Chapter Eight: Guidance (Part Two)

This punishment... is truly a bit deadly, Ling Mo thought with a wry smile, but quickly composed himself. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time the system had offered a non-consumable reward. It was incredibly tempting, especially since the “Primeval Relic Claws” sounded so powerful just from the name!

“All right, let’s not talk about the pill anymore. Your most important task now is to build a solid foundation in martial arts with my guidance,” Ling Mo said. “Anyone interested in the pill can keep watching this stream. After I’ve taught my disciple for a while, I’ll take her to the Scarborough Market by the edge of the rainforest. You can wait for us there.”

Hearing this, Catherine’s expression grew serious. She knew he was about to pass on some real knowledge. Suddenly, she recalled how many secret techniques were not to be passed on to outsiders. To be safe, she hurriedly asked, “Master, should I turn off the stream?”

Ling Mo shook his head. “No need. Martial arts do not keep secrets to themselves. Anyone who wishes to learn is free to listen. Of course, if their physical aptitude isn’t up to par, it won’t be of much use anyway.”

“Now, the first step. After your body’s recent improvement, I’m sure you’ve noticed changes, but there are some fundamental transformations you haven’t felt yet. For now, run at full speed around this small lake. Sprint as hard as you can until you feel you can’t go on.”

Upon hearing this, Catherine immediately did a few stretches as a warm-up, then began running around the lake at full speed. Her movements were as graceful as a leopard’s; from the top of her head to the base of her spine, her body undulated in a rhythmic wave, presenting a mesmerizing beauty. Her speed was astonishing—so fast it made one doubt whether she was even human! Seeing her velocity, viewers in the livestream, especially newcomers, could hardly believe their eyes.

“Is this speed even real?!”

“How could anyone run so fast? Did she cast ‘Gale Step’ on herself?”

“Stop joking, her magical foundation is destroyed—she can’t even cast a breeze spell now!”

“Am I imagining things, or is she faster than Putters?”

“That’s definitely your imagination! Putters is the world sprint champion! Fifteen meters per second!”

“Exactly, it’s probably a camera angle thing. Looks faster than it is!”

“Stop talking nonsense. I’ve measured it: the streamer’s speed exceeds twenty meters per second!”

“Are you crazy? How did you measure that?”

“Can’t you analyze video speed? I won’t argue with the uneducated!”

“Don’t doubt it, I measured too. Her straight-line speed is definitely at least twenty meters per second!”

The debate in the chat grew more heated. Suddenly, a deep crimson ID with official SharkFighter platform certification spoke up:

“Not just twenty! Top speed is twenty-one point six. She’s already shattered the human world record. Are we sure the streamer isn’t half elf?”

On the SharkFighter platform, a deep crimson ID signified a Magister—one in a million! Their mental strength could rival advanced magical brains, and superhuman calculation ability was just the baseline. When this person spoke, all doubts vanished. The entire chat stared in awe as the figure on screen sprinted, especially when she took corners, leaning almost parallel to the ground while maintaining nearly the same speed as on straightaways. It overturned everything they knew!

Catherine felt herself growing happier and more exhilarated as she ran. In the first half-lap, she was still a little unfamiliar with her new body, but by the latter half, that awkwardness had vanished. Especially at the instant she straightened up after a turn, her body shot forward like a compressed spring released, the exhilarating burst of speed making her want to shout with excitement!

She also discovered just how incredible this so-called physical enhancement was. With her old body, running at maximum speed, she could barely see anything but what was directly ahead; now, even at far greater speeds, her vision remained clear, as if she’d unlocked dynamic sight.

After one lap, Catherine was thoroughly satisfied with her new body. While feeling good, she decided not to stop and was just starting a second lap when, after less than a hundred meters, an intense, burning pain surged from her lungs, searing her chest. The fiery sensation rushed up her throat, bringing a suffocating discomfort that made her gasp desperately for breath.

With that suffocation came a leaden heaviness in her limbs, a muscle ache so intense it was almost ecstatic, overwhelming her entire body. But the worst part was her mind growing fuzzy—dizziness, ringing in her ears, a pounding headache like a hammer blow, stars dancing before her eyes. The world spun, and she lost control, collapsing to the ground and rolling several times from the momentum, finally skidding a few meters and carving a deep trench in the soft humus.

What on earth was happening?

Struggling, Catherine flipped herself over to lie on her back, gulping air. Even though it was fresh, it scorched her throat and lungs. The rapid breaths did nothing to relieve her suffocation or panic; her heart hammered so fiercely it felt like it would burst through her chest, drumming in her ears.

“What’s wrong with the streamer?”

“What happened? Please don’t scare us!”

“That fall looked nasty! She flew at least ten meters!”

“Viewer ‘Forever Seventeen’ gifts the streamer a Meteor Firestorm! With a message: ‘Stay strong! Don’t let anything happen!’”

…

Catherine lay on the ground for a long time, breathing heavily for nearly five minutes before the burning in her lungs eased and the nausea and retching faded, replaced by overwhelming muscle soreness in her limbs, neck, and back, every fiber trembling and aching. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ling Mo walking over. She painfully turned her head toward him and asked, “Ma… Master, what… happened?”

She startled herself with her voice—dry, raspy as a torn bellows, with a harsh, grating edge, as if she were about to die. Ling Mo smiled and gestured for her to calm down before speaking easily: “Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. What you’re experiencing is—oxygen deprivation.”

“Oxygen… deprivation?” Catherine was baffled. “How can that be? The lake’s just a few hundred meters around!”

“There’s nothing impossible about it,” Ling Mo said, sitting cross-legged beside her and helping her sit up, patting her back a few times. Catherine immediately felt much better as Ling Mo continued, “Look at your skin and nails—aren’t they turning purple? You can’t see your lips, but they’re even darker. Confusion, muscle pain, purple extremities—aren’t these classic symptoms of hypoxia?”

Catherine looked down and saw her fingertips swollen and purplish as if bruised, in stark contrast to the pale pink of the rest, matching exactly what she’d learned in wilderness survival class. Feeling much improved, her voice grew smoother: “But—but! I only ran a few hundred meters!”

Ling Mo didn’t answer directly but asked, “Don’t you think the human body is like a most exquisite work of art?”

What did he mean? Puzzled, Catherine replied quickly, “Yes.”

“Indeed, a masterpiece, with every organ playing its unique role and coexisting harmoniously,” Ling Mo’s gaze grew distant as he spoke. “The human body is an economical system. Even the filtrate the kidneys produce is processed several times before being excreted. Millions of years of evolution have brought your body to a ‘state of economical balance.’ Within the limited space of your thoracic cavity, useful organs get as much room as needed, but there’s not a millimeter to spare for anything else.”

“And the organ with the most expandable space is, without doubt, the stomach. It can grow to five times its size to store more food and energy, for evolution has taught the body that food is scarce and storing more is always wise.”

“But the lungs are different. Air is everywhere; never in evolutionary history has there been a shortage of air. So, to save space, the lungs retain only the function of exchanging gases, not storing air. This is perfectly correct from an evolutionary standpoint. After all, if your body had an organ to store air, it would be as pointless as a fish evolving a water jug—it would serve no purpose at all.”

By now Catherine understood. She said thoughtfully, “I get it, Master. You mean my body’s abilities have improved so much that my oxygen consumption has soared, but my lung capacity is no longer enough to supply what my body needs, right?”