Strength Improvement

As soon as he stepped into the yard, Luo Yi caught the smell of braised meat wafting from the kitchen. He swallowed his saliva and walked inside.

Luo Xi, busy cooking, saw her older brother return.

"Brother, go rest for a bit. Lunch will be ready soon. Just go take a break for now," she said, then stood up and pushed Luo Yi out of the kitchen.

He had wanted to help, but could only shake his head helplessly, go back to his room, and sit down cross-legged on the floor.

Silently, he called up the attribute panel in his mind:

Host: Luo Yi

Age: 16

Realm: Skin Refining (Minor Accomplishment)

Skills: Basic Archery (Major Accomplishment 125/400)

Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique (Minor Accomplishment 121/300)

Traits: None

Looking over the skills displayed on the panel, he realized that in the past few days, aside from practicing the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique, he had either been hunting in the mountains or sleeping.

That was why the progress on Basic Archery had been crawling along so slowly.

He glanced at the tiger hide drying in the room and felt the remaining fifty-some silver taels in his pocket.

The Autumn Tax had already been paid, and the bear gall and tonic medicine would last at least another ten days or so.

Considering that the household had no major expenses coming up for now, Luo Yi decided to temporarily stop hunting in the mountains and devote all his time to training both skills, aiming to reach the Perfection Realm as soon as possible.

After a whole morning in the kitchen, Luo Xi finished cooking and brought the food into the room.

Seeing the large basin of braised tiger meat and the big bowl of white rice set on the floor, Luo Yi couldn't help but sigh, "Meat and rice—life really is getting better!"

He called his younger sister to sit down, and the two of them wolfed down the food like a storm sweeping through.

After the meal, since he wouldn't be heading into the mountains for a while, Luo Yi took his tonic medicine and bear gall every morning and evening, then practiced the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique. In his spare time, he worked on Basic Archery.

Completely immersed in training day after day, he barely noticed the passage of time.

Two days later, in the evening:

Standing in the yard, Luo Yi finished a full cycle of the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique. His skin tingled with a familiar sensation—

a needle-like stabbing pain, as if countless ants were gnawing at his flesh. He had long grown used to it.

He stopped practicing, walked over to the well, and sat down. Remembering the stench that always came with a skill upgrade, he planned to wash up right after it was done.

This time, when the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique advanced to Major Accomplishment, the skin pain lasted longer than the previous two upgrades combined.

Just as he was about to lose control and cry out, the pain gradually faded, replaced by a strange, exhilarating pleasure.

"Hell yeah! Hell yeah! Hell yeah!" Luo Yi couldn't help shouting. His whole body brimmed with strength, and the soreness and fatigue from long hours of training vanished completely.

He felt that with his current power, he could kill that tiger from the other day with a single punch.

He drew a bucket of well water, stripped off his clothes, and was about to wash himself clean when he suddenly noticed:

All the skin below his neck was no longer the dark, patchy color mixed with the bronze hue of a Skin Refining Martial Artist, as it had been at Minor Accomplishment.

Now, his skin was completely covered in that bronze color.

Uncle Wang had told him before that in the Skin Refining Realm, once you covered your entire body in bronze or copper-colored skin, you could try advancing to the second of the four Body Refining realms—the Body Refining Realm.

He looked at the panel: Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique (Major Accomplishment 1/400).

His technique was only at Major Accomplishment, yet it already produced the effect Uncle Wang had described.

If he pushed it all the way to Perfection, how much stronger would he become? His heart swelled with anticipation for that final stage.

After examining his skin, Luo Yi wanted to see exactly how much stronger the upgrade had made him.

He picked up the Three-Stone Hunting Bow from the stone table. With a light pull—barely a tenth of his strength—the bow was fully drawn.

Without any strength-testing equipment, he couldn't pinpoint his exact power, but he estimated that both arms together could muster at least eight or nine hundred jin.

After testing his strength, he pushed off the ground with his legs and leaped five meters in one step. His speed had increased by about thirty to forty percent.

Satisfied with the results, Luo Yi assumed a stance and began practicing the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique again, curious how many repetitions it would take to see progress now that the skill was at Major Accomplishment.

"Ten times?" After completing a full ten cycles, the panel finally showed a +1 progress notification.

Even though he had braced himself, Luo Yi hadn't expected it to take that many.

The number of repetitions needed had doubled, and the daily progress had halved. Before, taking tonic medicine and bear gall morning and evening had given him about 80 points of progress per day.

Now, with the same routine, he only gained around 40 points per day.

He did the math—it would take just ten days to reach Perfection.

Luo Yi instantly felt, "Uh..."—it didn't seem slow at all.

After days of relentless grinding, his strength had skyrocketed today. He gazed at the pitch-black moonlight.

He decided not to practice tonight. Carrying his Dao and bow, he returned to his room.

He fell into a deep sleep.

Whether it was due to today's massive power boost or the recent steady diet of wolf and tiger flesh, he couldn't tell.

Lost in a sweet dream, Luo Yi dreamed of his past life—his school days, every age, every class goddess.

"Shhh-shhh-shhh." Lost in the dream, Luo Yi actually **.

"Face burning red," he scrambled up from the ground and dashed to the well.

He drew a bucket of slightly icy well water...

Washed himself clean, then returned to his room. Lying on the floor, he stared through the hole in the roof at the dark sky.

He wondered how "Dad," "Mom," and "Xiao Xi" were doing on the other side of the "Starry Sky."

At least he'd transferred his bonus to his mother in time—that counted as his final contribution to them.

The only pity was his past self. Growing up in a poor family, he'd always been too timid to confess to the girls he liked.

After college, he joined a big internet company and became a pure code monkey.

Before he could even taste the sweetness of love, he dropped dead at his workstation.

Thinking of this, Luo Yi couldn't help but feel sorrow for his past self.

After his lament, Luo Yi clenched his fists. Transmigrated into a world where martial arts flourished, and with a modifier Panel at his disposal...

One day, he would reach the pinnacle of this martial path. By then, women would be nothing but fleeting clouds. "Immortality and martial transcendence"—that was his ultimate goal.