After taking off the abrasive shirt, Lin Fan discovered that every inch of his skin was covered in blood scabs, a shocking sight.
He immersed himself in the secret medicinal solution. His whole body burned with pain, and the scabs on his wounds began turning pitch-black as the medicine took effect.
An hour later, the instructor called Lin Fan and the others out. Lin Fan noticed that all the scabs on his body had turned pitch-black, and his wounds had stopped bleeding completely.
But once they put their abrasive shirts back on, the scabs were torn open again, and groans of pain rose throughout the grounds.
Their journey over the slope continued that afternoon. Lin Fan's freshly healed wounds were torn wide open again. The pain hardly bore mentioning.
After one trip over the slope, several people had already lost consciousness. The instructor's response made Lin Fan's eyelids twitch.
He saw the instructor toss the unconscious people straight onto the top of the slope and send them rolling down.
"You've used the martial arts school's secret medicine. Don't think you can waste even a fraction of it." A savage grin curled the instructor's lips.
After two trips, only five people could still regain consciousness on their own-the very five who had earned the top-five rewards.
After three trips, only Lin Fan, Li Feng, and Wang Wu could regain consciousness on their own. After four, only Li Feng remained.
In truth, Lin Fan had not fainted, but to keep a low profile, he pretended he had.
The consequence was that when the instructor tossed her onto the top of the slope and sent her rolling down, he could only endure it without making a sound.
Li Feng held on until the sixth trip before fainting. The instructor was very pleased and offered a rare word of praise: "Not bad."
After rolling down the slope for the sixth time, Lin Fan was instead fully alert, because he had mastered the basics of Iron Cloth Shirt, greatly reducing his pain.
Iron Cloth Shirt (beginner 100/100)
Lin Fan could clearly feel his wounds healing faster. His body was warm inside, rapidly absorbing the medicinal potency of the medicinal meals.
Mastering the basics in one day-could I really be a martial arts genius? Lin Fan was secretly excited.
The instructor left without waiting for them to wake. About fifteen minutes later, Lin Fan noticed Li Feng slowly coming around.
Enduring the intense pain, he climbed to his feet, swept an indifferent glance over the people lying on the ground, and left alone. He was like a lone wolf, disdaining to associate with Lin Fan and the others.
Almost another fifteen minutes passed before Wang Wu woke, but he could not get up. He took a long while to recover before finally climbing to his feet.
Then he noticed Lin Fan getting up as well, panting heavily. He stared at Lin Fan, speechless. "Brother Lin, are you sure you weren't watching me for your cue?"
Lin Fan waved a hand. "No, no. Our constitutions just happen to be about the same."
The two returned to the martial arts school's rear courtyard together and found Li Feng already soaking in the secret medicinal solution. Lin Fan and Wang Wu first went to the dining hall to eat. With another two bowls of medicinal food in his stomach, Lin Fan felt alive again.
At the medicinal vat, Lin Fan took off his abrasive shirt and discovered that the scabs on his body had already turned black. He clenched his fists, feeling that his strength had increased considerably, though he would have to test it to know exactly how much.
Immersing himself in the secret medicinal solution, he felt an even fiercer burning than at noon. Lin Fan understood that his ability to absorb the medicine had grown stronger. Some small scabs fell off at a rate visible to the naked eye, revealing pale, tender skin beneath.
Lin Fan prodded it with a finger and felt how resilient it was. He had heard that after mastering the basics of Iron Cloth Shirt, an ordinary blade drawn lightly across the skin could not break it. He wanted very much to try it, but now was not the time.
The others also returned one after another to eat and soak in the medicine. There were several people Lin Fan still had not seen by the time he left the medicinal vat for the dormitory. They probably had not woken yet. The differences in their constitutions were becoming increasingly apparent.
The twelve of them were divided between two dorm rooms, six to a room. The door to one room was already open, so presumably Li Feng had chosen that one.
Thinking of Li Feng's expressionless face, Lin Fan chose the other room. Wang Wu went with him.
The room was very small, with space for only three bunk beds. For bathing and using the toilet, they would have to go to the communal bathhouse and latrine.
Lin Fan chose an upper bunk. Other people could easily sit or even lie on a lower bunk, and he did not like that.
Wang Wu immediately chose the bunk beneath his. He could not be bothered to climb.
Lin Fan opened his bundle and took out a change of clothes, a bar of soap, and a razor blade, then called Wang Wu to go wash up with him.
In the bathhouse, the scabs on Lin Fan's body kept falling away under the water. He picked up the razor blade and drew it lightly across his pale, tender skin.
A white mark appeared, but no blood seeped out. Lin Fan raised his eyebrows. The effects of beginner-level Iron Cloth Shirt truly lived up to their reputation. Before, that would have left a cut long ago.
"I heard that once you reach minor attainment in Iron Cloth Shirt, the skin all over your body becomes like iron, and ordinary swords and sabers can hardly hurt you. I really can't wait," Lin Fan muttered, full of anticipation.
After bathing and hanging up his clothes, Lin Fan returned to the room and found two others making their beds. They were the other two who had earned the top-five rewards. It seemed they did not want to stay with Li Feng either.
They nodded to one another. Lin Fan put his soap dish under Wang Wu's bed, then climbed onto the upper bunk and lay down. He was already exhausted, and so was Wang Wu.
Lin Fan had only just fallen asleep when a loud shout woke him, and an irritated expression immediately crossed his face.
"Hey! Which of you has soap?"
Lin Fan opened his eyes and looked toward the doorway, where a fellow with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks stood with his chin raised.
"I don't have any soap to wash my big brother Li Feng's clothes. If you've got some, lend it to me." The fellow continued hollering as he strode inside.
At the mention of Li Feng's name, the other irritated men immediately fell silent, apprehension showing on their faces.
Li Feng was the only person the instructor had praised. Anyone with eyes could tell that he was the most talented among their batch of human training post candidates, with a very good chance of reaching minor attainment in Iron Cloth Shirt and becoming a human training post. They did not dare offend him.
Seeing that no one dared answer, the fellow grew even more smug, his nostrils pointed skyward and his gaze contemptuous.
Although Lin Fan was not afraid of Li Feng, he did not want to cause trouble on the first day and leave the instructor with a bad impression, so he held back as well.
The fellow stepped into the room like a leader on an inspection tour, examining every corner. When he spotted the soap dish beneath Wang Wu's bed, his eyes lit up, and he snatched it up.
Watching this with his own eyes, Lin Fan narrowed his gaze. He did not want trouble, but that did not mean he feared it.
Having lived two lives, he understood one principle very well: when a petty villain bullied you for the first time, you had to bare your fangs. Otherwise, he would keep bullying you, and resisting later would only bring even harsher oppression.
The fellow opened the dish without asking. When he discovered the soap inside, his face first brightened, then darkened.
He stared at Wang Wu. "Wang Wu, why didn't you say you had soap?" His attitude made it seem as though Wang Wu were at fault.
Anger showed on Wang Wu's face. Just as he was about to unleash a torrent of curses, Lin Fan spoke. "That's my soap." His tone was exceptionally cold.
The fellow raised his gaze slightly to stare at Lin Fan, displeasure all over his face. "If you had soap, why didn't you say so just now? Didn't I say I was looking for soap to wash my big brother Li Feng's clothes? Can you afford to waste my time and Brother Li's?"
At those words, the anger in Lin Fan's heart surged higher and higher, until he could no longer suppress it.