6: Chapter 6: Even Residue Can Be Treasure - Physics and Chalk

The wind outside the cafeteria carried a hint of chill.

Lin Qi stood on the steps, feeling the heat still radiating from his stomach.

The ten jin of Iron-Backed Pig meat was truly effective; his bones, which had felt somewhat frail, now felt heavy, and their hardness had increased by at least thirty percent.

But this was not enough.

To truly step into the first stage of the martial Dao, 'Skin Refining,' relying solely on eating meat to replenish Qi and blood was too slow; he needed medicinal assistance to train that layer of skin membrane to be as tough as ox leather.

"Seventh Brother! Seventh Master!"

The green belt nearby suddenly swayed.

A round figure agilely crawled out, his movements so practiced that it made one wonder if he frequently lurked there.

It was the chubby guy from before who wanted to buy the finger technique, Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei was all smiles, holding a thermos cup in his hand as if offering a treasure.

"Freshly brewed 'Qi-Smoothing Soup,' my family's secret recipe, with added Ice Soul Grass and hawthorn extract, specifically designed to suppress the fierce energy of source beast meat."

Lin Qi didn't take it, his nose twitching slightly.

Menthol, dried tangerine peel, hawthorn, and a faint scent of ice lotus.

It was indeed good stuff for digestion and reducing internal heat, and it wasn't poisonous.

He took the cup and gulped down a large mouthful.

The icy liquid slid down his throat, perfectly neutralizing the lingering heat in his stomach, and he let out a long breath in comfort.

"Thanks."

Lin Qi tossed the empty cup back.

Zhang Wei caught the cup, the fat on his face bunching together, his already small eyes squinting into slits.

"Seventh Brother, I saw it just now."

Zhang Wei lowered his voice, looking left and right as if discussing state secrets.

"When you were eating the meat, the rhythm of your chest's rise and fall was definitely not just random eating. That was some kind of special energy guidance technique, right?"

Lin Qi raised an eyebrow, looking at this chubby guy with some surprise.

With thousands of students in the school, even Instructor Su Qing needed tactical goggles to spot data anomalies.

This chubby guy could see the trick with his naked eye?

"You understand this?"

"Don't understand, don't understand at all."

Zhang Wei waved his hands hurriedly, chuckling: "But my family runs a medicine shop, and I've seen all kinds of professionals taking medicine and training since I was a kid. The rhythm of your swallowing just now was a bit like the 'breathing technique' of top experts in those big guilds, but not exactly the same."

"Seventh Brother's method looks wilder, more... overbearing."

Interesting.

Lin Qi re-evaluated this little chubby guy.

His combat power was estimated to be only 5, but this eye for detail was at least 50.

He was good material for business.

Seeing that Lin Qi didn't refute him, Zhang Wei felt reassured.

He was also a smart person, knowing that some secrets shouldn't be probed too deeply, so he immediately changed the subject.

He pulled out a business card and handed it over with both hands.

The material of this business card was obviously much more Advanced; it wasn't paper, but a thin metal card.

On the back, a string of addresses was written with a marker.

"Seventh Brother, although your Physique is special and you can handle source beast meat, that is coarse food and contains many Impurities."

Zhang Wei rubbed his hands, his tone sincere: "To truly improve your body, you have to rely on 'medicinal supplementation.' Huichun Hall may not be a large corporation, but we have some connections in Tianhai City."

Lin Qi played with the metal card.

"You also know I'm a blank slate, with pockets cleaner than my face."

"Money is not an issue!"

Zhang Wei became anxious and lowered his voice: "I know Seventh Brother is tight on cash right now. So, the address I left for you is for one of my family's warehouses in the black market on the west side of the city."

"It's piled up with drug dregs that the System has judged as 'waste,' or offcuts that haven't aged enough."

"For those delicate professionals, these things can't be directly synthesized into potions."

"But I think, with Seventh Brother's methods, you might be able to turn waste into treasure."

Lin Qi's fingers paused.

Drug dregs?

In this digitized world, if medicinal materials don't meet the purity standards set by the System, they cannot be synthesized into finished potions by alchemists and can only be treated as trash.

But in the martial Dao world, where is there such a thing as waste?

As long as the medicinal properties remain, whether boiled or soaked, the essence within can be extracted.

This chubby guy had just delivered a pillow right when he wanted to sleep.

"How much?"

Lin Qi asked.

"Talking about money hurts feelings."

Zhang Wei patted his chest:

"Those were originally meant to be destroyed. If Seventh Brother can use them, take them, just consider it me clearing out the warehouse inventory."

This was a naked investment.

Lin Qi looked at Zhang Wei's face, which was practically written with 'I want to cling to your thigh,' and smiled.

This chubby guy knew how to conduct himself; instead of talking about the non-existent 100,000 apprenticeship fee, it was better to give something practical.

"Fine."

Lin Qi tucked the metal card into his pocket:

"Lead the way after school."

Zhang Wei's eyes lit up, and he was so excited he almost jumped:

"Alright! I'll wait for you at the school gate, I have a car!"

Watching Zhang Wei's happy retreating figure, Lin Qi was in a good mood.

The few potent medicines needed for Skin Refining, like Iron Bone Grass and Red Fire Root, were prohibitively expensive in regular pharmacies; if they were defective or offcuts, he could indeed save a large sum of money.

As long as the first layer of skin membrane was refined, even without a professional panel, ordinary blades would find it hard to hurt him.

Lin Qi turned and walked towards the teaching building.

The Special Training Class classroom was on the top floor, with the best lighting and the most Advanced equipment.

As soon as he pushed the door open, the noisy classroom quieted down slightly.

Many gazes were cast over, filled with inquiry and mockery.

Lin Qi ignored them and headed straight for his seat.

It was the seat by the window in the last row, the standard 'protagonist's spot.'

But now, that spot was in shambles.

The desk had been pushed askew, several books were scattered on the floor, and a few dusty footprints were printed on the covers.

Even one of the chair legs had been removed, leaning against the wall like a cripple.

This tactic was childish enough to make one laugh.

Lin Qi didn't even need to look up to feel the smug gaze from the other side of the classroom.

Wang Gang was sitting on a desk, swinging his legs, laughing loudly with a few lackeys, glancing over from time to time, waiting to see Lin Qi fly into a rage.

But he was disappointed.

Lin Qi's face held no expression; there was neither anger nor grievance.

He just bent down, picked up the books, dusted them off, and stacked them neatly on the corner of the desk.

Then, with one hand, he picked up the chair that was missing a leg and snapped it with a bit of force.

Snap.

The other three legs were also neatly snapped off by him.

The chair became a stool, he tossed it onto the ground, and sat down on it.

Although it was a bit low, it was very stable.

"Heh, coward."

A sneer came from the distance from Wang Gang:

"Can't even make a sound when being trampled on; a blank slate is just a blank slate, spineless."

Lin Qi acted as if he hadn't heard.

He fished a piece of chalk out of his drawer and twirled it nimbly between his fingers.

The white chalk seemed to have a life of its own in his hand, moving up and down, so fast that only an afterimage could be seen.

This kind of child's play was not worth wasting time arguing over.

On a real battlefield, no one would ever spare your life just because you could curse.

As long as the timing was right, this piece of chalk would be more effective than any curse.

"Ding-a-ling—"

The bell for class rang.

Instructor Su Qing walked into the classroom in high heels, her gaze sweeping across the room.

She saw Lin Qi sitting on the 'low stool' in the corner, and also saw the books with footprints on them.

Her brow furrowed, and she was about to speak.

But she realized the person involved was playing with the chalk with a calm face, his eyes as peaceful as a deep pool.

Instructor Su Qing swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

This kid was even more composed than she had imagined.

Or perhaps, he didn't even take this kind of provocation seriously?

"This is a theory class."

Instructor Su Qing tapped the podium and turned on the holographic projection behind her:

"The lecturer is a specially hired data analyst, so everyone buckle up."

As the projection lit up, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses walked in.

He glanced at the students in the classroom, his gaze lingering on Lin Qi for half a second before moving away with some disdain.

"Today we are discussing 'Damage Calculation Formula and Defense Threshold'."

The teacher pushed his glasses and pointed to a complex string of formulas on the screen:

"In this world, data is the absolute truth.

As long as your attack power cannot break through the opponent's defense threshold, the damage caused can only be a mandatory 1 point, or even 0."

Lin Qi stopped spinning the chalk.

He looked at the so-called 'truth formula' on the blackboard, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

Truth?

If data could represent everything, then what was the point of having a brain?

He gripped the piece of chalk, his fingertips applying slight force.

The fragile chalk did not break; instead, under the infusion of a certain clever force, it became as hard as iron.

Since this world was superstitious about data.

Then later, he would teach these data believers a vivid physics lesson.