Genius

The next day.

Jiang Chen woke early as usual, found a quiet corner, and sat cross-legged to cultivate.

"Senior Brother Sun."

When Chen Hour arrived and Sun Wu came to the Practice Field, Jiang Chen immediately went up to him.

"Junior Brother Jiang, is there something you do not understand about the breathing method?"

Seeing Jiang Chen approach, Sun Wu asked with a smile.

It seemed that even with Jiang Chen's comprehension, he could not easily grasp the White Ape Breathing Method.

That was normal.

After all, the White Ape Breathing Method was several levels more difficult to cultivate than the White Ape Stance.

"Senior Brother Sun, I have already cultivated the breathing method to completion."

Jiang Chen got straight to the point.

"The breathing method... is complete?!"

The smile on Sun Wu's face froze when he heard Jiang Chen's words. He stared blankly at Jiang Chen.

He had only started cultivating the White Ape Breathing Method last evening, yet it was complete by this morning?

Had Jiang Chen misspoken?

Or had Sun Wu misheard?

Jiang Chen was not surprised by Sun Wu's reaction.

His speed of comprehending the breathing method truly was terrifyingly fast.

But he had no intention of hiding it.

His bone aptitude was already poor enough.

Therefore, he had to display sufficient talent in comprehension.

Otherwise, why would the martial hall, or even the Zhou Clan, value him?

"Junior Brother Jiang, you are not joking, are you?"

Only after quite a while did Sun Wu come back to his senses and ask in disbelief.

"Of course not."

Jiang Chen said no more. He sat down cross-legged on the spot and turned his mind inward.

Very quickly, he entered a state of meditation. With every breath in and out, he carried an indescribable Dao rhythm.

"Meditation?!"

Seeing Jiang Chen enter meditation so effortlessly, Sun Wu's eyes flew wide open as he examined him as though looking at a monster.

Meditation in a breathing method was like Stance Sense in a Standing Post Technique. Both were states one could only enter after mastering the technique to completion.

More importantly, Jiang Chen could enter meditation with ease even in a noisy place like the Practice Field?

This was no simple completion. He had thoroughly integrated and mastered it!

What kind of monster was this?

"Senior Brother Sun, do you believe me now?"

Sensing Sun Wu's reaction, Jiang Chen withdrew from meditation, rose to his feet, and smiled.

"Junior Brother Jiang, I fear no one in the entire Prefecture City can compare to your comprehension."

Sun Wu beamed at those words.

Who would have thought?

On a whim, he had actually befriended such a genius.

This investment had paid off beyond measure.

"Junior Brother Jiang, cultivate in peace. Leave the Aperture Breaking Pill to me."

Sun Wu then said.

Naturally, he knew full well why Jiang Chen had come to find him.

"Senior Brother Sun, how much does a high-quality Aperture Breaking Pill cost?"

Jiang Chen asked instead.

The last time he went home, he had brought two thousand taels in banknotes. After buying high-quality Five Elements Pills twice, he only had a few hundred taels left.

And since the Five Elements Pills for the Second Qi and Blood Gate already cost sixty taels each,

the Aperture Breaking Pills for the Three Qi and Blood Gates would certainly be even more expensive.

He had to ask about the price first, then go home and bring enough money.

He could not possibly ask someone for help and still make them pay in advance.

"On the market, Aperture Breaking Pills generally cost between one hundred and one hundred twenty taels, depending on their medicinal effects."

"But high-quality Aperture Breaking Pills at the Ghost Market cost two hundred taels. Even then, whether you can buy one depends on connections and luck."

Sun Wu named the price.

"Two hundred taels!"

To be honest, the price was somewhat beyond Jiang Chen's expectations.

It was more than three times as expensive as a high-quality Five Elements Pill.

At one pill a day, that would be six thousand taels a month?

That was equivalent to his family's annual income!

Sure enough, relying solely on his family's support would not do.

The cultivation of the Three Qi and Blood Gates alone would drain the family fortune dry, much less the True Martial Realm. He had to find a way to make money.

"Senior Brother Sun, I will go back this afternoon to get the money. Sorry for the trouble with the Ghost Market."

Naturally, Jiang Chen would not forgo pills just because they were expensive.

To him, cultivation and time were more precious than money.

"Alright."

Sun Wu nodded.

Jiang Chen took his leave.

"It seems Junior Brother Jiang's family is rather stretched thin."

Watching Jiang Chen's departing figure, Sun Wu muttered to himself.

If the entire Jiang Clan were backing him, Jiang Chen would not have to worry about resources, not even after reaching the Three Qi and Blood Gates or the True Martial Realm.

Unfortunately, besides Jiang Chen, the Jiang Clan also had Jiang Xuan, whose bone aptitude was even better.

And following the usual pattern of talent, the Jiang Clan would certainly devote all its efforts to nurturing Jiang Xuan.

But to Sun Wu, that was a good thing.

If he wanted to win Jiang Chen over completely, the favor of buying pills was not enough.

There had to be deeper ties between them.

For example... investing resources!

"Phew!"

Jiang Chen returned to the corner and continued sitting quietly, breathing in a steady rhythm.

Although the tempering of Blood Qi was extremely slow, even a mosquito was meat.

Martial cultivation was like ants moving house; it had to be accumulated bit by bit.

Time silently slipped away amid the tedious meditation.

Si Hour, Practice Field.

"Hm?"

Sun Wu, who was teaching the new disciples one by one, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Before him stood a plain-looking youth with a dark face and rough skin.

This youth was one of the new disciples who had joined the martial hall a few days ago.

Yet at this moment, there were actually fluctuations of Blood Qi coming from him?!

He had only cultivated for a few days, yet he had already awakened Primordial Energy?!

Was this not far too fast?

"Medium Bone Aptitude?"

Sun Wu immediately pulled out the roster and found the youth's information.

Tang Mu, the son of a farming family, Medium Bone Aptitude, joined the martial hall three days ago.

This left him both shocked and puzzled.

What shocked him was Tang Mu's cultivation speed.

What puzzled him was Tang Mu's martial bone aptitude.

Although the vast majority of martial hall disciples had Ordinary Bone Aptitude,

there were also quite a few with the foundation of Medium Bone Aptitude.

Ninety percent of the elite disciples in the Inner Courtyard had Medium Bone Aptitude.

Yet he had never seen anyone with Medium Bone Aptitude possess such earth-shattering cultivation speed.

Not even Zhou Yuqing, who had been nurtured since childhood, or Meng Wentao, who had entered the True Martial Third Layer, had broken through at such an astonishing pace.

Unless...

"Superior Bone Aptitude?!"

A thought surfaced in Sun Wu's mind.

No way?

Had their martial hall actually accepted a peerless genius with Superior Bone Aptitude?!

But that was not right either.

He had personally tested Tang Mu's bones before. Tang Mu truly had Medium Bone Aptitude.

Could he have made a mistake in his examination?

"This must be reported to Master."

Without hesitation, Sun Wu strode away.

Geniuses with Superior Bone Aptitude had only appeared a handful of times in the martial hall's history.

And every one of them had later become a powerhouse renowned throughout their region.

If this was true, then their martial hall had struck gold.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon.

"Phew!"

Jiang Chen ended his cultivation. After a whole morning of tempering, the First Aperture remained as steady as Mount Tai, without the slightest sign of opening.

The mediocre talent of Ordinary Bone Aptitude had once again been displayed to the fullest.

"Tell me, is the news about Junior Brother Tang true or not?"

"It should be true. Otherwise, Senior Brother Sun would not have been so excited."

"Who would have thought that a farming boy would possess such talent..."

When Jiang Chen arrived at the dining hall and lined up for food, he found the martial hall disciples discussing the matter animatedly.

That made him somewhat curious.

Today's atmosphere was different from usual.

Could this Junior Brother Tang actually overshadow the Martial Exam at the end of the year?

"Luo Yang, did something happen at the martial hall?"

Jiang Chen immediately sought out Luo Yang, who was always best informed.

"You still do not know? Our martial hall has produced a supreme genius!"

Sure enough, Luo Yang excitedly revealed the reason behind the martial hall's changed atmosphere.

Among the new disciples who had joined a few days ago, someone had actually condensed martial Blood Qi in only a few short days.

"That is indeed rather fierce."

Jiang Chen also grew curious.

He had cultivated both the White Ape Stance and the White Ape Breathing Method to completion within a day because he had the Myriad Dao Chart to help him.

If that new disciple had not encountered some special opportunity, then his talent was truly astounding.

"There is something even fiercer. That junior brother is a farming boy, and these past few days, all he has eaten are the coarse flour buns supplied by the martial hall."

Luo Yang continued.

"Coarse flour buns?!"

Jiang Chen was moved.

As the saying went, the poor pursued scholarship while the rich pursued martial arts.

Most of that "rich" was reflected in food.

If nutrition could not keep up, then even talent would be difficult to bring into play.

Yet that new disciple had condensed Blood Qi within days while eating coarse flour buns every day?

That talent was terrifying indeed. No wonder the entire martial hall had been stirred.

"According to Senior Brother Sun, that junior brother has Superior Bone Aptitude."

Luo Yang's face was full of envy.

The quality of one's bone aptitude basically determined how far one could travel along the martial path.

For people like them with Ordinary Bone Aptitude, even with support from their families, the Three Qi and Blood Gates would likely be their limit.

Entering the True Martial Realm was difficult!

But those with good bone aptitude, like that new disciple, could likely enter the Three Qi and Blood Gates within a month.

That was not an exaggeration at all.

With such terrifying talent, the martial arts school would definitely value him highly.

Superior Bone Aptitude, plus the martial arts school's resources—this was like adding wings to a tiger. His cultivation speed was bound to soar.

"Superior Bone Aptitude?!"

This time, even Jiang Chen could not help but feel envious.

All along, the greatest thing holding him back had been his bone aptitude.

If he had Superior Bone Aptitude, he would probably have entered the True Martial Realm by now.

The gap between Ordinary Bone Aptitude and Superior Bone Aptitude was likely even greater than the gap between man and dog.

Their martial arts school had produced a true dragon!