"Not bad. Looks like you haven't been slacking off lately. Your moves are practiced, your movements flow seamlessly—you can tell you've put in the work."
After briefly sparring with Su Chen, Hong Ming offered a mild evaluation, though he felt somewhat frustrated inside.
"Strange. Why do I always feel like I can't bring my strength to bear when I spar with this kid?"
Naturally, he had no idea that Su Chen's understanding of fist techniques had long since surpassed his own.
Their exchange didn't feel like a sparring match so much as Su Chen guiding Hong Ming.
Su Chen smiled and gazed expectantly at Hong Ming.
Hong Ming saw this and chuckled. Then he went inside and brought out five packets of medicine.
"I was originally thinking of giving you only three portions, but after seeing how you've performed, I'll give you two more. From now on, come to me every seven days to collect Qi Blood Powder."
Hong Ming handed the Qi Blood Powder to Su Chen, then explained how to use it and how long to wait between doses.
"Remember, you've only just begun training. Don't take the medicine too aggressively. One packet should last you three days, so don't rush it and risk damaging your body."
Su Chen nodded and chatted with Hong Ming for a little while longer before turning to leave.
"Su Chen..."
Outside the courtyard, Qin Hao happened to catch sight of Su Chen and only then realized that he had come to the Martial Hall.
When he noticed the five portions of medicinal herbs in Su Chen's hand, his gaze sharpened slightly.
"Xiao Hao, come on. Let's keep sparring today."
After entering the inner courtyard, Hong Ming called Qin Hao over. He had been training Qin Hao all this time.
Qin Hao nodded, took his stance, and began sparring with Hong Ming.
After a short while, Qin Hao was already panting. "Strange. Why are Master's moves so fierce today?"
As he wondered this, Hong Ming's voice rang out. "Xiao Hao, have you been slacking off lately?"
"Master, I haven't!"
"Still denying it? Your moves have gotten sloppy. Extra training today!"
"Yes, Master!"
Back home, Su Chen was eager to start brewing the medicine.
He needed to find out whether the "Qi Blood Powder" Hong Ming had mentioned was the same as the "Qi Blood Powder" noted on his panel.
He took out a packet of medicine. It was called medicine, but it looked more like medicinal herbs ground into powder.
He guessed they had prepared it this way to keep others from stealing the recipe.
Su Chen didn't pay it any mind. According to Hong Ming, one packet should last three days, so it needed to be divided into three small portions.
"But with my strength, even if I use a whole packet at once, it probably won't have much of an effect."
After pondering for a moment, Su Chen simply poured the entire packet in.
Soon, a rich herbal aroma wafted out of the pot and spread through the whole kitchen.
Fortunately, it wasn't the sort of smell that made you nauseous. If he sniffed carefully, he could even catch a faint herbal fragrance.
After simmering it for about fifteen minutes, Su Chen glanced at the reddish liquid and decided it was ready, so he picked up the pot.
Once he poured it out, it made one and a half bowls. After waiting about ten minutes, Su Chen picked up the half bowl and drank it.
When he finished, he looked at the panel and saw that nothing had changed.
"Did I get it wrong? Or do I have to drink the other bowl too?"
Su Chen's heart tightened, and he suddenly grew a little nervous.
He turned his gaze to the other bowl, picked it up, and gulped it down.
After drinking a bowl and a half of Qi Blood Powder, Su Chen felt warmth spread through his body. It was as if the temperature around him had suddenly turned sweltering.
"There's a change!"
Su Chen's face lit up with joy. The panel had finally changed from how it had looked before:
...Iron Cloth Skill Fragment 0 times (0.8 portions of Qi Blood Powder/attempt)
Su Chen: "..."
There was a change, but not much—and it was kind of abstract.
"One portion of Qi Blood Powder counts as 0.8 portions of Qi Blood Powder? What is this, a math problem?"
Su Chen grumbled, feeling a little speechless. But it was only a complaint; the change meant he hadn't gone down the wrong path.
"I can't take any more. I drank too much too fast."
In an instant, Su Chen's expression shifted. Feeling his qi and blood surge inside him, he rushed out of the kitchen.
Then, in the courtyard, he began furiously practicing his fist techniques.
He practiced for a full half hour before the heat inside his body finally began to subside.
Drenched in sweat, he stopped moving. His breathing was a little ragged, but his expression looked somewhat relieved.
"After practicing, my whole body feels much more comfortable. But I can't brew and drink any more today. I'll wait until tomorrow."
The Qi Blood Powder was very effective, but in his current state, Su Chen shouldn't drink any more.
If he kept taking it, his body might not be able to handle it.
And so, five days passed.
The panel had changed:
...Iron Cloth Skill Fragment 0 times (5/10 portions of Qi Blood Powder/attempt)
In the courtyard, Su Chen had just finished practicing. He wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, a smile appearing on his face.
Over the past five days, Su Chen had taken one packet of Qi Blood Powder each day.
The results were striking.
He had pushed his progress toward activating Easy Mode for Iron Cloth Skill halfway forward.
The reason was that on the second day, Su Chen had controlled the amount of water and brewed only one bowl of medicine.
After he drank it, his qi and blood increased by much more, pushing his progress all the way to two-tenths.
Only after that did Su Chen realize that the panel tracked progress based on the qi-and-blood effect of the medicine.
Unfortunately, the next three times, using the same method didn't yield the same progress from each packet. Sometimes it was more, sometimes less.
Still, the overall results were good. By the time he'd used them up, the ten portions of medicinal herbs had pushed his progress halfway.
Su Chen guessed that each portion of Qi Blood Powder was made from herbs with different medicinal potency, which caused the variation despite using the same method.
Of course, it was also possible that his brewing technique was inconsistent.
After taking it for five days, Su Chen now felt...
How should he put it? He could barely be described as being as strong as an ox.
Of course, he didn't mean his physique. His body hadn't changed much.
He meant his qi and blood.
The changes brought by enhanced qi and blood were greater than Su Chen had imagined.
To give a simple example,
Before, the force of a single punch had been around five thousand. Now it was probably ten thousand.
The numbers might not be accurate, but his moves had definitely become much more powerful.
This wasn't an improvement in technique. The fundamental energy driving his moves had grown stronger.
Of course, the price of this result was that Su Chen had used up all five portions of Qi Blood Powder.
"Should I go ask Master Hong for five more portions of Qi Blood Powder?"
After all, he only needed five more portions to meet the panel's requirements.
"If that doesn't work, I'll tell Master Hong I've broken through. Almost a month has passed since I last stabilized my qi and blood, so it should be fine."
Before, he hadn't needed anything from the Martial Hall, and he had his own cultivation resources, so he had kept a low profile.
But now he needed Qi Blood Powder, so he could reveal a little of his talent.
Not too much. Reaching minor mastery in Iron Wire Fist should be enough.
He knew that was still incredibly fast, but with his current strength, he truly had nothing to fear unless his opponent was a Practice Force Warrior.
If some fool like the ones in novels really did try to snuff out a genius, he could just slap them dead!
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