The True Power of a Fate Pattern

The end of Lin Chen's seventh month of martial training at the Martial Hall.

The Training Ground beneath the night sky.

Lin Chen was practicing his punches. Gu Fei was punching beside him as well, but his fists went east and west without any focus.

After finishing another set of Warm Sun Fist, Lin Chen glanced at Gu Fei but said nothing.

Gu Fei did not have to work in the cafeteria, so he could practice a while longer at the Training Ground, while Lin Chen was merely making up the required time.

People could grow tired. Gu Fei was currently in just such a state.

Lin Chen had not openly told Gu Fei that practicing for five shichen every day would grant an additional 1 point of Qi and Blood, because he had no way to explain the existence of the System Panel. He only dragged Gu Fei along to practice for the full five shichen every day.

After five shichen of boxing practice, Lin Chen summoned the System Panel.

Name: Lin Chen

Profession: Martial Artist

Qi and Blood: 1402/3000

Fate Pattern: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, persevere unwaveringly, Progress Step by Step, Break Through Like Bamboo, free of bottleneck troubles.

Thanks to the leftover beef from the cafeteria each day, his Qi and Blood still increased by 10 points daily.

At this level of Qi and Blood, he could already lift a 280-jin Stone Weight.

Gu Fei, standing beside him, looked puzzled when he saw Lin Chen walk toward the 280-jin Stone Weight.

But when he saw Lin Chen squat down, grip the handles, and lift the Stone Weight, his mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Chen... Chenzi, your strength has reached 280 jin?"

"Is there a problem? I already had 220 jin of strength by the end of last month. It's not like you didn't know." Lin Chen was puzzled, unable to understand why Gu Fei was so shocked.

"Of course there's a problem. That's sixty jin!" Gu Fei hurriedly explained, "Once your strength reaches 200 jin, you either have to spend more on food every day, or your strength gains will slow down. Look at me—I had 200 jin of strength three months ago, and now I've only just passed 300 jin."

Hearing Gu Fei's explanation, Lin Chen fell into thought.

Before, all his attention had been on passing the 200-jin assessment. He truly had not paid much attention to how everyone's strength grew after 200 jin. He had only heard Gu Fei grumble a few times that his strength gains had slowed, but he had not known they had slowed by so much.

"Do you work in the cafeteria? Did the cafeteria give you Qi Nourishing Soup too?" Gu Fei thought of this possibility.

Lin Chen did not answer directly. He merely reminded him, "Don't tell anyone else about my strength gains for now."

"I get it. Instructor Yu treats you so well. If the others found out, they'd probably be jealous of you."

Gu Fei waggled his brows, then added, "Could you talk to Instructor Yu and get me assigned to the cafeteria too? I'll wash the vegetables and you wash the dishes. Us brothers can join our twin blades and conquer the cafeteria."

"Sure. Go talk to Instructor Yu."

"I wouldn't dare. My legs go weak whenever I see Instructor Yu." Gu Fei shrank his neck and quickly waved his hands.

Lin Chen could understand why Gu Fei feared Instructor Yu. Since ancient times, no student had ever been unafraid of a teacher. Though Instructor Yu did not harshly berate the trainees, he was not the smiling, easygoing sort either. He still carried authority in their hearts.

"Let's head back to the dormitory."

On the way back, the night concealed the thoughtful look on Lin Chen's face.

He felt that he seemed to have overlooked something.

Another month passed.

The end of Lin Chen's eighth month of martial training at the Martial Hall.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

It was the season of Frost's Descent. A thin layer of cold frost covered the bluestones of the Training Ground, but beneath the youth's constantly shifting steps, the frost slowly melted away.

Lin Chen stood there, throwing punch after punch. His Warm Sun Fist flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water. He could feel the circulation of Qi and Blood within his body. Every time he punched, a warm current rose in his abdomen, only to dissipate once he withdrew his fists.

"This feeling appeared after my Qi and Blood reached 1,500. So 1,500 Qi and Blood is a threshold. Only after reaching it does one's physical strength truly begin to pull away from that of ordinary people."

Though Warm Sun Fist was not a combat fist art, but merely a set of punches that accelerated the circulation of Qi and Blood, the increase in Qi and Blood also improved every aspect of the body.

During the first few months, although his Qi and Blood had also been growing, aside from getting taller, the other changes to his body had not been especially obvious. But after his Qi and Blood reached 1,500, he could tangibly feel the improvement in his physical strength.

An increase in strength was not as simple as one plus one.

A 300-jin fist striking the body and three 100-jin fists striking the body caused entirely different degrees of damage.

This involved the limit of how much damage a body could endure.

Now, he should be able to knock down the him from a month ago with a single punch.

Drawing back his fists, Lin Chen looked at the System Panel.

Name: Lin Chen

Profession: Martial Artist

Qi and Blood: 1702/3000

Fate Pattern: [When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, persevere unwaveringly, Progress Step by Step, Break Through Like Bamboo, free of bottleneck troubles.

His strength had reached 340 jin, already surpassing Gu Fei.

But what delighted Lin Chen most was not that his strength had reached 340 jin, but that he had understood the true meaning of the When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed Fate Pattern.

A month ago, when Gu Fei mentioned that trainees' strength growth slowed after they reached 200 jin, a suspicion had arisen in his heart.

All the trainees at the Martial Hall had maintained the habit of eating meat after reaching 200 jin, yet their strength gains had still slowed. Only his remained unchanged.

After verifying it over the past month, he confirmed his suspicion: the When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed Fate Pattern was not as simple as he had initially believed.

[When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed]: Martial Arts First Realm, persevere unwaveringly, Progress Step by Step, Break Through Like Bamboo, free of bottleneck troubles.

When water first flows across the ground, part of it is absorbed by the earth, slowing its advance. Yet as more water gathers, its flow quickens. In the end, it forms a brook, then a river. Once the force of the water is established, it naturally surges onward in mighty torrents. Even high ground ahead cannot stop it.

That had been his original understanding of When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed.

Originally, he had only focused on the final line. Now he understood that every line of the Fate Pattern represented a state.

Persevere unwaveringly: these four words required him to continue practicing martial arts without slackening.

Progress Step by Step: advancing and improving bit by bit.

Break Through Like Bamboo: making tremendous strides forward, pressing onward in one burst without obstruction.

It was precisely because he could Break Through Like Bamboo that he could have no bottlenecks.

Lin Chen had gained a true understanding of the When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed Fate Pattern.

The When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed Fate Pattern divided his martial training into three stages. There was nothing much to say about the first stage, persevering unwaveringly. The second stage, Progress Step by Step, ensured that he could keep growing without slowing down like Gu Fei and the others.

If that was the case, then once he reached the later Break Through Like Bamboo stage, it meant the rate at which his Qi and Blood grew would accelerate further.

Lin Chen's eyes burned with fervor. With the aid of the When the Water Flows, the Channel is Formed Fate Pattern, even if he did not have as many silver coins as Lu Yongfeng and the others, he could slowly catch up to them with the Fate Pattern's help, rather than holding an advantage only at the bottleneck stage.