Improvement

After feeding Calamity, Lin Fan hummed a little tune as he walked into the master bathroom on the second floor.

There were no yellowing tiles or moldy corners here like in his old, cheap rental apartment.

Instead, the floor was made of Italian gray marble that reflected his silhouette, complemented by a smart temperature control system and a double-occupancy massage bathtub large enough to be a swimming pool.

He twisted the solid copper faucet.

Splash.

Hot water, filtered multiple times through the central purification system, gushed out, and steam instantly billowed into the air.

"Now this is how a person should live."

Lin Fan stood by the tub, his wrist flicking to reveal a glass test tube emitting a faint golden glow in his palm.

[Intermediate Gene Nutrient Solution]

This was one of the treasures he had splurged 2.5 million on at the Alliance Mall.

This single tube alone was worth 50,000.

It wasn't one of those prohibited drugs that forced a breakthrough at the cost of massive side effects; it was designed for slow nourishment, focusing on increasing cellular activity and enhancing physical fitness.

"Tsk, one gulp is a year's worth of food expenses for an average family."

Lin Fan pulled out the cork and poured the pale green liquid into the tub.

As the liquid blended in, the originally transparent warm water was instantly dyed a jade-like emerald, the color as pure as the finest gemstone.

A faint, refreshing scent, similar to a mix of mint and herbs, instantly permeated the spacious bathroom.

"Smells great."

"This is the scent of money."

Lin Fan stripped off his clothes in a few quick motions, revealing a lean, well-defined physique.

Plop.

Lin Fan stepped into the tub and slid all the way in, leaving only his head exposed.

"Ooh~, that's the stuff!"

He let out a long sigh.

The warm medicinal power seeped in through his open pores like pairs of gentle hands, soothing the muscle fibers that were aching from his forced overexertion.

The sensation was like countless gentle hands pressing hot, steaming towels against every inch of his sore muscle fibers.

It was tingling, scorching, and so pleasurable it made his scalp numb.

Lin Fan muttered to himself, fighting off sleepiness, and reached into his space ring with a wet hand to retrieve a thin booklet.

This was an internal benefit provided by the Limit Martial Arts Hall after he passed the Quasi-Martial Artist assessment today, and it was the entry ticket every martial artist dreamed of.

Genetic Origin Energy Cultivation Method—Five Hearts Toward Heaven Cultivation Method.

The pages were thin, containing only a few diagrams and the mental incantations.

Lin Fan adjusted his posture in the tub.

He sat cross-legged and assumed the Five Hearts Toward Heaven position.

The soles of his feet faced the sky, his palms faced the sky, and the Baihui acupoint on the crown of his head faced the sky.

For an average person, sensing cosmic energy for the first time is the hardest part; those with talent might take a few hours, while those without might take months.

Although Lin Fan's current physical fitness far exceeded that of an ordinary person, he didn't intend to grind it out slowly.

That was the slow way.

He had a cheat, so he was going to use it.

"True Self."

Lin Fan closed his eyes and issued the command in his mind.

"Begin cultivation."

Hum.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the light-shadow figure inside the silent and majestic Bronze Hall moved instantly.

It sat cross-legged, assuming a textbook-perfect "Five Hearts Toward Heaven" posture.

Unlike Lin Fan, True Self was a purely rational consciousness.

While it couldn't directly absorb energy for Lin Fan, its insights—that feeling of having "seen" it—were undeniably real.

In reality, Lin Fan soaked in the nutrient solution, cultivating alongside True Self, attempting to sense the cosmic energy that might exist in the air.

Time passed.

He soaked for the entire night.

When the first rays of dawn filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spilled onto the surface of the tub water, the "medicinal soup" that had been worth 50,000 had completely changed.

The vibrant, deep green had faded, replaced by a basin of murky, dismal, grayish-green stagnant water.

A thin, greasy black film floated on the surface—all the waste expelled from Lin Fan's body.

The refreshing herbal scent had vanished, leaving only a foul odor in the air.

The 50,000-per-tube nutrient solution had clearly been completely absorbed by Lin Fan's body.

Lin Fan opened his eyes, a trace of frustration flashing through them.

"I didn't feel anything..."

In his perception, the air was still just air. Aside from the faint scent of body wash, he hadn't captured the "omnipresent and lively" cosmic energy described in the book.

Even with the medicinal bath and his physical stats meeting the requirements, his body's natural talent seemed to be truly at the level of an average person.

"However, I have a cheat."

"True Self."

He called out in his mind.

"Merge."

As the command was issued, the light-shadow figure deep in his sea of consciousness, which had maintained the "Five Hearts Toward Heaven" posture for the entire night, instantly merged into the depths of his soul.

Hum!

In an instant, the world changed.

Lin Fan felt it clearly.

Countless wisps of colorful, warm currents in the air seemed to appear out of thin air, forcibly squeezing through his pores from all directions and surging madly into his body.

These cosmic energies were greedily devoured by the cells in his body, then converted into the most primitive genetic origin energy.

Lin Fan felt his bones trembling; he could even hear the extremely faint, yet continuous "crackle" sounds coming from them.

His muscle fibers writhed violently beneath his skin, pulled tight, compressed, and restructured by an invisible force.

His fascia felt as if it were being stretched out inch by inch by an invisible hand, becoming tougher and more elastic.

Conversely, Lin Fan could clearly feel that his body, which had been somewhat loose, was undergoing a earth-shattering evolution.

Every inch of his flesh and blood was cheering, growing.

"It really is... painful yet pleasurable."

He didn't know how much time had passed before the sensation quickly subsided.

Splash!

Lin Fan stood up abruptly from the tub and looked down at his body.

His skin was covered in a layer of thin, gray grime that emitted a pungent odor.

When he turned on the showerhead and rinsed the grime away, the skin revealed underneath wasn't fair or tender, but possessed an ivory-like, healthy, and tough luster.

His previously thin frame now had tighter, more fluid muscle lines.

It wasn't the "dead muscle" built in a gym, but rather, like a cheetah, every muscle was streamlined and contained astonishing explosive power.

"Whoa, not bad at all."

Lin Fan clenched his fist, feeling the explosive power surging between his fingers and palm.

His eyes narrowed, and he threw a punch at the humid air in front of him—no fancy moves, just pure physical strength.

Whoosh!

His fist tore through the air, creating a sharp gust of wind that even left a brief vacuum in the mist before him.

"So this is genetic origin energy..."

Lin Fan looked at the brand-new version of himself in the mirror, feeling a sense of intense unreality, yet he was utterly intoxicated.

This was the world of fantasy; this was cosmic energy.

This was the fundamental reason why martial artists could stand above ordinary people.

"An earth-shattering change in a single night, better than a lifetime of training for an ordinary person..."

Lin Fan couldn't help but shake his head.

Gurgle...

Just as Lin Fan was immersed in the joy of his increased strength, a thunderous hunger suddenly erupted from his stomach, the sound so loud it echoed in the empty bathroom.

His stomach began to cramp violently, as if a hand were clawing at it from the inside.

The law of conservation of energy applied everywhere; while cellular evolution felt great, it also consumed a massive amount of biological energy.

That tub of nutrient solution was precious, but it was meant for nourishing cells; it clearly wasn't enough to satisfy his hunger.

Right now, he felt like a mad dog that had just woken up—he felt like throwing anything edible into his mouth.

Lin Fan rubbed his shrunken stomach and gave a wry smile.

"The ancients didn't lie when they said, 'Literature is for the poor, martial arts are for the rich.'"

"As I get stronger, my appetite has to grow along with it."

He quickly dried his body and put on his clothes.

"Now, I need to go get a good meal."