69: Chapter 69 Mastery of Meat Refining, A Thousand Jin of Strength

Slap!

The crisp sound echoed through the hall, making the eyelids of the students who hadn't entered the trial yet twitch.

Li Shaobai was knocked sideways to the left, his previously vacant pupils suddenly constricting.

It wasn't just physical pain.

It was more like a red-hot hammer smashing ruthlessly into his Chaos-filled mind, shattering those tangled nightmares into pieces.

That wisp of Martial Intent attached to the palm surged into his Sea of Consciousness along his nerves, forcibly pulling him back to reality.

“Cough... cough cough!”

Li Shaobai clutched his chest and coughed violently, gasping for air as sweat dripped from the tip of his nose onto the floor.

He looked up blankly, his vision gradually coming into focus.

In front of him, there was no shattered Family plaque, nor were there any rivals mocking him—only a slightly impatient face.

And half of a cheek that stung with burning pain.

“Lin... Lin Qi?”

Li Shaobai's voice was hoarse as he subconsciously touched his swollen left cheek. “You dared to hit me?”

“Don't mention it.”

Lin Qi shook his hand as if he had just touched something dirty. “The medical fee is waived. Just remember to wash your face better in the future; it's so oily it’s sticky.”

Li Shaobai was stunned.

He opened his mouth, about to flare up, but the terrifying fragments of the illusions flashed in his mind again.

That sense of despair still lingered.

If it hadn't been for this slap forcibly dragging him back, he might have truly sunk into that nightmare until his mind collapsed.

“You...”

Li Shaobai gritted his teeth, his face turning various shades of blue and white. Finally, he turned away and muttered under his breath, “Meddler.”

“Still able to curse, looks like your brain isn't broken.”

Lin Qi stood up and looked down at the young master of the wealthy clan. “If you don't want to become an idiot, get up quickly. There are still people lining up behind you waiting to go in and cry.”

Having said that, he didn't give Li Shaobai another look and turned toward the exit of the hall.

Li Shaobai watched that back, his expression complicated.

He pushed off the floor trying to stand up, but found his legs were incredibly weak. It took several attempts before he could barely stand steady by leaning against the wall.

The surrounding students watched this scene, but no one dared to laugh.

Because Lin Qi had already walked out of the light gate.

The moment that figure in cheap sportswear stepped out of the trial area, the previously noisy monitoring hall suddenly fell silent.

Immediately following, applause rang out.

It started with Night Owl.

This chief examiner, who was always known for being cold, was currently standing on the high platform, clapping with a steady and powerful rhythm and an expressionless face.

Then came the young teaching assistant and several mentors responsible for recording data nearby.

Finally, even the upperclassmen observing from outside were drawn in, and the applause rose like a tide.

This wasn't a courtesy for a Genius.

This was respect for the strong.

Dismantling an Ogre with bare hands without any professional skill buffs and clearing the Will Trial in three minutes.

Such a record was enough to silence any doubt.

Elder Mo sat on a chair in the corner, still holding that thermos with peeling paint.

He looked at Lin Qi, who was being watched by the crowd, a gratified smile appearing on his wrinkled face as he took a sip of tea.

“This kid has a bit of this old man's style from back then.”

And in the shadows on the other side.

Examiner Wang Su leaned against the wall. Although his broken wrist had been set, it was currently throbbing with pain.

He looked at the high-profile Lin Qi, his face pale.

He knew very well that from this moment on, it would be impossible to touch Lin Qi within the rules.

The academy's high-level officials weren't blind.

Such a record-breaking monster rookie would definitely be listed as a core target for protection.

“Damn it...”

Examiner Wang Su cursed under his breath, turned into the crowd, and slunk away from the scene.

Night Owl walked down from the high platform and approached Lin Qi.

“Overall Rating: SSS.”

Night Owl's voice wasn't loud, but it reached the entire audience. “Lin Qi, congratulations on officially becoming a Core Student of Longya Academy. Your permission Rank has been raised to the highest level, and specific benefits will be sent to your terminal later.”

“Thanks.”

Lin Qi nodded, his attitude as calm as if he had just bought two catties of cabbage at a vegetable market.

He didn't linger, rejecting several seniors who tried to come over and curry favor, and walked straight out of the underground hall.

To him now, such empty fame was meaningless.

The Breakthrough in Mental Energy during the trial just now had allowed him to touch the opportunity for physical evolution.

That feeling was fleeting and had to be seized.

...

Returning to the assigned single dormitory.

Lin Qi locked the door, drew the curtains, and sat cross-legged directly on the carpet.

The room was very quiet.

He closed his eyes, his breathing rhythm changing rapidly. With the rise and fall of his chest, a low sound like a bellows being pulled was emitted.

That was an Ancient Martial Breathing Method.

Mental Energy was highly concentrated, allowing him to look inward at himself.

With the enhancement of Martial Intent, his perception of his body reached an unprecedented level of clarity.

Every muscle, every blood vessel, and even every tiny muscle fiber constructed a precise 3D model in his mind.

“Flesh Refining lies in the details.”

Lin Qi thought to himself.

Although his Flesh Refining had reached the edge of Major Achievement before, he always felt like he was missing a final layer.

Those were the subtle fibers deep within the muscle that usually couldn't be mobilized at all.

But now it was different.

That newly awakened willpower was like an invisible hand, guiding the residual essence energy in his body to forcibly squeeze into those smallest muscle gaps.

Zizi...

Faint sounds came from inside his body, like an electric current flowing through.

Intense pain struck.

That pain was like countless needles piercing the muscles of his entire body, wanting to tear apart and reorganize every single fiber.

Lin Qi frowned slightly, his body trembling a little, but his breathing rhythm didn't falter in the slightest.

This bit of pain was nothing compared to the despair of being paralyzed in bed in his previous life; it wasn't even as bad as a scratch.

“Condense for me!”

Lin Qi shouted in his heart.

The essence in his body, compressed by his will, turned into a scalding heat wave, washing over the muscle tissue again and again.

The originally dark red muscle fibers began to undergo a qualitative change.

Impurities were expelled, and the fibers became tighter and more translucent, with the connections between them becoming more intimate, presenting a perfect structure like twisted steel cables.

This structure could not only explode with stronger power but also buffer external impacts to a great extent.

Half an hour later.

Boom!

A dull roar sounded inside Lin Qi's body, as if some kind of shackle had been broken.

He suddenly opened his eyes and exhaled a stream of white air.

This airflow was condensed and didn't dissipate, shooting out a full two meters and hitting the opposite wall with a crisp snap.

Pores across his whole body expanded, and a layer of gray-black oily substance was expelled, emitting a faint foul odor.

Flesh Refining, Major Achievement.

Lin Qi stood up and moved his limbs.

Crackling.

His joints popped throughout his body, as dense as frying beans.

He walked to the Dynamometer provided in the dormitory and gave it a casual squeeze.

Beep—!

The Dynamometer emitted a piercing alarm, and the numbers on the display jumped wildly before finally settling on 'Over Range.'

It went off the charts.

The upper limit of this Dynamometer was 500 kilograms.

“Single-arm strength is at least a thousand jin.”

Lin Qi looked at the deformed Dynamometer in his hand, lost in thought. “My current physical defense should be able to withstand the normal attacks of Silver-rank monsters without being breached.”

This was the true Bronze Skin and Iron Bones.

He clenched his fist, the air booming in his palm; he knew he had finally gained a firm foothold in this digital world.