Fang Han hurried to his bed and pulled out a Wooden Box from underneath it.
He opened the Wooden Box. Inside were many small pieces of silver, adding up to about twelve taels in total.
Although he was only from a side branch, he was still a member of the Fang Family. Over the years, he had managed to save a little from the gifts his elders gave him during holidays.
These twelve-odd taels of silver were his entire life's savings.
'So, 10 silver must be ten taels of silver. One amplification costs ten taels, which means with twelve taels, I can only amplify one Talent…'
Fang Han's gaze shifted between the "Root Bone Talent Amplification" and "Swordsmanship Talent Amplification" options. He quickly made up his mind.
Swordsmanship Talent was tempting, sure. It would speed up his Martial Technique Cultivation and make me a better fighter. But the most pressing issue right now was breaking through to the Flesh Refining Realm within a month.
Root Bone Talent affected the speed of my Pile Skill Cultivation, which was the Talent that would help me break through to the Flesh Refining Realm the most.
'Recharge.'
Having made his decision, Fang Han took out ten taels of silver and initiated the "recharge."
The ten taels of silver in his hand vanished instantly. In its place, the panel changed.
[Host: Fang Han]
[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 0x (Level 1 Amplification requires 10 silver)]
[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 0x (Level 1 Amplification requires 10 silver)]
[Wealth: 10 silver]
His wealth was no longer zero but had changed to 10 silver. He'd guessed right—ten silver was indeed ten taels of silver.
'Amplify Root Bone Talent!'
Fang Han took a deep breath, focused his mind on the [Root Bone Talent Amplification] line on the system panel, and selected it.
The panel changed again.
[Host: Fang Han]
[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 2x (Level 2 Amplification requires 100 silver)]
[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 0x (Level 1 Amplification requires 10 silver)]
[Wealth: 0]
'A two-times amplification?!'
Fang Han's heart pounded in his chest.
The "Wealth" line returned to zero. In its place, the text "2x" appeared after Root Bone Talent Amplification.
In other words, thanks to the system panel, his Root Bone Talent was now twice what it was before.
A twofold increase—that was an outrageous boost!
Take IQ from his past life as an example.
An average person has an IQ of around ninety, while a genius is 140 or higher.
A twofold increase in IQ would be enough to push an average person into the genius category.
He had originally thought it would, at most, increase by a few dozen percent, but he never imagined it would double instantly.
It was a massive, pleasant surprise.
'Wait, that's not right... Why hasn't anything changed?'
Fang Han suddenly realized that after the Talent Amplification, his body didn't seem to have undergone any noticeable change.
There was no warm current, no thunderous roar; his muscles, bones, and skin felt exactly the same... There were no signs that his Root Bone had improved at all.
This made him start to doubt the system's "amplification." 'Could this system I got be a cheap knock-off?'
'The system probably wouldn't lie to me. I'll know for sure once I try it out!'
Suppressing his anxiety, Fang Han tiptoed to the door, pushed it open, and stepped out into the cool, quiet courtyard.
The night was deep, and a profound silence had fallen, broken only by the chirping of insects and the occasional distant bark of a dog. The rooms of his parents and sister were pitch-black; clearly, they were all sound asleep.
He walked to the center of the courtyard, sank his waist, and planted his feet firmly. He assumed the stance for the Fang Family's basic Body Forging Technique—the Crane Form.
The Crane Form was the fundamental Magic Gate for honing one's muscles, bones, and skin, and for nourishing the body.
What made it especially valuable was that, as the foundational Cultivation Technique for the Fang Family, this Magic Gate was remarkably profound. Among the various Pile Skills in Liangshui City, it ranked among the very best. It was a method for tempering the body that many coveted but could never obtain.
He hadn't started this life as a beggar or a servant, but as a disciple of a prominent family. Even if he was only from a side branch, he was already quite fortunate.
With deep, rhythmic breaths, Fang Han's muscles slowly tensed and relaxed. He focused his mind inward, drawing out qi and blood from deep within his flesh.
He guided the flow of qi and blood along a specific circulatory path.
A change, unlike anything he had experienced before, quickly occurred.
A hot torrent of qi and blood—far more powerful, condensed, and active than ever before—surged without warning from the depths of his entire body.
Driven by this surging current, the circulation of his qi and blood lost its usual slowness and stagnation.
Like a tamed wild horse, like a raging river, his qi and blood, guided by the Crane Form, violently scoured the skin and membranes of his entire body!
"HISS!"
Fang Han couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. He nearly lost his footing and broke out of the Pile Skill stance.
'It's too much! Too fast!'
This was nothing like the mere trickle of qi and blood he was used to.
With the 2x amplification of his Root Bone Talent, every breath he took and every pulse of his muscles generated and mobilized a volume of qi and blood far beyond anything he had ever known.
He could clearly feel this immense power refining and nourishing his long-stagnant skin and membranes at an unprecedented speed, over and over again.
His skin and membranes, which had been stuck at a bottleneck for so long, were now being scoured by this ferocious qi and blood. Like parched earth after a long drought, they greedily absorbed the energy, emitting a faint yet vibrant HUM.
After so long, his skin and membranes were actually starting to strengthen again.
His skin and membranes grew tighter and tougher, the connections within his fascia grew firmer, and he could even feel a faint sense of swelling deep within his muscles.
In the past, he would quickly feel his qi and blood deplete after starting the stance, becoming too exhausted to continue.
But now, he felt a strange sensation of overflowing power, as if he could hold the stance forever.
He had always thought he had reached the limit of Skin Refining, but in reality, that was merely a false plateau.
There was still room to improve in Skin Refining!
He finally understood why he hadn't been able to break through to Refined Flesh after two whole months.
The reason was simple: how could he possibly break through to the next Realm if he hadn't even reached his true limit?
Time flew by as he focused on his Cultivation. The air grew colder, and soon, the predawn hours arrived.
"Haaaah..."
Fang Han slowly relaxed his stance, exhaling a long, turbid breath.
Sweat had long since soaked through his thin tunic, and his body was deeply fatigued, but his eyes burned with an unprecedented, fervent light.
Although he hadn't broken through to the Flesh Refining Realm in one go, he could clearly feel that a breakthrough was now within reach.
The gate to the Flesh Refining Realm, which had once seemed so distant, had now been pushed open a crack in his mind, letting a ray of hope shine through.
'One month... I have a chance!'
Fang Han clenched his fists, feeling the lingering resonance of the surging qi and blood within him. For the first time since hearing the news of the assessment, a confident smile spread across his face.
After drawing some water from the courtyard well to wash up, he quietly returned to his small room. With a sense of assurance and anticipation he hadn't felt in ages, he fell into a deep sleep.