Inside the room, Jiang Jie was utterly baffled.
"I was the one who got seen naked, wasn't I? So you're the one taking advantage of me. What are you screaming for?" Jiang Jie felt he had gotten the short end of the stick!
"Hmm, I can't let her take advantage of me for nothing. I'll have to find a chance to return the favor." The corners of Jiang Jie's mouth rose, and he nodded lightly.
He didn't consider himself someone who liked taking advantage of others, but he didn't like being taken advantage of, either!
After he began circulating the Black Tortoise Longevity Art, he found that the water temperature wasn't unbearable. It was scalding, but according to the intelligent AI Xiao Feng, hot water had its benefits. Not only could it improve the effects of the medicinal bath, it could also temper Jiang Jie's willpower.
Chinese martial artists developed comprehensively in strength, agility, constitution, intelligence, and spirit. Powerful Xiantian martial artists not only had excellent physiques, but were also very intelligent. Their abundant spiritual power rivaled that of mages, and their firm willpower was no weaker than that of Paladins. They had no weaknesses.
This was the difference between Chinese martial artists and the class practitioners of this world!
The class practitioners of this world all had various weaknesses to some extent.
Although mages had powerful attacks, strong control abilities, and a wide range of skills, their physiques were relatively weak. Even the most powerful legendary mage could be killed by a single gunshot or arrow.
Priests and Warlocks were similar to mages.
Warriors had excellent physiques, but their agility was only average, and their spiritual power was far inferior to that of mages and Priests.
Rogues were fast, but their physiques were inferior to those of Warriors, and their spiritual power was inferior to that of mages and Priests.
Chinese martial artists, however, truly developed in every aspect. Powerful martial artists could project their internal energy outward to produce effects similar to spells, such as sword qi and swords from their eyes. Some could even cultivate mental martial arts to attack their opponents' minds and souls directly. Their intricacy was no less than that of Arcane Magic and light spells.
The medicinal bath continued.
Jiang Jie did everything he could to relax his body and mind, slowly releasing the tension in his body. Only then could the pores of his skin open completely and the pathways throughout his limbs and body be fully cleared, allowing his internal energy to circulate without obstruction and attain a state of freedom, ease, and restraintlessness.
He saw that his skin was red all over, as if he had been scalded. In fact, however, nothing was wrong. His internal energy seeped into his skin, strengthening its ability to withstand the heat.
He felt threads of warmth pouring into his body through his skin, then nourishing his entire body under the guidance of his internal energy.
The medicinal effects slowly penetrated every part of his body, and Jiang Jie kept sweating. Now he felt that heat was no longer passing into his body from the bathwater. Instead, his own body was generating heat. His temperature slowly rose, and steam began rising from him, especially from the top of his head.
Waves of steam gathered thickly around him, and the Black Tortoise Longevity Art circulated much faster within Jiang Jie's body than before-almost ten times as fast!
Foul-smelling, grayish-black impurities were being secreted from his body. These were harmful substances within him, as well as impurities produced as his body slowly transformed.
Afterward, his body would become increasingly perfect, evolving toward a leak-free jade body immune to all poisons, illness, and affliction, and an indestructible golden body.
Of course, this came at the cost of medicinal herbs. Jiang Jie had spent an entire gold coin on them.
Because this world was filled with a complex variety of highly concentrated energies, such as Arcane energy and natural energy, its medicinal herbs were extremely potent. An herb that had grown for one year was comparable to one that had grown for several years or even a decade on Earth.
The Black Tortoise Longevity Art really was powerful. It absorbed medicinal potency very quickly.
An hour later, the bathwater had cooled to roughly body temperature, and Jiang Jie had completely absorbed its medicinal potency. He stood up, dried himself off, and got dressed.
The effects really were excellent!
Jiang Jie felt that the internal energy within his body had increased considerably. If he could take a bath like this every day, he estimated that it wouldn't take many days-perhaps only three to five-for him to reach the Houtian Second Layer and at least double his strength.
The intelligent AI Xiao Feng said that he now had an internal cultivation art, a lightness skill, and offensive martial arts,
so there was no need to practice other martial arts for now. Besides, with insufficient internal energy, practicing them wouldn't yield much benefit. He would be better off mastering the martial arts he already had. He could also familiarize himself a little with this world's rogue skills, since they were very interesting. "I've still got six gold coins, enough for six more baths."
Of course, Jiang Jie wasn't going to take only one bath a day.
According to the intelligent AI Xiao Feng's calculations, in his current condition, he could take one every six hours-three or four a day.
In that case, he might reach the Houtian Second Layer tomorrow or the day after, greatly increasing his strength!
"Finally, I won't be trash with a combat power of five!"
Jiang Jie chuckled. In the end, only his own strength was truly reliable.
"Tsk, tsk. Nice body." The intelligent AI Xiao Feng's voice rang out in his mind, startling him.
"No more peeking while I bathe! That's an order!" Jiang Jie was flustered and exasperated, his face turning red.
Two women had actually peeked at him bathing, one after the other. Unbelievable!
Give me back my innocence!
Night fell.
After dinner, Jiang Jie lit the room and stayed up late, hard at work.
A few candle flames illuminated the entire room as Jiang Jie wrote furiously.
Tides of Darkness was 170,000 characters long, with each chapter running a little over ten thousand characters. At his speed, after subtracting his training time, he could only write about two chapters a day. Even that was only because he paid no attention to whether his handwriting looked good. As long as it was legible, it would do.
There was no helping it. Money was important. Extremely important.
Only with money could he accelerate his cultivation, obtain enough mana potions to keep the gaming pod running longer, and have enough time to train so that his strength could improve rapidly.
Time waited for no one!
He didn't have much time left!
At midnight, Jiang Jie put down his pen and went to sleep.
Princess Calia's quarters were naturally very safe. The royal palace was heavily guarded, and even the Cult of the Damned would have difficulty infiltrating it. Jiang Jie could finally get a good night's sleep.
Early the next morning, Jiang Jie handed his finished manuscript to the young maid. After reading it, she showed it to Princess Calia, drawing a burst of praise:
"Nicholas, you're truly a born writer!"
After breakfast, Jiang Jie took another medicinal bath.
When he came out, the young maid had good news for him:
"Nicholas, come with me, quickly! Her Highness has invited a renowned bard! He's the finest bard in Lordaeron, a very famous writer, opera composer, and singer! He's read your novel and wants to talk to you!"
Her little face flushed red, the young maid tugged on Jiang Jie's arm and told him that the bard, named Don Quixote, was also a powerful human ranger. He practiced multiple professions, including mage, Warrior, rogue, and hunter, and was also a knight of the kingdom ennobled by the king!
Jiang Jie nodded.
Because bards traveled all year round and often stayed overnight in the wilderness, they were generally far from weak. Some bards could even cast spells, though they were usually mage apprentices-the kind who could never advance in their entire lives-and earned money by performing tricks.
After all, true mages held exalted status. They couldn't possibly become bards!
Jiang Jie followed the young maid toward the reception room.
While he was still in the corridor, he heard a rich, deep voice with a slightly weathered quality speaking in exasperation:
"Storytelling? You're joking, aren't you? Printing and publishing it, adapting it into an opera-that's real art! And another thing, Your Highness: you say Tides of Darkness was written by a fifteen-year-old child? Impossible! What? You saw it with your own eyes? Fine, even if he did write it, so what? He's merely a writer. He doesn't understand true art at all!"