Body Changes

Crackle~

Because the branches were still damp, they produced not only a great deal of smoke but also crackling sounds as they burned.

Strings of Serpent Meat were skewered on branches and roasted over the fire, filling the air with the aroma of meat.

The freshly placed Serpent Meat still visibly writhed with white parasites, but they soon turned into protein under the flames' intense heat.

As Tao Yu placed new skewers over the fire, he tore into one that had already been cooked.

Though he had only sprinkled on some salt, the meat was still dripping with grease.

He had been sitting here eating for more than four hours. He had already devoured over half of a python three or four meters long and weighing more than fifty jin!

The reason for all this was the successful divinization of the Basic Breathing Technique, along with using the several dozen remaining units of wish power as fuel to accelerate his training.

"Skills really can't compare to talents. Divinization consumes less wish power, but its effects clearly aren't as astonishing as a talent's.

"Still, talents mainly enhance potential. The stronger I become, the stronger the talent becomes, while skills are more immediately useful..."

After wolfing down another skewer of Serpent Meat, Tao Yu felt the fullness in his stomach and began considering ways to acquire a digestion-related skill in the future. His rate of eating and digestion limited his energy intake to some extent.

Moreover, he only possessed an ability that could restore his condition. His current physique still could not immunize him against illnesses, bacteria, or parasites.

Before divinization, the Basic Breathing Technique was described as increasing training effectiveness to a certain extent, speeding up physical recovery to a certain extent, increasing Stamina to a certain extent, reducing bodily degeneration to a certain extent, and very slightly raising the human body's limits.

It was balanced and unremarkable, with nothing particularly outstanding about it, but it was indeed considered a high-quality skill that ordinary people in the Outer City could obtain.

After spending over a hundred units of wish power to divinize it, Tao Yu casually added the word "Modified" to its name.

Basic Breathing Technique Modified lv1: Could circulate one's own qi and blood to increase training effectiveness; could consume qi and blood to increase explosive power; could consume qi and blood to increase Stamina; could raise the human body's limits to a certain extent.

The Basic Breathing Technique Tao Yu had previously mastered was mainly a breathing method, and it was strictly practiced, requiring someone to guide him.

If someone practiced blindly, they might damage their lungs. Once proficient, it mainly caused certain changes in one's breathing, without any mysterious inner force, qi, or other special sensations.

After all, it was merely a skill even his family could learn. It was relatively rare and difficult to obtain in the Outer City, but it was not particularly powerful. A family Basic Breathing Technique was standard equipment for those with Combat Talent.

Yet after its divinization, the sensation of controlling the qi and blood within his body, as if little mice were scurrying around inside while his blood boiled, clearly represented a qualitative transformation in the skill.

Though it had no effects such as releasing qi and blood outside the body, every circulation of qi and blood allowed Tao Yu to feel subtle changes in his body. The changes might not be large, but with the support of One Proof, Eternal Proof, they could only rise and never fall!

At the very least, before reaching the limits of the Basic Breathing Technique Modified, his training efficiency would far exceed that of ordinary people.

It was precisely because of this feeling that Tao Yu immediately set aside his original plan to divinize Basic Trap Making.

His frail body was undoubtedly his greatest weakness. To survive fifteen days in this rainforest environment, a healthy body was crucial.

Training at a gym was most effective during the first month as well. Correcting certain postures and forming some habits could drastically increase one's bench press and various other metrics. The Basic Breathing Technique Modified was naturally no different now.

So, taking advantage of the prime window just after acquiring the Basic Breathing Technique Modified, when its efficiency was at its highest, Tao Yu decisively used his remaining wish power to accelerate his training in the Breathing Technique.

Since he only had around sixty units of wish power left, another hundredfold acceleration would last only half an hour, which was unsuitable. So he extended the time to five hours and adjusted the multiplier to around twentyfold.

He also kept the last ten units of wish power for emergencies, in case he was injured or sick and had no time to eat.

In Tao Yu's judgment, using wish power to restore Stamina and injuries had abysmal cost-effectiveness. Ten units of wish power were roughly equivalent to eating two bites of meat. The stronger one became, the greater the consumption required for recovery. It was utterly useless and could not be used under normal circumstances.

Still, having ten units left was at least somewhat reassuring.

Under normal training conditions, no one could train twenty-four hours a day.

They needed plenty of time to recover and rest. These five hours of twentyfold acceleration were almost equivalent to one or two months of normal high-intensity training.

However, Tao Yu also felt the increased consumption caused by divinization.

Fortunately, he had been lucky enough to find a python hanging from a tree with his exceptional eyesight. Otherwise, this round of accelerated training would probably have wiped out all the compressed rations in his backpack.

"Phew, not bad. It only increased physical consumption; the wish power consumed by acceleration didn't increase much. Still, the training effect was too outstanding. During the final hour, the acceleration effect dropped by around thirty percent."

As he felt the effects of wish power acceleration gradually fade, Tao Yu stood up and performed a set of punches on the spot. The solid sensation of qi and blood surging through him made his bones creak. After the set, his entire body felt refreshed, as though he had shed several jin.

In reality, however, he had nearly devoured more than half of a fifty-plus-jin python by himself and drunk several liters of water, yet his waste output was far from proportionate. His body had clearly grown sturdier. The feeling of lightness was entirely an illusion brought about by his improved physical condition.

If he had previously been an undernourished young man—

Then now, he had at least reached the physical level of an amateur sports enthusiast, and in every aspect at that. The diminished acceleration effect during the final hour despite the same wish power expenditure could be regarded as standard proof of that!

He had become stronger!

With the explosive expenditure of qi and blood through the Breathing Technique, his maximum explosive power could become even greater.

He would definitely be left far behind by Usain Bolt in a hundred-meter dash, but he should be able to catch up to him within ten thousand meters and beat him until he cried.

"Awesome~"

After loosening up and feeling the changes in his physical condition, Tao Yu found the experience of having a healthy body almost intoxicating. Neither in his previous life nor this one had he ever felt such a healthy, powerful physique.

Exercise could be addictive. That was probably no empty saying.

He picked up the black metal canteen beside him, which had not completely cooled yet, and gulped down the slightly bitter water from the tree hollow. Then Tao Yu went to the nearby tree hollow and filled the canteen again before tossing it onto the fire to heat and boil.

At the same time, he efficiently tore strips from the lining of the cotton-padded coat he no longer needed and used them to wrap the remaining cooked Serpent Meat.

Though there was not much Serpent Meat left, he had no intention of wasting it.

Aside from the weight taken up by spare ammunition, most of the supplies he had carried over consisted of survival gear and food. In fact, if he rationed his food and reduced his activity, those provisions alone would barely allow him to scrape through fifteen days, at least keeping him alive.

However, the point where one entered the Abyss would not change. There was no point in hiding here until Awakening Day ended. Setting aside the dangers he might encounter in the rainforest, even if he successfully returned, he would come back to this same place next time. Was he supposed to carry another bag of food and keep hiding?

Therefore, after eating his fill, drinking enough water, and completing his initial strengthening, he needed to consider the road ahead.

Though the company was utterly awful, with its level of exploitation far surpassing that of his previous life, his current thin arms and legs still needed to find a place that could provide shelter first.

Potential was potential, and strength was strength. Having lived two lives, Tao Yu had not become so arrogant that he could no longer recognize his own limits.

After packing all the Serpent Meat and waiting for the canteen beside him to boil, Tao Yu finally had the energy and time to inspect the bulky receiver on his wrist.

Its green LED screen was filled with pixel-style graphics, but it could receive radio signals.

With the knowledge from his previous life, Tao Yu knew that longwave radio could reflect off the ionosphere to form skywaves.

But whether such a thing even existed in this place filled with shattered worlds was hard to say. Still, the strange enhancement provided by some wish-power equipment gave the company base's radio station an extremely wide range of influence, which was only to be expected.

Transmigration, the Abyss, and the World Will had all appeared. What else could possibly be impossible?

"I probably still need to climb a tree, right?"

Looking at the adjusted channel displaying no signal, Tao Yu patted the bulky receiver with his hand and muttered to himself.

The surroundings were packed with dense rainforest. It seemed perfectly normal for that to interfere with reception. After looking around and glancing upward, Tao Yu easily found the most suitable nearby tree to climb using his exceptional eyesight.

He left his belongings where they were, tossed a few more branches into the fire, then slung his gun over his back and swiftly headed beneath the target Giant Tree.

Weapons could not leave his side at any time. His parents had repeatedly emphasized that.

Looking at the coarse patterns in the bark before him, Tao Yu felt eager to try. It was time for his powerful body to show what it could do!