Flower on My Heart

After a day and night of rest from the arduous task of making medicine, Cui Hao arrived at Hu Family Flower Shop on Zhongwazi Front Street the next morning.

It was the beginning of the month, and he was here to collect his sponsorship.

Normally, Zhongwazi Front Street was bustling with people. The exquisite "pitch-pot" and "roulette" games outside the Hu Family shop were always a magnet for idle young masters and children, their shouts and cheers echoing halfway down the street.

Today, however, it was deserted.

Entering the shop, he saw Hu Zhi behind the counter, her brow furrowed as she flipped through an account book. A silk flower pinned in her hair also seemed a bit wilted.

Hu Zhi looked up and saw Cui Hao. A smile bloomed on her face, and she put down the ledger. "Brother Cui, you're here."

The tax increase had a significant impact. Cui Hao wasn't thick-skinned, especially when he saw others in difficulty. He immediately said, "Manager Hu, I'm here today because I wanted to say... about the sponsorship, perhaps we should just forget about it."

Hu Zhi was slightly taken aback, then seemed to understand. The corners of her lips curved into a knowing, yet slightly helpless smile.

"Brother Cui, you worry too much. I can't touch a single coin of this shop's revenue. The money I sponsored you with before was my father's personal funds and my wages."

As she spoke, Hu Zhi took out a small silk pouch from under the counter. Untying it revealed three small silver ingots, which she gently pushed towards Cui Hao.

"This is ten taels. My younger sister, Hu Miao, also supports you very much."

Cui Hao's mind immediately conjured the image of the shy girl who had always stayed behind her sister, silent, on the day of the preliminary exam.

Looking at the silver ingots on the wooden counter, radiating a soft glow, his heart felt as if it had been gently nudged.

After a moment of silence, Cui Hao no longer refused. He solemnly put away the silver and bowed with clasped fists.

Leaving the flower shop, Cui Hao turned and went to Xuanhu Hall.

Before, many medicines were out of reach. Now that he had money, he could arrange for medicinal baths, Qingling Powder, Serenity Incense, and Bone Forging Paste.

He had received thirty taels of silver as a reward. He spent twenty taels on medicine and a medicine furnace, leaving ten taels.

He had looted the granary for forty-five taels.

The Hu sisters' sponsorship was ten taels.

That made a total of sixty-five taels!

Besides silver, he also had 27 packs of Qi and Blood Powder and 6 pills of Qi and Blood Pill.

Cui Hao had never been so wealthy. He bought ten packs of medicinal bath, ten packs of Qingling Powder, ten sticks of Serenity Incense, and ten packs of Bone Forging Paste, spending forty taels of silver.

Qingling Powder was the cheapest, used to reduce internal fire toxins, costing five hundred copper coins per pack.

Bone Forging Paste was the most expensive, a thick black fluid that strengthened bones when consumed. It was the same price as Qi and Blood Powder, two taels of silver per pack.

He couldn't be stingy here, otherwise... a tragedy might occur where neighbors hoard knives while he hoards grain. Only by converting silver and resources into his own strength could he establish a foundation for his survival.

At noon, he returned to the martial arts hall. As usual, Cui Hao first went to the storage room to change into his training clothes, then to a corner to practice.

"Brother Hao..." Lin Da approached the plum blossom stakes while lifting a stone lock. "Why have you only been coming for half a day recently?"

The granary fire had made him worried about retaliation, so Cui Hao had stayed home in the morning.

He was protecting Su Yun while practicing drying leaves and making Qi and Blood Powder.

He retorted to Lin Da, "Is something wrong?"

"Senior Sister Xu is looking for you. She wants you to go to Master's flower room."

The flower room? That was a quiet place in the backyard that ordinary disciples were not allowed to enter. If anything were damaged, he'd be beaten.

A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, and Cui Hao responded and turned towards the backyard.

A moment later, Cui Hao saw Xu Liqing in the flower room. She was beautiful and considered a goddess in the hearts of the disciples.

"Take this," Xu Liqing handed him a wooden box. "It originally belonged to Xiao Li, but he doesn't need it anymore."

Cui Hao took the wooden box and gently opened it. Inside was a complete wild ginseng root!

It was at least 20 years old, possibly 25.

"Senior Sister... this..." Looking at the well-preserved old ginseng in the box, Cui Hao's heart stirred. "How much is it worth?"

"Three to four hundred taels. Don't worry about the money. The faster you enter Clear Force, the greater your chance of impacting Dark Force in the future." Xu Liqing's tone was calm but carried an undeniable expectation.

Cui Hao said no more. He solemnly closed the wooden box and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Senior Sister! Thank you, Master!"

With money on hand, he didn't need to hunt. In the following days, Cui Hao shut out the world and focused on diligent practice.

Time unknowingly passed until the seventh day of May.

Exactly one month had passed since the first preliminary exam.

During this period, he had used up the forty taels of silver to buy medicines.

He had used up the remaining thirty-five taels of silver.

He had used an entire stalk of old wild ginseng.

He had exhausted the controllable progress points given by Su Yun, and with the boost from tiger meat in his meals, the cultivation progress value reached a critical juncture.

[Realm: Mortal Martial Great Accomplishment (999/1000)]

[Broken Fist Stance Technique: Great Accomplishment (999/1000)]

[Effects: Physique +15, Damage Resistance +15, Bonus Damage +15, Critical Hit Rate +2]

Just one step away!

His mind calmed, he guided the lava-like surging blood and qi within his body, washing over his limbs and bones again and again, impacting that invisible barrier.

Finally, at the moment he transitioned between stances, his blood and qi surging to their peak—

"Buzz!"

Like a snapped lute string, or spring ice cracking, an unprecedented sense of "smoothness" rapidly swept through his entire body!

The sluggishness that had long felt like it was blocking his meridians, joints, and acupoints vanished in an instant!

The speed of his blood and qi circulation suddenly accelerated, his internal force flowed smoothly and without obstruction, his bones emitted fine, popping sounds like stir-fried beans, and his muscle fibers seemed to tremble and rearrange, becoming denser and more resilient.

He had broken through! It was a natural progression, as smooth as water flowing to its destination—Mortal Martial Perfection!!

Cui Hao didn't stop. Instead, he leveraged this newfound, surging power to practice his fist techniques with even greater fervor!

His punches whistled, faintly carrying the sound of wind and thunder, stirring up currents of air in the small courtyard. He punched faster and smoother, feeling an inexhaustible supply of strength. Each punch felt like it could pierce through the air before him!

After a long while, he gradually reined in his movements.

Feeling the earth-shattering changes within him, he clenched his fists, his knuckles emitting crisp cracking sounds.

At this moment, Cui Hao had a clear intuition: if he faced that Striped Tiger again, he wouldn't need to stall. One punch would be enough to shatter its skull!

Even facing someone like Zhou Mengyue, who was also at Mortal Martial Perfection, he was confident he could crush him within a few moves with absolute strength and a more solid foundation.

He checked his status panel.

[Realm: Mortal Martial Perfection (1/2000)]
[Broken Fist Stance Technique: Perfection (1/2000)]
[Effects: Physique +30, Damage Resistance +30, Bonus Damage +30, Critical Hit Rate +2]

The comprehensive enhancement from his realm advancement was a given, but the effect bonus that came with the "Perfection" realm made Cui Hao's heart tremble.

The leap was too great! Too drastic!

Physique, damage resistance, and bonus damage had directly doubled! This meant his strength, defense, and attack penetration had undergone a qualitative leap.

Under the moonlight, Cui Hao slowly unclenched his fists, his eyes shining brightly, his mind filled with emotion.