"Hmm, hmm, hmm..." Casio groaned a few times, but ultimately did not cry out loud. He forced himself not to turn his head away.
The hospital nurse was holding a brown bottle, which contained a black potion exuding a pungent odor.
Casio had used this stuff when he was injured last time, and it was indeed very effective. Its only flaw was that it was so painful. It felt like someone was rubbing salt into his wounds.
Controlling his breathing to remain steady, Casio slightly looked up, cooperating with the nurse applying the potion. This time, he had fewer wounds that were torn open, most of them were faint bruises under the skin.
Therefore, the irritation from the potion was much less than last time.
"It is done. For the next two days, do not eat spicy food. Avoid getting the wounds wet. You just need to come and apply this potion once in the morning and once in the evening," the nurse with a golden ponytail said as she replaced the stopper, sealing the bottle. Then she glanced at Casio with some interest and asked, "How come? Did you get into another fight with the guy in the next room?"
"No, it's that person who rallied his fellows to beat me up…"
After pondering for a moment, Casio made a slight modification to his narration. He believed in doing a thorough job no matter what, so he made sure to stick with his story no matter who he was facing.
"You are really impressive. The injuries you got fighting six people were less severe than Finn's." The nurse put the vial back into the medical kit.
"Perhaps I am better at taking a beating," Casio shook his head.
"Hahaha!"
At this moment, loud cries echoed from the hallway. It's not as extreme as screams of agony, but it is definitely hysterical.
The female nurse rolled her eyes, finding it annoying. Such a strong reaction to a simple application of potion, screaming so loud as though someone was being murdered in the hospital.
"Palin, Palin! Come quick, we're short-handed here, we can't restrain him! You're done there, aren't you?" A door in the corridor opened abruptly, and a man in a white lab coat called out loudly.
"Done! I'm coming!"
Palin apologized to Casio and told him he could leave. Then she hurried off to Finn's ward down the corridor.
A cool wind blew from outside, gently swaying the curtains by the window.
Casio slowly stood up, an involuntary smile spreading across his face. On the top right corner, fifteen more scores were added.
All combined, there was an addition of a month's time.
*****************
The healing potion from the hospital worked wonders. As Nurse Palin said, the wounds and bruises all healed in just two days.
Casio then returned to Team Four and resumed training. After two fights, Casio's reputation as a madman named Li Wei spread throughout the Youth Training Camp. He was recognized everywhere he went.
Even the cafeteria auntie would take an extra glance at Casio while she was serving meals, and the tremors in her hand seemed to have temporarily ceased.
As time went by, Casio gradually adapted to the double training volume. Originally, he used to exceed the training hours by one or two hours every noon and night, but now he firmly kept the overtime within half an hour. Occasionally, when the weather conditions were good, his efficiency increased, and he could even complete on time.
Whether it was lunch or dinner, Casio always managed to have a full meal before the cafeteria closed. Coupled with the simple supper the five boys from his dorm cobbled together at night, Casio had ample and balanced intake of nutrients and energy daily.
With sufficient nutrition, adequate training, and enough sleep, puberty was a time when the body was developing at its fastest. Casio benefited from this, and the effects of his exercise gradually showed.
His body was no longer so skinny. You could vaguely see muscles on his arms and abdomen. His skin gradually turned a bronze color, no longer as pale as before. Even his height seemed to have increased.
Every night, Casio would dream about stumbling down the stairs, or running for his life but being unable to move. These were signs his skeleton was growing rapidly.
As his body developed, the effectiveness of the Basic Fighting Training naturally improved. In addition to Casio gradually adapting to and familiarizing himself with the double training volume, he continued to train himself even after the punishment period ended. A breakthrough occurred within a mere month and a half.
Under the blaze of the sun, sunlight penetrated through the thin white clouds and streamed onto the mountainside. The square martial arts field was divided into five squares, filled with tiny black dots in motion.
The breeze blew gently, quietly stirring the white clouds under the warm wind.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!" The sound of striking echoed continuously. At a corner of the martial arts field, a group of young boys dressed in grey and white were incessantly swinging their arms. They repeatedly hit the wooden stakes with powerful punches.
The surface of the leather-coated wooden stake repeatedly sunk in and bounced back.
In front of one of these wooden stakes, a boy quickly took a few steps forward. A force burst from his waist, and he swung his arm out forcefully.
The fist hit the leather surface with a crack. The base of the wooden stake shook slightly, stirring up a bit of dust at the bottom of the stake pit.
"Whew…" Casio took a few deep breaths: "Finally…"
'Combat Movements (Elementary): 100.0%'→
'Combat Movements (Advanced): 0.1%'
Then there is the 'aerobic frame' which had already been completed five days ago.
'Aerobic frames (Second stage): 3.8%'
Casio finally achieved the second stage in both.
In the top right corner of his vision, the text annexed jumped down one line, and "Basic Fighting Technique: Elementary (Two layers in total) " appeared.
Casio already anticipated this as he had inquired from Lixia about the specific levels. The 'aerobic frame', 'combat movements', and 'explosive techniques' together form the Wind Elephant Basic Combat Technique.
Both the 'aerobic framework' and 'combat movements' are divided into two stages. When both are trained to the second stage, you reach the elementary level of the Wind Elephant Basic Combat Technique. To reach the advanced level, you must master the 'Explosive techniques', which have no stages.
After the advanced level of Wind Elephant Basic Combat Technique is completed, and once the test is passed, the practitioner can come into contact with the true Secret Martial Art.
That is the secret behind humans fighting hot weapons with their flesh.
"Whew…" A light breeze lightly brushed past Casio's back.
He jerked, his back suddenly breaking out in goosebumps. He lowered his hands and shook them vigorously.
Casio felt that after the display of the elementary level of the Basic Fighting Technique, his body seemed to undergo some obscure changes.
If he had to describe it, it was probably that his senses had become sharper, and the force throughout his body had become more unified.
After pondering for a moment, he threw a punch at the wooden stake.
Thud!
An idea suddenly struck Casio. This punch was not just a combat action, it seemed also instinctively mixed with the force exerted through the aerobic frame.
Several hours passed, and he slowly retracted his fist.
'Combat Movements (Advanced): 0.5%'
'Aerobic frames (Second stage): 3.9%'
Both increased. The advanced combat movements increased by 0.4%, and the second stage of the aerobic frame increased by 0.1%. Now, Casio had been practicing combat movements all afternoon and hadn't even touched the aerobic frame. But the latter rose by 0.1%.
Is it because both had entered the second stage, merged into a cohesive whole, hence forming the elementary level of the Wind Elephant Basic Combat Technique?
This was an unexpected joy and it could save Casio quite a bit of time.