Breakthrough

Yao Xingzhi asked, "You don't usually use these to train, do you?"

"Although the Blood Condensing Pills can help you rapidly build up Qi Blood in a short time, it still isn't the result of steady cultivation on your own. Your realm will be unstable, which won't be good for your future progress."

Chen Feng shook his head.

Yao Xingzhi looked satisfied.

"That's good. I've seen people rely on Drug-Assisted Cultivation until they couldn't even fully control the Qi Blood in their own bodies. Their combat ability was pitifully weak."

Chen Feng understood. So the Blood Condensing Pill's effect was simple.

It stimulated the bone marrow, quickly producing Qi Blood in the body. Using it once or twice during ordinary cultivation was fine, but taking it for a long time would damage one's foundation.

When breaking through a bottleneck, though, the pill served as an additional safeguard.

The three realms of a Martial Artist were Blood Refining, Bone Forging, and Viscera Quenching.

The first realm, Blood Refining, focused on the bone marrow. One needed to use the Qi Blood already in the body to flush the bone marrow again and again, gradually transforming it.

Only when the bone marrow could continuously produce Qi Blood on its own, no longer relying on dietary supplements to replenish it, and the Qi Blood had grown as deep and abundant as a spring, would one have entered the Blood Refining Realm.

Some Quasi Martial Artists had poor Gen Gu. Even after exhausting all the Qi Blood in their bodies, they couldn't complete the transformation of their bone marrow. That was when they needed Blood Condensing Pills to assist with the breakthrough.

They weren't cheap, either.

The market price was two liang of silver.

Each.

Chen Feng glanced at how many were in the Porcelain Bottle...

Good heavens, he could see five at a glance, worth ten liang of silver. No wonder they said killing and arson made for a golden belt. It really was a lucrative business.

Chen Feng had worked honestly for several months and saved only three liang, just enough to study martial arts at the academy. It was nowhere near what he'd earned in a single night.

"If you have pills left over, our academy can buy them from you at the market price. You also have three pills in your original quota. Do you want to collect them?" Yao Xingzhi asked.

"How many pills does a normal breakthrough take?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I broke through without using pills. How would I know?" Yao Xingzhi folded his arms across his chest, looking entirely justified.

Chen Feng's mouth twitched.

Was Senior Brother showing off?

"Are you breaking through now?"

"Now?"

"Sure. You've already reached Qi Blood Perfection, so the sooner you break through, the better. You've got enough pills in that bottle, too. Why not do it right now?"

"How did Senior Brother break through back then?"

"Hmm... I've kind of forgotten. But it's fine, it's simple. Just let your Qi Blood go whoosh, and that's that."

Chen Feng's eyelid twitched. Why did that sound so unreliable?

But on second thought, it really was better to break through sooner. In this world, only Martial Artists had any real say.

Besides, he felt he'd reached a bottleneck.

It was time to break through.

"Are you sure I don't need to prepare anything else?"

Chen Feng asked again to be certain.

"Come on, I'm right here. Nothing can go wrong."

Chen Feng steeled himself—

Charge!

Today, he was going to become a Martial Artist!

Then he'd have double the good fortune!

Chen Feng calmed himself and began practicing the Five Elements Fist First Form in the courtyard.

Opening stance—Splitting Fist!

His fist shot out like cast iron, without the slightest hint of weakness.

Gold Nature was sharp, associated with slaughter and ferocity. One punch followed another, and the force of his fists stirred a faint, keen whistle, tearing through the air.

Threads of pale-red Qi Blood flowed through his meridians. Using the momentum of his punches, Chen Feng guided the Qi Blood and drove it toward the depths of his bone marrow.

A faint pain came from deep within his bones.

Like tiny needles stabbing into him.

Chen Feng's chest heaved. After only a few punches, beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead. The toll of breaking through far exceeded that of ordinary martial training.

His Qi Blood was gradually depleted.

His bone marrow began to transform as well.

Chen Feng gritted his teeth, a Blood Condensing Pill held in his mouth. Once the Qi Blood in his body ran out, he would swallow it, making sure he could keep going without stopping.

The first flush consumed most of his Qi Blood.

The second flush seemed to bring him close to saturation.

By the third flush... his Qi Blood was running dangerously low.

Chen Feng immediately swallowed the pill in his mouth. The Blood Condensing Pill took effect almost at once. His body became like a furnace, pouring out waves of heat.

Under the pill's effects, Qi Blood surged from his limbs and bones, replenishing what he'd just spent.

Chen Feng gritted his teeth, circulated his Qi Blood, and flushed his bone marrow again...

Crack...

Chen Feng felt a shackle inside his body snap open.

A thread of fresh Qi Blood began to well up from his bone marrow.

Success!

The Blood Refining Realm!

There was no cheering, no shouting, no exaggerated commotion like the legends claimed accompanied a breakthrough. Only a deep, steady sense of security washed over him.

Everything had fallen into place naturally.

[Breakthrough to the Blood Refining Realm... Experience +1000]

Chen Feng clenched his fist and felt his strength had increased tremendously. If he faced his pre-breakthrough self, he was confident he could take him down in three moves.

He swung his fist lightly. The Gold Style Splitting Fist moved as naturally as thought, without the slightest resistance. His punch carried force, as though it could Break Stone.

Of course, Chen Feng wasn't foolish enough to actually try splitting a rock.

It was just a slight illusion brought on by his sudden increase in strength.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother. You've successfully entered the Blood Refining Realm. You can ask Master to teach you the next form of the Five Elements Fist Technique."

Yao Xingzhi smiled, happy that Chen Feng had broken through successfully.

Chen Feng returned the smile, then asked what had been on his mind: "How do I cultivate in the Blood Refining Realm?"

"Easy. Do what you did today: use your Qi Blood to flush your bone marrow, while continuing to refine your fist techniques. Once every bit of bone marrow in your body has transformed, you can attempt to break through to the Bone Forging Realm."

"The road of the Martial Way is long. You'll have to work even harder."

Chen Feng nodded. His Martial Way Path had only just begun.

"Junior Brother Chen!"

Chen Feng turned and saw Zhao Shanyue rushing over.

The charge of the eight-foot-tall strongman was too much. Before Chen Feng could react, a thick arm had already clamped tightly around his neck.

"Good lad! I knew you could do it!"

Zhao Shanyue was proud, too. After all, he'd been the one to bring Chen Feng into the academy. Master had finally accepted a disciple, and Zhao Shanyue had played a part in that.

Chen Feng grinned.

When they'd first met, Zhao Shanyue's towering build and rugged face had made him seem like a ruthless character.

But after spending many days together,

Chen Feng had come to see him as a kindhearted Senior Brother, rough around the edges but perceptive. He treated all his students equally, regardless of their backgrounds.

He was highly regarded at the Fist Academy.

Far more so than the other Jiao Xi.

"Hm?"

Zhao Shanyue seemed to notice something.

"You broke through to the Blood Refining Realm?"

Chen Feng smiled and nodded. "Just now. Second Senior Brother guided me through it."

"Second Senior Brother guided you?!"

Zhao Shanyue looked even more shocked. He kept turning to glance at Yao Xingzhi, as though trying to confirm something.

"Is... is there a problem?"

"Nothing. As long as you broke through safely."

Though he said that,

Zhao Shanyue secretly lowered his voice and leaned close to Chen Feng's ear. "Don't trust your Second Senior Brother too much. Never ask him anything about cultivation."

"Why?" Chen Feng asked, puzzled.

"When he teaches people, all he says is stuff like 'whoosh' here and 'crack' there..."

"He's naturally gifted, so things work that way for him, but it's different for everyone else."

"Back then, Junior Sister trusted Second Senior Brother too much, and something went wrong when she tried to break through. She was stuck in bed for days."

"Master was afraid he'd play the teacher and mess things up for someone else, so he simply put him in charge of demonstrating the staff forms to new disciples. He wasn't allowed to say a word."

"The rest of us disciples have to teach people hands-on..."

Yao Xingzhi's eye twitched. "Fourth, I can hear you."

Zhao Shanyue awkwardly scratched his head.

"Senior Brother, what a mess this is."

"Don't! Don't hit me! Junior Brother's still here!"