60: Chapter 60 Hospital Visit, The Fat Man's Transformation

Jiangnan City Central Hospital, Intensive Care Unit.

The corridor was quiet in the dead of night. Relying on the light steps brought by his Breakthrough to the Martial Artist Realm, Su Chen pushed open the door to Ward 302 without a sound.

However, catching the dim light from the corridor, he found the hospital bed empty, and even the life-support equipment had been removed. The bed was neatly made; there wasn't a shadow of a patient to be seen.

Su Chen frowned slightly. But he didn't panic; his newly awakened [Observation Haki] instantly spread outward like ripples.

"On the second basement floor. Vital signs... extremely active."

Su Chen withdrew his perception, feeling reassured.

Just as he turned around, a nurse on duty passed by with a medicine tray. Seeing Su Chen come out of the ward, she immediately lowered her voice and called out: "Hey, you're the Family member of the patient in 302, right? You haven't been here in a few days. Stop looking; he moved out a long time ago."

"Was he discharged?" Su Chen asked.

"Discharged? He's practically a medical miracle!" The nurse's eyes widened, her tone filled with disbelief. "With such severe fire poison, after taking the medicine you brought, not only was it completely cleared in one night, but by the next day, even his fractured sternum had healed! The director said his physical indicators were as strong as an ox. He even crushed two bed boards in the regular ward, so he was transferred directly to the Martial Arts Rehabilitation Center on the second basement floor."

"Thank you."

Su Chen nodded and turned toward the elevator.

The elevator doors opened on the second basement floor. As soon as he stepped into the corridor, Su Chen heard a dull, metallic clanging sound.

"Clang! Clang!"

The sound was deafening, causing dust to fall from the corridor walls.

Su Chen followed the sound to the heavy equipment training room at the very end and pushed the door open.

In the spacious training room, the fat man, Jiang Feng, who had previously been lying on the hospital bed, on the verge of death and wrapped like a mummy, was now shirtless.

The burns on his body hadn't left a single scar. The fat that had previously made him look bloated had now tightened, transforming into rock-hard muscles.

At this moment, Jiang Feng was standing in front of a squat rack.

His right arm was single-handedly holding a specially made barbell loaded with black weight plates.

"Four hundred ninety... four hundred ninety-five... five hundred!"

Jiang Feng gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his neck. Every time he squatted and stood up, the high-strength shock-absorbing rubber mat under his feet would emit a muffled, overwhelmed groan.

A five-hundred-pound one-armed squat!

Hearing the door open, Jiang Feng turned his head and, through his sweat-blurred vision, recognized the visitor.

"Holy crap! Brother Chen!"

Jiang Feng's eyes lit up, and he let go of his hand in excitement.

"Boom!"

The five-hundred-pound barbell lost control and smashed heavily into the ground. The high-strength rubber mat was pierced through, and the concrete floor tiles underneath cracked with a "crack" sound, leaving wrist-thick fissures and sending debris flying.

Jiang Feng didn't even look at the mess on the floor and strode over to Su Chen.

"Brother Chen, where have you been these past few days! You didn't answer your communicator, I thought something happened to you!"

Jiang Feng grabbed Su Chen's shoulder excitedly.

Su Chen stood firmly in place, his body not even swaying. He patted Jiang Feng's rock-hard back and laughed: "I went to take care of some personal business. Seeing you looking so lively, that medicine wasn't wasted."

"Wasted? It was far from wasted!"

Jiang Feng let go and excitedly punched his own chest twice, emitting a "thump-thump" sound.

"Brother Chen, the blue bead given by the reclusive master you found is practically an Immortal Pill! Not only did it swallow all the fire poison Zhao Kuang left in my body, but that extremely cold medicinal power actually stimulated my Bloodline!"

Jiang Feng became more excited as he spoke, and earthy-yellow Qi and blood spilled uncontrollably from his body surface. Behind him, a three-meter-tall phantom of a Titan Giant Bear vaguely materialized.

"My A-Rank [Titan Giant Bear Bloodline] has been completely activated! Not only are my injuries fully healed, but my Qi and blood value is skyrocketing like a rocket!"

Jiang Feng clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within him: "Brother Chen, I've broken through! I'm not a Martial Apprentice anymore; I've stepped into the Elementary stage of the Martial Artist Realm! I feel like I can smash a building with one punch!"

Watching his best friend, who was as excited as a two-hundred-pound child, a hint of appreciation flashed in Su Chen's eyes.

In this high-martial world, fraught with danger and the constant threat of being plotted against by conglomerates and the Abyss Cult, relying on himself alone meant he would inevitably be spread too thin. As the only brother he cared about in this world, Jiang Feng having absolute self-preservation capability was the best outcome.

"Elementary stage of the Martial Artist Realm, that's indeed not bad. But it's not enough."

Su Chen walked to the water dispenser, poured two cups of water, and handed one to Jiang Feng.

"Not enough? Brother Chen, I'm an A-Rank Talent at the Elementary stage! Even in the elite class, I can walk sideways now!" Jiang Feng took the cup and gulped it down.

"The college entrance exam is coming up soon. Zhao Kuang has also been in seclusion for a long time. Relying on his Family's resources, it's very likely he has also broken through to the Elementary stage of the Martial Artist Realm." Su Chen leaned against the equipment rack, his tone calm.

Hearing the name "Zhao Kuang," the smile on Jiang Feng's face vanished instantly, and his eyes turned fierce.

"It's even better if he's broken through! He relied on his higher Realm to ambush me on the playground; I've been keeping track of this debt! At the combat ranking tournament in three days, I'll definitely knock every single one of his teeth out!"

"Zhao Kuang's S-Rank Radiant Gold Flame has extremely strong penetrating power. Although you have great strength, if you only rely on the Titan Giant Bear Qi and blood on your skin to resist, you'll still be at a disadvantage."

Su Chen looked at Jiang Feng and suddenly changed the subject: "I came to see you today, besides checking on your injuries, to teach you something."

"Teach me something? Brother Chen, I admit your theoretical knowledge is the best in the world, but this combat..." Jiang Feng scratched his head, looking puzzled.

Su Chen didn't explain, continuing to trot out the seamless lie he had fabricated earlier.

"That reclusive master who gave me the medicine, besides the medicine, also took a liking to my aptitude." Su Chen said without changing his expression, "He taught me a set of special breathing techniques and force-application skills from the ancient martial arts era."

"Ancient martial arts unique skills taught by a reclusive master?!" Jiang Feng's eyes widened.

"Yes. But this technique puts a huge burden on the body. My current physical foundation is too weak to practice it. But I've studied it, and the characteristics of this technique are practically tailor-made for your Titan Giant Bear Bloodline."

Su Chen stood up straight and pointed at Jiang Feng's chest.

"Watch closely. I'll only teach it once."

In order to ensure his brother remained invincible on the exam grounds in three days, Su Chen decided to pass on the [Iron Body] from [Rokushiki], which specializes in strengthening physical defense, and the Elementary technique of [Life Return], which can accelerate digestion and control internal organs and muscles, to Jiang Feng through "high-martial conceptualization."

Jiang Feng immediately held his breath and stood straight.

"First move. Through a special breathing frequency, accelerate the pumping of blood into the gaps in your muscles, making the muscle fibers tense to the limit in an instant. At the same time, lock your Qi and blood, preventing it from leaking out, and use it entirely to temper your skin and flesh."

As Su Chen spoke, he guided Jiang Feng to adjust his breathing.

"Try to concentrate your intent on your chest, inhale, lock it!"

Following Su Chen's guidance, Jiang Feng took a sharp breath, his face turning red instantly.

"Hah!"

Jiang Feng let out a low growl. The already hard pectoral muscle on his chest, under the special blood pressure, actually emitted a faint sound of bone and flesh rubbing together. The volume of the muscle did not expand, but the color faintly took on a blue-gray, iron-like luster.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Chen suddenly raised his hand and chopped at Jiang Feng's chest with a hand blade as fast as lightning.

He didn't use Armament Haki; it was pure physical strength from the Martial Artist Realm.

"Clang!"

A dull sound, like hitting a solid block of iron, echoed in the training room.

Su Chen withdrew his hand, while Jiang Feng stood firmly in place, not even stepping back half a step.

"Holy crap!" Jiang Feng exclaimed first. He touched his chest, "Brother Chen! That palm of yours must have had at least several hundred pounds of force, right? I didn't feel a thing! It's like my flesh turned into a lump of iron!"

"This move is called 'Iron Body'." Su Chen nodded.

Jiang Feng already possessed an A-Rank Titan Giant Bear defensive Bloodline; his muscle fibers were several times thicker than an ordinary person's. With this Bloodline foundation, combined with the [Iron Body] force-application technique, the combination was a chemical reaction where 1+1 was greater than 10.

"But Iron Body has a fatal weakness." Su Chen warned seriously, "When you apply force, your body is rigid and cannot move. So you must use it at the moment of being hit and release it immediately after."

"Understood! This is simply an invincible god-tier skill!" Jiang Feng rubbed his hands excitedly.

"That's just the first move."

Su Chen walked to the corner, took a large piece of high-grade exotic beast jerky from the refrigerator, and threw it to Jiang Feng.

"Second move. If your Bloodline wants to grow rapidly, it needs to devour massive amounts of food to convert into Qi and blood. But the digestive capacity of an ordinary person's stomach has a limit."

"This second breathing technique teaches you how to use Mental Energy to control the peristalsis of your stomach. Let the food you eat be completely broken down and converted into pure Qi and blood to repair injuries and provide strength within a few minutes."

This was the Elementary application of [Life Return] from the Six Styles.

Su Chen carefully explained the mantra and the mental control method.

Jiang Feng was naturally simple-minded, but for this kind of simple and brutal physical technique, his comprehension was surprisingly high.

Swallowing the exotic beast jerky in a few bites, he operated his breathing according to Su Chen's teaching.

In less than five minutes, Jiang Feng's stomach emitted a "rumbling" sound, and immediately after, a layer of visible heat steam overflowed from his body surface. The stamina he had just expended was completely restored to its Peak in these few short minutes!

"Monster... this technique is practically tailor-made for me!"

Jiang Feng felt the surging power in his body, and his eyes reddened again. He looked at Su Chen, his voice choking: "Brother Chen, you're just teaching me this kind of top-secret technique like this?"

"Because you are my brother."

Su Chen patted his shoulder, his tone flat yet resonant, "For these three days, don't leave the basement. Every day, besides eating and sleeping, practice these two moves until you die, practice them until they become instinct."

"The big exam in three days. As long as you can master these two moves..."

Su Chen chuckled inwardly.

That trash Zhao Kuang, relying on his S-Rank fire to try to burn people to death?

Now, even if Jiang Feng stood there and let him burn, he probably wouldn't even be able to break a layer of the fat man's oil skin.

"Don't worry, Brother Chen! As long as it doesn't kill me, I'll practice until I die!" Jiang Feng lifted the five-hundred-pound barbell and started his crazy squats again, like he had been injected with adrenaline.

Watching his completely transformed brother, Su Chen checked the time, turned, and pushed open the iron door of the training room.

"I'm leaving first."

"Take care, Brother Chen! See you at the exam in three days!"

Walking out of the hospital gate.

The cold wind of the early morning blew on Su Chen's face.

His brother's self-preservation capability had been arranged, he himself had officially stepped into the Martial Artist Realm, and all his skills had reached Major Achievement.

Su Chen looked up at the night sky of Jiangnan City, where neon lights were gradually lighting up.

Everything was ready.

Next, he would just wait for the Provincial College Entrance Exam Combat Ranking Tournament in three days to officially kick off.