Twelve days later, at dawn, when the sky was only just beginning to brighten, the Martial Academy's training ground was already filled with the rising and falling sounds of fists cutting through the air.
The Martial Academy was extremely lax in its management of disciples. Aside from Wang Shuo's occasional inspections of Wang Yue, it hardly interfered at all. Disciples could arrange their own cultivation schedules and training content.
Wang Yue carried the Blood Nourishing Soup he had just received to a corner of the training ground, tilted back his head, and drank the medicinal soup in one gulp.
The warm soup slid into his stomach and instantly transformed into a rich medicinal force that spread through his meridians. Wang Yue instinctively circulated the Blood Dragon Secret Method, and the Blood Qi changes of its first form flowed within him, resonating with the medicine's power.
Almost at the same instant, an indescribable feeling of exhilaration swept through his entire body. Compared with the martial examination, his strength had nearly surged by a quarter, and every limb and bone brimmed with abundant power.
What delighted him even more was that the quality of his Blood Qi had risen by nearly half. His previously ordinary Blood Qi had now become thick and heavy, like congealed fat.
At that moment, the six streams of Blood Qi within him suddenly began to churn. As if the medicinal force had stirred their potential, a tiny, condensed embryonic form of Blood Qi slowly emerged behind the sixth stream. Though weak, it was tenacious, like a tender shoot breaking through the earth.
"Only by breaking can one establish anew. It really does make sense!" The corners of Wang Yue's mouth lifted slightly. Previously, forcibly exhausting his Blood Qi to shorten the cooldown had damaged his body, but it had also shattered the shackles restraining his Blood Qi. Now, with the aid of the Blood Nourishing Soup, his Blood Qi limit had instead increased.
He did not dare delay. He immediately turned and ran toward his room. Newly born Blood Qi was extremely fragile and had to be tempered and stabilized as soon as possible, or it might dissipate at the slightest carelessness.
After returning to his room, Wang Yue shut the door, sat cross-legged on the floor, and slowly began throwing punches.
He carefully adjusted his breathing rhythm, coordinating the Breathing Method with the Blood Dragon Secret Method. Bit by bit, he guided the medicinal force in his body, precisely nourishing that newly born strand of Blood Qi.
His fist wind was gentle yet steady. With every punch, a trace of medicinal force merged into the embryonic Blood Qi, slowly strengthening it; with every inhale, he drew upon the Blood Qi circulating through his body to aid its condensation.
He did not know how long passed. When the morning sun streamed through the window into the room, that embryonic strand of Blood Qi had finally stabilized.
Joy appeared on Wang Yue's face. The seventh stream had formed as well. Once he reached nine streams of Blood Qi, he would have a chance to step into the next realm.
Wang Yue's gaze shifted as his consciousness sank into the Martial Soul panel. Twelve days had passed since he last expended Blood Qi to shorten the cooldown. Including the newly condensed Blood Qi, he now had seven usable strands within his body.
He tried injecting one strand of Blood Qi into the panel. Before it was even fully consumed, the words "Extractable" had already lit up on the panel.
"Looks like once the quality of Blood Qi improves, the efficiency of shortening the cooldown improves as well."
Wang Yue smiled faintly. He had long since reached a decision: he would set aside the Blood Dragon Secret Method for now and devote himself fully to extracting everything from the Harmonious Flow Fist secret manual.
This was the goal he had settled on after repeatedly weighing it over the past few days. He wanted to enter a sect, to see this vast world, to cross blades with countless gifted talents beneath heaven. His efforts were the stepping stone with which he would knock open the gates of a sect.
The better one's talent, the faster one learned martial arts. Sharpening the axe did not delay the chopping of firewood—that was precisely the principle.
Changing one's bone structure was something countless people dreamed of. And now, he could do it!
"Extract Innate Talent!" Wang Yue no longer hesitated and silently issued the command in his heart.
The next second, a strange force surged from the panel into his body. Wang Yue instantly furrowed his brows. Every bone in his body began to tremble faintly, and a fine, dense itching sensation swept over him, as though countless tiny insects were crawling inside his bones.
Yet the itching vanished in an instant, replaced by unbearable agony. Deep inside his bones, it felt as though something were trying to burst out through them, while invisible hammers repeatedly battered them, crushing and reforging his skeleton!
In only a few moments, Wang Yue was soaked through with cold sweat, his clothes plastered tightly against his back. His pupils first dilated, then abruptly constricted. His eyes turned bloodshot from the pain, like burning flames.
"I can't make a sound!" Wang Yue clenched his teeth tightly and forcibly assumed the opening stance of the Harmonious Flow Fist, trying to steady his mind with the fist art. "Enter meditation! I must enter meditation!"
He forced himself to shut out every sensation from the outside world and focused all his attention on his stance, allowing the agony to rage through his body. He knew this was the unavoidable path of Innate Talent reshaping his bone structure. There was no turning back.
He did not know how long passed. Just as Wang Yue's consciousness was about to blur, the agonizing pain suddenly disappeared, replaced by a feeling of lightness. It was as though his body were floating atop the clouds, and all exhaustion and suffering had vanished like smoke.
"I... I endured it?" Wang Yue cautiously moved his fingers, his voice slightly hoarse.
He slowly stretched out his palm. It still trembled faintly, clearly not having fully recovered from the excruciating pain just now.
Then a pungent, strange odor entered his nostrils. It was the smell left behind after his cold sweat had evaporated, carrying a faint tang of blood.
Wang Yue instinctively took off his training clothes. The moment he untied his belt, he froze. His originally well-fitting outfit had become far too short. The pant legs only reached his knees, while the sleeves had shrunk back to his forearms.
"I got taller?" Wang Yue abruptly rose to his feet and hurried to the bronze mirror. The youth in the mirror had shot up by nearly a head compared with before. He was over 1.9 meters tall, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, with a straight and imposing build.
He spread his arms. His arm span was almost equal to his height, and both arms were proportionate and long, their muscle lines smooth without being exaggerated.
Looking lower, his legs had also become longer. His entire skeletal frame had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
The joy on Wang Yue's face gradually faded, replaced by a trace of distress. "This change is far too obvious. As long as someone isn't blind, they'll be able to tell I'm different from before."
If Wang Shuo inspected him next time, there was no way to conceal the bone structure transformed by Innate Talent. How could he explain an above-average bone structure suddenly becoming a top-tier one? Any explanation would sound feeble.
"I can only take one step at a time."
Wang Yue sighed helplessly and stuffed his old training clothes deep into the cabinet. "First, I'll extract the remaining two talents. As for the trouble afterward, I'll deal with it when it comes."
Standing before the mirror, Wang Yue lightly traced the lines of muscle on his arm with his fingertips. He suddenly recalled what Wang Hu had said before: the difference in bone structure had a world of difference in its effect on martial arts cultivation. Those with excellent bone structure could gain in one day of boxing what others gained in ten, while those with poor bone structure could scarcely catch up to the best no matter how diligent they were.
At the time, with the Martial Soul's assistance, he had only half believed it. But now, after personally experiencing the changes brought by Innate Talent, he finally understood the weight of those words.
He walked to the center of the room and instinctively spread into the opening stance of the Harmonious Flow Fist. Without deliberately driving his Blood Qi, the seven strands within him began to boil on their own, as if they had come alive, coursing rapidly through his meridians.
When he cultivated before, he had always felt as though a thin veil blocked his body. His Blood Qi moved sluggishly, and drawing out his potential was like squeezing a sponge—he could only force out a meager bit of power at a time.
But now, that veil seemed to have been torn apart completely. The potential hidden in his bones and muscles erupted like awakened floodwaters, pouring forth madly and becoming nourishment for the Harmonious Flow Fist.
The circulation of Blood Qi was no longer slow. Instead, it seemed to have been fitted with an accelerator, flowing freely through his meridians. Every cycle made it more solid and robust; his punches also became incomparably smooth, his fist wind moving with his breath as though it were an instinct carved into his bones.
What delighted him even more was that the martial shadows which had occasionally flickered through the Martial Soul panel when he extracted the Harmonious Flow Fist secret manual now silently merged into his body the instant they appeared, like droplets falling into the sea. Before the patterns of the fist art could even emerge in his mind, Wang Yue's body had already performed them first.
Every move and stance flowed like drifting clouds and running water, seemingly born of nature, without the slightest obstruction. He was even more proficient than when he had painstakingly trained the Harmonious Flow Fist for months before, faintly showing signs of approaching great accomplishment.
"Hah..." Wang Yue slowly stopped his fist art. The Blood Qi within him still boiled faintly. All the medicinal force that had lain dormant in his body had been completely unearthed and consumed. Even the newly condensed seventh strand of Blood Qi had become somewhat vigorous.
Yet his face was filled with shock. "So this is Innate Talent? It truly is beyond ordinary people!"
He finally understood why the Wang Clan, and even those unknown sects, valued bone structure so highly. Those with excellent bone structure not only cultivated at a pace that covered a thousand miles in a day, but could also comprehend the essence of martial arts more quickly. This advantage was absolutely not something the word "diligence" could make up for. It was no empty claim!
"If I extract Brilliant Talent and Fist Master as well, how far will my progress in martial arts be pushed?" Wang Yue could not help imagining it. "Twice as fast? Five times? Or ten times?"
Although the Martial Soul had helped him before, his poor bone structure had still dragged him down. But now, Wang Yue's growth would leave the entire Wang Clan shaken!
For the next half day, Wang Yue remained in his room. While circulating the Breathing Method to restore his Blood Qi, he familiarized himself with the bodily changes brought by Innate Talent. He truly did not dare go outside, afraid that the drastic change in his height and bearing would draw others' attention.
Only after night had fallen and all was quiet, when the Martial Academy's training ground had completely settled down and only scattered lights remained lit, did Wang Yue quietly push open his door.
Like a civet cat, he moved lightly through the flagstones without making the slightest sound, quickly arriving before Xu Li's door.
He gently pushed the door open and entered. Inside, Xu Li was seated at the table, wiping down his boxing gloves. Hearing the sound, he abruptly rose and asked warily, "Who is it?"
"It's me." Wang Yue placed a finger against his lips in a quiet gesture. "Don't make a sound. I need to trouble you with something."
He stepped out from the shadows by the doorway. Moonlight spilled through the window onto him, outlining his tall, upright figure.
When Xu Li recognized him, his pupils abruptly widened. The boxing gloves in his hands fell to the floor with a slap. He stared in horror and blurted out, "Th-this... this is you? Brother Wang, what heavenly treasure did you eat?"
They had not seen each other for only twelve days, yet Wang Yue, who had originally been about the same height as him, had suddenly shot up to over 1.9 meters. His body was balanced and slender, and simply standing there, he exuded an extraordinary aura utterly different from before, as though he had become another person.
Wang Yue sighed helplessly and walked to the table to sit down. "I don't know what happened either. After the Harmonious Flow Fist made some progress, my body became like this. Even my training clothes no longer fit. Can you help me get another set from the storeroom?"
Xu Li had yet to recover from his shock. He circled Wang Yue once, then stretched out a hand to compare their heights, all the while muttering, "Unbelievable... The change is too great..."
Only after Wang Yue urged him once did he suddenly come back to his senses. He grabbed the outer robe by his bed and strode out the door, his steps somewhat unsteady, clearly still unable to fully accept Wang Yue's transformation.
Watching his hurriedly retreating back, Wang Yue suddenly slapped his forehead and muttered in annoyance, "Damn it! I forgot to tell Xu Li not to spread this around!"
Before you continue