Meditation Scripture Reaches Major Accomplishment! Descending the Mountain to Seek Medicine!

This was his promise, and the only thing he could do for this mysterious and powerful sworn elder brother.

Watching the family of three disappear through the Mountain Gate, Su Haoran turned and returned to the Labor Courtyard, feeling a surge of exhilaration and fulfillment.

This was the first time he had fought someone in the same realm as himself, and his opponent had even been a Martial Monk he had once dreamed of becoming!

Clearly, he had won completely! He had not even used more than seventy percent of his strength!

Before long, the exhilaration of victory turned into a thirst for greater cultivation.

Naturally, Su Haoran wanted to enter the Martial Monk Courtyard.

There were more profound martial arts there, ample supplies of herbs and food, and guidance from renowned masters.

It was a place every laborer in Prajna Temple dreamed of.

But he did not place all his hopes on Zeng Qiu.

"Relying on others is better than relying on oneself!"

Zeng Qiu's promise was merely icing on the cake; his own strength was the true foundation for survival.

In the days that followed, Su Haoran's life became increasingly disciplined, and he worked even harder.

During the day, he still buried himself in labor—chopping firewood, carrying water, sweeping the grounds.

This both tempered his will and strengthened his muscles and bones.

Every bout of sore and aching muscles, every time his strength was exhausted, laid the foundation for greater power.

Another night arrived. Su Haoran took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and looked toward the system panel:

Comprehension: 10 (Exceptional Talent)

This talent, enough to surpass ordinary people, finally revealed its extraordinary side after Su Haoran devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

When he had practiced Arhat Fist in the past, Su Haoran had needed to repeatedly ponder the transitions between many moves and the secrets of exerting force. He had to practice hundreds of times before grasping even a little, relying on muscle memory to polish and adapt.

But now, those once obscure fist principles seemed to have been broken down into the simplest strokes before his eyes. With a single glance, he could see through to their essence.

How could Qi and Blood circulate more smoothly? How could force be condensed to become fiercer and more powerful?

Questions that troubled countless beginners of the martial path had answers that were self-evident to Su Haoran.

So this is what geniuses feel? With 10 points of Comprehension, my cultivation speed is worlds apart from before!

Comparing the before and after, Su Haoran often marveled to himself.

The next day, before dawn had broken, Su Haoran found a waterfall in the back mountain. He removed his shirt, revealing a lean, solid upper body with clearly defined lines. After drawing a deep breath, he pondered for a moment.

Somehow, my intuition tells me that using mountain water to temper my body will be immensely beneficial to my cultivation!

Then Su Haoran stopped hesitating. Activating the mental method of the Iron Cloth Shirt, he charged fiercely into the ice-cold pool!

Splash!

The frigid pool water instantly wrapped around his entire body. Yet after he activated the Iron Cloth Shirt, a layer of fine goosebumps rose across his skin, blocking out most of the chill.

Su Haoran walked beneath the waterfall and sat cross-legged, allowing the torrent plunging from dozens of zhang overhead to strike his back, shoulders, and crown like heavy hammers!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Every impact made Su Haoran's entire body shudder violently, his Qi and Blood churning.

Ordinary beatings had already become nearly ineffective against his current body.

Only by borrowing the mighty force of heaven and earth could he squeeze out the Iron Cloth Shirt's potential on a deeper level!

At first, even exerting all his strength, Su Haoran could only endure for a dozen breaths before his muscles and bones felt ready to split apart, forcing him to withdraw and regulate his breathing.

But after every period of recovery, he could feel that his skin, flesh, and bones had become just a little tougher than before.

On the third day, after enduring the waterfall's pounding once more, Su Haoran returned to the woodshed with steam rising from his body. With a thought, he summoned the panel visible only to himself.

Cultivation Methods: Meditation Scripture (Minor Accomplishment: 72%), Arhat Fist (Major Accomplishment: 11%), Iron Cloth Shirt (Minor Accomplishment: 12%)

Comprehension: 10 (Exceptional Talent)

Just as expected!

The Iron Cloth Shirt's progress had risen by another one percent!

Though it was only an insignificant amount, it proved that his cultivation path was correct!

Su Haoran was greatly encouraged and cultivated even more diligently.

The fourth day, the fifth day...

He remained beneath the waterfall longer and longer, from the initial dozen breaths to a quarter of an hour, then half an hour...

Every part of his body was adapting to this violent tempering at an astonishing speed.

The progress bar on the panel also climbed rapidly.

Iron Cloth Shirt (Minor Accomplishment: 15/100)

In only two short days, it had risen another three percent!

At the same time, the Meditation Scripture he cultivated daily without fail also grew steadily amid this alternation between movement and stillness.

The cultivation of the Meditation Scripture was like a trickling stream, silently nourishing his spirit. It allowed him to recover more quickly from extreme physical exhaustion and supported him through even more intense bodily tempering.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

There was still no news from Zeng Qiu.

The discussions in the Labor Courtyard about Su Haoran becoming sworn brothers with the Martial Monk Zeng Qiu gradually died down as well.

Many of the temple monks who had previously looked at him differently had returned to treating him as they once had.

In their eyes, Zeng Qiu had merely acted on a passing impulse, grateful for having his life saved.

Once the matter had passed, how could a lofty Martial Monk truly regard a laborer as his brother?

They belonged to different worlds. Su Haoran was, in the end, still that laborer.

Su Haoran did not care about these changes.

The only thing he cared about was the Iron Cloth Shirt's progress, visibly increasing every day!

Over this month, his Iron Cloth Shirt had advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching Minor Accomplishment: 99/100. Only the final threshold remained before Major Accomplishment.

He could clearly feel that his skin, muscles, and even tendons had reached a limit of toughness.

But no matter how Su Haoran let the waterfall scour him or how he beat himself with a wooden stick, that final bit of progress remained like a heavenly chasm, impossible to cross.

There's only one point left. What exactly am I missing?

For several days, Su Haoran kept pondering this question.

That night, the moon shone bright while the stars were sparse.

Su Haoran sat cross-legged atop the straw pile in the woodshed, but unlike usual, he did not hasten to assault the Iron Cloth Shirt's bottleneck.

Instead, he gathered his mind and began cultivating the Meditation Scripture.

The tempering of Qi and Blood required the balancing of the spirit.

Tension and relaxation in turn—this was the way of both the scholar and the warrior.

He slowly closed his eyes. His breathing became deep and steady, and his whole being entered a Realm of Emptiness where self and world were forgotten.

Under the guidance of the Meditation Scripture, the Qi and Blood within his body gradually settled from its boiling state, flowing warmly through his Limbs and Bones like a rushing river merging into the sea.

Within this extreme stillness, Su Haoran's consciousness seemed to break free of his body's restraints, soaring endlessly upward and stretching outward.

Suddenly, the entire world changed within his perception!

Buzz—

An indescribable sensation bloomed in his mind.

He "heard."

He heard the faint rush of air torn by an owl's wings as it hunted mice in the back mountain forest several meters away.

He heard the sound of an insect's antennae moving as it crawled beneath a nearby rock wall.

He heard an earthworm slowly turning the soil beneath his feet.

He "saw."

Not with his eyes, but through an even more profound form of perception.

He could clearly "see" the path of every speck of dust in his room beneath the moonlight. He could "see" every trace of Qi and Blood flowing within his body, every tremor of his muscles, every structure of his bones.

The entire world seemed to become clearer and more distinct, revealing its most minute truths before him!

Meditation Scripture (Major Accomplishment)!

A brand-new line of information quietly appeared on the panel.

"So that's how it is!"

Su Haoran slowly opened his eyes, a look of understanding appearing on his face.

The Meditation Scripture's breakthrough was not an increase in strength, but a form of spiritual cultivation.

It had elevated Su Haoran's perception of himself and the outside world to an entirely new level.

Within this clarity, he instantly understood the crux of why the Iron Cloth Shirt had been unable to break through.

"I need a greatly nourishing substance, or a medicinal formula, or a large amount of meat, to condense my Qi and Blood, initiate the Second Skin Tempering, and bring the Iron Cloth Shirt to Major Accomplishment!"

Of course, there was clearly no large amount of meat in Prajna Temple on the mountain. There might be medicinal formulas, but they were not something a laborer like Su Haoran could obtain.

At that thought, Su Haoran immediately remembered the five steel blades and three sets of cotton armor he had buried in a hidden place.

"It's time to descend the mountain!"

As Su Haoran exhaled and rose to his feet, he made up his mind.