Tailor-Made

Upon arriving at the Formal Martial Artist dormitories, Zhuang Jin looked at the door. This was Ding-grade Room 51. One glance inside confirmed that it was indeed much roomier than the Martial Student quarters. It was no longer one huge communal bed, either, but bunk beds in an eight-person room.

The four bunks farther inside were already occupied. Presumably, they belonged to Xiang Qichen, Xiong Lei, and the other two Martial Artists who had broken through at the other Training Grounds on the same day as Xiong Lei. Aside from those, four bunks remained vacant.

"At the Shen Family Outer Courtyard, Martial Students and unranked male servants and maidservants live in Wu-grade Rooms. Formal Martial Artists live in Ding-grade Rooms. Ordinarily, there would be no reason to make you live eight to a room, but isn't this because of the Medicine King Gang?"

Ping Yongfeng sighed. "The Medicine King Gang's Martial Student Recruitment not only charges no money, but takes in three hundred people at a time. After several rounds, quite a few Formal Martial Artists have emerged. To deal with the pressure from the Medicine King Gang, I hear our Shen Family will also expand enrollment in the next Martial Student Recruitment. Some of the later-numbered Ding-grade Rooms in the Outer Courtyard are being converted into the large communal-bed rooms used for Wu-grade Rooms. The conditions in this eight-person room are a little rough, so bear with it for now. Once you learn Martial Skills next month and begin taking on assignments, your accommodations will improve considerably."

As he spoke, he pointed out a bunk for Zhuang Jin. "Lower bunks are more convenient than upper ones. There are two left. That lower bunk is by the door, and the weather has turned chilly lately. Every time the door opens or closes, cold air rushes in. You should choose this spot instead."

"Thank you for the advice, Master Ping." Zhuang Jin set his bedding down on the bunk, but did not spread it out. Instead, he rose and looked at Ping Yongfeng. "Master Ping, I'll leave my things here for now. Should we go register at the General Affairs Department next?"

It was already a favor for Ping Yongfeng to bring him here. He could not very well make Ping Yongfeng wait while he laid out his bedding. Perhaps the man would not mind wasting a little time, but Zhuang Jin could not take it for granted and delay him.

"That is the procedure." Ping Yongfeng saw through Zhuang Jin's thoughts and marveled once more at how meticulous the youth was. He did not stop him, merely nodded and headed out.

Once outside, he pointed in a certain direction. "That way is the Xuan-grade Training Field. Formal Martial Artists practice there. After becoming Formal Martial Artists, besides Active Cultivation and Stance Training, you will also be taught a Quiet Cultivation method. Quiet Cultivation requires a peaceful environment, so unlike the Huang-grade Training Field, the Xuan-grade Training Field has Quiet Rooms."

"You just broke through to become a Formal Martial Artist, so it would be best to start as soon as possible in the next couple of days. Use Active Cultivation and Quiet Cultivation together to refine Black Essence Powder, nourish your body, and replenish yourself. Next month, you will be arranged to learn a Martial Skill—the Black Fiend Palm. Only the month after next will you begin receiving assignments like we do."

As Ping Yongfeng spoke, he revealed another piece of news in advance. "At the end of next month, you will have an assessment. If you enter the Two Meridian Realm and get the Black Fiend Palm through the door, you may choose your own assignment for half a year. If you only enter the Two Meridian Realm, you may choose for four months. If only the Black Fiend Palm gets through the door, you may choose for three months. If you achieve neither, then you will have only one month to choose your own assignment."

"The pressure from the Medicine King Gang is growing greater by the day. The choice of assignment this reward grants is extremely important." He cautioned, "The paths of cultivation realm and Martial Skill—if you cannot manage both, it is better to choose one and go all out."

These were words spoken from the heart.

Naturally, Zhuang Jin could tell good words from bad. He solemnly bowed to Ping Yongfeng. "Thank you for your guidance, Master Ping."

He could sense that Ping Yongfeng said these things because he wished to forge a good connection with him. He understood even more clearly that only because he had broken through to become a Formal Martial Artist and displayed his value was the man willing to do this. Even so, there was nothing wrong with that.

"Zhuang Jin, I have felt your bones before and know that your body has some deficiency. But now that you have become a Formal Martial Artist, it will not affect you much in the future. There is also a chance to make up for it and catch up." Ping Yongfeng added.

"Oh?" Zhuang Jin's heart stirred. "Please enlighten me, Master Ping."

"Do you remember when a Martial Student once asked why breaking through to become a Formal Martial Artist within a month meant one need not fear the Qi Channel Opening Soup draining one's potential and harming the body?"

Seeing Zhuang Jin nod, Ping Yongfeng said, "At the time, I said that once one truly enters the Qi Condensation Realm, one can withstand the medicinal power of Black Essence Powder, refine it into Inner Breath, nourish the body, and make up for the minor damage caused during the channel-opening stage."

"Master Ping means..." Zhuang Jin had already somewhat understood what Ping Yongfeng was getting at, and his eyes brightened slightly.

"Correct. What I mean is that refining the medicinal power of Black Essence Powder into Inner Breath can nourish and repair the body." Ping Yongfeng nodded with a smile, but then his tone shifted. "However, do not celebrate too soon."

"The Qi Channel Opening Soup consumed by Martial Students is merely brewed from the scraps left over from the Black Essence Powder consumed by us Formal Martial Artists. Since Qi Channel Opening Soup can squeeze out potential and harm the body, Black Essence Powder naturally has the same effect—and an even stronger one."

"Therefore, if a One Meridian Martial Artist fails to break through the Second Meridian within half a year, he can no longer take Black Essence Powder. By then, the body has already reached its limit. Taking more Black Essence Powder will cause irreversible damage, just as there is a one-month limit for breaking through to become a Martial Artist. At that point, if one wishes to maintain Inner Breath, one can only rely on drinking Qi Channel Opening Soup or eating meat and other foods."

By now, Zhuang Jin understood. According to Ping Yongfeng, consuming Black Essence Powder and refining it into Inner Breath to nourish the body did benefit the body. Yet compared to Qi Channel Opening Soup, Black Essence Powder also had a stronger effect of draining potential and damaging the body. The benefits and harm existed at the same time. Once a certain period was exceeded, the harm would outweigh the benefits. Then one could no longer consume Black Essence Powder, and could only maintain Inner Breath through diluted Qi Channel Opening Soup or daily food.

Following this logic, wouldn't it mean that as long as I break through quickly enough, the damage Black Essence Powder causes by draining my potential will not be able to keep pace with the greater amount of medicinal power I can refine after advancing, turning it into Inner Breath to nourish my body? Could it even nourish and strengthen my body in return?

It was like draining water while adding water at the same time. As long as you added water quickly enough, there was no need to fear the draining. You could even increase the water in the pool.

"Master Ping, can I understand it this way? I do not need to do anything special about my body's deficiency. As long as I break through quickly enough, it can repair itself. And once I rapidly reach a certain realm, it may even feed back into me, giving me more vigorous vitality and blood than ordinary people, and a stronger constitution?"

"In theory, that is indeed the case." Watching Zhuang Jin grasp the point at once, Ping Yongfeng felt a strong sense of accomplishment in teaching a student. "However, that is only in theory. In reality, it cannot be done. The Black Fiend Art and its matching Black Essence Powder drain the body's potential and make it unfavorable to break through bottlenecks. Cultivation is fast in the early stages, but once you reach a certain realm, you will encounter a bottleneck and be unable to advance another inch."

Zhuang Jin nodded as he listened. The Shen Family was not running a charity. Naturally, they would not take out their treasured, foundation-strengthening techniques that accumulated strength over time and helped one break through bottlenecks to teach these recruited Martial Students. What they taught would only be rapid-success techniques. They would rather drain and sacrifice some of the Martial Students' future potential in exchange for quickly building up a certain level of strength. That suited the Shen Family's interests. It was perfectly reasonable.

For others, it would indeed be as Master Ping said: cultivation would be fast in the early stages, but upon reaching a certain realm, they would encounter a bottleneck and be unable to advance another inch. But I am different. If my Golden Finger truly means I have no bottlenecks, then I need not worry about that at all. If I am fast in the early stages, I will only become faster later on!

In a sense, this technique was practically tailor-made for me, he thought.