Hundred Herbs Hall

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. My family is in the pill and medicinal herb business."

Zhou Nan explained, handing over a gold card. "If you want to buy pills in the future, you can bring this card to Hundred Herbs Hall and get a twenty percent discount."

Seeing the gold card, Zhao Bin's eyes flashed with surprise.

He knew the weight of a Hundred Herbs Hall Gold Card. It was usually given to official Martial Artists or important business partners. He had not expected Zhou Nan to give one to Qin Yan so generously.

Qin Yan did not decline and accepted the card.

He had long heard of Hundred Herbs Hall. It was one of the Xia Kingdom's leading pill empires, with deep roots and powerful backing.

This card would undoubtedly be of great use to him in the future.

"Your resources are so abundant. Why are your Blood Qi levels stuck around 82 Cal and so difficult to raise?"

Qin Yan voiced a question that had been buried in his heart for a long time.

He had originally assumed that the Elite Class students progressed slowly because of limited resources. But after seeing how freely the two of them spent money, he felt the issue was not as simple as he had thought.

"You didn't know?" Zhao Bin and Zhou Nan were both somewhat surprised, but they quickly understood.

Given Qin Yan's previous family circumstances, he truly would not have had access to this deeper martial knowledge.

"Here's how it works," Zhou Nan patiently explained. "Increasing Blood Qi isn't something that can grow without limit just by piling on resources. It also involves a deep understanding of Stance Training."

"The higher your Stance Training level, the more greatly your efficiency and speed in absorbing resources improve. More importantly, it helps us break through Blood Qi bottlenecks more easily.

"We're stuck at 82 Cal not because we lack resources, but because we've encountered a bottleneck.

"And if we want to break through that bottleneck relatively easily, our Stance Training level has to keep up."

After hearing this, Qin Yan finally understood. He grasped the deeper purpose of Stance Training and fully understood why Zhao Bin and Zhou Nan valued his guidance so highly.

Once their Stance Training broke through to the fourth layer, their Blood Qi bottlenecks would naturally loosen. With sufficient resources, breaking through 84 Cal before the Gaokao would come naturally, enough for them to aim for better Martial Universities, such as Thunder Martial University in the neighboring province.

Afterward, Qin Yan asked them about breaking through to become a Martial Artist, but their knowledge was limited. They only knew that Blood Qi had to reach the 99 Cal limit and that a powerful expert was needed to stand guard. As for the specific crucial points and risks involved, they did not understand much either.

Qin Yan temporarily put the thought aside. His current goal was the Gaokao, and he still had a ways to go before reaching 99 Cal.

Over the following days, Qin Yan's life became orderly and fulfilling.

During the day, he practiced Spear Technique at school and gave Lin Yang and Zhou Yuan some simple guidance.

At night, he went to the Martial Association, where he also guided Zhao Bin and Zhou Nan in their Stance Training.

During this time, Qin Yan discovered with mild surprise that Zhou Nan seemed to have greater aptitude and faster progress in Stance Training than Zhao Bin.

One evening a month later.

Zhou Nan changed into fitted athletic workout clothes that perfectly outlined her tall, well-proportioned, energetic figure.

She seriously assumed the stance of the Sky-Supporting Qi Pillar, her expression focused.

"Sink your intent into your dantian and feel the flow of your Blood Qi. Don't deliberately force it as it moves. Guide it to naturally wash through that meridian..."

Qin Yan carefully observed from the side and offered guidance. He then reached out and gently corrected a subtle angle of her waist and hips. "Here, sink a little lower. Yes, hold it there."

Zhou Nan made the tiny adjustment as instructed, concentrating fully on the changes within her body.

Gradually, she felt the flow of Blood Qi throughout her body suddenly accelerate. A hot current surged into her limbs and bones, fine beads of sweat began to seep from her skin, and wisps of white steam even rose from her body!

This... this feeling...

Zhou Nan was both startled and delighted as she looked uncertainly at Qin Yan.

Only when she saw Qin Yan smile and nod at her approvingly did she finally become certain—she had truly broken through!

Her Stance Training had officially entered the fourth layer!

"Qin Yan! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

A bright, radiant smile spread across Zhou Nan's face.

Her Stance Training had been stalled at the Third Layer for a long time. She had nearly believed that she had no hope of breaking through and could only settle for Jianghai Martial University.

Yet she had never expected to meet Qin Yan, who allowed her to break through the bottleneck in one stroke.

Qin Yan chuckled at her words, his eyes smiling as well. "Why are you being so polite? We've helped each other. I've benefited a great deal from you too."

At this moment, Zhao Bin, who had witnessed the scene from the side, could not help feeling a sense of urgency.

"I need to hurry too! I can't fall too far behind!"

He muttered to himself and threw himself even more earnestly into his Stance Training.

Taking the opportunity, Qin Yan opened his panel to check the results of his efforts over this period.

[Sky-Supporting Qi Pillar: Fifth layer (Perfection)

Blood Qi: 90 Cal

Spirit: 42

Spear Technique: Second Stage (31%)

Skill Points: 64 points

Note: As long as you work hard, there will be rewards]

Over the past month, he had used up every Blood Qi Potion he had obtained, and his Blood Qi had reached an astonishing 90 Cal!

But he had also discovered that after reaching 90 Cal, the effects of ordinary Blood Qi Potions had begun to diminish sharply, and his growth had noticeably slowed.

"It seems the effects of Blood Qi Potions are nearing their limit."

He understood this in his heart, but he was not worried.

Blood Qi of 90 Cal had already reached last year's admission cutoff for Top Martial Universities!

And there were still exactly twenty days left until the June 8 Gaokao.

He still had twenty-five precious Blood Qi Pills saved up.

If he went to the Principal's office again tomorrow, he could likely obtain the next batch of resources provided by Director Wan.

During this final sprint, his strength was bound to undergo another leap!

After training ended, the three decided to indulge a little to celebrate Zhou Nan's breakthrough and went to a popular barbecue stall near the school.

"Come on! A toast to our goddess Zhou Nan's breakthrough!"

Zhao Bin was exceptionally excited as he raised his glass and shouted.

"Cheers! Fill them up, fill them up!"

After several glasses of beer, the atmosphere grew even livelier. Before long, Zhao Bin, whose alcohol tolerance was the worst, began to look glassy-eyed and talk more. He threw an arm around Qin Yan's shoulders and slurred:

"Qin Yan... uh... you're such a... freak! Fifth layer... Stance Training... how did you practice... I'm convinced..."

After saying that, his head tilted to one side, and he collapsed onto the table, snoring loudly.

"That's just how he is. He can't hold his liquor, but he loves drinking anyway."

Zhou Nan's cheeks were also tinged with a faint blush. Under the warm yellow lights of the Night Market, she looked especially charming. Watching Zhao Bin's embarrassing state, she smiled softly at Qin Yan.

With 90 Cal of Blood Qi, Qin Yan's physical condition now far surpassed that of an ordinary person. Although he had drunk quite a bit as well, he was only slightly tipsy.

He smiled, stood, and walked over to Zhao Bin. With one hand, he easily helped him up.

Perhaps because his movement was a little too forceful, Qin Yan swayed slightly himself.

Just then, a slender yet strong arm reached over in time and gently supported his arm.