Body Tempering Fluid Commotion

The air in Tianhai Third High School's Martial Dao hall was thick with a familiar scent, a blend of sweat and disinfectant, but today, an unusual restlessness permeated it.

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, the students in the Martial Dao class didn't scatter as usual. Instead, they spontaneously gathered by the equipment room door, their eyes filled with anticipation and a hint of barely concealed excitement.

"Line up! Get in line! Receive them according to your student ID! One per person, no cutting!"

Teacher Li, responsible for distributing the fluid, was an old martial artist with graying hair and a stern expression. He stood with a straight face, directing several senior students to retrieve palm-sized, sealed transparent plastic bottles from a large refrigerated container.

The bottles contained a viscous, pale green liquid that emitted a faint, firefly-like pale green halo under the bright lights of the Martial Dao hall. Simultaneously, a subtle fragrance of herbs and a barely perceptible bitter medicinal scent wafted out—this was the basic Body Tempering Fluid the school distributed monthly!

"The Body Tempering Fluid is here!"

"Finally! I'll use this batch sparingly; it's what I need to break through my bottleneck!"

"Tsk, tsk, I wonder how effective it'll be. I heard this batch might be a bit stronger than last month's?"

"Get outta here, how strong can the basic stuff be? It's better than nothing..."

A low hum of discussion filled the air.

For Martial Dao students from ordinary families, who couldn't afford expensive body tempering resources, the Body Tempering Fluid was the most crucial official benefit for improving physical fitness and strengthening their bodies.

Every drop was incredibly precious.

Lin Xiao and Fatty Wang were also squeezed into the middle of the line.

Fatty Wang craned his neck, his small eyes full of longing, muttering incessantly, "Brother Xiao, I heard this batch is an improved version, with fewer side effects. Wonder if it's true..."

Lin Xiao didn't speak, only quietly watched the front.

His face still held a hint of unnoticeable pallor, the fixing bandage on his right arm hidden beneath his oversized school uniform, and the wound on his back still ached faintly.

Source Energy Points: [-1.3].

The two streams of mixed, warm energy from the low-quality Energy Stones circulated slowly within his body. While they alleviated the feeling of depletion, they also brought waves of heat and a sluggish discomfort.

Body Tempering Fluid? For his depleted body and current urgent need for Source Energy Points, it was like a drop in the ocean.

Soon, it was their turn.

Teacher Li expressionlessly handed a plastic bottle to Lin Xiao and Fatty Wang respectively.

They felt cool to the touch.

Lin Xiao lowered his head, looking at the pale green liquid in his hand.

Through the bottle's wall, he could clearly see extremely fine, dust-like undissolved dregs suspended within. The liquid's color wasn't entirely uniform either; the part near the bottom seemed to be a deeper shade.

The bitter scent in the medicinal aroma was also noticeably stronger than that of the other students.

The worst of the worst quality?

A self-deprecating curve formed on Lin Xiao's lips.

The treatment for students from the lower strata—even the benefits they received were tiered?

He unscrewed the cap, and a more concentrated herbal fragrance mixed with a pungent medicinal bitterness hit him.

According to the standard usage, this bottle of fluid needed to be consumed in three separate doses during a medicinal bath, accompanied by special massage techniques to maximize its effects and reduce stimulation to the meridians.

But now...

A bold and risky thought slithered into Lin Xiao's mind like a venomous snake.

Modifier! Can you modify it?

Optimize the effect? Reduce side effects?

Even a tiny improvement would be better than nothing for him right now!

More importantly, if he succeeded, he might be able to explore more possibilities for the Modifier's application on "external objects"!

The intense temptation outweighed the risk!

No matter how precious the Source Energy Points were, it was worth a try at this moment!

Lin Xiao calmly retreated to a relatively quiet corner on the periphery of the crowd, leaning against the cold wall, obscuring most of his line of sight.

He concentrated his mind, his intent communicating with the faint blue light screen in his mind.

Buzz!

The light screen appeared with difficulty, its light dim, its edges flickering unstably.

The number [Source Energy Points: -1.3] in the center remained glaring.

[Target Locked: Unknown Formula Body Tempering Fluid (Basic Type, Quality: Inferior)]

[Scanning modifiable items... (Core restricted, parsing slow)...]

[Found: 1. Uneven distribution of medicinal components, local irritant increase due to bottom sediment (+15%); 2. Insufficient activity of core energy factor 'Green Wood Vine Essence' (-10%).]

[Solutions: 1. Fine-tune the molecular structure of the sediment to reduce its irritancy (Effect: Reduce burning sensation); 2. Slightly increase the activity of the core energy factor (Effect: Slightly improve medicinal absorption efficiency).]

[Required Source Energy Points: 0.1 (Energy consumption increased due to target complexity and core restrictions)]

0.1 points! Another 0.1 points! Deducting from [-1.3] would make it [-1.4]!

That's even further from the 3.0 points needed to repair his bone fracture!

Was it worth it? Lin Xiao looked at the obviously inferior medicinal liquid in his hand, feeling the two restless, mixed energies within his body.

This slight improvement might be negligible to him, but this was an experiment!

An experiment to verify the Modifier's control over "external objects"!

He went for it!

"Modify! Both simultaneously!" Lin Xiao commanded in his mind!

[Command received! Source Energy Points deducted: 0.1!]

[Source Energy Points: -1.3 - 0.1 = -1.4]

[Modifying parameters… (extremely slow progress)… 1%… 5%… 10%… (light screen flashing violently)… 50%… 100%… Modification complete!]

The prompt sound carried a sense of overdue sluggishness.

The moment the modification was complete, the Body Tempering Fluid in Lin Xiao's hand showed no visible changes to the naked eye.

It was still pale green, still had sediment, and the medicinal aroma and bitterness remained the same.

But Lin Xiao's perception was incredibly sharp!

He clearly "felt" that the originally somewhat violent and uneven energy fluctuations within the medicinal liquid had become much gentler and more uniform!

The stimulating scent emanating from the sediment at the bottom of the bottle had also weakened considerably!

Success? At least partial success!

Lin Xiao felt a slight joy in his heart.

He didn't hesitate any longer. He took advantage of the fact that the medicinal liquid had just been taken out of the refrigerated cabinet and was still cool, and also that his classmates were still queuing or excitedly discussing, paying no attention to his corner.

He raised the bottle, tilted his head back, and gulped down the entire bottle of pale green, viscous liquid, as if drinking water!

"Holy crap! Brother Xiao! Are you crazy?" Fatty Wang had just collected his own medicinal liquid and turned around to see this shocking scene, scaring him so much he almost dropped the bottle!

"You can't drink this stuff directly! The instructions say so! It'll burn through your intestines! You're supposed to dilute it for a medicinal bath!"

Several classmates who noticed Lin Xiao's actions were instantly stunned!

"Lin Xiao! What are you doing!"

"Spit it out quickly! You're not afraid of dying!"

"Did Zhao Hu beat him so hard he went crazy?"

The exclamations instantly attracted more attention!

Even Teacher Li, who was distributing the medicine, frowned and looked over!

The entire bottle of Body Tempering Fluid went down!

An indescribable, strange torrent, like lava mixed with ice shards, instantly exploded in Lin Xiao's stomach!

Immediately after, the violent medicinal power, mixed with the energy factors forcibly "pacified" by the Modifier, surged towards the meridians of his limbs like a stampede of runaway wild horses!

"Ugh!" Lin Xiao grunted, his body tensing abruptly!

Large beads of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead!

His face turned from pale to an unnatural flush!

Agony! A burning agony spread from his stomach!

His meridians felt like they were being pierced and torn by countless red-hot steel needles!

This was the inevitable backlash of drinking the Body Tempering Fluid without dilution or special guidance for absorption!

Even with the Modifier reducing its localized irritancy, the violent medicinal power was still something his fragile stomach and unstrengthened meridians couldn't withstand!

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth tightly, his gums starting to bleed!

He endured the overwhelming urge to vomit and the tearing pain in his meridians, concentrating all his will to guide the two mixed streams of warm energy (from the Energy Stones) within him.

Cooperating with the medicinal power that the Modifier had just "pacified," he forcibly circulated and guided it through his body according to the optimized energy circulation routes from the "Long Fist"!

This was a tug-of-war between willpower and pain!

His body felt like an overinflated balloon, veins bulging beneath his skin, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Quick! Hurry and call the school doctor!" Teacher Li's face changed drastically, and he shouted urgently.

Fatty Wang's face turned ashen, and he was about to rush out.

However, after more than ten suffocating seconds—

Lin Xiao's tensed body suddenly relaxed!

The violent torrent of medicinal power, like a tsunami, seemed to be forcibly combed and tamed by an invisible giant hand!

Although it was still surging, the impact intensity and tearing sensation suddenly lessened by more than half!

A gentle and life-giving warm current began to replace the burning pain, flowing along the optimized routes, nourishing the dry and damaged meridians and tired muscles!

The intense pain receded like a tide, replaced by a strange, slightly itchy and comfortable sensation!

It was as if the parched earth had finally welcomed the sweet rain!

Lin Xiao exhaled a long, incredibly satisfying breath, the stale air thick with the rich aroma of medicine!

The flush on his face quickly faded. Though still tired, his eyes shone with astonishing brilliance!

He could clearly feel a power, far purer and gentler than what he usually absorbed from the Body Tempering Fluid, rapidly integrating into his body!

The healing of the fracture in his right arm seemed to have accelerated by a tiny bit!

The two chaotic warm currents within him were also being cleansed, merged, and soothed considerably by this gentle medicinal power!

Effective! And the results far exceeded expectations!

The modifier not only reduced the side effects but also genuinely boosted the absorption efficiency of the medicinal effects by a small margin!

"Hoo... Nice!"

Lin Xiao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a roguish grin of relief and excitement spreading across his face. He even flexed his left arm, which felt significantly less sore. "Fatty, what's with the fuss? The instructions are for normal people. Your Brother Xiao here is exceptionally talented!"

Everyone around him stared, dumbfounded!

"He... he's okay?"

"And... he feels good? He drank the whole bottle straight down! And he's fine?!"

"Holy crap... what kind of physique is that? A cast-iron stomach?"

"His complexion actually... looks a bit better? Am I imagining things?"

The murmurs erupted into a clamor instantly!

The gazes directed at Lin Xiao were filled with disbelief and scrutiny!

Drinking an entire bottle of basic Body Tempering Fluid straight down only resulted in a bit of sweating? And he called it good?

This completely shattered their understanding!

Fatty Wang's mouth hung open. Looking at Lin Xiao, who was full of life, and then at the medicine bottle he was carefully holding, his worldview was profoundly shaken.

Just then, a cool, scrutinizing voice sounded from the edge of the crowd: "Exceptionally talented? I doubt that."

The crowd parted as if pushed by an invisible hand. A tall, cold, and stunning figure walked in.

Her form-fitting, deep blue uniform outlined perfect curves, and the insignia on her epaulets glinted coldly in the light.

Her face was exquisite yet sculpted like ice, her eyes sharp as a falcon's, possessing a power that could pierce through people's hearts – it was Qin Bing, the police beauty from the Special Operations Ninth Division!

Her gaze, like a searchlight, instantly locked onto Lin Xiao's face and the now-empty Body Tempering Fluid bottle in his hand. Her voice carried an undeniable chill. "Student Lin Xiao. Regarding this batch of Body Tempering Fluid... and your so-called 'exceptional talent,' I believe you need to explain yourself to me."