Before long, another three days passed.
After the dormitory dispute ended, some people still muttered behind their backs whenever they saw them. But seeing that the two showed little reaction, they soon found it boring, and their voices gradually faded away.
As for other changes, Chen Sanli had become distant. He no longer shared news or gossip with them. Presumably, he had made a breakthrough himself and felt they were no longer worth befriending.
Not long after that,
Li Shan finally succeeded in finding the Essence of Qi and Blood, loudly venting the resentment he had been holding in.
Only Xu Yuan remained silent as ever, with no changes within his body.
Time reached November, the thirty-third day the Laborers had been practicing martial arts.
At the Hour of the Snake.
As usual, after Feng Xiao taught everyone through the routine once, he turned to leave.
Just then, a Laborer suddenly spoke up.
"Master Feng, I have found the Essence of Qi and Blood. After tempering it further, I have also felt a swelling sensation in the Ren Meridian. How do I break through this final bottleneck and make it circulate completely?"
The moment those words fell, everyone present was astonished.
This person had actually reached the point of breaking through the bottleneck so quickly?
Most people were still going around in circles on the very first step of finding the Essence of Qi and Blood!
"Who is this person? He is terrifying indeed!"
"He is Wang Huan from our dormitory. His progress has always been the fastest."
"Sigh, people truly cannot be compared. I haven't even found the Essence of Qi and Blood yet."
"The final step already?"
Feng Xiao was equally surprised. Even in the front courtyard, this speed would be considered fast.
He strode over, placed his fingers on Wang Huan's pulse, and examined him. A delighted look appeared on his face. "Not bad. Your Essence of Qi and Blood is indeed fully saturated. You've done very well!"
He gave Wang Huan a satisfied glance, then turned to the crowd and slowly explained, "Once the first two steps are complete, comes the most important step: washing away the blockages in the meridians and knocking open the bottleneck!"
"A bottleneck is neither real nor unreal. It is an obstacle encountered when something has reached a certain point, yet can no longer advance another step."
"The bottlenecks people encounter differ in severity. Some possess deep foundations and may glimpse the key in a single instant, breaking through the pass. Others, no matter how hard they try, remain stuck there for life without making the slightest progress."
A trace of melancholy inevitably appeared on Feng Xiao's face. He himself had been stuck in the Second Meridian Realm for a long time. No matter how deeply he had tempered his Essence of Qi and Blood, if he could not cross this bottleneck, all else was empty talk.
At this point, he shook his head slightly, dispersing those gloomy thoughts, and asked Wang Huan,
"Now that you have reached this stage, your Essence of Qi and Blood is considered fully tempered. Have you felt an indistinct obstruction in your Ren Meridian, like the joint in the middle of a bamboo stalk?"
Wang Huan sensed it carefully, then hurriedly nodded.
"That means you have encountered a bottleneck."
Feng Xiao nodded slightly and continued, "At this point, you either rely on talent, repeating it over and over to slowly wear down that bamboo joint, or you use certain spiritual pills and wondrous medicines to aid your breakthrough."
There were even spiritual pills and wondrous medicines?
At those words, everyone's eyes lit up.
Feng Xiao shot them an annoyed look. "Do not entertain any delusions. Even I cannot easily get my hands on such things, much less you Laborers."
He said to Wang Huan, "You have practiced martial arts for thirty-three days. But if we subtract the time you spent doing chores, it should be cut in half. So your aptitude is fairly good."
"With your current progress, you may be able to break through in another seven or eight days."
Wang Huan's eyes shone brightly. On one hand, he felt his success was assured; on the other, he was somewhat unconvinced. "Master Feng, does the final step really take that long?"
Feng Xiao smiled. "Long? This is the most crucial step. Most people cannot even touch the bottleneck. You already have a chance to break through, which is fortunate enough. Do not aim too high."
"You must not be impatient. Just temper yourselves slowly."
Suddenly, another Laborer asked, "Master Feng, you always say aptitude is important, but how exactly is aptitude classified?"
Feng Xiao glanced at him and said blandly, "Using your current timeline as the measure, those who complete the search for and tempering of the Essence of Qi and Blood within twenty-five days are upper grade. Within thirty-five days is upper-middle grade. Within forty-five days is lower-middle grade."
After saying that, he fell silent.
Someone's heart sank, and he hurriedly asked, "What about after that?"
"After that?"
Feng Xiao sneered. "This final step is no simple matter. The worse one's aptitude, the harder it is to cross. If you spend vast amounts of time without even seeing the bottleneck, what breakthrough is there to speak of?"
"You might as well save your strength early and work properly when you are assigned to another courtyard!"
Upon hearing this, most of the Laborers who had not even sensed the Essence of Qi and Blood wore expressions of utter disappointment.
The path of martial arts truly was not so easy to walk.
Seeing the low spirits in the courtyard, Master Feng had not planned to say anything. After all, they taught the Laborers martial arts only to sift out pearls from the sand.
But considering that whether they broke through or not was ultimately tied to his own performance,
After thinking it over, he still spoke a few comforting words.
"Alright, there is no need to be too dejected. There is still plenty of time left. Practice your stances honestly. If you work hard, you still have a chance."
Afterward, he had the Laborers continue practicing on their own. He pulled Wang Huan aside, encouraged him not to slack off, and then strode away.
Once Feng Xiao left, the Laborers present immediately gathered around Wang Huan. Even several maidservants showed ingratiating expressions, their faces rosy as clouds at sunset and their flirtatious eyes fixed on him.
This was the person Master Feng had personally acknowledged as having the highest talent in the entire courtyard!
Xu Yuan watched coldly from the side. Though he did not approve of such behavior, he could understand it.
Some Laborers and maidservants who saw no hope ahead were clearly clutching at straws in desperation, hoping to promise him some benefit in exchange for a little guidance.
But Wang Huan was already on the verge of crossing over. Why would he pick up sesame seeds only to lose a watermelon?
"At the end of the day, iron must be hard to forge itself!"
He took a deep breath and continued practicing with Li Shan and Sun Rong.
Spurred on by Wang Huan, Li Shan and Sun Rong practiced as if pumped full of chicken blood. Neither said a word, nor were they willing to rest even for a moment.
Most of the others were the same, each one practicing with all their might, filling the entire courtyard with a more restless atmosphere.
[Name: Xu Yuan] [Skills: Tai Chi Exercise (Minor Accomplishment 99%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Beginner 28%)] [Aptitude: 3 (Average)]
By the time the moon veiled itself in thin gauze and silver radiance slowly spilled forth,
Xu Yuan came to a corner and practiced the Tai Chi Exercise as usual.
In his eyes, he could clearly see that his cultivation of the exercise had already reached a bottleneck.
However, even on the verge of a breakthrough, this simplified version of the exercise was not as complicated or difficult as the stance practice.
Xu Yuan focused wholeheartedly. His hands moved like a round disk, opening and closing, displaying a stretched elegance, light and natural.
Suddenly, Xu Yuan's body trembled slightly. The familiar warm current surged forth from top to bottom once more, spreading through his limbs and bones. It brought an indescribable comfort and freshness, as though he had shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones.
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