Six Minutes and Thirty-Eight Seconds!

When those words came out, quite a few people's expressions turned strange, and they fell silent.

To hold Standing Meditation for five minutes on the very first attempt...

And as a Blood Qi Realm martial artist, no less!

One had to know that even some martial artists who had just entered the Blood Refining Realm might not be able to last five minutes. Only those Military martial artists who had tempered their bodies from the Blood Qi Realm onward could barely reach five minutes when they first entered the Blood Refining Realm.

This showed just how difficult it was to maintain Standing Meditation for five minutes.

Wang Lin's talent was already considered quite good among the Heaven and Earth Dojo's Outer Disciples. He was only one or two years older than Lu Sheng, yet he was already a Blood Refining Realm martial artist.

But he could still only hold on for a little over three minutes.

And Lu Sheng...

Had already lasted four and a half minutes, even chasing after the five-minute mark.

Such a physique...

Was it really something a Blood Qi Realm martial artist could possess?

"Worthy of Third Senior Brother!"

In the end, the thousand words in their hearts could only gather into that single sentence and slowly leave their lips.

Time trickled by bit by bit.

It was almost five minutes.

By now, Lu Sheng's posture had completely begun to deform. Veins bulged across his face.

Sweat poured down like water flung from a basin, flowing wildly as if it cost nothing.

His flushed complexion had also begun to turn pale.

"It hurts..."

At that moment, nothing remained in Lu Sheng's mind but pain. Every muscle in his body constantly sent waves of agony, stabbing at his nerves.

It felt as though tens of thousands of ants were endlessly gnawing at his flesh and blood.

It was unbearably miserable.

It was only because Lu Sheng had previously refreshed the Tenacity talent. Otherwise, he truly might not have been able to endure for this long.

Although Lu Sheng's physique had been enhanced through slaughter and surpassed martial artists of the same realm, by the time he reached four minutes, he had already reached the limit his body could withstand.

The only reason he could still persist was the unyielding resolve brought by the Tenacity talent.

"Keep going. At the very least... I have to cross the five-minute threshold!"

Lu Sheng kept suggesting this to himself.

Though Lu Sheng did not know what the five-minute mark represented, he knew that the longer he maintained Standing Meditation, the more benefits it would bring him.

But...

Even though he had already given himself countless mental prompts, the limits of his body kept sending him signals.

As though warning him that he could not continue any longer.

"Hold on! Hold on a little longer!"

Lu Sheng kept shouting in his heart, as though cheering himself on.

At that moment, time seemed to slow considerably. Every day felt like a year.

He did not know how much time had passed before Lu Sheng felt his consciousness gradually growing hazy beneath the torment of pain.

The view before his eyes began to blur, as though everything had been covered by a layer of overlapping shadows.

"That's enough. We'll stop here for today!"

Suddenly, a soft voice sounded beside Lu Sheng's ear.

Hearing that voice, Lu Sheng's already blurred consciousness finally gave out. His eyes closed, and his body seemed to lose all sensation as he fell straight backward.

But before his consciousness completely faded, Lu Sheng vaguely felt a pair of warm palms gently supporting his head.

Everything after that was unknown to him.

He did not know how long had passed when Lu Sheng felt a warm current gently flowing through his body.

As the warm current surged in, every muscle cell in his body seemed to turn into starving ghosts, madly devouring the power contained within it.

Gradually, Lu Sheng felt strength returning to his body.

"This feels... amazing!"

Lu Sheng could not help but groan inwardly.

Then he slowly opened his eyes.

Only to discover that he was still in the training hall, except he was lying in a rattan chair. Beside him, Lan Linglong quietly flipped through a book.

Kong Yunzhang was resting in another rattan chair.

Kong Xin sat on a chair nearby with her legs crossed. Her long legs swayed lightly, and her skin, white as jade, was enough to make one greedy for more.

"You're awake?"

Kong Xin's gaze fell upon Lu Sheng as she spoke calmly.

Lu Sheng hurriedly tried to sit up, but in the next moment...

Hiss!

A wave of soreness from every muscle in his body struck Lu Sheng, instantly twisting his expression.

"Lie still. After standing for so long, your little body can't take it!"

Kong Xin spoke indifferently, but a trace of gratification surfaced in her eyes.

Lu Sheng nodded and lay back in the rattan chair. Only then did the soreness ease somewhat.

After resting for a while longer, Lu Sheng felt slightly better. Then he looked at Kong Xin with curiosity.

"First Senior Sister, how long did I last in the end?"

The moment he said that, a complicated expression clearly appeared on Kong Xin's face.

After a brief silence, Kong Xin slowly parted her lips.

"Six minutes... thirty-eight seconds!"

Even as she spoke that number, her voice carried a trace of complicated emotion.

In truth, the moment Kong Xin first saw Lu Sheng, she had noticed that his physique was extraordinary. It was even comparable to that of some martial artists who had just entered the Blood Refining Realm.

That was why, when she spoke with Lan Linglong earlier, Kong Xin had directly estimated five minutes.

In Kong Xin's eyes, five minutes might have been the limit Lu Sheng could endure.

Who could have known...

Lu Sheng had reached his physical limit early on, yet he had forcibly persisted even longer through sheer force of will.

One had to know that, even across the entirety of Great Xia's Military, there had yet to be anyone at the Blood Qi Realm who could hold on for that long...

Such talent...

Such temperament...

Kong Xin's heart was filled with nothing but deep appreciation.

"Six minutes and thirty-eight seconds?"

Lu Sheng nodded thoughtfully.

Kong Xin looked at him in surprise. "Aren't you happy?"

Lu Sheng scratched his head in confusion. "Happy about what? Isn't this just a method for training the body? Is it that surprising to hold on for so long? I've seen some senior brothers and junior brothers at the dojo do it too!"

The moment those words came out, Kong Xin's mouth twitched slightly.

Good heavens, she had nearly forgotten. This was Lu Sheng's first time encountering Standing Meditation, so naturally he had no idea how terrifying this result was for a beginner.

As for those dojo brothers Lu Sheng mentioned who could do it too...

Damn it, which of those people who could last six minutes had not spent a long time cultivating in the Blood Refining Realm?

There were even Hundred Meridians Realm martial artists among them.

It was perfectly normal for them to do it, but you were just a tiny Blood Qi Realm martial artist!!

If Lu Sheng had not been her junior disciple brother, Kong Xin would have been unable to restrain her foul temper and would have slapped him twice after hearing that.

What a damn show-off!

Even so, Kong Xin still rubbed her brow in exhaustion.

"Hehe!"

Lan Linglong chuckled at the side, closing the book in her hands. "Junior Disciple Brother, you don't know this, but your result is already comparable to martial artists at the Second Layer of Blood Refining, or even the third layer!"

"Ah?"

Only after hearing Lan Linglong's words did Lu Sheng suddenly understand. He scratched his head, and a foolish grin appeared on his face.

"Am I really that strong?"

Thump!

The moment Lu Sheng finished speaking, he received a knock on the head.

At some point, Kong Yunzhang had sat upright. He stretched out a hand and heavily knocked Lu Sheng on the head, saying irritably,

"You brat, don't get an advantage and then act cute!"

"Your physique may be decent, but Great Xia is vast. It isn't as though no one else can do it. When your teacher first tried Standing Meditation, I could last ten minutes. What does your little bit of time amount to?!"

Lu Sheng immediately revealed a shocked expression.

Ten minutes!

How terrifying was that!

For a moment, respect surfaced on Lu Sheng's face.

"Worthy of Teacher!"

Seeing the respect on Lu Sheng's face, Kong Yunzhang gave a smug chuckle, utterly pleased with himself.

But after Lan Linglong and Kong Xin heard Kong Yunzhang's words, they exchanged a glance and could not help smiling helplessly.

Kong Yunzhang had indeed lasted ten minutes the first time he tried Standing Meditation.

But at that time, Kong Yunzhang...

Was already at the Peak of Blood Refining.

Compared with Lu Sheng...

The gap between the two needed no explanation!

Still, since Kong Yunzhang had put it that way, as his daughter and disciple, neither of them would naturally expose his lie.

It could be considered letting Kong Yunzhang save enough face.

"Alright. You've broken through one of your limits today, so rest well for a day. On the martial path, diligence cannot be lacking, but one must proceed gradually. Don't be impatient."

Kong Yunzhang stroked his beard as he spoke to Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng nodded. After resting for a little while longer and feeling that he could walk, he bowed to Kong Yunzhang, Lan Linglong, and Kong Xin before taking his leave.

Watching Lu Sheng's departing back, Kong Yunzhang narrowed his eyes. A faint gleam suddenly flickered in his clouded gaze.

"Girl, do you think it's suitable to send Lu Sheng to that place?"

Kong Xin glanced at Lu Sheng's figure, then slowly withdrew her gaze.

"His talent is good, and his physique far surpasses others of the same realm. Judging from his Standing Meditation earlier, his temperament is solid as well. There shouldn't be any problem sending him there."

"It's just... to enter that place, he has to pass an assessment. Even if I speak for him, it might not do any good!"