"I'm really going to die!" Gao Neng had no doubt that if his Vitality dropped to "0," he stood absolutely no chance of survival.
'What should I do?'
'I have to do something!'
'Right, the Third Set of School Calisthenics: Youthful Dance.'
'No matter what, I have to give myself a boost!'
Gao Neng's body was wracked with excruciating pain, but he had to use the last of his strength. First set: Stretching… Begin!
...
Vitality: 11/200
Spirit: 5/95
...
Vitality: 7/200
Spirit: 2/95
...
'This is intense!'
Gao Neng felt like he was dancing on the edge of death. His Vitality would go up by 1 point, only to drop by 2. And the most terrifying part was the sense of pleasure that was blooming within him.
'Pleasure, my ass.'
"Ding, Host has successfully broken through the first human limit!"
As Gao Neng reached the sixth set—abdominals and back—the mechanical voice finally rang out. His body went slack, no longer able to hold on. His vision turned black, and he passed out.
While unconscious, he seemed to see all the bones in his body bathed in a metallic glow, with specks of light constantly flowing over them.
After an unknown amount of time, the pain finally ended.
What followed was pure bliss.
The transition from extreme agony to utter bliss felt like being enveloped in a soft, warm sponge, and Gao Neng couldn't help but let out a soft moan.
"I'm not dead?" Gao Neng's eyes shot open. His hands and feet were still there. He sucked in a huge breath. It felt so good to be alive.
He was overjoyed.
'But why does it stink so bad?'
Gao Neng sat up. He looked down and saw his body was covered in a thick layer of black, viscous sweat. The foul stench assaulted his nostrils.
"Ugh…" Gao Neng pinched his nose and ran straight for the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and began rinsing himself off frantically. Even as the cold water sluiced over his body, he felt no chill.
Huh?
'I think I've actually gotten stronger!'
Gao Neng looked at the Attribute Panel again.
Name: Gao Neng.
Vitality: 15/201. (Successfully broke through the first human limit. Aptitude Rating: Good. Vitality cultivation speed increased by 20%.)
Spirit: 8/96. (Successfully broke through the first human limit. Aptitude Rating: Good. Spirit cultivation speed increased by 17%.)
...
"My Vitality cap increased by 100 points?! And my Spirit by 46!" Gao Neng never imagined a single Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill could double his physical prowess.
What's more, he had broken through the first human limit.
'What does this mean?'
It meant Gao Neng now had the foundation to become an Energy Warrior. If he wanted to, he could become one as soon as he entered the City of Hope's Military University.
"This is insane! And this was just one Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill? If I had two, could I break through the second human limit?" Gao Neng had already forgotten the pain; he was too excited.
Rumor had it that someone who broke the first human limit before becoming an Energy Warrior could master basic energy combat methods, like the Energy Extraction Technique.
Breaking the human limit twice before becoming an Energy Warrior allowed one to master even more advanced methods, such as the Energy Synthesis Technique, the Energy Refining Technique, and so on.
And if you could break the human limit three times...
...then that person would have a chance to learn Energy Manifestation!
'Energy Manifestation!'
It was impossible for Gao Neng not to be excited.
This Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill was unbelievable.
Although the process had been agonizing and he'd nearly died, the result was a delightful surprise.
Best of all, he thought he finally understood what the pill's "refreshed rating" meant.
If he remembered correctly, the system had initially rated his Vitality and Spirit as "Average," but now they were "Good."
'My aptitude has improved, and my training speed has increased?!'
Gao Neng felt the impact of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill was beyond anything he could have imagined. It was like taking an untalented nobody and forging them into a martial arts genius!
'Okay, calm down.'
'I've gotta do some calisthenics to calm down.'
Gao Neng remembered that the calisthenics routine also increased his training speed by 50%. Now, with the additional 20% from his improved aptitude, he wondered just how much his max Vitality would increase if he kept at it all night.
The time was 2:30 AM.
"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR... TWO, TWO, THREE, FOUR... THREE, TWO, THREE, FOUR..." Soft pants once again filled Gao Neng's small room, growing faster and more intense.
...
...
「Forgotten Land. Inside a renovated old villa.」
Tang De was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of floral shorts. He picked up a glass of red wine from the table, took a small sip, and resumed his artistic creation with a paintbrush in hand.
Before him, an equally naked woman lay with her eyes slightly closed, her face flushed. She let Tang De paint directly onto her body, a look of sublime enjoyment on her face.
Tang De's brushstrokes were fluid and graceful. Soon, he had sketched the outline of a red peony.
"Art... now this is art!" Tang De took another swig of red wine, but instead of swallowing, he sprayed it onto the red peony. PSST!
A blood-tinged peony!
Exquisitely vibrant!
The woman's body trembled lightly. She slowly opened her eyes, and as she gazed at the red peony on her skin, her face grew even more flushed.
Just then, his phone rang.
Tang De frowned. He detested being interrupted in the middle of his artistic process. It was a sign of disrespect, a desecration of art itself.
But when his gaze fell upon the phone's screen, he set down his brush nonetheless. He cleared his throat twice before answering. "Lieutenant Qin, what business could you have with Old Tang in the dead of night?"
"It's serious!" Qin Tianxiong's grave voice came through the phone.
"Oh? Don't scare me, Lieutenant Qin. I'm a timid man, you know." Tang De sat up straight and waved a dismissive hand at the woman before him.
"How annoying," the woman muttered, clearly displeased. She hummed in irritation, slowly sitting up and draping a sheer robe over her shoulders.
In the moonlight, her shadow stretched across the floor, long and bewitching.
But the strange thing was her eyes. They weren't a normal black, but a faint, spectral blue, as if they were portals to another dimension.
But most peculiar of all were her ears.
They were long and pointed, standing upright just like the elves of myth.
The woman rose slowly and walked a few steps to the table. She picked up a glass of wine and lit a cigar, drinking and smoking as she pleased, with no intention of asking for Tang De's permission.
Meanwhile, Tang De's expression grew increasingly grim.
"What did you say?! Wei'Er attacked a Major? What Major...? Shen Ning'Er? Isn't she one of your soldiers?! Qin Tianxiong, are you fucking with me?!"
CLICK!
The line went dead.
Tang De immediately kicked a nearby chair. CRACK! The chair snapped in two, the break so clean it looked as if it had been sliced through by a razor-sharp blade.