Chapter 284: Taking the Pill
Song Junlang droned non-stop and Xiao Lin could only barely understand it. Dragons stood at the pinnacle of Planet Norma’s biological chain and had extremely strong resistance. Meanwhile, the golden dragon was the zenith among the dragon clan itself. Even though the bottle of dragon blood given to Xiao Lin had been diluted countless times over, the effect was still there.
Xiao Lin had already experienced the side effects of the dragon blood. It involved a loss of self-awareness during the outburst and he would also enter a state of violence. The effect was incredibly different from the side effects of other diet therapies.
“Speaking of which, you promised me last time that the dragon blood had no side effects,” Xiao Lin could not help but complain.
Department Head Song’s face suddenly turned stiff. He let out a couple of hollow chuckles and immediately put on a serious face. “The point is, the dragon blood in your body ensures that you can fully digest this Super Tonic Pill. In fact, I’ve gotten very curious about your genes. People who can integrate dragon blood and adapt to it so quickly aren’t non-existent, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone achieve such a level before even reaching Black Iron-rank. If an opportunity permits, I’d really like to give you some undiluted dragon blood to drink, just to see what kind of reaction would be produced.”
Xiao Lin’s face soured even more and he said, “Sorry to burst your bubble, but don’t count on getting an opportunity like that.”
Song Junlang shrugged and declined to comment further. He proceeded to nudge Xiao Lin to consume that special Super Tonic Pill while it was still hot.
Although Xiao Lin was still skeptical due how Song Junlang constantly tricked him, the latter was still very trustworthy, at least when his character was concerned.
“Fine then. I’ll just swallow it like this?”
“I’ll pour you some water.” Song Junlang was immediately overjoyed after seeing Xiao Lin relent. He happily rushed to pour Xiao Lin a glass of colorful liquid.
Song Junlang took the initiative to explain on that occasion, “This specially formulated medicinal water is helpful for digestion.”
“Why do I feel like you’re trying to trick me again?”
“I would never! We’re friends!”
Xiao Lin murmured a few words and hesitated before finally putting the Super Tonic Pill in his mouth. The warm and moist pill became cold when it entered his mouth, and its firmness made it difficult to swallow. He took the glass and sipped the medicinal water. The liquid did not smell peculiar and tasted just like ordinary plain water.
historical
The pill melted as soon as it came in contact with the liquid, and in an instant, Xiao Lin’s mouth was filled with a myriad of flavors such as sweet, bitter, spicy, and sour. Also present were strange, indescribable tastes that started to appear one after another. The viscous substance that remained after the pill had dissolved slid down his throat and into his stomach.
The taste was actually so uncomfortable that Xiao Lin nearly retched and vomited after swallowing. The discomfort in his stomach took a while to gradually subside.
Then the two of them sat down and stared at each other. Song Junlang held a pen and paper in his hand while asking eagerly, “How is it? How do you feel?”
Xiao Lin frowned. “I don’t feel anything at the moment. It couldn’t have been ineffective, right?”
“My experimental data can’t be wrong. Could you wait for a moment?”
There was still no response even after half an hour of waiting, so Xiao Lin looked at the time before getting up and saying, “I think I’ll head back for today. Whether it works or not, my training plan isn’t going to change.”
“Then what about the betting pool?”
Xiao Lin rolled his eyes. “You’d have to wait for it to take effect before you can place any bets.”
Xiao Lin had already left while Song Junlang continued pondering over it and muttering the word ‘impossible’. He returned to the dormitory to continue studying his necromancy book.
Time during the weekend was still quite precious for Xiao Lin. After reading the necromancy book for an hour, he brought the Holy Soul Sword to the training hall and planned to practice a bit of swordsmanship. His attribute values were still relatively average for the moment, so he would face the same amount of difficulty regardless of which attribute he wanted to upgrade.
The training halls were still quite lively on the weekend, especially since everyone was abuzz over the recent gambling pool. Even those who felt hopeless had a sudden surge to put in extra effort.
Xiao Lin’s arrival even attracted a lot of attention, as many more individuals had taken note of the monitor from Class Seven during the third monthly exam. Some of them would come up and cordially greet him, though it was inevitable that others would speak to him in a weird tone.
“Why are you interested to practice swordsmanship today, Monitor Xiao?”
“Don’t you always use the simulated battle system?”
“Monitor Xiao, what’s your current attribute value?”
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Remarks like that were frequent, and there were always individuals there who felt psychologically challenged because they were not as strong as others. Xiao Lin’s gaze darted directly past them and landed on the few people who were fighting fiercely nearby.
The people within the training hall were clearly divided into two sections: ordinary students were on the left side, while several monitors occupied the entire right side. While it seemed unfair, no one would have any objections because the monitors were a cut above the rest. Any ordinary person who got too close might end up getting hurt by accident.
“My turn, Cheng Ming!”
Xiao Lin stepped forward and yelled. Cheng Ming was already dripping in sweat after clashing swords with his opponent. He pulled away slightly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to the other person, “I’ll rest for a bit. Xiao Lin will replace me and practice with you.”
“Ahem, what I meant was, let me practice with you, Cheng Ming. Battling an opponent of roughly the same level will have a greater effect on improvement,” Xiao Lin corrected.
The person who practiced with Cheng Ming was Class Two’s monitor. He wielded a saber, and his face turned dark when he heard that remark. Although he had witnessed Xiao Lin’s strength during the monthly exam, he believed that there was not much difference in strength between the two of them.
“Uh, sorry about that. Let me practice with Xiao Lin for a while.” The ever-earnest Cheng Ming had a sincere look that left Class Two’s monitor slightly stunned. In the end, the latter could only mutter a few words before moving aside to rest and watch the battle.
Xiao Lin and Cheng Ming had used the simulated battle system once before the monthly exam, and it ended with a victory for Xiao Lin. However, the simulated battle had been conducted during the Basic Swordsmanship class, which gave plenty of people the chance to watch. For the moment, the person who seemed to have the greatest hope of winning in the gambling pool was Cheng Ming. He therefore drew the attention of the entire training hall when he faced off against Xiao Lin, who had already proven himself in the monthly exam.
Even the monitors who were training next to them temporarily set everything aside and came to watch the battle. Ever since the betting pool began, the first instinct of all monitors was to keep their present attribute values a secret. They even deliberately hid their strengths during practice just so no one else could not discern their real strength. That way, it would be impossible for anyone to judge the exact level of attributes displayed.
Cheng Ming would never do such a thing, so many were curious about what kind of strength Xiao Lin would display during the battle with Cheng Ming.
“Who do you think will win?”
“I’ll begin by saying it’s fifty-fifty. Xiao Lin is quite strong. I’ve seen his strength during the monthly exam, but it looks like it’s just pure explosive force. Once that volatility ends, I don’t see how he could win over Cheng Ming.”
“Are you guys that bored? This is just a practice battle. There’s no need to decide who wins and who loses.”
“Well, if it’s that boring, why are you even watching?”
A heated discussion was immediately sparked after someone made the first remark. In fact, many forum users discussed the individual monitors’ strengths after the betting pool came into existence. So far, each of them had their own line of reasoning and it was difficult for any one person to convince the other.