Shaolin Defensive Skill Perfected!

After flagging down a cab and returning to the small villa, Chen Jue realized there was no clay pot for making soup in the kitchen, so he specifically went to the homestay owner’s house to borrow one. The owner, a local fisherman, was warm and accommodating, handing over a spare large clay pot without asking for any payment. After all, Chen Jue had booked the homestay for three days straight and was staying alone, bringing in a decent income with minimal trouble at checkout. Unlike families with many members, whose presence made cleaning up a headache, this arrangement was both easy and profitable for the owner. Lending a clay pot—or even giving one—was hardly an inconvenience.

Cradling the pot, Chen Jue returned to his room, gave it a good wash, and tossed in three packs of the all-purpose restorative soup mix. Back when he was striving to master the twelve postures of the Tendon-Altering Sutra, he had downed more than a dozen Shaolin Strength Pills, so a single pack seemed insufficient—better to go with three for good measure. Such a potent brew would have been dangerous for an ordinary person, but Chen Jue no longer counted as ordinary. For him, this “lethal dose” would prove all the more effective.

Once the concoction was simmering, he lowered the heat and headed to the rooftop to bask in the sun and take in the scenery. Sunlight aided the synthesis of vitamin D and indirectly promoted calcium absorption, but too much exposure risked burns, so half an hour a day was enough. The sea breeze caressed his face; above, the sky stretched blue and cloud-flecked; below, the ocean gleamed, serene and deep, while the sun shone brightly but without scorching heat. It was the perfect time for sunbathing. Chen Jue sprawled on a wicker chair atop the roof, gazing at the view before slipping into a light nap—just enough to digest his meal and restore his energy.

Laughter drifted over from neighboring villas; likely, other tourists had also come up to the roof to enjoy the fine weather. Chen Jue kept his eyes closed, not bothering to greet these “neighbors,” and continued his rest for over half an hour. When his vigor returned, he stretched lazily, his entire body erupting in a staccato of crackling sounds, like a string of firecrackers going off. This was the resonance that came from abruptly moving after holding a single posture in slumber, his bones warmed by sunlight. In the theory of internal martial arts, this was called “muscle and bone harmonizing,” or “tiger and leopard thunder”—a sign one’s skills had penetrated to the bone marrow.

In internal styles like Xingyi, Bajiquan, and Taiji, there was talk of the “three transformations”—muscle, bone, and marrow. With his recent mastery of the Tendon-Altering Sutra, Chen Jue had achieved the first two, and was now, through underwater Taiji practice, gradually approaching the threshold of the third. Yet when he shook out his bones, the neighbors craned their necks, searching for the source of what they assumed must be celebratory firecrackers. Finding nothing, they eventually let their curiosity go and returned to their amusements.

...

After some more time gazing at the sea, Chen Jue went downstairs and began practicing the twelve postures of the Tendon-Altering Sutra in the living room—stretching muscles, strengthening bones, improving circulation, and working out the fatigue from his morning routine. Training underwater took a toll on stamina that a short nap could not fully remedy. The pungent aroma of the medicinal soup filled the air as he practiced, spurring him on with renewed vigor until nearly eleven o’clock.

“The timing should be about right,” he murmured, heading to the kitchen to ladle out a large jug of the restorative soup to cool, adding some water to the pot for another round. With a triple dose, he could simmer it several times over. Once the jug, which held several liters, had cooled, Chen Jue spent his free attribute points all in one go, maxing out his Shaolin Body Conditioning skill.

“Perfected!” he thought. “No level above Lv3? What a shame!”

Inspecting his skill panel, Chen Jue couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret. A new muscle memory coursed through his body; his limbs, relaxed from the Tendon-Altering Sutra, suddenly tensed, and his skin erupted in goosebumps, hard and shiny as iron beans. He sensed his skin growing thicker, tougher, and more resilient; his digestive tract sped up, quickly breaking down every trace of his breakfast.

He seized the jug and gulped down the medicinal soup, swallowing several liters in one go before setting the container aside. Dropping into a horse stance, he activated the Body Conditioning skill; a wave of heat surged through every limb as veins, bones, and muscles swelled and hardened beneath his skin with a tingling sensation. Only when the medicine’s effects were fully absorbed did the transformation halt.

A glance at his attribute panel showed substantial increases in strength, agility, and constitution. Strength was now at 2.13, agility at 1.69, and constitution at 2.42—the overall boost was even greater than the 0.5 free attribute points he’d spent.

The return on investment was extraordinary! That was why Chen Jue chose to use free points to improve skill proficiency instead of directly raising his attributes. Beyond these visible stats, perfecting the Shaolin Body Conditioning skill had greatly enhanced his resistance to physical blows—a benefit not shown on the panel. Moreover, the skill’s perfection granted him a new buff:

[Shaolin Iron Body]: Increases physical defense and resistance to impact, while accelerating progress in external hardening techniques.

“So it can even speed up hardening practice—this is a bit like the Taoist buff [Pure Yang Master, Comprehending the True Way] that accelerates cultivation,” he mused, studying the new entry with admiration.

When activated, the perfected Shaolin Body Conditioning skill gave his entire body an ashen bronze sheen, making him resemble the legendary Shaolin Iron Men. After finishing, he checked his reflection in the full-length mirror by the villa’s door: his muscles and frame had visibly expanded from the breakthrough. If, walking shirtless on the beach yesterday, he’d had a lean, athletic look, now “sturdy” and “solid” defined him.

It seemed this recent breakthrough had added quite a bit to his weight; hunger welled up, his breakfast already fully digested. Throwing on a sports jacket, he prepared to head into town for a hearty lunch. Yet as soon as he put on his jacket, he realized it was uncomfortably tight—zipping it up felt constricting. Back at the door, the mirror reflected his bulging physique beneath the gray tracksuit, as if he might burst the jacket at any moment.

“Damn,” he muttered. “Looks like I’ll need to buy new clothes again!”