Returning to the Mysterious Era

Chapter 53 - Superior Aptitude

Cassius sat down in the wooden tub, splashing some of the water. The boiling hot water immediately enveloped him. The intense heat continuously seeped through his skin into his body.

Is this just a regular bath? It doesn’t seem like anything was added to the water...

Just as Cassius thought this, a surge of heat rushed up from his stomach, traveled up his spine and engulfed his head. His brain buzzed loudly, his vision blurred, and he was momentarily dazed. When he regained his senses, he felt as though a strong current was coursing through his body, rushing along his veins. Every time it passed through his heart, it received a powerful push, circulating faster and faster throughout his body without stopping.

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Steady your breath and focus! Elephant Soul ninth stance!"

Cassius could barely see through his blurry vision and his hazy consciousness, but he instinctively followed the command and positioned his body in a special stance. With this, the flow inside his body seemed to accelerate. Cassius gradually felt hotter and hotter.

The burning sensation in his throat grew stronger, as if fire was climbing all the way up from his stomach to his mouth. Time seemed to be frozen. He didn’t know how long he stayed in that state.

Until...

When the burning current of heat passed through his heart again, it suddenly exploded. Heat surged through every single inch of his body before scattering like a shower of stars. Cassius could feel something in his body was being nourished and reinforced, while other things were being expelled from his skin.

He drifted off. When he opened his eyes again, he saw two beams of dim light shining through the open window in the meditation room. Fresh air gently blew in through the gaps. Lisa, dressed in yellow training attire, was sitting cross-legged across from him.

Cassius could tell his senses had sharpened. If he concentrated, he could detect tiny dust particles in the air and hear every little movement in the training field over a hundred meters away from the meditation room.

Instinctively, he sprang to his feet, and water cascaded down. Upon remembering he was stark naked and Instructor Lisa was right there, Cassius awkwardly sat back down.

Sitting cross-legged, Lisa opened her eyes. "Are you done? If you are, why are you still sitting in there? Look at how filthy the water is. Go shower now."

Cassius looked down at the tub. The once clear, boiling water was now murky and cold. It had turned into a mix of black and red as if it had dissolved many impurities. A layer of dirt-like scum floated on the surface.

It must have stunk, but he had been in there long enough to get used to the smell so he wasn\'t really sure. Although, it looked like Instructor Lisa had opened the window...

"Go on," Lisa repeated. Seemingly aware of Cassius\'s bashfulness about his nudity, she closed her eyes to rest again.

Cassius stepped out of the tub, grabbed his clothes from the corner, and dashed to the washroom for a cold shower. As he cleaned himself, he glanced at the top right corner of his vision.

[Elephant Soul Incomplete: Prickling 68.2% (Stage Three)] → [Elephant Soul Incomplete: Prickling 74.0% (Stage Three)]

[Wind Elephant Fist Incomplete: Gale 34.2% (Stage Three)] → [Wind Elephant Fist Incomplete: Gale 37.5% (Stage Three)]

While the uptick in progress was small, it was equivalent to several months of hard work and practice. After all, enhancing his physical strength and improving his mastery of Elephant Soul was just a side effect of the Wind Elephant Pill. Its main purpose was to purify and improve his innate talent and constitution.

This miraculous pill was probably exceedingly rare in the martial arts world. Cassius had been incredibly lucky to acquire one.

After rinsing with cold water, he clenched his fist. His strength hadn’t increased much, but it seemed... Cassius suddenly punched. His fist jabbed forward, then froze midair.

The water droplets on his arm flew off due to inertia, splattering the wall. From punching to retracting his fist, his movements had been smooth and without hesitation. His control over his body and strength had greatly improved!

Suppressing his joy, Cassius dressed and returned to the meditation room; Lisa wasn’t there. After a few minutes, he saw her come back in with a clean wooden bucket, which she gently placed to the side.

"Come here, let me check your constitution," Lisa said, smiling. She looked even more eager than Cassius.

"Okay." Cassius immediately walked over. After a thorough five-minute examination, Cassius stood there dumbly. Lisa circled him, nodding.

"Not bad. Not bad at all! I originally thought that your aptitude would improve one level to upper-bottom constitution after taking the Wind Elephant Pill, but you’ve gone an extra step to reach upper-intermediate constitution! Well done!" Lisa patted Cassius firmly on the shoulder encouragingly.

It looks like the efficacy of the Wind Elephant Pill is dependent on luck and not effort... Cassius thought to himself. But he seemed pretty fortunate; the pill\'s effects were excellent.

Li Wei\'s aptitude had always been decent, hovering around middle-advanced. Cassius’s real body was worse off; at best, it was lower-middle.

If he could bring the results from the Wind Elephant Pill back with him, could his real body\'s aptitude also improve to an upper level? At the same time, Cassius wondered if he would encounter any bottlenecks in his martial arts progress in his real body. After all, whatever effects his body underwent in this era would transfer directly to his real self.

But there was also a possibility he wouldn\'t plateau at all, and his strength would grow the more he trained.

He didn\'t have a clear answer. However, what was obvious was that he should continue improving his aptitude, and that he needed to spend more time in his real body.

Cassius snapped back to reality. Lisa was gazing at him proudly.

"Even though your constitution has improved to an upper level, don\'t even think about slacking off in your daily training. Talent alone won’t make you great, you still need to work hard! Starting tomorrow, you\'ll be under a different training regime than your junior brothers and sisters. You\'re going to train with me, and I’ll teach you what I know."

"Yes," Cassius said. That seemed to be all Cassius could say as he wasn\'t the expressive type to begin with. That being said, he always remembered those who treated him well and would repay them tenfold when he could.

"Alright, that’s it for today. Go back and get a good night’s sleep." Lisa waved her hand.

Cassius nodded. Just before he left, he heard Lisa say, "Oh, by the way, prepare yourself. The sect\'s elders are likely going to promote you to a core disciple in the next few days, and there’s a process to go through."