi's mind. He felt he had already adapted to the pain of increasing fusion levels.

He hadn't realized he had been careless; 5% was clearly a threshold. The intensity of the metamorphosis was massive, causing the pain to escalate.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance. He grabbed a towel from the bed, bit down on it, and silently endured the agony.

*Crack—*

"Ngh—"

The veins on Lin Qi's arms bulged, sweat poured down him like rain, and his eyes turned bloodshot as he bit down hard on the towel.

It hurt—it was simply too painful!

Muscles throughout his body were tearing, tendons were snapping, and even his bones were fracturing.

Everything was happening simultaneously, constantly compounding.

Not only that, but his internal organs were undergoing a metamorphosis, as if an invisible scalpel were slicing through them layer by layer.

The various forms of pain made Lin Qi feel as though he were living a fate worse than death.

"Hiss—"

His body seemed to be undergoing the entire process of being shattered and then reconstructed—a process no ordinary human could endure.

Fortunately, the agonizing process lasted less than half an hour before it ended.

"Whew—"

Lin Qi lay on the floor, too exhausted to move. He stared quietly at the ceiling, feeling grateful just to be alive.

His body was covered in sticky sweat, the floor was drenched, and a foul odor lingered in the air.

A moment later, he finally crawled up from the floor. Driven by an intense thirst and hunger, he immediately opened his backpack and took out several boxes of blood-qi capsules.

He swallowed them one after another, followed by a functional energy drink.

Not finished yet, he opened a drawer and began eating compressed biscuits.

Once the hunger and thirst subsided, Lin Qi left his room and entered the bathroom to undress and wash up.

Through the bathroom mirror, he could see layers of black waste clinging to his skin.

"I thought I had metabolized most of the waste in my body, but I didn't expect there to be so much left."

*Splash—*

Hot water washed away the grime on his body, revealing the skin beneath.

"My skin is getting whiter and whiter!"

Lin Qi touched his skin; though it was bright and pale, it possessed an incredibly strong sense of toughness.

"My body proportions have improved, and my frame has grown larger."

Lin Qi observed his body closely. Other changes weren't significant, but the most obvious was that his skeletal frame had expanded.

This made him look leaner and more upright. His muscle structure had changed, with lines that were smooth and beautiful, and his entire body radiated a sense of vigorous vitality.

He finally looked at his panel, which had updated several pieces of information.

【Template fusion has reached 5%. You possess 5% of Erlang Shen's talents.】

【Your physical foundation has been remodeled. Your talents have significantly increased, your constitution has changed, and your energy is powerful. You have obtained the talent—Vigorous and Robust!】

【Your comprehension has improved. You possess a stronger ability to understand martial arts stances, fist techniques, movement techniques, and spear techniques!】

...

After reading, Lin Qi found it was roughly as he had expected.

Both his physical foundation and comprehension had improved.

However, the sudden appearance of a "talent" piqued his curiosity, so he clicked to view it.

【Vigorous and Robust: Your energy is extraordinary, your constitution is unique, you enter deep sleep easily, and you possess superior recovery capabilities.】

Lin Qi's expression brightened with joy. Much like his previous stomach reinforcement, this was far stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Moreover, he keenly noticed the new term: "Talent."

Anything called a talent was far superior to others, much like physical foundation—some people are born with larger frames and thicker bones, making them much stronger than average.

That was one type of physical foundation talent.

And having powerful energy also counted as a talent.

This reminded Lin Qi of his past life, where there were people who were energetic every day, seemingly never getting tired, even if their bodies weren't particularly strong.

Even if they only slept five or six hours a day, they could still remain spirited for studying and high-intensity work during the day; that was the benefit of powerful energy.

Although one's energy would grow stronger as they stepped onto the path of martial arts, tempered their bodies, and transcended mortality, the existence of "talents" meant having abilities far beyond those of the same level.

【Vigorous and Robust】 was exactly that. Even if everyone was a First-Stage Martial Artist, he would possess energy and recovery capabilities far exceeding the rest.

"Now that I have the 【Vigorous and Robust】 talent, with my abundant energy and powerful recovery, I can devote more time to martial arts every day without worrying about a drop in efficiency."

Lin Qi clenched his fists. The fatigue in his body had completely dissipated, and an endless stream of strength surged into his arms. He felt he was in peak condition.

Ten minutes later, after tidying everything up, Lin Qi lay on his bed to clear his mind. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head.

"If 【Stomach Reinforcement】 and 【Vigorous and Robust】 are considered talents, then are awakened special abilities also considered talents?"

"If I continue to increase my fusion degree with Erlang Shen's talents, is it possible for me to awaken special abilities before the Seventh Stage?"

Thinking of this, Lin Qi began to feel an inexplicable sense of anticipation.

...

The next day, 4:00 AM.

Lin Qi opened his eyes, waking up even earlier than his alarm.

He got out of bed, used the restroom, and after washing up, he left a note for his mother, Fang Huiyi, before heading out with his backpack.

"Tianhai City at four in the morning really has no sun!"

Riding his bicycle while eating compressed biscuits, Lin Qi complained to the pitch-black sky.

At 4:00 AM in Tianhai City, it was not yet dawn, and the surroundings were covered in the remnants of last night's rain.

Only a few breakfast stalls or market shops were already busy.

At this moment, Lin Qi's eyes were bright and clear, and he was full of spirit.

"The 【Vigorous and Robust】 talent is indeed powerful. In the past, my body definitely wouldn't have been able to handle waking up this early."

Lin Qi felt the difference clearly. Usually, waking up at five would leave him feeling sleepy and tired, relying entirely on willpower.

Now, it was completely different. Even though he had only slept from midnight to four—four hours of sleep—he had entered a state of deep sleep.

...

At 4:30 AM, there was only one security guard on duty at the gates of No. 2 Middle School.

In the darkness, he froze when he saw a student in a school uniform approaching rapidly, wondering if he was hallucinating.

"People are actually coming to school to study at four in the morning? This is too much competition!"

Lin Qi pushed his bicycle into the campus. The sky was beginning to turn gray, but it was still dark enough that one might mistake it for night.

He followed the familiar path to the martial arts classroom and began warming up.

Jiang Tao's martial arts room did not recognize his fingerprint, so he couldn't unlock it; consequently, he only trained there during noon and evening.

Changing into a brand-new martial arts uniform, shoes, and socks, Lin Qi looked at himself in the mirror. He felt completely renewed, having thoroughly shed his scrawny physique.

With the 200,000 yuan from his third-class genius loan and the 50,000 yuan he won from Yang Lei, he immediately upgraded his gear.

Opening his backpack again, he took out blood-qi capsules and swallowed three in one go, followed by a bottle of energy potion.

He could afford to drink one bottle of energy potion every day.

"My talent and comprehension are already high enough."

"I have 250,000 Xia Nation yuan on me, which is plenty."

"Next is to focus all my efforts on increasing my blood-qi value, spear techniques, and movement techniques to climb the rankings and obtain an independent martial arts classroom."

Lin Qi set his goal and began practicing his stance, immersing himself completely.

A moment later, he felt a difference; his body felt as if it were burning like a furnace.

His heart beat rapidly, his muscles surged rhythmically, and waves of blood-qi flowed through his body like water, tempering his muscles and organs.

Steam began to rise from his body.

The first stage of martial arts is "Flesh Tempering." As long as one continuously tempers the large muscle groups, physical fitness will improve significantly.

And today, Lin Qi could clearly feel that his tempering efficiency was increasing.

It was faster than ever before!

The fatigue of holding the "Perfect Circle Stance" had vanished; the longer he held it, the more comfortable it felt.

An hour later.

【By practicing the "Perfect Circle Stance," your blood-qi value has made a massive breakthrough. Blood-qi +0.3】

【Blood-qi Value: 7.0 → 7.4】

...

"With the talent boost and the massive amount of resources I consumed, my blood-qi value has seen a huge breakthrough."

"Today is already September 18th. There are less than 20 days left until the monthly exam. I can sprint toward a blood-qi value of 8.0!"

Lin Qi was delighted. Setting his target, he continued his stance training.

Not far away, Chen Zichuan also arrived at the martial arts classroom. When he saw a figure inside, he was instantly stunned.

Someone was actually arriving at the martial arts classroom even earlier than him?

He checked the time; it was only 5:30 AM.

Someone was even more competitive than he was!

As he drew closer, the figure became increasingly familiar, and Chen Zichuan froze.

It was Lin Qi!

...

(End of Chapter)