Mr. Gao clapped Yu Fei on the shoulder, sending a flurry of skin flakes into the air.
He then chuckled and said to Mr. Yu, "Mr. Yu, don't worry about it. It's not every day a martial arts prodigy appears among us normal people. This is just a small token of my goodwill.
Since you're not a Martial Artist, you wouldn't know. After passing the skin-refining trial and entering the transformation period, a Martial Artist is quite fragile. They need to replenish a massive amount of energy. Besides, these are just ordinary energy liquids. For Yu Fei, it's just icing on the cake. It'll only save him a few days of recovery time, so it's nothing major.
I'll let you get back to it. I'm heading out."
With that, he started for the door. Just as he reached it, he turned back to Yu Fei. "Feifei, you've got a bright future. Now that you're a Martial Artist, we should get together and trade some pointers when you have a free moment."
"Thank you, Mr. Gao. Whenever you're free, just say the word."
"You got it! I'll be in touch in a couple of days!"
"Take care!" Yu Fei was exceedingly polite, having just received a gift.
'I was originally planning to ask for a few days off. This case of energy liquid will help me recover much faster.'
'I still have one Vitality Elixir, but it's too precious. I can't bring myself to use it.'
One of the more mystical aspects of this world's martial arts was that breakthroughs were a process. You couldn't just BAM!—and instantly ascend to the next realm.
The path of martial arts was all about steady, daily accumulation. Once both quantity and quality reached a certain standard, one would naturally transform, gradually becoming transcendent.
The family had just seen Mr. Gao out the door when a building security guard stepped out of the elevator.
He must have been drawn by the earlier screams. Very dedicated to his job.
Since Mr. Gao was still there, he explained the cause of the screams to the guard and, while he was at it, introduced the community's newest martial arts prodigy, Yu Fei.
The guard, just an ordinary man, heard Mr. Gao's explanation and immediately leaned in for a closer look at Yu Fei.
"Whoa, so this is skin refining? He's shedding his skin like a snake! That's terrifying. No wonder the little lady was scared to tears!"
"I didn't cry!"
Yu Wei protested.
The guard didn't leave for the longest time, just kept gawking at Yu Fei as if he were some kind of rare zoo animal.
Mr. Gao noticed Yu Fei's discomfort and deftly pulled the security guard out the door, finally putting an end to the spectacle.
Although Mr. Yu didn't have a deep understanding of the martial path, he'd picked up a thing or two just from being immersed in a world where it existed.
He gazed at Yu Fei, his expression a mixture of delighted surprise and awe, his eyes occasionally flicking to the case of energy liquid on the table.
Successfully refining his skin meant Yu Fei's martial talent was impressive. The Yu Family could finally produce a high-status Martial Artist.
Take Mr. Gao, for instance. Even though he was at the bottom of the barrel in Martial Artist circles, among regular folk, he was on a completely different level. Compared to an ordinary person, Mr. Gao could easily land a high-paying job.
Martial Artists enjoyed certain unspoken privileges.
Yu Zhiguo had heard of the Jade Farmer Hall brand before. He estimated this case of energy liquid was worth at least two thousand. Even though it was a gift for Yu Fei, he felt awkward accepting something so valuable.
While the two families were friendly and often visited each other, Mr. Gao was a Martial Artist, after all. Mr. Yu had always felt a little intimidated and couldn't fully relax around him.
Yu Fei noticed his parents' apprehension and explained.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry about it. Mr. Gao's gift might be expensive, but I understand his intentions. This is a favor for me to repay, not you. He's just investing in my potential."
Having lived two lives, Yu Fei had become remarkably adept at reading people's intentions.
'And I'm happy to accept his investment. It's not a bad thing at all.'
Seeing that Yu Fei had it all figured out, his parents stopped worrying. Yu Fei had always been strong-willed and had sound judgment.
Just then, Mrs. Yu stepped forward and poked at Yu Fei's blistering, peeling cheek. She even plucked off a piece of skin and studied it for a moment before saying to Yu Fei with a look of disgust,
"Go take a shower already. You're absolutely disgusting!"
With that, she took Mr. Yu by the arm and started back toward their bedroom.
"I was sleeping so soundly, honestly! I need to get some more sleep before I have to wake up for work!"
Mr. Yu looked completely reluctant. "Honey, you go back to sleep," he said, his face a grimace. "I'm not tired anymore."
"What else are you going to do? The kids are grown up; they can handle their own affairs. Back to the bedroom. Now!"
And with that, she dragged him back into the bedroom.
'Yu Zhiguo had a feeling his wife didn't actually want to sleep. He'd managed to dodge a bullet last night by pretending to be asleep, but this early in the morning... he really wasn't in the mood!'
'At his age, there was no fun in it whatsoever!'
'So stressful. He wondered if chugging one of Yu Fei's energy liquids would help.'
Yu Fei watched them shut the door, then pursed his lips and decided to go take a shower.
'What hasn't he seen before? When he was little, his parents would always try to lull him to sleep early. But he was never a kid who got sleepy easily, so he'd just pretend.'
'They thought he was just a kid and let their guard down, so they "wrestled" quite a bit.'
'Where else did he think Yu Wei came from?'
'Back then, if he made even the slightest noise, it would scare the daylights out of his dad.'
"Bro!"
"What?"
CLICK!
Yu Wei was holding up her phone, having just taken a picture of him.
"Hey, that's going too far!"
"This is the first documented evidence of a wild human undergoing a bizarre metamorphosis! Of course I have to take a picture to commemorate it!"
"Delete it!"
"Nope!"
With that, she clutched her phone and dashed out the door.
...
Yu Fei was in the shower for about an hour. The amount of hair and skin he shed nearly clogged the drain.
Having no other choice, he found a black trash bag and collected all the fallen "Yu Fei fragments," planning to throw them out later.
After cleaning up, he took a look at himself in the mirror.
How to put it... the person in the mirror was vaguely comical.
His entire head was like a peeled, hard-boiled egg—smooth, sleek, and completely hairless.
If he waxed it, a mosquito would probably slip and fall if it tried to land.
With his eyebrows gone, his whole aura had become somewhat androgynous.
He held out his hands. The calluses and scars from years of training had vanished. His fingers were long and slender, casting an elegant shadow under the light.
After the skin refining was complete, his new skin had a jade-like luster. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, yet if you struck it, it had the toughness of leather.
A joyous martial achievement: Skin Refining.
Just as he was testing the properties of his new skin, his mom emerged.
Seeing Yu Fei's dramatic new look, especially his head, as smooth as a braised egg, she looked so delighted that she wanted to rush over and plant a kiss on it.
Yu Fei vehemently refused!
'Who the hell knew what had happened in that bedroom over the past hour!'
Perhaps because she was short on time, Mrs. Yu quickly finished getting ready and left for work.
Before she left, he asked her to bring back a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses.
'It wouldn't be wise to go outside for the next couple of days.'
He casually twisted open a bottle of energy liquid and downed it.
Yu Fei felt his energy levels improve slightly.
During the molting process, a massive number of his body's cells were replaced. Though Yu Fei didn't feel weak, he felt ungrounded, as if he were walking on air.
The body needed three to five days to adapt. Supplementing with energy could shorten this period.
With nothing better to do, Yu Fei sat on the sofa, turned on the TV, and stared at it blankly.
He couldn't train at the moment, and he certainly didn't want to do homework, so this was his only option.
Suddenly, the front door swung open.
Yu Wei was back from her morning run.
The moment she stepped inside, she saw a lightbulb monster sitting on the sofa.
The bright morning sun streamed through the window, hitting Yu Fei's head and reflecting in every direction. The lighting in the living room had never been better.
Without even taking off her shoes, she clutched her stomach and burst into hysterical laughter.
"What are you laughing at?"
Yu Fei frowned. 'This girl is insane.'
"Hahaha... ah... haha~"
"You're nuts!"
Yu Fei turned his head away, ignoring her. In his experience, it was best not to engage with someone acting crazy; just wait for them to return to normal.
Gasping for breath, Yu Wei shakily pulled out her phone and snapped another picture of him.
CLICK.
Enraged, Yu Fei grabbed a slipper and hurled it at her.
"Have you no worldly experience? It's just a Martial Artist's transcendent transformation! Look at you!"
Yu Wei managed to stifle her laughter for a moment.
"I may not have much worldly experience, but I've certainly never seen such a giant lightbulb monster before!
Hahaha!"
With that, she doubled over in laughter again.
Absolutely furious, Yu Fei stormed over, grabbed his rebellious little sister, and gave her a sound thrashing.
"Bro! I was wrong... My dearest brother!... Ahh~"
...
Sunday, Event #1:
Mr. Yu didn't get out of bed until noon. His eyes were vacant, and he kept glancing over at the case of energy liquid. Yu Fei silently opened the pack and handed him a bottle.
'Life ain't easy for a middle-aged man!'
"Here, have a taste. It's actually pretty good!"
Mr. Yu stared at Yu Fei in silence for a moment, sighed, then took the energy liquid and drained it in one go.
...
Sunday, Event #2:
Yu Wei made a post on social media.
Two photos: one of Yu Fei before the molting, one after.
The caption read: "Lamp Beast has mega-evolved!"
If Mr. Yu hadn't held him back, Yu Fei would have beaten his sister's butt black and blue.
Yu Fei declared that his father would no longer be getting any of his energy liquid!
Mr. Yu was heartbroken. That night, he spent a small fortune on a lottery ticket.