After washing up, Fang Mo ate breakfast outside and hurried to the Martial Hall to begin another day of training.
With his body stronger, his stance grew steadier and his breathing deeper and longer.
His awareness roamed through his body. He felt his blood and qi flowing through his meridians, and every breath seemed to echo heaven and earth, bringing an indescribable comfort.
[Tiger Subduing Stance: Beginner (26/100)]
After half a day of training, his proficiency in the Tiger Subduing Stance had reached 26. At this rate, he would soon reach the next level.
Anticipation filled him. He longed for greater strength and faster progress.
At lunchtime, Fang Mo went to the Martial Hall's dining hall. The atmosphere felt different today; every student seemed excited.
He had just sat down when Ding Zhiyuan leaned over. "Junior Brother Fang, you're in for a treat today!"
"What treat?" Fang Mo asked, puzzled.
Ding Zhiyuan grinned. "There's Exotic Beast Meat today. You've only been here a day, and you're already getting some!"
"Exotic Beast Meat!" Fang Mo's eyes lit up. He might have been wooden, but he was no fool. He had heard plenty about cultivation before.
Exotic Beast Meat came from powerful beasts. Such creatures had once lived deep in the mountains and ancient forests, but they had long since vanished by the age of technology. Only with the arrival of the interstellar age, when large numbers of mutant beasts were discovered on other Earth-like planets, had Exotic Beast Meat begun to reach the Home Planet.
Martial arts had once declined in this world, just as they had on Earth. Only when Exotic Beast Meat and Spirit Medicines from other planets appeared had martial arts flourished again. After two or three centuries of development, the thriving martial age of today had emerged.
A martial artist's training demanded intense physical exertion. Ordinary food could no longer replenish what the body consumed. Only potent Exotic Beast Meat could nourish the flesh, strengthen the blood and qi, and cultivate inner force.
Fang Mo was eager to try it. He had never eaten Exotic Beast Meat before.
Though he was the eldest young master of the Fang Group, his position had given him no chance to eat any. Today, he could finally taste it.
Everyone entered the dining hall and sat down. Fang Mo could plainly see the excitement on the students' faces. There were still only two bowls of food on the table, one of vegetables and one of meat. Puzzled, he followed everyone else's lead and left his bowl empty.
A little while later, two cooks emerged from the kitchen carrying basins. They went into the inner hall first and placed a piece of meat on each person's plate.
After serving the inner-hall disciples, they moved to the middle hall, then finally to the outer hall.
Fang Mo remained seated until a cook put a piece of meat on his plate. It looked like a steak. Though it weighed only about a hundred grams, it gave off a faint grassy fragrance that drifted through the room.
"Begin!" Once everyone had meat on their plate and the two cooks had withdrawn, Guan Lie spoke.
Only then did everyone dig in, wolfing down their food as though they had never eaten before!
Fang Mo picked up the meat and took a bite. It was firm and springy, but nowhere near as tough as he had imagined. It yielded easily, filling his mouth with a fresh fragrance, as though a pure, clear breath flowed from his mouth down his throat.
He could not help eating faster too. The small piece was gone in a few bites.
A moment later, warmth spread through his stomach. It seemed to flow from there into his limbs and through every meridian. The feeling was beyond description.
He saw the others quickly serving themselves rice and eating far faster than usual. He followed suit.
They normally spent half an hour eating. Today, some had finished in just two or three minutes and run into the courtyard to practice their stances.
"Eat up, Junior Brother Fang. Practice your stance while the Exotic Beast Meat's energy is still in you—it'll stir up your blood and qi!" Ding Zhiyuan nudged him.
Fang Mo picked up the pace. Once he finished eating, he ran into the courtyard and took up his stance. After only a few breaths, he felt the difference. His blood and qi seemed to circulate much faster, and he did not tire so easily. Soon, he completed two cycles with ease.
Then came a third cycle. Whenever he felt he could not hold on, warmth flowed to the aching spot, and his muscles immediately relaxed.
He held on for four cycles before the warmth faded completely.
Fang Mo felt his blood and qi had grown stronger. When he clenched his fists, they no longer felt weak and unsteady as before, but firm with strength. He could also breathe deeply and steadily.
Before, he could sustain a breath for only two seconds. Now he could manage three, his breathing deep, long, soft, and even.
Fang Mo finally understood why no one on Earth could cultivate Bright and Dark Strength: their blood and qi simply could not reach the necessary level.
Without Spirit Medicines or Exotic Beast Meat, cultivating Bright and Dark Strength was a fool's dream. Without nourishment, the body would not grow stronger; it would decline under the strain of such intense exertion. Was that not why athletes developed all sorts of physical problems after retirement?
The other students had finished absorbing the Exotic Beast Meat and returned to the lounge to rest, but Fang Mo did not stop.
He knew every chance to train was precious, especially when the Exotic Beast Meat had so clearly improved the results.
That afternoon, he completed nine cycles, raising his proficiency to 39.
Fang Mo did not train any further. He went to the Medicine Hall to buy some medicine, partly to repay Ding Zhiyuan and partly for his own use that night.
The Medicine Hall was run by a pharmacist in his fifties surnamed Xie. He normally treated students' injuries and prepared their medicine, so everyone called him Pharmacist Xie.
Pharmacist Xie lay in a bamboo chair, reading an old book. When he heard Fang Mo wanted to buy medicine, he lifted his eyelids.
"Name?" Pharmacist Xie asked.
"Fang Mo," he replied.
Pharmacist Xie checked a ledger hanging on the wall, then looked up at him. "A new student. You can buy no more than five portions of medicinal liquid and half a kilogram of Exotic Beast Meat a month. Do you know that rule?"
"I do." Fang Mo nodded.
"How much?" Pharmacist Xie asked flatly.
"Three portions of medicinal liquid and two hundred and fifty grams of Exotic Beast Meat for now." Fang Mo handed over the money: 5,500 yuan. Including tuition, 50,000 yuan had vanished in just two days, and this was only the beginning. The pen was for the poor, the sword for the rich. Without money, he really could not walk the martial path.
Pharmacist Xie took the money and handed Fang Mo three portions of medicinal liquid and the Exotic Beast Meat from behind the counter.
"Senior Brother Ding, this medicine is for you!" Fang Mo caught up with Ding Zhiyuan, who was about to leave, and offered it to him.
"Keep it. It was only one bottle!" Ding Zhiyuan said with a smile, pushing it back.
"Thanks, Senior Brother Ding. I bought three bottles, so I have enough!" Fang Mo pressed the medicine into Ding Zhiyuan's hand again. He could tell Ding Zhiyuan came from a well-off family and did not need the money, but he did not want to owe him too much.
"All right, I'll take it." Ding Zhiyuan stopped refusing and accepted the medicine. "A few of us are getting together tonight. Want to come for a drink?"
"No." Fang Mo smiled and shook his head. "I want to train a little longer. I'm in poor shape, and I'm afraid I won't pass the assessment within six months."
"All right, but make sure you get some rest too!" Ding Zhiyuan nodded and called the others to leave.
"Senior Brother Ding, why bother with him? With that body of his, there's no way he'll reach Bright Force in six months!"
"Exactly. There's no need to be so nice to him. It's a waste of effort!" several students said as they walked away.
Ding Zhiyuan glanced back at Fang Mo, who had resumed his stance. "Seeing how hard he works just makes me a little wistful. The martial path is too difficult. It isn't easy for any of us walking it. If I can lend a hand, I will."
At his words, the others looked back at the lone, thin figure in the courtyard and fell silent.
Yes. The martial path was too difficult!
They did not even know how many of them would be able to stay. If they failed to break through, they would likely have to leave this path too!
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