Foundation Repaired

After the excitement of successfully starting the furnace came an even more cautious and lengthy testing phase. More than anyone else, Shaye understood how dangerous it was to apply insufficiently tested energy to his own body. Over the next three days, he did not rush to lie inside the furnace. Instead, he and his father conducted an exceptionally meticulous "test run."

He made several simple biological tissue simulants—mainly chunks of animal meat with varying densities and levels of vitality—and placed them inside the furnace chamber. His father, Shaliu, injected an extremely minute amount of chakra into the "Puppet Core" to activate the energy field.

Shaye focused completely on sensing every change in the energy field, recording the data with a pen:

"Energy output at five percent, sustained for ten breaths. The simulant's surface temperature rose by 0.3 degrees, with no obvious changes."

"Output raised to eight percent. Microscopic observation of muscle tissue shows a slight increase in cellular activity, accompanied by mild dehydration..."

"Attempting to adjust the energy output frequency to imitate the fluctuations of the Medical Ninjutsu, Mystical Palm Technique... The energy field is experiencing unstable oscillations. Stop immediately!"

Every test came with risks. Once, due to an error in frequency adjustment, the energy field instantly descended into chaos, and one chunk of animal meat inside the furnace even began to smell burnt. Shaliu was so startled that he immediately cut off the chakra supply. Shaye rushed to the furnace and carefully inspected the core and internal circuits, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Failure, adjustment, then testing again. Father and son worked almost without sleep, sustaining themselves on dried rations and water. Shaliu never complained. Though he did not understand the profound principles involved, he could see his son's focus and rigor. He followed every instruction strictly, precisely controlling the force and duration of each fraction of chakra output.

Three days later, the test data had piled into a thick stack. Shaye had finally found a relatively stable, gentle, and effective range of parameters. The energy field's output was set to its lowest power, while its frequency was adjusted to the band closest to life's natural rhythm.

"Father, we can begin." Shaye's voice was somewhat hoarse after staying awake for so long, but his eyes were astonishingly bright.

Shaliu nodded solemnly, drew a deep breath, and pressed both hands against the furnace's designated chakra input nodes. This time, it was no longer a test. It was an actual treatment.

Shaye removed his outer clothes, leaving only a thin inner garment. With a feeling almost like pilgrimage, he slowly lay down inside the slightly cold metal chamber of the First-Generation Body Tempering Furnace. The gentle white light along the chamber walls enveloped him, and a strange warmth seeped through his skin.

"Begin." Shaye's voice came from within the furnace, carrying a barely noticeable tremor.

Shaliu closed his eyes and calmed his mind. The relatively abundant chakra within him, at the level of a Chunin, began to flow out steadily through the nodes and into the "Puppet Core."

Hummm—!

The furnace let out its steady roar once more, deeper and more powerful than during the tests. The white light inside the chamber grew richer, and the temperature gradually rose to a comfortable level.

Shaye held his breath and focused with all his might on sensing the changes in his body.

At first came warmth, as though he were soaking in a hot spring. Then he felt the balanced, peaceful energy transformed by the "Puppet Core" begin to penetrate his skin like countless tiny hands, gently seeping into his muscles and spreading toward the depths of his bones and internal organs.

An indescribable tingling itch began to emerge. It did not linger on the surface, but rose from the deepest parts of his body, from the level of every single cell! It was as if parched, cracked earth had finally received the long-awaited rain. Every cell greedily absorbed this pure life energy, letting out joyful moans.

He could clearly "see within" his body. Those weak, low-vitality tissues, weakened by premature birth and congenital deficiency, were slowly being nourished and activated by this energy. Bodily functions that had long operated sluggishly due to a lack of energy were like rusted gears receiving lubricant, beginning to attempt a more efficient rhythm.

The process was not entirely comfortable. Whenever the energy touched congenital, underdeveloped meridian nodes or atrophied tissues, waves of faint yet profound soreness and swelling would arise, sometimes accompanied by a slight stabbing pain. That was the unavoidable price of repair and reconstruction.

Shaye clenched his teeth and endured it silently. Sweat seeped from his forehead, only to be quickly evaporated by the energy field. His body trembled faintly, but his mind was in a state of extreme clarity and excitement.

He could feel it! He truly could feel it!

The congenital foundation that had plagued him for nine years, binding him like shackles, was being repaired and strengthened bit by bit by this foreign yet incomparably gentle power!

The speed was extremely slow, and the effect was minuscule, but for Shaye, who had never experienced what a "normal" body felt like, this was undoubtedly a miracle!

Outside the furnace, Shaliu did his utmost to maintain a steady chakra output. He could see the furnace operating smoothly and hear his son's faint, desperately suppressed breaths. He did not know exactly what was happening inside, but from the chakra consumption and the furnace's stable operation, he could infer that the process seemed to be going well. His heart was filled with indescribable anticipation and tension.

Time passed slowly.

When Shaliu felt that nearly half his chakra had been depleted and prepared to stop according to the planned schedule, the energy field within the furnace slowly began to weaken, and the humming gradually faded.

The white light receded, revealing Shaye lying inside the furnace chamber.

His entire body was soaked in sweat, his face pale, and even his lips had turned slightly white from how tightly he had clenched them earlier, as if he had just suffered through a serious illness. Yet in those open black eyes of his burned a brilliance more dazzling than ever before!

He slowly sat up, moved his fingers, then tried clenching his fist.

An unprecedented, tangible sense of "strength" quietly welled up from deep within his body. It was still weak, far from comparable to that of an ordinary person, but he could clearly feel it—the ever-present weakness that stemmed from the very source of his foundation had lessened!

It was no longer a psychological effect, but a genuine, physical improvement!

"Father..." Shaye's voice carried the exhaustion that followed excitement, yet it was full of joy. "It worked... It really... works!"

Shaliu hurried forward and supported his son's swaying body, carefully sensing his breath. He was still weak, but his breathing truly seemed a little deeper and stronger than before!

Seeing the radiance that seemed ready to spill from his son's eyes and feeling the unprecedented vitality in his voice, the silent, steadfast puppeteer father felt his eyes grow slightly hot.

He knew that the path his son had walked was incomparably difficult. But today, he had finally seen the dawn.

Repairing his foundation was no longer an unreachable dream. It had become a reality that could be achieved step by step through effort!

(End of Chapter)