Chapter 3: The Medicinal Bath
Age: 6 Months
"It boils!"
"It's too hot for an infant! Are you trying to cook him?"
My father's voice boomed through the Alchemy Hall. Ye Tian was protective, I'll give him that.
"Patriarch, please," the Head Alchemist sighed, wiping sweat from his brow. "The Young Master crushed a Spirit Jade with his bare hands at three months. His body craves energy. This 'Dragon Blood Soup' is the only thing that can satisfy him."
I was currently being held by a nervous servant, stripped naked, hovering over a large wooden tub filled with bubbling, dark red liquid. It smelled of sulfur, iron, and expensive herbs.
To a normal baby, this liquid would feel like lava. It was meant for 5-year-old disciples to temper their skin.
'Finally,' I thought, staring at the tub. 'Real food.'
My bones were already hardened from the Spirit Jades I had been secretly snacking on for the last three months. But my skin was still soft. I needed to toughen up.
"Put him in," Ye Tian commanded, though he looked ready to jump in and save me at the first sign of distress.
The servant lowered me into the red liquid.
Splashes.
The heat hit me instantly. It was searing.
'Ria, filter the pain receptors. Keep it at 30%. I need to feel the heat to guide the energy.'
"Done," Ria replied.
I didn't cry. I didn't flinch. I sat in the tub, the red liquid reaching my neck, and closed my eyes.
'Technique: Heaven-Devouring Sutra. Second Form: Pore Breathing.'
Every pore on my tiny body opened up like a hungry mouth.
Whoosh.
Under the water, a vortex formed around my body. The red herbal essence, which usually soaked into skin slowly over hours, was being violently dragged into my flesh.
[Skin Tempering: 1%]
[Skin Tempering: 5%]
It felt like thousands of ants biting me. Good. Pain meant growth.
"He… He isn't crying?" The Alchemist's jaw dropped. "Look at the liquid!"
Usually, the medicinal bath stayed red for six hours.
But around me, the water was visibly turning clear. I was stripping the nutrients out of the soup at a terrifying speed.
"More!" Ye Tian shouted, seeing the water turn clear in minutes. "Add more herbs! Don't let him starve!"
The Alchemists scrambled, throwing in bundles of Fire Grass and Iron Root.
I ate it all.
My skin began to glow with a faint, bronze sheen. This was the Bronze Skin Stage of body refining—something kids didn't usually reach until age seven.
Suddenly, the door opened. Another Elder walked in, carrying a crying baby.
"Patriarch, my grandson Ye Feng is also here for his baptism. Since the tub is large…"
Ye Tian nodded distractedly. "Put him in the other end. But be careful, the medicine is strong."
Ye Feng, a chubby baby of 8 months, was lowered into the opposite side of the tub.
"WAAAAAAH!" Ye Feng screamed the moment his toe touched the hot water. He thrashed and splashed.
I opened one eye.
'Quiet,' I thought. 'I'm eating.'
I released a sliver of my Beast King Aura. Just a tiny trace of "Predator."
Ye Feng froze mid-scream. His survival instinct kicked in. He looked at me—the 6-month-old sitting silently in the boiling water—and felt terror. He hiccuped, then went completely silent, shivering in the corner of the tub.
The Elders were stunned.
"Did… did Young Master Rudra just glare Ye Feng into silence?"
I ignored them. I took a deep breath, inhaling the steam.
'Ria, push the energy to my muscle fibers. We are done with the skin for now.'
"You're showing off again," Ria teased. "But look at your father."
I looked up. Ye Tian was grinning from ear to ear. He looked like he had just conquered a kingdom.
"A monster," Ye Tian laughed, slapping the Alchemist on the back hard enough to bruise. "My son is a little monster! Bring the Tiger Blood next time! This Dragon Soup is too weak for him!"
I closed my eyes again, satisfied.
Bronze Skin achieved.
Next target: Iron Bones.
I would be ready to hold a sword by age one .