He had thought that, as an elite college freshman, reading introductory material meant for children would be a breeze. Yet after spending some time studying the basic theories in the documents, he found he could not understand the meaning of many terms at all, and the fundamental scientific principles being explained left him completely bewildered.
It seemed the gap in social development was simply too vast. It was like bringing someone from ancient Hua Nation to the Blue Planet to read modern textbooks; separated by such vastly different linguistic and social environments, understanding them naturally proved an arduous task.
He would have to start learning from scratch, ideally beginning with materials akin to first-grade textbooks. With this thought in mind, Li Xiangdong activated the Ring once more and searched for "textbooks," finding that a wide variety of educational materials were indeed stored within. Ranging from the most rudimentary kindergarten enlightenment materials to professional college-level texts, he took out a copy of anything he deemed necessary to study, piling them high in his bedroom.
Before long, there was hardly enough room to walk in the bedroom.
Picking up a box labeled "Enlightenment Education," he skillfully opened it and began to watch. Starting truly from scratch, everything finally made sense. Persisting with the enlightenment textbooks was indeed the right path; the materials were all in digital format, complete with text, images, actual video footage, and three-dimensional animated demonstrations, making it impossible not to understand.
"If the textbooks back in our Hua Nation could be like this, learning would be so much easier and more fun," Li Xiangdong secretly resolved that, given the opportunity, he must popularize this set of textbooks in Hua Nation, for scientific development and progress had to begin with the children.
Ever since unearthing the Ring that afternoon, Li Xiangdong had been in a state of continuous excitement and agitation. After sitting down to read the enlightenment textbooks for over two hours that night, he finally felt tired, bypassed washing up, and fell straight asleep.
The next morning, Li Xiangdong woke up before five o'clock. Remembering that Xiaohei had taken the Primary Genetic Potion yesterday, he carefully went downstairs. Before even reaching the doghouse, he caught a wave of sour, pungent odor. Searching closely for the source of the smell, he realized it was emanating from Xiaohei's body.
Upon seeing Li Xiangdong, Xiaohei leaped right out of its doghouse, wagging its tail frantically. Seeing Xiaohei's black fur in such a messy, mottled state, Li Xiangdong retreated repeatedly, hurriedly beckoning the dog over to the outdoor tap by the vegetable plot to wash it down.
After quite a commotion, he looked at the freshly washed Xiaohei. Its coat of black fur was now sleek and glossy, and its two canine eyes seemed to shine brilliantly, exuding a faint, captivating aura.
"Xiaohei, sit." This was one of the most basic commands Li Xiangdong used to practice with Xiaohei during his free time. Previously, while obedient, Xiaohei's execution had never been quite up to par.
Now, at Li Xiangdong's single command, Xiaohei immediately sat upright to the side.
"Up, run to the courtyard gate."
With a "whoosh," a streak of black lightning flashed by, and Xiaohei was already standing before the courtyard gates.
"Come back!"
With another "whoosh," Xiaohei was sitting right in front of Li Xiangdong.
...
After putting Xiaohei through its paces repeatedly for half an hour, the dog was still full of vigor and life.
"Not bad! Not bad!" Li Xiangdong happily patted Xiaohei on the head. "The heavy responsibility of guarding the house is yours now."
"Woof woof," Xiaohei responded softly, as if it could truly understand Li Xiangdong's words.
"It must be that Xiaohei's intelligence successfully improved after taking the genetic potion. It seems the Primary Genetic Potion is completely safe. I'll observe for a few more days; if there are no issues for half a month straight, I'll decide whether to take the Primary Genetic Potion myself."
Though he had long been eager to take the genetic potion, for the sake of his own life, no matter how impatient he felt, he had to wait patiently.
The period that followed was an extremely fulfilling one for Li Xiangdong. Every day, apart from attending the online classes mandated by his school, he devoted himself to studying the learning materials retrieved from the Ring. Even though he had started with introductory primers, some of the theories remained difficult to grasp. Fortunately, Li Xiangdong possessed an unflagging curiosity, and he persevered in reading all the elementary and intermediate textbooks from cover to cover.
In his spare time, he spent it with Xiaohei. As time passed, Xiaohei underwent even greater changes. It ate much more than before, and when the food at home wasn't enough, it would head out into the mountains on its own to catch wild hares and pheasants. Its body had grown considerably, standing nearly a meter tall with astonishing strength. When Li Xiangdong played with Xiaohei as he used to, a single careless move would result in him being tackled to the ground.
Xiaohei's running and jumping abilities had more than tripled. Chasing wild boars and driving hares in the mountains was effortless; in less than ten days, it had dragged three hares and even a wild boar weighing over fifty catties back home.
The villagers all marveled in astonishment, claiming that Xiaohei had turned into a demon spirit.
Only Li Xiangdong knew that this was Xiaohei evolving. Given its current physical conditioning, Xiaohei must be an invincible existence among dogs. Whether German Shepherds or Tibetan Mastiffs, they would all likely have to bow before it.
Fortunately, Xiaohei had grown up in Li Xiangdong's household since it was a puppy, sharing a deep affection with all six family members and acting very close to everyone. Although the family had noticed Xiaohei's drastic changes, they only found it slightly strange and didn't pay it too much mind, merely growing even more fond of the dog.
Fifteen days passed in an agonizingly tormenting wait for Li Xiangdong. To ensure absolute safety, he forced himself to endure five more days of anxious suspense.
The date had reached March 20th. That night before going to bed, thinking of Xiaohei's vigorous and lively demeanor day in and day out, Li Xiangdong refused to wait any longer.
"Screw it! You only live once, and you can't live forever! How many times can a man take a gamble in life? I'm betting on it!"
Li Xiangdong finally decided to orally ingest the Primary Genetic Potion today.
He immediately picked up a vial of the Primary Genetic Potion and skillfully scored the glass neck with an opener.
The moment the genetic potion was poured into his mouth and swallowed, Li Xiangdong felt a coolness in his throat. As the evolutionary fluid flowed down into his stomach and intestines, it seemed he could sense waves of an acidic, tingling sensation spreading through his limbs and bones.
Following the reminder in the manual, Li Xiangdong drank three consecutive cups of water. Within minutes, he couldn't help but praise, "This feels amazing!" His mind was hit with ripples of refreshing clarity, and his entire body felt exceptionally light.
A short while later, he felt as though every cell in his body were beginning to boil; all the muscles and bones throughout his frame appeared to be growing stronger. His eyes, nose, and ears felt incomparably sharp, and slowly, he felt himself slip into a most wondrous state.
When Li Xiangdong regained consciousness, he discovered that he had fallen asleep without even taking off his clothes. Hastily getting up, he found that his sleeves and pant legs were all a short cut too short. Before he could figure out what was happening, a sour, pungent odor hit his nose. Remembering the state Xiaohei had been in right after taking the potion, he rushed into the bathroom, stripped off all his clothes, and rinsed himself thoroughly from head to toe, using body wash twice. He even scrubbed his discarded clothes for a good long while, worried that the stench might linger, and only felt relieved after holding them up to his nose to sniff repeatedly and finding no odor at all.