One Year, Blood Qi Perfected!

Jiang Hao practiced Fierce Tiger Fist very seriously, repeating the set more than a dozen times in a row.

Although every move and stance was perfectly standard, the effect was far inferior to Zhao Heita's.

He couldn't help asking, "Master, why can't I produce that 'Explosive Sound' effect like you do?"

Hearing this, Zhao Heita's face broke into a smile.

"Heh, 'A Thousand Gold Cannot Buy an Explosive Sound'—that's a gap in power level."

"To produce an Explosive Sound, you must first train out your Jin. In other words, you need to break through to Ming Jin cultivation before you can make that sound."

"Ming Jin?"

Jiang Hao fell into thought.

He was currently only at the Blood Qi Realm; only by breaking through the Blood Qi Realm could he reach Ming Jin.

"But Fierce Tiger Fist is somewhat special. As long as you can train it to Perfection, grasp its True Intent, and unleash a True Intent Secret Move, you can produce an effect similar to Ming Jin."

"True Intent Secret Move?"

"Martial Skills are divided by proficiency into Beginner, Adept, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Perfection. Some of the more exquisite Martial Skills actually have True Intent Secret Moves, but you can only comprehend the True Intent when the skill reaches Perfection, thereby mastering the True Intent Secret Move."

"True Intent Secret Moves are extremely powerful. Mastering one allows you to fight across levels. However, reaching Perfection in a Martial Skill is also very difficult. Without years of practice and exceptional Comprehension, it's hard to achieve."

"Even I have practiced Fierce Tiger Fist for forty or fifty years, and it has only reached Major Accomplishment. I still can't reach Perfection."

Jiang Hao's heart tightened.

Was Martial Skill Perfection really that difficult?

Forty or fifty years of practice and still not Perfection?

He knew his master was strong.

Fierce Tiger Fist should only be a basic fist technique.

It certainly wasn't that profound.

After all, even Blood Qi Realm cultivators could practice it—how profound could it be?

Yet for such a basic, not-so-profound fist technique, Zhao Heita had trained for decades without reaching Perfection.

"Are you thinking Fierce Tiger Fist is simple? Try practicing it, and you'll see. Beginner and Adept are relatively easy; with enough time, anyone can reach Adept."

"But the further you go with Fierce Tiger Fist, the harder it gets. Especially Minor Accomplishment and Major Accomplishment—those can't be achieved just by piling on time."

"If your Comprehension isn't enough, you might never reach Major Accomplishment in a lifetime."

Zhao Heita actually had one more thing he didn't say.

Comprehension was innate. At the Blood Qi Realm, sometimes you could rely on resources or great medicines to break through.

But Martial Skills could only rely on Comprehension. No amount of hard work would help.

In the Huangtian Sect, only those who trained a Martial Skill to Perfection and mastered a True Intent Secret Move could be considered geniuses.

Of course, the prerequisite was that Bone Quality couldn't be too poor either.

As for Bone Quality, Zhao Heita knew Jiang Hao was excellent.

But Comprehension—Zhao Heita didn't know yet.

That would take a long time to gauge.

"Jiang Hao, you need to practice Fierce Tiger Fist, but you need to practice the Great River Blood Nourishing Technique even more."

"In the future, you might train more than one Martial Skill—Movement Techniques, or weapon skills, and many others. That will consume a lot of your energy. How to balance them, or how to choose, requires great wisdom."

"A person's energy is limited. Most people specialize in one or two Martial Skills, rather than dabbling in everything."

Zhao Heita advised.

Jiang Hao nodded. He naturally understood this principle.

Cultivation was the foundation!

But Martial Skills were also indispensable.

Perhaps this was the fundamental reason geniuses pulled ahead of ordinary people.

With the same time and the same energy, true geniuses could master many Martial Skills, even training them to Perfection, while their cultivation still advanced by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, ordinary people could spend their entire lives practicing a single Martial Skill and never reach Perfection.

Under his master's guidance, Jiang Hao earnestly practiced Fierce Tiger Fist and circulated his Blood Qi.

A day passed.

Jiang Hao returned home.

The first thing he did was check his own data.

Cultivation: Blood Qi Realm First Layer

Bone Quality: 6.8

Comprehension: 2.5

Spirit: 1.7

Fierce Tiger Fist: Beginner

Sure enough, Fierce Tiger Fist had already reached the entry level.

However, martial skills also grew harder the further one progressed.

Entry and mastery were relatively simple.

But reaching Minor Accomplishment was tough.

"To reach Minor Accomplishment in Fierce Tiger Fist, I must comprehend the 'Tiger Form,' grasp its shape, and then understand its 'spirit.'"

Jiang Hao pondered.

Fierce Tiger Fist was extremely fierce and ferocious.

But at the entry and mastery stages, its true characteristics couldn't be displayed.

Only after comprehending the "Tiger Form" would Fierce Tiger Fist's power surge.

"Comprehending the 'Tiger Form' definitely requires Comprehension. My Comprehension is only 2.5 right now, just slightly above average. It'll be hard to grasp the 'Tiger Form' in a short time."

"However, I can visualize the Blood Moon to rapidly increase my Comprehension. My Bone Quality is already strong enough; I don't need to focus all my effort on visualizing the Great Sun. I can spend more time visualizing the Blood Moon."

Jiang Hao thought it over.

His Bone Quality was already sufficiently powerful. From now on, he only needed to visualize it step by step.

His Comprehension stat was relatively low, so he could shift his focus there.

But Bone Quality remained the foundation. Even if he reduced it, he couldn't stop its growth.

So, after careful consideration, Jiang Hao decided to visualize the Blood Moon for ten months and the Great Sun for the remaining two.

This way, his Comprehension would increase by 1 each year, while Bone Quality would grow by 0.2.

Jiang Hao had already formulated a plan in his mind.

Next, he began visualizing according to that plan.

Ever since Jiang Hao started training at the Black Tower Martial Arts School, he had stopped composing poetry.

As time passed, his reputation as a "Child Prodigy" gradually faded from people's lips.

Some even called him "Shang Zhongyong," saying he had lost his talent.

Jiang Hao naturally didn't care.

He had spread the "Child Prodigy" name in the first place only to expand his fame and attract powerful martial artists to take him as a disciple.

Now that he was training in martial arts, he no longer needed that title.

Although Jiang Hao had lost his Child Prodigy reputation, his fame within the Black Tower Martial Arts School only grew.

In fact, his name spread throughout the entire martial artist circle of Cang City.

One Day Blood Nourishment, One Month Blood Qi Second Layer, One Year Blood Qi Ninth Layer!

What terrifying training speed was that?

The entire martial artist circle of Cang City knew that the Black Tower Martial Arts School had produced an unparalleled genius.

Many martial arts schools regretted their earlier decisions.

When Jiang Dahai had been searching for a renowned teacher for Jiang Hao, many schools had turned him away. Who could have guessed that Jiang Hao himself was a top-tier training prodigy?

However, Jiang Hao also had his troubles.

A year had passed, and Jiang Hao was now over seven years old.

Cultivation: Blood Qi Realm, Ninth Layer (Peak)

Bone Quality: 7

Comprehension: 3.5

Spirit: 1.7

Fierce Tiger Fist: Mastery

After a year of training, Jiang Hao had made rapid progress.

His Bone Quality had finally reached 7.

His Comprehension had surpassed 3.

His cultivation had even reached the peak of the Blood Qi Realm's Ninth Layer.

He was very satisfied with his Bone Quality, Comprehension, and cultivation.

Only Fierce Tiger Fist left him dissatisfied.

In fact, half a year ago, Jiang Hao's Fierce Tiger Fist had already reached the mastery level.

Yet after all this time, it remained at mastery.

Jiang Hao even felt that Fierce Tiger Fist had reached a dead end, with no room for further progress.

Even with his Comprehension reaching 3.5, it was the same.

Jiang Hao experienced the "frustration" of martial arts training for the first time.

He also understood—this was hitting a bottleneck.

Every martial artist had bottlenecks.

Some bottlenecks could trap a person for three to five years, and some could trap them for a lifetime.

Jiang Hao never expected that, despite his Comprehension not being low, his Fierce Tiger Fist would hit a bottleneck, unable to reach Minor Accomplishment, and without even a clue.

One day, Jiang Hao found his master, Zhao Heita.

"Master, your disciple's Fierce Tiger Fist has hit a bottleneck and cannot reach Minor Accomplishment."

Jiang Hao humbly sought guidance.

Zhao Heita smiled slightly and said, "Your progress with Fierce Tiger Fist has already been very fast. Half a year to reach Proficiency, and this bottleneck has only held you for half a year. No need to rush."

"When the right opportunity comes, the bottleneck will naturally break through."

"When a Martial Skill hits a bottleneck, let it take its course. Cultivation base is the foundation. Your cultivation has already reached Blood Qi Ninth Layer Perfection, hasn't it?"

Jiang Hao nodded. "Your disciple has reached Blood Qi Ninth Layer Perfection."

"Mm, not bad. Reaching Blood Qi Perfection in one year exceeds your master's expectations."

"Once Blood Qi reaches Perfection, under normal circumstances, one must train in a Manifest Force level martial art to generate Force. However, this kind of Force has certain limitations and will be influenced by the breakthrough technique. For example, if you break through using Blazing Fire Force, the Force you generate will be more or less violent like fire, making it very difficult to practice Yin and Soft martial arts later on."

"There is also a second method: Purify Blood Qi. By continuously purifying Blood Qi, until one day, Force naturally emerges from the Blood Qi. This kind of Force encompasses all things, allowing you to practice any martial art without any hindrance."

"The first method of generating Force is relatively easier. With your talent, as long as you practice a Manifest Force technique, you could likely generate Force in a few days and break through to become a Ming Jin Martial Artist. The second method takes more time—perhaps a few months, maybe a year, or even longer before you generate Force."

"Which method do you want to use to break through?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hao weighed the options in his mind.

The first method was undoubtedly more certain.

He could break through quickly.

But its limitations also gave Jiang Hao pause.

The second method, Purify Blood Qi, would certainly take time.

Yet it would lay a solid foundation, giving him more choices in the future, and could even allow his martial path to go further.

"I choose the second method—Purify Blood Qi, and let Force naturally emerge from the Blood Qi."

Jiang Hao didn't deliberate long and immediately chose the second option.

His Bone Quality had already broken through the major threshold of 7, and it could grow even stronger in the future.

Even if he had to Purify Blood Qi, how much time could it really waste?