Genius

The next day.

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

"Senior Brother Sun."

When the hour of the dragon arrived and Sun Wu came to the training grounds, he immediately went up to greet him.

"Junior Brother Jiang, is there something about the breathing method you don't understand?"

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

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

This was normal.

After all, the difficulty of cultivating the White Ape Breathing Method was several levels higher than the White Ape Stance.

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

Jiang Chen got straight to the point.

"The breathing method... perfected?!"

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, the smile on Sun Wu's face froze, and he stared blankly at Jiang Chen.

He only started cultivating the White Ape Breathing Method yesterday evening, and it was already perfected this morning?

Did Jiang Chen misspeak?

Or did he hear wrong?

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

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

But he had no intention of hiding it.

His aptitude was already quite poor.

Therefore, he had to display enough talent in terms of comprehension.

Otherwise, why would the Martial Arts Hall, or even the Zhou Clan, value him?

"Junior Brother Jiang, you aren't joking, are you?"

After a long while, Sun Wu finally regained his senses and asked in disbelief.

"Of course not."

Jiang Chen did not say much more; instead, he sat cross-legged on the spot and focused his mind inward.

Soon, he reached a state of "meditative stillness," and with every breath he took, there was an indescribable rhythm to it.

"Meditative stillness?!"

Seeing Jiang Chen enter the state so easily, Sun Wu's eyes widened, and he scrutinized Jiang Chen as if looking at a monster.

Meditative stillness in a breathing method, just like the stance sensation in the Standing Post Technique, was a state that could only be achieved once the technique was perfected.

More importantly, Jiang Chen could easily enter this state in a noisy environment like the training grounds?

This was no longer a simple case of perfection; it was a complete mastery of the technique!

What kind of monster was this!

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

Sensing Sun Wu's reaction, Jiang Chen exited the meditative state, stood up, and smiled.

"Junior Brother Jiang, with this level of comprehension, I fear no one in the entire Prefecture City can compare to you."

Hearing this, Sun Wu's face blossomed with joy.

He hadn't expected this.

His impulsive decision had actually allowed him to befriend such a genius.

This investment was an absolute steal.

"Junior Brother Jiang, cultivate with peace of mind. Leave the matter of the Aperture Breaking Pill to me."

Immediately after, Sun Wu spoke up.

He naturally understood very well why Jiang Chen had come to find him.

"Senior Brother Sun, what is the price of a high-quality Aperture Breaking Pill?"

Jiang Chen asked.

He had brought two thousand taels in silver notes when he went home last time, but after buying high-quality Five Elements Pill twice, he only had a few hundred taels left.

Since the Five Elements Pill for the Second Qi and Blood Gate cost sixty taels per pill, the Aperture Breaking Pill for the Three Qi and Blood Gates would certainly be even more expensive.

He had to find out the price so he could go home and bring enough money.

It was impossible to ask for someone's help and expect them to pay out of pocket.

"Market-grade Aperture Breaking Pill prices generally range from one hundred to one hundred and twenty taels, depending on their efficacy."

"However, high-quality Aperture Breaking Pill from the Ghost Market cost two hundred taels, and whether you can actually buy one depends on your connections and luck."

Sun Wu stated the price.

"Two hundred taels!"

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

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

If he took one pill a day, that would be six thousand taels a month?

That was equivalent to his family's entire annual harvest!

As expected, relying solely on family support wouldn't work.

Cultivating through the Three Qi and Blood Gates alone would drain the family coffers, let alone reaching the True Martial Realm; he had to find a way to make money.

"Senior Brother Sun, I will go back to get the money this afternoon. I'll leave the Ghost Market to you."

Of course, Jiang Chen wouldn't forgo the pills just because they were expensive.

To him, cultivation and time were far more precious than wealth.

"Very well."

Sun Wu nodded.

Jiang Chen took his leave.

It seems Junior Brother Jiang's family is a bit strapped for cash.

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

If the entire Jiang Clan were backing him, then not to mention the Three Qi and Blood Gates, even reaching the True Martial Realm, Jiang Chen wouldn't have to worry about resources.

Unfortunately, besides Jiang Chen, the Jiang Clan also had Jiang Xuan, who possessed better aptitude.

And following the laws of talent, the Jiang Clan would certainly focus all their efforts on cultivating Jiang Xuan.

But for him, this was a good thing.

If he wanted to completely win Jiang Chen over, the favor of buying pills alone wasn't enough.

There needed to be a deeper connection between them.

For example... resource investment!

"Hoo!"

Jiang Chen returned to his corner, resumed his quiet seated position, and began breathing with a steady rhythm.

Although the speed of refining his qi and blood was very slow, every little bit helped.

Martial arts cultivation was like an ant moving house; it required accumulation bit by bit.

In the monotonous meditation, time slipped away quietly.

At the hour of the snake, in the Martial Arts Hall training grounds.

"Huh?"

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

In front of him stood a simple-looking youth with a dark complexion and rough skin.

This youth was a new disciple who had joined the Martial Arts Hall just a few days ago.

Yet at this moment, there was actually a fluctuation of qi and blood coming from him?!

He had only been practicing for a few days, and he had already stimulated his primal energy?!

This speed was simply too fast!

"Medium aptitude?"

Sun Wu immediately flipped through the roster and found the youth's information.

Tang Mu, a farm boy, medium aptitude, joined the Martial Arts Hall three days ago.

This left him both shocked and surprised.

He was shocked by Tang Mu's cultivation speed.

He was surprised by Tang Mu's martial aptitude.

Although the vast majority of Martial Arts Hall disciples had ordinary aptitude, there were quite a few with medium aptitude.

Ninety percent of the elite disciples in the inner courtyard possessed medium aptitude.

But he had never seen anyone with medium aptitude display such a shocking cultivation speed.

Not even Zhou Yuqing, who had been trained since childhood, or Meng Wentao, who had stepped into the third level of the True Martial Realm, had such an astonishing rate of breakthrough.

Unless...

"Superior bone structure?!"

A thought sprouted in Sun Wu's mind.

No way, right?

Had their Martial Arts Hall actually taken in a super genius with superior bone structure?!

That didn't seem right, either.

He had personally performed the bone-touching assessment back then, and Tang Mu was definitely of middling bone structure.

Could it be that he had made a mistake in his assessment?

"This matter must be reported to Master."

Without hesitation, Sun Wu hurried away.

Geniuses with superior bone structure had rarely appeared in the history of the Martial Arts Hall.

Every single one of them had gone on to become a powerhouse renowned throughout the region.

If this were true, their Martial Arts Hall would hit the jackpot.

Time flew by until noon.

"Hoo!"

Jiang Chen finished his cultivation. After a morning of honing, his first aperture remained as steady as a mountain, showing not the slightest sign of breaking open.

The mediocre talent of an ordinary bone structure was once again displayed in full.

"Do you think the news about Junior Brother Tang is true or false?"

"It should be true, otherwise Senior Brother Sun wouldn't have been so agitated."

"I never expected a farm boy to have such talent..."

Arriving at the cafeteria, Jiang Chen joined the queue for food and noticed the Martial Arts Hall disciples whispering among themselves.

This struck him as strange.

The atmosphere today was different from usual.

Could this so-called Junior Brother Tang actually overshadow the buzz surrounding the year-end Martial Exam?

"Luo Yang, has something happened at the Martial Arts Hall?"

Jiang Chen immediately sought out Luo Yang, who was the most well-informed.

"You don't know yet? Our Martial Arts Hall has produced a top-tier genius!"

Sure enough, Luo Yang excitedly revealed the reason for the change in the Martial Arts Hall's atmosphere.

Among the new disciples who had joined a few days ago, someone had actually condensed martial arts qi and blood in just a few short days.

"That is indeed quite fierce."

Jiang Chen felt a surge of curiosity.

The reason he could cultivate the White Ape Stance and White Ape Breathing Method to perfection in a single day was due to the assistance of the Myriad Dao Chart.

If that new disciple didn't have some special fortuitous encounter, then his talent was truly astonishing.

"It gets even fiercer; that junior brother is a farm boy, and all he's been eating these past few days are the coarse flour buns provided by the Martial Arts Hall."

Luo Yang added.

"Coarse flour buns?!"

Jiang Chen was moved.

There is a saying: literature requires poverty, but martial arts require wealth.

This "wealth" is reflected primarily in one's diet.

If the nutritional intake from food cannot keep up, even those with talent will struggle to manifest it.

Yet that new disciple had managed to condense qi and blood in just a few days while eating nothing but coarse flour buns?

That level of talent was terrifying; it was no wonder the entire Martial Arts Hall was stirred up.

"According to Senior Brother Sun, that junior brother's bone structure is of superior talent."

Luo Yang's face was full of envy.

The quality of one's bone structure basically determines how far one can go on the martial path.

For those of them with ordinary bone structure, even with family support, the Three Qi and Blood Gates would likely be their limit.

Stepping into the True Martial Realm would be difficult!

As for those with good bone structure, like that new disciple, he would likely step into the Three Qi and Blood Gates within a month.

That was no exaggeration at all.

With such terrifying talent, the Martial Arts Hall will certainly attach great importance to him.

Coupled with the resources of the Martial Arts Hall, having superior aptitude is like adding wings to a tiger; his cultivation speed will surely skyrocket.

"Superior aptitude?!"

Even Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel envious at this.

For the longest time, his aptitude had been the greatest limitation holding him back.

If he had possessed superior aptitude, he would likely have already stepped into the True Martial Realm by now.

The gap between ordinary aptitude and superior aptitude is probably even greater than the gap between a human and a dog.

Their Martial Arts Hall has truly produced a real dragon!