Chapter 5: Feather Letter

As the black symbol in his palm shifted, a pitch-black, thick book appeared in Zhang Yu's hand.

"Feather Script?"

Looking at the two large characters on the cover, Zhang Yu was slightly startled.

Then, as his mind stirred, the black book in his hand flipped open to the first page on its own, without any wind.

"This is the table of contents, right?"

Looking at the table of contents, except for the first line which was the prologue, everything else was a series of blurry, illegible lines, as if covered by a code.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Does this mean only the prologue is available now?"

As his mind moved, he opened the prologue, and what appeared before him was a portrait of a person on the left page, and rows of data and information on the right page.

"Is this drawn as me?"

On the left page, the portrait showed Zhang Yu sitting cross-legged, eyes lightly closed, as if in meditation.

The depiction was lifelike, giving the impression that the figure in the painting was still breathing in and out.

Especially with a faint glow flowing within, Zhang Yu felt that it probably represented the flow of mana in his body.

On the right page, there were rows of data and information, respectively:

Zhang Yu

Dao Heart Level 1

Mana 7.7

Physical Strength Level 0.83

Martial Arts: Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 1, Freehand Combat Level 1

Dao Techniques: Basic Breathing Method Level 1, Basic Heart Refining Method Level 1

"This is me?"

"The data above are various immortal cultivation attributes; the Dao Heart level here is the same as the test at school, not precise to decimal places."

"And below are the martial arts and dao techniques I've learned so far?"

Among the four skills below, besides the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening used to enhance physical strength, there were also Freehand Combat from martial arts class for practical combat training, the Basic Breathing Method from mana class to refine mana, and the Basic Heart Refining Method to improve the Dao Heart—all were just at the beginner Level 1.

Looking at the numbers above, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Is this the potential awakened by the evil god? Can this book detect my attributes?"

"But... it shouldn't be just that, right?"

"According to the evil god, it awakened my potential, but what kind of potential is just detecting? I can test that every day at school."

"There should be other uses."

Thinking this, Zhang Yu decided to test it. He focused his attention on the attribute numbers and mentally commanded, "Feather Script! Give me a boost!"

Seeing the data on the book remain unchanged, Zhang Yu sighed that the evil god was unreliable and hadn't really awakened his potential.

Trying to flip to the next page, he found it written with the four large characters: "To Be Continued."

Recalling the previously hidden content in the table of contents, Zhang Yu guessed, "What does that mean? Can this ability be upgraded? Only after upgrading will the later functions appear?"

He could only flip back to the previous pages, continuously focusing his attention on his rows of data and skills to see if anything would happen.

Just as he concentrated on "Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 1," he suddenly felt that line of text jump slightly, then it was directly dragged and moved back and forth across the page with his will.

While Zhang Yu was dragging "Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 1" across the page, wondering what use this was,

"Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 1" suddenly solidified upon touching the portrait and was directly absorbed by Zhang Yu in the painting.

With this absorption, Zhang Yu felt as if a clear spring was pouring down from the crown of his head; an indescribable feeling rose in his heart, making him feel a strange connection with the Zhang Yu in the painting.

At the same time, the originally cross-legged portrait suddenly stood up and began to demonstrate the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening one move at a time.

Above the portrait, a small line of text had appeared: Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening Level 1+

Seeing the tiny "+" at the end, Zhang Yu suddenly became excited: "Here it comes, here it comes! My potential has really been awakened!"

His attention quickly focused on the "+," feeling as if he was pressing it with his own thought.

The next moment, the 『+』 blurred slightly and turned into 『(0/10)』.

Then a sudden realization arose in Zhang Yu's heart: practice the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering ten times to complete martial arts advancement.

Staring at the 『Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering Lv1 (0/10)』 on the Feather Script, Zhang Yu thought with surprise, "Just ten reps and this martial art goes up a level?"

After all, ever since the semester started, he had practiced the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering countless times without ever feeling the slightest hint of upgrading.

"Ten reps?"

Zhang Yu couldn't wait to give it a try. He took a step forward, and with a bang, his muscles twisted like a giant python, unleashing layers of power.

Although he usually used equipment when practicing the Thirty-Six Forms at school, that was only to enhance the training effect.

In fact, as the most basic body-tempering martial art, the Thirty-Six Forms could be practiced with or without equipment, and practitioners could focus on different aspects like strength, speed, or agility according to their preference. For instance, the original Zhang Yu had chosen a balanced development between strength and speed, so he hadn't turned into a bulky build.

Now Zhang Yu was seen leaping back and forth in the small room, his feet stomping on the floor with loud bangs, while his muscles swelled and contracted, gradually heating up.

But before he could finish a few moves, shouts erupted from around him: "Are you crazy?! Trying to tear the house down in the middle of the night?!"

Zhang Yu immediately stopped, thinking helplessly, "The soundproofing in this rental is terrible. Can't train at night."

Gazing at the Feather Script appearing in his palm, Zhang Yu could barely contain his eagerness, wanting nothing more than to train like mad and finish all ten reps of the Thirty-Six Forms in one go to see the effect.

"Maybe switch locations?"

"I remember there's an abandoned unfinished building nearby…"

…

In the pitch-black darkness.

The thumping sound echoed continuously through the stairwell of the unfinished building.

!

As the neon lights on the distant street flickered, a teenager's figure occasionally emerged in the shadows.

It was Zhang Yu, who had come to the abandoned building to practice the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering.

Right now his gaze was focused, methodically going through the training movements of the Thirty-Six Forms one by one. Before long, he was drenched in sweat, steam rising from his body.

Zhang Yu had already trained all morning and ended up collapsing from exhaustion. Without the aid of injections, pills, or dietary supplements, every move and every exertion now brought a tearing pain in his muscles as he practiced the Thirty-Six Forms.

But thinking about the change on the Feather Script, he pulled himself together and persevered until he finished one full round of the Thirty-Six Forms.

Panting heavily, Zhang Yu couldn't wait to open his palm, and the Feather Script reappeared with his intent.

Seeing the 『Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering Lv1 (1/10)』 on it, a look of joy spread across Zhang Yu's face.

"So this is my potential?"

"Raising the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Tempering to Lv2… it really seems possible."

"I'll do all ten reps tonight!"

Zhang Yu couldn't wait to start his second round of the Thirty-Six Forms.

But after a short while, he collapsed onto the ground, feeling as though his arms and legs no longer belonged to him.

"I can't go on… I've hit my limit. Looks like I'll have to try again tomorrow."

Just as Zhang Yu decided to stop training, rest a bit, and go home for a good sleep, a wave of intense dread surged from his heart.

At the same time, a voice sounded in his mind.

"Please abide by the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill the wish, and do not deliberately slack or procrastinate. 10."

"Please abide by the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill the wish, and do not deliberately slack or procrastinate. 9."

"Please abide by the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill the wish, and do not deliberately slack or procrastinate. 8."

As the countdown continued, the dread in Zhang Yu's heart grew fiercer, as if something was about to burst out from inside him and tear his flesh apart.

"Ritual… agreement… wish…" He immediately realized: "Is this the power of that so-called Invocation Ceremony?"

The words the cloth doll had said before flashed through Zhang Yu's mind.

…

"If you choose to refuse to fulfill my wish, or deliberately delay or even fail in the process of fulfilling it, then under the backlash of the ritual, your flesh and blood will explode and your soul will scatter."

……

Zhang Yu thought: "So... it's because I planned to study hard, get into a prestigious university, join a major sect, and earn money to fulfill the second wish."

"Then if I slack off in this process, it would be considered as deliberately being lazy and delaying the fulfillment of the wish?"

"If I don't comply, would I die under the backlash of the ritual?"

Hearing that the countdown had unconsciously reached three, Zhang Yu quickly jumped up.

With a miserable cry, he endured the pain of his muscles tearing all over his body and began to practice the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.

And at the moment he started practicing, the countdown just now completely disappeared without a trace.