Breakthrough to the Third Meridian!

That afternoon, inside the quiet room.

[Skills: Tai Chi Exercise (Major Accomplishment 82%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Major Accomplishment 97%) Thunderclap Fist (Minor Accomplishment 31%)]

[Attributes: 11 (Exceptional Bones)]

"Now I'm at the hundred-foot pole—just one step remains!"

Xu Yuan glanced at the System Panel's progress, prepared all the precious medicines, and readied himself to break through the Third Meridian bottleneck in one burst today.

He sank into a low stance, slowly settling his weight as his qi and blood began to circulate, repeatedly crashing against the already cracked bottleneck of the Chong Meridian.

When his qi and blood began to weaken from circulation, he took Meridian Nourishing Powder and a Blood Activating Pill. Before long, he recovered completely and launched another assault.

Cycle after cycle, Xu Yuan immersed himself wholly in the minute control of the qi and blood within his body.

Gradually, the light in the quiet room dimmed, leaving only the faint flame of the lamp to illuminate a resolute face.

Time drifted by.

Soon, evening arrived.

"Now..."

Xu Yuan abruptly opened his eyes and swallowed another dose of precious medicine. The qi and blood within him surged at high speed as he launched his fiercest attack yet.

Pop—

At last, with a faint sound, the gateway of the Chong Meridian flew open. Qi and blood surged through it without the slightest obstruction or sluggishness, and all three meridians completely circulated and connected at this moment.

The Third Meridian Realm had been achieved!

[Skills: Tai Chi Exercise (Major Accomplishment 82%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Perfection 1%) Thunderclap Fist (Minor Accomplishment 31%)]

[Attributes: 14 (Exceptional Bones)]

Xu Yuan opened the System Panel and took a look. Sure enough, Stone Platform Stance Practice had reached Perfection!

His corresponding attribute points had also risen by 3, a marked change. Yet his attribute evaluation remained exactly the same.

Xu Yuan closed his eyes and concentrated, carefully experiencing the changes. Only after a while did he slowly open his eyes and look ahead.

His first impression was that the world had become clearer, while his mind had grown more agile. Things in cultivation that he had once been unable to understand now became clear at a touch, while knowledge forgotten in the depths of his memories surfaced the moment he recalled it!

Beyond that, Xu Yuan's qi and blood had become even more vigorous and immense, and his physique had strengthened considerably. He nodded slightly and said,

"Sure enough, one meridian is one great mountain. The saying is no lie... the Third Meridian is another transformation compared to the Second Meridian!"

As his cultivation rose, he would soon be promoted to a Three-stripe Household Guard. His basic monthly pay alone would be five taels, with further improvements to his clothing, food, lodging, and travel.

Above a Three-stripe Household Guard stood a Fourth-Rank Servant Leader. Only then could one truly be considered somewhat respectable.

"However, now that my qi and blood have grown increasingly profound, I'll consume precious medicines even faster in the future. Just as Uncle Zhao said, ten taels of silver a month basically won't be enough!"

Thinking of this, even though Xu Yuan still had quite a bit of spare money on him, he could not help baring his teeth. It was fucking expensive!

Fortunately, his cultivation breakthrough was real. The money he had spent could ultimately be earned back, and Xu Yuan now had that ability.

"Now that I've broken through to the Third Meridian, Liu Yue poses far less pressure. As for Quan Xiong..." Xu Yuan pondered inwardly, narrowing his eyes.

"If there's a chance, I'll see whether I can deal with him. If there isn't, I'll wait until I reach the Fourth Meridian. By then, I imagine there won't be any obstacles left."

Having understood the key to it, Xu Yuan rolled his neck. Every muscle in his body was now somewhat sore, and he then walked out of the quiet room.

Above him, a millstone-sized moon scattered its crystalline white frost, lighting the ground beneath his feet brightly.

Xu Yuan stretched out his hand and made a loose grasp, as though he could seize three parts of the moonlight in his palm.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

The next day.

At the training ground.

"Brother Xu, the younger generation truly surpasses the old. A few months ago, you were still being registered here by me as an official martial artist. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, you'd already reached the Third Meridian, the same as me."

Zhao Qiusheng looked at Xu Yuan, his face full of emotion. Upon hearing that Xu Yuan had broken through, he had personally come to the training ground to offer congratulations.

His attitude toward Xu Yuan was now vastly different from before. Little Xu had become Brother Xu; clearly, he had shifted from the stance of an elder to associating with him as an equal.

Then Zhao Qiusheng swept out a hand and presented five taels of silver as a congratulatory gift, evidently intending to continue drawing closer to Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan understood his purpose and did not refuse. After thanking him, he returned to the training ground.

Not long afterward, Feng Xiao also arrived. He looked somewhat awkwardly at Xu Yuan, opened his mouth, then hesitated. "Xu..."

On the Martial Path, those who had attained more came first; seniority was determined solely by strength.

Thus, one could often see elders with temples silver as frost bowing to young people.

After all, only with strength did one possess the right to speak!

Because their relationship was somewhat special, half teacher and half friend, Feng Xiao could consciously regard himself as inferior when facing other Third Meridian martial artists.

Yet Xu Yuan's progress had been too fast. Feng Xiao had not even prepared himself mentally for what kind of attitude he should take toward him.

"Master Feng, you've always treated me like a junior of your own family. Naturally, there's no need for all those cumbersome formalities. How things were before is how they'll remain from now on." Xu Yuan immediately understood his predicament and spoke with a smile.

In his heart, Feng Xiao differed from Zhao Qiusheng. The former was sincere and dependable in his dealings with others, whether in giving material things or sharing information, while the latter's interactions were ultimately more driven by interests.

That difference naturally brought different attitudes from Xu Yuan.

"Good, good!"

Seeing that Xu Yuan's attitude had not changed in the slightest, Feng Xiao revealed a gratified expression. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly awkwardly took out five taels of silver and smiled.

"Oh, right. Your breakthrough to the Third Meridian is a wonderful thing. This silver..."

Before he could finish, Xu Yuan had already taken the money with a smile, without any false politeness.

Feng Xiao found this immensely pleasing. He felt no displeasure at all, because their relationship remained as it had always been.

"Then I'll be going first, so I don't disturb you. There'll definitely be quite a few people coming today."

Knowing that Feng Xiao did not want to trouble him, Xu Yuan escorted him all the way out of Outer Courtyard D.

Afterward, for some reason, several martial masters nearby also learned that Xu Yuan had broken through. They came one after another bearing congratulatory gifts.

In truth, Xu Yuan had told only Zhao Qiusheng and Feng Xiao about this.

Yet some observant people caught wind of it. With the thought of not offending anyone, they came voluntarily, afraid of souring the relationship.

After all, there was a saying: when the banquet is held, I may not know who came, but I know exactly who didn't!

Amid the coming and going of visitors, Xu Yuan received someone unexpected: Liu Yue.

"Martial Master Xu, the moment I heard you'd broken through to the Third Meridian, I rushed right over. Congratulations!"

Liu Yue said with a broad smile, also bringing out a congratulatory gift of three taels of silver.

When he had first heard that Xu Yuan had broken through, he had been deeply shocked. Xu Yuan becoming a Second Meridian martial artist not long ago had already struck him as genius-level talent, yet it turned out he had still underestimated him by quite a bit.

The Second Meridian Realm was one thing; after all, it was still a lower rank.

But having reached the Third Meridian, they were now on the same level. He could not afford to ruin the relationship, and he also worried that Xu Yuan still remembered their small past conflicts. That was why he had immediately hurried over to offer congratulations.

One did not strike a smiling face with an outstretched hand, so Xu Yuan also exchanged a few polite words with him.

"Not at all. I've troubled Manager Liu by making this trip."