Thinking about it, he had only two options. One was to sleep on an empty stomach and hope he woke up close to the time for breakfast, and the other was to try to pass the time using the xueqi pills.
If he practiced enough and spread the time out, he could try to last about an hour or two, depending on how much time each xueqi pill could give him.
In the end, Dalvin realized that sleep was inescapable. He was currently famished and desperate, not sleepy, so he would have to risk it and make a crazy play. He would have to pop the xueqi pills and then rely on the fatigue that came after to knock himself out.
Unfortunately, the simulation could only show up to one hour. Otherwise, Dalvin would be able to tell whether he would actually wake up in the morning or if his life functions would just cease while he slept.
Thinking about his dark situation, it would already be a kindness for anyone who got locked up in this place to die in their sleep. Maybe he should just give up and let nature take its course…
Dalvin's face changed, and he slapped his face to beat away those negative thoughts.
Such nonsense!
He had just begun walking on the path of esoteric power, and he wanted to give up without seeing anything fruitful? He at least needed to obtain the ability to fly in the air and destroy planets with a single ball of energy before he could think of hanging up the belt!
With that in mind, Dalvin first began a simulation to see if there would be any danger in taking xueqi pills while hungry.
[10.27 pm. You realized that entering the Cooking and Dining Area was dangerous if you did not adhere to the right timing, so you decided to only sate your hunger at the right moment to avoid that gruesome fate you foresaw.]
[10.27 pm. You popped a xueqi pill and immediately forgot about your hunger as you were pumped with energy. Now being at the Skin Tempering Realm's early stage, you could feel the miraculous effects of the xueqi pull even more.]
[10.47 pm. To your shock, the xueqi pill easily lasted for over 20 minutes, and you didn't feel the medicinal effects dissipating. It was still going strong, and you also noticed that your blood energy was continually active all this time as you punched the wall, causing your skin to be thoroughly tempered all this while.]
[10.57 pm. The effects of the xueqi pill finally wore off, but you immediately realized that there was no 'buzzed' state, just straight fatigue. You collapsed to the ground weakly immediately, like a person who had not consumed anything for days.]
[10.57 pm. You understood that it would be suicide to try and take another xueqi pill from here, so you gave in to the fatigue and slept immediately.]
[11.00 pm. You are asleep.]
[11.10 pm. You are still asleep.]
[11.20 pm. You are still asleep.]
[11.27 pm. You are still asleep, and no dangers have befallen you.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
'Well, it seems alright?' Dalvin thought as he hesitated.
Even though he was really hungry, it was not to the point of collapsing to the ground and barely being able to get up. If he pushed himself that far, he was not entirely sure he could even muster the energy to eat even if the food was placed before him.
Still, it was much better than spending every waking hour like this. If this was what people who suffered from famine and starvation went through, Dalvin truly felt like they were the most pitiable people in the world.
Dalvin popped the xueqi pill and began practicing immediately when he felt the surge of energy within him. He struck the wall quickly and firmly, putting in his all and not caring about the pain in any way.
Immediately, he felt the difference from when he was using his own energy to practice. Not only was the surge of blood qi more responsive, but it was far more voluminous and fierce, surging through every part of his body at once and thoroughly tempering everything at once.
Even while he practiced, Dalvin understood why his buzzed state did not exist, especially when his practice surpassed the previous 15 minutes in the simulation and 10 minutes in reality during the entry phase to become 30 minutes in the simulation and now 20 minutes in reality at Skin Tempering.
It was due to efficiency!
At the entry phase, he could not temper his body, still learning how to even mobilize blood energy in the first place. As such, the majority of the power of the xueqi pill went to waste, being used more like an energy drink instead of a battery.
The buzzed state was just the leftover blood qi idly wandering around his body until it died down. In the Skin Tempering Realm, whether it was the simulated him without the help of the system or the real him with the help of the system, every single drop of the xueqi pill was now utilized fully, leaving nothing behind.
So there was nothing to 'buzz' about, just straight fatigue afterward.
Dalvin finished the practice and immediately felt a wave of fatigue and weakness hit him. He had already been prepared, so he lay down against the wall in his familiar sleeping position.
However, actually feeling the fatigue head-on caused Dalvin to be frightened. It felt like someone had drugged him with a cartload of sedatives, and he could barely exercise his limbs.
In fact, a more familiar analogy would be the feeling of sleep paralysis. Being completely conscious but unable to move your body at all as if it was not yours anymore.
Dalvin fought to stay awake as he checked the amount of blood qi he had gained this time.
[Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 63/200 (Unable to Breakthrough)]
'So each pill gives 60 points rather than 30. I wasted half in the entry phase… how wasteful,' Dalvin thought tiredly before yawning.
However, he did not sleep right away despite feeling the call. He launched another simulation just to be sure.
[10.48 pm. You could not resist the fatigue anymore and fell asleep.]
[10.50 pm. You are asleep, and no anomalies occur.]
[11.00 pm. You are still asleep with no signs of danger.]
[11.10 pm. You are still asleep, though your complexion has slightly worsened.]
[11.20 pm. You are still asleep. Nothing occurs.]
[11.30 pm. You are still asleep, and your breathing becomes slightly more labored.]
[11.40 pm. You are still asleep, and nothing dangerous occurs around you.]
[11.48 pm. You still sleep peacefully.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Seeing this, Dalvin yawned and could no longer hold back. While the simulation did reveal some worrying elements, fatigue dulled his sense of danger and fear, making him shrug in his mind.
He was so tired. Besides, after getting some sleep, he could probably sort out any problem that came his way. It was with that thought in mind that Dalvin dove into slumber right away.