Lu Heng suspected that the flower poison ginseng might not be able to help him improve his talent anymore.
This was because the second time he ate the ginseng, the time he spent unconscious had obviously shortened. When he ate it the third time, he did not even lose consciousness.
According to his previous line of thinking, his talent increased because something in his head had stimulated his brain and body when it resisted the ginseng's poison, causing both to evolve.
Perhaps that thing had already adapted to the poison of the flower poison ginseng and could easily deal with its corrosive effect on his body. In that case, it would no longer stimulate his brain and body.
Thus, consuming the flower poison ginseng would likely no longer cause him to fall into a coma.
If his conjectures were correct, then eating the flower poison ginseng again would probably be of no use.
'I might need to increase the dosage. I might need to eat ten, or even twenty flower poison ginsengs in one go,' Lu Heng thought to himself.
Of course, he could not verify his conjecture because flower poison ginseng was too expensive. The price for one on the black market was usually one synthetic food stamp for one plant.
In other words, he would have to exchange ten catties of synthetic food for a single plant, and 100 catties for ten plants.
To Lu Heng, this was a sky-high price.
He could not even afford one or two plants at the moment.
"Sigh, there's no way to get additional food stamps either…" Lu Heng sighed helplessly.
Had it not been for Liu Shiyao's kindness, the food stamps he earned from working on the farm would not have even been enough for two people to eat their fill.
How could he have enough food stamps to exchange for more flower poison ginsengs?
Previously, he had been willing to exchange food stamps for it because he had lost all hope in life and simply wanted to gamble on a chance to change his fate.
However, his mentality had long changed since then. He could not afford to engage in such loss-making ventures anymore.
One had to know that flower poison ginseng was not a rare plant in the wilderness outside the city. It was only difficult to obtain because its distribution was controlled by the government. That was the reason why the plant was sold at a high price on the black market.
Suddenly, the idea of venturing outside the city surfaced again in Lu Heng's mind. If Xiaoxiao had not asked him to promise that he would not take any risks at this time, he might really have tried his luck.
'There are flower poison ginseng and edible monsters outside the city. Unfortunately, with my current level of strength...'
Thinking this, Lu Heng surprised even himself.
When did I become so bold?
When he was still in school, he was like any other student. Whenever the topic of the wilderness outside the city was brought up, his expression would pale with fear.
It was said that even those in the martial arts class were afraid to leave the city and explore the wilderness.
Yet some, now, all he could think of was about how much he wanted to explore the wilderness.
The only thing that stopped him from doing so was his lack of strength.
'Could this be because my dire situation stimulated my potential and mentality?'
Lu Heng could not help but recall the many things he had experienced during this period of time, as well as the subsequent changes in his mentality.
He realized that, unknowingly, his courage had grown substantially.
Everything seemed to have started with that first flower poison ginseng.
At that time, after he bought the flower poison ginseng from the black market, he had repeatedly struggled with his thoughts. In the end, he made up his mind and ate one.
Ever since that moment, his mentality had slowly started changing.
Perhaps his courage grew because he had personally experienced life and death, or perhaps it was due to his newfound talent, which also affected his outlook on life.
'The wilderness isn't that scary. The only reason I'm afraid is because I'm not strong enough.'
Lu Heng suddenly remembered a sentence he had heard somewhere before.
All fear stemmed from the lack of strength.
'If I become stronger, and bring along a good saber, it's not impossible for me to explore the wilderness.'
Looking at the saber in his hand, Lu Heng suddenly made up his mind.
He decided to find a way to explore the wilderness.
For some reason, he really wanted to take the saber in his hand and fight with the monsters to avenge his parents and his big brother.
He had heard that if a martial artist wanted to grow quickly, they would have to experience actual combat and undergo the baptism of blood and fire.
The more Lu Heng thought about it, the more excited he became. It was as if he could already see himself fighting with the monsters.
However, he quickly calmed down.
Common sense told him that it was unwise to act upon a moment of passion. If he really wanted to venture into the wilderness, he had to be fully prepared.
At the very least, he had to obtain a saber that was actually capable of killing monsters. After that, he had to study and understand the habits and characteristics of the various monsters in the wilderness.
Otherwise, even if he had the strength of a quasi-martial artist, going out to the wilderness would be suicidal.
'Take it slow. As long as I work hard, I'll definitely be able to do it someday!'
Tightening his grip on the saber in his hand, Lu Heng started practicing the army-breaking saber technique again.
Time passed quickly.
Unknowingly, Lu Heng had practiced the saber technique for an entire morning.
He turned his head to take a look at the clock on the wall and discovered that it was almost twelve o'clock. He hurriedly sheathed his saber and jogged over to the equipment room.
However, not long after he left the training hall, he ran into Fan Kun, who had just rushed to the dojo from his home.
Lu Heng immediately recalled Liu Shiyao's matter when he saw Fan Kun. He quickly stopped and said, "Fan Kun, wait."
"What's wrong?" Fan Kun asked. At the same time, he noticed the saber in Lu Heng's hand.
"F*ck, where did you get this saber from?"
"We'll talk about this later. Tell me why you told Big Mouth Jia about that matter." Lu Heng spoke anxiously.
"Which matter?" Fan Kun was confused.
"About Grandmaster Liu's daughter," Lu Heng replied in a low voice.
"Grandmaster Liu's daughter?" Fan Kun rolled his eyes and immediately understood what was going on. He quickly explained, "Lu Heng, it's really not my fault. I was just trying to be a good samaritan."
"Yesterday, Big Mouth Jia started spreading rumors that you had a girlfriend. I went up to him and told him that she was definitely not your girlfriend. After all, she was Grandmaster Liu's daughter."
"In the end, that kid insisted that you managed to seduce her with your looks. He also said that there were many girls who admired you in junior high."
"In addition, he kept insisting that he saw you receive her token of affection with his own two eyes."
"I don't know what you received from her, so I couldn't help you clarify this matter."
"Forget it. It's useless to say anything more. Anyway, it was my fault. I shouldn't have interfered in that matter."
At the end of his explanation, Fan Kun sighed helplessly.
"Is that all you told Big Mouth Jia?" Lu Heng asked worriedly.
"I swear to God, I only said that she was Grandmaster Liu's daughter. I didn't say anything else. If you heard any other rumors, it must be Big Mouth Jia's own invention." Fan Kun quickly replied.
Lu Heng said snappily, "You knew very well that Big Mouth Jia likes to make things up. Why did you even tell him in the first place?"
"Sigh, I was just trying to help you clarify things," Fan Kun explained.
"Let's not talk about whether or not you even managed to help me clarify things. By telling Big Mouth Jia, you're inadvertently damaging the reputation of others." Lu Heng was speechless.
When Fan Kun heard his words, he immediately smiled and said, "You're concerned about her, after all. Why? Have you fallen in love with her?"
"Stop dreaming. There's no such thing between us," Lu Heng immediately denied the allegation.
"Why are you so flustered about it? There has to be a reason."
After saying that, Fan Kun put his arm around Lu Heng's shoulder and said, "It's normal to have a crush. I also have a girl that I secretly like. We're in the same boat."
"Sigh, it's a pity that we're going to enter military service soon. We don't even know if we're going to live or die yet, so how could we dare to confess?"
"If we don't confess, we'll lose face. But if we do, things might be even worse."
"So, forget it."
As Fan Kun spoke, he observed Lu Heng's expression. When he saw that Lu Heng was still in a state of deep contemplation, he asked, "Are you worried that Big Mouth Jia's nonsense will affect Beauty Liu's reputation?"
"What do you think?" Lu Heng glanced at him.
Fan Kun touched his forehead in embarrassment when he heard Lu Heng's reply. He frowned and said, "This is really quite difficult to handle. No one can control that kid's mouth. The more you try to explain, the more excited and insistent he becomes. He might even invent more nonsense with that strange imagination of his."
"But then again, that kid is also a coward. If you give him a good beating, he definitely won't dare to spread rumors about you behind your back anymore."
"Take Senior Brother Xu for example. Every time that kid sees Senior Brother Xu, he behaves obediently."
When Lu Heng heard this, he concluded that this was the only way to resolve this issue.
He had to use his strength to suppress Big Mouth Jia and make him shut up.
Fan Kun noticed that Lu Heng was eager to give it a try and quickly said, "Hey, don't tell me that you actually want to pick a fight with him?"
"Let me remind you. That kid scored over 200 points in the fist strength test, and his reaction speed, explosive force, and endurance are all better than mine. You definitely can't beat him."