Unlocking an Achievement!

That evening, Lin Ye walked down the commercial street and pushed open the glass door of a large bathhouse.

"Hello, I'd like to rent a private sauna."

After a short while, Lin Ye took the key card and rode the elevator up to the sixth floor. His room was number 626.

He swiped his card and entered the private room. The temperature was noticeably higher, and his skin began to feel a little sticky.

He took off his clothes, rinsed off, changed into a sauna robe, then picked up a bottle of mineral water from beside the wardrobe.

The bottle was filled with pale green Dieluo Seed Oil. It was the result of an afternoon's work.

Twelve pounds of Dieluo Seeds had yielded about two pounds of oil. The yield wasn't high, but it was more than enough.

He went to the corner and pulled aside the sauna curtain. A cloud of steaming mist surged out, opening every pore on his body.

The inner room was small, about ten square meters. A wooden platform stood in the middle, with sauna stones on top.

After sitting down, he glanced at the thermometer and hygrometer hanging nearby. The humidity was 99 percent, and the temperature was 70 degrees Celsius.

He nodded slightly. This counted as high-temperature gas, right? Any hotter and he'd be cooked.

He sat for a few minutes to get used to the heat, then opened the bottle, poured some Dieluo Seed Oil into his palm, and rubbed it onto his back.

Luckily, the past few days of fist training had improved his flexibility. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to reach some spots.

Before long, he'd finished applying the oil. A cool sensation emerged across his back, then gradually grew warm.

Lin Ye was surprised by the changes in his back. Was this heat overlapping with the Heat Line?

He ladled some water onto the sauna stones, instantly raising a cloud of white steam and bringing the temperature up a little.

As time passed, the heat in his back began to sting.

Lin Ye breathed a little harder.

The fist manual said that the stronger the scorching sensation of the Heat Line before one developed Qi-Sensation, the higher the quality of the Qi-Sensation after the transformation.

But he'd never heard of anyone whose scorching sensation had gotten painful.

Another ten minutes passed. He gritted his teeth against the burning pain in his back and ladled water onto the sauna stones.

A wave of heat rolled over him, and sweat slid down his forehead.

He panted heavily. Nearly an hour had passed, and even breathing had become difficult. An ordinary person would probably have already passed out.

What's more, the burning pain was only getting worse.

He endured it a little longer, then couldn't help hissing through his teeth. He looked at the timer. The hour was up.

"Still not enough?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the muscles in his back suddenly twitched. The burning pain gradually faded, and his breathing eased a little.

Had he succeeded?

"Monument!"

Without hesitation, he looked at the lower half of the Monument.

[Rub Dieluo Seed Oil onto the back and apply heat with high-temperature gas (Complete)]

He let out a long breath, a smile spreading across his face. He'd finally done it.

He didn't linger. He got up and left the sauna room. If he stayed any longer, he really would pass out in there.

Sitting on the edge of the wooden bed in the private room, he took a few minutes to catch his breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

Looking at the Monument, he silently thought,

"Monument, unlock achievement!"

In an instant, the words about [Whale-Kill Hall Newcomer] on the lower half of the Monument warped into a whirlpool, then became a speck of black light that shot into the abilities section above.

Blurry text began to appear. Black mist poured from the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand, turning into a cool current that flowed along his arm and spread through his body.

The burning pain in his back returned, but before Lin Ye could react, it shifted to a soothing warmth.

Fragments of his arduous training surfaced in his mind, accompanied by a tension spreading through every part of his body.

It was as if his spine were twisting, tightening the muscles and meridians throughout his body.

Qi-Sensation Like Rope—he'd done it!

A smile appeared on Lin Ye's face. He'd finally reached the entry level.

As the black mist pouring from the Ouroboros mark gradually dissipated, he looked at the black Monument.

[Monument Master: Lin Ye]

[Strength: 0.62]

[Agility: 0.53]

[Constitution: 0.53]

[Intelligence: 0.54]

[Abilities]

Yin-Attracting Constitution (1/10)

Potion Apprentice (1/10)

Soul Whale Fist "First Layer" (1/100)

[Potential Points: 0]

His strength and constitution had increased by 0.01. It might not look like much, but it was already quite impressive.

After all, there was a huge difference between a strength of 0.5 and 0.6. So even 0.01 meant a significant improvement.

If he tested his punching power now, it would definitely exceed 190 kilograms.

He put away the Monument and looked at the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand. A few more scales had lit up, bringing the total to thirty-nine.

"Just as I thought. The number of lit scales went up."

"Does it only increase when I unlock an achievement, or does taking a potion increase it too?"

"Last time, I unlocked an achievement and took a potion at the same time. The number was twenty-six."

"This time, I only unlocked an achievement, and it increased by thirteen—exactly half of twenty-six."

"Does unlocking an achievement or taking a potion always add thirteen scales?"

"Then why didn't any scales light up the first time I unlocked an achievement?"

"Was the first time special? Did it serve to activate the Monument?"

"Or is it because unlocking an achievement in that medieval church doesn't light up any scales?"

After thinking it over for a while, he decided to brew [Night of the Black Goat] as soon as he got home.

He wouldn't need to buy Black Spiral Grass separately, cutting the cost of a potion in half.

He would take one potion to test what happened to the lit scales and save the rest for later.

His senior brother would be back the day after tomorrow with ten thousand yuan for him, so he could afford to splurge for now.

He clenched his fist slightly, feeling the strength coursing through him. He could clearly sense Qi-Sensation Like Rope tightening the meridians throughout his body.

Hm?

Suddenly, he let out a quiet gasp and stood up.

This feeling was...

"Whoosh—!"

He threw a punch. His fist cut through the damp air with a faint whistle.

He drew his hand back and looked at his palm, delight in his eyes.

He threw a few more punches, then simply began practicing the Eighteen Forms of Soul Whale Fist.

A moment later, his excitement settled somewhat, and he gradually brought the routine to a stop.

A perfect score for absolute, flawless force! Soul Whale Fist in perfect form!

That meant his fist technique's body-tempering effect would reach the theoretical peak of Soul Whale Fist, raising his upper limit even higher!

That meant even if someone else used Dieluo Seed for heat therapy and developed stronger Qi-Sensation after their transformation, they still wouldn't match him!

The Monument was incredible!

He sat on the edge of the wooden bed and calmed his excitement.

Five days to reach the entry level of the fist technique.

Seven days was considered top-tier aptitude, so reaching the entry level in five days meant his aptitude was truly top-tier.

But Coach Lei had told him that Head Coach Lin had mastered the fist technique in just three days.

By that measure, even with the Monument's help, he still fell short of a true genius.

But with the Monument, he could bring out the full potential of his martial arts. How far he could go in the future remained to be seen.

"Knock, knock."

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Sir, you're ten minutes over your time. Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, sorry for the trouble. I'll leave now."

When Lin Ye walked out of the bathhouse, he took a deep breath and felt refreshed. His whole body felt lighter.

Night had fully fallen, and it was nearly ten. The buses had stopped running.

But that was all right. He often walked this route and could get home on foot.

As he walked, pedestrians hurried along the street.

For some reason, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in Lin Ye's heart.

The road was still familiar, but his state of mind had changed completely.

It felt as if he'd escaped the confines of the mortal world, as though all the pressures he'd once felt no longer existed.

He stopped and gazed at the starry sky. A few seconds later, his gaze fell back to his palm.

Every line on his hand was perfectly clear, yet his perspective seemed to have risen infinitely, making everything around him seem tiny.

"The world is wide open, and there's so much I can do..." he murmured.

*