Yang Xixi

As Chen Lie sat leisurely in his chair, looking around, someone walked into the shop.

Chen Lie rose and saw that the newcomer was a girl of seventeen or eighteen.

Assuming she had come to buy martial arts techniques, he said, "Are you looking for psionic crystal cards? There are plenty of techniques at the counter. Take your time choosing."

The girl ignored Chen Lie. She looked around and, finding no one else in the shop, asked, "Who are you? Where's my dad?"

Only then did Chen Lie realize who she was. "Is your dad Yang Shen?"

The girl said nothing. She just stared straight at Chen Lie with wide eyes.

Just then, Yang Shen walked into the shop carrying a bag. When he saw the girl, he said, "Xixi, you're back?"

"Dad!"

The girl immediately ran behind Yang Shen and pointed at Chen Lie. "Dad, who is he? Why was he alone in our shop just now, acting so suspicious?"

"Mind your manners!"

Yang Shen scolded his daughter, then set his bag on the counter and explained to Chen Lie, "Brother Chen, this is my daughter, Yang Xixi. She can be a bit impulsive. Please don't take offense."

Chen Lie waved a hand, showing that he didn't mind.

"Xixi, this is Chen Lie, a Divine Sense Master. You should call him senior from now on," Yang Shen said.

"A Divine Sense Master?"

Yang Xixi looked at Chen Lie in surprise.

She had never met a Divine Sense Master in her life. Sometimes she couldn't help wondering whether there were any in East River Province at all.

Now that she had met one in the flesh, she was naturally astonished.

"Hello, senior. I'm Yang Xixi, a final-year student in Elite Class 1 at Dongchuan Province Key High School. Are you... are you really a Divine Sense Master?"

Chen Lie nodded. "We go to the same school. You don't have to call me senior. Just call me a fellow student."

"The same school?"

Yang Xixi was stunned. Their school had a Divine Sense Master? How had she not known?

Besides, her Elite Class 1 instructor had said that no martial arts high school in their school—or anywhere in Dongchuan Province—could possibly have a Divine Sense Master.

Every Divine Sense Master was exceptionally gifted, among the very best martial artists. Yet she had never seen Chen Lie's name on the Elite Student Top 100 Ranking.

Though she found it strange, Yang Xixi said, "I can't do that. My dad calls you Brother Chen. If I call you a fellow student, the seniority gets all mixed up. I'll stick with senior."

"Suit yourself," Chen Lie said.

Yang Xixi immediately asked, "Senior, are Divine Sense Masters born with their abilities?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are Divine Sense Masters so rare?"

At that, Yang Shen hurriedly cut her off. "Xixi, stop asking questions!"

The secrets of Divine Sense Masters were hardly something ordinary people like them had access to. He quickly stopped his daughter before she said anything more.

Yang Xixi stuck out her tongue and fell silent.

"Brother Chen, this girl speaks without thinking. Please don't hold it against her."

Chen Lie nodded. "It's fine."

Before long, Yang Shen had finished packaging all fifteen sets of crystal cards and placed them in the counter.

He took one set from among them and handed it to Yang Xixi.

"Xixi, haven't you been practicing Army-Breaking Fist? Here's a set of Army-Breaking Fist crystal cards. Take it."

"Dad? You got Army-Breaking Fist crystal cards? I thought they were always out of stock."

Yang Xixi accepted the cards in surprise.

"It's all thanks to Brother Chen. He inscribed Army-Breaking Fist onto the blank crystal cards."

Then Yang Shen said, "All right, let's close the shop for a while.

"We'll go eat at the Martial Dao Restaurant."

With Yang Shen leading the way, Chen Lie entered a plainly decorated restaurant.

As soon as they stepped inside, someone greeted Yang Shen.

"Old Wang, bringing your daughter for another Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meal?

"But even with all the spirit herbs you left here last time, there's only enough for two more Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meals."

Yang Shen nodded with a smile. "Make both of them today, and add a few nourishing dishes."

"Two Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meals? Something good happen?"

Yang Shen waved the suggestion away. "Nothing like that."

"Your daughter's blood qi improved again, didn't it?

"That girl of yours really saves you a lot of worry. She got into an Elite Class before her second year, and now her Blood Qi Value has already passed a hundred. Mine's still stuck in a final-year Ordinary Class."

"All right, I'll stop talking. Have a seat. The Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meals will be ready soon!"

With that, the restaurant worker headed into the kitchen.

"Brother Chen, come, sit!"

Yang Shen found a table and immediately invited Chen Lie to sit down.

Once they were seated, Yang Shen poured Chen Lie a glass of water.

"Brother Chen, you said you go to the same school as Xixi. Are you also a student at Dongchuan Province Key High School?"

"That's right," Chen Lie said.

"As a Divine Sense Master, you must be far ahead of Xixi in martial arts. Could you give her some guidance?" Yang Shen asked.

"What's troubling her?" Chen Lie asked.

Yang Shen tapped the table in front of Yang Xixi, prompting her to speak.

Yang Xixi quickly said, "After my Blood Qi Value passed a hundred a while ago, it felt like there was no bottleneck anymore. As long as I take supplements, my blood qi rises quickly.

"But the higher my Blood Qi Value gets, the lower my Strength Value becomes by comparison.

"I asked my instructor about it. He said it was normal and that he went through the same thing. As long as I kept my Strength Value from falling too far behind, I'd be fine. But I'm still worried."

"Your situation is normal," Chen Lie said. "Your blood qi has reached a certain level, and your body's functions have improved greatly. That's why it's rising faster and faster.

"But an inflated Blood Qi Value isn't necessarily a good thing. If your strength can't maintain a certain ratio with your blood qi, you'd be better off not raising your Blood Qi Value at all. Otherwise, you won't get far in the Blood-Qi Stage."

"What? Then what should I do? Half a month ago, my Blood Qi Value was 147.55 Ka. My Strength Value had already fallen below three times my blood qi back when I was at 120 Ka."

Yang Xixi looked worried.

"I suggest you stop focusing on raising your blood qi for now. Slow down, practice martial arts techniques, and refine your blood qi.

"Find a body-tempering method that suits you and spend twelve hours a day refining your blood qi for half a month straight.

"Or bring a martial arts technique to a high level of mastery. That will refine your blood qi further, and then you can start raising your Blood Qi Value again.

"Once your blood qi reaches a certain level, keeping it refined matters far more than the number alone."

"So that's how it works. Why didn't my instructor tell me?" Yang Xixi asked.

"Because your instructor stumbled through this stage himself. He might not understand it either," Chen Lie said.

"So I just keep refining my blood qi?" Yang Xixi asked.

"That's up to you. The Blood-Qi Stage is when you build your martial foundation. If you want a stronger foundation than others, you'll have to put more work into this stage."

"Oh." Yang Xixi nodded.

Before long, two Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meals were brought to the table.

Yang Shen gave one Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meal each to Chen Lie and Yang Xixi.

But Yang Xixi pushed hers away. "Didn't senior say I shouldn't keep raising my blood qi like this? I won't have any."

"How can you turn it down? Each one costs over a hundred thousand Star Dollars!" Yang Shen said.

Chen Lie spoke up. "It's already made. It would be a waste not to eat it.

"Refining blood qi isn't something you rush. It's something you work on throughout the entire Blood-Qi Stage."

"Then... all right."

Yang Xixi nodded, pulled the Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meal back in front of her, and began to eat.

Chen Lie looked at the nourishing meal before him and began eating too.

At the first bite, he felt a gentle but unending stream of nourishment spread through his stomach. He picked up the pace.

He soon finished the entire Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meal.

After they finished eating, Yang Shen warmly invited Chen Lie, "Brother Chen, why not come sit at my shop for a while?"

Chen Lie shook his head. "I'll pass. You should get back to minding the shop."

"All right, then. I'll have Xixi see you off." Yang Shen turned to her. "Xixi, see Brother Chen out for me."

"Okay!"

Yang Xixi quickly nodded. She popped another bite into her mouth, then stood up to wait for Chen Lie.

Chen Lie rose as well, and Yang Xixi accompanied him out of the restaurant.

Outside, Yang Xixi walked beside him and couldn't help asking, "Senior, you're a Divine Sense Master. Your Blood Qi Value must be really high, right?

"My instructor said that even an unranked Divine Sense Master has value and potential comparable to a member of the Dongchuan Province Youth Talent Group.

"And Divine Sense Masters learn martial arts techniques more than ten times faster than ordinary people."

"My Blood Qi Value is lower than yours," Chen Lie said.

"No way!"

Yang Xixi plainly didn't believe him.

"Awakening Divine Sense gives Divine Sense Masters insight and comprehension far beyond ordinary people, so it's true that they learn techniques more than ten times faster.

"As for the Dongchuan Province Youth Talent Group, I believe the entry requirement is a Blood Qi Value of 1,000 Ka. If you want to go far in martial arts, you can't make that your ultimate goal.

"You should keep refining your blood qi until it's exceptionally pure, then raise your Blood Qi Value. Keep going until your blood qi becomes vast and surges like a thick slurry."

"Blood-Qi Like Slurry? Isn't blood qi a mist? How could it surge like slurry?" Yang Xixi asked.

"Blood qi may start as a mist, but it can become a liquid. Keep it refined while increasing its volume, and quantity will eventually bring about a change in quality. That's how you reach the point where it surges like slurry."

As they talked, Chen Lie and Yang Xixi left the Martial Artist Market and reached a bus stop beside it.