Medicine Bath

"Brother, you look unfamiliar. Did you only join the martial academy today?"

Jiang Qinghe followed the voice and saw a sturdy young man of short, squat build walking toward him.

It was Gong Jie, the martial disciple surnamed Gong who had been called onto the platform by Zhao Guangyi that morning to demonstrate the Iron Shirt Skill.

Jiang Qinghe gathered his thoughts and cupped his fists. "Senior Brother Gong, I am Jiang Qinghe. I have only just arrived today, and my skills are still crude. I hope Senior Brother Gong will offer me much guidance in the future."

Gong Jie had already come up to him. Hearing this, he flashed a broad grin. "Hey! Brother Qing River, you're being too polite. What's with all this senior brother and junior brother business? It makes us sound like strangers. I'm Gong Jie. I only came here about a year before you, that's all."

His tone was easygoing and sincere, without the slightest air of superiority.

Then his gaze swept over Jiang Qinghe's sweat-soaked training clothes, and he clicked his tongue in amazement. "Brother Qing River, you only received the cultivation method today, yet you've been training here from morning until night. Among all the new martial disciples before you, none has ever managed that."

Jiang Qinghe replied modestly, "I'm merely used to doing heavy labor, so my body is fairly sturdy and I have some foundation. Now that I've entered the martial academy, I dare not slack off in the slightest."

Gong Jie nodded, admiration showing on his face. "Senior Brother Zhao often says that while talent is certainly important in martial cultivation, temperament is the root of it all. Someone like you, willing to put in hard work, is bound to achieve no small success in the future as long as you don't stray down the wrong path!"

Then his tone shifted, and he gave a serious reminder. "But... brother, heed this advice. The path of cultivation must proceed step by step, until water flows naturally into its channel. Never grow greedy for progress and recklessly force yourself forward, exhausting your qi and blood! That would damage your very foundation. Once it is depleted, it will be difficult to make up for it."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Gong!"

Jiang Qinghe nodded slightly, then revealed a puzzled look. "Is there any way to quickly replenish qi and blood and speed up cultivation?"

Hearing this, Gong Jie said, "The Blood Activating Powder Senior Brother Zhao mentioned today is indeed good stuff. At your current body-tempering stage, soaking in a medicinal bath can not only replenish qi and blood, but also make the cultivation method circulate more smoothly, achieving twice the result with half the effort."

He paused.

"As for something even more effective, that would be the Bear Tendon Pill! It is refined from the heart meat of Demon Beasts capable of defeating Muscle Tendon Strengthening realm experts. Swallow one, and it instantly ignites the furnace of qi and blood."

"Muscle Tendon Strengthening?"

"That is a realm above body tempering."

A look of yearning appeared on Gong Jie's face as he spoke slowly. "Body tempering makes one a Martial Disciple; Muscle Tendon Strengthening and Bone Forging make one a martial master; Viscera Refining and Marrow Cleansing make one a Great Martial Master!"

Suddenly, his expression dimmed, and he sighed. "People like us, forever struggling and crawling about at the Martial Disciple stage... who knows when we will ever touch such a realm?"

Seeing Gong Jie somewhat dejected, Jiang Qinghe changed the subject at once. "Brother Gong, how much does the Bear Tendon Pill you mentioned cost?"

Gong Jie held up two fingers and waved them. "One pill, twenty taels of patterned silver!"

"Twenty taels?!"

Jiang Qinghe's heart shook violently, and he sucked in a sharp breath!

The price of a single pill was equivalent to several years of expenses for an ordinary family of three.

Seeing the shock in Jiang Qinghe's eyes, Gong Jie sighed. "Martial cultivation has always been a business that burns through silver. Look at the martial disciples in our academy—which one of them isn't living with their belt tightened around their waist?"

"Near my home, there's Blacksmith Wang. His son wanted to practice martial arts, and it took him two years to save enough silver just for the entrance fee. Yet after training for two months, his qi and blood became depleted. His body was too weak to take supplements, so he had no choice but to give up."

He raised a hand and pointed toward the edge of the training ground.

There stood two young martial disciples who had just put away their equipment and were dragging their weary bodies away.

"The tall, skinny one on the left gets up before dawn every day to train so he can buy Blood Activating Powder at Anrenfang Pharmacy. After noon, he runs to the docks to carry heavy loads until the sun sets beyond the western hills. As for the short, sturdy one on the right, he gritted his teeth and sold all three mu of the poor farmland passed down by his ancestors just to scrape together half a year's tuition and money for medicine..."

Gong Jie continued, "And those are merely the initial expenses. Once you reach the Muscle Tendon Strengthening realm, medicinal pills alone will cost thirty to fifty taels of silver every month. Beyond that, the Bone Forging Realm? Without a hundred taels of silver, you cannot even touch the threshold."

Jiang Qinghe's heart grew heavy upon hearing this.

Talent? Perseverance?

Without enough silver to support them, talent could be buried, and perseverance could be worn away completely.

Sensing that the atmosphere had grown somewhat heavy, Gong Jie laughed heartily and patted Jiang Qinghe on the shoulder. "Hey! Enough of that. Life still has to go on, doesn't it?"

Then he changed the subject and offered a kind reminder. "Oh, right. I watched you practice the Rock Crushing Palm earlier. Your stance already had sixty or seventy percent of the proper form, but the transitions between bursts of force still aren't smooth enough. If you have time tomorrow, we can exchange a few moves and work through the forms together. Perhaps I can help you find the right feeling."

Jiang Qinghe's eyes lit up. "Then I must thank you, Brother Gong!"

"Small Matter, just a lift of the hand!"

Gong Jie laughed brightly and waved his hand. "It's getting late, so I'll be off first. See you at the training ground tomorrow!"

"Take care, Brother Gong."

Jiang Qinghe answered and watched Gong Jie's back vanish completely beyond the Courtyard Gate.

At this moment, he was the only one left on the training ground.

After returning to the martial quarters, Jiang Qinghe pushed open an inconspicuous wooden door at the rear side. A rich scent of medicinal herbs mingled with old wood rushed toward him.

This was the public medicinal bathhouse prepared for martial disciples.

The room was narrow, with only several pinewood tubs inside, their rims worn smooth. Each was just large enough for one person to soak in.

Jiang Qinghe scooped heated water from the large cauldron in the corner and poured it into a tub.

Then he took out a small bottle from his chest and poured in the sole dose of Blood Activating Powder he had been issued.

The dark medicinal pill dropped into the warm water with a soft "plop."

The pill dissolved as soon as it touched the water.

Like thick ink dripping into clear hot water, it rapidly spread and stained the water.

In the blink of an eye, the entire tub had turned dark green.

A rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the cramped space.

Jiang Qinghe removed his training clothes, which carried a faint odor of sweat, and stepped into the tub.

Warmth instantly wrapped around his entire body.

Then came an even stranger sensation of permeation!

The dark green medicinal liquid seeped through every open pore across the surface of his skin, drilling endlessly into his body.

It clung precisely beneath his skin and between his muscle fibers.

On one hand, it strengthened the toughness of his skin and muscles; on the other, it repaired the tiny injuries caused by his intense training during the day.

Jiang Qinghe closed his eyes and relaxed his whole body, allowing the medicinal power to seep into him.

Time slowly passed.

Gradually, the cool permeating sensation and the faint itchy numbness of repair weakened and faded.

The dark green color that had originally filled the tub grew lighter and lighter.

In the end, it became nearly transparent and clear, leaving only a faint herbal scent.

The medicinal power had already been completely absorbed by his body.

Jiang Qinghe felt refreshed from head to toe, with more than half of the day's exhaustion gone.

He stepped out of the wooden tub, dried himself, and changed into a clean coarse-cloth undershirt.

With a slight movement of thought, he looked once again at the interface only he could sense:

[Iron Shirt Skill (Minor Accomplishment - 1/10)]

A single medicinal bath had directly raised his progress by one point!

It was equivalent to saving the Potential Points he would have gained from a full day of hard cultivation!

What powerful medicinal effects!

A flash of delight crossed Jiang Qinghe's eyes, but it quickly turned into helplessness.

Unfortunately, I can only receive one dose of Blood Activating Powder each month...

He felt the warm vitality lingering in his body after the medicinal bath.

If I could use this medicinal bath to assist my cultivation every day...

Once that thought arose, he could no longer suppress it.

Anrenfang Pharmacy...

Jiang Qinghe pondered for a moment, and a plan formed in his heart.