Aspiration

Zhuang Jin left Yellow Character Number Nine Training Field and came over to the Xuan-grade Training Fields. Training Ground No. 28, Xuan Character, where he had practiced martial skills last month, was now occupied by a new batch of Formal Martial Artists learning martial skills, so he headed to another Xuan-grade Training Field.

He found a Xuan-grade Training Field with fewer people. Since he had previously drunk more than a bowl of Qi Channel Opening Soup and had not taken Black Essence Powder, he directly began Stance Training, refining his Inner Breath, then went to a Quiet Room to practice Quiet Cultivation and condense it.

About half an hour later, the medicinal power of the Qi Channel Opening Soup was exhausted.

When I was a Martial Student, there was no need to mention it. The month before last, when I was at One Meridian, a bowl of Qi Channel Opening Soup could sustain half an hour of martial practice. Now that I've reached the Two Meridian Realm, this extra bowl still sustains half an hour. That's only reasonable.

Half an hour every day makes fifteen hours in a month. If I cultivate five hours a day now, I'll roughly use one dose of Black Essence Powder every two days. In other words, this daily benefit of Qi Channel Opening Soup is about equivalent to one and a half doses of Black Essence Powder—seven mace and five fen of silver. That counts as a hidden benefit of being a Martial Arts Instructor.

Zhuang Jin nodded slightly. Then, after pondering whether to continue raising his Cultivation Realm or practice the Black Fiend Palm, he made a plan for himself: For now, my focus should return to cultivation. As for the Black Fiend Palm, that extra hour of practice every night will be enough.

In truth, if he continued to devote himself wholeheartedly to martial skills, he would probably encounter the entry-level bottleneck of the Black Fiend Palm within three to five days. If his Golden Finger's lack of bottlenecks also applied to martial skills, he could enter the threshold directly then. But the Shen Family Headquarters was safe, so there was no need to rush. If he followed his plan and added an hour of practice every night, entering the threshold this month would be more than enough.

"Cultivation first, martial skills second!" Zhuang Jin had kept those words firmly in mind and made this plan after considering his own circumstances.

Of course, martial skills were not unimportant either. Among those of the same realm, when their Inner Breath had not been separated by the gap of an entire Meridian, martial skills were extremely useful. Once the Black Fiend Palm reached the entry level, it could strike through the air by an inch. An inch longer, an inch stronger. When martial artists of the same realm fought, one whose martial skill had not entered the threshold would be restrained at every turn by one whose had. Even if the former had accumulated somewhat more or had more condensed Inner Breath, they could very well be killed in return.

There can't be any obvious weak links in the martial path. So for now, my focus should remain on my Cultivation Realm. That one extra hour of martial skill practice every night is enough to ensure I don't fall behind martial artists of the same realm.

In fact, if my lack of bottlenecks applies to martial skills too, as long as I set aside time for extra practice every day, there'll be no need to worry about that at all.

Back to cultivation...

Zhuang Jin calculated inwardly: At this rate—cultivating five hours a day, using one dose of Black Essence Powder every two days, with sufficient provisions—I should be able to complete my accumulation in the Two Meridian Realm and break through to the Three Meridian Realm by late next month!

What a pity. If I had a sufficient supply of Exotic Beast Meat, I could be even faster!

He recalled eating Exotic Beast Meat at noon yesterday. In the afternoon, while his blood and qi were surging, his cultivation speed had increased by thirty percent out of thin air. If I had not only ample cultivation provisions but also enough Exotic Beast Meat, I could probably break through to the Third Meridian at the beginning of next month!

Forget it. I only get one jin of Exotic Beast Meat a month now, barely enough for two meals and one day's needs. It's a drop in the bucket. I'd better cultivate honestly. Having a sufficient supply of cultivation provisions for the time being is already extraordinarily difficult and puts me ahead of many others.

Besides, at my current pace, by the time those four months of freely choosing missions are over, I might even break through to the Fourth Meridian! Hmm, Fourth Meridian?

Realizing this, Zhuang Jin suddenly became a little excited.

He had already learned that the Fourth Meridian Realm was the first major qualitative transformation within the Qi Condensation Realm. Upon reaching it, the condensation of one's Inner Breath rose to a new level. That was also why the Black Fiend Palm required the Fourth Meridian Realm before it could possibly reach the minor mastery level.

Moreover, one could tell something simply from the titles. In the Shen Family, those at One to Three Meridian were servants.

What were servants?

Servants—slaves!

But upon reaching the Fourth Meridian, one became a Household Retainer.

What was a Household Retainer?

A member of the household!

See that? Even a great clan like the Shen Family, entrenched over an entire prefecture, would acknowledge that you were a person once you reached the Fourth Meridian Realm.

—One had to know that in this world, being a person was not easy. Ordinary commoners were nothing but grass and straw in the eyes of a prefecture-spanning great clan like the Shen Family. Even many figures considered respectable by ordinary people were merely leeks in the eyes of such great clans. Even Zhuang Yutang, who had now entered Ninth Rank and held an official position as a government clerk, was still no more than a servant who came when called and left when dismissed. They did not treat him as a person either.

This alone showed what an earth-shaking change in status breaking through to the Fourth Meridian would bring.

The value of the Fourth Meridian lies not only in the minor qualitative change in strength after breaking through, but even more in its rarity. That is because the bottleneck from the Third Meridian to the Fourth Meridian is the first major bottleneck martial artists encounter!

Uncle Chang became a Formal Martial Artist in twenty-three days back then. His aptitude could be considered fairly good, yet he was stuck at this bottleneck for years without breaking through. Even those with better aptitude and outstanding talent for the martial path often squandered a long time at this barrier. There was no shortage of people trapped here until death, unable to advance another inch. But I'm different. Big bottleneck or small, hard to break or easy, I don't have one at all!

Ah, even if I wanted to experience a bottleneck, I'm afraid I won't be able to in this lifetime. Life truly is... lonely as snow!

Mm, let's set a small goal: break through to the Third Meridian by late next month, then strive to reach the Fourth Meridian Realm before the four-month protection period ends and rise to Household Retainer level!

Having established his goal, Zhuang Jin felt more driven than ever. He cultivated all morning, added extra practice after lunch, taught for one incense stick in the afternoon, then continued cultivating. After dinner, he added another round of practice and trained his martial skill.

This level of diligence and hard work was no less than when he had been a Martial Student or last month.

Thus, Zhuang Jin's first day as a Martial Arts Instructor for Martial Students passed peacefully amid such diligence and hard work.

Early the next morning, Zhuang Jin arrived at Yellow Character Number Nine Training Field. Ni Ying, who distributed the Qi Channel Opening Soup, had not arrived yet, but some Martial Students had. They were noisy as ducks, chatting in groups of three or five, with only a few practicing Stance Training.

Soon, Ni Ying arrived carrying the Qi Channel Opening Soup. Full of energy, she greeted Zhuang Jin, "Good morning, Martial Instructor Zhuang!"

In fact, she had come quite early as well. The Martial Students had not all arrived yet. She spoke with Zhuang Jin for a while, then, when it was nearly time, began distributing the Qi Channel Opening Soup. Afterward, she gave the remainder to Zhuang Jin, bid him farewell, and skipped off as cheerfully as a little deer.

Zhuang Jin also began today's lesson. "Do you remember the Stance Training I taught yesterday? Is anyone willing to come up and demonstrate?"

After exchanging private information with those from other Training Grounds yesterday, the Martial Students knew that Martial Arts Instructors like Zhuang Jin, willing to call people up and give individual guidance, were exceedingly rare. Such an opportunity was all the more precious, and many immediately raised their hands.

Zhuang Jin's gaze swept over them before settling on a Martial Student who had arrived early that morning, diligently practiced Stance Training, and looked somewhat pleasing to the eye. "What's your name?"

"Master Zhuang, my name is Zhang Ming!"

"Mm." Zhuang Jin nodded. "Come up!"

This person's training looked fairly decent. Under Zhuang Jin's guidance, he went through it twice. Zhuang Jin then sent him back down and did not select anyone else, instead directly leading all the Martial Students in practice together.

Zhuang Jin completely ignored the resentful looks cast his way because he was no longer selecting people. His guidance for Zhang Ming earlier had merely been a little leisurely amusement amid his own cultivation. He had no interest in genuinely guiding them one by one.

Just as yesterday, after one incense stick of time, he left directly.