7: Chapter 7: Copper Skin and Iron Bones, Bug-Bug Porting Experiment

The wild boar den was too filthy. Unwilling to step in pig manure, Lu Hu eventually chose to give up.

He returned to his lair for a wonderful sleep, and the next day, he gave his Ginseng Field a round of 'mighty tiger fertilization'.

After pulling out the weeds that had sprouted, Lu Hu went to find the Wild Boar King again.

Last night, it was difficult to make a move because they were in the pig den, but now it was daytime and the sounders were out foraging; the environment wasn't nearly as bad.

“Roar~”

Lu Hu stood before the Wild Boar King, wanting a fight.

However, just like yesterday, the Wild Boar King hesitated to attack.

The experience of having its defense broken by a single swipe of Lu Hu's claws last time had left the Wild Boar King wary and fearful.

“Awoo roar~”

Lu Hu took the initiative and pounced forward.

“Ang——!”

Seeing no way to avoid it, the Wild Boar King could only lower its head and charge.

Bang!

In a single exchange, the Wild Boar King was easily pinned to the ground by Lu Hu!

“Ang ang ah ah ah ah ah——!!”

The Wild Boar King screamed and struggled frantically.

But Lu Hu's strength was unreasonably brutal; no matter how desperately the Wild Boar King struggled, it was to no avail.

“So weak.”

Lu Hu hadn't expected himself to be this powerful now. His current size was a notch smaller than the Wild Boar King's.

Yet his strength easily crushed the Wild Boar King.

“My bone density must have already surpassed the limits of what a normal tiger can possess.”

Lu Hu guessed that the ginseng and lingzhi he ate were all converted into energy to nourish his body. Among his parts, his bones received the most nourishment. Coupled with the primordial qi rewarded by the system, his current tiger bones might have completely transcended the realm of ordinary tigers.

If a kidney-deficient middle-aged man took a sip of his urine, he'd probably turn into a human pile driver.

“Ang~~”

Lu Hu released the Wild Boar King. He had only just finished his strength test; there were other experiments yet to be verified.

“Awoo~” (Come, ram me!)

Lu Hu stood provocatively in front of the Wild Boar King. Defensive power was what he wanted to know about most.

When he was over a year old, his defense was already so exaggerated that he could ignore Tiger Dad's usual attacks.

After that, Tiger Dad never attacked him again, so Lu Hu hadn't had a chance to test his strike resistance.

Now, Lu Hu felt that his tiger hide had thickened to the point of being like bronze skin and iron bones.

But that was just a feeling. To know for sure, practice was the only way to the truth.

Therefore, Lu Hu wanted the Wild Boar King to ram him.

“Hang~”

The moment it was freed, the Wild Boar King simply ran away.

Lu Hu caught up in an instant, pinned it down, and roared at the Wild Boar King, frustrated by its lack of spirit.

“Roar!!” (No, little brother, how did you become such a wimp?)

Where was the Wild Boar King's dignity?

Show me the courage you had when you used to chase and ram me!

Lu Hu was so annoyed he gave the Wild Boar King two 'thwack-thwack' slaps, his gaze then falling on the Wild Boar King's pair of tusks.

There were many ways to test strike resistance; he could try running at high speed into a tree, but the hardness of his tiger hide wasn't so easy to test.

Should he...

Hiss~~

How could I have such a bold idea!

Lu Hu realized he was getting overconfident. In the past, what he feared most was being gored by the Wild Boar King's tusks.

Now, he was actually thinking of letting the Wild Boar King gore him on purpose.

He was being a bit reckless; it would be embarrassing if things went south.

Lu Hu quickly dismissed the thought. He couldn't let the Wild Boar King gore him, but he really wanted to know his defense level.

After thinking it over, Lu Hu came up with a good method.

He couldn't let the Wild Boar King gore him, but he could take the initiative to rub against them!

He would apply pressure bit by bit; if it hurt, he could stop.

“Awoo roar~” (Come on, little brother!)

Acting on the thought, Lu Hu used his tiger paws to grab the Wild Boar King by the shoulders and shove it toward a tree. Once close,

Lu Hu reared up on his hind legs, lifting the Wild Boar King with him. Both their bodies tilted back, and the Wild Boar King happened to land against the tree.

Lu Hu pushed off with his hind legs while pinning the Wild Boar King with his front paws; thus, the pig and the tiger both stood upright.

Lu Hu pressed his left paw against the Wild Boar King's neck, pinning it to the tree. As he applied slight force, the Wild Boar King's body was gradually hoisted higher.

The Wild Boar King's four limbs kicked wildly, but its legs were short and couldn't reach Lu Hu.

After forcefully pinning the Wild Boar King against the tree, Lu Hu reached out with a tiger paw to touch the Wild Boar King's tusks.

The Wild Boar King's tusks were very long—an exaggerated twenty centimeters. With tusks this long, there were basically very few animals whose skin could defend against them.

Lu Hu was no exception, but the premise was that the Wild Boar King had to be able to pierce him.

“Awoo~”

Lu Hu took a step forward, resting his right front leg directly on the Wild Boar King's head. His tiger hide also came into contact with the Wild Boar King's tusks.

Lu Hu pressed down, the tiger hide on his leg pushing against the sharp tusks, sinking in bit by bit.

“Roar~” (I don't feel anything.)

Lu Hu continued to apply pressure; he felt no pain.

“Ang——!!”

Lu Hu felt nothing, but the Wild Boar King was the one screaming.

It wasn't just a howl, but a scream of agony.

Logically, touching tusks shouldn't hurt, just like touching fingernails.

Alas, Lu Hu's great strength produced a miracle!

He had actually pressed down so hard that blood seeped from the corners of the Wild Boar King's mouth; this was bleeding from the roots of the tusks.

Lu Hu released the Wild Boar King, and the creature bolted instantly.

The experiment was over; his skin really was as hard as bronze.

After a moment's thought, Lu Hu accelerated and crashed into a tree as thick as a bowl!

Crack!

The tree snapped!

Lu Hu's body paused slightly, but having no adverse reaction, he kept running and crashed into the next tree.

After snapping three trees in a row, Lu Hu was satisfied.

Bronze skin and iron bones, invulnerable to blades and spears!

This is freaking awesome!

“Awoo roar!!”

Lu Hu continued to roar loudly among the mountains, leaving the animals exhausted from the torment.

It was another new day. Lu Hu's large head lay on the ground, staring blankly at a half-dug ginseng still in the soil.

He had found this ginseng while searching the mountains. What made it different from others was...

This ginseng wasn't mature yet.

According to his previous practice, regardless of whether it was ripe or not, Lu Hu would just stuff it into his mouth.

But now, a sudden inspiration struck Lu Hu's brain.

The system's harvest requirement was for him to personally plant ginseng and then harvest it once it matured.

Personally planting didn't require that what he planted had to be seeds.

If he dug up a nearly mature ginseng, replanted it, and then dug it up once it was ripe, would that count as a harvest?

Planting something immature and having it reach maturity.

That felt like it met the system's requirements!

Expanding the idea further, if he dug up a ginseng that was already mature and decades old, replanted it, and then dug it up the next day...

Would that work too?

If it was feasible, he wouldn't have to wait a year and a half to complete the system's [Ginseng Quest].

Let's try it!

In any case, an immature ginseng didn't have much medicinal potency.

Lu Hu immediately dug a huge pit around the ginseng, leaving only the clump of soil surrounding the plant untouched to preserve as many root hairs as possible.

Then Lu Hu found a large leaf and carefully placed the soil-wrapped ginseng onto it.

Gently biting the leaf, he hurried toward the Ginseng Field.

The leaf wasn't sturdy. Even though Lu Hu was careful enough, the journey was long, and the leaf couldn't hold out.

The ginseng fell to the ground, most of the soil being knocked off and exposing the roots to the air.

“I'll have to get a sturdy animal hide later.”

Lu Hu thought as he planted the ginseng in the field.

“Awoo~” (Hope you live.)

After offering a blessing, Lu Hu went back to searching for ginseng.

Besides transplanting nearly mature ginseng,

He also wanted to try transplanting already mature ginseng.

If it met the system's requirements, wouldn't things be much easier!

...