Chapter 5: Feather Letter

As the black symbol in his palm shifted, a thick book, as dark as ink, materialized in Zhang Yu's hand.

"Feather Tome?"

Looking at the two bold characters on the cover, Zhang Yu was momentarily taken aback.

Then, as if responding to his thoughts, the black book opened on its own, revealing the first page.

"This must be the table of contents."

Looking at the index, with only the prologue visible, and the rest of the lines blurred and illegible, as if heavily censored, he mused, "Does this mean only the prologue is accessible now?"

With a thought, he flipped to the prologue. Before him were a portrait on the left page, and lines of data and information on the right.

"Is this...me?"

The portrait on the left depicted Zhang Yu sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, seemingly in meditation.

The likeness was incredibly lifelike, giving the impression that the figure in the painting was breathing.

Especially with the faint radiance circulating within, Zhang Yu felt it represented the flow of his inner spiritual energy.

The right page displayed rows of data, listing:

Zhang Yu

Dao Heart: Level 1

Spiritual Energy: 7.7

Physical Strength: Level 0.83

Martial Arts: Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms Level 1, Freehand Combat Level 1

Mystical Arts: Basic Qi Inhalation Technique Level 1, Basic Mind Cultivation Technique Level 1

"This is me?"

"The Dao Heart level is the same as the school's measurements, unable to be precise beyond whole numbers."

"And below are the martial and mystical arts I've learned so far?"

Among the four skills listed, besides the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms used to enhance physical strength, there was also the Freehand Combat learned in martial arts class, designed to hone combat skills, the Basic Qi Inhalation Technique from spiritual energy cultivation, and the Basic Mind Cultivation Technique used to improve Dao Heart, all at the entry-level 1.

Zhang Yu gazed at the numbers, thinking, "Is this the potential unleashed by the Evil God? This book can detect my various attributes?"

"But...it should be more than just that, right?"

"According to that Evil God, it awakened my potential, but merely detecting it hardly counts! I can get that measured at school every day."

"There must be other wondrous uses."

With this in mind, he decided to test it. He focused his attention on the attribute numbers and mentally commanded, "Feather Tome! Add points!"

Seeing that the data on the book remained unchanged, Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. "This Evil God is just useless. It didn't awaken my potential at all!"

He tried turning to the next page, only to find the words "To be continued" boldly written.

Remembering the content that was not yet displayed in the table of contents, Zhang Yu guessed, "What does this mean? Does this ability level up? Only after leveling up will the subsequent functions become available?"

He could only flip back to the previous page, continuously focusing his attention on his rows of data and skills to see if he could trigger any effect.

Just as he focused his attention on 'Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms Level 1', he suddenly felt the words twitch slightly, and they were directly dragged along with his thoughts, moving back and forth across the page.

While Zhang Yu dragged 'Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms Level 1' across the page, wondering what it was good for, the text suddenly froze upon touching the portrait, and was directly absorbed by the Zhang Yu in the image.

With this absorption, Zhang Yu felt as if a clear spring had been poured onto the crown of his head, an indescribable sensation welling up within him, making him feel an odd connection with the Zhang Yu in the portrait.

At the same time, the originally cross-legged portrait abruptly stood up and began practicing the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms, move by move.

Above the portrait, a line of small text appeared: Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms Level 1+

Seeing the small '+' at the end, Zhang Yu became excited. "Here it comes! My potential is really being awakened!"

His attention quickly focused on the '+', feeling as if he had pressed it with his mind.

In the next moment, the '+' blurred slightly and transformed into '(0/10)'.

Then, an enlightenment arose from within Zhang Yu's heart: Practice the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms ten times to complete the martial arts upgrade.

Looking at 'Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms Level 1 (0/10)' on the Feather Tome, Zhang Yu exclaimed in surprise, "Upgrading this martial art by practicing it ten times?"

He knew that since the start of school, Zhang Yu had practiced the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms countless times, but had never felt any hint of upgrading.

"Ten times?"

Zhang Yu couldn't wait to try. He took a step forward, and with a resounding boom, his flesh and blood twisted like a giant serpent, erupting with layers of power.

Although Zhang Yu used equipment to enhance the effect when practicing the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms at school, that was only to increase the effectiveness of the training.

In reality, the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms, as the most basic body refining martial art, could be practiced with or without equipment. Practitioners could even focus on different aspects such as strength, speed, or agility, according to their preferences.

For example, the original Zhang Yu had chosen a path of balanced development in strength and speed, and hadn't become a hulking behemoth.

Now, Zhang Yu moved back and forth in the small room, his feet exploding with sounds on the floor, his flesh and blood gradually heating up as they expanded and contracted continuously.

But before he could practice a few moves, shouts came from the surroundings: "Are you crazy?! Tearing down the house in the middle of the night?!"

Zhang Yu immediately stopped, feeling helpless. "The soundproofing in this rental apartment is too bad. I can't practice martial arts at night."

Looking at the Feather Tome that had appeared in his palm, Zhang Yu couldn't suppress the eagerness in his heart. He just wanted to train like a madman and complete the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms ten times in one go to see the effect.

"Should I find another place?"

"I remember there's an abandoned, unfinished building nearby..."

...

In the darkness.

Pounding sounds echoed continuously in the stairwell of the unfinished building.

Accompanied by the flashing neon lights on the distant streets, the figure of a young man occasionally appeared in the shadows.

It was Zhang Yu, who had come to the unfinished building to practice the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms.

At this moment, his eyes were serious as he practiced the methods of the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms, move by move. After a short while, he was already covered in sweat, appearing steaming hot.

Zhang Yu had already trained for a whole morning during the day and eventually collapsed on the ground. Without the aid of injections, elixirs, or nutritional supplements, he felt weak all over as soon as he practiced the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms. Every movement and every exertion of strength brought a tearing pain in his muscles.

However, thinking about the changes on the Feather Tome, his spirit was invigorated, and he persevered to complete the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms once.

Panting, Zhang Yu eagerly opened his palm, and the Feather Tome appeared again with his thoughts.

Looking at the 'Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms Level 1 (1/10)' on it, a hint of joy couldn't help but appear on Zhang Yu's face.

"Is this my potential?"

"Raising the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms to level 2...it seems like it can really be done."

"I'm going to practice it ten times tonight!"

Zhang Yu eagerly began the second round of Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms.

But after a moment, he collapsed to the ground, feeling as if his hands and feet no longer belonged to him.

"I can't do it anymore, I've reached my limit. It seems like I can only try again tomorrow."

Just as Zhang Yu decided to stop training and rest, and then go home for a good night's sleep, a chilling sensation suddenly surged from his heart.

At the same time, a voice echoed in his mind.

"Please abide by the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, and do not deliberately slack off or delay, 10."

"Please abide by the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, and do not deliberately slack off or delay, 9."

"Please abide by the ritual agreement, strive to fulfill your wish, and do not deliberately slack off or delay, 8."

As the voice's countdown continued, the chilling sensation in Zhang Yu's heart grew more and more intense, as if something was about to gush out of his body and tear apart his flesh and blood.

"Ritual...agreement...wish..." He also immediately reacted: "Could this be the power of that summoning ritual?"

The words that the cloth doll had said flashed through Zhang Yu's mind.

...

"If you choose to refuse to fulfill my wish for me, or deliberately delay or even fail in the process of fulfilling it, then you will suffer the backlash of the ritual, your flesh and blood will explode, and your soul will be scattered."

...

Zhang Yu thought: "So...it's because I plan to study hard, get into a famous university, join a major sect, and earn money to fulfill my second wish."

"So, if I slack off in this process, it will be considered deliberately slacking off in fulfilling my wish?"

"If I don't listen, will I die from the backlash of the ritual?"

Listening to the countdown that had unknowingly reached 3, Zhang Yu jumped up.

With a scream, he endured the tearing pain in his muscles and began to practice the Body Tempering Thirty-Six Forms.

And from the moment he began to practice, the countdown disappeared completely.