Medicinal Bath, Improvement

Evening, Whale-Kill Boxing Hall, second floor, Medicine Bath Room.

The rustic, understated room was about thirty or forty square meters, with floors made of a dark brown wood.

On the left and right walls were two shelves stocked with various medicinal herbs, and hanging on the back wall was a Red Whale Leaping Sea Painting.

In the center of the room, inside a wooden barrel, Lin Ye was submerged up to his neck in murky medicinal liquid, with only his head exposed.

Nearby, Lei Long took an earthenware jar from the medicine shelf and scooped out a thick, black liquid that emitted a pungent, fishy odor.

As the black liquid was poured into the barrel, the murky concoction began to bubble and hiss, and Lin Ye's face twisted in pain.

"How is the absorption going?"

Sitting on a chair in the corner, Lin Fei asked, one foot propped up on the seat to support her chin, while she took a bite of a peach with her other hand.

Lei Long pushed up his glasses and replaced the lid on the jar.

"The efficiency is very high, even better than mine was back then. I estimate he'll be able to undergo a second medicine bath after reaching the third level."

The medicine baths at the boxing hall were not ordinary; the medicinal properties were extremely violent, so they could not be taken casually.

Generally speaking, one could only undergo a single medicine bath before reaching the fourth level of Soul Whale Fist.

However, there were always those with exceptional constitutions who could undergo two baths before the fourth level, which provided great benefits by raising the limits of the human body.

It was only after his own second medicine bath that he had gradually managed to push his punching power to the threshold of five hundred kilograms.

Lin Fei smiled with pleasant surprise, "Is that so? Then the money for the second medicine bath will also be deducted from your salary."

Lei Long's body stiffened, and he shot a secret glare at Lin Fei.

"Are you a dog?"

"Is that not allowed?" Lin Fei looked over, feigning innocence.

"Allowed! Of course, no problem! My money is useless to me anyway!"

Lei Long put on a sycophantic smile, returned the jar to its place, and his mouth kept moving in a silent tirade from an angle where Lin Fei couldn't see.

After about a few minutes, the liquid in the barrel stopped bubbling and turned from murky to clear, with black, cotton-like sediment settling at the bottom.

Lin Ye's consciousness gradually cleared.

Feeling the burning sensation in his body slowly fade, an indescribable sense of comfort radiated from every part of his frame.

"Monument."

Without opening his eyes, he chanted silently in his mind, and the black Monument appeared in his consciousness.

[Strength: 0.64]

[Physique: 0.57]

Among the four attributes, Strength had increased by 0.01, while Physique had increased by a full 0.03.

The purpose of the medicine bath was primarily to repair bodily damage, which explained the significant increase in Physique, while the Strength gain was merely a secondary benefit.

However, what caught his attention most was the final entry: [Soul Whale Fist "Level 1" (20/100)].

A single medicine bath had granted 10 experience points, far more than what he gained from a full day of special training with Lin Fei.

"If only I could do this more often."

Inside the barrel, he gently clenched his fist, attempting to channel his energy.

Instantly, the sensation of energy, rooted in his spine, spread through his upper arm and reached his forearm.

"It seems the closer I get to the fingertips, the harder it is to channel the energy."

It was like pressing oil; at first, the yield was high and fast, but toward the end, squeezing out the last drop became much more difficult.

Yet, channeling energy to the ten fingers was different from pressing oil; he couldn't just discard the dregs, he had to force the energy through bit by bit.

"Awake? Not going to open your eyes now that you're awake?"

Lin Fei's voice reached his ears.

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes to find Lin Fei's face almost pressed against his, her eyes mismatched in size.

"How do you feel?" Lin Fei asked, stepping back to stand straight.

"Pretty good."

After saying this, Lin Ye stood up and climbed out of the barrel. Lei Long silently handed him a towel before stepping back.

"Don't rush to put your clothes on after you dry off."

Lin Fei had walked over to a low, single bed at some point, reaching out to pat it with a dull thud.

"Come here, time for a massage~"

A smile hung on her face, her high ponytail swaying slightly with the rhythmic patting, her youthful voice tinged with excitement.

"Bang."

Lei Long silently walked out of the Medicine Bath Room and pulled the door shut behind him.

The room immediately fell into an eerie silence, with only the smile on Lin Fei's face remaining unchanged.

For no apparent reason, a sense of foreboding rose in Lin Ye's heart.

"Here it comes, you can scream if it hurts~"

"Ah—gently! Gently!"

"Gently? Then I'll add a bit more force! Don't move! These shoulder blades are truly beautiful! Watch me pose them!"

"Ah—!!!"

Outside the Medicine Bath Room, Lei Long silently lit a lollipop, the sweet taste spreading through his mouth.

About half an hour later, the door to the Medicine Bath Room opened, and a refreshed Lin Fei walked out.

"Well, Lei Long, you go ahead."

After saying this, he strode away, and Lei Long put away his lollipop and walked into the Medicine Bath Room.

Lin Ye sat on the low bed, his gaze still somewhat dazed; hearing the sound of Lei Long entering, he turned his head stiffly.

"Put on your clothes, how do you feel?" Lei Long handed over the training uniform.

Lin Ye gradually regained his senses, took the training uniform, and put it on.

He glanced at the Monument, [Physique: 0.58]

"Pretty good."

Lei Long chuckled upon hearing this, "Heh, you only ever say 'pretty good'."

After saying that, he handed over a mobile phone, "Here, your phone. Your mom called to ask why you hadn't gone back yet, and I told her you were in the medicine bath."

Taking the phone, Lin Ye glanced at the time; it was already past one in the morning, and the call had been at ten-thirty, three hours ago.

"Sorry for the trouble, Coach," he said.

Lei Long smiled, "Don't mention it. You have great talent. If you become an official disciple in the future, we'll be fellow students."

"If there's nothing else, head back. You can rest tomorrow; the boss's special training is the day after tomorrow anyway."

In the head coach's office, Lin Fei stood by the window watching Lin Ye's departing back.

"Lei Long, did you notice?"

"This kid was cautious yesterday, but today he suddenly seems to have become transparent."

"Has he determined his own ecological niche?"

Lei Long stepped forward two paces and scratched his head, "Transparent? Doesn't that mean being heartless and carefree?"

???

Lin Fei tilted his head to look at Lei Long, "You motherf..."

Suddenly, his gaze fell on the boiling kettle behind Lei Long, and his eyes became somewhat amused.

"I remember promising to help you condition your body, didn't I?"

Lei Long tilted his head to look at him, "Yeah, what about it?"

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that Lin Fei's expression was a bit off, and his eyes darted around.

"Heh, hehe, no, Boss, you remembered wrong."

Lin Fei smiled, patted him on the shoulder, walked past him, and picked up the boiling kettle.

"How could that be? Would I remember wrong? That's impossible."

"Come, today I'll let you know what the Ancient Method of Kettle-Pouring Crown-Cleansing is."

The boiling kettle was still steaming, the lid rattling as it lifted and fell.

Lei Long's expression changed slightly, "I think, there's really no need for this, right?"

"There is, how could there not be? Come, get over here."

"Don't, don't, don't... Boss, Brother Fei! Boiling water! That's boiling water—!!"

*

*

*

By the Green Pool, Lin Ye walked slowly, feeling the night breeze brush through his hair.

It had been a long time since he had walked quietly by himself like this.

Passing through the Green Pool Terrace, he took out his phone and opened the navigation.

More than an hour later, Lin Ye looked at the narrow Dark Street in front of him, feeling somewhat bewildered.

Where did this bring me? Is this the way home?

Just as he was thinking this, a dim light flickered in Dark Street, casting swaying shadows against the wall as if from some kind of flame.

Lin Ye fixed his gaze on it, a look of confusion appearing on his face; this thing... an altar?

He saw a half-meter-tall Four-Legged Bronze Tripod placed in the center of Dark Street.

Judging by the marks on its surface, it didn't look like a modern craft, but rather an antique.

But who would place something like this here? And in the middle of the night, no less?

The confusion that had just risen in his heart was immediately replaced by a clear-eyed focus, revealing a hint of aggression.

An altar, a sacrifice... a cult!

Suddenly, Lin Ye felt a jolt in his heart.

He looked toward the depths of Dark Street, where a thin black mist had begun to drift in from somewhere, and a chilling sensation spread along with it.

"Roar..."

A low, guttural growl came from behind the bronze tripod, accompanied by the dull thud of footsteps, sounding like fleshy palms slapping against the ground.