Skin Tempering in Progress

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull impacts echoed through the woods one after another. Only as night gradually fell did the pounding finally cease. By the time Chen Xuan emerged from the forest, he was practically covered in wounds.

The exposed skin was bruised black and blue, with blood having dried into scabs in many places.

For the entire day, Chen Xuan had practically treated his body as if it were not his own, beating it without pause.

The result was that there was scarcely an intact spot anywhere on his body. His muscles, even his bones, had suffered extensive damage.

With injuries like these, if they were not swiftly treated, they would soon leave behind serious lingering effects.

Yet Chen Xuan was not overly worried about that.

The prompt from his Conceptual Ability had made him understand that the Lotus Flower at home could completely solve this problem.

He limped all the way home.

In the courtyard.

Steam was already rising from the stove Chen Xuan had built earlier. Xiao Shitou was busy working away, clearly having not forgotten the instructions his brother had given him.

His little body still struggled greatly even to carry over firewood, but he had managed to finish the task.

"Guoguo!"

Seeing Chen Xuan arrive, Xiao Shitou ran over happily.

"Shitou is so obedient!"

Chen Xuan smiled and rubbed Xiao Shitou's forehead, then walked over to the wooden barrel.

The previously clear water in the barrel had turned a faint milky white and was constantly boiling.

Chen Xuan took a slight breath, stripped off his upper and lower garments, and headed toward the barrel.

Even though it was scalding hot water, even though his instincts told him he should not get in, Chen Xuan still took a deep breath as he looked at the Conceptual Ability and jumped straight in.

Hot—unimaginably hot.

The searing heat instantly spread through his entire body. He nearly sprang out of the barrel, only managing to steady himself inside by pressing his arms tightly against both sides of it.

His body instantly turned red, blue veins bulging one after another.

Steam rose as the blazing heat spread.

Yet amid that spreading heat, a warm current also flowed in through every cell and pore.

As the warm current spread, the searing sensation across his body gradually receded. At the same time, the pain from today's training was slowly soothed away.

Time slowly passed under such circumstances.

He did not know how long had passed. Only when the warm current had completely vanished and the surrounding heat no longer remained did Chen Xuan suddenly open his eyes.

By then, the sky had completely darkened.

Splash!

Chen Xuan rose from the milky-white liquid, his gaze involuntarily falling upon his own body.

The scabs, bruises, purple marks, and wounds from the impacts had all completely disappeared. There was not even the slightest trace left. Clearly, all his injuries had been healed in this short span of time.

Chen Xuan knew exactly how severe and widespread the injuries from this round of impacts had been.

Other than his head, every part of his body had been constantly slammed into things.

With injuries like these, it would have been almost impossible to fully recover in less than three months. Yet after soaking for only a short while, he had been completely healed.

Clenching his fist unconsciously, Chen Xuan could clearly feel that his strength seemed to have increased somewhat as well.

He slowly let out a breath of stale air, and a smile could not help appearing on his face.

He quickly got up, dried himself off, and put on his clothes.

Just as he had finished dressing, his mother returned from afar.

"Mother!"

Seeing their mother return, Chen Xuan and Xiao Shitou, who had been playing nearby, hurried over to greet her.

Seeing her two sons, Zhang Chunhua could not help smiling despite the weariness on her face. She handed the basket on her back to Chen Xuan, then took her younger son's hand and entered the small courtyard.

The moment she entered, Zhang Chunhua noticed the large wooden barrel by the entrance.

"Mother!"

Seeing where his mother was looking, Chen Xuan gave an awkward laugh and instinctively wanted to explain.

However, Zhang Chunhua did not seem to need an explanation and simply walked toward the room.

Zhang Chunhua naturally understood that this son of hers had strong ideas of his own and was very capable, so she had no intention of prying too deeply.

Faced with Zhang Chunhua's reaction, Chen Xuan could not help feeling touched and quickly followed after her.

The night passed without incident.

Morning.

Zhang Chunhua went out once more, while Chen Xuan returned to the woods. Another day of pounding began.

Chen Xuan did not know whether martial arts skin tempering was simply like this or whether there were more refined methods.

But without a doubt, along the path indicated by the Conceptual Ability, this was the simplest and most direct way for him to complete martial arts skin tempering.

Even if it was immensely difficult and painful.

Chen Xuan still gritted his teeth and endured.

He had never lacked perseverance in his previous life. It was only that in that rigid world, perseverance was often meaningless.

But now that he had entered a new world and possessed such a bug-like Conceptual Ability, he could clearly see success through perseverance. Naturally, persistence was no longer a problem.

The day gradually passed.

Chen Xuan trained at home for an entire week.

Throughout that week, his body endured high-intensity pounding almost every day. Every day, he was bruised black and blue; every day, he soaked in scalding hot medicinal baths.

It could be said that it was extremely grueling.

Yet the effects were equally obvious.

After only one week, Chen Xuan could feel his skin becoming increasingly firm. To bruise him black and blue again required greater strength and more pounding.

Fortunately, his strength also continued to grow along with the pounding and the medicinal baths.

After a week, Chen Xuan began spending his mornings hunting in the mountains, his afternoons and evenings pounding his body, and late at night soaking in medicinal baths.

Naturally, his mother Zhang Chunhua discovered this.

At first, Zhang Chunhua was rather nervous.

Even though Chen Xuan said he had learned this method of martial arts training from an expert, Zhang Chunhua still found it hard to believe.

She had even wanted to stop her son from continuing this kind of self-harm.

But after one medicinal bath, Zhang Chunhua fell silent.

Those injuries, which had nearly made her scalp go numb, had completely healed by themselves after less than an hour in the medicinal bath, without even the slightest trace remaining.

Zhang Chunhua had never expected such a result, and she could not help believing Chen Xuan's words.

From that day onward, Zhang Chunhua even took Xiao Shitou's place and helped Chen Xuan prepare his medicinal baths.

Chen Xuan did not stop her from doing so.

Instead, having Zhang Chunhua help made him feel more at ease. Xiao Shitou was still too young, and Chen Xuan was somewhat worried about having him tend the fire.