Gene Potions, Nourishing Soup

"Feel every detail of each bodily movement. Control the force when working your muscles, use your breathing to regulate the speed of your blood flow... No detail can go wrong, or it will have no effect. In serious cases, it could throw your blood, qi, and muscles out of balance, causing backlash and injury."

Mu Xiao personally taught Jian Hanyao and An Rongru every detail of each movement, eventually linking them into a complete form that could temper the body.

"Are you making us do these weird movements just to mess with us? I don't feel anything at all." Jian Hanyao had exhausted all her patience on these incomparably tedious details. An Rongru, on the other hand, earnestly followed Mu Xiao's instructions. She had even grasped how to use Mental Power to regulate her own blood and qi and control her force with remarkable precision.

"For now, you're only familiarizing yourselves with each movement. Once you can perform the movements of the first form in one continuous sequence, your body will feel it," Mu Xiao explained.

"Then show me once." Jian Hanyao was not easily convinced.

"Fine."

Unexpectedly, Mu Xiao did not refuse.

After steadying his breathing, he began performing the first three forms where he stood.

From slow to fast, Mu Xiao meticulously performed one strange movement after another. Whether it was his breathing or motions, every detail maintained the same rhythm. His muscles contracted and extended, his blood and qi circulated, his force struck out... He seemed to be dancing, doing gymnastics, or practicing punches, yet every movement flowed seamlessly into the next. There was nothing ridiculous about it. Instead, his body radiated a powerful beauty that blended hardness with softness.

The three forms contained ninety-nine movement details in total. Mu Xiao completed every one of them with extreme proficiency, without the slightest mistake, as precise as a machine.

"My physique has already reached the Peak Realm, so the first three forms do not help me much. If you complete all the movements correctly, your body will give you a very clear response." A thin layer of sweat seeped from Mu Xiao's forehead, and his face was flushed, as though he had just finished intense weight training.

Only the later body-tempering forms could raise Mu Xiao's physique to a higher realm. He did not practice them now because they would consume a great deal of energy. There was still a battle tonight, and he did not want to overexert himself. Jian Hanyao and An Rongru, however, were at too low a physique realm; even if they expended energy, it would be easy for them to replenish it.

If body-tempering was supported by abundant nutrients, the effects would be even more apparent—such as the meat of high-level Mutant Beasts, precious medicinal herbs, nutrient solution, gene potions, and other valuable resources. That was why Mu Xiao had extorted a huge amount of credit from Shangguan Yuanxin and ordered a large batch of medicinal materials and supplies. They were high-quality supplements prepared for his own cultivation.

"Looks like it really works." Jian Hanyao sounded half-convinced.

"You have the ability Stronger When Facing Strength. You probably absorbed a Combat Mastery ability too, right?" Mu Xiao's gaze was exceptionally sharp. He had already noticed these abilities when he fought Jian Hanyao earlier.

"Back when weapons still worked, I killed a monster that was slaughtering people everywhere... Mm, one of the Mutant Humans you mentioned." Jian Hanyao spoke fearlessly out of ignorance. "That Mutant Human was the strongest monster I'd ever seen, but it still couldn't withstand me secretly using the system to lock onto its location, then disabling it with high-voltage electricity and shooting it to death."

Seeing the smug look on her face, Mu Xiao was left somewhat speechless by her audacious yet cautious and levelheaded nature.

If she had fought a Mutant Human head-on, even ten of her would not have been enough for it to kill. Yet she controlled the Main System of the villa district and had the authority to mobilize its energy. No matter how powerful a Mutant Human was, it had its limits. It could not resist the total energy output of an entire high-class villa district.

Mu Xiao did not continue asking about her heroic yet absurd exploits. Instead, he patiently instructed her, "If you want to quickly master the details of the first three forms, use your combat ability to understand the patterns within them. Draw upon your battle instincts from Stronger When Facing Strength. That should let you quickly familiarize yourself with the subtle changes in your body and turn the movements into a combat instinct."

Then he looked at An Rongru.

"You know how to use Mental Power to help your body memorize the movements. That's a good method. Just keep it up," he praised. "Han Yao, work hard. Don't lose to your mother." An Rongru smiled radiantly, a teasing sense of humor rising in her.

"Hmph!" Jian Hanyao lifted her chin proudly, like a peacock. "I'll definitely finish these three Body-Tempering Art forms before noon."

After that, Mu Xiao continued carefully guiding the two women through the details of body-tempering. Anyone who could evolve into a New Human was basically not stupid, especially An Rongru, who belonged to the Mental System and possessed an exceptionally sharp and clear mind.

Jian Hanyao seemed to possess an extraordinary natural talent for battle. Aside from her innocent, delicate face, which had no battle-ready qualities whatsoever, she was basically a violent maniac. Still, just as Mu Xiao had said, she used her battle instincts to grasp the body-tempering movements. She truly mastered them smoothly, completely losing the earlier sense of awkwardness and confusion.

The first three body-tempering forms were actually introductory forms, meant to consolidate the realm of a "peak" physique, so they were not overly difficult.

By around noon, Jian Hanyao had done exactly as she claimed and completed the three Body-Tempering Art forms. But after she performed them in one continuous sequence, she looked as though she had been fished out of water. Fragrant sweat drenched her body, and her little mouth gasped for breath without any concern for appearances. She nearly collapsed onto the carpet, while the muscles in her limbs twitched and trembled faintly, as though she had undergone some brutal weight-bearing exercise.

"It feels... it feels so intense." Jian Hanyao's pure and tender face glowed with a rosy sheen. Her moist little lips parted slightly, and her orchid-like breath carried a heavy warmth. Her flushed, soft, powerless expression and those suggestive words created an extremely wicked impression.

Only Mu Xiao understood what kind of "feeling" she meant. Her physical strength had been utterly depleted, yet she could clearly sense a new force nurturing itself inside and outside her body. Sooner or later, it would be born and become a source of bodily power.

"Rest for a while first. Once you recover some strength, repeat it one more time. With your physique, that should be close to your limit." Mu Xiao glanced at An Rongru, who was still meticulously repeating the movements one by one. He understood that, with her cautious personality, she wanted to familiarize herself with every movement before performing the body-tempering sequence continuously. "Keep practicing. I'll make some food to help you recover. This afternoon, we'll start preparing for tonight's battle."

"Don't make it too disgusting." Jian Hanyao said it without ceremony. "All the food in the house is in the kitchen. Make more..."

Mu Xiao directly ignored the rest of what she was about to say, took some Blood Beads, and headed for the kitchen.

The kitchen looked as though it had endured a brutal battle. Food was scattered everywhere across the counters, strange sauces and liquids covered the floor, solidified into patches of grime, and the cookware was coated in something like black charcoal. Mu Xiao found it difficult to imagine how Jian Hanyao had managed to turn a kitchen into such a spectacle in an era of advanced technology.

"Even if the robots stopped working, surely making food shouldn't end up like this, right?" Mu Xiao shook his head with a wry smile, found some clean cookware, and repaired the energy stove.

An Rongru was a wealthy woman, so naturally her home lacked neither medicinal herbs and tonics nor high-grade nutrient solution. Mu Xiao quickly found a large quantity of high-grade nutrient solution and all kinds of precious medicinal herbs in the kitchen. He selected suitable herbs and nutrient solution, added other meats along with thirty low-grade Blood Beads that could heal and strengthen the body, and simmered them into a special high-concentration nourishing soup.

"But there are no Mutant Beast bones. Otherwise, this pot of nourishing soup would be even more effective." Mu Xiao looked at the rich soup bubbling away and muttered to himself. In the kitchen's large refrigerator, he had found a huge amount of lean meat—nearly every kind of poultry and livestock meat was there, all of it high-quality.

However, when Mu Xiao considered An Rongru's status and wealth, he understood why there were so many high-grade foods.

During the two hours he spent cooking, Mu Xiao also repaired the refrigerator. Its backup freezing capacity had nearly run out, and once the cold was gone, the meat inside would quickly spoil. He did not want the mother and daughter to struggle over food after he left, so he repaired it while he was at it.

When Mu Xiao brought out a large spread of dishes, he found Jian Hanyao and An Rongru slumped limply on the sofa, recovering their breath. Jian Hanyao in particular looked utterly exhausted and weak. He immediately understood that she had performed the Body-Tempering Art once more and had nearly drained all the energy in her body.

"Rongru, do you have any gene potions in storage?" Mu Xiao asked.

Most wealthy families kept gene potions in reserve, using them to save lives at the first sign of an emergency.

Sure enough, An Rongru did not hesitate much before nodding. "Yes, I ordered some gene potions. They're all in my bedroom."

Mu Xiao made a trip there and found three cases in An Rongru's room. One contained three vials of the premium gene potion "Miracle of Life." As long as a person still had one breath left, it could temporarily keep them alive. Each vial cost at least a billion credits, and even money could not easily buy it.

The other two cases contained high-grade gene potions: "Strengthening Foundation, Cultivating Essence" and "Spirit of Toxins." The former replenished qi and blood, strengthened the tendons and bones, and soothed the mind. The latter could remove all kinds of lethal toxins. These two gene potions were the most numerous, with twenty vials in each case. An Rongru had no shortage of money, which was why she had stored so many exceptionally precious gene potions. Especially on the path of evolution ahead, these gene potions would only become rarer and more valuable.

"There are too many rich people in this villa district. Their villas must contain plenty of valuable things. Once I control the entire district, I must sweep this place clean." Mu Xiao silently made up his mind.

He took two vials of "Strengthening Foundation, Cultivating Essence," returned the other gene potions to their places, and went back to the living room.

An Rongru and Jian Hanyao had already begun eating without waiting for Mu Xiao. Both had expended a great deal of energy and were extremely hungry.

Because he had just considered looting the villa district, Mu Xiao casually revealed how precious gene potions and nutrient solution would become in the future. He told them that if they had the chance, they should immediately collect the hidden stores of every villa owner in the district, then catalog everything and sort out the valuable items.

This included metals, certain antiques, ancient texts, and similar things, all of which might contain substantial benefits.

"Ah!" Jian Hanyao suddenly seemed to remember something. "Didn't my father collect antique famous swords before? I wonder if they're any good. Once we finish eating, let's go take a look..."

Could there really be a discovery? Mu Xiao thought in surprise, though he calmly agreed on the surface. In the future New World, antique famous swords were battle weapons that almost every New Human would fight desperately to obtain. That was why Mu Xiao reacted with such surprise.