Inside the shabby room, Su Mu let out a suppressed, low growl.
His fists were clenched, and he gritted his teeth, holding on.
After applying the Spiritual Liquid to his skin, Su Mu felt as if he had been thrown into a pot of boiling water.
The burning sensation on his skin made him feel as if it was all about to peel away.
Pain!
And itching!
It felt like countless ants were trying to burrow into him through every pore, a piercing pain mixed with a maddening itch.
Hard work is never a comfortable, pleasant affair.
Su Mu clenched his jaw and endured it with all his might.
After about a quarter of an hour, the painful, itching sensation began to gradually fade.
A cool sensation seeped out from under his skin, and Su Mu felt a faint sense of relief.
First bitter, then sweet. This Skin Tempering Technique truly was one part Hell, one part Heaven.
Su Mu caught his breath for a moment before reapplying the remaining Spiritual Liquid to his body.
......
He repeated this process three times, finally using up all the prepared Spiritual Liquid.
Su Mu sat on the edge of his bed, panting heavily, sweat pouring down like rain.
After resting for a long while, the numb, limp feeling throughout his body finally dissipated, and he felt some of his strength return.
At that moment, he eagerly summoned the system panel.
[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Constable (Official)]
[Points: 60]
[Cultivation Technique: Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique (Uninitiated/+)]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Perfection), Archery (Initiate)]
Seeing the new line of text on the panel, a smile finally appeared on Su Mu's face.
Martial Arts Techniques, just like other martial arts, could indeed be upgraded with Points.
What's more, a "+" sign had already appeared after the Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique.
'What's there to hesitate about?'
'A golden scale is no mere pond dweller; it transforms into a dragon upon meeting the wind and clouds. Come on, Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique, let me see what you can do!'
Su Mu thought to himself, and with a mental command, he pressed the "+" sign after the Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique.
In an instant, Su Mu felt a ball of fire erupt within his body.
His skin immediately turned bright red, making him look like a cooked shrimp.
Then his skin began to slough off as new skin grew underneath.
An indescribable agony filled his entire body. Su Mu's mouth hung open, and he gasped for air like a drowning man, wanting to scream but unable to make a sound.
An unknown amount of time passed before Su Mu finally regained consciousness.
The pain that had nearly made him pass out was gone, replaced by waves of a cool, refreshing sensation.
Su Mu stood up and gave a light shake.
The shed skin rustled off him, littering the floor with flakes. The sight would be enough to drive someone with trypophobia mad.
Su Mu touched his new skin and felt that it had become a bit tougher.
The side effect was that his complexion was now much darker than before.
Su Mu's original skin tone had been too fair for a man; this new color was just right, making him look healthier and stronger.
[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Constable (Official)]
[Points: 50]
[Cultivation Technique: Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique (Initiate)]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Perfection), Archery (Initiate)]
After inspecting the changes to his body, Su Mu summoned the system panel again.
The Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique had now reached the Initiate level. When he focused his thoughts on it, the panel displayed a prompt.
To go from Initiate to Minor Completion, 100 Identity Points were required.
'I have 50 Points now. I just need to earn 50 more to have the 100 I need.'
Su Mu broke into a smile.
He had worried that the Skin Tempering Technique, being different from saber arts, might be more difficult to upgrade.
But it seemed the system panel was still quite reliable.
Going from Initiate to Minor Completion for the Skin Tempering Technique only required 100 Identity Points.
'As a constable, my base earning is 10 Points per day. With performance bonuses, I can even get 15. Earning 50 Points will only take four or five days' work.'
Su Mu was completely at ease with using the system panel to increase his strength.
The Points didn't come from nowhere; he earned them through his hard work every day, braving the wind and rain.
If he didn't work a shift, he didn't get paid.
Wasn't it only natural to use the Identity Points he'd worked so hard to earn to increase his own strength?
'But a Body Tempering Technique is different from a martial art, after all. Upgrading it is just too painful. It's like the entire tempering process is condensed into a single instant and inflicted on me. None of the suffering is skipped. In fact, because I have to endure it all at once, it's far more painful than normal cultivation.'
Su Mu thought, the memory of reaching the Initiate level of the Skin Tempering Technique still making his scalp tingle.
He had just experienced the equivalent of tempering his skin dozens of times in a very short period. The pain was beyond description.
However, the benefits of upgrading with the system were also obvious: it saved time, and it saved money.
'No matter how bitter the cultivation, it's much better than the bitterness of being helpless when crisis strikes.'
Su Mu thought to himself.
He got up, cleaned the room, then drew water from the well to wash himself before finally going to bed.
......
「Four days passed in a flash.」
During these four days, Su Mu remained a diligent constable, never slacking off in the slightest. He even volunteered to take on two night patrols for others.
Sima Hu Yuxing and the acting constable Zhao Ji seemed to have forgotten about him; the trouble he'd been worried about never materialized.
As a low-ranking constable, he didn't really have many opportunities to see Zhao Ji or Hu Yuxing anyway.
In his spare time, Su Mu used up the remaining two portions of Golden Scale Beast scale powder.
His main goal was to acclimate himself to the pain of skin tempering, hoping that the next time he upgraded using the system panel, it might not be quite so agonizing.
"HUFF!"
After using the last of the Spiritual Liquid, Su Mu collapsed limply on his bed, panting heavily for a while.
Compared to the first time he cultivated the Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique, he felt much better this time. At the very least, the painful, itching sensation was now bearable.
'I've more or less gotten used to it. Time for the next step.'
Su Mu thought to himself.
He then summoned the system interface.
[Points: 110]
[Cultivation Technique: Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique (Initiate/+)]
On the system interface, the two most crucial lines had quietly changed.
Through his diligent work, his Identity Points had accumulated to 110, enough to raise the Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique to "Minor Completion."
After mentally preparing himself, Su Mu gave the mental command, consuming the points to upgrade the Golden Scale Skin Tempering Technique.
BOOM!
Su Mu's body immediately arched, his expression twisting in an instant.
Even though he was prepared, the sudden onslaught of pain nearly made him pass out.
He felt as if he'd been thrown into a wok of boiling oil. Searing hot oil surrounded him, causing his skin to blister, rot away, and heal, over and over in a vicious cycle.
Months, even a year's worth of skin tempering experience was all compressed into this single moment.
The intense pain finally surpassed the limits of what Su Mu could endure. His consciousness simply shut down, and he fainted.
But even though he had passed out, his body's transformation did not stop.
His skin peeled off layer by layer, just like a snake shedding its skin. Soon, a thick layer of flakes had formed beneath him.
His skin tone darkened again; his once-fair skin had turned a wheat color and now faintly shone with a metallic luster.