Chapter 67

Pain did exist, but this time it was much less than before. As for the skill he was learning this time, Xu Jianxing had already known about it from the game.

This skill was called "Life Enhancement." In the game, players who practiced finger techniques generally had much less health compared to others, mainly because the attributes of finger technique practitioners were primarily based on agility, making their attack speed faster. Other professions also had speed-related skills, so to balance things out, it was natural to give finger technique practitioners a certain amount of health increase.

This Life Enhancement was not a passive skill but an active one. Each time it was used, it not only increased the maximum health but also increased the current health by a certain percentage.

According to Xu Jianxing's understanding in reality, this Life Enhancement was like a cultivation method that stimulated potential, except that this method had no side effects, and what was needed was just the skill cooldown time.

After studying the cultivation method, Xu Jianxing became even more certain of his previous guess. This Life Enhancement, after undergoing real-world mutations, could not only stimulate potential but also strengthen cells and develop potential. If practiced to the extreme, Xu Jianxing even suspected it could reach the level of an indestructible divine body as described in novels.

In reality, the Life Enhancement skill was a powerful cultivation method that could comprehensively improve oneself. Even if ordinary people practiced the first few movements regularly, they could evolve their bodies and extend their lifespan. As for the later movements, if one did not have a certain physical foundation, a slight mistake could result in injury or even complete paralysis.

Understanding this, Xu Jianxing felt a wave of joy, "It seems I can let my parents practice this cultivation method in the future. I can try the later movements myself first."

Then, Xu Jianxing followed the guidance of the cultivation method and began to assume a strange posture. As he performed the movements, he felt a slight soreness in his body, as if an unknown gravity was added to him. However, this gravity was nothing to Xu Jianxing at this point.

As he continued to practice the subsequent movements, the unknown gravity became increasingly intense and terrifying. Even Xu Jianxing's forehead was drenched in sweat, his skin turning red as if it were about to bleed. The bones in his body also made cracking sounds, as if he were fighting against the forces of nature, which was extremely terrifying.

Until he practiced the fifteenth movement, Xu Jianxing could no longer hold on. Even with his strong willpower, he collapsed to the ground, his body feeling boneless and completely drained of strength.

"Phew, phew..." Xu Jianxing panted heavily. After a few breaths, he felt a strange sense of comfort in his body, as if he had just come out of a high-temperature sauna, feeling completely relaxed.

Although Xu Jianxing was pleasantly surprised, he was not overly excited. He knew that the Life Enhancement cultivation method had a total of one hundred movements, and with his current cultivation, he had only practiced fifteen of them, which did not mean much.

In other words, his physical condition was far from matching his cultivation. Although cultivation did not necessarily require an equally strong physique, as his physique grew stronger, his future breakthroughs would be easier. This was not a game.

However, although the benefits seemed endless, Xu Jianxing knew there were risks after practicing the fifteen movements. These risks came from the precision and intricacy of each movement. If he forced himself to practice without fully understanding them, he could face the risk of physical collapse.

But Xu Jianxing was not overly worried about this. After all, with the existence of experience pills and blood medicine, if something unexpected happened, he could take one.

After resting for about half an hour, Xu Jianxing felt much better. He sat in meditation to recover his true qi, then got up and opened the door, heading to the courtyard. Having reached the innate stage, he naturally wanted to experience it fully to avoid making a fool of himself like Xu Yunyun.

Walking to the courtyard, he lightly leaped over the wall. Looking around, he saw the boundless night as clear as daylight, and he could clearly see objects up to a hundred meters away. After a brief pause, in one leap, Xu Jianxing's figure flashed and appeared on a tree branch a hundred meters away, which excited him to the extreme.

This speed, even if not as fast as flying, was not much slower.

Xu Jianxing was extremely excited as he rapidly leaped through the dense forest. He found that although his true qi had decreased, his speed was much faster than before. With each breath, threads of elemental energy from the heavens and earth entered his dantian through his skin.

Until the sky began to brighten, Xu Jianxing returned home.

Checking the time, it was just before five. Xu Jianxing made another offering, then fell back into bed and went to sleep...

...

Around nine in the morning.

Xu Jianxing woke up groggily, checked the time, and smiled. He had long guessed that his energy recovery speed would increase after breaking through to the innate stage, but he did not expect it to double, which was a pleasant surprise.

Getting up and dressing, Xu Jianxing went to the bathroom to clean up, then walked to the courtyard and opened the gate, planning to get something to eat before heading to the jade street.

Xu Jianxing had not walked far from the courtyard when he saw a plain black car speeding towards him.

This left him somewhat puzzled, as the place where he lived was quite remote, and there was no major road ahead. The only path led to the dense forest, which was rugged and uneven, making it difficult to drive, let alone ride a bicycle.

"Could they be here to cause trouble?" Xu Jianxing thought, but then dismissed the idea. If they were here to cause trouble, they would not be driving so fast.

With this thought, Xu Jianxing moved to the side of the road. As the car approached, his gaze focused, and he saw two men in the front seats, one thin and the other very strong.

Their faces were obscured by baseball caps and large sunglasses.

Through the gaps, Xu Jianxing's keen eyesight revealed two more people in the back, one sitting and one lying down. The one lying down was clearly a woman, as her exposed clothing was a white skirt.

This immediately made Xu Jianxing feel something was wrong. Before he could think clearly, the car sped past but stopped abruptly a short distance away.

The car doors opened, and three men quickly got out, all wearing baseball caps and sunglasses. One of them held a handbag, and the others had black pistols, which they quickly hid under their black coats.

"Kidnapping," Xu Jianxing suddenly realized. Before he could decide whether to help, the thin man, holding a gun, ran over with the speed of the wind. His quick and steady pace indicated that he had some martial arts training.

Although Xu Jianxing did not know what the man intended, he knew he had ill intentions. A playful smile appeared on his lips.

With his current cultivation, even without his fast movements, his protective aura alone could withstand bullets. Only a continuous barrage from a heavy machine gun could pose a threat.

Xu Jianxing had not yet figured out what was happening, but the next second, he understood. One of the men had pulled the woman out of the car.

"Isabel." Seeing Isabel, who was gagged, angrily remove the object from her mouth, Xu Jianxing was stunned and immediately understood what the thin man was thinking.

"Mr. Xu?!" At the same time, Isabel saw Xu Jianxing, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief, as if he had committed some grave mistake.

But the next moment, she realized she had misunderstood him. The thin man, pointing the gun at Xu Jianxing, laughed, "We're quite lucky. Not only did we catch the buyer, but we also ran into the seller. Come on, dear seller."

Hearing this, Isabel immediately shouted, "You bandits, you didn't keep your word. Didn't you say you would release me if my subordinates didn't report to the police and we reached a safe place? What are you planning to do now?"

"Heh heh!" The strong man glanced at Isabel's full figure and said, "We did say that, and you cooperated, but we can't be sure we're safe yet. Who knows if your subordinates will listen to you and not report to the police? So, you still need to accompany us to the mountains for a couple of days."

The road leading to the forest was discovered through a map and had been surveyed, making it suitable for escaping during a chase. In a sense, the quiet courtyard that Xu Jianxing had chosen for Lu Qian had brought him this unexpected disaster, which he had caused. Of course, this was under the premise that Xu Jianxing was an ordinary person.

Hearing this, Isabel felt a sense of foreboding. Her face turned pale, and she struggled and shouted, "I won't go, I'd rather die than go."

"Hmph." The strong man sneered and said menacingly, "If you don't go, I'll scar your face and strip you naked and throw you on the street."

Seeing the fear in Isabel's eyes, the strong man smiled smugly and then coldly said, "Enough talk. Get up the mountain now, and remember not to play any tricks, or you won't even have a chance to regret it."

Xu Jianxing shrugged, not waiting for the thin man to push him, and calmly walked towards Isabel. This left the strong man stunned, and he asked in surprise, "Aren't you afraid?"

"What's the point of being afraid? Being afraid won't stop you from capturing me." Xu Jianxing smiled faintly. "Let's go."