He was in a clean and tidy training room.
On the white wall behind him, a huge, black character for "Martial" was particularly eye-catching.
A stack of stone bricks lay before him. A quick glance revealed a full five of them.
Without further ado, the old man assumed a stance, let out a low shout, and brought his hand down in a fierce chop.
CRACK!
The cement bricks split apart on cue.
Yet his palm was completely unharmed. The skin wasn't even broken.
Seeing this, Hu Qi raised an eyebrow and casually opened the comment section.
Sure enough, it was filled with nothing but skeptical comments.
"A bit much, don't you think? Three bricks, I could almost believe. But five? And cement bricks at that? What a joke! They're probably made of foam."
"Bullshit. I can prove those are real bricks. I personally hit them with a hammer myself."
"Yeah, yeah, and I was the hammer!"
...
The mood in the comments section was jovial. Of course, there were occasional remarks hyping the old man up as a master.
It was hard to tell, however, whether they were being sincere or just sarcastic.
Just then, the old man began to explain with a smile.
"What I just used was the White Ape Fist. This particular Fist Technique strengthens your hands and arms..."
As he spoke, he began his demonstration.
Hu Qi saw this and was about to swipe away, but his expression suddenly changed.
The Crimson Modifier panel had automatically popped up in his vision.
In the Skill section, above his Culinary Skill, a line of crimson text reading "White Ape Fist" flickered unsteadily, as if the signal was weak.
After a moment of thought, Hu Qi immediately understood why.
'It must be that the White Ape Fist the old man mentioned can be recorded by the panel.'
He immediately began to watch with intense focus.
Unfortunately, the old man only shared a few details about the White Ape Fist before changing the subject and stopping his demonstration.
"If any of you are interested in the White Ape Fist, you can sign up for classes at our martial arts school.
I advise against trying to imitate and practice it on your own, as you could easily sustain internal injuries.
We have a summer discount right now. Anyone who signs up through the link on my homepage will get twenty percent off..."
At the same time, the crimson light on the Modifier panel vanished.
Hu Qi surmised that because he hadn't seen the complete White Ape Fist, the panel couldn't fully register it.
He then went to the old man's homepage and looked through his past videos, but unfortunately came up empty.
Next, he tried searching for a few keywords.
Ten-odd minutes later, Hu Qi lowered his phone. A peculiar expression crossed his face as if he'd had a realization, and he muttered to himself.
"So, as long as it's a fighting technique... no, more accurately, can any skill that helps strengthen the body be captured by the crimson panel and appear on it?"
Just moments ago, he had searched for videos of fighting techniques, and every time a video provided an explanation, the crimson panel would react.
In contrast, videos teaching culinary skills, singing, car repair, and so on, produced no such obvious reaction.
'Could this be the proper way to use the Modifier panel?'
The thought occurred to Hu Qi.
However, even when he found a few complete Combat Techniques to study, none of them materialized as a Skill on the panel.
'It seems something was missing. Or maybe the explanations weren't complete enough.'
'Looks like I'll need to find a way to learn one systematically after I get out of the hospital.'
'After all, if I can master these skills...'
'...if they stack, my strength will reach a terrifying level.'
'Besides, who's to say Extraordinary Power doesn't exist in this world?'
'It sounds incredible, I know.'
'But I've already experienced something as bizarre as transmigration. Compared to that, the existence of Extraordinary Power isn't all that surprising, is it?'
At this thought, Hu Qi felt any trace of sleepiness vanish.
He immediately picked up his phone and resumed his keyword searches, trying to find a complete Skill that could appear on the panel.
...
「The night passed uneventfully.」
The next morning, it was time for the doctor's rounds in the hospital room.
A middle-aged doctor in a white coat and glasses looked at Hu Qi, his expression one of surprise.
"Based on your description, the inflammation and swelling around your fractures are subsiding and the tissues are repairing themselves. These are all signs of a good recovery."
"Perhaps it's because you're young and in good physical condition. You're recovering quickly."
Hu Qi smiled and offered his prepared excuse.
'There was no way he could hide the changes in his body from a doctor.'
"That's also a possibility."
Hearing this, the middle-aged doctor could only nod.
According to his earlier assessment, the patient should have remained in pain for some time longer.
However, while such cases were rare, it wasn't as if medically unexplainable phenomena didn't exist.
For example, there were cases where patients diagnosed with terminal cancer and a short life expectancy, who hadn't received any special new treatments or for whom conventional therapies were ineffective, would suddenly see their tumors stop growing, or even shrink and disappear, as their bodies returned to health.
Or the case of a girl diagnosed with severe autoimmune hepatitis, whose liver function was severely impaired.
Yet, by adjusting her lifestyle—including a regular sleep schedule, a healthy diet, and moderate exercise—her condition improved in ways no one had expected.
Multiple follow-up exams showed her liver function indicators gradually returning to normal, and her symptoms were significantly alleviated.
...
There were cases of extremely rare diseases, considered incurable, where patients' symptoms would vanish on their own and their bodily functions would return to normal without any clear, effective treatment.
Such situations, while rare, were not unheard of.
A few such cases appeared almost every year.
Compared to those, Hu Qi's situation was nothing special.
Still, before leaving, the doctor added a word of caution.
"Still, to be on the safe side, you need to get proper rest and not move around too much. In a few days, we'll remove the casts and get another X-ray to be sure. If everything really is fine, you can be discharged."
"Thank you, Doctor!"
Once the doctor had left, Hu Qi closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.
His chest seemed to rise and fall in a peculiar rhythm; as it expanded and contracted, his lower abdomen followed suit.
A few minutes later, something seemed to shift, and he opened his eyes.
The next moment, the translucent, illusory panel appeared in his vision.
[Host: Hu Qi]
[Status: Normal]
[Age: 21 (Remaining Lifespan: 59 years)]
[Skills: Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique (Entry-Level) △]
[Culinary Skill (Mastery) △]
[Modification Points: 6]
The panel had changed.
The Status field was back to Normal, the "Minor Sprain" tag having completely disappeared.
And in the Skills section, a new Skill had appeared: "Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique."
'So I can only modify a Skill once it reaches Entry-Level?'
Hu Qi stared at the triangular symbol that appeared after "Entry-Level," a flash of understanding in his eyes.
The Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique was his sole achievement from the previous night.
The reason it had appeared on the panel was that, compared to other martial arts and fighting techniques, it was far simpler—all he had to do was learn the breathing pattern.
As the name suggested, it was just a special Breathing Method.
It was also known as the "Fifty Camp Breathing Method," created based on an ancient technique.
The name came from the fact that a person's Qi and Blood circulates fifty times over the course of a day and night.
The entire technique consisted of a six-part mantra, which could nourish one's Essence Element, balance yin and yang, regulate Qi and Blood, and prolong life.
For this reason, it was more commonly known as the "Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique."
The breathing pattern required one breath every 6.4 seconds, and one also had to pay attention to the method of "inhaling a great expanse, exhaling a fine thread."
After half a night of practice, Hu Qi had finally learned it and reached the Entry-Level stage.
He didn't feel any particular effects, though.
'Why not try modifying it and see what happens?'
At this thought, Hu Qi's curiosity flared.
He then focused his thoughts on the triangular Rune behind the Nourishing Essence Breathing Technique, willing the Modifier to raise the Breathing Method's progress to Perfection.
The next moment, a stream of cool energy surged from the crown of his head.