Making medicine had been too exhausting. After resting at home for a day and a night, Cui Hao went to Zhongwazi Front Street and Hu Family Flower Shop the next morning.
It was the beginning of the month, and time to collect his stipend.
In the past, Zhongwazi Front Street had always been bustling with people. The few ingenious pitch-pot games and spinning wheels outside the Hu family shop drew countless idle young masters and children. Their laughter and cheers could be heard half a street away.
Today, however, the shop was deserted.
When he went inside, he saw Hu Zhi behind the counter, head bowed over a ledger, her brows slightly furrowed. Even the silk flower pinned in her hair seemed a little listless.
Hu Zhi looked up. Seeing Cui Hao, she smiled, then set down the ledger. "Brother Cui, you're here."
The tax increase had taken a heavy toll. Cui Hao wasn't thick-skinned, and he especially couldn't stand to see others in difficulty. He spoke at once. "Manager Hu, I came today to say... perhaps we should forget about the stipend."
Hu Zhi paused in surprise. Then she understood, and the corners of her lips curled into a smile that was knowing, yet tinged with helplessness.
"Brother Cui, you're worrying too much. I can't touch a single copper from the shop's income. The money I gave you before came from my father's private savings and my wages."
As she spoke, Hu Zhi took a plain silk pouch from beneath the counter. She untied it, revealing three small silver ingots, and gently pushed them toward Cui Hao.
"This is ten taels. My little sister, Hu Miao, supports you wholeheartedly, too."
Cui Hao's mind immediately conjured up the shy girl from the preliminary exam, who had stayed hidden behind her elder sister and hadn't said a word.
He looked again at the silver ingots gleaming softly on the wooden counter, and felt as if something had gently nudged his heart.
After a moment's silence, Cui Hao didn't refuse again. He carefully took the silver and clasped his hands in a salute.
After leaving the Flower Shop, Cui Hao turned and headed to Xuanhu Hall.
Before, there had been many medicines he hadn't dared even dream of buying. Now that he had money, he could afford medicated baths, Qingling Powder, Concentration Incense, and Bone-Tempering Paste.
He'd received thirty taels in rewards and spent twenty taels on medicine and a medicine stove, leaving ten taels.
He'd looted forty-five taels from the granary.
The Hu sisters had contributed ten taels.
Sixty-five taels in total!
Besides the silver, he had twenty-seven packets of Qi and Blood Powder and six Qi and Blood Pills.
Cui Hao had never been this well-off. He bought ten baths' worth of medicinal ingredients, ten packets of Qingling Powder, ten sticks of Concentration Incense, and ten packets of Bone-Tempering Paste. Forty taels of silver went just like that.
Qingling Powder was the cheapest. It dispelled internal fire poison and cost five hundred copper coins per packet.
Bone-Tempering Paste was the most expensive. It was a thick, black liquid, taken to strengthen the bones. It cost the same as Qi and Blood Powder: two taels of silver per packet.
This wasn't the place to pinch pennies. Otherwise... he might end up in the absurd situation of his neighbors stockpiling knives while he stockpiled grain. Only by turning silver and resources into strength could he secure his footing in the world.
He returned to the martial arts school at noon. As before, Cui Hao first went to the storeroom to change into his training clothes, then practiced in a corner.
"Brother Hao..." Lin Da approached the plum-blossom stakes while lifting a stone lock. "Why have you only been coming for half a day lately?"
After burning down the granary, Cui Hao had worried about retaliation, so he'd stayed home in the mornings.
He'd protected Su Yun while practicing how to dry leaves and make Qi and Blood Powder.
He asked Lin Da in return, "What is it?"
"Sister Xu is looking for you. She wants you to go to Master's greenhouse."
The greenhouse? It was a quiet spot in the back courtyard, where ordinary disciples weren't allowed. If they broke anything, they'd get beaten.
A flicker of doubt crossed Cui Hao's mind, but he answered and turned toward the back courtyard.
A short while later, Cui Hao saw Xu Liqing in the greenhouse, her features lovely enough to make her the goddess in every disciple's heart.
"Take this and use it." Xu Liqing handed him a wooden case. "It belonged to Xiao Li, but he has no use for it anymore."
Cui Hao took the case and gently opened it. Inside lay a perfectly formed wild ginseng root!
At least twenty years old, perhaps twenty-five.
"Sister... this..." Looking at the fine old ginseng in the case, Cui Hao's heart stirred. "How much is it worth?"
"Three or four hundred taels. Don't worry about the money. The sooner you reach Clear Force, the better your chances of breaking through to Dark Force later." Xu Liqing spoke calmly, but her words carried an unquestionable expectation.
Cui Hao said no more. He carefully closed the case, then bowed deeply. "Thank you, Sister! Thank you, Master!"
With money on hand, he didn't need to hunt. In the days that followed, Cui Hao shut out the world and focused on training.
Before he knew it, the seventh day of the fifth month had arrived.
Exactly one month had passed since the first preliminary exam.
In that time, he'd used up all the medicines he'd bought with forty taels of silver.
He'd spent the remaining thirty-five taels of silver.
He'd used up an entire wild ginseng root.
He'd exhausted all of Su Yun's available progress points. With tiger meat boosting all three meals, his technique's progress had reached its final, crucial juncture.
[Realm: Mortal Martial, Great Achievement (999/1000)]
[Broken Fist Stance Training: Great Achievement (999/1000)]
[Effects: Physique +15, Resistance to Blows +15, Bonus Damage +15, Critical Hit +2]
Just one final step!
His mind calm, he guided the qi and blood surging through his body like molten lava, washing through every limb and bone again and again, battering the invisible barrier.
At last, at the instant his stance shifted and his qi and blood surged to their peak—
"Vmmm!"
It was like a snapped string, or spring ice cracking. An unprecedented feeling of ease swept through his entire body!
The sluggishness that had long seemed to clog his meridians, joints, and acupoints vanished in an instant!
The flow of qi and blood suddenly quickened. His strength circulated without hindrance. Fine, crisp pops burst from his bones like beans frying, while his muscle fibers seemed to tremble and reorganize, growing denser and more resilient.
He'd broken through! It had come as naturally as water flowing into a channel—Mortal Martial, Perfection!
Cui Hao didn't stop. Instead, he rode this fresh, surging power and unleashed his fist technique with even greater abandon!
His fists howled through the air, carrying the faint sound of wind and thunder as they stirred up currents in the courtyard. The faster he went, the smoother it felt. He seemed to have endless strength, and every punch felt as though it could pierce the air before him!
After a long while, his fists gradually slowed.
Feeling the earth-shaking changes within him, he clenched both hands. His knuckles cracked sharply.
At that moment, Cui Hao had a clear intuition: if he faced that Striped Tiger again, there'd be no need to circle around it. One punch would be enough to shatter its skull!
Even against someone like Zhou Mengyue, who was also at Mortal Martial Perfection, he was confident he could crush his opponent in a few moves with sheer strength and a sturdier foundation!
He checked the panel.
[Realm: Mortal Martial, Perfection (1/2000)]
[Broken Fist Stance Training: Perfection (1/2000)]
[Effects: Physique +30, Resistance to Blows +30, Bonus Damage +30, Critical Hit +2]
The all-around boost from the breakthrough was to be expected. But the added effects of the Perfection realm still shook Cui Hao.
The leap was enormous! Brutal!
Physique, resistance to blows, and bonus damage had all doubled outright! His strength, defense, and ability to penetrate his opponent's guard had all made a qualitative leap.
Beneath the moonlight, Cui Hao slowly unclenched his fists. His eyes gleamed, his heart stirred.
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