Cultivating Internal Strength

With a Panel that could modify martial arts proficiency,

Qin Fen only needed to do good deeds to gain Righteous Qi Value, which he could use to improve Galloping Horse Strength.

The next two days were the weekend, so he did not need to go to school.

After correcting the mistakes in Chen Bo's Galloping Horse Strength stance, Qin Fen left the residential complex and began spreading positive energy, adding another foundation stone of positive energy toward building a beautiful Dragon Ascending Nation.

For instance, he picked up fruit peels and scraps of paper left on the ground, helped the sanitation aunties clean the streets, stopped pedestrians from recklessly running red lights, helped lost elderly ladies find their families, rescued children who had accidentally fallen into the water...

By the end of the day, Qin Fen had gained 15 points of Righteous Qi Value.

Qin Fen: Ordinary Person

Martial Art: Galloping Horse Strength/First Glimpse of the Path (11/30)

Righteous Qi Value: 18

He only needed to gain 1 more point of Righteous Qi Value to raise Galloping Horse Strength to the realm of Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber.

The following day was Sunday.

Qin Fen continued spreading positive energy.

He found a wallet on the bus and assisted the driver in finding its owner.

Because the weather was scorching, when he saw an elderly person who had fainted, he took them to a cool place and gave them a bottle of water.

By the end of the day, Qin Fen had gained another 10 points of Righteous Qi Value.

Qin Fen: Ordinary Person

Martial Art: Galloping Horse Strength/First Glimpse of the Path (11/30)

Righteous Qi Value: 28

Qin Fen glanced at the transparent Panel.

Then, he went to an empty little park and added all his Righteous Qi Value to Galloping Horse Strength.

The Panel flickered, turning blurry.

With a buzzing sound,

Qin Fen's body suddenly trembled, his qi and blood surging. It was as though, the first time Teacher Zhou Wu had transmitted strength to him, a stream of Jing Li had suddenly poured into his body, flooding into all four limbs and every bone.

At that instant, the tendons, flesh, skin, membranes, and bones in every part of Qin Fen's body seemed to begin quivering faintly. His muscles compressed continuously, becoming incomparably solid, while his tendons and bones grew ever tougher, and his strength soared.

His head buzzed as a great deal of understanding of Galloping Horse Strength appeared in his memories out of thin air.

With a thought, he threw a punch. A stream of Jing Li immediately surged through his body and into his fist. The wind from his punch whooshed, accompanied by the sound of Galloping Steeds, and its force exceeded a thousand jin.

"Jing Li—this is Jing Li. From now on, I'm a Quasi-Martial Artist."

Excitement appeared on Qin Fen's face.

Once Galloping Horse Strength had reached the realm of Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber and he had cultivated Jing Li, whether walking, sitting, or sleeping, his posture would carry the form of Galloping Horse Strength. It was equivalent to cultivating at all times and in all places.

Crossing from First Glimpse of the Path into Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber was the hardest step. Once he crossed that threshold and cultivated Jing Li, Galloping Horse Strength could be cultivated all the way to the Peak Realm. The only difference was how long it took.

"Now that I've cultivated Jing Li, I can apply to enter the Martial Arts Class when I get to school tomorrow."

Qin Fen thought to himself.

As long as he entered the Martial Arts Class, he would be able to learn martial arts meant for actual combat.

Galloping Horse Strength was a foundational martial art, used by high school students to lay their foundations. Its power was limited, and even if a foundational martial art was cultivated to the Peak Realm, it could at most reach the Third Realm of Jing Li.

Jing Li was divided into six realms.

The First Realm was Internal Strength: having just cultivated Internal Strength.

The Second Realm was Flowing Strength: when throwing a punch, Jing Li rose from the feet, passed through the legs, waist, back, arms, and finally the hands, connecting the strength of the entire body. The force unleashed was like a millstone, full of power, and far stronger than the Internal Strength realm.

In the first two realms, Jing Li could be unleashed but not withdrawn.

The Third Realm was Smooth Strength: the release of Jing Li flowed smoothly, and one could send it out and draw it back at will, until it became instinctive.

Once Jing Li reached the Third Realm, it could be transmitted to every part of the body, tempering the skin, muscles, and bones to an extremely profound level, hard as iron. Even an ordinary person wielding a sharp weapon could not injure them.

Therefore, only upon reaching the Third Realm of Jing Li could one be considered accomplished in external training, becoming an External Training Expert.

The Fourth Realm was External Strength: Jing Li became even more vigorous, breaking through its limits and leaving the body. A punch could blast the air; even places not reached by one's fists or feet would be struck. One could injure people from afar, wounding enemies a meter away.

Reaching this realm made one an External Training Expert.

The Fifth Realm was Penetrating Strength: Jing Li could penetrate flesh and enter an enemy's body, injuring their internal organs.

Jing Li could transform in countless ways, like strands of silk that slipped through every hole. Even if one had tempered their skin, muscles, and bones until they were hard as iron, Jing Li could still enter through the pores and injure the internal organs. It was exceedingly sinister and impossible to guard against.

An External Training Expert of the Third Realm could still exchange a few moves with an External Training Expert of the Fourth Realm. With a numerical advantage, a group of more than ten could even defeat a Fourth Realm External Training Expert. But against the Fifth Realm, a Third Realm External Training Expert could not withstand even a single move.

Jing Li would penetrate deep into the body and directly injure the internal organs, leaving one without the strength to resist.

However, Jing Li could not be limitless. Even a Fifth Realm Quasi-Martial Artist who feared no siege by more than ten Third Realm or Fourth Realm Quasi-Martial Artists could not face an encirclement of dozens or hundreds. Jing Li would eventually be exhausted, and then only the Physical Body's strength would remain.

But in a one-on-one fight, a Fourth Realm Quasi-Martial Artist was almost incapable of defeating a Fifth Realm Quasi-Martial Artist.

The Fourth Realm to the Fifth Realm was a threshold.

Upon reaching this realm, one could transmit Jing Li to others, accelerating their comprehension of the mysteries of Jing Li.

Teacher Zhou Wu of Yang City Thirteenth High School had reached this realm and could also be called an External Training Master.

The Sixth Realm was Aura Strength: Jing Li condensed into something seemingly tangible. Aura Strength protected the body, making one impervious to blades and spears, untouched by water and fire. One could withstand attacks from small firearms; for instance, an ordinary handgun could not pierce an Aura Strength barrier.

This realm was already the pinnacle of external training and could also be called an External Master.

A step further was to break open the Mysterious Gate Aperture within the body and nurture Internal Family True Qi.

Once Internal Family True Qi was formed, one transcended the ordinary and possessed inhuman strength.

Only those who cultivated Internal Family True Qi could be considered Martial Artists.

Within Yang City, there were very few Martial Artists who had opened the Mysterious Gate Aperture and nurtured Internal Family True Qi, such as Yang City's Chief Executive, the director of the Guard Bureau, the hall masters of the Three Major Martial Arts Halls, and the principals and chief Martial Arts Teachers of key high schools.

There were only twenty or thirty Martial Artists in all of Yang City who were known to the public.

Boom!

Qin Fen circulated his Jing Li and struck a huge rock with his palm. The huge rock trembled faintly.

When he removed his palm, several cracks had appeared on the huge rock. He was already not far from splitting steles and shattering rocks.

Then, Qin Fen circulated Jing Li into his legs and stomped hard on the ground. Some small stones on the ground were shaken into rolling about nonstop like ants on a hot pan, while dust flew up.

His body then shot forward, the speed exploding forth in an instant far surpassing that of an ordinary person.

With Jing Li, Qin Fen's strength, explosive power, and running speed had all improved markedly.

After familiarizing himself for a while with the Jing Li born within his body, Qin Fen felt hungry.

An unprecedented hunger filled his entire body.

With Jing Li, every aspect of Qin Fen's abilities had improved, but the Jing Li within his body had not appeared from nothing. It required consuming vast amounts of qi, blood, and vital essence for tempering; only after growing sufficiently powerful could Jing Li be cultivated.

Qin Fen had not generated Jing Li through normal cultivation. Instead, he had used Righteous Qi Value to improve his Galloping Horse Strength proficiency, reaching the realm of Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber and thereby producing Jing Li.

However, the qi, blood, and vital essence within his body had still been consumed in huge quantities.

That was why Qin Fen felt hungry and needed to replenish his physical strength through food.

The poor pursued scholarship, the rich pursued martial arts. To achieve success in martial cultivation, one absolutely could not fall short in food. Otherwise, not only would cultivation fail to yield results and strength be impossible to improve, one might even train their body into ruin.

The children of some wealthy families ate fish and meat at every meal when practicing martial arts, with precious medicines for both internal and external use to assist them. Their daily expenses ran to several hundred yuan, amounting to over a hundred thousand yuan in a year—far beyond what an ordinary family could afford.

Qin Fen left the park and headed to the nearest bus stop.

His body was in a state of hunger, and he needed to eat as soon as possible to replenish his strength.

Thus, he did not run back. Instead, he chose to take the bus, saving both time and effort.

However, as soon as he arrived at the bus stop, he saw an unpleasant sight.