Messages kept surfacing in his mind. "Level 4 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 49/50" "Level 4 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 50/50" "Promotion Initiated" "Muscle enhancement begins, strength increases" "Base strength increased to one thousand jin" "Defense increased by one hundred jin" "Stamina enhanced, speed increased, vision enhanced, hearing enhanced" "Lung capacity increased, base breath-holding time extended by one minute" "..." "Promotion Complete" "Level 5 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 0/70" "Talent: Enhancement Favor" "Base Enhancement: Strong Lung Type 1 (extends breath-holding time by two minutes)" "Base Enhancement: Muscle Growth Type 4 (adds 900 jin of strength)" "Special Skills: Peeping Rune (Flawed), Fangs of Gluttony (Left), Spider Walk" "Base Enhancement Options: Strong Lung Type 1, Muscle Growth Type 4, Teeth, Bladder" "Beginning to comprehend Spirit Source Techniques" "Spirit Source Techniques: Steel Muscle, Demon Muscle—choose one to learn and master"
In his mind, a flood of information emerged in succession. There were four options for base enhancement: lungs, muscles, teeth, and bladder. Su Li needed greater strength to confront the terrifying undead monster before him. Strengthening the lungs would only extend breath-holding time, and while he didn’t know the exact effects of teeth or bladder enhancement, he guessed they had nothing to do with power. To boost combat ability now, his only choice was to continue strengthening his muscles. His muscles had undergone four enhancements, granting him unprecedented strength, but it also made Su Li fear whether other parts of his body could withstand such explosive power. So this time, he had originally planned to temporarily forgo muscle enhancement and strengthen other areas instead. Yet now, facing this dreadful undead, life hung in the balance—there was no other choice. He had to maximize combat power first and deal with the rest after killing this monster. If he couldn’t even survive, all his considerations were meaningless. Besides, he still had one enhancement opportunity left.
As he made his choice, his muscles instantly began to writhe, as if they had all come alive at once. "Muscle enhancement begins, Muscle Growth Type 4 upgrades to Muscle Growth Type 5, gaining an additional 1,200 jin of muscle strength." "Muscles have undergone five enhancements, reaching the current level and the body's maximum tolerance. Further enhancement is impossible; the number of base enhancements cannot exceed the current level."
Sensing the information in his mind, Su Li immediately understood. So base enhancements had a limit—they couldn’t surpass his current level or his body’s tolerance. As a Level 5 Spirit Source User, his muscles could only be enhanced five times at most. To continue strengthening them, he would need to level up again. "It seems all my earlier worries were unnecessary. This base enhancement system already caps the number of enhancements. I was fretting over whether over-strengthening muscles would strain other parts of my body, but it was all for nothing." Su Li felt relieved and let out a sigh. "Back when I was Level 4 and did the fourth muscle enhancement, there was no such warning. This time it appeared, meaning the fourth enhancement hadn’t yet reached the body’s limit."
Based on this guess, Su Li deduced that strengthening a specific body part had two constraints: first, the number of enhancements for that part couldn’t exceed the current level; second, the body’s tolerance. If a part reached its limit, a warning would prevent further enhancement. These two constraints weren’t always aligned. For example, if someone trained hard and had exceptionally developed muscles before becoming a Spirit Source User, they might reach the limit after just four muscle enhancements as a Level 5, unable to do a fifth. Since Su Li had been an ordinary person without such extraordinary muscles, his current muscle enhancement limit perfectly matched his level.
New information appeared in Su Li’s mind again. "Talent 'Enhancement Favor' triggered, granting an additional enhancement opportunity. Options: Strong Lung Type 1, Muscle Growth Type 5, Heart, Stomach." "Finally, the heart option is here." Su Li felt a surge of joy.
As he sensed the continuous stream of information, the undead had already charged in front of him. Su Li had no time to carefully consider the message and make a second choice. With a furious roar, he gripped his cleaver and swung it head-on. Having advanced to Level 5 Spirit Source User, his base strength reached one thousand jin, and Muscle Growth Type 5 added another 1,200 jin, pushing his maximum power to 2,200 jin. Compared to when he was Level 4, his strength had increased by 500 jin. Not just strength—speed, stamina, reaction time, and defense had all improved. His muscle defense rose from 500 jin to 600 jin, allowing him to withstand and neutralize stronger attacks.
With Su Li’s roar, the cleaver sliced through the air with a fierce wind, faster than before. The undead extended its mutated claws, unafraid, to block. But Su Li’s swing was a feint. He activated "Spider Walk," circling to its other side, and unleashed his left-hand "Fangs of Gluttony." With a loud bang, the undead simultaneously launched a head-butt attack. Su Li’s "Fangs of Gluttony" slammed into the undead’s projectile skull. Four sharp fangs pierced into the undead’s head. Blood splattered. The undead let out a guttural, agonized roar, recoiling as if electrocuted. It retracted its extended head, widening the distance from Su Li. Its face grew even paler, four bloody holes on its forehead gushing blood, with hints of white matter visible inside.
Su Li didn’t immediately pursue. Instead, he used the extra enhancement opportunity to decisively choose to strengthen his heart. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He had long noticed that during battle, his heart pounded violently, feeling like it might give out. But the heart enhancement option had never appeared before—now, finally, it had. "Heart enhancement begins, obtaining Super Heart Type 1. Stamina doubles, maximum strength burst duration extended to two minutes. Super Heart adds an extra three minutes of duration, with an additional one hundred jin of strength."
Sensing the changes in his heart, Su Li felt it transform into a blazing fireball, continuously releasing immense energy that surged through his body. His stamina grew more abundant, his body stronger and more powerful.