Friday.

"Cough, cough..."

Suppressing the feeling of dizziness, Lin Guang crawled out of the meditation pod stark naked, coughed a few times to expel the fluid from his lungs, then took a deep breath in and exhaled.

"Hoo—"

He calmed down and just as he lifted his head, he saw Doctor Kaiwen in a white coat.

"Your status has been somewhat off lately."

She stood just one meter in front of Lin Guang, with a solemn expression on her beautiful face, simply staring at Lin Guang as if leaving the explanation entirely up to him.

"...?"

Startled, Lin Guang asked in confusion, "Off?"

Dr. Kaiwen didn't reply, she just slightly furrowed her brows and handed over a small mirror from somewhere, which Lin Guang took out of reflex and looked into.

Then he was stunned.

Lin Guang's exterior in this life wasn't bad, he was aware of that himself, with distinct facial lines, a straight nose, and gentle brows. His pupils were dark and warm, and with glasses on, he often gave the impression of an exemplary student matching his academic record.

But at this moment, what was reflected in the mirror was a cold face.

The Lin Guang facing him was expressionless, his features hard as a glacier, his eyes still holding the dark golden glow activated by the recent high-pressure meditation, resembling two drifting flames in his eye sockets.

He didn't look like a student, but like a machine clad in human skin, cold and without feeling.

—He did look quite in line with Dr. Kaiwen's usual style.

Lin Guang had a sudden nonsensical thought.

He closed his eyes, rubbed his brow, and put down the mirror, trying as much as possible to revert to his old self, putting on a sunny smile: "Sorry, I've been using skill crystals privately recently. It might have influenced me a bit."

"[Explosion Fist], right?"

"..."

"You've been activating the fire attribute mode in the training room a lot lately, so I observed just a little."

Kaiwen looked at him as if wanting to say more, then said, "Out of the four thousand seven hundred and twenty-four skill crystals that President Rote has made over the past decade and sent across the country, forty-six of them were [Explosion Fist], particularly recording his battle with the Demon-Eating Tiger Shark two hundred and sixty-six years ago."

Lin Guang shook his head: "I really can't hide anything from you."

"This information is easily available." She shook her head, asking, "How many times have you used it?"

"Eighteen times, I suppose."

Doctor Kaiwen was momentarily speechless at his words. After a few seconds, she asked Lin Guang, "Aren't you afraid, doesn't it hurt?"

Lin Guang thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "It hurts a lot."

Kaiwen sighed softly.

President Rote's skill crystals were indeed quite infamous.

Not in a positive sense, but negatively.

All Spirit Masters well-versed in history know that in those days, the thirty-something Rote was not the cheerful, talkative old man seen today, but rather had a hint of madness, as though he was bent on self-destruction.

This was because he had a contract and was enslaved by a magical beast named [Flame of Anger].

At that time, Rote had to endure the burning of the [Flame of Anger] inundating his body day and night, along with its relentless mental corrosion. Additionally, his sensitivity to pain was several times that of an average person.

But he never showed fear or avoidance, often venting his madness through battles, and frequently using his body to withstand all the skills he could take flat out without any barrier-type Spirit Patterns, only to suppress and subdue the Flame of Anger imprisoned in his spirit through more intense pain.

The [Explosion Fist] skill crystal perfectly replicated the sensation of "being eroded by the Flame of Anger," so the experience of pain when hit by the skill was also several times that of normal circumstances.

Plus, the opponent was a Tier Five Magical Beast, and an extraordinarily malevolent Demon-Eating Tiger Shark at that.

The might and spiritual impact of such an encounter could easily leave a deep and indelible mark, and shadow in the heart of a student living in times of peace.

While it indeed had benefits like enhancing reflexes, mental resilience, and strength, with usage conditions set below Tier Three, few met the criteria. Those "prodigies" cultivated by families and sects who qualify typically have no need for such an approach to build spiritual strength, nor require a mere Blue Grade skill like Explosion Fist.

But Lin Guang was different.

Despite both parents being researchers, they had passed away early, leaving no inheritance behind. He indeed came from a humble background, yet had withstood eighteen trials of this nature over this period, showing up daily for further meditation, as if nothing had happened.

He had even learnt the One-Star [Etherium Charging] on his own.

This willpower was indeed remarkable.

Yet ultimately, he was just a teenager.

Wouldn't the string snap if pulled too tightly?

"Even if you can endure that impact, you shouldn't every day..."

As she spoke, Dr. Kaiwen paused again, seeming to recall something from the past, her eyelids drooping, and the serious tone in her voice unexpectedly softened. She said gently, "You've already done wonderfully, there's no need to push yourself so hard."

"Don't stress yourself too much over the exchange competition, the road ahead is long, short-term wins or losses don't matter much."

"Pushing myself...?"

Lin Guang mused on this thought.

He grabbed a towel from a nearby table, wiped his body, and said, "Thank you for your concern, Teacher Kaiwen, but you might have misunderstood something."

"I'm not exerting myself solely for an exchange competition... no, that doesn't seem right, I really want to win, and I want it badly."

"But I'm not forcing myself."

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