Chapter 29 Successful Tempering

Lu Heng was very careful and very cautious. He strictly followed the steps to strengthen the qi flow inside his body and guided it through his body.

Perhaps the improvement in his physique and his body’s adaptability to qi helped out here, as the tempering process proceeded smoothly and safely.

Unknowingly, Lu Heng had successfully tempered about 90% of the muscles in his entire body.

Next up was the most crucial part…

The neck.

This part of the body was rich in blood vessels and contained countless nerves. If he accidentally damaged the aorta or the cervical vertebra, he would become a cold corpse.

Therefore, he had to be extremely careful.

‘If I can succeed here, the muscle tempering won’t be difficult for me anymore in the future.’

‘I’d just have to temper it day after day and continuously strengthen the muscles.’

Lu Heng swallowed a mouthful of saliva and gritted his teeth as he guided the qi to flow toward his neck.

Soon, the familiar sensation of swelling could be felt on the muscles of his neck.

This meant that the muscle fibers there were being tempered by the qi and were gradually becoming stronger and stronger.

Of course, every tempering could only strengthen them a tiny bit. It would take time and repeated tempering before there would be a qualitative change.

However, the current Lu Heng naturally would not think so far ahead. He only hoped that nothing would go wrong and everything would go smoothly during this first tempering process.

Time passed by slowly.

Lu Heng focused on controlling the flow of qi with his mind.

If someone suddenly disturbed him at this time, it would definitely result in a dangerous situation.

Fortunately, Xiaoxiao was the only other person in the unit, and she knew that he was resting, so she would definitely not disturb him.

He remembered that once, Xiaoxiao had accidentally fallen from the chair, which he had only discovered after waking up.

During this time, Xiaoxiao had not cried or shouted for fear of waking him up.

‘Almost, just a little bit more!

Lu Heng was excited, but he forced himself to calm down.

Finally, after ten seconds, Lu Heng opened his eyes abruptly, and his facial expression was full of joy.

‘I’ve finally succeeded!’

‘I’ve completely tempered all my muscles!’

This achievement was worth celebrating, so Lu Heng could not suppress the joy in his heart.

Instructor Wu once said in class that even high school martial arts students had to wait until their sophomore year to truly completely temper all their muscles.

Only those who had outstanding talent and were bold and careful enough could completely temper all of their muscles during their first year of high school.

He had managed this in just two days, which meant that he had surpassed countless people in this aspect.

Of course, this was mainly because he had no choice and had to take risks.

If those outstanding students of the high school martial arts class also dared to take risks like him, they might also be able to pull it off.

After calming down, Lu Heng rubbed his stomach and found that it was no longer as swollen and uncomfortable as before, so he lay down on his back.

He still had to work at night, so he had to catch up on some sleep at least.

Otherwise, things would get dicey if he became sleepy while working.

In the evening, Lu Heng was woken up by the alarm clock. He got up and left the room to cook dinner.

After placing the synthetic food chunks in the pot to cook, he brought the two books with him to the dining table, fully prepared to read while he was waiting.

However, as soon as he sat down, Lu Xiaoxiao asked, “Second brother, did that sister give you these two books too?”

Her question stumped Lu Heng, leaving him momentarily at a loss.

He quickly thought about it in his mind and gradually organized his thoughts.

Based on what Xiaoxiao had said in the afternoon earlier, this little girl probably became suspicious when she saw him carrying the synthetic food supplies through the door the day before yesterday. She was probably curious about the origins of the food stamps used to purchase those supplies.

It was just that for some reason, she had been holding it in.

Lu Heng could not help but recall the evening when Lu Xiaoxiao suddenly lost control of her emotions and asked him to throw her away.

Perhaps at that time she had already been suspicious that the extra food stamps had been given by some older sister.

Otherwise, why would she have an outburst like that?

Lu Heng could understand Xiaoxiao’s feelings. He also knew that she was psychologically dependent on him. After all, he was her only remaining family member in this world. In addition, she was paralyzed and could not go out or contact other people.

Therefore, in her eyes, he was her entire world.

Therefore, when she discovered that there were other people who wanted to compete with her for his attention, she probably felt helpless and afraid.

Lu Heng could understand this feeling very well because he had experienced this feeling before when Xiaoxiao had just been born.

As soon as Xiaoxiao was born, their parents transferred most of their love and attention to her. Lu Heng felt like he had competed with her for their love and attention.

However, unlike Xiaoxiao, at that time, he only wanted to regain his parents’ love. Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, wanted him to throw her away so that she would not be a burden to him.

‘Xiaoxiao is much more mature than I was back then, and her thinking is also meticulous. I’d better not lie to her,’ Lu Heng thought to himself.

He then looked at Lu Xiaoxiao and said, “Xiaoxiao, the food stamps that big brother earned by working on the farm are indeed not enough for the two of us. There is indeed an elder sister who was kind enough to help us.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, Lu Heng let out an inexplicable sigh of relief, as if he had gotten rid of some burden.

“Second brother, is that older sister pretty?” Lu Xiaoxiao asked.

Lu Heng thought for a moment. He then nodded and said, “Yes, she’s very pretty.”

“Then she’s worthy of you,” Lu Xiaoxiao said seriously.

When Lu Heng heard this, his facial expression was a contorted mess of emotions. He secretly wondered why his younger sister was becoming more and more like their mother.

Back when their mother was talking about their big brother’s marriage, a similar conversation had taken place.

This made Lu Heng wonder if it was his understanding of the world that was wrong.

“Xiaoxiao, she’s Grandmaster Liu’s daughter, so it’s not a question of whether she’s worthy of me, but whether I’m worthy of her, understand?”

Lu Heng stroked Lu Xiaoxiao’s head and said.

He felt that clarifying Liu Shiyao’s identity would help to eliminate Xiaoxiao’s anxiety.

“Is Grandmaster Liu very powerful?” Lu Xiaoxiao asked.

“Yes, he’s very powerful. He’s a famous big shot in Jiangnan City.” Lu Heng explained.

Hearing this, Lu Xiaoxiao’s expression looked very complicated. It was as if both joy and pity were etched on her face.

“Second brother, why did that older sister give you the food stamps?” Lu Xiaoxiao asked again.

“Because she found out about your condition and wanted to help us,” Lu Heng replied.

This was indeed Liu Shiyao’s original intention for giving him the food stamps, and not some random made-up reason.

“Second brother, that sister is a good person. It’s a pity that the two of you can’t be together.”

As she said this, Lu Xiaoxiao imitated an adult and sighed.

Lu Heng was speechless.

“Xiaoxiao, don’t let your imagination run wild. But you’re right. That sister is a good person. Brother will definitely return those food stamps to her in the future.”

“Second brother, didn’t you say that that older sister’s father is very powerful? Then she definitely doesn’t need those food stamps. I think it’s better to give her something else in return.”

When Lu Heng heard this, his heart trembled.

He was the adult here, yet his understanding of society and people could not even be compared to Xiaoxiao’s.

Liu Shiyao’s provision of food stamps had truly been timely. This favor was probably not something that could be repaid by simply returning the food stamps.

“Brother will think of a way to repay her in the future.”

Lu Heng scratched his head.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaoxiao did not comment further.

Lu Heng turned his head to look at the stove and found that the pot was not emitting much steam. He picked the Encyclopedia of Small Monsters and opened it.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaoxiao picked up the Handbook of Common Plant Pharmacology as well and opened it to read like him.

The room instantly quieted down. Only the sounds of flipping pages and food boiling could be heard.