Chapter 102: Chapter 83: Physique Mutation

’The rank benefits are pretty practical.’ Li Wen felt a sense of relief after completing the payment. 1,400 points were deducted from his account balance.

Before long, DING DONG, the doorbell rang.

Li Wen got up to open the door. A delivery robot silently handed him a small, sealed glass test tube.

Inside the test tube was a viscous liquid that emitted a faint blue fluorescent glow.

Li Wen returned to the sofa and sat down. He popped the rubber stopper with his thumb, tilted his head back, and downed the potion in one go.

The taste was indescribable. It had a peculiar sourness, mixed with the scent of herbs and a metallic aftertaste. It was bizarre, and certainly not delicious.

As the potion entered his stomach, a cool sensation spread through his abdomen and slowly crept upward.

Li Wen immediately focused his mind, activating the remnants of his Primordial Spirit’s power to carefully perceive the changes in his mind.

After a few minutes, deep within his sea of consciousness, he managed to "capture" an extremely faint, almost negligible wisp of clarity.

It was like a single drop of water falling into a parched lake, absorbed in an instant.

Without the precise internal vision granted by his Primordial Spirit, he might not have noticed this minuscule effect at all.

This weak effect... was far less noticeable than the comfort from his body’s own natural recovery.

And it paled in comparison to the restorative effect of deep sleep, which nourished his Spiritual Power like a refreshing spring breeze.

’The effect is this weak?’ Li Wen furrowed his brow. This was not what he expected.

According to online descriptions and Wei Wu’s previous explanation, even a basic Level 1 spirit recovery potion, despite its limited effects, should be slightly faster than simply relying on the body’s natural recovery while awake.

This was why many people bought it to take before bed, to aid in Spiritual Power recovery and improve sleep quality. It provided a slight extra boost while the body was resting.

But since it was a potion from the Fire Hall’s official channels, it couldn’t possibly be a fake.

’Where did the problem lie?’

’Could it be...?’ A thought flashed through Li Wen’s weary mind like a bolt of lightning.

Lately, with the advancement of his cultivation realm, especially after awakening his Primordial Spirit, he had been exposed to a much higher level of information. His increased clearance also allowed him to learn more common knowledge.

He vaguely sensed a long-overlooked peculiarity about himself—his body’s natural recovery speed, including that of his Spiritual Power, seemed far faster than normal.

The days of arduous training in Class (21), where he pushed his potential to the absolute limit, were still vivid in his memory.

He was always the first to arrive at the Martial Dao classroom and the last to leave, and the intensity of his training far surpassed that of his peers.

Back then, his family was poor, so he had no supplements for support. He couldn’t even properly manage the most basic replenishment of his qi and blood.

And yet, his body had endured it all. Unlike many of his classmates, he never suffered from overexertion injuries or prolonged periods of lethargy.

He would always be back to his energetic self the next day. At the time, he just chalked it up to being young, strong, and able to endure hardship.

But thinking back on it now, it was clear that youth and endurance alone couldn’t explain it. That recovery ability itself was extraordinary.

After awakening his Primordial Spirit, this realization became even clearer through his precise internal vision.

Whether it was the muscle soreness after physical exertion, the sense of depletion after consuming qi and blood, or even the mental fatigue from using his Primordial Spirit’s power, his recovery speed was significantly faster than what he understood to be normal.

The spirit potion’s underwhelming effect was the key that unlocked this long-buried suspicion in his mind and confirmed it.

’Transmigration already happened... so for this body to have some special traits... I guess that’s normal?’

Li Wen let out a wry laugh, the doubt in his heart quickly replaced by a sense of relief and a hint of joy.

He was a soul transmigrator himself; he had already defied the greatest of conventional logic.

This body possessed extraordinary recovery abilities. Though the reason was unknown, as long as it could help him walk faster and more steadily on the difficult and arduous path of the Martial Dao, it was a tremendous blessing.

’Who cares about the reason? If it helps me get stronger, it’s a good ability.’

Having figured this out, Li Wen immediately decided not to waste any more precious points on chugging these Low Tier spirit potions with their terrible cost-effectiveness.

He tossed the empty test tube into the trash, dragged his still-weary but no longer anxious body into the private lounge next to the training area, and lay down on a comfortable recliner.

His consciousness quickly faded to black.

When he opened his eyes again, the sunset had painted the sky outside his window a warm, orange-red.

His watch showed that less than an hour had passed since he had lain down.

It felt as if a massive blockage had been cleared from his brain. The irritating, splitting ache and the heavy dizziness had significantly subsided.

In his sea of consciousness, the dim, jade-like Primordial Spirit, though still faint, had stopped its buzzing. It was now ravenously absorbing some unknown energy at a speed that defied logic, slowly but steadily regaining its luster.

His depleted Spiritual Power had miraculously recovered by twenty to thirty percent in just that short hour of deep sleep.

Such efficiency was simply unheard of.

’As I thought...’ A knowing smile spread across Li Wen’s face.

This extraordinary recovery talent was one of his hidden aces for surviving and thriving in the world of the Martial Dao.

He got up and stretched his limbs, feeling much more refreshed. Right on cue, his stomach began to GROWL.

He picked up his tablet again and opened the food service system.

This time, he didn’t hold back. He directly selected an "Essence Dinner" specially designed for Martial Artists, made from prepared Tier Two Demon Beast meat and several mild Spirit Plants. It was listed for 500 points, but he only ended up paying 350.

A few moments later, his dinner arrived.

The rich aroma of the meat mingled with the unique, fresh scent of the Spirit Plants. As the energy-rich food settled in his stomach, a warm current spread, nourishing his entire body. It perfectly fused the mental clarity regained from his nap with the vigorous qi and blood from the hearty meal.

Li Wen felt comfortable in body and mind. His condition was even a bit better than before he had entered the arena.

After finishing his meal and taking a short walk to aid digestion, Li Wen didn’t immediately return to studying the Shadow-Stealing Form.

Instead, following his unshakeable daily routine, he picked up a tablet or a physical book and began his requisite study session to accumulate Scholar experience.

This was the key to the gates of greater wisdom, the very cornerstone of his path as a Scholar.

...

Two hours slipped by as he immersed himself in his studies.

[You have studied diligently for two hours. Scholar Experience +12]

[Profession: Scholar Lv. 7 (236/6400)]

After grinding his daily experience, he put down the tablet, stretched his limbs, and moved to the soft mat in the training area.

Next up was his unshakeable daily routine: cultivation of his basic techniques.

Before he could step into the realm of a Super Martial Artist and master divine and demonic techniques, this universal method for tempering the physical body was the only ladder to a superior physique.

He calmed his mind and began to guide his qi and blood.

More than an hour passed. After completing the final breathing pattern of the Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill, he slowly concluded his practice.

Unlike before, this time Li Wen didn’t reach for the Level 1 Qi and Blood Potion he usually kept nearby.

His gaze fell upon the table, where a bottle of deep red, ruby-like liquid rested—the Level 2 Qi and Blood Potion he had ordered earlier that day.

As he twisted off the cap, an aroma far more potent, scorching, and energy-rich than the Level 1 potion’s filled the air.

Li Wen took a deep breath and, without hesitation, decisively tilted his head back and drank a third of the potion.

The scorching liquid flowed down his throat. It wasn’t just the potion’s temperature; it was the immense energy contained within, which instantly detonated in his stomach!

The surging heat was like an awakened fire dragon, rampaging violently through his entire body!

The instant the potion hit his stomach, Li Wen clearly "saw" with his Primordial Spirit every cell in his body open an invisible maw, like a ravenous beast.

With near-gluttonous greed, they began to frantically absorb the torrent of heat, which far surpassed the energy level of a Level 1 potion!

The absorption rate was far faster than when he had consumed an entire Level 1 potion!

His muscle fibers, tendons, fascia, and even the depths of his bone marrow, all stimulated by the potent energy of the Level 2 Qi and Blood Potion, had been crying out for sustenance. Now, they hummed with satisfaction.

’Just as I thought...’ Li Wen was certain now. All his speculations had been confirmed.

Fang Chengwu had been right; once an ordinary person’s physical body reached Level 8.0, they could indeed withstand a Level 2 potion.

But for the vast majority of Martial Artists, it was a tremendous waste.

A normal person would need two or three days to completely digest and utilize the energy from a single Level 1 Qi and Blood Potion.

’Using a Level 2 potion? Most of the energy contained within would simply dissipate and go to waste.’

But for Li Wen’s body, this "waste" simply didn’t exist.

While others took two days to digest a Level 1 potion, he could completely absorb it and convert it into tangible improvements in just one day.

His physical body level had been climbing steadily. Especially after crossing the Level 8.0 threshold, with the help of his Primordial Spirit’s power in the [Absolute Focus] state, a single Level 1 potion per day was no longer enough to satiate the ever-growing "hungry beast" that was his body.

This one-third dose of the Level 2 potion was like high-quality fuel thrown into a long-dormant furnace, instantly igniting a much more powerful fire of advancement.

Under his Primordial Spirit’s internal vision, he could see his tendons and bones trembling faintly. His muscle fibers grew thicker and denser, his blood seemed to flow faster, and he could even feel his pores subtly expanding and contracting, as if breathing.

The increase in efficiency was tangible.

What others would consider an extravagant waste was, for Li Wen, the most suitable, logical, and fastest path of cultivation.

This special physical talent was another solid cornerstone on his path to power.

This Level 2 Qi and Blood Potion cost a steep 5,000 Fire Hall points, yet the speed and total improvement from just one-third of a dose far surpassed that of an entire Level 1 potion.

’This investment was worth it!’

He carefully stored the remaining two-thirds of the potion for the next two days.

As his body rapidly absorbed the energy, Li Wen felt a sense of full, surging power, as if he possessed boundless stamina. His mental fatigue was swept away as well.

Li Wen stood up, his eyes falling on the weapon rack in the corner.

The utterly pure, white arc of the Shadow-Stealing Form surfaced in his mind once more.

This time, he wouldn’t be using the cumbersome test alloy blocks.

He took a deep breath and gripped his Standard Rapier.