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 like in his old, cheap rental.

The floor was Italian gray marble polished to a shine, with an intelligent temperature-control system and a double whirlpool tub big enough to be a swimming pool.

He turned the pure-copper faucet.

Water rushed out.

Hot water, filtered multiple times by the central purification system, gushed forth, and steam billowed up at once.

"Now this is the life."

Standing beside the tub, Lin Fan flipped his wrist. A glass vial glowing with a faint golden light appeared in his palm.

[Intermediate Gene Nutrient Solution]

It was one of the treasures he'd bought at the Alliance Mall, where he'd splurged 2.5 million.

This single vial alone was worth 50,000.

It wasn't some banned drug that could push someone past their physical limits in an instant at the cost of severe side effects. Its purpose was to boost cell activity and improve the body gradually.

"Tsk, one swig costs as much as an ordinary family's food for a year."

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

As it mixed with the water, the once-clear bath instantly turned emerald green, as pure as the finest jade.

A faint fragrance, like a blend of mint and herbs, quickly filled the spacious bathroom.

"Smells great."

"That's the scent of money."

Lin Fan stripped off his clothes in a few quick movements, revealing a lean but well-defined body.

Splash.

He stepped into the tub and slid all the way in, leaving only his head above water.

"Mmm~ that's the stuff!"

He let out a long sigh.

The warm medicinal properties seeped through his open pores, like countless gentle hands soothing his aching muscle fibers after he'd pushed his body too far.

It felt as if countless gentle hands were pressing hot towels against every aching inch of his muscles.

Tingling, searing, so good it made his scalp tingle.

After a quip, Lin Fan fought off the sleepiness and took a thin booklet from his Space Ring with his wet hand.

It was an internal perk Limit Martial Arts Hall had given him after he passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment that day. It was also the entry ticket every warrior dreamed of obtaining.

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

The booklet was thin, containing only a few illustrated pages and cultivation instructions.

Lin Fan adjusted his position in the tub.

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

The soles of both feet faced upward, as did his palms, while the crown of his head pointed toward the sky.

For ordinary people, sensing the universe's energy for the first time was the hardest part. Those with good talent might manage it in a few hours; those with poor talent might need several months.

Although Lin Fan's physical fitness was already far beyond ordinary, he didn't intend to struggle through it on his own.

That was the foolish way.

He had a cheat, so he might as well use it.

"True Self."

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

"Begin cultivation."

Hum.

Deep in his sea of consciousness, the figure of light in the silent, imposing Bronze Hall moved at once.

It sat cross-legged and assumed a Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture so textbook-perfect it could have been used as a model.

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

It couldn't absorb energy for Lin Fan directly, but its insights—that sensation of having "seen" something—were very real.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Lin Fan soaked in the nutrient solution and cultivated alongside True Self, trying to sense the universe's energy that might be present in the air.

Time passed.

He soaked for an entire night.

When the first rays of dawn fell across the tub through the floor-to-ceiling window, the emerald "medicinal bath," once worth 50,000, had completely changed.

Its vibrant green had faded into a murky, dull gray-green.

A thin, greasy film of black oil floated on the surface—the waste that had been expelled from Lin Fan's body.

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

The nutrient solution, worth 50,000 a vial, had clearly been completely absorbed by Lin Fan's body.

Lin Fan opened his eyes, a trace of helplessness flashing across them.

"I didn't sense anything..."

In his perception, the air was still just air. Aside from the faint scent of body wash, he couldn't detect the "lively, leaping energy found everywhere" described in the book.

Even after soaking in a medicinal bath, even with his physical fitness up to par, his body's talent seemed to be no better than that of an ordinary person.

"But I have a cheat."

"True Self."

He called out to it in his mind.

"Fuse."

At his command, the figure of light that had maintained the Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture all night merged into the depths of his soul.

Hum!

In an instant, the world changed.

Lin Fan felt it clearly.

Countless wisps of multicolored, searing energy seemed to appear from nowhere, forcing their way into his pores from all directions and surging into his body.

The cells in his body ravenously devoured the universe's energy, then converted it into the most fundamental form of Genetic Origin Energy.

Lin Fan felt his bones trembling. He could even hear an incredibly faint yet unceasing series of crackles coming from them.

His muscle fibers writhed beneath his skin, pulled taut, compressed, and reformed by an invisible force.

His fascia, too, seemed to be stretched inch by inch by an unseen hand, growing tougher and more elastic.

At the same time, Lin Fan could clearly feel his once somewhat loose body undergoing a complete transformation.

Every inch of his flesh rejoiced and grew.

"This is... pain and pleasure all at once."

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

Splash!

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

A thin layer of gray grime coated his skin, giving off a powerful stench.

He turned on the shower and rinsed the grime away. His skin wasn't any fairer, but it now had the healthy, resilient sheen of ivory.

His once somewhat skinny body now had tighter, smoother muscle lines.

They weren't the bulky, lifeless muscles built in a gym. Like a leopard, every muscle was streamlined and brimming with explosive power.

"Wow, this is great."

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

His gaze sharpened. Without any fancy technique, he simply relied on his physical strength and punched the damp air in front of him.

Whoosh!

His fist ripped through the air with a sharp gust, even leaving a brief void in the mist ahead.

"So this is Genetic Origin Energy..."

Lin Fan looked at his transformed reflection in the mirror. It felt intensely unreal, yet he was utterly captivated.

This was the world of fantasy. This was the power of the universe.

This was why warriors could stand above ordinary people.

"One night, and everything's changed. It's worth more than an ordinary person's lifetime of martial arts training..."

Lin Fan couldn't help shaking his head.

Grrr...

Just as Lin Fan was basking in the joy of growing stronger, a thunderous hunger suddenly rumbled from his stomach, echoing through the spacious bathroom.

His stomach began to cramp violently, as if something inside were clawing at it.

The law of conservation of energy applied everywhere. Evolving his cells felt great, but it had consumed a huge amount of biological energy.

The tubful of Intermediate Gene Nutrient Solution had been precious, but it was meant to nourish his cells. It clearly wasn't enough to fill the gap.

Now he was like a newly awakened mad dog. He felt like he could throw anything edible into his mouth.

Lin Fan rubbed his now-hollow stomach and gave a bitter smile.

"The poor study, the rich practice martial arts. The ancients weren't wrong."

"The stronger I get, the more I'll have to eat."

He quickly dried himself and got dressed.

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