You Took Some Medicine?

The qi and blood automatically circulated through one full cycle inside his body.

Gu Yuan clearly felt the qi and blood flowing along his meridians and pouring straight into his Dao Foundation.

Right after that, a miniature vortex of qi and blood slowly took shape in his dantian and began to spin.

Gu Yuan froze.

That was it?

He'd broken through just like that?

Other people faced a breakthrough to Martial Artist as if their lives were on the line. Ten days or half a month in seclusion was standard, and they had to prepare all kinds of pills to protect their meridians, in case they couldn't withstand the surge of qi and blood and burst apart.

Gu Yuan had been sitting on a hard bench in the Destiny Bureau hallway, watching someone eat chocolate while drawing talismans. He hadn't even warmed up before breaking through.

If the other candidates taking the martial arts exam heard about it, they might smash their heads against a pillar in a fit of frustration.

Gu Yuan felt the qi and blood surging through his body and slowly raised his right hand.

A faint red, tangible layer of qi and blood spilled from his palm and gathered between his five fingers.

Qi and blood released outward.

The hallmark of breaking through to Tier 1 Martial Artist.

Shen Tingxue saw this and stopped with her hand suspended in midair.

She'd been about to slap him again and teach her cousin a lesson for constantly spouting nonsense.

But now, her gaze was fixed on the faint red glow of qi and blood around Gu Yuan's right hand.

She stood frozen in place, unable to move.

Her face wore an expression like she'd seen a ghost.

Gu Yuan looked up and waved his hand in front of Shen Tingxue.

"Um, Sis..."

He paused.

"I think I just became a Martial Artist before even taking the college entrance exams?"

The hallway fell silent for about three seconds.

"Whap!"

Shen Tingxue slapped Gu Yuan on the back of the head again, scrutinizing him.

"Did you take some kind of drug?!"

Gu Yuan clutched the back of his head and sprang up from the chair. "I just broke through, and this is how you treat the future of our country?"

"The future of our country, my ass!" Shen Tingxue grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close.

Shen Tingxue stared hard at his face.

"Did you take some kind of banned drug? Blood-Evil Pill? Heart-Burning Pill? Or that Breakthrough Powder from the black market that burns through your potential?"

Did this woman have some kind of persecution complex? Couldn't I just be a once-in-a-million genius?

"Do I look like the kind of person who'd do that?" Gu Yuan declared righteously, standing up straight.

Shen Tingxue glanced at Gu Yuan and said with absolute certainty, "You do."

"Cousin! What kind of person do you think I am?" Gu Yuan rolled his eyes.

"I was just sitting here watching Sis Miaomiao draw talismans, and then I suddenly felt my qi and blood getting restless. Next thing I knew, I'd broken through."

Shen Tingxue eyed him suspiciously for several seconds.

The Destiny Bureau had no shortage of geniuses. She'd dealt with all kinds of people with unusual physiques and freaks whose bloodlines had awakened.

But an eighteen-year-old high school student, sitting in a hallway chair with his legs crossed, snacking while watching a girl draw talismans—and then casually breaking through?

Wasn't that what a genius looked like? Could a genius really be this ridiculous?

"Come with me."

She released Gu Yuan's collar and turned toward the training room.

Gu Yuan rubbed his neck and obediently followed.

As they passed Sun Miaomiao's desk, she looked up from a pile of yellow talisman paper.

With half a piece of chocolate in her mouth, she asked indistinctly, "Captain, where are you going? Do you need my help?"

"No. Keep drawing talismans and finish tomorrow's quota." Shen Tingxue didn't look back.

Gu Yuan waved at Sun Miaomiao, then Shen Tingxue dragged him into the training room at the end of the hallway.

The metal door slammed shut with a bang.

The training room wasn't big, but it was fully equipped.

A state-of-the-art strength tester stood by the wall.

Shen Tingxue folded her arms and leaned against the wall by the door.

"Throw a punch."

"Huh?"

"Hit the strength tester with all you've got." Shen Tingxue nodded toward the machine.

Gu Yuan walked over and rolled his wrist.

He looked down at his right fist as qi and blood slowly seeped out of his body and wrapped around it.

The newly formed vortex in his Dao Foundation was turning slowly.

With every rotation, it sent a warm surge of qi and blood through his limbs.

The fullness of his qi and blood was far stronger than it had been in the Blood Tempering Realm.

He lowered his stance, exhaled, clenched his right fist, and threw a straight punch.

He held nothing back.

He drew on every bit of qi and blood in the vortex within his Dao Foundation and slammed his fist forward.

"Bang!"

The numbers on the strength tester's display jumped wildly, climbing higher and higher in red.

800 kg.

1,200 kg.

1,800 kg.

At last, the number stopped at 2,347 kg.

Shen Tingxue's gaze left the display and settled on Gu Yuan's face.

The hallmark of a Tier 1 Martial Artist was the ability to release qi and blood outward, but to hit with more than two tons of force right after breaking through?

That was already beyond the strength of many veterans who'd been advancing for a year.

His qi and blood were so dense they were almost tangible. This was definitely not some shaky realm forced on him by banned drugs.

Martial Artists who relied on banned drugs had scattered qi and blood. They couldn't possibly produce such a concentrated burst of power.

Had this kid really broken through on his own?

"How was that, Sis?" Gu Yuan withdrew his fist and shook out his wrist.

Gu Yuan looked at the number in the two-thousands and was secretly stunned too. More than two tons—if that hit someone, wouldn't it turn them into a QR code?

Shen Tingxue was silent for a few seconds before walking over.

For once, she spoke seriously. "Your talent is practically unheard of in the whole country!"

Coming from a captain of the Destiny Bureau, that was high praise indeed.

Shen Tingxue studied his eyes for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Fine. Don't go making a big deal out of this yet."

"Until we catch that Warlock, you absolutely must not reveal your strength. I'll let the Destiny Bureau know, and this won't get out."

His cousin could be a bit violent, but when it mattered, she still had a clear head.

"By the way, Sis..." A thought suddenly occurred to him. He rubbed his hands together.

"Now that I've broken through to Martial Artist, shouldn't I get... some kind of reward?"

Shen Tingxue raised an eyebrow. "What kind of reward do you want?"

"Look, I'm a Martial Artist now. Shouldn't I get a decent weapon?" Gu Yuan pointed at the weapon rack in the corner.

"I heard the Destiny Bureau has its own armory. Couldn't you let me pick out a weapon, like an alloy blade or a meteorite sword? I need something to defend myself with. You can't expect me to fight those ferocious beasts barehanded."

"Get lost."

Shen Tingxue's reply was short and forceful.

"Don't be so stingy. We're family."

"If you want a weapon, fine. You've broken through now, so after this is over, we'll see how you do outside the city."

Shen Tingxue gave a cold laugh.

"If you do well, you can pick anything you want from the armory. If you don't, you'll be sweeping the streets with a mop."

"Fine. Just wait and see what I can do. I'm no pushover." Gu Yuan curled his lip.

Just then, someone knocked on the training room door.