System Bug? Impossible!

On the Dou Qi Continent, Magical Beasts could also cultivate and advance.

Especially the Fiery Poison Seal Python, which had already reached the Fifth-order Magical Beast rank.

A Sixth-Order Magical Beast was equivalent to a human Dou Huang. Nalan Jie had actually obtained a Living Dragon Tendon from a Fifth-order Magical Beast; it had to be said that he was incredibly lucky.

Tempering the body with dou qi could strengthen the flesh.

Using the Fiery Poison Seal Python's dragon tendon to temper the body, however, produced twice the result with half the effort.

This was the conclusion Nalan Chaoge had reached after studying it for an entire night.

The instant the whip made from the Living Dragon Tendon struck his body, threads of something different from dou qi seeped into Nalan Chaoge's body without his knowledge.

The moment they entered his body, they vanished into nothingness, dissipating without a trace.

The sudden burst of pain made Nalan Chaoge cry out. Even the stance he had just prepared was nearly broken apart; his toes went weak, and stars burst before his eyes.

He nearly lost his footing and plunged headfirst down.

That had only been a casual whip from Guo'er, who had not cultivated any dou qi at all. Nalan Chaoge believed that if it were him, even someone at the Dou Zhe level would not endure a single lash.

Of course, there was another important reason: Guo'er had no dou qi. Ordinary beatings were useless against Nalan Chaoge!

Sure enough, if you wanted to hit people, you had to first learn how to take a beating!

Not dwelling on it, Nalan Chaoge hurriedly circulated the dou qi in his body to warm it. Once the dou qi completed a circuit through his body, gentle threads of warmth mixed with scorching heat coursed through his bones and muscles, quietly changing Nalan Chaoge's body.

"Again!"

As the pain in his body gradually faded, stubbornness once more filled Nalan Chaoge's somewhat childish face.

"Young Master, how about... we stop? If this continues..." Guo'er asked worriedly.

"It's fine. I can still endure it!"

"But..."

"No buts. If I want to become stronger, I must take this step!"

"Alright..."

Guo'er bit her lip, and the blood-red shadow of the whip shot out once more.

"Smack, smack, smack..."

"Ah... oh... ah..."

On the small mountaintop, soul-stirring cries mixed with the sound of whipping. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought some young couple was playing some perverse game here early in the morning.

The bone-piercing, heart-wrenching pain of a Living Dragon Tendon drawn from a Fifth-order Magical Beast striking his body twisted Nalan Chaoge's face in agony.

As Guo'er lashed him with tears in her eyes, more and more wounds appeared on Nalan Chaoge's body.

"Smack..."

Another blood-red whip shadow lashed out, followed by a thud!

Nalan Chaoge, rigid as a wooden post, had finally reached the limit of his physical endurance. Before he could even let out a scream, he collapsed.

He had actually been whipped unconscious.

"Young Master!"

Guo'er threw down the whip and ran toward Nalan Chaoge.

When she saw the wounds covering Nalan Chaoge's body, Guo'er could no longer hold back. She hugged him and burst into tears.

Atop a lush tree some distance away, Elder Mu appeared.

He had calmly watched the children's game the entire time.

Only when Nalan Chaoge was beaten unconscious did a trace of emotion appear on his face.

This child is destined for greatness!

Someone so ruthless toward himself, with such unyielding perseverance, would not have low achievements in the future!

Only after seeing Nalan Chaoge slowly awaken did Elder Mu leave in peace.

He did not disturb the two who were sharing such tender affection.

"Guo'er, how many lashes did you strike in total?" Nalan Chaoge asked through gritted teeth after waking up. Even the slightest movement tugged at the wounds on his body.

"Twenty-one lashes in total, Young Master!" Guo'er gently stroked the wounds on Nalan Chaoge's body.

"Not bad!" Nalan Chaoge smiled. Then, using his inner vision, he examined his body. Suddenly, he froze.

His... bones were actually covered in a thin layer of pale gray. If he had not looked carefully, he would not even have noticed it.

What was going on?

Ding! The system has detected highly toxic substances invading the host's body. Would you like to remove them?

The system's voice rang out abruptly, startling Nalan Chaoge.

Highly toxic substances?

This was bad!

It was the Poison Mark of the Fifth-order Magical Beast, the Fiery Poison Seal Python.

This was something even a Dou Wang expert could not suppress.

"Y-Yes, yes, yes! Remove it quickly!"

There was nothing to hesitate over!

Ding! The host has zero Points and cannot remove the toxins from the host's body!

"What the hell!" Nalan Chaoge froze, unable to stop himself from cursing. "Then why the fuck did you bring it up? What do I do now?"

Ding! Without external stimulation, this toxin naturally seeps into the body and can strengthen the bones. However, once the toxin spreads throughout the bones, the host will be in danger.

On one hand, it could strengthen his bones; on the other, it could kill him.

Was there no way to get the best of both worlds?

Forget it. He should just earn Points and remove it.

"Let me ask you, how many Points are needed to remove the toxins from my body?"

Ding! The system is currently D Tier. One use consumes two hundred Points!

Not bad. It was not too expensive!

In other words, every time he tempered his body, he would need two hundred Points to remove the toxins.

That really was not cheap.

Still, Nalan Chaoge could clearly feel that his body had grown stronger. It was worth it!

After resting for a while longer, Nalan Chaoge finally staggered to his feet and reached for the clothes beside him.

Guo'er hurried over, picked up Nalan Chaoge's clothes, and helped him put them on.

The cool fabric touching the wounds on his body naturally made Nalan Chaoge howl again. Guo'er pouted and hurriedly blew on the wounds, as if that could lessen his pain.

After getting dressed, Nalan Chaoge slowly made his way down the mountain with Guo'er's support.

"Guo'er, can you do Young Master a favor?" Nalan Chaoge said to Guo'er after they returned to the room.

"Mhm. Guo'er is Young Master's maid. Whatever Young Master asks Guo'er to do, Guo'er will do!" After saying that, Guo'er's face flushed slightly, as though she thought Nalan Chaoge was about to ask her to do something embarrassing.

"Uh, no. Here's my card. There are ten thousand gold coins in it. Guo'er, help me buy some first-grade medicinal herbs—as many as possible. I need them!"

"Why does Young Master need so many first-grade medicinal herbs? Could Young Master be an Alchemist?" Guo'er looked at Nalan Chaoge in confusion.

"Uh, I suppose so. Anyway, I need them. Oh, right, keep the gold coins I borrowed from you for yourself!"

"No need, Young Master. What belongs to Guo'er belongs to Young Master!"

Guo'er gave Nalan Chaoge a soft smile, then hurriedly ran out.

With medicinal herbs, he could recycle them for Points. Right now, Points could raise his rank, purchase ninjutsu, and repair injuries to his body.

A first-grade medicinal herb cost one hundred gold coins and would yield one hundred Points after recycling. He had ten thousand gold coins, so even at worst he could buy a hundred medicinal herbs, which meant ten thousand Points.

Hahaha, this was definitely a huge bug in the system! Nalan Chaoge happily began calculating. Should he open a medicinal herb shop as well, one that specialized in buying up first-grade medicinal herbs?