13: Chapter 13 A body as strong as iron, impervious to the slightest damage from ordinary iron.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

When the dark red medicinal liquid touched his skin, it made a sound like raw meat being thrown into a boiling oil pan.

Lin Qi gritted his teeth, the muscles in his cheeks bulging into hard, angular ridges.

This wasn't a bath at all; it was torture.

But the movements of his hands didn't pause for a second. Instead, he pressed the towel, soaked with the medicinal liquid, even harder against both sides of his ribs.

"If I can't even handle this little bit of pain, how can I talk about returning to my Peak?"

Lin Qi cursed in a low, raspy voice.

The sweat had just seeped from his forehead before it was evaporated by the high heat into white mist.

This kind of pain was very unique.

It wasn't the sharp pain of being cut by a knife, but a dense, pervasive aching and burning.

It felt as if tens of thousands of ants were burrowing into his flesh through his open pores, forcibly stuffing bone powder particles into his cell walls.

"Whew—"

Lin Qi adjusted his breathing frequency.

His abdomen rose and fell violently with his breath, making a dull sound similar to a bellows being pulled.

This was the Internal Breathing Method that accompanied the Golden Bell Shield.

By vibrating the diaphragm, it forcibly interfered with the nervous System's signal transmission, shielding thirty percent of the pain signals.

"Again."

Lin Qi threw the towel back into the pot.

Gurgle.

The thick medicinal liquid bubbled, emitting a nauseating burnt smell.

He fished out the towel, this time aiming for the most vulnerable areas: his neck and armpits.

"If Zhang Wei saw this, he'd probably be scared into calling the police."

Lin Qi laughed self-mockingly, his palm suddenly exerting force.

Slap.

The scalding wet towel whipped against his neck.

The skin instantly became congested, turning a deep, purplish red.

The fire poison from the Blazing Sun Grass began to take effect.

This was a domineering plant toxin that could expand capillaries to their limit.

The calcium and phosphorus in the Low-quality Bone Powder took this opportunity to flood frantically into the depths of the skin membrane.

This was the essence of Skin Refining.

Using high-density substances to fill the gaps in the human skin membrane was like tamping earth, compacting the loose body into an iron plate.

In the martial arts era, this was a process every novice village player had to go through.

But in the real world, this was called self-mutilation.

Lin Qi could clearly feel that his originally loose skin was undergoing some kind of qualitative change.

The burning sensation gradually receded, replaced by an intense itch.

That was new flesh growing and cells reorganizing.

"It's working."

Lin Qi glanced at his arm.

His originally pale and sickly skin was now as red as a cooked shrimp, and its surface was covered in a layer of grayish-black oily sludge.

Those were the internal Impurities forced out by the medicinal power.

The medicinal liquid in the pot grew less and less, until finally, only a layer of dried black crust remained.

Lin Qi smeared the last bit of medicinal residue onto the soles of his feet.

After finishing all this, he was in no hurry to wash up.

The medicinal power was still there.

Washing it off now would be a waste.

He sat cross-legged directly on the floor, assuming a Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture.

Eyes closed.

Meditation.

His consciousness sank into his body.

The few wisps of weak essence refined from the Source Beast Meat were currently lurking in his Dantian.

"Move."

Lin Qi issued the command in his mind.

The essence was like obedient fish, swimming along his meridians to the surface of his entire body.

They were the best adhesive.

They could perfectly Fusion the medicinal power, bone powder, and his own flesh and blood together, locking in the essence.

Time passed minute by minute.

The dormitory was so quiet that only the ticking of the clock on the wall could be heard.

Lin Qi was like a freshly unearthed clay sculpture, his entire body wrapped in dried medicinal crust, motionless.

This state lasted for a full two hours.

Until late at night.

The sound of insects outside the window grew sparse.

Lin Qi's breathing became extremely long; he took one breath every three minutes and exhaled after another three.

Every exhalation would blow up the dust on the floor.

Suddenly.

Crack.

A faint, crisp sound broke the silence.

Lin Qi snapped his eyes open.

In that instant, a bolt of light seemed to flash through the dim room.

That was a manifestation of highly concentrated spirit, energy, and soul.

He stood up, his body shaking slightly.

Crash.

The thick layer of black medicinal crust covering his body fell off in large chunks, like a shattered eggshell.

It hit the floor and crumbled into powder.

Lin Qi looked down at his body.

The redness had faded.

In its place was a healthy, textured bronze color.

Although his muscle mass hadn't expanded exaggeratedly and he still appeared lean,

The texture had completely changed.

The luster was restrained, and his pores were so fine they were almost invisible.

Lin Qi reached out and pressed his arm.

Hard.

When his finger pressed down, he could feel a clear rebounding force, as if he were pressing against a layer of thick, old cowhide.

This was no longer the sickly body that would collapse if the wind blew.

"It's done?"

Lin Qi moved his joints.

Crack, pop, snap.

His entire skeleton emitted a series of crisp sounds like popping beans.

A sense of power.

An unprecedented sense of power filled every limb and bone.

Although he was still a hundred thousand miles away from the great power of moving mountains and filling seas, at least now, this body finally looked somewhat "human."

Lin Qi walked to the desk.

On the desk lay a fruit knife used for peeling apples.

A cheap piece of junk from a street stall, but the blade was still reasonably sharp.

He picked up the knife and held it in a reverse grip.

Without any hesitation, he aimed the blade at the outside of his left arm and slashed hard.

Screech.

The sound was very dull.

It was like a blunt knife cutting into tire rubber.

Lin Qi raised his hand and examined it closely under the light.

No blood.

The skin hadn't even broken.

It only left a faint white mark on his bronze skin.

He rubbed it with his thumb, and the white mark disappeared.

"Mortal iron fails to harm."

A satisfied curve appeared at the corner of Lin Qi's mouth.

Although this knife was just ordinary steel and he hadn't used his full strength,

This was enough to prove that his current defensive power already exceeded most low-level leather armor.

If that bald guy saw this scene, he'd probably doubt his life.

The so-called digitized defense value was a joke in front of this layer of skin membrane.

"And this is only the first day."

Lin Qi put down the knife, feeling quite good.

This fifty yuan was spent very well.

If he followed this progress, after a few more medicinal baths combined with the breathing method, this skin membrane could advance even further.

By then, even ordinary bullets, as long as they didn't hit a vital spot directly, would likely be stuck outside the muscle layer.

Lin Qi turned and walked into the bathroom.

After a simple rinse, he swept the medicinal crust on the floor into the trash can and opened the window to air out the smell.

Only after cleaning up all traces did he lie back on the bed.

His body was tired, but his spirit was exceptionally excited.

This tangible feeling of becoming stronger was more addictive than any level-up notification sound.

"There's physical education class tomorrow."

Lin Qi closed his eyes, and the cold and elegant face of Instructor Su Qing flashed through his mind, along with the data analyst Teacher Wang Bo, who was always targeting him.

"I hope tomorrow's testing equipment is sturdy enough."

He muttered to himself, rolled over, and quickly entered a deep sleep.

This sleep was to let his body adapt to the new changes.

But what he didn't know was that although this crude method of strengthening showed results quickly, it also had side effects.

His body was like an old car that had just been fitted with a high-power engine.

The engine was replaced.

But the drive shaft and fuel tank hadn't caught up yet.

What kind of "surprise" this body would give him when he woke up tomorrow morning, even he couldn't predict.