In the room.
Lu Yuan was submerged in the bathtub.
The skin on his body had turned bloodred, as if it were engorged with blood.
At the same time, as time passed, the faint purple glow in the water began to fade.
And during this process,
black grime began to surface in waves, floating on the water.
He knew it was because the medicinal essence had entered his body and cleared out its impurities.
And if he wanted to gain even greater benefits,
he had to endure.
The process took a long time, to the point that Lu Yuan sometimes had to expose his nose and mouth to catch his breath.
Finally, after two or three hours, once the water's fragrant scent and the purple glow had completely disappeared,
he stepped straight out of the water.
Sizzle, sizzle~
At that very moment, it was as if the skin all over Lu Yuan's body had been released. White steam poured from his pores, giving some idea of just how hot his skin was.
Not only that, when he twisted slightly, a crackling sound rang out from inside him.
His muscles and bones had gained such tremendous strength that they were resonating with each other.
He wiped away the grime with a towel.
Then he stood before the mirror.
Lu Yuan clenched his fist slightly, and his finger joints cracked.
The muscles on his upper body had grown firmer and thicker, taking on a sculpted, streamlined shape.
He swung his arm. It moved incredibly fast, and with such force that it even made a whooshing sound as it cut through the air.
"Not bad. I just wonder how effective it is."
Lu Yuan was delighted by what he saw. He headed straight to the gym and set up a five-hundred-pound barbell.
Surprisingly, he could lift it with just one hand. It took some effort, but he managed it.
"Five hundred pounds with one hand. That means my strength is definitely over a thousand pounds, or half a ton."
Lu Yuan did the math, more than a little surprised.
Half a ton of force.
What would happen if he hit someone with that?
Then he tested his speed: one hundred meters in five seconds.
His hearing, reflexes, and eyesight had all changed dramatically too, reaching or even exceeding the limits of human ability.
An ordinary person would surely have panicked at such a transformation, then felt elated.
But Lu Yuan was different.
He had lived through the New Era, so he wasn't especially shaken.
"The medicinal essence left in the Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu really is powerful. All that effort was worth it. My physique should be close to that of a first-stage Awakened in the wake of the global upheaval, right?" Lu Yuan thought, assessing his own abilities.
That was right. After the global upheaval, those who gained extraordinary powers were collectively known as Awakened.
The Awakened were also divided into different realms according to their strength.
The first realm was called the Initial Realm, and it had nine stages, with the ninth being the highest.
Lu Yuan judged that his strength was now close to the first stage of the Initial Realm.
But
that still wasn't nearly enough.
He knew that the better the foundation one built before the upheaval, the greater the benefits afterward.
Lu Yuan's gaze fell on the Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu beside him.
There was still some medicinal essence inside, enough for about two more uses.
By his estimate, using it all would make him comparable to a true Awakened who had entered the realm.
Of course, that was only in terms of physique. Besides their powerful bodies, Awakened sometimes developed unique abilities.
But for Lu Yuan, that was already enough.
Without giving it any more thought,
he started training again, so he could adapt to this new body.
Besides, his body couldn't absorb the medicinal essence continuously; otherwise, it would be difficult to withstand.
So over the next few days,
Lu Yuan trained to adapt to his body while also preparing to leave Shanghai City.
On this day,
outside the villa,
a blur flashed back and forth at such speed that only a high-speed camera could capture it.
The next instant, the blur appeared in front of a giant tree. Without warning, it swung a punch.
Crack!
In the blink of an eye, the tree—which would have taken two people to encircle with their arms—splintered apart and toppled straight to the ground.
"That punch could probably kill a cow outright. And with that speed, I must have surpassed the limits of human ability." Lu Yuan withdrew his fist, a satisfied look appearing on his face.
At that moment, his fist showed no signs of change from the punch. His skin was smooth and gleaming.
Ever since obtaining the Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu, Lu Yuan had been using the medicinal essence inside to temper his body.
The results had been beyond his expectations.
His strength was now dozens of times that of an ordinary person.
His hearing, eyesight, nerve response, and even the toughness of his skin had all surpassed the bounds of humanity.
More importantly, if one smelled carefully, one could detect a faint fragrance coming from Lu Yuan.
It was faint, but it was definitely there.
"In ancient times, there were legends that when old Daoists, eminent monks, and the like lived past a hundred, their bodies would give off a faint fragrance, and after death their flesh would not decay. According to ancient books, this was called Body Becoming a Saint!"
Lu Yuan thought of this and realized that after days of tempering,
his body had reached the limit of what the human body could withstand.
But
this was only the beginning of Body Becoming a Saint.
To make further progress, he would have to wait for the global upheaval.
Because when that time came, heaven and earth would change. Some people would be able to unlock the treasures of the body, fully unleash their potential, and advance further, gaining power like that of the myths.
As Lu Yuan understood it, the global upheaval was, in essence, a form of evolution. Mountains and rivers, humans and animals—all were part of it.
Put simply,
the entire world would enter an age of the survival of the fittest, where the strong preyed on the weak.
Whoever seized the opportunity would soar to the heavens.
Of course,
those who couldn't adapt would ultimately be eliminated. That was the cruelty of the New Era.
But Lu Yuan had already laid the groundwork. By using the medicinal essence in the Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu, he had gotten ahead of everyone else. When the New Era arrived, he would gain an incomparable advantage.
"Next, I just need to get my hands on the last two things. It's August 1st now."
"That means I have exactly one month left. Time is tight, so I need to hurry."
Lu Yuan spoke to himself, going over his plans once more.
Most of his preparations for the upheaval were complete.
There were still the Wordless Stone Tablet and the Heavenly Sword Embryo. He couldn't do without either one.
Once he had them, all he would need to do was wait for the upheaval to arrive, then follow the memories of his past life to search for other divine objects.
That was right. Some divine objects wouldn't truly appear until after the upheaval. Otherwise, even if he knew where they were, he wouldn't be able to obtain them.
But Lu Yuan already had a plan. He just needed to carry it out step by step.
With three months since his rebirth and the resources he had now,
he could still get these things done.
Without saying more,
Lu Yuan returned to the villa and washed up.
Then he packed everything, ready to set out first thing the next morning.
As for his first destination, naturally, it was the farther Longhu Mountain.
And right now, he was brimming with confidence.
After all, in Lu Yuan's current condition, he could run rampant almost anywhere, as long as he didn't run into powerful firearms.
Before you continue