Two hours later, four people lay panting in the training room.
"Lin Lao Hei, you're too good at hiding things. When did you become a Beast Master? That golden python looks so familiar," said He Dazhuang, covered in colorful ink with a bruised face.
"Isn't that the little python from the Golden Dragon Python behind the mountain? If Old Lin had told us he was a Beast Master, where would he have found sparring partners?" Jiang Zheng, sporting two black eyes, grinned.
"I thought Old Lin had just advanced to Bronze intermediate. Who would have thought he had such a trick up his sleeve? So cunning," added Xiao Hanyi, whose clothes were in tatters.
Xiao Jin's constricting attack hadn't caused Xiao Hanyi any serious injuries, just ruined his clothes. Fortunately, Xiao Jin hadn't gone for his pants.
"Don't just talk about me. None of you went easy either," said Lin Zhan, with a sword mark on his head and a large chunk torn from his shirt. "Look how fierce Old Xiao's sword strike was. If that had been real, I'd be finished. And Old He, if you couldn't beat me, why did you tear my clothes?"
"Who told you to hit me the hardest?"
"Old Xiao is the strongest. Old Jiang, looking at your small physique, how can you hit so hard? You're as strong as an ox, so who else would I hit?"
He Dazhuang...
"Old Lin, you've tempered and strengthened your physical body, haven't you?" Xiao Hanyi asked, his poker face unchanging.
"Yes, Old Lin, how far have you strengthened it to be this strong?" Jiang Zheng asked, his black eyes questioning.
"The first round of overall physical body tempering and strengthening is complete. You know how my grandfather used to slay lords of all races like chopping vegetables? It was because he strengthened his physical body twice more than others. From then on, our Lin family realized the importance of the physical body, and my grandfather and father have been collecting heavenly treasures to strengthen it. My first strengthening alone used more than half of various heavenly treasures to succeed, all to complete the first tempering and strengthening before reaching the Gold rank."
Lin Zhan couldn't explain the system's existence to his friends, so he attributed it to his grandfather and father.
"Damn, Old Lin's grandfather and father are amazing! How many years in advance did they prepare this for Old Lin?" He Dazhuang said somewhat foolishly.
Jiang Zheng paused for a moment and said, "So, as long as there are enough heavenly treasures, one can successfully complete the first tempering and strengthening of the physical body before Gold rank. By extension, Gold and Platinum ranks can undergo the second strengthening. Diamond takes the longest accumulation time, and with sufficient resources, the third strengthening can definitely be achieved. Do lords in the late stages also achieve the fourth strengthening? Did Grandpa Lin also undergo four strengthenings when he became a lord?"
Lin Zhan was taken aback: "This guy's imagination is too wild. I just made it up to fool you." He quickly asked the system, "Is Jiang Zheng's method feasible? Don't let him mess around and cause any casualties." Su Dan Novel Network.
"Host, please rest assured, this method is indeed feasible. Moreover, many royal descendants use this method to cultivate exceptionally talented descendants with pure bloodlines. Humans should also have hidden royal families using this method to temper and strengthen their descendants. However, humans have only recently awakened, and much of their edge is hidden to prevent the myriad races from jointly eradicating humanity. However, in the early stages of using heavenly treasures, the first step is not tempering and strengthening but nourishing one's own qi and blood, bones, and meridians. Using the nourished powerful qi and blood to cleanse the bones and expand the meridians. The disadvantage is immense consumption and extreme pain, far more than normal tempering and strengthening."
After listening to the system's explanation, Lin Zhan turned to Jiang Zheng and said, "My grandfather successfully underwent five strengthenings, making his physical body incredibly strong. Most forbidden battle techniques could no longer inflict damage on his body. Therefore, few lords of the same rank could withstand him. Your deduction is correct, but the first tempering and strengthening is not primarily about strengthening. The first step is to nourish one's own qi and blood, and then use the powerful qi and blood to temper the body to achieve strengthening. Of course, the disadvantages are also significant: first, the consumption is immense, and second, the pain far exceeds that of normal tempering and strengthening. You know our family's situation: my grandfather is dead and my father is severely injured. Our family urgently needs experts who can withstand pressure, so I chose this path."
"You said that the first strengthening used more than half of various heavenly treasures, meaning you still have heavenly treasures left for your second strengthening. Yet you still want to surpass us in the second strengthening. Lin Lao Hei still wants to beat us," He Dazhuang said, again missing the point.
"Old Xiao, what do you think of this strengthening method?" Jiang Zheng asked Xiao Hanyi.
"In fact, my master also uses a similar method for tempering and strengthening, but we assassins use killing intent. We use killing intent to hone the body and accelerate the circulation of qi and blood," Xiao Hanyi explained slowly. "All my bones have been strengthened once, and my muscles have been strengthened in my limbs, leaving only the torso. However, killing intent is too overbearing. At best, it would require advancing to Silver intermediate before tempering meridians and nerves, otherwise, without the protection of martial energy, it would cause serious injuries."
"So you've all been hiding your strength, and I'm the only honest one," said the not-so-sharp Da Zhuang.
"Having a spirited demeanor is enough for you. Let's go, let Lin Lao Hei treat us."
"Right, we must make Lin Lao Hei pay dearly. The top floor of our academy's cafeteria. We must eat Gold rank ferocious beast meat!"
With that, the four walked out of the training room and headed for a grand meal. Passing students looked at their flashy appearances and whispered, "Are the academy's security guards so lax nowadays? Where did these beggars come from?" Some female students pointed and discussed, "Look, the tallest beggar is wearing a fake gold chain and a watch. The young man with the red mark on his forehead is so handsome, it's a shame he's a beggar. Look, he's still wearing ripped clothes, what a waste of such good looks."
The four looked at each other. "Da Zhuang, can't you be more low-key? Why is a student wearing a big gold chain and a small watch?"
Da Zhuang...
When the group arrived at the cafeteria, they were stopped by a server. "Hello, sirs. This is the academy cafeteria and is not open to the public."
Reluctantly, Lin Zhan presented his student ID, which allowed them entry. They went to the top floor of the cafeteria and booked a private room. He Dazhuang took the menu and ordered, "Four servings of Gold rank steak, one pot of Silver rank Phoenix Bird Ginseng soup, one steamed Silver rank saury, four servings of Silver rank baked lobster, one serving each of Silver rank fried pork chops, and sweet and sour pork. Also, some spiritual fruits and vegetables." If the four weren't all Bronze rank and couldn't consume too much Gold rank ingredients, He Dazhuang wouldn't have ordered Silver rank dishes.
The bill after the meal was awkward: "Hello, sirs. The total bill is 100,300 New Singapore Dollars (the new unified currency issued by the Earth Alliance). After the discount, it's exactly 100,000. Will you be paying in cash or by academic credits? It requires 10 academic credits." Finally, under the manager's threat of calling the police, Lin Zhan tossed out a peak Silver rank beast core. He accepted the 400,000 change from the manager, and with smiles of appeasement, the group headed back to the dormitory.