Medicinal Cuisine, Enjoying a Carefree Life

Great Xia martial artists were divided into ranks from Ninth Grade to First Grade.

Ninth Grade was the lower limit, and First Grade the upper limit.

For a high school martial arts student, reaching Ninth Grade Peak before the age of eighteen was already enough to look down on their peers.

To become an Eighth-grade Martial Artist, one either had to possess extraordinary talent or have family and background support from childhood to temper one's foundation.

Ordinary martial arts students began training at seven, while these geniuses and prodigies might have started tempering their foundations and cultivating bitterly at the age of three or four.

The time, effort, and money spent on this could only be described as vast as the sea.

At that moment, just a few scant lines in the Yellow Book before Jiang Li's eyes had raised his cultivation from Ninth Grade Peak to Eighth Grade.

[You begin cultivating the Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art and consume Ninth Grade Breakthrough Pills. In the second year, with three Ninth Grade Breakthrough Pills and relentless day-and-night cultivation, you finally break through to the Eighth Grade realm.]

[In the fourth year, by consuming twenty Ninth Grade Qi and Blood Pills, you successfully cultivate the Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art First Level. The qi and blood within your body greatly increase, allowing you to circulate three minor cycles in one breath.]

[In the twelfth year, you cultivate the Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art Second Level. The qi and blood within your body increase, allowing you to complete one major cycle in a single breath.]

[In the twenty-fifth year, you cultivate the Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art Third Level and master Crimson Blood Transformation, allowing you to increase your strength by ten percent for a short time.]

[In the fifty-fourth year, you cultivate the Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art Fourth Level and master the second stage of Crimson Blood Transformation, allowing you to increase your strength by twenty percent for a short time.]

[In the ninety-third year, you cultivate the Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art to the perfected realm. Your qi and blood rise to their utmost limit, and you master the third stage of Crimson Blood Transformation, allowing you to push your strength to the limit by thirty percent for one hundred breaths.]

Cultivation Art: Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art (Eighth Grade Perfected)

Cultivatable Lifespan: 1002

As Jiang Li cultivated in the hotel room, the sensation of waking from a great dream washed over him once more.

"So I'm Eighth Grade Perfected already?"

Jiang Li could feel what seemed like inexhaustible vigor and qi and blood surging through his body, making him want to throw back his head and let out a long howl.

Eighth Grade Perfected—across all of Beihe City, that was enough to be called a prodigy of a generation.

And he had taken less than a minute.

After his brief excitement subsided, Jiang Li looked at his remaining Cultivatable Lifespan and fell into deep thought.

An Eighth Grade cultivation art had actually cost him a full ninety-three years of lifespan to cultivate to perfection.

On the Martial Path, cultivating arts was not the hardest part—much less when it was merely an Eighth Grade cultivation art.

The truly difficult things to cultivate were, first, Breathing Techniques; second, martial skills; and only third, cultivation arts.

"Great Xia's martial arts ranks are divided into nine grades. If I want to become a First Grade Martial Artist, forget one thousand years of lifespan—perhaps even ten thousand years wouldn't be enough."

"Who could live for ten thousand years? Or is this body's aptitude simply too poor?"

Jiang Li could not help but complain, but on second thought, he realized he had fallen into a misunderstanding.

"If one only relies on secluded, bitter cultivation along the Martial Path, then of course it would be difficult. Ordinary martial artists couldn't possibly cultivate day after day for a hundred years."

"Instead, they take pills or use all kinds of resources to improve themselves, increasing their cultivation speed by tenfold, even a hundredfold or more."

"If there were enough pills, the lifespan consumed should also decrease drastically."

"So the difficulty of cultivating arts is actually the lowest. Pills or other treasures can be used to assist with it."

Having figured this out, Jiang Li could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Still, cultivation arts could be improved through pills, while martial skills had to rely purely on one's own comprehension.

The reason he had not chosen an Eighth Grade martial skill at the Heavenly River Martial Arts Hall was that, even with more than a thousand years of Cultivatable Lifespan, he could not squander it lightly.

Therefore, at the Eighth Grade realm, one martial skill was enough.

Naturally, he would choose the strongest one.

"At school, I remember there's a saber art that the teachers often mention. It's considered Beihe City's hardest Eighth Grade saber art to cultivate, and also its strongest."

"If I want to crush martial arts geniuses like Luo Tianji and Lin Lingfei in the martial arts exam, ordinary martial skills clearly won't cut it. Only that saber art is suitable."

A sharp gleam flashed in Jiang Li's eyes. Then he took a shower in the hotel and changed into a new set of clothes.

Sitting before the floor-to-ceiling window, he made transfer after transfer on his phone.

[5500

You initiated a transfer]

"Old Zhang, the five thousand I owed you—I'm sorry it took me so long to pay you back."

[

You initiated a transfer]

"Brother Hua, I've owed you this money for a year. I'm truly sorry. I'll treat you to a meal when I have the time."

[8800

You initiated a transfer]

"Senior Sister, I'm sorry..."

Jiang Li took out his phone and began repaying all the money he had borrowed from his classmates.

Back on Earth, Jiang Li had always repaid eleven for every ten he borrowed, so he transferred a little extra and remembered each of their names.

No matter what the original owner had been like, he had at least incurred these debts of gratitude.

Then Jiang Li's phone began to buzz.

After settling all his debts, Jiang Li finally felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Rubbing his slightly hungry stomach, he checked out and left the hotel.

He hailed a cab and headed for Seventeenth High School.

Qingbei Medicinal Cuisine House.

It was a restaurant beside Seventeenth High School that specialized in medicinal cuisine to aid martial arts cultivation.

Not only was the food exquisitely delicious, it could also strengthen one's qi and blood and benefit martial arts cultivation.

Naturally, the dishes were also exorbitantly priced. Once, a rich second-generation student from Seventeenth High School had spent over a hundred thousand on a single meal, causing a sensation throughout the school.

It could be said that anyone who could afford medicinal cuisine here definitely came from a well-off family.

Jiang Li had been here once before. Naturally, he had come to treat Lu Wanning that time. The meal had cost more than eight thousand, yet he himself had barely gotten two bites.

That had also been his only time dining alone with Lu Wanning.

The taxi stopped in front of Qingbei Medicinal Cuisine House. Those memories surfaced in Jiang Li's mind, making him shake his head with a self-mocking smile.

Three years as a pathetic simp, and he had poured in several hundred thousand without even touching her hand.

Terrifying.

With calm, unhurried steps, Jiang Li entered the restaurant and chose a scenic seat by the window.

He ordered every single one of the most expensive medicinal dishes on the menu. Even the waitress was stunned. Having worked here for over a year, this was the first time she had encountered such a lavish customer.

The way she looked at Jiang Li immediately turned respectful, convinced that some young master from one of Beihe City's prominent families had arrived.

Even the other diners in the restaurant stared over in shock. Several pretty younger girls from Seventeenth High School gave Jiang Li exceptionally flirtatious looks, even secretly discussing how to get his contact information.

Jiang Li was completely unaware. There were still 2.11 million in his card, all borrowed from Lin Yuanliang, so he did not feel the slightest heartache.

After all...

Those with no debts or loans were workhorses in this world; those owing hundreds of millions lived in luxury cars and mansions.

Once he won the martial arts exam in one fell swoop, forget three million—even the title of Beihe City's top scorer alone would be worth far more than that.

Rather than agonize over such things, he might as well spend money like dirt and enjoy life to the fullest.

As long as he was strong enough, countless powerful and wealthy figures would naturally scramble to give him money someday.

A powerful martial artist could protect an entire faction with his name alone. Not to mention that the materials martial artists obtained by slaying ferocious beasts—including Beast Cores—were all scarce hard currency throughout Great Xia.

That was why Jiang Li felt no heartache at all while spending, nor was he worried about the three million he owed.

If he had not only been at Ninth Grade Peak at the time, he would have wanted to borrow thirty million, even three hundred million.

Inside Qingbei Medicinal Cuisine House, Jiang Li wolfed down his food. He was truly starving.

Just then, across the street, two young and beautiful girls looked toward the medicinal cuisine restaurant with disbelief written all over their faces.

"Wanning, am I seeing things? That's Jiang Li!?" Li Xiaoxiao's face was full of disbelief.

Beside her, Lu Wanning, carrying an LV handbag and wearing exquisite makeup, was equally stunned.

Qingbei Medicinal Cuisine House—one meal here cost at least several thousand.

Even she had only come once or twice.

And now, what was she seeing?

Jiang Li, who had pursued her for three years and borrowed money to buy her pills and luxury goods, was actually eating in there alone—and he had not invited her?

Lu Wanning immediately felt a flicker of panic. She grabbed Li Xiaoxiao and crossed the street toward the restaurant.

Jiang Li, how dare you!

You came to Qingbei Medicinal Cuisine House and spent so extravagantly, yet you dared not invite me?

You're practically wasting my money!