A young girl was sitting on a bench waiting for someone.
She had short, wavy black hair and eyes just as black.
Her skin was a healthy beige color.
She was wearing a simple sports short and a sports bra.
Finally, Li Huang smiled when she saw Xie Ning approaching and got up to go to her.
"Alright, Li Huang, you wanted to train, so let's train. This will be your fourteenth birthday present, so you better work hard!"
Li Huang nodded as she got a serious look on her face.
"You have been training for some time now, and you do have a good foundation, not to mention your natural physique being very good, so, all things considered, we can begin with a higher level of training."
The two were in the backyard of the place; most workers go there usually to breathe the fresh air or even to appreciate a few of the flowers planted around. Today, however, everyone was paying attention to Li Huang and Xie Ning, who were about to train her and betting on how long she would last.
"I say she will quit forever after... one hour?"
"One hour, I bet on thirty minutes!"
"Well, you have to consider this is basically her dream, so I think she will go beyond the simple thirty minutes."
"That's a good point, but still, I will say forty-five minutes."
Xie Ning just shook her head, looking at those women betting on Li Huang's suffering.
"Don't pay attention to them; most of them chickened out when training with me when they were your age."
"Aunty Xie Ning, how old are you?" Li Huang was now a bit intrigued.
"Old enough to know I taught you better manners! Now get in the tub!" Xie Ning frowned at Li Huang's question while the other woman suppressed their laughter.
Li Huang just shook her head and got inside a tub filled with water in the middle of the backyard.
Xie Ning took out a pouch from her hip and picked a few herbs, flowers, and roots and tossed them inside the tub of water.
"This type of training is usually reserved for the rich, but considering that everyone chipped in for your training, we managed to afford it, so you better not leave a single fragment of those medicines in that tub!"
"What type of training is this even? Will soaking up in those herbs make me stronger?"
"It's called a medical bath, a special type of training given to those that either have the money or can't improve further with normal training; you are the second case."
"But not because you lack potential; hell, you are the strongest kid around here, and that's saying something. You are just improving so little with much effort, so this is the only type of training we can give you that will improve your strength."
"Anyway, there are five types of medicinal plants I tossed in the bath: one for fire, earth, metal, water, and wood."
"I had to use a special balance to make sure there were equal parts of all; anyway, this medical bath will improve your both and keep it balanced and prepare a foundation for the future. Few folks have to use different herbs or can't even use all elements, so consider yourself lucky!"
Li Huang nodded; it made some sense inside her head.
"Okay, Li Huang, I will ignite the fire under the tub, and the medical properties of the plants will flow into the water and into your body. Try and stay submerged for as long as you can and only go up to take a breath."
Li Huang got a serious look on her face and nodded. She then began preparing by quickly breathing in and out as quickly as she could to take all the carbon from inside her body.
She then took a deep breath as she saw a small ember fly from Xie Ning's hand into a pile of firewood under the tub and plunged herself underwater.
immediately after, the plants in the tub vibrated slightly and began flooding the water with their medicinal prowess
The water slowly turned green while Li Huang felt small needles entering her body.
The feeling of the medicinal substance entering her body transformed from small needles entering her skin to piercing her muscles to piercing her organs to piercing her bones and piercing her bone marrow.
not a single part of her body felt safe
After some time, the woman began worrying for Li Huang.
Just as Xie Ning was about to pull Li Huang out, she surfaced, took another deep breath, and went back underwater.
"How long was she under?"
"Three minutes, I think? give or take"
"That's a lot; I think only a few can hold their breath for three minutes at her age."
As Li Huang was submerged, she did not hear anything; as a matter of fact, she felt like she was dying. Everything in her body was hurting, and she did not have a lot of oxygen left, which was fine because the lack of oxygen made it easier to handle the pain.
Xie Ning frowned a bit looking at the medicinal bath and quickly tossed another five herbs in.
"Already? Xie Ning, are you trying to kill the poor girl, or did she really absorb the medicine that quickly?" One of the women quickly stood up, her face a mix of seriousness and concern.
"Look at it yourself; that water was turning clear; there are even some clear spots."
A few women approached and looked at the water with a serious expression; there were indeed some clear spots.
"How can this girl be so talented in everything and be even more talented in cultivation? How can she even absorb this much medicinal power in such a short time without exploding?"
Xie Ning shook her head.
"Probably her father's side or something; at least I made the right call to only buy potential enhancement herbs."
"That's another issue. Who the hell is her father? Li Ai never told us anything about him."
"That's for her to learn in the future if she wishes to; for now we can only help and shelter her."
Xie Ning continued observing the water and adding herbs when necessary.
It was only after the fifth replacement that Li Huang stopped absorbing all the medicinal water like crazy.
After two hours, Li Huang pushed herself out of the water, and just as she was about to go back in, Xie Ning pulled her out.
"Alright, enough for now; you absorbed everything in the tub. Get up and run laps around the backyard; put these on first." Xie Ning gave Weighted bracelets, anklets, and vests
Li Huang breathed heavily as she nodded and put them on.
With her body soaking wet and pain still all around her body, she began running.
She only ran a bit before she had to stop and take deep breaths, but Xie Ning just slapped her, causing her to go back to running.
"Each stop is one slap!" Xie Ning screamed at Li Haung as she ran.
and just as she said, each time Li Huang had to stop to breathe, she was slapped in her butt.
It was only when the afternoon was arriving that Xie Ning allowed Li Huang to stop running to go eat.
"Don't take the weights off!" Xie Ning screamed at Li Huang as soon as she began trying to take the weights off, so she only sighed and went to eat while drenched in sweat and with the weights on her body.
All the girls began teasing Li Huang, asking if she really wanted to continue training, but the only response they got was an angry glare from Li Huang that caused them all to laugh.
As Li Huang was having her lunch, it felt a bit weird for her; her arm was way too heavy to lift the chopsticks up to her mouth.
After lunch, Xie Ning made Li Huang continue training for the rest of the day and night until she was at the brink of exhaustion.
Xie Ning even had to help her take a bath and put her in bed.
"Hope you are ready; it's the same thing tomorrow."
Li Huang grunted and turned her head to sleep. "Good night."
Xie Ning smiled seeing her "Good Night."
While sleeping, Li Huang's body was undergoing a few transformations.
primarily her overall potential
secondly was her body's overall strength
As soon as Li Huang woke up, Xie Ning already had a new set of weights for her.
Li Huang changed the old weights for the new ones before going into the tub in the backyard.
After almost three hours of the medicinal bath, Li Huang began running and doing other exercises.
jumping jacks, pull-ups, push-ups, squats, planks, and crunches, among others, each one designed to train a part of her body
While running, Li Huang began asking Xie Ning some questions.
"What even are those plants you toss in the tub with me?" she asked while panting.
"Well, during a medicinal bath, there are two types of plants you can use: direct enhancers and potential enhancers."
"Direct enhancers are a done deal. You take the bath and puff; you are stronger, they hurt less, and they are quicker to absorb. Potential enhancers, on the other hand, hurt more, take more time to absorb, and the results are not immediate; they only enhance the potential of the body; you have to work to get results with them."
"And the so-called plants I used in your medicinal bath are all potential enhancers."
"A neat thing is that potential and direct enhancers conflict with one another; you either get the immediate and less, or you invest and get the long-term benefit."
"And in the rate you are going, in just two years you will absorb all medicinal prowess there is to absorb."
"What do you mean?" Is there a limit to the body or a limit to the plants?"
"It's both really." Xie Ning slapped Li Huang's ass as she had stopped running for a bit, and she began running once more.
"A body, no matter what, can only handle medicinal prowess until a certain point; if you give a mortal too much of anything, they die. and there is also a limit of mortal plants that can enhance one's potential; not all mortal plants can enhance potential."
"So, like I was saying, in two years you should have absorbed all the medicinal prowess from all potential enhancing mortal plants."
"There is a limit then? of the amount I can absorb?"
"No, it's the amount of benefits the medicinal bath can give you; you already have depleted the benefits from five plants."
"Can you explain that better?"
"Sure, the first use of anything is a two hundred percent benefit as long as it is ingested in the right way; if you ingest something in the best way, it can reach a three hundred percent benefit."
"The second use is only one hundred or two hundred if you previously had a three hundred percent benefit."
"Third use goes to ninety or one hundred."
"Then eighty all the way until it's zero percent."
"But it's more like a progression really; the numbers aren't that fixed. Depending on circumstances, you can get a higher or lower benefit, but the three hundred and zero are fixed constants."
"So, now there are five plants out there that, no matter what, won't affect me in any way?" Li Huang asked in a frown as she ran
"Well, if used in alchemy, the plants go back to affecting you, as they are no more considered their individual selves but a completely different thing."
"Enough chit chat; get on the ground and give me fifty!"
"Aye aye!" Li Huang giggled as she got on the ground.
"A smartass, huh? Let me get on top of you; maybe that will give you a reason to giggle."
Xie Ning sat on Li Huang's back as she struggled to get off the floor, her arms trembling.
Li Huang gritted her teeth and began doing push-ups while Xie Ning continued explaining some things to her.