SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 162: Perfect Skin Refining

The revelation hit Daniel like a bolt of lightning.

The soap... it had been the ginseng all along.

He stood in the quiet vault, the half-ginseng in his hand pulsing with a gentle warmth, and everything finally clicked into place.

The cryptic advice from Old Man Hemlock, the forced baths, the strange, almost magical recovery he felt each morning, was all part of a single, grand plan.

The old master had been preparing his body, using the external application of the ginseng to temper his skin and muscles, getting him ready for this final, crucial step.

A wave of profound gratitude washed over him, so strong it almost brought him to his knees.

He had thought he was enduring a trial of humiliation.

In reality, he had been receiving the personal guidance of a hidden master, a gift of unimaginable value.

"Thank you, old man," he whispered to the empty vault, his voice thick with emotion. "I won’t waste it."

Daniel found a quiet, secluded corner of the vast garden, a small clearing surrounded by ancient, rainbow-leafed trees.

The air here was pure, saturated with the potent life energy of the garden. It was the perfect place for his transformation.

He sat down, his heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

This was the second stage of the Principal’s cultivation plan: Perfect Skin Refining.

With the external application complete thanks to the ginseng-soap, it was time for the internal refinement.

He looked at the gnarled, ancient half-ginseng in his hand. He took a deep, steadying breath, then, without hesitation, he consumed it.

The moment the ginseng touched his tongue, it dissolved into a torrent of pure, liquid fire that surged down his throat and into his stomach.

"BOOM!"

An explosion of searing heat erupted from his core, spreading through his body like a raging inferno!

The pain was instantaneous and excruciating.

It felt like every cell in his body was being simultaneously boiled and torn apart. He let out a choked scream, his back arching in agony.

The two halves of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng, one absorbed through his skin over a month, the other now raging through his bloodstream, had finally reunited.

The reaction was intense, a powerful breakdown followed by a transformative renewal.

He could feel his old skin, the skin he had been born with, beginning to peel and slough away, consumed by the fiery energy.

Beneath it, a new layer was being forged, tempered in the crucible of this agonizing pain.

He fell to the ground, his body uncontrollably.

He gritted his teeth, his mind flashing back to the endless, mind-numbing labor of the radish field.

That month of hardship had not just tempered his body, it had forged his will into something unbreakable.

He focused on that will, using it as an anchor in the storm of agony. He would endure this. He had to.

For two long, torturous hours, the process continued.

The pain came and went, but never fully disappeared.

He felt as if he were being reforged, hammered into a new shape on a divine anvil.

Finally, just as he thought he could bear it no longer, the searing heat began to cool, the violent energy within him calming into a deep, steady thrum.

The process was complete.

He lay on the soft grass, exhausted but alive, his body feeling strangely light.

He slowly, painfully, pushed himself up. He looked at his hands, his arms. His old skin was gone, replaced by something new.

It appeared flawless, smooth and unmarked, without a single scar or blemish. A faint, jade-like sheen gave it a subtle glow, and it felt both incredibly strong and surprisingly supple to the touch.

He picked up a sharp shard of obsidian rock that had been lying nearby. He ran its razor edge against his forearm.

The rock didn’t even leave a scratch. It felt like trying to cut diamond with a piece of wet clay.

His new skin was tougher than high-grade armor. His Perfect Skin Refining was a success.

He reflected on his gains. It wasn’t just the new, powerful skin.

The month of cultivation had changed him in more profound ways. He had a more efficient way of exerting his strength, a deeper understanding of his own physical limits.

His mind had grown calmer, his temperament steadier, shaped by the repetitive labor and the unrelenting demand for focus.

He felt more grounded, more whole.

He thought of Old Man Hemlock, his eccentric, infuriating, and brilliant mentor.

He went back to the small wooden hut to thank him properly, but as he had suspected, it was empty, cleaned out as if no one had ever lived there.

The old man had vanished as mysteriously as he had lived.

A silent vow formed in Daniel’s mind. He would not just complete the Principal’s quest; he would excel at it.

He would become so strong that the next time he met the old master, he would be worthy of his respect.

Later that day, Principal Alistair Finch was in his quiet workshop, sipping tea, when a faint ripple in the air signaled the arrival of Old Man Hemlock.

The scruffy, deaf farmer was gone, now a straight-backed, dignified elder with eyes that shone with sharp, clear wisdom.

"The boy has completed the first stage, Alistair," Hemlock said, his voice no longer a thin, reedy crackle, but a deep, clear baritone.

"His foundation is tempered. His will is strong. He is ready for the next step."

The Principal smiled, a deep, satisfied expression on his ancient face.

"Excellent, Hermlock. I knew he had it in him.

The path ahead will be even more perilous. But the boy... he has the heart of a true champion."

They both looked out the window, towards the distant, dangerous levels of the Verge, their hopes for the future resting on the shoulders of one extraordinary young man.

The journey back from the Eastern Medicine Garden was a strange and surreal experience for Daniel.

Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience