Perfection Pill

When he had sensed it just now, he did not know whether it had been an illusion, but he had felt as though something indescribable had appeared deep within his mind.

It was somewhat like the legendary Martial Will Prototype, yet he could not be sure.

Generally speaking, one had to reach the Innate Realm before condensing Martial Will.

Only a handful of geniuses could develop Martial Will in the Blood Qi Realm.

Though what he had developed was merely a Martial Will Prototype, it was still a little too early.

Even a genius like Zhang Xinglie would probably need several more months of tempering.

Zhou Leng closed the Martial Dao Diary and opened his friends list. After some thought, he imported his Wuxin friends.

Very quickly, a small number of friends appeared in his Martial City friend list, mostly teachers and classmates, along with a few classmates' parents.

Zhou Leng spotted Xu Qingjin among them. Remembering that his phone had broken and that he had not checked Wuxin yet, he started going through the messages.

Sure enough, there were many messages.

He opened Xu Qingjin's first.

"Level-Five Alert. I'm back. How are you?"

The other party canceled the voice call...

The other party canceled the voice call...

"Zhou Leng, once you're back at the base, don't forget to reply."

Zhou Leng replied, "I'm already back at the base. My phone was damaged during the battle, and I just got a new one. How about you? Are you staying at the base or going home to cultivate?"

Zhou Leng then replied to the others one after another.

Hu Yi's messages contained only two things: complaining about Jiang Yan, the deputy leader of the slaughterhouse workshop, and asking Zhou Leng to take more photos or videos of Demon City and send them over.

Zhou Leng was busy, so he only replied with an ellipsis before continuing to answer the others.

Before long, Xu Qingjin replied.

"That's great! We discussed it, and since we've already done Martial Arts Field Study several times and have enough credits, we'll head back this time. What about you?"

"We'll see first. If the demons withdraw or are wiped out, we'll give it a try. After all, the captain and I both need to take the supplementary admission exam. The more experience we gain, the safer it'll be."

"Be extra careful!" A cheering-girl emoji followed, bouncing around and shouting encouragement.

"Okay!"

"Have you let your families know you're safe?" Xue Chengsong asked.

The team members nodded.

Xue Chengsong said, "Battle merit calculations usually have a delay of one to three days. Sometimes they need investigation and verification too, so there's no rush. We'll stay for three days first and see how things go. Let's move."

"Where to?" Feng Wenhao asked.

"We can't waste these next few days. I'll rent a martial arts hall, and the six of us can cultivate and spar. This afternoon, my dad will send over two Blood-Circulating Stage bodyguards. They can also do practical sparring with us and give us pointers."

Everyone's eyes lit up. Hiring a minor expert at the Blood-Circulating Stage as a sparring partner would cost no less than five hundred an hour.

"Good!"

The team's morale rose sharply.

After taking a few steps, everyone's attention was drawn to a group ahead.

They wore black robes patterned with blue lines. Above each person's shoulder floated a fist-sized orb of light in a different color, faint flames of light rising from their surfaces.

"Demon Spirit Masters," Feng Wenhao said softly.

"They all look pretty young. They're probably out gaining experience too, just like us."

"Mages really do have style. At the same realm as us, the power of their Spirit Magic is just stronger."

"They're strong, but Spirit Magic consumes a huge amount of demonic energy. At their age, they can cast at most ten spells in a battle."

Zhou Leng also looked at the dozen or so young Demon Spirit Masters. Finally, his gaze fell upon an inconspicuous black-curly-haired youth in the group.

The Demon Spirit light above that youth's shoulder felt stronger than everyone else's.

That Demon Spirit Master looked over as well, his eyes pale blue.

Their gazes passed each other.

Zhou Leng looked over the others. The humans of the Demon Spirit World were almost identical to Blue Star humans. Their features were closer to those of the Mediterranean region, while their skin and hair colors were closer to Easterners.

Demon Spirit Masters had the closest cooperation with Dragon Nation. Dragon Nation's production of demonized items accounted for over 85 percent of all Blue Star's output.

In the market for low- and mid-tier demonized items, Dragon Nation's output even surpassed that of the entire Demon Spirit World.

In high-end demonized items, it also surpassed any single Demon Spirit nation.

"What are you looking at? Never seen a tall guy before?" A voice seemed to come from inside a water vat, muffled and booming, yet exceptionally loud.

Zhou Leng followed the voice and looked over.

It was an extraordinarily tall burly man, at least two and a half meters high. His grayish-brown hair was braided into a long plait, while the beard covering his jaw resembled a tangled ball of yarn.

Not only was this man tall, he was immensely muscular, standing there like a wall.

Zhou Leng found it strange. This burly man, who looked to be in his thirties or forties, had skin as tender as a child's, and his eyes were far too clear for an adult's.

"Shanhe Yuan. Tsk, tsk, it's my first time seeing the real person too. I'd only seen him in videos before," Cui Mingcong said.

"So he's Shanhe Yuan. He's even stronger than I imagined. No wonder he's of Giant mixed blood," Feng Wenhao said admiringly.

The moment Zhou Leng heard that it was Shanhe Yuan, he understood.

Shanhe Yuan was somewhat famous in Ru City and was also a senior high school examinee this year.

Legend had it that his mother had been captured by Giants and gave birth to him after being rescued. He was one of Blue Star's rare Giant Clan-Human hybrids.

"Shanhe" was the surname of his Giant father and had originally been his given name.

Zhou Leng said, "He's the one who said the Strength Test was unfair because of his physique, right?"

"Yeah. When others score 100 points on the Strength Test, it's because they can only score 100. When he scores 100, it's because the Strength Test's ceiling is only 100. They say his actual punching power is more than three times that of Zhang Xinglie, who ranks second. Zhang Xinglie can only suppress him through speed, reaction, and other categories."

"His worst luck came in the Martial Examination. His true qi control was absurdly low, only a little over thirty points, apparently. But his total true qi and true qi strength were both full marks, one hundred points. He's terrifyingly strong. Even Wu Three Hundred Million and Zhang Xinglie can't compare."

"He should've been specially admitted to Yunhua or Jinjing, right?"

"He won't go. He doesn't care about Yunhua or Jinjing at all. He'll stay in Ru City and go straight to Giant World through Water Continent Demon City. The benefits he can obtain there far surpass Yunhua or Jinjing. Unless something unexpected happens, he'll probably enter West Sea Martial University. Those teachers at West Sea Martial University must be laughing in their dreams after picking up such a treasure."

"That's a bit of a shame."

"Not really. Quite a few people who can get into Yunhua or Jinjing if they work hard choose not to go. They stay local instead and take the local Demon City Army or Martial Guard Bureau route. They can't compare with the future top hundred experts in the country, but they can secure ample local resources. Don't forget, not everyone can thrive at Yunhua or Jinjing."

"Every year, plenty of people pass the cutoff for Yunhua or Jinjing but choose military academies or the Martial Arts Ten instead."

"A coworker of my mom's has a son who got into Yunhua too. In the end, he couldn't keep up with those freakishly talented geniuses' cultivation pace, so he obediently transferred back to West Sea University and became an ordinary genius."

"Ordinary genius, my ass... I want to be one too."

"People like Shanhe Yuan are destined to become legends. If he truly advances to the Innate Realm, even Martial Saints will fight to claim him. A Giant who can use true qi and martial arts—tsk, tsk, just thinking about it is insanely awesome. Let's go. He and us are destined never to cross paths."

Xue Chengsong rented a martial arts hall in the cultivation center for three days, and the six began cultivating.

After cultivating their internal arts, the six took turns fighting each other.

Before long, all six had black eyes and swollen faces, each of them injured.

As they applied the medicine for external injuries supplied by Xue Chengsong, they exchanged insights.

"No, Zhou Leng, you're way too slippery. How come you're the one with the fewest injuries?"

Feng Wenhao said, "What do you know? This is called 'Tide Rises, Tide Falls, the true meaning of the great tide.' One who can bend and stretch is a true man."

"Zhou Leng really has something when it comes to coordinating true qi, footwork, attack, and defense. His stance is especially stable. How does he do it?"

Zhou Leng said, "There's no special technique. It's just hard training. I've asked others about this too, including Uncle Li and Zhang Xinglie. It's just hard training. Train enough, and you naturally become steady."

"I think it's a matter of combat awareness. Zhou Leng's true qi, moves, and power are good, but they're not that different from ours. Yet his handling of certain details is especially precise. Teacher said that's combat awareness, and it takes a long time to temper."

Xue Chengsong seemed thoughtful. "I've heard some martial artists say the same thing. Some people really do have stronger combat awareness. Especially those who suffered hardships when they were young—they develop the habit of sensing danger at all times. Once battle begins, they can enter a combat state more easily than ordinary people."

"Could be. Again!"

At three in the afternoon, two Blood-Circulating martial artists from Xue's Pioneer Branch Company arrived and began taking turns serving as practical sparring partners for the six.

Even though the two held back, the six were beaten until they howled in pain, covered in minor injuries.

After dinner, they fought another round. Feng Wenhao was the first to give out and said he needed rest.

The others soon declared that they had reached their limits as well, sitting on the floor and using ice packs on their wounds.

Covered in bruises, Zhou Leng tossed aside his ice pack, stood up, and looked at the two Blood-Circulating martial artists. "Again."

The other five rolled their eyes in unison.

Zhou Leng did not stop until his true qi was exhausted and his eyes had swollen into purple buns.

Then he went to the Pioneer Base hospital for bloodletting treatment.

Early the next morning, the six met at the martial arts hall they had rented.

"Huh? Are you even human?" Cui Mingcong stared at Zhou Leng.

Cao Jiajia walked over as well and reached out to touch Zhou Leng's upper arm. "How did you recover so quickly?"

Feng Wenhao also looked baffled. "When did your body become this strong?"

"I took an Origin-Replenishing Pill a few days ago," Zhou Leng said.

"You've finished all three? The medicinal effect must be kicking in. Not bad. By the way, when are you all taking the Perfection Pill?"

Feng Wenhao said irritably, "Do you think everyone can afford a Perfection Pill like you? Any pill with 'pill' in its name starts at five hundred thousand. A Perfection Pill costs over a million. I'll have to save for years after graduation before I can afford one."

Zhou Leng shook his head. "I have no plans to."

Cao Jiajia said, "I'll take it once I get home. I'll strive for good results in Ru City Martial University's Opening-Semester Martial Test and monthly exam. My talent will peak at the Innate Realm anyway, so I don't care about that."

"I can't afford one," Cui Mingcong said.

"If you don't take a Perfection Pill, your first semester of freshman year will be rough. Come on, let's run to warm up first."

The six went out together for a run.

As Zhou Leng ran, he thought about the Perfection Pill.

Perfection Pill was the common name. Its formal name was Essence Qi Pill, a mid-tier medicine worth a million, basically only taken by Innate Realm martial artists.

After taking it, the medicinal effect went directly to the dantian and strengthened internal qi, helping those at Qi-Nourishing Great Accomplishment rapidly advance to the Perfection Stage.

Without the help of an Innate Realm expert, recklessly taking an Essence Qi Pill could cause qi deviation. Therefore, before the college entrance examination, it was listed as a banned drug and could not be used.

Many pills with excessively powerful effects were listed by the Martial Government as banned drugs for the college entrance examination, both for fairness and to prevent pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

But in reality, truly top-tier clans all had methods to use other pills worth tens of millions, erasing all traces of banned-drug use and allowing their clan descendants' true qi to grow rapidly, earning extremely high scores in the Martial Examination.

Using mid-tier pills too early did more harm than good for most people, because removing the pills' negative effects came at an enormous cost.

"I don't need to take a Perfection Pill..."

Zhou Leng easily resisted the temptation.

Mainly because he could not afford it.