Inside the room.
Lu Yuan sat fully submerged in the bathtub.
The skin all over his body had turned blood-red, as if flushed with an intense rush of blood.
At the same time, as minutes ticked by, the faint purple glow in the water began to fade.
Throughout the process, dark streaks of grime seeped from his pores, floating to the surface of the bathwater.
He knew this was the pill essence penetrating his body and expelling its impurities.
To reap the greatest benefit, he had to endure it.
It was a lengthy process—so long that Lu Yuan occasionally had to raise his mouth and nose above the surface just to catch his breath.
Finally, after two to three hours, once the refreshing aroma and purple radiance in the water had completely dissipated, he stepped straight out of the tub.
*Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...*
In that very instant, as though released from immense pressure, streams of white steam billowed from the pores across Lu Yuan's skin, an unmistakable sign of how scorching his body temperature was at that moment.
Not only that, but when he gave his body a slight twist, a rapid series of pops and cracks echoed from within.
It was the resonance between his muscles and bones after having received an immense boost.
After wiping off the grime with a towel, he stood before the mirror.
Lu Yuan clenched his fist slightly, his knuckles cracking.
His upper-body musculature had grown denser and sturdier, sculpted in sleek, streamlined curves like a classical statue.
He swung his arm. It moved with blinding speed and immense power, actually slicing through the air with an audible whoosh.
"Not bad. Now let's see what it can actually do."
Pleased with the visible changes, Lu Yuan headed straight to his gym and loaded a five-hundred-jin barbell.
To his astonishment, he managed to lift it with just one hand. Though it took some effort, he succeeded.
"Five hundred jin with one hand means my total strength is definitely over a thousand jin—that's half a ton..."
Lu Yuan calculated in his mind, slightly taken aback.
Half a ton of force.
If a blow like that landed on an ordinary human, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Next, he tested his speed: a hundred meters in five seconds.
His hearing, reflexes, and eyesight had also undergone staggering transformations, each meeting or exceeding the absolute limits of human capability.
An ordinary person faced with such sudden changes would likely be seized by panic before giving in to joy.
Lu Yuan, however, was different.
Having already lived through the new era, he felt barely a ripple in his composure.
*The pill essence left inside the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace is truly extraordinary. All that effort didn't go to waste. My physical constitution right now should be very close to a first-stage Awakened after the mutation, right?* Lu Yuan thought, assessing his capabilities.
Indeed, after the global mutation, those who gained extraordinary abilities were collectively referred to as the Awakened.
The Awakened were classified into different realms based on their strength.
The very first tier was known as the Initial Realm, divided into nine stages, with the ninth stage being the highest.
Lu Yuan currently judged his strength to be approaching the first stage of the Initial Realm.
Even so, this was far from enough.
He knew that the stronger the foundation he laid before the mutation, the greater the advantages he would reap afterward.
Lu Yuan then turned his gaze toward the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace beside him.
There was still some pill essence left inside, likely enough for two more sessions.
By his estimate, fully absorbing the remainder would probably allow him to match an Awakened who had truly entered the ranks.
Of course, that only applied to physical parameters. Beyond superior physiques, the Awakened would sometimes manifest unique abilities.
Yet for Lu Yuan at this stage, it was already plenty.
Without dwelling on it further, he resumed training to acclimate to his newly strengthened body.
Moreover, absorbing the pill essence could not be done continuously; his body would struggle to bear the strain if pushed too hard.
Over the next few days, Lu Yuan trained to adapt to his physical changes while simultaneously setting his plans in motion to depart Shanghai.
On this particular day, outside the villa.
An afterimage darted back and forth, moving so swiftly that only a high-speed camera could have tracked it.
A moment later, the blur materialized before a massive tree. Without warning, a fist struck out.
*Crack!*
In a split second, the trunk—thick enough to require two people to wrap their arms around it—splintered to pieces and toppled straight over.
"A strike like this could probably kill a bull outright. Combined with that speed, I've already surpassed the human limit." Lu Yuan withdrew his fist, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.
His fist showed no signs of damage from the impact; the skin remained smooth and gleamed with a healthy luster.
Ever since obtaining the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace, Lu Yuan had been using its pill essence to temper his physique.
The results had exceeded all expectations.
His strength was now dozens of times that of an ordinary person.
His hearing, vision, neural reaction speed, and even the toughness of his skin had transcended normal human bounds.
Even more remarkably, if one sniffed closely, a delicate fragrance could be detected emanating from his body.
Faint though it was, it undoubtedly existed.
*In ancient times, legends said that certain elderly Daoist masters or eminent monks would emit a faint fragrance once they surpassed a hundred years of age, and their bodies would not decay after death. In ancient texts, this phenomenon was recorded as physical sanctification!*
Reflecting on this, Lu Yuan understood that after days of rigorous tempering, his body had reached the utmost limit of what human flesh could endure.
However, this form of physical sanctification was merely preliminary.
To advance further, he would have to wait for the global mutation.
When that time arrived, the world itself would transform. Certain individuals would unlock the hidden treasures of their bodies, unleashing their latent potential to take another step forward and wield mythic might.
From Lu Yuan's understanding, the global mutation was, at its core, a form of evolutionary leap—one that encompassed mountains, rivers, humanity, and beasts alike.
Put plainly, it meant the entire world would enter an era of the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest.
Whoever seized the opportunity could soar straight into the heavens.
Naturally, those unable to adapt would ultimately be eliminated. Such was the cruelty of the new era.
Yet Lu Yuan had already laid his opening moves successfully. With the pill essence from the Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace, he had forged ahead of everyone else, securing an incomparable advantage for when the new era dawned.
"Now, I just need to get my hands on the last two items. Today is August first."
"That leaves exactly one month. Time is tight; I need to hurry."
Lu Yuan muttered to himself, reviewing his plan once more.
Most of his preparations before the mutation were complete.
All that remained were the wordless stele and the extraterrestrial sword core, both of which were indispensable.
Once they were secured, he would simply wait for the mutation to arrive, then search for other divine relics according to the memories of his past life.
Indeed, certain divine relics would only reveal themselves after the mutation occurred; even knowing their locations beforehand, there was no way to retrieve them now.
Still, Lu Yuan had long since formulated a plan and simply needed to execute it step by step.
Three months since his rebirth, combined with his current financial resources, made all of this entirely achievable.
Without lingering, Lu Yuan returned to the villa to wash up.
He packed all his belongings, preparing to set out first thing the following morning.
As for his first destination, it was naturally Mount Longhu, which lay farther away.
Furthermore, he was brimming with confidence.
After all, in Lu Yuan's current state, so long as he didn't run into heavy firearms or artillery, he could walk unchallenged wherever he went.
Chapter 14