Qi Replenishing Pill

"Isn't it good?" Lu Ming asked, confused.

Dugu Mingri shook his head, "It's very good, but it can't be considered peerless."

He then continued to elaborate:

"I started cultivating at twelve. It took me less than three years to reach the peak of the ninth level of Inner Qi. However, it's been a full half-year since then, and I still haven't managed to break through to the Zhen Qi Realm."

He sighed at this point.

Hearing this, Lu Ming secretly compared himself. From the beginning until now, he had only cultivated for less than two months and was already at the sixth level of Inner Qi.

Compared to him, Dugu Mingri's talent was indeed nothing special.

However, it also depended on who he was compared to. According to Old Man Zhao, his cultivation speed, excluding the advantage of the Heavenly Saber Art's rapid breakthroughs, was considered a rare and peerless genius if he could maintain it.

The only pity was his late start.

In this world, the most suitable age to start cultivating Inner Qi was generally twelve.

This was because by this age, the meridians had fully developed and could circulate Inner Qi.

He had started nearly two years late.

He had turned fourteen a while ago.

"As for why I didn't join a sect, it's because I wanted to become an inner disciple of those sects directly after becoming a Zhen Qi Realm expert."

"I just didn't expect to be stuck for half a year. This time I entered the mountains, I wanted to see if I could find a breakthrough opportunity through life-and-death combat."

"Did you find it then?"

Lu Ming didn't know how to comfort him.

Dugu Mingri's lips curled up, "I can feel my realm loosening. I believe it won't be long before I can refine True Qi and enter the Zhen Qi Realm."

"Then congratulations."

Lu Ming felt that the other person was quite good and was happy for him.

"You're not bad either, even stronger than me. At only fourteen, you've reached the sixth level of Inner Qi. I imagine you'll reach my current realm before you turn fifteen."

Dugu Mingri assumed Lu Ming had also started cultivating at twelve, which was why he said that.

Lu Ming didn't explain. To avoid being too astonishing, it was better to keep a low profile.

Thus, the two walked back while talking. Through their conversation, Lu Ming learned more about hidden matters.

For example, the young master of the Yang Family he met at the blacksmith shop earlier was already a Zhen Qi Realm expert before he turned fifteen.

He was hailed as the most talented person in Shuofeng City in the past twenty years.

He also learned about the famous young genius experts who had emerged in Shuofeng City, and even in the entire Zhao Kingdom, in recent years.

They were all exceptionally talented.

In short, through their conversation, Lu Ming's horizons were greatly broadened.

It also made him realize that geniuses in this world were as common as carp crossing a river; they weren't rare. It all depended on who could stand out and go the distance.

This filled him with fighting spirit.

Soon, the two exited the mountain and then began a lightness skill competition.

Since Lu Ming was carrying a lot of things, Dugu Mingri put his belongings into a Storage Ring for fairness, which made Lu Ming envious for a while.

With the competition, their travel speed naturally increased rapidly.

Lu Ming was now at the sixth level of Inner Qi, and his Soaring Cloud Skill had improved. He could leap up to twenty meters in a single stride.

Dugu Mingri was not weak either. The lightness skill he cultivated had a similar name to Lu Ming's, called Soaring Cloud Skill, and it was of Human-tier Mid-grade.

It wasn't that the Dugu Family didn't have higher-level lightness skills, but Human-grade, high stage and above could only be fully utilized by those in the Zhen Qi Realm.

Of course, those with extraordinary talent were an exception.

"You won. I didn't expect you to be not only skilled in saber techniques but also so proficient in lightness skills."

A giant poplar tree stood by the official road on their way back, which was the agreed-upon finish line for their competition.

Lu Ming reached it first, leading by about ten meters.

"Your Soaring Cloud Skill, judging by its name, is good at climbing high. If we were competing on who could fly higher, I would definitely lose to you."

Lu Ming said humbly. Actually, there was one thing he didn't mention: the Inner Qi from the Heavenly Saber Art greatly boosted his speed, and he hadn't used his full strength.

"Losing is losing. There are no such excuses in a life-and-death battle."

Dugu Mingri was very forthright, openly admitting his shortcomings.

This was also why Lu Ming felt the other person was worth befriending.

After a short rest, the two continued their journey and successfully arrived at Shuofeng City as the sun began to set.

"This is for you."

Upon entering the city, Dugu Mingri returned Lu Ming's cloth bag and tossed him a porcelain bottle.

"What is this?"

Lu Ming took it, confused.

"Qi Replenishing Pills can quickly restore Inner Qi. They're very useful when facing tough battles or group fights."

"Isn't this too valuable?"

Lu Ming knew these pills. Buying them at a pharmacy cost eight hundred taels of silver for just one, and this porcelain bottle held at least ten.

"Keep it. I'm about to enter the Zhen Qi Realm soon, so these will be useless to me."

Dugu Mingri waved his hand, then added, "It's getting late, and we're both a mess. Let's meet again another time."

They had already exchanged addresses.

"Then I hope when we meet again, you'll have already become a Zhen Qi Realm Martial Artist."

Lu Ming had no choice but to accept the Qi Replenishing Pills.

"Haha, I hope you're right."

Soon, the two parted ways. Lu Ming didn't rush back; instead, he planned to sell the spoils from his trip into the mountains first.

The streets were crowded with pedestrians, but Lu Ming didn't feel crowded. Many people saw his blood-stained clothes and instinctively made way for him.

"Good heavens, this young man is already full of killing intent. And judging by his blood-soaked clothes, he must have killed quite a few Demonic Beasts."

"Nonsense. Didn't you see the sack on his shoulder? It's packed full. He definitely killed a lot of Demonic Beasts."

"He's a tough one. He's even more impressive than those veteran Monster Hunters. They can't carry this much loot in one trip."

The surrounding crowd buzzed with discussion, but Lu Ming ignored them and walked briskly, soon arriving at a shop.

"This is the bone of a late-stage Grade 1 Demonic Beast, Tiger Bone. It can be used in medicine and is worth eleven hundred taels."

"These are the teeth of a mid-stage Grade 1 Demonic Beast, Wind Chasing Wolf. They can be used for crafting. This quantity is worth six hundred taels."

"This is the hide of a Red Rock Lizard. It can be used to craft protective inner armor, but unfortunately, its grade is a bit low and not tough enough. It's only worth three hundred taels."

The shopkeeper meticulously sorted through the items in the sack. The more he sorted, the more astonished he became.

He never expected this young man, who was only at the sixth level of the Nei Qi Realm, to have hunted so many Demonic Beasts in one go.

Moreover, there were materials from quite a few late-stage Grade 1 Demonic Beasts inside. These were equivalent to the seventh to ninth levels of the Nei Qi Realm for human Martial Artists.

He couldn't fathom how the other party managed to kill them.

"Could he be a genius who can kill enemies above his level?"

After finishing the inventory, the shopkeeper muttered to himself but quickly dismissed the thought, focusing on calculating the price. After a while, he said, "The total value of the items our shop can purchase is six thousand seven hundred taels. Do you find this price acceptable?"

Lu Ming secretly swallowed. He knew Martial Artists earned well, but he hadn't expected them to earn this well.

He had only gone out once and earned six thousand seven hundred taels. If he went a few more times, wouldn't he never lack money again?

However, he quickly realized that this might only apply to him.

After all, ordinary people didn't have his profound cultivation techniques and martial skills. Even if they did, they wouldn't have his talent to quickly cultivate them to a profound level.

Thus transforming them into his strength.

It could be said that this was also the reason he could kill enemies above his level.

Without further thought, he nodded, "Let's do it."

"Rest assured, this is absolutely the fairest price."

Seeing Lu Ming agree, the shopkeeper was also pleased. He hadn't cheated him, but he would still make a good profit.

Clutching six thousand seven hundred taels in silver notes, Lu Ming went to other shops to sell his remaining materials and two steel sabers whose personal marks he had erased, earning another two thousand one hundred taels.

Of course, the bulk of that amount came from the two steel sabers.

Lu Ming only took one thousand taels for himself. The remaining one thousand one hundred taels were used to purchase a fine saber that suited him.

After his battles with the Demonic Beasts, his fifty-five tael steel saber was already full of nicks.

Therefore, he had to get a new one.

After dealing with his spoils, he picked up a deer leg he had set aside and started heading back.