Once, I wanted to be a good person

"How could there be something I don't know."

Seeing Bai's fur bristle, Fang Ze smiled and rubbed her head, calming her while he secretly pondered...

He had finally realized what was wrong!

Although he didn't believe that Bai truly knew everything, if Bai really was familiar with so many materials but didn't know about these Awakened Bloodline Crystals,

then it confirmed one thing: such items were extremely rare.

Moreover, since the Awakened Bloodline Crystals were obtained from the investigations of the Special Case Team, Fang Ze boldly guessed that perhaps... these items didn't exist in the world naturally, but were instead synthesized by the investigators.

Furthermore, considering that previous investigation finds included creatures like the Shadow Warriors, Fang Ze felt... perhaps the secrets hidden behind the Special Case Team were deeper than he had imagined...

However, the good news was that in the future, when he came across similar items again, he no longer had to worry about the accuracy of the information provided by the Special Case Team. He just needed to follow their guidelines.

And since the Special Case Team's appraisal of the Awakened Bloodline Crystal allowed for fusion with other bloodlines, Fang Ze decided to boldly try it.

He wanted to see what One Two Three would ultimately turn into!

.....

While Fang Ze was thinking this, Bai caught him absent-minded and couldn't help but tug at him, then curiously asked, "Fang Ze, you're asking about this because you want to try fusing bloodlines, right?"

She spoke with some worry, "Let me tell you. Even if you are a naturally Awakened Awakener, you cannot fuse them until your ability reaches a higher level."

As she spoke, she seemed to think of something and then froze.

Fang Ze came back to his senses and looked at her curiously, "What's wrong, Chief Bai Ling?"

Bai looked at Fang Ze with a strange expression. "Fang Ze, your ability can't be very weak, so you must have become a high-level Awakener, right?"

Hearing Bai's words, Fang Ze responded with a wry smile, "No. How could I advance that quickly?"

He thought about the strength of his abilities, and recalling Bai's words that "the stronger the ability, the harder it is to enhance," he paused and added, "I feel like it's going to take me much longer than others."

Hearing that Fang Ze hadn't advanced that quickly, Bai breathed a sigh of relief...

Relieved, the two continued on their way.

As they walked, Bai seemed to remember something and tilted her head to ask, "Right. When you were in the Special Case Team, you were enhancing your physical strength, and that was when you awakened, right? How has your physical strength improved now?"

Fang Ze thought for a moment, then asked, "How should we quantify that?"

As they walked, Bai said, "Quantifying physical strength is simple."

"It involves the Martial Dao realms of Muscle Tempering, Tendon Tempering, Skin Tempering, Bone Tempering, Organ Tempering..."

"Each realm has different standards."

"The first stage, Muscle Tempering: A human body contains 639 muscles, but only over 300 are used for exerting force and fighting."

"So, by solidly tempering these 300 muscles, one's whole being undergoes a transformation, becoming immensely strong."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"The second stage, Silky Tempering: There are 485 tendons in the human body, with the arms, legs, and back being the main regions used in combat. Therefore, to move one's body as if it were an extension of oneself, these tendons need to be merged into five main groups!"

"In this way, during combat, the tendinous membranes can stretch flexibly and powerfully, offering explosive power, quick reflexes, and rapid movements!"

"The third stage, Skin Tempering: Continuous striking and training thickens one's skin membrane to flawlessness, resembling bronze or iron. Even modern firearms cannot leave a mark."

"The fourth stage, Bone Tempering: The human body has a total of 206 bones. Training these bones to be extremely hard makes all the body's bones as strong as steel, as tough as gold!"

"The fifth stage..."

Previously in the Special Case Team, Fang Ze and Bai had discussed Martial Arts and the realms of the body, but at that time, Bai had only mentioned a few things and hadn't elaborated in detail.

Now, with Bai's detailed explanation, Fang Ze compared it with his own condition and roughly figured out his own realm.

After a few previous borrowings, he seemed to have inadvertently passed the Muscle Tempering stage and reached the Tendon Tempering stage.

And...

He lifted his leg to test it.

In the previous decisive battle with the trio, he seemed to have not only tempered one tendon but... two?

In this way, his progress in the Tendon Tempering realm was nearly half complete.

Thinking this, Fang Ze couldn't help but feel that the progress in Martial Arts in this world was very swift.

While Fang Ze was thinking this, Bai finished her explanation.

Then she looked at him with her big eyes and asked, "Alright. I've finished explaining. You should know which stage you're in now, right?"

She paused and said, "However, Martial Arts Cultivation and Awakening Ability are not quite the same."

"It's hard work."

"Even with the bonus from Awakening Ability, only after years and months of training will there be progress."

"Especially when you're just starting out, in the Muscle Tempering stage, you have to train each muscle piece by piece, which is very tedious and tiring."

"So, since you only started training a few days ago, don't be too anxious."

"You need to first find the heat sensation, become aware of the muscle you're training as it heats up, and train slowly."

Hearing Bai Ling's words, Fang Ze was stunned for a moment, then a bit lost.

The muscles in the Muscle Tempering stage are trained piece by piece?

I don't seem to feel anything.

It was just... using the ability "Borrow" for 30 days of training effect, and then, "swoosh," it ended...

Lately, when I exerted force, my body indeed was heating up, but... it was heating up in an entire area, not piece by piece.

Bai Ling might have sensed Fang Ze's confusion and gave him a sympathetic look, "Guessed it" Fang Ze probably hadn't even started in Martial Arts.

She thought it was indeed so.

She thought carefully, from when she had started explaining Martial Arts to Fang Ze until now, it hadn't even been a week. Moreover, no one had taught Fang Ze any methods of Martial Arts Cultivation.

Even if he was a genius, without any training methods, with just the help of Awakening Ability, it was likely he had barely started in one week.

So, asking Fang Ze this question now, she did indeed make him lose face a bit.

Thinking this, she considerately patted Fang Ze's arm, consoling him, "It's okay. Even if you haven't started yet, it's fine. Some people start slow, but once they start, their progress can be very fast."

Hearing Bai Ling's words, Fang Ze came to his senses. He coughed and said, "Chief Bai Ling, I have started."

Hearing Fang Ze's words, Bai Ling was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but praise him, "Then you've made quite fast progress."

"You just came into contact with Martial Arts a few days ago, right?"

Fang Ze nodded.

Bai Ling asked, "So how many muscles have you trained?"

Fang Ze hesitated for a moment, then said, "I don't know."

Bai Ling covered her mouth, laughed, and said, "It's okay, if you don't know, then it's fine. After all, you've just started. Wait until we get to Emerald City, I can take you to meet my master, see if he is willing to accept you as a disciple..."

"This way, you can undergo systematic training."

Before she could finish her sentence, Fang Ze said, "No, Chief Bai Ling. Although I don't know how many muscles I've trained, but I know... I've developed two major tendons."

Hearing Fang Ze's words, Bai Ling was stunned on the spot.

She couldn't help but look at Fang Ze.

Fang Ze, as if afraid she wouldn't believe him, stopped walking, stood still, his muscles tensed. Then, driving his legs, hips, waist, back, shoulders, and then elbows, he threw a punch!

A "boom!" sound followed, a blast of fist wind brushed against Bai Ling's face, making her hair mess up a bit.

Bai Ling: …

Bai Ling was astounded.

He actually reached the Tendon Tempering stage?!

And using the major tendons so proficiently?

This man had only been exposed to Martial Arts for five days, right?

Five days, from starting, to Muscle Tempering, then to Tendon Tempering?!

Bai Ling couldn't help but recall her own training times back then.

It seemed… it took 3 days to start, then six months to temper muscles, and another half a year to develop two major tendons.

Even then, her master called her a once-in-a-decade genius.

So... if she was a once-in-a-decade genius, what was this man in front of her?

A monster?