Lu Han, who had watched the entire battle from a third-person perspective, stood with his mouth slightly open and his heart beating abnormally fast.
He finally understood what the statues were capable of.
Especially now that he comprehended the characteristics of the metal and wood statues.
"What should I do?"
Lu Han sat down on the ground, having no idea what to do.
He wasn't a noble with countless treasures—just an ordinary person.
Inside his bag, there was only the bare minimum to survive: old clothes and a needle to sew them if they tore.
"No weapons, three small buns, and less than a quarter of a bottle of water."
A sigh escaped his lips. He felt lost.
He wanted to become a martial artist, but the situation made it difficult to prolong his training.
Letting out another deep sigh, he opened his eyes, realizing what he needed to do.
In his current situation, every second had to be used to increase his strength.
"If I keep just punching, I'll wear myself out physically. The right way to train is to find objective ways to grow."
With his hand on his chin, Lu Han began to consider an option that would allow him to train and improve at the same time.
It was a difficult hypothesis to execute, forcing him to rack his brain.
After ten minutes, he managed to come up with only one idea:
Injure himself and use the ointment to heal his skin.
Lu Han didn't understand medicine, but deep down, he had only one thought:
If the human body can adapt to immortal cultivation, why wouldn't it physically adapt by being healed and then injured again?
That was why he came up with this idea—something that would seem like madness to anyone else.
But for him, in his desperation, it was a light at the end of the tunnel.
"Try it!"
Lu Han's eyes became resolute.
Without thinking further, he pulled up the sleeve covering his arms, raising it to his shoulders and revealing thin arms, with bones clearly visible beneath the skin.
He was extremely frail.
So frail that even he found it hard to believe what he had done moments earlier.
The fear of death unlocks terrifying limits.
Smirking at that thought, Lu Han took the ointment and dipped his fingers into it. Then he spread it over his right arm, dyeing it green.
After that, he felt no immediate effect. The ointment didn't disappear, probably because there were no wounds to heal.
With one arm covered and the other not, he decided not to waste more of it.
He put the container away and then extended his fist, using his martial art that combined water and earth.
His arm trembled from the impact.
Then, Lu Han began his madness.
Holding the needle with his still-functional hand, he brought it to his arm and pressed the sharp tip against the green-coated skin. Then he tore through the epidermis, dragging the needle as if it were a zipper.
Immediately, his face twisted in pain.
The sharp, hellish sensation lasted only an instant.
The ointment closed the wound almost immediately.
And his immobilized arm regained movement at the same moment.
With that, Lu Han broke into a wide smile.
It was exactly as he had imagined.
He could force his body to adapt by physically exhausting himself and then injuring it.
As the ointment healed the wound in the affected area, its regenerative effect would also reduce his physical exhaustion, thus breaking his current limit.
At the same time, it would establish a new limit through recovery.
To confirm, he punched again—first a light strike, then turning it into something heavy like stone.
This time, he did not feel the same total loss of strength.
"As long as I have this miraculous ointment, I can perform miracles!"
Lu Han could not contain his excitement.
The light he had been searching for was now a real hope.
Without restraint, he began to act like a maniac, showing no mercy to his own body.
Alternating his arms, he threw punches with full force, destroying his own skin and allowing it to reconstruct through healing.
With each moment, he increased the sequence of strikes he could perform: from one to one and a half, then to two.
After using half of the ointment, Lu Han managed to reach three consecutive punches with each arm.
His arms were still thin, but now veins and muscle fibers began to appear—not exaggerated, but clearly disproportionate compared to the rest of his body.
His already unimpressive appearance became even stranger.
To hell with it.
He wasn't there to find a wife.
Lu Han shook his head, completely ignoring his appearance.
"Now… the legs!"
Beyond strength, the ability to escape was also essential.
So he didn't hesitate to invest in mobility.
But…
Lu Han felt a bit awkward lifting his pant legs in front of the supervisor.
Well, in truth, she didn't seem to care. Her expression clearly said: "Leave me alone."
Even so, he felt uncomfortable, almost like an exhibitionist.
"Whatever!"
His desire for results overcame his embarrassment. He rolled his pants up to his knees.
After applying the ointment to his legs, he closed his eyes, ignoring the shared vision with Murong Huali, and focused his will on his legs.
Then he shot forward like lightning—advancing and retreating rapidly.
Lu Han jumped repeatedly until he could no longer endure it and lost all sensation.
Ploc! Ploc!
When he reached his limit, his tongue hung out, and his face was drenched in sweat, thick drops dripping onto the ground.
Collapsing onto the floor, exhausted, he curled his body and, with the needle, made long cuts from his shins to his knees.
Grimacing, he finished both sides and grabbed his water bottle, taking only a small sip to conserve it.
Taking advantage of the moment, he ate another bun despite his disgust. Even so, it wasn't enough to satisfy him. His stomach continued to churn.
"I'll eat one more. My time here is running out."
After training his legs, he would go to the third test. If the ointment ran out, his progress would end as well.
So, ready or not, he would have to face the next challenge.
With that in mind, he ate another stale bun and saved the last one for when he left.
Standing up, he continued jumping between the monuments. Unlike punching, which strained the arms more, training his legs demanded his entire body.
Lu Han exhausted himself multiple times.
Three hours later, he finished his training, achieving yet another peculiar transformation:
His legs now displayed more defined veins and muscles, while the rest of his body remained relatively unchanged.
A change that did not draw much attention, since he hid it under his clothes.
After drinking the rest of his water and eating the last bun—which still did not satisfy him—Lu Han walked toward the supervisor's table.
Even with his stomach unsettled, he managed to move normally.
When you are born into poverty, it is easy to live with little.
"Fairy, I have memorized the monuments. I wish to proceed to the next test."