Wang Zhou soaked in the pale green Body Tempering Liquid, his heart pounding rapidly.
Initially, he didn't feel anything unusual, and gradually began to relax.
After a while, his skin started to itch, and the itching grew stronger, gradually turning into pain. In the blink of an eye, the pain intensified.
Waves of intense pain assaulted his nerves.
It seemed like his muscles were spasming, and his bones had been dislocated… Unlike Awakeners, who had transcended life levels through their Awakening, Tang Yu would soak in the Body Tempering Liquid as if enjoying a massage.
But Wang Zhou was just an ordinary person. Even though he used a weakened version of the Body Tempering Liquid, which posed no mortal risk or lingering effects, the body refining experience was nonetheless quite miserable.
As time went on, the pain continued to escalate.
Wang Zhou couldn't help but scream out, "Uh... ah... ah..."
Outside, his close friend wondered why Wang Zhou had a resigned look earlier, and now he heard screams coming from the bathroom.
It was truly heart-wrenching for listeners and tear-inducing for hearers.
He hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the bathroom door, "Old Wang, should I come in and pull you out?"
"Don't… ah!" The voice inside changed its pitch, "I... uh ah, can still... oh, endure... ah ah ah ah!"
The onlookers outside had awkward expressions on their faces.
Though these were screams, why did they increasingly feel titillating, inciting a temptation to go in and check it out?
Half an hour later, Wang Zhou, bare-chested and excited, stood in front of a mirror in the room.
"Zhao, look what this is? Muscles, muscles!" Wang Zhou pointed at his belly, where his previous belly fat had significantly reduced, revealing the faint outlines of muscles, "Who would've thought I, Wang Zhou, could one day develop muscles? And at this rate, an eight-pack isn't a dream."
He indulged in his fantasy, spinning around in front of the mirror a few times.
Unable to stand it, Zhao retorted, "Is this what you call training? What about your face, your face?"
Wang Zhou smiled, brushed his bangs aside, and put on a smug expression, "Just admit you're envious; it's no big deal. Plus, I've got more than just muscles."
He spread his legs, assumed a horse stance, and threw a few serious and solemn punches.
Despite… Wang Zhou's clumsy moves, throwing punches that seemed quite comical, Zhao could still feel a surging power emanating from them, feeling envious.
Wang Zhou patted Zhao's shoulder, the sudden increase in strength nearly knocking Zhao to the ground.
He chuckled awkwardly, "Well, Zhao, don't be disheartened. I reckon the body refining liquid will soon be released in the Sanctuary, then an eight-pack will no longer be just a dream."
After finishing his tasks, Tang Yu went to the training camp for training, which had become a daily mandatory activity.
First was two hours of physical training in the Gravity Room, followed by an hour fighting against Demonized Beasts in the Spirit Space, and occasionally taking on the Lord-exclusive mode.
In the exclusive mode, he had already passed the First Scene and entered the Second Scene, transitioning from a forest environment to a volcanic one… The only constant was Lord Tang experiencing multiple deaths—die, survive, die again.
Being killed by Demonized Beasts, falling into magma and dying; these were just the most common ways to die.
Being crushed to death by a meteor falling from the sky, or suffocated by poisonous gas when cornered, these were just slightly more bizarre ways to die.
And there were things like being squashed to death by a Demonized Beast the size of a mountain range, running into a cave to escape a Demonized Beast only to find the cave mouth was actually another giant Demonized Beast's mouth...
Tang Yu didn't even know what he had gone through, and he couldn't be sure how his combat experience had improved, but his nerves had definitely toughened up.
He was wiping sweat in the Gravity Room when he received a message from outside—Wang Zhou had arrived at the training camp.
It was the first time Wang Zhou had entered the training camp, even though, as a basic level manager, he had the authority to enter the First and Second Layers for free, he just felt this place was not aligned with his fate.
So he had passed by the training camp numerous times without entering.
This time, Director Tang had specifically requested him to come here to test some data after soaking in the Body Tempering Liquid.
Wang Zhou was also somewhat excited; with his muscles grown, he felt an endless surge of strength in his body.
When he saw Director Tang and a few Patrol Team members approaching, he asked, "What tests should I do?"
The Patrol Team members who came over were somewhat surprised, "Fatty Wang, you actually came to the training camp and even want to test? Am I still dreaming today?"
Zhao Ming spoke while pinching the arm of his companion beside him, which earned him a glare.
Wang Zhou smiled proudly, ripping open his shirt and pointing at his belly, "Look, what is this?"
"That beer belly of yours, everyone knows—wait, where did your belly go!" Zhao Ming's eyes widened, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
The curiosity of these Patrol Team members grew; they stopped their training and closely followed the two.
Soon, Tang Yu stood in front of a "Punching Power Tester". He didn't let Wang Zhou test immediately but called two Patrol Team members to demonstrate.
One of the Patrol Team members was an Awakener; the other was an ordinary person.
Zhao Ming volunteered himself and went up to the Punching Power Tester first, taking a deep breath. His body tensed up like a bowstring, and the power from his waist transmitted through his spine to his arm; his right fist swung out and slammed into the punching target of the tester!
Immediately, the display on the Punching Power Tester jumped to a number, "886kg!"
Zhao Ming was very satisfied.
It hadn't been long since he joined the Patrol Team, and his strength had already reached the Middle Stage of the First Layer of Awakening. Initially, his punching power was just over five hundred, but now, with improved strength, training, and mastering some techniques, his punching power had surged to over eight hundred kilograms.
"At this rate, in another day or two, my punching power will break a thousand kilograms."
The ordinary person walked up to the Punching Power Tester, took a deep breath, his eyes focusing, his body instantly tensed, and with a force from his feet transmitted to his waist, as fierce as a tiger or panther sprung from its cage, he swung out a punch!
His movements were much more standard than Zhao Ming's, but after all, as an ordinary man, the target shook much less than before.
Soon, a number also appeared on the Punching Power Tester, "184kg!"
The big man retracted his fist, looking at the number with a somewhat dejected expression.
After the two had demonstrated, Tang Yu gestured to Wang Zhou, "Your turn."
Wang Zhou stepped forward, fixating on the red core of the punching target.
His expression was excited.
The punching power of ordinary people was over a hundred, while Awakeners could easily reach several hundred. So, having soaked in the Body Tempering Liquid and measurably increasing his body's strength, how many kilograms could he punch out?