Qi and Blood

Changfeng Martial Hall had very few people.

Aside from a few staff members, there were six training and three practicing martial arts.

With over three thousand square meters of space and only a dozen or so people, it felt rather quiet.

Of course, that might have been because it had just opened.

Shanhu seemed to read Li Pin's thoughts, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Ever since my master embraced Qi into a Dan, many of his business friends and relatives have wanted to send their children to train under him. A lot of them are important people, so my master couldn't easily refuse. That's why he opened this Changfeng Martial Hall."

She added, "The purpose of Changfeng Martial Hall is, on one hand, to give those people a unified place to train. On the other hand, when my master's friends come by wanting to spar, there's a venue for that too. Taking on disciples is just a side benefit—we select the best."

Fang Yubai felt a bit awkward.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Shanhu's words carried a hidden meaning.

"Are these the coaches?" Li Pin asked.

"Yes."

Shanhu nodded. "My two senior brothers, Xu Huan and Zhang Le, both have martial artist certifications. They train and coach part-time. In addition, we've hired five Trained Strength Martial Artists. Among them, Martial Artist Yang Danqing holds a third-level professional qualification and an Intermediate Title certified by the association."

"Quite a talented group."

Li Pin offered a sincere compliment.

In his past life, even at his peak in this world, he could only have earned an Intermediate Title.

He grew even more eager to see just how captivating the martial path of this world would be.

Shanhu walked over to a spot covered in dark green rubber matting and stopped.

She looked at Li Pin, raised a hand, and beckoned. "Come."

At one meter seventy-three, she was no less imposing than a man, sharp and spirited.

Li Pin wanted to see the Dan Jin of a Dan Jin Master, but with no connection between them, why would she show it to him for nothing?

Unless he himself was worth investing in.

So he gathered force in his feet. Though he only took a single step, he covered over two meters.

Without any running start, his upper body still, he launched over two meters three with just one leg. This sight made Fang Lingjue, who had been silent all along, raise an eyebrow slightly.

"Not bad," he commented.

Seeing a spar about to happen, the other idle coaches gathered around to watch.

"Please." Li Pin gestured with an open hand.

"Please." Shanhu replied, raising her hand and striking.

There was none of the courtesy expected from a host.

Li Pin parried her moves as they came, feeling out the differences between this world's martial arts and what he knew.

Shanhu seemed a year or two younger than him, but her punches, footwork, and reactions were all smooth and effortless.

Except...

She lacked a bit of ferocity.

Almost the moment that thought crossed his mind, Shanhu, who had just finished a round of exchanges, suddenly exploded into action.

Force surged from her feet, and her body moved with the agility of an ape as she lunged forward.

In that single motion, power from her toes, calves, thighs, waist, and shoulders wove into one line, drawing over ninety percent of her body's strength into that one pounce.

Before Fang Yubai could even see clearly, she had crossed the four meters between them, turned her fingers into a palm, and struck toward Li Pin's chest.

Slap.

Li Pin had already glanced at her shoulder the moment she started to move. As she lunged in, he sidestepped, reached out with his right hand, and precisely caught her wrist.

Just as he was about to use his arm's strength to fling her away, Shanhu's wrist twisted sharply, breaking free from his grip.

Riding the momentum of her lunge, just as she was about to pass him, she twisted her waist, spun her body, and swung her long right leg in a one-hundred-eighty-degree arc, lifting it high like a sweeping battle-axe aimed at his head.

The power in her leg was far greater than that in her arm.

Especially since, from their earlier contact, Li Pin had keenly noticed that his current body's strength...

Was weaker than Shanhu's.

Weaker than a woman's.

So, facing that axe-like descending kick, Li Pin stepped forward instead of back.

Force exploded from his feet.

In an almost unbelievable move, just as Shanhu's descending strike was about to reach its peak power, he slammed forward, his shoulder hitting her thigh first, while his right hand, following his forward charge, shoved hard...

Even though he hadn't released his full force, Shanhu's sixty-plus-kilogram frame was still sent flying three or four meters by Li Pin.

But Shanhu didn't crash to the ground. Instead, she twisted her body, executing a midair spin to neutralize the push, touched down on her right foot, and took three backward steps to dissipate the momentum, steadying herself again.

"You yield."

Li Pin said calmly.

"It's not over yet. Again."

Shanhu, unwilling to admit defeat, was about to charge forward again.

"Enough."

At that moment, Fang Lingjue spoke, stopping Shanhu's impulsive behavior. "You were just sparring with Li Pin to let me gauge his strength, not to decide a winner or loser."

With that, he looked at Li Pin, his eyes appraising. "Been in real fights?"

"After middle school, I thought I'd mastered enough to be bold. I went deep into the mountains and fought a lone wolf."

Li Pin said.

Fang Lingjue chuckled at that, unsure whether to believe him, and didn't press further. He simply said, "Looks like you really have stopped training for a long time. Otherwise, with your strength technique, your physique wouldn't be this ordinary."

Li Pin nodded.

This body had only been training for half a month.

Right now, it was just slightly better than an average person.

"Come on, let's test your physique and qi and blood."

Fang Lingjue said, tossing over a watch-like device from his person. "Physique and qi and blood are the foundation of a martial artist! No matter how deep your understanding and application of strength, it can't compare to the crushing power of qi and blood and physique. Why do Gang Jin Grandmasters fail to match Star Refiners who haven't even mastered strength? Why do Divine Strength Martial Saints dare not face a novice Star Refiner head-on? Because their qi and blood easily breaks a hundred—there's no contest."

"Qi and Blood Detector?"

Li Pin looked at the watch-like device.

In this world, martial arts flourished, and related industries and products emerged endlessly.

Wearing this device, when unleashing a fist technique or movement that best stirred one's entire qi and blood, it could measure one's physique strength.

A must-have for martial artists.

Depending on the manufacturer, the cheapest ones cost over a million.

Enough to buy two apartments in Canglong City.

He put on the device but didn't perform any fist technique.

Instead, he took a deep breath.

As he inhaled, his internal organs seemed to tremble slightly in unison, emitting a low-frequency sound wave almost imperceptible to the human ear.

This sight immediately made Fang Lingjue's face show surprise.

"Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound!? His strength has turned from Ming Jin to An Jin!?"

Shanhu, who had been unwilling to back down, was also slightly stunned, and the discontent in her eyes calmed a little.

Dozens of seconds later, Li Pin stopped the resonance of his internal organs.

The numbers on the device fluctuated before finally settling on 16.

"16, huh. The Xinghui company's Qi and Blood Detector has a fluctuation range of only 1-3 points. Looks like you've really been out of practice too long. Otherwise, with your strength at the Ming Jin to An Jin level, you wouldn't be stuck at this number."

Fang Lingjue said.

Li Pin had learned about the hierarchy of "qi and blood" in this world.

An ordinary person's physique and qi and blood ranged from 10 to 20.

A Trained Strength Martial Artist could reach 20 to 30. Those who had Embraced Qi into Dan, or even exhaled qi into Gang—Masters and Grandmasters—often broke past 30 points.

As for 40 and above, that referred to those with exceptional natural talent.

The highest recorded score for a martial artist was 49, achieved by a Dan Jin Master from the Central Dynasty who stood two meters three tall and was born with divine strength.

Though a Dan Jin Master, with his powerful qi and blood physique, he could even beat a Martial Saint to death.

"Indeed, I'm rusty."

Li Pin handed the detector back.

"You heard Shanhu earlier. I founded the Changfeng Martial Hall mainly to deal with relatives and friends shoving people at me. I won't interfere with the students."

Fang Lingjue said bluntly. "I have my sights set on pushing further in my cultivation path, to witness the scenery of Gang Jin and even Divine Strength Martial Saints. I don't have much time to teach disciples. And you're no beginner—with your understanding and application of strength, even Yang Danqing probably couldn't teach you much. Once you make up for your qi and blood, stepping into An Jin won't be difficult."

Fang Yubai beside him opened his mouth as if to say something, but couldn't bring himself to be generous with someone else's resources, so he stayed silent.

"Still, even though I don't have time to teach disciples, I'll drop by the Changfeng Martial Hall now and then to exchange ideas with everyone. So I have a suggestion—you might want to hear it."

"Go ahead."

"I'd like to hire you as a coach at our Changfeng Martial Hall. Monthly salary of six thousand, room and board included. Once your assistant martial artist certification comes through, I'll raise it to ten thousand."

Fang Lingjue said. "The Changfeng Martial Hall won't have too many people. I figure most of those forced here by their elders to learn martial arts will leave within a year or two. The work won't be busy. Also, if you have any questions about Hua Jin or Dan Jin, you can ask me, and I'll answer as best I can. How about it?"

Six thousand.

Taibai's currency is quite valuable now.

Six thousand is equivalent to eighteen thousand on Blue Star.

This salary is at the basic level for a Trained Strength Martial Artist.

But with the added opportunity to learn from a Dan Jin Master, the nature of the deal changes entirely.

Li Pin was already a junior and didn't plan to waste any more time at Hanyang University. When he revealed the Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound Technique earlier, he'd already had the intention of applying for a job.

Fang Lingjue must have seen through it, which was why he brought it up proactively.

"Alright."

Li Pin gave a crisp nod. "I'll be in your care from now on, Master Fang."

"Hahaha, once you've replenished your blood and qi and refined your strength from the surface to the inner, given your age, you'll be a living advertisement for our Changfeng Martial Hall."

Fang Lingjue extended his hand with a smile. "Welcome aboard."