Method

He Qingqing dragged her exhausted body home. Inside, a burly man sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed opened them.

This burly man was He Jianyong, the head of Tea Mountain Outpost and He Qingqing's father. He Jianyong looked exceptionally tall and broad. His thick arms protruding from his short shirt were crisscrossed with scars. His shoulder-length hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head, giving him a somewhat Wind Swordmaster-like look, though shorter and messier. Yet when his resolute face saw He Qingqing, it unexpectedly softened with tenderness.

"Qing Qing, where did you run off to play? How did you get this tired?"

He Qingqing suddenly smiled and said mysteriously, "Secret. I'm not telling you."

He Jianyong burst into laughter at her adorable little act.

He Qingqing suddenly remembered something. Wrinkling her nose at He Jianyong, she said, "Dad, that answer you gave me was completely wrong! I'm never asking you questions again."

He Jianyong was full of question marks. "What answer?"

He Qingqing gestured as she spoke. "That one—about what kind of sick person doesn't need to see a physician."

He Jianyong became interested. "Oh, it was wrong? Then what's the answer?"

"The blind!"

He Jianyong froze for a good while before suddenly getting it. He immediately clutched his stomach and roared with laughter. "Hahaha! Interesting, interesting! It really is the blind."

He Qingqing stamped her foot angrily. "Dad, you're still laughing! Xiangwu said anyone who can't answer it is an idiot, and he doesn't play with idiots."

He Jianyong laughed again. "Third Brother's son is quite interesting. Qing Qing, you should play with Xiangwu more often."

"Hmph! You couldn't even answer that question, so what right do you have to tell me what to do!"

He Jianyong immediately scratched his head awkwardly.

Su Hao dragged his exhausted body slowly home. The moment he entered, he saw Wu Yuntian holding out a bowl of vegetable-and-egg soup.

Su Hao did not stand on ceremony. He took it and drained it in a few gulps.

Wu Yuntian took the bowl away and pointed to the prepared cushion. "Sit here and slowly perceive the changes in your body."

With that, he went out and shut the door behind him.

How was he supposed to perceive it? Su Hao did not know either. He could only slowly try to feel his way forward. First, he emptied his mind and let himself enter a hazy, muddled state. At times like this, a person's spirit would be raised to its peak, much like sitting in meditation, and then...

Then Su Hao fell asleep.

He was simply too tired. Unable to hold out for a moment, he fell asleep. A miscalculation.

Checking the log and the time, he found that an hour had passed. During that time, his father had come in once. Seeing Su Hao asleep, he left with a smile on his face.

Su Hao stood and moved his sore, numb legs, then began to reflect on himself.

How could I fall asleep over something this important? Su Hao, Su Hao, your willpower is far too weak. And you still want to practice martial arts? Dream on!

He resolved that next time, he absolutely had to control himself and could not fall asleep.

But at the thought that he would have to wear himself out completely before every meditation session, Su Hao could not help but howl, "So student athletes have it this hard!"

Early the next morning, the training ground echoed with the rhythmic sound of running.

Originally, Su Hao had run alone. But ever since He Qingqing and her two followers learned the secret to becoming smarter, they had joined his group. The four little ones ran along with huffing breaths.

To make it more convincing, Su Hao gave He Qingqing a question. "There are three fish in a stream. One is caught and taken out. How many are left?"

He Qingqing rushed to answer, "Two!"

"Correct! See? After only one day of running, Qing Qing can already answer questions correctly! Amazing!"

He Qingqing beamed with delight, and she and her two followers immediately had their confidence soar.

Back home, Su Hao drank the vegetable-and-egg soup and suddenly asked, "Father, why is it vegetable-and-egg soup?"

"Because it absorbs quickly."

So that was why. Su Hao had no further thoughts about it and focused on perceiving his body. Yet he still gained nothing that day. The good news was that he had restrained his urge to sleep.

One month later.

Su Hao opened his eyes from meditation, but inwardly shook his head. Still no good. Over the past month, he had worked himself half to death every morning, then drunk the vegetable-and-egg soup and sat quietly. Yet no matter how he tried, he still could not perceive the blood qi his father had mentioned. He was beginning to suspect that perhaps his father's method was wrong.

However, the month of running and seated meditation had not been without gains. His body had become much sturdier. The flesh on his arms and legs was no longer soft and flabby, and his stamina had increased greatly. He no longer had legs that trembled after running for only a short while, as he had in the beginning. Of course, as his stamina increased, exhausting it every day became an arduous task. The stronger his stamina grew, the harder it became to drain it completely.

Through meditation and quiet sitting, Su Hao had far fewer stray thoughts in his mind. He was no longer like before, when he would sit down, close his eyes, and already have tomorrow's dinner planned out.

Now, when he sat quietly, he could quickly cast aside the distracting thoughts in his mind and focus his thinking on one matter. His thoughts became clearer, and he had come to enjoy this feeling of sitting alone in silence.

To put it plainly, he just liked spacing out.

But spacing out could not help him find blood qi.

That day, Su Hao found Wu Yuntian and voiced his doubts. "Father, I've already exhausted my stamina as you said, then sat quietly and tried to perceive it. But a month has passed, and there still hasn't been any change. I still can't find where the blood qi is. Am I doing something wrong?"

Wu Yuntian shook his head. "Xiangwu, you did nothing wrong. But finding blood qi is not as easy as you imagine. This is the threshold for an ordinary person to become a Martial Artist. You can only cross this threshold by yourself. If you cannot find your own blood qi, no one can help you. This is also why not everyone in the Human Race is a Martial Artist. Every year, countless people are blocked outside the gates of Martial Artists by this threshold."

Su Hao frowned. "Then what should I do now?"

Wu Yuntian comforted him, "No need to rush. Slowly gain Insight and let your heart settle completely. If one month is not enough, then take half a year. If half a year is not enough, then take a year. You will find it."

Su Hao suddenly asked curiously, "Then how long did Father take to find his own blood qi back then?"

Wu Yuntian immediately did not want to speak. Could he tell his genius son that it had taken him a full year and a half just to barely find his blood qi? The answer was no, because he had no idea when his genius son might suddenly find his blood qi. If they compared themselves then, where would he put his old face? The best Method was silence and letting him guess for himself. This son had given him far too many surprises over the past year. Even if he suddenly ran over tomorrow and told him he had already found blood qi, he probably would not be surprised. Seeing Wu Yuntian remain silent for so long, Su Hao assumed he had been very slow and that his father was too embarrassed to discourage him. His face immediately filled with unwillingness. "All right then. Don't worry, Father. I'll work hard and find blood qi as soon as possible."

Wu Yuntian nodded. "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving for a while."

With that, he left without looking back.

Su Hao was left alone, secretly feeling despondent. What should I do? What exactly is blood qi, to be this mysterious...

After thinking for a while, Su Hao suddenly raised his head. His eyes flashed with brilliant light.

"I have a way! It will definitely work!"