Returning to the Mysterious Era

Afternoon, in a familiar quiet room.

A strong smell of ointment permeated the room as Cassius applied a black paste all over his body. According to the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts book, he could not let a single area go without ointment. Though it was a bit awkward, he followed the instructions to the letter.

In no time, Cassius's skin turned a light shade of black, and a cooling sensation spread to his mind. It felt soothing, but it had really unpleasant stench, like black riverbank mud being unearthed after the water receded. Pungent and earthy.

"Are you done?" Lisa's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Wait a moment, Teacher, I haven't put on my clothes yet!" Cassius quickly grabbed his light yellow training attire from the ground and put them on.

"Okay!" he shouted.

Lisa pushed the door open with a creak and walked straight in. "Open the windows and ventilate the room for five minutes. Otherwise, you won't be able to maintain mental focus during your breathing exercises."

"Yes." Cassius complied immediately. A cool breeze blew in from the window, and after five minutes, the stench in the room and on Cassius dissipated.

"Today is officially the day that I, as your master, will teach you the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts," Lisa said, "Tsk, why are you standing so far away? Come closer. We all started the same way, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. By the way, did you cover your whole body with it?"

"I... I covered it..." The ointment had turned Cassius's face entirely black. He forced a smile. It was getting cooler, like he had applied menthol balm on himself.

"Is the medicine starting to take effect? Then let's skip the small talk and start with the special breathing techniques."

Lisa did exactly that. She threw out a book containing the Covert Martial Arts from her bosom and began explaining the moves and key points to Cassius.

Fifteen minutes later, in a corner of the quiet room.

Cassius stood in a half-squat horse stance. He leaned forward, his toes slightly raised and his head slightly lowered. His hands were clasped together as if in sincere prayer.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo... hiss... hoo, hoo... hiss... hoo... hiss..."

He inhaled and exhaled rhythmically, his breathing following the rhythm of "Three-one, two-one, one-one."

He repeated this cycle over and over again.

Cassius felt like he was soaking in a hot spring. The initially cool ointment now radiated warmth, which spread through his skin to his muscles, bones, and meridians, and creating a large patch of heat.

"Hmm?"

He suddenly felt a subtle sensation, as if the heat on his body's surface had turned into countless stars which were gathering towards his heart. In an instant, it formed a vortex before exploding.

Boom!

Cassius's mind buzzed once before his vision went black and he lost consciousness for a second. When he woke up, he found himself still standing in the same position. However, blood poured down his face from his nostrils in two streams.

"This is..."

Cassius looked up in confusion as text suddenly appeared in the upper right corner.

[Elephant Soul Incomplete: Prickling 5% (Total Three Stages)]

The progress bar had jumped directly to 5% of the first stage! And what does the "incomplete" mean?

Cassius carefully thought about it and received some remaining information.

Incomplete, as the name implied, meant that the Elephant Soul he had learned was not complete. The complete technique had three stages—Prickling, Bug Bites, and Burning Wind.

He had completed the first two stages, Prickling and Bug Bites, but the third stage, Burning Wind, was incomplete at 55%; that was the third stage's maximum. It would not go any higher than that.

Many thoughts crossed Cassius's mind at once.

Is this to prevent the most crucial secrets from leaking out? A way to ensure the loyalty of the core disciples? Or does the Wind Elephant Sect only have two and a half stages of the Elephant Soul to begin with?

Lisa walked over. "How do you feel? The first time that you practice the Elephant Soul is the most stimulating for the body, and it has a lot of significant benefits. You'll experience a period of rapid progress for ten days. Cherish this time."

Cassius stood up, still looking a bit dazed.

"Alright, wipe off the blood on your nose and let's go eat."

"Okay." Cassius walked to the washroom and cleaned up his nosebleed. He discovered the ointment on his skin had disappeared, leaving behind a thin, faintly scented transparent layer. It was like the sunscreen that the beauty-conscious girls used in his previous life. No one would notice the film if they didn't look closely.

"This is quite convenient..." Cassius muttered to himself.

He stripped off the clothes on his upper body and stood before the clear and smooth mirror. Pectorals, abs, trapezius, biceps... Lean but not exaggerated, muscular but not bulky. Overall, he had a streamlined physique, with firm and elastic muscles.

Cassius had taken almost six months to go from a skinny stick to his current state of a lean, panther-like body.

He patted his solid chest and felt a deep thumping within. He felt inexplicably confident about the crisis waiting for him in the real world.

"No one will kill me now."

"Li Wei!"

"Coming!"

***

The days passed, and indeed, as Lisa said, the first ten days went by fast when training the Elephant Soul.

During these ten days, Cassius saw nearly 1% of progress each day. Every night, he dreamed of his bones growing, and every day, he felt his muscles getting tighter. His physical fitness improved bit by bit.

During this time, Lisa also taught Cassius the Wind Elephant Fist, the fighting method of the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts. It was an advanced version of the Wind Elephant Sect’s Basic Combat Technique and made use of all the basic moves that he had learned before.

However, the Wind Elephant Fist's moves were much more complex and had higher-level combinations, including many Explosive Techniques. It would be impossible to use for anyone without an extraordinary physique.

One could say that the Elephant Soul was the foundation, and the Wind Elephant Fist were like its branches. Ordinarily, one had to prioritize mastering the Elephant Soul.

Cassius trained diligently, and fifteen days passed quickly.

[Elephant Soul Incomplete: Prickling 15.5% (Total Three Stages)]

[Wind Elephant Fist Incomplete: Gale 5.6% (Total Three Stages)]

As expected, the Wind Elephant Fist, like the Elephant Soul, was incomplete, with part of the third stage missing. However, that had no effect on Cassius, who had just starting his training.

At sunset, a splendid glow spiraled across the horizon, turning the sky deep red, and the slowly moving clouds looked like a vast red ocean.

In the clean open space in front of the canteen.

"Little Wei, we agreed to take leave and go home to see Mother in half a month." Li Chu sighed. "I wonder if anyone has watered the parasol tree at home."

"Okay." Cassius stood beside Li Chu, their shadows stretching into the distance.

"Little Wei, it seems you're taller than me now," Li Chu said in surprise, raising her hand to compare their heights.

"Yes." Cassius looked up, his face glowing in the red light.

"Little Wei..."

They walked on, talking until they reached a fork in the road.

Li Chu looked up, her pale face evidently worried. "Little Wei, is there something on your mind today? You can tell me. Don't keep it all to yourself, otherwise it'll feel really uncomfortable."

"It's nothing, sis. Hey, can I hug you?"

"Ha... sure." Li Chu was momentarily stunned, then opened her arms and hugged Cassius. Her right hand gently patted his back, like a mother comforting a crying child. Her touch was warm and tender.

Cassius patted Li Chu's back at the same time. "I'm sorry."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

They pulled apart from each other and walked down the two diverging paths. Li Chu smiled and waved. "See you tomorrow."

Cassius raised his fist. With his back to Li Chu, he said, "Goodbye."

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