Returning to the Mysterious Era

"Umph, ugh..." Other than a few whimpers, Cassius didn’t let anything else slip past his teeth. He forced himself not to turn his head away.

A nurse at the hospital held a brown bottle filled with a black liquid, pungent enough that the smell alone could poison someone.

Having used this medicine before, Cassius was fairly familiar with it. While extremely effective, it had the unfortunate side effect of being extremely painful to apply. It felt like someone was rubbing salt into his wound.

Cassius raised his head slightly and timed his breathing with the nurse's application of the medicine. Most of the wounds this time around were just dark bruises and a few small cuts so the medicine didn’t sting as much as last time.

"Alright, no spicy food for the next two days and don't get your wounds wet. Remember to come by every morning and evening to apply the medicine."

The nurse with a blonde ponytail capped the bottle, then looked curiously at Cassius. "What? Got into another fight with the guy in the next ward?"

Cassius thought for a moment. He chose his next words carefully, "No, he and his lackeys ganged up on me..." He needed to keep his story consistent regardless of who he was talking to.

"Alright, so you took on six guys by yourself and somehow, you came out of the fight with less serious injuries than Finn. Impressive." The nurse put the bottle back in the medical kit.

Cassius shook his head. "I guess I’m better at taking a beating."

Suddenly, the sound of someone screaming could be heard from the corridor. One wouldn’t go so far as to say it was heart-wrenching but it was definitely hysterical.

The nurse rolled her eyes helplessly. To think that someone would scream so loudly to something as simple as applying medicine. Anyone who heard would think someone was being murdered in the hospital.

"Parin! Parin! Are you done with your patient? Get over here quickly! We're shorthanded right now and we can't hold him down!" a male doctor in a white coat shouted as he slammed open the door.

"Yes! I'm coming!"

Parin apologized to Cassius, telling him that he could leave. Then she hurried down the corridor to Finn's ward.

A cool breeze blew outside, the curtains gently swaying by the window.

Cassius slowly stood up, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face. In the upper right corner of his vision, fifteen more marks appeared. He added them all up; he had gained an extra month.

The hospital’s medicine worked its magic, doing exactly what Nurse Parin said it would do: all his wounds and bruises healed within two days.

Li Wei returned to Group Four and resumed training. After two rounds of fighting, the name "Madman Li Wei" had spread throughout the training camp. Everyone recognized him wherever he went.

Even the canteen auntie would sneak Li Wei a few extra glances. Her hand tremors, which had been a long-time illness of hers, seemed to have been briefly cured as she served him his food.

As time passed, Cassius gradually adapted to the double training. It used to take him an extra hour or two to finish each noon and night training session. But now, he could do it in a half hour. On the days when the weather was good, his efficiency would improve and he’d even be able to finish on time.

Whether it was lunch or dinner, Cassius always managed to eat a full meal before the canteen closed. Plus, with his five roommates also cobbling together a simple late-night snack for him every night, he was getting ample nutrition and energy every day.

Cassius was starting to see the benefits of getting enough nutrition, training, and sleep. Li Wei’s body was currently in a stage of adolescence of rapid growth and, as a result of his training, was gradually starting to change.

His body was no longer frail. His arms and abdomen showed faint muscular lines. His pale skin had darkened to a bronze color. He had even grown taller.

Cassius's dreams every night consisted of either going down the stairs and suddenly missing a step, or being unable to run as someone chased him. Both dreams were signs of rapid bone growth.

As his body developed, the effects of his Basic Combat Arts training naturally improved. In addition, Cassius had gotten so used to the double training that he continued to do extra training even after his punishment had ended. In a month and a half, he had made a breakthrough.

A warm gentle breeze blew, causing the white clouds to sway quietly. Intense rays of sunlight pierced through the thin white clouds and shone upon the mountainside.

The square training field was divided into five sections with a bunch of small black dots moving around as the sun blazed above.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The pounding sounds rang incessantly. In a corner of the training field, a group of boys in gray and white training attire relentlessly swung their arms around, the surface of the leather-covered training dummies denting and rebounding underneath the force of their punches.

A boy, standing in front of one of the stakes, took a few quick steps forward. A powerful aura emanated from his waist up as he swung his arm. His fist struck the leather with a thud and the base of the training dummy shook slightly, scattering some loose dirt at the bottom.

"Whew, finally..." Cassius panted heavily.

[Combat Technique (Beginner): 100.0%]

[Combat Technique (Advanced): 0.1%]

He had also completed part one of the Martial Stance progress bar five days ago.

[Martial Stance (Part Two): 3.8%]

Cassius had reached the second stage in both Martial Stance and Combat Techniques.

In the upper right corner of his eye, a line of text suddenly jumped out.

[Basic Combat Arts: Beginner (Stage Two)]

Cassius had already anticipated this since he had asked Instructor Lisa about the specific stages before. The Wind Elephant Sect’s Basic Combat Arts was formed by combining the three aspects—Martial Stance, Combat Techniques, and Explosive Techniques.

Martial Stance and Combat Technique each had two stages, and once the second stage of both aspects was mastered, the beginner stage of the Wind Elephant Sect’s Basic Combat Arts would be completed. The next step to moving on to the advanced stage would be to learn Explosive Techniques which had no stages.

Once the trainees mastered the advanced stage of Basic Combat Arts and passed the exam they'd be able to access the true secret of martial arts: how humans can fight against firearms with only their bodies.

Whoosh...

A light breeze gently blew across Cassius's back. He shivered, a large patch of goosebumps erupting on his back. He relaxed his arms and shook them vigorously.

Cassius felt that his body had undergone some subtle changes ever since the second stage of the beginner Basic Combat Arts progress bar appeared. If he had to describe it, it was almost like his perception had sharpened and all of the power in his whole body had come together.

He thought for a moment, then punched the stake.

Thud!

Cassius's eyes lit up. That punch wasn't solely from a Combat Technique; he had also instinctively used Martial Stance to exert force.

When he finally, slowly retracted his fist, a couple hours had already passed.

[Combat Technique (Advanced): 0.5%]

[Martial Stance (Part Two): 3.9%]

Both had increased with Advanced Combat Technique increasing by 0.4%, and the second part of Martial Stance increasing by 0.1%. Despite the fact that Cassius had been solely focused on practicing Combat Techniques all afternoon and did not touch Martial Stance at all, it still managed to jump up by 0.1%.

Was it because both aspects had entered the second stage and had merged into a unified stage of the Wind Elephant Sect’s Basic Combat Arts?

What a pleasant surprise. This was going to save Cassius a lot of time.

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