Father's Love as Heavy as a Mountain

The journey home was peaceful.

Nothing unusual happened.

When Qin Fen returned home, he immediately cooked a huge pot of noodles.

He filled five large bowls to the brim and wolfed them all down in one go without pausing.

After finishing all the noodles, Qin Fen felt a little bloated. He immediately assumed the standing-post stance of Galloping Horse Strength, accelerating the flow of his blood and qi while circulating Jing Li through his abdomen to stimulate gastric juices and speed up digestion.

Ordinary people could not eat much in a single meal, and digestion took several hours. Their bodies also could not properly absorb the essence of food; more of it was turned into waste and expelled.

Martial artists, however, could use the tempering methods within martial arts to accelerate the digestion and absorption of food.

That was why martial artists often had astonishing appetites. Every meal was packed with fish and meat; tempering the body consumed an enormous amount of physical energy, and the energy the human body required came from food.

And that was only for Quasi-Martial Artists who had just cultivated Jing Li and were at the First Realm.

Jing Li had six realms. As one's realm continued to rise, the energy required became ever more staggering. An External Master at the Sixth Realm of Jing Li could even eat an entire cow after a great battle.

Thus, practicing martial arts cost an astonishing amount of money.

A Quasi-Martial Artist at the First Realm of Jing Li, maintaining daily training, would conservatively spend forty to fifty thousand a year.

And that was the most economical option. Children from wealthy families who practiced martial arts ate fish and meat at every meal, supplemented by expensive medicines for internal consumption and external application. Their daily expenses ran into several hundred yuan, amounting to over a hundred thousand a year.

Therefore, wealthy children progressed much faster in martial arts than ordinary people.

For example, at Key High Schools like Yang City First High School, Yang City No. 2 High School, and Yang City No. 3 High School, some freshmen had already become Quasi-Martial Artists with cultivated Jing Li the moment they enrolled. Within those Key High Schools, the Principal and chief Martial Arts Teacher were all genuine martial artists.

Some outstanding students were personally taught martial arts experience by the Principal and chief Martial Arts Teacher.

Practicing martial arts was not something one could accomplish just by shouting slogans. Besides putting in hard work, one also needed sufficient resources.

Moreover, the higher one's cultivation, the greater the expenses became. Some External Training Masters and External Masters at the fifth or sixth realm of Jing Li spent hundreds of thousands a year on martial arts.

"Poor scholars, rich warriors"—that saying was absolutely true.

Only by breaking through the Mysterious Gate Aperture within the body and nurturing Internal Family True Qi could one draw upon the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, nourishing the spirit and Physical Body. Before becoming a martial artist, one could only obtain energy from food.

Ten minutes later, Qin Fen felt that the food in his stomach had mostly been digested.

He stopped training. If he continued circulating Jing Li and accelerating his blood and qi, he would soon be hungry again.

The nutrients contained in noodles were too scarce to compare with meat.

No wonder every martial artist who cultivated Jing Li was a bottomless pit, easily able to eat several jin of beef.

Now that he had cultivated Jing Li, entering the Martial Arts Class would not be a problem.

Next, Qin Fen had to consider how to make money quickly.

He would not even think about expensive nutritional supplements; they started at over a thousand yuan, far beyond what ordinary families could afford. But at the very least, he had to ensure there was fish and meat at every meal.

If his nutrition could not keep up, what would be depleted was his own potential.

But he was still a student, and winter break had not yet begun, so there was no way for him to take on part-time work.

Working part-time at night was not an option either. He still had to train, and his studies remained the most important thing right now. Being able to enter the Martial Arts Class did not mean he would definitely get into Martial Arts University. If he relaxed even slightly, others would soon overtake him.

Even students at those Key High Schools could not guarantee they would get into Martial Arts University with absolute certainty.

For now, it seemed he could only use his parents' money.

Qin Fen glanced at the time. It was 6:10, time to make dinner.

His parents had not called him at this hour, which meant they were not working overtime tonight.

Cooking rice, washing vegetables, chopping vegetables, stir-frying vegetables.

By the time he had gone through the whole process, half an hour had passed.

Qin Fen's timing was perfect. Only a few minutes after he brought the dishes to the dining table, his parents came home.

"Dad, Mom, have some water first."

Qin Fen had his parents sit down and poured each of them a cup of warm water.

"What is it? Do you have something to tell us?"

His mother took a sip of water and smiled.

"Dad, Mom, I have good news for you. I cultivated Jing Li."

As he spoke, Qin Fen assumed the fist stance of Galloping Horse Strength, his feet planted firmly in their steps. His muscles rippled, and beneath his skin, a faint current slowly traveled.

Qin Fen had only just reached the Internal Strength realm and could not compare to Teacher Zhou Wu.

When Teacher Zhou Wu assumed a fist stance and circulated his Jing Li, it was as though a little mouse had burrowed beneath his skin, bulging high. The Jing Li moved with his thoughts—wherever he wanted it to dart, it darted.

"Jing Li. This really is Jing Li."

Although Qin Guofeng was not a martial artist, he had gone to school and studied martial arts theory in middle school.

When he entered Senior One, he had once worked and trained as diligently as Qin Fen, hoping to enter the Martial Arts Class and apply to Martial Arts University. But his talent and aptitude were ordinary; after a month, he still had not cultivated Internal Strength, so he gave up.

Because he had gone through that stage himself, he knew that cultivating Jing Li was no easy task.

The school had only taught Galloping Horse Strength on Thursday. Only three days had passed, yet Qin Fen had already cultivated Jing Li. Such training speed was no worse than those wealthy children aided by medicine.

"Good, good, good! Worthy of being my, Qin Guofeng's, son. A true genius, a dragon among men, destined to become a martial artist." Qin Guofeng could not help laughing, overjoyed beyond measure. Then he said, "Have your mother give you the silver card later. Tomorrow, put more money on your school meal card. Now that you're a Quasi-Martial Artist, what you eat is different from what ordinary students eat."

"Dad..."

Qin Fen had just started to speak.

But Qin Guofeng directly cut him off. "Although I never entered the Martial Arts Class, I know that Martial Arts Class students eat Nutritional Meals specially prepared by the school. One meal costs at least fifty yuan, and better ones cost over a hundred. At restaurants outside, the cheapest Nutritional Meal for a Quasi-Martial Artist costs over a hundred yuan. Eating at school is relatively cheaper, and you can settle dinner there too. You don't need to come back and cook for us. You'll need to spend at least over two thousand a month, so put ten thousand yuan on the card first.

You've only just cultivated Jing Li, and this is precisely when you need to replenish your nutrition. Our family may not be wealthy, but we can still afford this much. This is a matter that affects your whole life.

Even if you can't get in, it doesn't matter. Now that you're a Quasi-Martial Artist, finding work will be much easier for you than it was for us. If you become a security consultant for a company, you can easily earn five or six thousand a month. If you can enter a major corporation, you can earn over seven or eight thousand a month. And I believe in my son—you'll definitely get into Martial Arts University."

With his father saying this, Qin Fen said no more.

At a time like this, no amount of grand promises would be of any use.

But inwardly, he swore that he would definitely get into Martial Arts University and make his parents proud.