Chapter 40 - 36: A Preliminary Test of Skill

Chapter 40: Chapter 36: A Preliminary Test of Skill

Early the next morning, Xu Mo awoke before dawn.

It wasn’t the cold or hunger that had woken him, but a sense of brimming, abundant power originating from within his body, as well as an irrepressible urge to test the changes he had undergone.

Leaping up from the sofa, Xu Mo’s movements were light and swift, and he barely made a sound when he landed. He instinctively looked down at his hands and arms, then touched his cheeks and chest.

His skin was warm to the touch and felt a little rougher than before, but to the naked eye, it looked no different from usual. It was still a healthy bronze color; the distinct, dark-yellow hue from his breakthrough last night had faded away.

’Was it just my imagination?’ The thought had barely formed before Xu Mo dismissed it.

’No, it was definitely not my imagination.’ The immense vital energy sleeping like a dormant beast within his body, ready to awaken at a moment’s notice, and the pervasive feeling of a denser, tougher quality throughout his entire being clearly told him one thing: he had reached the Cowhide Realm.

Xu Mo couldn’t wait to find out just what level of protection the so-called "tempering of the skin and membranes to enhance toughness" and being "able to withstand ordinary scratches, bites, and clubs" truly provided!

He took a deep breath, and with a mere thought—as if flipping an invisible switch—he began to circulate the vital energy within his body.

HUMMM—

An extremely faint vibration, seemingly from deep within his body, resounded. The next moment, Xu Mo clearly saw his skin, all over his body, take on a uniform and subdued dark-yellow hue at a visible speed. The color wasn’t garish, but it carried the dense, heavy quality of leather. The texture of his skin instantly became more defined and coarse; to the touch, it truly felt like a thick, tanned piece of old cowhide.

He walked to the center of the room and picked up a sturdy, hardwood stick about the thickness of his arm, which he normally used for practicing his resistance to impact.

First, without circulating his vital energy, Xu Mo tapped his arm with the wooden stick—he felt a normal impact and a slight twinge of pain. Then, Xu Mo circulated his vital energy again. As the dark-yellow hue appeared, he raised the stick and struck his left forearm, this time using about thirty percent of his strength.

WHAP!

A crisp sound rang out, but what Xu Mo felt was... almost nothing.

It wasn’t that he felt absolutely nothing, but the faint vibration and negligible pressure were like being gently touched by the soft, weak hand of a stumbling toddler. It didn’t even leave the faintest red mark.

A hint of delighted surprise flashed in Xu Mo’s eyes. He increased the force: fifty percent, then seventy percent!

WHAP! WHAP!

The sounds were still dull thuds, and the sensation on his arm remained faint, as if someone were giving him a massage with moderate pressure. When the wooden stick struck his arm, it was like hitting a thick rubber tire; most of the impact was absorbed and dispersed by the tough hide and the even denser muscle structure beneath.

"Full power!"

Xu Mo let out a low cry and swung the stick down!

BAM!

SNAP! The wooden stick broke on impact.

This time, Xu Mo felt it a little more clearly, like being slapped hard. There was a slight numbness, but it was still a far cry from "pain." On the area of skin that was hit, the dark-yellow hue seemed to deepen a shade, but it was still completely unscathed.

He put down the broken stick, a sharp glint in his eyes. ’And that’s just my passive defense!’

Xu Mo picked up a piece of the broken stick again. This time, he fully circulated his vital energy, the muscles on his dark-yellow right arm bulging. Then, he threw a full-power punch at the middle of the piece of wood held in his other hand.

SNAP!!

With a loud crack, the sturdy piece of wood was forcefully snapped in two by his fist of flesh and blood, sending splinters flying.

The moment his fist connected with the wood, Xu Mo could feel a recoil, but the force was greatly weakened upon contact with his "cowhide" defense and powerful bones. He felt it, sure—like a normal person punching a hard tabletop—but it was nowhere near enough to cause injury.

’Such strong defense! Such great power!’ Xu Mo looked at his unscathed fist, his heart pounding with excitement. ’This is just the beginning of the Cowhide Realm. What would it be like if I trained to its peak, or even broke through to the Iron Bone Realm?’

Next, he would test it against a blade.

Xu Mo fetched the Bone-Cutting Knife, which had been "retired" and was now used for processing ingredients. Without circulating his vital energy, he lightly drew the blade across his arm—it left a clear white mark. With a little pressure, it could cut the skin and draw small beads of blood.

Then, Xu Mo once again circulated his vital energy, and his dark-yellow skin reappeared. He gripped the Bone-Cutting Knife, pressed the blade against the equally dark-yellow and tough skin of his forearm, and began to apply force.

There was a noticeable resistance. The sensation wasn’t like cutting human skin, but more like trying to cut a thick, oil-soaked piece of cowhide with a dull knife.

He had to apply considerable force just to make the blade slowly slice in. It opened a cut, but it was very shallow, only piercing the outermost layer of his hide. Very few beads of blood seeped out, and the muscles around the wound even seemed to be subtly writhing and tightening, showing powerful regenerative potential and resilience.

’A sharp blade can cause a cut, but it can’t penetrate deeply... It’s just as I expected!’ Xu Mo nodded in satisfaction.

This meant that unless an ordinary zombie was continuously and frantically clawing and biting at the exact same spot, its claws and fangs would probably have a hard time causing him any real damage. And as for ordinary knives wielded by humans, the threat was also greatly reduced, unless the attacker was extremely strong, the blade was exceptionally sharp, and the attack was precise.

The test of his defensive power was complete, and the results far exceeded his expectations.

Immediately after, Xu Mo began to test his other improvements.

He walked over to the huge, homemade weighted bag he used for practicing squats. It was filled with sand and gravel, weighing over a hundred kilograms. Previously, he had needed to circulate his vital energy to lift it with relative ease and perform squats.

Now, as Xu Mo circulated his vital energy again, the weighted bag felt surprisingly light. Not only could he lift it with ease, but he could also perform rapid lunges and jumps, something he couldn’t do before.

’Looks like I’ll need to add more weight to this bag.’

Putting down the weighted bag, Xu Mo began to test his other abilities.

He began to perform rapid shuttle runs, dodges, punches, and kicks within the cramped confines of the room.

Xu Mo could feel that his reflexes seemed faster; his body could react more promptly to the moving images his eyes captured. The speed and explosive power of his punches and kicks had also improved significantly. While not so exaggerated as to leave afterimages, he was definitely much faster than before his breakthrough. In a life-or-death battle, this kind of improvement was often the decisive factor.

After a round of tests, Xu Mo’s whole body was steaming, his vital energy coursing without cease. As he moved, his dark-yellow skin seemed to shimmer with a faint glow. He slowly retracted his power, and the dark-yellow hue receded from his skin like a tide, returning it to its normal appearance. However, a trace of its rough texture seemed to linger, which would need time to slowly smooth out.

Xu Mo stood in the center of the room, sensing the state of his body after the tests, his heart filled with an indescribable excitement.

The Cowhide Realm truly lived up to its name!

When he circulated his vital energy, his skin became like cowhide—incredibly tough, with astonishing defensive power. His resistance to blunt trauma and ordinary blades had taken a quantum leap. At the same time, his strength, speed, and reflexes had all improved significantly.

Of course, Xu Mo was also clear on the characteristics and limitations of this Cultivation Technique:

The powerful defense was not a permanent, passive ability; it had to be actively triggered by circulating his vital energy. This meant that in a surprise attack, or if his vital energy was depleted, his defensive capabilities would be drastically reduced.

Furthermore, maintaining this "cowhide" state clearly consumed vital energy, so it was impossible to keep it active indefinitely.

Moreover, the Cowhide Realm was not invincible. It was still an open question whether it could completely withstand more powerful piercing attacks—like a military bayonet, a crossbow bolt, or a high-velocity bullet—or a heavy blunt impact, like a blow from a sledgehammer. And his weak points, such as his eyes, throat, and groin, would inevitably be much less protected, even when he was circulating his vital energy.

But regardless, now that he possessed the strength of the Cowhide Realm, his ability to survive in these apocalyptic ruins had undergone a world-shaking change. He had gone from a survivor who was utterly dependent on weapons to taking his first solid step toward becoming a "Transcendent"—someone who could physically withstand some dangers head-on.