Chapter sixteen: Jade Skin

The night in the alternate world was exceptionally serene, with a dazzling starry sky.

At the temporary camp, Fang Xing drank a full pot of fish soup and began practicing the Great Dragon Post.

Under the influence of the mysterious environment and the nourishing soup, his physical training progressed rapidly.

Time passed unnoticed until the flickering computer screen suddenly froze, emitting a mechanical voice:

*"Ding, task completed!"*

"Indeed, adding books as samples has accelerated the decoding process…" Fang Xing approached the computer and opened the file, revealing a series of alien characters, each accompanied by the corresponding Federation script and pronunciation guides.

He had essentially obtained an audio version of an alien dictionary.

"Besides that, I can now understand the everyday conversations of those farmers, gaining a rough outline that will help me better comprehend this world…"

His eyes brightened as he began learning the new language.

For Fang Xing, learning a foreign language was quite enjoyable, especially since it represented enormous potential benefits!

"First of all, this is the Great Wilderness, inhabited by beings known as 'Cultivators'!"

"Cultivators! They can forge talismans, elixirs, and magical artifacts, casting spells… and even attain longevity, moving mountains and filling seas when they reach a high enough level?"

"Even a mere Qi Cultivator is stronger than an innate martial artist… Hmm, in this world, innate martial artists are referred to as 'Puhua'…"

"Over a hundred miles away, there's a cultivator market called 'Qinglin Fang,' home to tens of thousands of cultivators and countless commoners…"

"Reportedly, 'Qinglin Fang' was built not long ago by a powerful cultivation faction to expand into the Great Wilderness, forcibly relocating many practitioners and ordinary people. Therefore, the surrounding environment is extremely dangerous; without martial prowess, survival is nearly impossible."

"The martial arts hierarchy in this world is quite simple: postnatal and innate…"

"But no matter how strong an innate martial artist is, they're doomed against a Qi Cultivator prepared for battle…"

Fang Xing sighed, feeling frustrated. This information gathered from monitoring was quite disheartening.

After understanding the background, he immediately turned his attention to the ancient book.

According to the decoding, the cover read "Appraisal of Alchemy," and the contents described the appearance and properties of common elixirs in Qinglin Fang, along with some simple identification methods.

Fang Xing took out three jade bottles for comparison, discovering that one contained a healing balm, another an antidote.

As for the last unopened bottle, it was labeled as "Blood Qi Pill!"

"According to the book, postnatal martial artists can greatly enhance their vital energy and refine their skin, tendons, and bones by consuming the Blood Qi Pill… their progress will be rapid…"

"I'm still skeptical; I'll use a poison test strip and a little mouse for verification first…"

Fang Xing flipped a page and suddenly found his breath quickening.

He saw a description of a new elixir: "Innate Pill! White in color, fragrant in taste… consuming it will enhance the energy of the five viscera and help postnatal martial artists break through to the innate realm?"

"This 'Innate Pill' can actually assist in breaking through to Puhua realm?"

Fang Xing's eyes lit up.

In the Blue Star Federation's martial arts hierarchy, the first realm is flesh, and the second is tendons… nearly equivalent to the postnatal realm in this alternate world.

After reaching the pinnacle of the tendon realm, martial artists need to refine their internal organs, strengthen their inner breath, and achieve perfection both internally and externally, likened to uncut jade; hence, it's called "Puhua Realm!"

However, this step is exceptionally difficult!

So challenging that Xia Long believes it's hard for even a single university student to emerge from the current class!

"But now, all it takes is one pill…"

"The Blue Star Federation surely has elixirs to assist second-realm martial artists in breaking through to the third realm, along with other devices… but I can't access them! The resources needed are simply too vast and not worth the effort…"

"But in this alternate world, that may not be the case."

Fang Xing's eyes burned with a certain flame as he gazed at the Blood Qi Pill: "First… I need to test the medicinal properties and toxicity of this world's elixirs…"

After a moment of thought, he donned a mask and opened the bottle.

Inside the jade bottle were ten blood-red pills.

"Blood Qi Pill, martial artists only need to consume one at a time, with effects lasting several days!"

"It feels like the potency of these elixirs is substantial; this isn't advanced craftsmanship but rather a sheer abundance of resources!"

Fang Xing took out one Blood Qi Pill, following the identification methods from "Appraisal of Alchemy."

"As stated in the book, many practitioners and martial artists dare not consume unknown elixirs; therefore, quality elixirs always have markings at the bottom of the bottle, and the bottle itself is sealed with spiritual symbols… once opened, there are traces left behind as a simple anti-counterfeiting measure."

He looked at the bottom of the jade bottle and indeed found a green leaf mark.

"This should be a well-known merchant's mark from the market, signifying credibility… but I'm still skeptical!"

Especially since this "Appraisal of Alchemy" came from that unfortunate soul, the possibility of deceit cannot be ruled out.

What if they had fabricated a poison pill into a Blood Qi Pill and included a manual!

If that were true, that female martial artist would truly be a talent!

"Even if the powerful faction behind the false mark pursued accountability, the people would be dead…"

Fang Xing pondered, taking out the toxin test strips to examine each Blood Qi Pill, discovering everything was normal.

He then returned to his home planet and ordered a box of little mice online.

The delivery arrived quickly, and Fang Xing observed the lively little mice, calmly scraping off some powder from the pill, then determining the dosage based on the weight ratio between humans and mice.

This step was crucial!

Otherwise, even a life-saving elixir could potentially poison the mice if the dosage was based on a human's weight!

---

The next day.

Fang Xing got up and checked on the little mice, finding them all lively and jumping around.

"Eek! Eek!"

The little mice scurried about, crashing into and biting the iron cage, seemingly bursting with energy.

"Hmm, they seem very spirited… I'll take you all to eat some berries next time!"

He nodded, carefully putting the Blood Qi Pill away and heading directly to school.

Although the two tests revealed no issues, Fang Xing decided to take the elixir near the infirmary just in case, so if anything happened, he could get help quickly.

*"Perhaps I'm thinking too darkly about human nature…"*

*"But even so, my life is more important than anything…"*

Had it not been for seeing the information about the Innate Pill, he wouldn't have been so reckless in verifying the efficacy of the elixirs from this alternate world.

He arrived at Yucai Middle School, skipping the cultural class taught by Lan Fei.

This projection teacher could no longer shake his resolve.

Outside the infirmary, Fang Xing found a patch of open space, stretched, and yawned.

Quietly, he slipped one Blood Qi Pill into his mouth, concealing it with his palm.

"Hot, so hot!"

As the pill entered his stomach, Fang Xing felt waves of warmth radiating from his lower abdomen, flowing through his limbs.

The endless generation of vital energy flushed his face red, causing his skin to tighten as the veins beneath the surface writhed like earthworms.

He felt like a furnace of vital energy, urgently needing a way to release it.

In the next moment, Fang Xing immediately assumed the stance of the Great Dragon Post!

Executing the Great Dragon Post with a level of proficiency felt like flowing water.

Developed by the Blue Star Federation as the most suitable technique for refining flesh, Fang Xing instantly felt a difference.

The abundant vital energy within him surged forth like a torrent, erupting violently.

His skin began to crack, and beads of blood began to ooze out…

On the attribute panel, the realm status of "Flesh Refinement: 99/100" flashed, instantly changing to "Flesh Refinement: 100/100"!

"Flesh Refinement is complete!"

Fang Xing felt a surge of energy, as if his skin had instantaneously become solid, radiating a bronze-like sheen.

The next moment, as a large amount of vital energy was consumed, the bronze hue gradually faded, transforming into a "jade-like whiteness."

"This is… Jade Skin? I haven't even broken through my post technique yet?"

"No, this is akin to forcibly breaking through using abundant resources; it doesn't matter if my technique doesn't keep up… The resources consumed by this one Blood Qi Pill are likely equivalent to ten or a hundred 'D3 Nutritional Solutions'!"

"The resources of this alternate world are truly abundant…"

The jade-like brilliance enveloping Fang Xing's skin flickered briefly before vanishing without a trace.

As a perfected Flesh Refinement technique, the 'Jade Skin' externally merely appeared slightly whiter, but internally, Fang Xing felt as if he had donned a layer of armor, capable of actively absorbing force.

"Just from one Blood Qi Pill… I've achieved so much in refining my flesh!"

Fang Xing focused on his attribute panel:

**Name:** Fang Xing 

**Age:** 16 

**Occupation:** Martial Artist 

**First Realm:** Flesh (Flesh Refinement: 9/100) 

**Military Body Fist Twelve Styles:** 10/