ATPnovel Chapter 36 First Test of Bragging
Chapter 36 First Test of Bragging
The next morning, before dawn, Xu Mo had already woken up.
It wasn't because of the cold or hunger, but rather a feeling of fullness and power emanating from within the body, and an irrepressible urgency to verify the changes within oneself.
Xu Mo leaped up from the sofa with agility and speed, landing almost silently. He instinctively looked down at his hands and arms, then touched his cheeks and chest.
My skin felt warm, and it did feel a little rougher than before, but to the naked eye it looked no different from usual, still a healthy bronze color. The obvious dark yellow tinge that I had when I broke through last night had faded away.
"Could it just be an illusion?" This thought had barely formed when Xu Mo suppressed it.
No, it was no illusion. The vast, dormant blood and energy within him, like a lurking beast ready to awaken at any moment, and the increasingly dense and resilient texture that permeated his entire body, all clearly told him—he had achieved the Bullhide Realm.
Xu Mo couldn't wait to find out just how effective this so-called "beating and tempering the skin to enhance its toughness" and "making it resistant to ordinary scratches and bites from sticks" really was!
He took a deep breath and with a slight thought, as if he had pressed an invisible switch, he began to circulate the qi and blood in his body.
"Buzz—"
A very slight vibration, seemingly originating from within his body, resounded. The next moment, Xu Mo clearly saw his entire body's skin visibly turning a uniform, restrained dark yellow. This yellow wasn't dazzling, but it carried a heavy, leathery texture. The skin's texture instantly became deeper and rougher; touching it truly felt like touching a thick, tanned old cowhide.
He walked to the center of the room and first picked up a piece of hard, miscellaneous wood stick, about the thickness of an arm, which he usually used to practice resisting blows.
Xu Mo didn't circulate his qi and blood at first. He tapped his arm with the wooden stick—a normal touch and a slight pain. Then, Xu Mo circulated his qi and blood again, and as the dark yellow color appeared, he raised the wooden stick and tapped his left forearm, this time using only a third of his strength.
"Snapped!"
With a crisp sound, Xu Mo felt... almost nothing.
It wasn't that I felt nothing at all, but the slight vibration and negligible pressure felt like being gently touched by a toddler's soft, weak little hand, leaving not even a red mark.
A hint of surprise flashed in Xu Mo's eyes, and he increased the intensity, using 50% and then 70% of his strength!
"Slap! Slap!"
The sound remained muffled, and the sensation in his arm remained slight, as if someone were gently pounding and massaging him. The wooden stick struck his arm, which seemed to be covered by a thick layer of rubber tires, and most of the impact was absorbed and dispersed by the tough skin and the even denser muscle structure beneath.
"Full power!"
Xu Mo let out a low shout and swung his stick down!
"Bang!"
"Crack!" The wooden stick broke in response.
This time, Xu Mo felt it a little more clearly, like he had been slapped hard, with a slight numbness, but it was far from "pain." The dark yellow color of the skin that had been hit seemed to have intensified, but it remained completely unharmed.
He put down the wooden stick, his eyes gleaming. This was only a passive defense!
Xu Mo picked up the broken stick again. This time, he channeled his energy, his dark yellow right arm muscles bulging, and then punched the middle of the stick he was holding in his other hand with all his might.
"Snap!!"
With a crisp crack, the sturdy wooden stick was broken in two by his bare fist, sending splinters flying everywhere.
The moment his fist made contact with the wooden stick, Xu Mo could feel a reaction force, but this force was greatly weakened when it came into contact with his thick, tough skin and strong bones. He could feel it, like an ordinary person forcefully punching a hard tabletop, but it was far from enough to cause injury.
"Such strong defense! Such strong power!" Xu Mo looked at his completely undamaged fist, feeling extremely excited. This was only at the beginning of the Bullhide Realm. If he were to reach the peak, or even break through to the Iron Bone Realm, what kind of spectacle would that be?
Next, we'll test the blade.
Xu Mo retrieved the cleaver that had been retired and relegated to processing food. Without circulating his qi and blood, he lightly sliced his arm with the blade—leaving a clear white mark; with a little force, he could cut through the skin and draw out tiny beads of blood.
Then, Xu Mo circulated his qi and blood again, and dark yellow skin appeared. He gripped the cleaver, pressed the blade against the equally dark yellow and tough skin of his forearm, and began to exert force.
A noticeable resistance came from within; the feeling was not like cutting human skin, but more like using a not-so-sharp knife to cut a thick piece of oil-soaked cowhide.
He had to use considerable force to slowly cut into the skin. A shallow cut was made, barely piercing the outermost membrane, with very little blood seeping out. Moreover, the muscles at the wound site seemed to be twitching and tightening slightly, demonstrating strong self-healing potential and resilience.
"A sharp blade can cut, but it's hard to penetrate... Just as I thought!" Xu Mo nodded in satisfaction.
This means that, unless a regular zombie's claws and teeth relentlessly tear and bite at the same spot, it's unlikely to cause significant harm. Similarly, ordinary knives wielded by humans pose a much smaller threat unless attacked with immense force, with extremely sharp and precise blades.
The defense test is complete, and the results far exceeded expectations.
Next, Xu Mo began testing other aspects of the improvement.
He walked up to the huge, homemade weighted bag he used for squatting practice, filled with sand and gravel, weighing over 100 kilograms. He had to circulate his qi and blood to lift it and squat more easily.
At this moment, Xu Mo circulated his qi and blood again and felt that the weighted pack was not so heavy anymore. He could not only carry it easily, but also perform rapid lunge movements and jumps, which he could not do before.
"It looks like the weight of the backpack will need to be increased."
Putting down his heavy pack, Xu Mo began testing his other abilities.
He began to run back and forth, dodge, and punch and kick rapidly in the confined space of the room.
Xu Mo could feel that his nerve reflexes were faster, and his body could react more quickly to the dynamic images his eyes captured. The speed and explosiveness of his punches and kicks had also improved significantly. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as creating afterimages, it was definitely much faster than before his breakthrough. This kind of improvement was often decisive in life-or-death battles.
After a series of tests, Xu Mo felt hot all over, his blood and energy flowing smoothly, and his sallow skin seemed to shimmer with a faint light during the exercise. He slowly stopped, and the sallowness of his skin receded like the tide, returning to normal, although a trace of the rough texture seemed to remain, which would take time to gradually smooth out.
Xu Mo stood in the center of the room, feeling the state of his body after the test, his heart filled with indescribable excitement.
The name "Tao Pi Jing" is truly fitting!
When one circulates their Qi and blood, their skin becomes as tough and resilient as cowhide, possessing astonishing defensive capabilities and experiencing a qualitative leap in resistance to blunt force trauma and ordinary sharp blades. Simultaneously, their strength, speed, and reaction time all see significant improvements.
Of course, Xu Mo also clearly explained the characteristics and limitations of this technique:
The powerful defense is not a permanent, passive entity; it requires the active circulation of Qi and Blood to activate. This means that the defense will be greatly reduced when faced with a sudden attack or when Qi and Blood are depleted.
Moreover, maintaining this "powerful" state obviously requires a continuous consumption of qi and blood energy, and it is impossible to keep it on indefinitely.
Moreover, the Bullhide Realm is not invincible. Whether it can completely withstand stronger piercing attacks, such as military bayonets, crossbow bolts, high-speed bullets, or heavy blunt force blows like sledgehammers, remains to be seen. Furthermore, one's vulnerable areas, such as the eyes, throat, and genitals, will inevitably have relatively weaker defensive capabilities even when circulating qi and blood.
Regardless, having acquired the strength of the Bull-Skin Realm, his ability to survive in this post-apocalyptic wasteland has undergone a dramatic transformation. He has taken a solid first step from a survivor who desperately needs weapons to one who can physically withstand some dangers as a "superhuman."