Chapter 26

"You'd better think it through clearly."

Lao Liang unhurriedly opened that three-hundred-milliliter bottle of Jin Yin Chang Shao, used the Spoon to scoop it out, and placed it on the Tray to roast over the Alcohol Lamp.

The golden gelatinous substance melted bit by bit, sizzling as it turned into a viscous juice, giving off a rich, mellow fragrance.

"It really smells strangely good!"

Qin Shi's nose twitched, and his spirit shook violently.

The faint heat sensation that normally required standing post and exerting force to feel suddenly surged forth.

"Jin Yin Chang Shao is an Old Martial Arts secret medicine, a hot-selling product of the Tianzhu Autonomous Region; it once led to the Three-Eyed Crocodile being hunted into a protected species. Fortunately, artificial breeding technology was developed, or it would have gone extinct. But the price remains high."

Lao Liang smiled; back when he was young he had tried it too, cried for his father and mother from the pain, as if a layer of skin had been peeled off alive.

"This thing has obvious side effects; later, when the New Martial Arts faction rose to power, it was listed as a banned drug. It burns the human skin and causes sharp, stabbing pain to the nerves, even driving people to self-harm."

"If we follow the method Lao Gu mentioned, I'm afraid you won't be able to endure it."

"What about the benefits?"

Qin Shi asked directly.

In both his past and present lives, he never feared suffering; he only worried that his efforts would yield no return.

"Tendons spread throughout the four limbs and hundred joints, connecting and binding them. In Old Martial Arts there is the saying 'tendons lengthen one inch, strength increases a hundred catties.'"

"First, your strength, physical ability, including reaction capability, can all rise a large margin."

"Second, it can help you break through the Tendon Gate, step into the First Limit, let the Qi Life Force density condense, and feed back into the fleshly body."

"Simply put, that's an increase of two or three points of Qi Life Force; if absorption goes well, perhaps four or five points."

Lao Liang informed him truthfully; he roughly knew in his heart how this newly accepted Disciple would choose.

The Suburb workers' children of Old Factory Street mostly possess a streak of tenacity, daring to strive and fight.

And Qin Shi is precisely the outstanding one among them.

That intense desire to change, hidden deep in the heart.

Is especially prominent!

"Then let's do it!"

As expected, upon hearing the Qi Life Force increase was this large, Qin Shi's eyes practically shone.

He is currently roughly around nine points; if he adds two or three points, he will directly reach the passing line of Amateur Ninth Dan.

If he pushes a bit further, before school starts, the hope of promoting to Eighth Dan is very high.

Placed in the Elite Class, he would also be a standout student!

"This heart-nature of yours, if my Master Uncle saw it, he would surely praise a sentence: 'Dao Nature firm and deep.'"

"He likes this kind of temperament most; in everything he only asks whether it succeeds or not, not whether it can or cannot be done."

"Back in my day I was scolded no end by that old man, saying I was indecisive when facing matters, hesitant and unable to decide."

Lao Liang nodded; anyway, with him guarding at the side, when Qin Shi could no longer endure, he would naturally stop it.

"You prepare yourself, cleanse and bathe; wait until this bottle of Jin Yin Chang Shao gets a bit hotter, then we'll begin."

……

……

"Hong Jie, Liang Laoshi is here again?"

Outside the room, Yan Shuang — privately nicknamed "Long-Haired Handsome Man" by Qin Shi — spoke up to ask.

"Mm, this time he didn't call for you; he just wanted a room and took some tools."

The big-waved female Manager said while burying her head in work:

"That little handsome guy, is he Liang Laoshi's student? Before, when he brought students to the doorstep, it was only ever once, never a second time. This one is strange!"

Yan Shuang lowered his head and smiled:

"Shows that that young man has truly entered Liang Laoshi's eye."

He sat properly on the rattan Chair, legs together, extremely refined, gaze calm as he looked toward the opposite room.

……

……

"I'm ready."

Qin Shi took a quick shower, a bath towel wrapped around his waist, looking like he had just finished business.

"Sit down."

Lao Liang picked up the Jin Yin Chang Shao, ladled out the Jin Yin Chang Shao melted by the Alcohol Lamp, the paste-like viscous liquid scalding hot beyond measure.

Actually the Alcohol Lamp's temperature is not high, but the Old Martial Arts secret medicine named "Jin Yin Chang Shao" has a special nature; once heated and boiled, it will rapidly boil.

"If you can't hold on, don't force it."

Lao Liang instructed one sentence, then immediately applied it carefully along Qin Shi's spine.

Hiss!

The instant the viscous liquid touched skin, the blue veins on Qin Shi's temples throbbed violently.

Like boiling-hot strong glue splashed on the back, sticking tightly to the body surface.

Then wait for it to air-dry, tear hard with force, ripping off large chunks of bloody flesh.

In just a few short seconds, bean-sized sweat beads rolled down from his forehead.

"This is simply too torturous!"

Qin Shi's face twisted in pain, complexion turning pale.

Incidentally he marveled: Old Martial Arts practitioners are simply all perverts.

An experience like this torture, yet they still scramble to spend money to enjoy it?

"Can you still hold out?"

Lao Liang's voice came from behind him.

"Increase... the... intensity!"

Qin Shi answered, those few words bursting out from between his teeth.

"Ruthless enough. I held out until the Golden Glue covered half my back; I don't know how far I can get in an hour."

Lao Liang looked at his back, where chunks of muscle turned red and hot, instinctively tensing and straining from the pain, squeezing together.

Large amounts of viscous liquid quickly congealed, forming an effect like golden glue, gradually occupying one-third of his back.

Two minutes later, Qin Shi was in so much pain he couldn't make a sound.

Only constantly inhaling, exhaling, to relieve the pain.

As the Golden Glue stuck to his skin like porridge, the deepest torment acting on his nerves surged forth.

He was like food being roasted in a furnace, and like a slab of meat pressed on a red-hot iron plate without being flipped.

His whole body was about to burn!

When the physical pain exceeded the spirit's limit, all sorts of inexplicable illusions surfaced one after another in his subconscious.

"Fire everywhere... a booming great explosion... a man's furious curses... a crying woman..."

Qin Shi nearly fainted, his brain about to activate a protection mechanism, so he could escape this inhuman pain.

"No wonder someone uses Golden Glue for body refinement and tendon cultivation, easily self-harming. The body's healing ability can't keep up with the speed of the Secret Medicine's damage.

If I sit in a bathtub later, heating up, the pain will be amplified again... I can't possibly endure it. How do I get through this?"

He barely pieced together his fragmented, chaotic consciousness, thinking of a solution.

This was a habit cultivated over many years, treating every trouble as an exam question.

Pondering repeatedly, until he found that solution.

"Sleep! I can sleep!"

At the moment the Golden Glue covered his entire back, Qin Shi's brain, on the verge of fainting, suddenly flashed with spiritual light.

When encountering difficulty, sleeping a big sleep—this bible of giving up—was for him the best way to solve problems!

【Deep Sleep】!

【Muscle Memory】!

Dual activation!

"Close your eyes, calm your heart, relax, breathe..."

Qin Shi did his best to cast aside external interference and the torment of his flesh.

Trying to sleep soundly, entering the Dream.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

His head drooped, his shoulders opened, his straight waist bent forward, his hurried breathing leveled out.

In less than ten seconds, he obtained a wonderful sleep like a baby!

"Fainted? Or died!"

Lao Liang was greatly alarmed.

In his perception, Qin Shi's surging, chaotic breath, like a torrent, suddenly calmed.

Even revealing a strange peacefulness?

Usually, this was a sign of an old man dying a natural death, riding a crane west.

"Wrong, snoring? This kid fell asleep? How can he sleep!"

The next moment, Lao Liang heard an extremely faint sound of deep sleep, like a small cat lying in a warm nest, sleeping soundly and peacefully.

"He really fell asleep, but that strand after strand of Qi Sense in his body hasn't broken. A genius, an absolute genius! Just what kind of Hardworking person can even not forget to cultivate while sleeping..."

Lao Liang suddenly felt that his own proud diligence and hard work from when he apprenticed to learn arts was completely insignificant compared to Qin Shi.

Like a Recruit facing a Drill Instructor, losing thoroughly.

"Deep Mountains Hide Tigers and Leopards, Fields Bury Qilin! Master Uncle told me this, and I didn't believe it, thinking Good Seedlings were all in the Martial Association, how could there be a Lost Pearl, lost to me!"

Lao Liang's smile grew deeper, he mixed the other half of the Golden Glue, and spread it down along Qin Shi's shoulders, covering his chest, abdomen, and waist.

"This way, I'm more confident about that matter."

"You're awake?"

When Qin Shi opened his eyes, he saw Technician Yan Shuang of Jin Se Yin Xiang, number 69.

That handsome face filled his sight, scaring him to lean back, nearly falling off the lounge chair.

"Shuang Ge? How long did I sleep?"

Yan Shuang, still wearing a White Long-Sleeved Coat, pulled open the Curtain, sunlight "shua" filling the room, making Qin Shi instinctively cover it with the back of his hand.

"It's the next day, eight in the morning."

Yan Shuang's expression was strange:

"You not only endured the intense pain of Golden Glue body refinement burning tendons, but also achieved a heart like still water, sleeping soundly.

To be honest, I've read so many Martial God autobiographies, never seen anyone write this kind of scene.

In the future, if you achieve something, remember to publicize it more; it's no loss as a legendary tale."

After Legendary Endurance King, did I also receive the title of Legendary Sleepyhead?

Qin Shi lowered his head and glanced down; his clothes were already on.

That inexhaustible effort filled his body.

He exerted a little force, and the large tendons beneath his skin snapped and bulged in an instant,

stretching, contracting, pulsing, coiling and knotting together.

Like a mass of snakes, like a giant python!

In Yan Shuang's eyes, Qin Shi's back showed strand after strand of extremely fine blue veins interwoven; that spine supporting the tendons and flesh, each segment connected through, like a vivid tattoo of an angry dragon trapped in a green pond.

"So close, just a step from breaking One Limit, entering Tendon Gate."

He clicked his tongue in wonder, the expression in his eyes quite complex.

Pity Qin Shi did not notice at all; his mind was entirely on the Stele Panel.

A line of text information flashed by suddenly.

【Achievement Activated - Overgrowth】

(Chapter End)