The Almighty Ring

All three took their potions and left the building. Yang Po and Yang Qing were taken away by Granny Jinghua. Unlike guys, it was inappropriate to let girls be seen writhing in pain. Zhu Tianfei did not need to leave the room but he felt that it was only a means of precaution. Hence, he went out of the building and into the courtyard. There, on the empty stone-laid floor, he knelt down and drank the potion.

He quietly meditated but as soon the potion entered his bloodstream, the man flinched wildly. The pain was intense, so much so that even he, Zhu Tianfei, famed for being a brute, could not hold back the pain and started to struggle.

Even though everyone was familiar as to how the potion reacted to the human body, everyone could not help but tense up at the scene. As much as they wanted to have the potion, they could not help but feel afraid of what it would do to them. Given the chance, they would still take the potion without hesitation. It was worth it. Compared to training for years, all they had to do was to endure the excruciating pain for two to three hours and they could gain what years of training could offer. Who would want to deny a shortcut?

Jiang Fei had grown bored after a few minutes and decided to rest and sip tea with Bai Wanli and the other older elders. Since everyone else was preoccupied with witnessing how Zhu Tianfei struggling with pain, Bai Wanli and Ganyang Zhenren took the chance to talk about the potion with Jiang Fei. Although they do not know how much would Jiang Fei price the potion, they wanted to know how many could he produce. They understood that the test potions were merely… experimental products but since one of the potion’s ingredients was the flesh of a Level 5 Alien Beast, the hopes of mass producing it would be low.

Jiang Fei had grown mature and wise after socializing with other martial artists. Naturally, he could see what their true intentions were. Every time they started to ask about the quantity of potions Jiang Fei could bring in, he would simply just brush it off or just shakes his head. At best, he would simply say: not much.

Not only did Jiang Fei refuse to reveal how many potions he had, he blatantly tried to dig out each sect’s treasures. The man had steeled his decision to dry out their wallets!

After three hours of writhing in pain, the entire ordeal was over. Zhu Tianfei struggled to move but he managed to get up to his feet and sat down on a stone bench. He was originally at the Advanced stage of Level 4, stronger than the Yang sisters. That was why he could still walk and talk after enduring the trial.

“Old Zhu, my friend, how do you feel?” Bai Wanli was the first to ask.

“I… if you would, Mr. Jiang Fei,” said Zhu Tianfei. Albeit being able to walk and talk, he was still too disoriented to focus on his powers. He had to rely on Jiang Fei to judge his powers.

“It would be my honor,” said Jiang Fei. He then helped Zhu Tianfei to sit and pretended to take his pulse. Like how martial artists in movies do, he pressed his index finger and middle finger at the base of Zhu Tianfei’s palm.

“Subject’s vitals are normal and his energy reading has indeed reached the Pinnacle stage of Level 4. There seems to be no signs of side-effects,” said 0541.

The results given by 0541 had deemed positive. Although there were no negative symptoms or any kind at that moment, they would have to wait until Zhu Tianfei recovered and test his strength.

“Mr. Jiang?” Zhu Tianfei asked, panting for breath.

“Congratulations. You have indeed become stronger!” said Jiang Fei. Zhu Tianfei immediately caught his breath when Jiang Fei had delivered the good news, and when Jiang Fei had confirmed that Zhu Tianfei’s body was fine and showed no signs of any side-effect, the man smiled brighter than the sun.

“No side-effects?!” Bai Wanli gasped with delight but at the same time, he frowned worriedly. If the potion showed no side effects, the potion would be deemed perfected and there would not be any more potion trials.

“Indeed. However, we still need to put Mr. Zhu under observations for the time being, to see if there’s any symptoms manifest,” said Jiang Fei.

“If all goes well, there won’t be another potion trial, right?” Ganyang Zhenren asked nervously.

“I can’t give you a solid answer right now. Elder Zhu might be an Advanced stage of Level 4 fighter, but he had gone through much hardship compared to the others. His physique and mental constitution are stronger than anyone else. That could contribute to how well he was adapting to the potion’s effect. Let’s see how the Yang sisters do. If they could survive the potion as well as Elder Zhu, then I could say that potion should be perfected,” said Jiang Fei.

Half an hour later, Granny Jinghua returned to the room with a nervous expression.

“Little Jiang, please see to my disciples!” she cried.

Jiang Fei nodded and got up to his feet in a flash. He followed Granny Jinghua speedily and headed into the room where the girls were kept. The others followed along.

The sisters were quiet but looked extremely exhausted. They were already sitting on a long chair and was tended by the other disciples of the same sect. Despite being tended to, their complexions were bad and their hair was in a mess. No matter how one tried to hide it, there was no way one could hide the fact that they had just been through a tough ordeal. It was obvious that Granny Jinghua had ordered the other disciples to clean the two before having Jiang Fei over.

“0542, how are they?”

Jiang Fei pretended again, checking their pulse albeit having no knowledge on how to do it. Yang Qing was fine but Yang Po’s face was flushed red. The girl was breathing raggedly when Jiang Fei approached her. She was not used to having physical touch with anyone, including females. The only person that she allowed skinship with was her younger sister.

“Sir, the two subjects had successfully reached the Advanced stage of Level 4,” 0542 reported. They were originally at the Pinnacle stage of Level 3 and by reaching the Advanced stage of Level 4, they broke the record of having the best result.

“Is there anything wrong with them?” Jiang Fei asked. He did not care about how strong they became but what had gone wrong. One other aspect that he cared for was the wellbeing of the two sisters. Although he would not admit it, the man could not help but worry for them since he had known the two for a good amount of time. Secondly, and most importantly, he wanted to know if the potion was really safe for Shang Guanqi to consume.

“Hmm. It is… unlikely,” said 0542. Jiang Fei was shocked. That was the first time 0542 ever gave a vague answer.

“Specifics! I want details!” said Jiang Fei mentally. If Jiang Fei was not surrounded by so many other prospects of the potion, he would have already started panicking.

“All vital signs: normal. Brainwave readings are… slightly different from before…” 0542 explained.

“Human language, please!”

“I am communicating in the language humans are using. In layman’s term, the two are fine but due to the intense pain from the potion’s effect, their psyche had changed. However, what had changed in their personality is unknown,” 0542 explained again.

“Are you telling me… that they were not the same person?” said Jiang Fei.

“They are the same person but with a minuscule change.”

The potion they had taken were the same that Zhu Tianfei had taken. However, compared to the old man, the two young girls grew up differently. The elder was the youngest amongst all elders in the alliance, and he was already in his forties. With so many years of hardship and the fatal experience that he had to go through during the war in Japan, the man had gained willpower much greater than the two sisters.

0542 had already modified the potion to inflict the lowest amount of pain. Unfortunately, the potion could not be made without inflicting pain. To gain power, one must need an equal amount of willpower to control it, or else they would not be able to hold their newfound power and perish in the most flamboyant way possible.