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"I'll do another ten-pull!"
[Congratulations! Reward: One bottle of Netherworld Essential Oil!]
[Netherworld Essential Oil: Massaging the body with Netherworld Essential Oil will improve physical fitness and the speed of spirit power cultivation. The longer the massage, the better the effect.]
The notifications flooded the system panel. After the first, another seven identical messages appeared, granting him a total of eight bottles of the oil. The final two slots of the draw, however, were different.
[Thank you for your patronage! Reward: One Powerful Medicine!]
[Thank you for your patronage! Reward: One Powerful Medicine!]
Ye Yin's eyes lit up. Eight wins in a single ten-pull! The lucky dice he used were proving to be incredibly effective. He then examined the description of his other prize.
[Powerful Medicine: After taking this, one will become incredibly fierce…]
Looking at the two small vials in his hand, Ye Yin had no doubt the medicine was potent. But was the system's description missing a crucial part? That ellipsis at the end seemed to be hiding the most important information: the side effects. What happened after one became incredibly fierce?
Just in case, it would be best to find someone to test it on first. Ye Yin thought for a moment, and the perfect candidate immediately came to mind: Tang San.
Such a potent medicine should naturally be given to his sworn brother to try first. His reasoning was sound and consisted of three main points. First, Tang San's physical constitution was arguably the weakest among his peers. If the medicine could make even Tang San "incredibly fierce," then it would surely work wonders on anyone else. Second, please refer to the first point. Third, please refer to the second point.
As for the potential side effects? Ye Yin felt that as long as it didn't cause instant death, it was probably within an acceptable range.
With his decision made, Ye Yin grabbed a vial of the Powerful Medicine and went to find Tang San in a secluded clearing in the back mountains of Shrek Academy. He found him meditating, focused on his cultivation.
"Tang San," Ye Yin called out.
Tang San opened his eyes. "Yin Ge, you were looking for me?"
"Mm," Ye Yin grunted, not bothering with small talk. He immediately held out the small, pitch-black porcelain bottle. "Little San, this is something I recently developed. I call it 'Powerful Medicine.' Take it, and you'll become incredibly fierce for one hour."
Tang San looked at the dark bottle, which seemed to give off a strange aura. His eyelids twitched. Ye Yin's inventions always had astonishing effects, but their side effects were usually just as extreme. Surströmming offered a chance at improvement, but it was a slim one, and the process was pure torture. Black garlic gave a significant boost in strength, but it turned your skin black for a day.
He carefully took the bottle. It felt warm and smooth in his hand. He cautiously pulled out the stopper, and a peculiar medicinal scent filled the air—a strange mix of scorching heat and a chilling, unnatural energy. As an expert in poisons, Tang San immediately focused all his senses and activated his Purple Demon Eye to analyze the substance. In the end, he couldn't identify a single ingredient.
"Yin Ge," he asked cautiously, "this Powerful Medicine… it's not going to be extremely painful to take with only a tiny chance of actually making me fierce, is it?"
Ye Yin waved his hands dismissively. "Am I that kind of person? I guarantee you'll instantly become incredibly fierce! But if you don't want to, then forget it. I'll just find someone else. I really need to see how fierce it can make someone so I can collect some data."
"I'll do it! I'm willing," Tang San said quickly. In a way, being chosen by Yin Ge to test a new medicine was a sign of trust. Besides, he was curious himself. Just how powerful could something that even Ye Yin called "Powerful Medicine" be? Perhaps it could become a new trump card to use in a critical moment.
"Alright, I'll try it!" Tang San said, his expression firm.
With no more hesitation, he tilted his head back and swallowed the contents of the bottle in one gulp. The liquid was thick and viscous like ink, and it had a strange taste that was spicy, bitter, sweet, and fishy all at once. The moment it went down his throat, it felt like he had swallowed a mouthful of molten lava.
Instantly, an unimaginable, violent heat erupted inside him, spreading through his limbs and bones.
Tang San grunted as he felt his blood begin to boil. His bones creaked under the immense pressure. His face turned deep red, and the veins all over his body bulged like coiled serpents.
"Ugh… Ah!"
A low roar escaped his lips. An unprecedented sense of power, as if he could tear the heavens and the earth apart, filled every cell in his body. He could feel his spirit power soaring wildly and his mental force becoming incredibly sharp. The sound of the wind and the chirping of insects were so clear it was as if they were exploding right next to his ears. An arrogant, invincible fighting spirit rose uncontrollably from the depths of his soul.
"Such strong power!" Tang San clenched his fists, and the air in his palms was crushed with a soft 'puff'. He felt like he could shatter a small mountain with a single punch. The feeling of controlling such absolute power was intoxicating. He suddenly had the urge to drag Dai Mubai over and give him a sound beating.
"Very good." Ye Yin calmly observed Tang San's condition, took out a small notebook, and began writing rapidly.
"Time to activation: Three breaths. Symptoms: Body temperature rising rapidly, heart rate doubling, spirit power fluctuations increasing by… approximately three hundred percent? Preliminary assessment: Strength, speed, perception, and combat will all show exponential growth…"
The next hour was Tang San's personal showcase. He moved like a humanoid beast, frantically practicing his spirit abilities in the clearing. His Blue Silver Grass grew incredibly thick and tough, lashing out like steel pythons. His Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was so fast that he left behind nothing but afterimages. When he struck a large boulder with his Mysterious Jade Hand, the hard rock shattered like tofu. He even tried to push over an ancient tree that would take several people to encircle, and his blows shook it so violently that leaves rained down from its branches.
From the sidelines, Ye Yin nodded frequently, his notebook filling with dense writing, his eyes shining with a researcher's fanaticism. "Perfect! The effect is stable, and the amplification far exceeds my expectations! The only current side effect seems to be slightly elevated emotions, which are still controllable."
He muttered to himself, wondering if this Powerful Medicine truly had no other side effects.
The hour flew by. For Tang San, it felt like he was a god. But when the last bit of the medicine's power receded like the tide, the world-destroying sense of power vanished without a trace. It was replaced by a bone-deep feeling of exhaustion and weakness that washed over him like a tsunami.
Tang San's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud. He gasped for breath, his clothes instantly soaked with sweat, his face as pale as a sheet of paper.
"The… weakness… it's here…" Tang San felt completely hollowed out, finding it difficult to even lift a finger.
"So weak," Ye Yin noted. "So the side effect is a period of weakness."
Tang San managed to catch his breath. But then, an extremely strange and unfamiliar sensation quietly began to rise from within his body. It started with his voice.
"Yin Ge, I…"
Tang San had only spoken two words when he froze. His voice… why had it become so high-pitched and thin? It sounded like… like a woman trying to speak in a delicate tone.
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