Fortunately, this time there were no unexpected incidents.
Yu Hong successfully moved the dried meats and mushrooms out of the room, also bringing out some unmarked luminous stones.
In the end, he took a cast iron pot and a few other tools; there wasn't much else of use left in the room.
By the time he returned to the cave, over an hour had passed.
Breathless, he organized his things and separated them into categories.
The reinforcement of the door was also just completed.
After a moment of shimmering, the reinforced boards fit perfectly into the doorframe, merging seamlessly together.
This made the door at least half thicker than before.
The hefty door was clearly much harder to open now, but it gave Yu Hong a stronger sense of security.
After finishing all this, he closed the door again and sat down on a wooden stool in the cave, starting to boil water.
While waiting, he took a charcoal pencil and began writing and drawing on some newspapers.
The charcoal pencil was thick, making it difficult to write, but for the sake of his health, he endured the discomfort and carefully wrote a line at first.
“Integrated Physical Training Method”
Then under that line, he wrote numbers as a title.
“1—Jog for fifteen minutes every day.”
“2—At least thirty push-ups daily, ten per set.”
“3—At least thirty sit-ups every day, ten per set.”
Just these three lines; quite a simple plan.
Yu Hong then placed his hand on the newspaper with the writing.
He thought of the idea of enhancement for a moment.
Suddenly, the black imprint on the paper rippled, and a black line flowed out, burrowing into the newspaper.
“Insufficient completeness.”
A mechanical voice abruptly reached Yu Hong’s ears.
“??”
Taken aback, he pulled his hand back, staring at the paper with a frown.
This was an attempt he made, to casually jot down some exercise methods while guiding the idea in his mind, hoping the black imprint would enhance them into powerful and effective exercise methods.
But now it seemed…
“Insufficient completeness? What does that mean? What’s missing?”
He picked up the newspaper and examined it closely.
“All the exercise methods are here, and I’ve included the frequency too, so why… wait! I get it.”
His expression changed as he picked up the charcoal pencil and started to add more below.
“4—Make sure to supplement with protein, carbohydrates, and trace elements daily.”
“5—Practice six days a week and rest one day, ensuring at least ten hours of sleep each day.”
With a nod, he flicked the charcoal dust off the paper, set it down, and pressed his hand on it, again beginning to concentrate his thoughts.
Soon, the inquiry came back.
“Is the Integrated Physical Training Method to be enhanced?”
Finally, the required countdown for enhancement appeared on the newspaper: 5 days, 12 hours, and 16 minutes.
Yu Hong felt a surge of joy, realizing he had succeeded in his test!
Not confirming immediately, he released his hand, canceling the enhancement.
It was currently a high energy period, and if he confirmed the enhancement now, the black imprint would be temporarily unusable.
He decided to wait until the high energy period passed.
“Confirming it’s feasible, let’s do it again!”
With growing interest, Yu Hong flipped the newspaper and wrote another title: “Martial Arts.”
Then, listing some basic martial arts techniques he had come across online, he spent a while piecing together a complete set of attack, defense, evasion, and pursuit techniques after much contemplation.
With hopes high, he pressed down on the newspaper.
“Enhance Martial Arts, with a direction towards fantasy cultivation!”
In that moment, having read many novels, he was filled with anticipation for the future, nervously waiting for the black imprint’s response.
Again, ripples surfaced on the black imprint, followed by a black line flowing into the newspaper.
“Insufficient completeness.”
A response quickly rang out.
Yu Hong’s expectations halted; though he guessed this might happen, seeing it for real still brought disappointment.
After pondering a moment, he changed his approach, pressing his hand back on the Integrated Physical Training Method.
“Enhance Integrated Physical Training Method, with the direction as Life Evolution!”
Swoosh.
The black line surged out again, flowing into the newspaper.
Soon, the feedback arrived again.
“Insufficient completeness.”
Yu Hong didn’t feel disheartened.
Instead, he raised his hand again and pressed down.
“Enhance Integrated Physical Training Method, with the direction as Human Limit Training Method.”
Swoosh.
The black line appeared once more, spilling into the newspaper.
This time, the black imprint remained silent for a while.
Finally.
“Is it to be enhanced as Human Limit Training Method?”
“It worked!!!” Yu Hong exclaimed, unable to contain his smile.
He then looked at the number appearing on the newspaper.
“…”
The smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by disappointment and speechlessness.
The number floated in the middle of what he referred to as the Integrated Physical Training Method:
“678 days, 12 hours, and 6 minutes.”
“…” Yu Hong was at a loss for words and stood up to pace around.
He quickly sat back down.
“I must have aimed too high; let me try lowering it.”
Once more, he pressed his hand to the newspaper.
“Enhance Integrated Physical Training Method, direction as: High-Level Physical Enhancement.”
This time, he didn’t get wild with his guesses; having learned that the harder the task, the more time it would take, he no longer aimed too high.
Instead, he kept it to the lowest requirement.
Just a slight inclination towards internal strength and martial arts crossed his mind.
Sure enough, this time, the black imprint inquired again.
“Is it to be enhanced as High-Level Physical Enhancement?”
Numbers also appeared on the newspaper, and this time they looked much healthier: 9 hours and 16 minutes.
“Yes!”
Finally, Yu Hong answered affirmatively.
This timeframe meant it could be achieved with a good night’s sleep.
He wanted to see what the enhanced content would differ from ordinary training methods.
After boiling water in the cave, he had a bit of dried meat and drank some water, and before going out to gather firewood, a voice suddenly called from outside.
“Yu Hong! Yu Hong, are you there?”
A somewhat familiar voice echoed from afar.
Accompanied by the sound of broken branches underfoot, someone quickly approached the cave.
Yu Hong shifted his expression, dashing to the door and peering through the peephole.
In the bright clearing outside, a small figure dressed in camouflage was rushing toward him.
The figure wore a helmet, brown hiking boots, camo tactical vest, goggles, and a black mask for filtering respiratory air.
With this getup, no one could recognize her.
Yet Yu Hong could tell by her voice that it was the stuttering Little Li Yi!
“Is that you, Yi Yi?” he called out quickly. “1726495!”
“2, 3, 2!” The stutterer paused for a moment but quickly replied.
“It’s you!” Yu Hong threw open the door, cautiously checked the surroundings, and stepped out to greet her.
They met quickly on the slope of the clearing.
“You… are okay, that’s great!!” Little Li Yi grabbed Yu Hong’s hand, relief blending with her happiness.
“I thought you… were gone!” She gestured while pulling out a letter from her vest pocket.
“I’m leaving! Here, look at this letter.”
Her face revealed both joy and helplessness.
“Where are you going?” As Yu Hong took in her appearance, an uneasy feeling arose deep within him.
“I’ve been drafted into the United Army; I must follow the main force to distant places right away!” Little Li Yi replied, struggling to explain while pointing to the letter.
“I can only say what’s here.” She added helplessly. “You’re safe, that’s good.”
For a moment, Yu Hong didn’t know what to say.
In this environment, being drafted posed significant danger.
But now the decision had been made.
Swiftly, he took out the letter and unfolded it.
The writing inside was even smoother than before, clearly indicating that either someone helped her write it, or she had gotten better at writing herself.
The letter detailed that once she arrived at town, thanks to the luminous stone she had, she scattered three suspicious shadows and impressed the army with her strength.
They quickly recognized her potential as a recruit.
Little Li Yi had no resistance to this idea; at least as a soldier, she would have food and water without having to scavenge every day.
She would also have clean and neat clothes, gear, and shelter, far better than being alone in a village.
At the end of the letter, she mentioned that the reinforcing luminous stones had caught the attention of the town’s defense team, who could come later to exchange with him.
Though Little Li Yi didn’t know where the luminous stones came from, she understood the motives of those around her.
“Be careful!” Little Li Yi earnestly warned.
“Mm! I know!” Yu Hong nodded.
He had been mentally prepared for giving the luminous stones to Little Li Yi to take to the town; he just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.
“I’m leaving; time is up.” Little Li Yi said finally.
She turned and ran off into the distance, but after running over ten meters, she suddenly turned back to look at Yu Hong.
“You can write letters to the post office!” she shouted, pointing towards the wooded area where the postman had lived.
Since the order had collapsed, Bai Qiu Village’s communication relied entirely on the post office.
The postman was the sole channel for maintaining contact with the outside world.
They received wages and provisions from the state, trained daily to keep fit, and their only job was to relay information and special products from their area to higher authorities.
The letter also mentioned that postmen had additional duties as merchants, carrying local specialties to distant gathering points, selling them, and buying the essential goods all residents needed in return.
Additionally, they could send letters for a fee, but only to nearby outposts and not cheaply.
In the woods,
Yu Hong watched Little Li Yi grow smaller and smaller until she disappeared among the trees.
He understood in his heart that next time they met would be very difficult.
Standing at the cave mouth, he felt deeply unsettled.
Little Li Yi had always been his guiding light from the beginning; without her, he might have perished in the wild or succumbed to illness.
“Wishing you safe travels.”
Silently, he muttered in his heart before turning to enter.
Just as he was about to close the door, he suddenly heard the sound of leaves crunching outside.
The sound was erratic but not hurried or hidden, clearly indicating that the newcomers weren’t trying to conceal their approach.
He turned quickly, shutting the door and peering through the peephole again.
Outside, two figures in camouflage were stepping out of the woods.
Both stood over six feet tall, broad-shouldered, and held slender metal staffs, pushing aside the undergrowth as they approached the cave.
(End of Chapter)