Qi Sensation

Li Gan suppressed the excitement in his heart and focused his attention on the spot where he sensed qi. His hands and feet did not pause, and he continued slowly practicing the form.

That burning sensation grew increasingly intense.

Once, twice, three times.

He did not stop until the qi sensation waned from its peak and finally dwindled to only the faintest trace.

As long as he closed his eyes and carefully sensed the spot below his navel, he could feel threads of warmth.

That was a Qi Sensation Seed.

It meant that he had not only developed Qi Sensation, but had also stabilized the Qi Sensation Seed.

According to Elder Song, many Menial Disciples had to make repeated attempts before they could stabilize their Qi Sensation Seeds.

For him to stabilize his Qi Sensation on his very first try was exceedingly rare.

It meant he had taken another step forward on the path of martial arts.

For the next period of time, Li Gan rang the bell every day and refined the Chen Bell. After ringing it, he practiced the Sword Piercing Fist to cultivate his Qi Sensation.

He could feel the warm current beneath his navel gradually growing stronger.

If he could use breathing and exhalation techniques to guide this mass of Qi Sensation through his body, it would mean he had entered the Internal Breath stage.

Qi Sensation and Internal Breath both belonged to the Foundation Establishment level of martial arts.

Once Internal Breath had grown strong enough, one could attempt Refining Breath into Force.

That meant Internal Breath would gain offensive power.

In other words, the Internal Force stage.

Those who cultivated Internal Force, while not yet official martial artists, could be called Martial Apprentices and counted as reserve martial artists.

Internal Force could not leave the body. It could only enhance the strength of various parts of the body, but even so, it completely surpassed the limits of an ordinary person's combat ability.

True martial artists could Gather Force into Qi and release it outward to attack. They could even unleash the Hundred-Step Divine Fist. Its destructive power was shockingly terrifying—true supernatural strength.

Noon.

Li Gan ate with Elder Song.

The dishes were quite plentiful, and they were mainly Medicinal Meals. For Menial Disciples, this was already an exceptionally rare diet.

Ever since developing Qi Sensation, Li Gan had found his appetite greatly increased, and his food intake grew larger by the day.

After finishing one bowl, Li Gan went to serve himself another large bowl.

"Li Gan, have you developed Qi Sensation already?"

Elder Song suddenly asked.

He had been observing Li Gan for many days.

During this period, Li Gan's appetite had clearly increased by quite a lot.

With normal martial arts practice, one's appetite would increase somewhat before developing Qi Sensation, but not this noticeably.

"Elder Song, I developed Qi Sensation a few days ago," Li Gan said as he ate.

He knew he could not hide it from Elder Song's seasoned eyes, so he did not deny it.

Besides, it was only Qi Sensation.

"It seems your talent is quite a bit better than I imagined. What a pity."

A trace of regret appeared on Elder Song's face.

Being able to develop Qi Sensation so quickly showed that Li Gan's talent was not poor. Most likely, his luck had simply been bad. There had been too many exceptionally gifted candidates in the same batch of assessments, causing him to miss the list of Official Disciples.

It could only be said that timing and fate had conspired against him.

Si Hour.

Atop the Bell Tower.

Having just finished ringing the bell, Li Gan practiced the Sword Piercing Fist. He felt that the warm current beneath his navel had grown much larger, as though it were about to take shape.

Once this Qi Sensation took shape, it could fully transform into a breath of Internal Breath and be circulated throughout every part of his body through breathing and exhalation techniques.

As Internal Breath circulated, it would strengthen every part of the body.

Over time, the body would gradually grow stronger, eventually reaching or even breaking through the limits of the human body.

Huff!

After several rounds, Li Gan's entire body was hot. As he drew in his fist forms and exhaled a puff of white air, the surging Qi Sensation in his abdomen gradually calmed.

"Just a little more, and this Qi Sensation should be able to take shape, transform into Internal Breath, and be controlled by me."

Light flickered in Li Gan's eyes.

Making progress every day felt truly wonderful.

Moreover, his connection with the Chen Bell was growing closer and stronger.

Originally, he could only maintain that connection while beside the Chen Bell.

But now, even beneath the Bell Tower, he could sense the Chen Bell's existence.

Suddenly, with a thought, he summoned the System Interface.

Host: Li Gan.

Cultivation Base: Foundation Establishment (Qi Sensation).

Sacrificial Tool: Chen Bell (Ordinary 49/100).

Martial Arts: Sword Piercing Fist (Proficient).

The Chen Bell's Refining Progress had now reached forty-nine. In other words, after another fifty-one days of refinement, this Sacrificial Tool, the Chen Bell, could be upgraded.

In addition, his Sword Piercing Fist had reached Proficient.

The level of mastery over fist-based Martial Arts was closely related to the progress of one's Cultivation Base.

The levels of Martial Arts mastery were mainly divided into Entry Level, Proficient, Minor Accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and Perfection.

The reason he had cultivated the Sword Piercing Fist to Proficient so quickly was not because his Enlightenment or aptitude was particularly high, but because the Chen Bell's Bell Sound naturally helped him comprehend the Dao.

It was also because the Sword Piercing Fist had reached Proficient that he had developed Qi Sensation so quickly.

"I heard Elder Song say that after Official Disciples enter the sect, they no longer cultivate common fist arts like the Sword Piercing Fist, but true internal arts. Although the Sword Piercing Fist is also an internal-style fist art and can ultimately cultivate Internal Qi to become an official martial artist, that is its limit."

Li Gan sighed inwardly.

Without the system, he had no doubt that cultivating Internal Qi and becoming a Ranked Martial Artist would have been the utmost limit of his life.

As for going any further, that was almost nothing more than a wild hope.

He stroked the Chen Bell, enjoying that wondrous feeling of connection.

Suddenly, his gaze fell into the distance, where a hobbling figure appeared on the hillside.

It was Elder Song.

Today was the Divine Sword Sect's monthly day for distributing Stipend Silver and cultivation resources.

Early in the morning, Elder Song had gone down the mountain.

Whoosh!

Li Gan leaped straight down from the Bell Tower.

The drop was less than four meters. With his current agility and physical strength, it posed no difficulty at all.

A little over a minute later, Li Gan arrived before Elder Song and took two bags from his hands.

Elder Song had gone down the mountain not only to collect Stipend Silver and cultivation resources, but also their daily food.

This time, the things Elder Song had brought back weighed no less than two hundred catties, or at least more than one hundred.

Back in the Bell Tower.

"Li Gan, this is your Stipend Silver, along with your Contribution Voucher."

Elder Song tossed Li Gan a small pouch and a wooden token.

The small pouch contained Stipend Silver.

Ten taels each month.

Ten taels of silver could cover all living expenses for an ordinary family of three for an entire year.

For someone practicing martial arts, however, ten taels of silver were merely a drop in the bucket.

Only a wealthy major sect like the Divine Sword Sect could afford to let even Menial Disciples eat Medicinal Meals, saving them such expenses.

Some Menial Disciples from poorer families would often send their Stipend Silver home to improve their families' lives.

Li Gan did not have such worries.

He only needed to save his Stipend Silver.

As for the wooden token, it recorded Li Gan's Contribution Points.

There were very few.

Only one point each month.

Within the Divine Sword Sect, Contribution Points were worth more than gold or silver.

Whether exchanging them for cultivation resources or secret Martial Arts manuals, Contribution Points were required.

After many Menial Disciples lost hope of becoming Official Disciples, the reason they tried to remain in the Divine Sword Sect for as long as possible was to save enough Contribution Points to exchange for a suitable secret Martial Arts manual before leaving.

Seeing the single Contribution Point recorded on the wooden token, Li Gan could not help shaking his head. Without accumulating them for several years, these Contribution Points likely would not be of much use.

He was somewhat curious. At Elder Song's advanced age, just how many Contribution Points had he saved up?

"Li Gan, we got lucky this time. This old man managed to obtain a little Exotic Beast Jerky. This is good stuff—something you might not see even once in several years. Even I have only eaten it a few times."

Elder Song spoke with a beaming smile.

He took a wooden box from a cloth sack. After opening it, he revealed a small piece of blackish jerky, only two fingers wide and one finger long.

"This is Exotic Beast Jerky?"

Li Gan was greatly surprised.

He had heard Elder Song mention that what they usually ate was Medicinal Beast meat.

Medicinal Beasts were mainly pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and similar animals raised on specially prepared medicinal feed. Their meat was richer in nutrients and vital energy than ordinary animal meat, making it more suitable for martial artists.

As for Exotic Beast meat, it came from Exotic Beasts.

Any creature that could be called an Exotic Beast was certainly no ordinary wild animal. Like martial artists, they possessed power far beyond that of ordinary beasts.