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"The first chapter of the Innate Qi Nourishing Technique is Qi Nourishment, the second is Foundation Establishment. But that does not mean Qi Nourishment is no longer needed after Foundation Establishment. Whether it is Qi Nourishment, Foundation Establishment, or Golden Core, all require continuous cultivation. It is best to cultivate them simultaneously, except one must reach a certain level in Qi Nourishment before Foundation Establishment is possible. Likewise, one must complete Foundation Establishment to a certain degree before forming the Core."

Li Pin sensed the Life Vitality he had accumulated during this period.

Nourished by large quantities of medicinal supplements, the Life Vitality had grown stronger at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Of course...

Only he dared describe it as "visible to the naked eye."

For anyone else cultivating the Innate Qi Nourishing Technique, with such a tiny increase in vitality, let alone circulating it to heal injuries, they would not even be sure whether they had cultivated any Life Vitality at all.

At most, they would feel a little more energetic these past few days.

"At the current growth rate of Life Vitality, reaching the Foundation Establishment standard will take..."

Li Pin quickly calculated the precise figure. "1,316 cultivation cycles."

Less than a year.

This efficiency was very fast.

Moreover, as he continuously improved the Medicinal Diet and further optimized the Innate Qi Nourishing Technique, that time would only grow shorter, never longer.

He held a newly delivered ginseng root in his right hand and examined it closely.

Nourished by Life Vitality, the injury on his hand had already fully recovered.

Through the sensations transmitted from his fingers, he could vaguely perceive the potency and types of medicinal properties within the ginseng.

It was just that, on one hand, he knew too little to draw any specific conclusions. On the other hand...

His perception of the outside world was weakened countless times over.

He could only use himself as the standard to judge the effects and potential impact an item might have.

"If I master more knowledge, I could become an appraiser in the future. Any item that reaches my hands would have all its wondrous uses excavated one by one..."

Li Pin said.

But he soon realized that he could not work in the appraisal industry.

He measured things based on himself.

He could lift an object weighing two or three hundred jin with one hand. Could ordinary people do that?

He could endure pain that ordinary people could not. Could they endure it?

"People's constitutions are not the same. The values measured using myself as the standard are not applicable to everyone."

Just like the Medicinal Diet he had devised—Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu could barely take it.

Time flowed on, and soon it was the Starfall Festival.

This Starfall Festival, the Li family was clearly much livelier.

Unfortunately, Li Yunyan had been pregnant for several months and could not return to Sanshun Town. Mother Li was somewhat saddened by this, but with Li Pin and Li Yunyao by her side, she was not lonely.

Once the Starfall Festival had passed, Li Yunyao faced the start of school, and Li Pin's family moved to Liuchuan County.

Liuchuan County was not a large county. Its urban population was less than two hundred thousand, yet in such a small county town, average housing prices still exceeded three thousand per square meter.

The closer a house was to the county government, the more expensive it was.

The Star Refiner serving as the local governor lived there year-round.

Sunshine Residential Complex was less than three hundred meters from the county government. The apartment allocated to them was a standard ninety-nine-square-meter, three-bedroom, one-living-room unit, already furnished and ready to move into.

Since Lin Xiaolu and Li Yunyao were classmates and would also be learning martial arts from Li Pin, they moved in as well, sharing one room.

Li Pin himself, meanwhile, had to go to Canglong City.

After all, he still had a one-year contract with Changfeng Martial Hall.

"Follow the training plan I've laid out for you from now on. Come to Canglong City once a week, and I'll make adjustments according to your specific conditions."

Downstairs at Sunshine Residential Complex, Li Pin, carrying a backpack, instructed Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu, "There are still six months until the exams. Under my method, both of you have a chance of cultivating inner force within half a year. Then, get a martial artist certificate, and I'll find a way to help you secure a special admission slot at Jiangzhou University, the provincial capital's university."

"We can study at Jiangzhou University?"

Li Yunyao's eyes immediately lit up.

"If you cultivate inner force, there's a chance."

Li Pin said.

He had no hopes for Li Yunyao's academic performance and could only work from this angle.

"Cultivate inner force... Brother, how far along am I?"

Li Yunyao asked expectantly.

Li Pin took out his phone and showed them.

There were two lines of numbers on it.

[Li Yunyao 75/1000]

[Lin Xiaolu 91/1000]

This so-called progress value of his was inferred from his understanding of inner force and his precise grasp of the two girls' cultivation progress.

It was more or less accurate.

Even if there were some deviations...

For instance, if they were nearly at the maximum but still showed no signs of breaking through, he could simply say they had encountered a bottleneck.

If they broke through early, he could attribute it to sudden enlightenment.

In any case, he updated the numbers regularly. If they were off, he could adjust them in time.

Being able to see data feedback every week would also motivate the two girls more.

"Huh? The gap between Xiaolu and me widened again? How is that possible?!"

Li Yunyao stared wide-eyed.

"Obviously, you haven't been working hard enough. Look at Xiaolu—she never complains about hardship or fatigue. But you start crying about your aching waist and sore back after training for a little while."

"I..."

Li Yunyao was somewhat unconvinced.

"You need to pull yourself together."

Li Pin said with a smile.

His original purpose in agreeing to teach Lin Xiaolu had been to make it easier to test his talent for Insight. Now that she could also spur Li Yunyao on from the side, it was an unexpected bonus.

That made sense too.

People at this age were at their most unwilling to admit defeat. Watching Lin Xiaolu surpass her little by little, even if Li Yunyao was truly exhausted at times, she could not bring herself to slack off.

"Mom, remember to prepare the Medicinal Diet I left behind for them every day. Don't worry about the money."

Li Pin instructed.

Mother Li nodded.

After making all the arrangements, he waved his hand and headed toward the station under their reluctant gazes.

After buying a ticket, the vehicle departed soon afterward. In less than two hours, he arrived safely in Canglong City.

"Old Li, over here."

The moment he left the station, Fang Yubai's shout reached him.

Fang Yubai knew he was coming today and had specially come to pick him up.

"You were gone for more than a month this time. I was bored to death here all by myself."

Fang Yubai said.

Naturally, Li Pin did not believe that.

Following him, Li Pin got into his Lanma X5, and they soon merged into the flow of traffic.

"Oh, right. You remember Jing Yunshan, that guy who loves spreading rumors everywhere? He came to me and said he wanted to reconcile with you. He also said he could argue with the higher-ups to cancel your probationary punishment and clear your name..."

Fang Yubai added, "Don't mind me. I'm just passing along the message."

"Mm."

Li Pin responded.

"I've long found that kid unpleasant to look at. This time, he fell flat on his face because of you."

Fang Yubai said with a sense of vindication. "What are you planning to do? Make him apologize to you in front of everyone and restore your reputation?"

"I've already left Hanyang University. As for matters over there, we'll talk about them later."

Li Pin said calmly.

Outsiders believed that he had merely jumped into a lake and lost his reputation.

Now that the probationary punishment could be revoked and his reputation restored, the situation could be considered reversed.

But in Li Pin's eyes...

This matter would not end so simply.

Because...

"Li Pin" was dead.