27th Day of the Training.
At the end of a particularly brutal training session, Elder Su handed him a jade vial.
"A 6-star recovery pill," she said. "To mend internal damage."
It tasted like charcoal.
And something suspiciously metallic.
But it worked. Within moments, his circulation had improved, the pain dulled, and he no longer felt like a series of broken sticks glued together.
A miracle.
And also terrifying.
He wondered, privately, when can he also make that pill.
...
30th Day of the Training.
Tian Shen, drenched in sweat, stepped onto the training ground with silent determination.
And, for the first time… he landed a hit.
Just one.
A flick across the edge of Elder Su's sleeve.
She blinked. Paused.
Then smiled.
And Tian Shen—despite every broken rib, every drowned minute, every muscle torn and rebuilt—smiled back.
It was madness.
He was starting to like this.
...
