The West Wing guest suite was a marvel of modern luxury, with heated marble floors and a rainfall shower that cost more than a small car.
Right now, however, the pristine white bathroom looked like a mechanic's workshop after an oil spill.
Lin Meng stood under the scalding water, scrubbing. The water swirling down the drain was gray, thick, and murky. She used an entire bottle of expensive body wash, scrubbing until her skin was raw, trying to get the last of the black, tar-like substance off her body.
But as the filth washed away, what remained underneath was shocking.
She looked at her arm. The skin wasn't just clean; it was luminous. The faint, persistent acne scarring she'd had since middle school was gone. The pale, sickly undertone from her recent stress was replaced by a vibrant, rosy health. Her muscles, usually soft from a sedentary student life, felt dense. Taut.
She turned off the water. She stepped out and looked in the mirror.
She gasped.
Her eyes were brighter, the whites stark and clear, the irises a deep, piercing brown. Her hair, once frizzy, hung heavy and glossy. She looked like a Photoshopped version of herself.
She wrapped herself in a plush robe and stepped out into the bedroom.
Lin Hao was sitting in a chair by the window, watching the fog swirl outside. Fatty Zhang was standing by the door, holding a tray of water and protein bars, looking like he was terrified to make a sudden movement.
Fatty looked at Lin Meng and nearly dropped the tray.
"Whoa," Fatty whispered. "Boss... she's glowing. Literally glowing."
Lin Hao turned. He scanned her with his [Level 8] senses. The chaotic, feverish heat was gone. Her Qi signature was calm, steady, and waiting.
"I feel..." Lin Meng looked at her hands, clenching and unclenching them. "I feel clean. Inside and out. Like I just woke up from a ten-year nap."
"You did," Lin Hao said, standing up. "That was Marrow Cleansing. The first step of the Legacy. It stripped away the mortal filth that was blocking you."
He pointed to the center of the plush rug.
"Don't waste the momentum, Meng. Your meridians are wide open. Your body is hungry. Sit."
Lin Meng didn't argue. She sat cross-legged on the rug. The memory of the pain, the burning, tearing agony, was still fresh, making her hesitate for a heartbeat.
"Trust the flow," Lin Hao said softly. "It won't hurt this time. The pipe is wide enough now."
She nodded. She closed her eyes.
She summoned the Clear Water Chant.
She visualized the river. She reached out to the energy in the room.
WHOOSH.
It didn't crash. It didn't burn.
It glided.
The Reiki poured into her [Common Root] meridians like cool water sliding down a glass slide. It was effortless. It was smooth. It swirled into her Dantian, forming a small, neat vortex of blue-white light.
She felt a thrill of pure ecstasy. This was what it was supposed to be. This was the magic she had been promised.
She pushed the energy outward, guiding it toward her skin, following the manual's instructions for the first layer of defense.
Cycle 1... Cycle 2... Cycle 3...
The energy saturated her skin cells. It bonded with them. It hardened them.
In the room, Lin Hao watched closely. He saw a faint, blue ripple pass over her skin, like a shimmer of heat.
SNAP.
A soft, audible sound, like a dry twig breaking, came from inside her body.
Lin Meng's eyes snapped open. A sudden, invisible shockwave of air blasted outward from her, rustling the curtains and making Fatty's suit jacket flap.
Her skin flashed with a momentary, metallic sheen, like polished iron, before fading back to normal.
She looked up at Lin Hao, a wide, incredulous smile breaking across her face.
"I felt it," she whispered. "It clicked."
Lin Hao looked at the system prompt hovering over her head.
[Target: Lin Meng] [Cultivation: Level 1: Novice (Iron Skin)]
He smiled. It was a 50,000 UP smile.
"Welcome to the world of cultivation, Sister," he said.
He looked at Fatty Zhang, whose jaw was on the floor.
"Mr. Zhang," Lin Hao said. "Get the car. We have one more stop to make before we take her home."
"Home?" Lin Meng asked, standing up effortlessly. "But... can't I stay here? To train?"
"Not yet," Lin Hao said. "You have school. You have Mom and Dad. You have a cover to maintain. But first..."
He walked over to the closet and pulled out a long, thin box.
"You have defense. Now you need a weapon."