Li Wei sprang up from the bathtub like a carp leaping upright, still muttering, "A dying man suddenly sits up in his sickbed—there's still room to add points—ow!"
"Tsk—ouch..."
She had paid no attention at all to the blood and grime beneath her feet and covering her body. Her heel slipped, and she crashed solidly back into the tub, baring her teeth in pain.
"What the hell is this?"
Only then did Li Wei realize something was wrong with her body. She reached over and felt herself a few times, then leaned closer and sniffed.
"Ugh~ damn, it stinks!"
Was this the Rebirth and Bone Transformation written about in novels? Damn, it was disgusting!
She hurriedly turned on the shower, cranked the water pressure to its maximum, and blasted both herself and the bathtub.
After several minutes of scrubbing, she looked considerably cleaner, but that foul stench still refused to disperse.
With no other choice, Li Wei squeezed out a huge amount of fragrant body wash, coated her entire body and the inner walls of the tub, then rinsed everything with the shower.
After two more rounds, the awful smell finally disappeared.
"Phew—"
Li Wei let out a long breath, planted both hands on her slender waist, and stood beside the bathtub in satisfaction. Only then did she have time to inspect herself.
The sight nearly stunned her.
Her original body had been blessed with excellent foundations, but after her parents passed away, the full weight of life had fallen upon her.
Over the years, she had grown haggard, and her skin and complexion had developed quite a few inconspicuous flaws.
If not for her youth and martial arts training, her original body probably would have been unable to preserve that beauty long ago.
But now? What was she seeing?
Her skin was smooth and lustrous, like the Finest Mutton-Fat Jade. Her pores were so fine they were almost invisible, and even the tiny hairs on her body had vanished without a trace.
Covering her chest, she leaned toward the mirror.
The girl reflected within had lips like freshly picked cherries, plump and dewy.
From head to toe, she looked as though she had been meticulously carved and polished.
Li Wei slapped herself on the forehead. She had failed to control her strength, and the blow made her skull buzz.
Thankfully, she had not merely become prettier—her strength had soared as well!
I came here to become an expert, not a pretty vase!
She tried throwing a punch. She had barely used any force, yet the Fist Wind still whistled loudly.
It felt as though her strength had at least doubled compared to when her Muscles and Bones Ringing in Harmony state had been active.
Calming herself, she focused on her Five Senses...
The natural patterns in the marble of the washstand, the minuscule scratches at the corners of the mirror, the direction of every cotton thread in the towel hanging beside her...
And also... the faint footsteps in the room next door, the muffled rumble of service-cart wheels rolling over the carpet in the corridor, and... the wisps of lingering stench she had thought she had completely washed away, yet could still detect now.
In that instant, the world before her became terrifyingly clear!
This is incredible!
Li Wei grew excited. The feeling of becoming stronger was truly addictive!
Keep going, keep going! I can still add more! I want Great Perfection! I want the Proximity to the Dao Body!
Her emotions surged more powerfully than ever before!
In her memories, her high school homeroom teacher had constantly repeated that during the Quasi-Martial Artist stage, one should pile up as much Vitality as possible and absolutely not rush to break through.
He had even used the university martial arts Freshman Competition as an example, saying, "Why aren't official Martial Artists among the freshmen allowed to participate?"
"Because a true genius won't break through during their freshman year."
Anyone with some talent and ambition, anyone who wanted to walk farther along the path of martial arts, would spend one or two years after entering university earning credits, exchanging them for resources, and nurturing their Vitality.
For students whose Vitality had exceeded 60 during the college entrance examination, as long as they worked hard enough, reaching Muscles and Bones Ringing in Harmony before their third year was not difficult!
For those with even better talent, Minor Perfection was not a dream either.
Only when their Vitality truly could not be raised any further would they choose to break through.
There had even been people like Jiang Xue, stuck at 79 and already on the verge of Minor Perfection, who refused to accept it and held back their breakthrough until graduation.
This showed just how important nurturing one's Vitality as a Quasi-Martial Artist was!
Back then, even the homeroom teacher could not clearly explain why higher Vitality was better. He had kept repeating vague phrases like "thicker foundations," "greater potential," and "better aptitude."
But Li Wei had remembered it.
Others reached the limits of their talent, and no amount of resources could raise them any further.
She was different. She had a cheat! It was only a little painful—she just had to grit her teeth and push through!
Today, Li Wei would see the view from the highest peak no matter what!
Keep going! Add more points!!!
Li Wei rolled back into the bathtub, sprawled out flat on her back. Her eyes were slightly red with excitement, and her little fists were clenched tight.
Vitality Value: 89→100 (cannot be upgraded) Abyss Essence: 4642→1642→642
Her hand twitched, and she added one point too many...
"Damn it, now it's a headache!!! And—weren't they saying the maximum was 99?!"
Li Wei only had time to shout that much before everything suddenly went black, and she completely lost consciousness.
After an unknown amount of time...
In a daze, she saw a speck of light.
It was extremely faint and tiny, like a lonely firefly.
She instinctively wanted to approach it and grasp it, but at that moment, boom—the speck of light exploded.
Endless white light instantly filled everything.
She saw the beginnings of two lives slowly take shape within warm, nurturing wombs.
She heard two mothers cry out in childbirth, felt the suffocating pressure of being squeezed, and then drew her first breath of air tinged with blood.
He struggled to turn over; she tried to crawl.
He held onto the cold railings of the orphanage as he learned to walk; she chased and played noisily with her little friends across the grass in a park.
He crouched at the window, watching a family of three laughing and talking happily outside; she poked her baby brother in his cradle with one finger and giggled.
He grew up; she grew up too...
The sun set and rose again. The moon waned and became full.
Plants withered and flourished countless times, while the city changed at astonishing speed.
Until one day, he closed his eyes, and she opened hers. Two sensations and two sets of memories completely merged into one.
Li Wei slowly sat up from the bathtub.
She did not brace herself with her hands, nor did she even feel her waist and abdomen exerting much strength.
She simply thought about sitting up, and then she was sitting up.
Her body's movement was like folded paper, abrupt and strange.
Without noticing any of it, she glanced at the panel.
Vitality: 100 (cannot be upgraded)
Then her thoughts gradually returned.
"One hundred..." she murmured, her voice ethereal and carrying an indescribable resonance.
Strangely, as she spoke, the water droplets remaining on the bathtub wall began to tremble faintly, as though they had come alive.
"What's happening to me..."
Her perception, sharpened to the extreme, allowed Li Wei to notice the strange changes within herself.
She thought about standing up, and that bizarre scene happened again.
Using her heels as pivot points, her straight legs rotated upward. She floated lightly into a standing position, the movement so crisp and clean it was frightening.
She extended a hand. Water droplets gathered in her palm, flowed together, and then converged at her slender, pale fingertips.
A soybean-sized droplet floated on the pad of her finger, crystal-clear and translucent.
Li Wei suddenly felt as if she had become connected to everything around her. With a single thought, nothing was beyond her reach!
The world turned 4K in the blink of an eye!
No, it's not as simple as 4K. It's at the level of complete immersion, complete stealth.
Good grief, I can actually remember the position I was in when I first came out of the womb...
And... I was actually born in a university women's restroom...
Ah! I can't think about this anymore. The more I think about it, the more tragic it gets. I'd rather be that pitiful little Li Wei.
But what's going on with me? If 99 Vitality is the Proximity to the Dao Body, then what is 100? A Dao Body? Unity of Heaven and Man?
And why can I control water? No, it's not limited to water control!
She dispersed the droplet at her fingertip and thought, I want to breathe.
Sure enough, a gentle breeze seemed to stir around her, and a refreshing breath of air rushed eagerly into her mouth and nose.
This feeling... it's as if heaven and earth have become my parents?
That's a little explosive...
Just as she was secretly reveling in the feeling, a sudden swelling pain struck between her brows, and her temples throbbed violently!
Li Wei staggered, almost falling again.
She shook her head. That feeling of merging with heaven and earth rapidly vanished, leaving her heart hollow.
But she did not panic. Instead, she put on her bathrobe again, sat cross-legged on the toilet, steadied her mind, and carefully searched for the sensation.
Very soon, her spirit was involuntarily drawn toward the space between her brows.
In a haze, she saw a pool of water.
"What is this?"
Whoosh...
At the slightest fluctuation in her thoughts, ripples spread across the mirrorlike surface.
In an instant, that wondrous sensation appeared once more!
But just for that moment, it felt as though someone had stirred Li Wei's brain several times with an awl. The pain nearly made her convulse.
She tilted up her deathly pale face and slumped against the raised toilet lid, smiling wryly in helplessness.
After that attempt, she understood.
She could enter that wondrous state at any time.
But with her current strength, she simply could not sustain it for long.
Still, this was enough. Her strength would keep improving, wouldn't it?
One day, she would turn this Active Skill into a Passive Skill.
Li Wei imagined the possibilities, grinning so widely she could barely close her mouth.
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