Dante's moans in the herbal bath, even though suppressed, leaked out. The herbs had medicinal properties, but also spiritual ones.
Absorbing them in a bath meant absorbing them through the pores of the skin — yes, the same pores that had received the blows from the iron bars.
Even in his moment of rest, pain coursed through his body, invading every cell.
— Stop complaining, brat. You'll get used to it soon. Your pores closed because of the strikes; when they are fully open, you will be able to absorb without pain.
The speaker was Tyler, looking at Dante as if he were being soft.
— Little Ty, where is the spiritual epidermis fruit? — asked the ancestral Hai suddenly, silencing Tyler, who handed over a purple plant shaped like a water lily, but with six petals.
As soon as ancestral Hai took the plant, a trace of his aura emerged from his body and crushed the fruit down to the size of a seed, surrounded by a transparent liquid.
— Eat! — said the old ancestor in an unmistakable tone.
Dante, taking the crushed fruit in his hand, obeyed the ancestor's order and swallowed it.
The fruit was extremely sweet, bringing even a slight displeasure to Dante, who had a peculiar preference for salty foods (meat, rice) and spicy dishes.
But as the fruit passed through his throat, the transparent pulp began to flow through his bones and muscles, one by one, bringing intense relief. Dante sighed, feeling his pores open and absorbing the spiritual bath calmly.
— Hmm, can I take off the blindfold now? — Dante asked cautiously.
— No! The blindfold will stay on until you enter Level 1 — replied ancestral Hai, in an impressively gentle yet authoritative tone.
— Brat, once you absorb the medicinal bath, you must eat and sleep. Tomorrow we will begin training.
And that's exactly what Dante did. After finishing the medicinal bath, he ate. When he began training, his hunger increased drastically; he must have been eating at least ten times more than usual.
However, as his body had become much stronger, this element was expelled as an impurity through his pores, creating muscle density rather than size.
Time passed, and the sun returned to shine, tearing through the darkness of the night.
It was early, and Dante was already back at the training field. However, this time, only old Hai had arrived.
He was sitting, observing Dante, standing in a horse stance — used for body training and increasing physical endurance. The stance seemed simple, but it strengthened the body overall, almost like a base.
— Little Ty is handling matters in the village, while Little Sheng is taking care of other things. You must maintain the horse stance until they arrive. However, if you have any questions, I'll gladly answer — explained ancestral Hai, looking at Dante curiously.
Dante thought for a few seconds before starting to ask:
— What are your level and age, and Tyler's and Sheng's?
The old ancestor looked at him with mild surprise.
— Good question. I am Level 2, 7 stars, probably at the peak; one step from 8 stars, and this year I turned 189.
— Little Sheng is Level 2, 4 stars, struggling to fully reach the 4 stars; I imagine he's very close. If I'm not mistaken, he is about 117 years old.
— Little Ty is Level 2, 3 stars. I don't think he's close to 4 stars; perhaps he's between 60 and 70 years old.
Dante was impressed. Old Tyler is only that age? And why are the levels so close, despite the large age difference?
Before he could ask, Dante remembered the great elder of the village, whom he had met upon returning from the hunt.
— The great elder of the village is also Level 2, right? — he asked.
The old ancestor looked with approval.
— Why do you think that?
— At first, I thought I was mistaken. But he could follow the master's movements effortlessly, and I only had a moment to rest because he helped convince Tyler. I thought his authority was immense, but no. Only strength can make a rustic like Tyler yield even the smallest space.
— That's a good way to think. And yes, he is Level 2. But the conditions cannot be disclosed. This will be the last question I answer.
Dante didn't even think; the next question came immediately:
— Why is most of the village's power hidden?
— Excellent question, but simple: we never know when someone in the village has been infected or sold themselves to the evil gods. There is always some hidden strength. It's better to surprise than to be surprised — replied the old man, lowering his head and closing his eyes.
Dante and old Hai remained in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, for hours. In this time, Dante understood why the stance was useful to form a solid foundation.
After two hours and thirty minutes, his legs began to shake uncontrollably. That was when Tyler and Sheng arrived with iron bars.
— You may leave the stance — said old Hai.
— Take this! Normally, you should have completed the triple foundation already, and it should no longer be postponed — continued the old man, placing an epidermis fruit into Dante's hands, which he absorbed immediately.
— Sit! We will complete the process — said old Hai. Tyler and Sheng surrounded Dante, and this time, their iron bars glowed with spiritual energy.
The air whistled as before, and the strikes began to fall on Dante. But this time, instead of chronic pain in his bones and muscles, he felt an intense burning coursing through his body.
Vuum, zush, crack…
Among the three, one stood out: the strikes were twice as strong, and it was easy to guess whose they were — old Hai's.
With each strike, the burning intensified. Dante felt like a living furnace. His body, viewed from outside, was completely red, smoke escaping from his pores.
The epidermis fruit might seem simple when taken in a post-training medicinal bath, but during training, its energy heated bones and muscles, accelerating bodily refinement. Its primary effect was coagulation acceleration, useful for both physical refinement and healing.
Blood surged through his bones and muscles at a limit-speed supported by his body. The Lotus of Crimson Effort and his spiritual heart accelerated the propagation of blood, irrigating every muscle and bone.
With the sequence of strikes, his body rebuilt itself. The session lasted about two hours, before the effects of the epidermis fruit completely dissipated — and Dante had been pushed to his limit once again.
But this was not the end. The training would continue for seven intense days. Of those seven, four days involved Dante being attacked by Tyler and Sheng, while the other three saw him eating the epidermis fruit while being beaten by the three old masters.
His routine consisted basically of getting hit, eating, sleeping, and training. Without a doubt, this was the most intense week he had ever experienced, especially considering that his vision was restricted the entire time.
However, the training was rewarding.
On the seventh day, Dante was blindfolded, fighting Tyler, Sheng, and old Hai, who attacked him simultaneously with iron bars. But this time was different: he felt a slight burning in his throat and extreme fatigue, and the training had only just begun.
With each passing moment, he grew slower, weaker, more exhausted. His body began to tingle, from the tips of his toes slowly moving upward. An infinite hunger began to torment him; within seconds, Dante felt as if he hadn't eaten in days.
These changes were not only internal. The three masters noticed his body losing fat rapidly, retaining only muscles and bones, giving him an almost mummified appearance.
They did not stop attacking; instead, they increased the pressure. The strikes became heavier and faster.
With each blow, the tingling invaded every corner of Dante's body. The faint burning in his throat vanished completely. He tried to persist, but when the tingling covered his entire body, hunger, pain, and exhaustion forced him to shut down. His body fell to the ground; only his mind remained conscious, though his thoughts were chaotic and blurry.
He no longer even felt the masters' attacks.
Crack, crack, crack…
Sounds of something breaking began to echo, but it wasn't Dante's bones or muscles snapping. They were rebuilding at a new level.
The triple foundation was complete — or, by its more well-known name, the golden mortal body had been formed.