Nourishment

Time slipped by silently.

At high noon, the blazing sun hung directly overhead.

"Young master, lunch is ready."

A knock came at the door, and a maidservant arrived carrying a tray of food.

The meal wasn't large, but it carried a distinct medicinal fragrance.

Clearly, herbs had been added to the dishes, making them highly nourishing for the body.

"Hah!"

Jiang Chen, faint wisps of heat rising from his body, withdrew his fists and straightened his posture.

The scorching sensation within his limbs and core subsided and faded.

This meant he had failed to awaken his innate energy.

He wasn't surprised by this.

Though he had talent in martial arts, his bone structure was merely ordinary. Even with a constant stance-sense, awakening innate energy this quickly was unlikely.

"Bring two more portions."

After loosening his body a bit, Jiang Chen began eating ravenously to replenish his energy.

In martial cultivation, thirty percent relies on training, seventy percent on eating.

If energy intake couldn't keep up, not only would training yield no results, but the body would also break down.

"Yes, sir."

Seeing Jiang Chen wolfing down his food, the maidservant hurried off.

Before long, familiar footsteps approached.

"Chen'er, your blood qi is a bit weak—you can't overeat..."

As expected, it was Lin Shuyun.

But when she saw Jiang Chen's ruddy complexion, she froze in place.

That morning, he had still been pale and sickly-looking.

How had he become so vigorous and lively by noon?

"Mother, I've already recovered."

Although the earlier stance-sense hadn't fully awakened his innate energy, it had greatly nourished his body.

This was precisely why martial artists had physiques far surpassing ordinary people.

"Chen'er, have you condensed your martial blood qi?"

Lin Shuyun snapped back to reality and asked, hope brimming in her voice.

Such a dramatic change could only be related to martial blood qi.

"Not yet, but I feel it's close."

Jiang Chen smiled.

With a constant stance-sense externally and medicinal nourishment internally, it was only a matter of time before he awakened his innate energy and refined his martial blood qi.

"Xiaoju, go fetch more food for the young master, and prepare hot water."

Lin Shuyun could barely contain her joy as she quickly instructed the maidservant to make preparations.

If Jiang Chen became a martial artist—even if only at the entry-level Three Qi and Blood Gates—he would hold considerable status within the clan.

Heaven truly had opened its eyes!

Soon, a lavish meal was brought in.

Jiang Chen ate three times his usual amount before he was finally full.

Afterward, the maidservant brought hot water, and he soaked in a comfortable bath.

At the hour of Wei.

Dressed in clean training clothes, Jiang Chen didn't slack off. He went to the small courtyard outside and assumed the White Ape Stance.

Having mastered the White Ape Stance, his posture was now perfectly natural, without the slightest flaw.

Within just a few breaths.

The familiar scorching sensation returned to his limbs and core, growing more pronounced the longer he held the stance.

Under the monotonous stance training, the blazing sun gradually shifted westward.

Before he knew it, Jiang Chen had been holding the stance all afternoon.

The burning sensation inside him had become quite intense, and faint strands of pure energy even began to seep out, nourishing and strengthening his physique.

During this time, Lin Shuyun would occasionally appear outside the small courtyard.

When she saw Jiang Chen steadily practicing his standing posture, her eyes held even more relief.

It seemed that after this life-and-death incident, Jiang Chen had finally matured.

"Husband, you're back!"

In the evening, a weary-looking Jiang Sihai returned.

"What happened? Why so happy?"

Looking at Lin Shuyun, who was walking quickly toward him with a joyful expression, Jiang Sihai asked curiously.

"Husband, Chen'er today..."

Lin Shuyun happily recounted Jiang Chen's change.

"You're saying Chen'er spent the whole afternoon standing in posture? Without a break in between?"

Jiang Sihai caught the key point.

Although he wasn't a martial artist, he wasn't completely clueless about martial arts training.

For someone to stand in posture for several hours straight, there was only one possibility:

That the Standing Post Technique had reached perfection, allowing entry into the posture-awareness state!

Only by comprehending posture-awareness could one stand without burdening the body.

Otherwise, no matter how strong one's willpower, the body wouldn't be able to endure it.

But was that possible?

As far as he knew, Jiang Chen had barely put any effort into training over the past six months.

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Lin Shuyun nodded repeatedly.

"Come on, let's go take a look."

With that, Jiang Sihai quickly headed to the small courtyard.

Though he had long been disappointed in Jiang Chen, a sliver of hope still stirred in his heart—what if Jiang Chen had truly turned back from the wrong path?

Soon, the two arrived outside the small courtyard.

"This..."

When he saw Jiang Chen standing quietly in posture, not a single bead of sweat on his face, Jiang Sihai's eyes lit up, and even his breathing quickened.

No mistake!

With that calm and effortless demeanor, Jiang Chen had definitely grasped posture-awareness.

That little rascal—he thought he'd never become a martial artist in this lifetime.

Who would've thought there'd be a sudden turnaround.

"Ever since Chen'er woke up, he's been practicing his standing posture. He hasn't even mentioned going to the Martial Arts Hall to find that girl from the Wang Clan. I feel like Chen'er has truly come to his senses."

Looking at Jiang Chen, who stood motionless in his posture, Lin Shuyun was all smiles.

In the past, if Jiang Chen didn't go to the Martial Arts Hall to fawn over her for a single day, he'd feel restless.

But today, he hadn't even brought up the Martial Arts Hall, focusing solely on his standing posture training.

"Starting tomorrow, brew a bowl of Tiger Bone Soup for Chen'er every morning."

Hearing this, Jiang Sihai's hope grew even stronger.

Tiger Bone Soup was made with tonic herbs, greatly beneficial to a martial artist's body.

Now that Jiang Chen had grasped posture-awareness, with the help of Tiger Bone Soup, the speed at which he could stimulate his innate energy would increase considerably.

Once Jiang Chen became a martial artist, their family's standing in the clan would carry much more weight.

"Husband, you've changed your mind?"

Seeing that Jiang Sihai intended to let Jiang Chen continue training in martial arts, Lin Shuyun grew even more delighted.

"My mind doesn't matter. What matters is whether Chen'er himself can keep it up."

In matters of martial arts training, no one else can take the place of the practitioner. At most, they can only provide resources.

Whether one can condense Blood Qi, step onto the martial path, and how far they can go on that path—it all depends purely on personal will.

In a word.

If Jiang Chen had no heart for martial arts, then he could come back and take over the family business. But if he wanted to train, then he would naturally do his utmost to support him.

"And the clan's money?"

If they fully supported Jiang Chen's martial arts training, there would be no money left to hand over to the clan.

Jiang Chen hadn't even condensed Blood Qi yet, and he already cost fifty taels of silver every month.

Once one steps into the Three Qi and Blood Gates, the consumption of resources will multiply several times over.

If one can step into the True Martial Realm, the resources needed become even greater.

"Until the situation becomes clear, we still have to pay the clan every month."

Jiang Sihai shook his head slightly.

It was good that Jiang Chen had turned over a new leaf, but unfortunately, it was too late.

The future fate of their Jiang Clan still depended on Jiang Xuan.

Only if Jiang Xuan passed the Martial Exam this year could they continue to stay in the Prefecture City.

So, the five hundred taels a month—this expense couldn't be spared.

Unless Jiang Chen could work hard and catch up to Jiang Xuan...

But that was nearly impossible!

Not to mention that Jiang Chen had wasted half a year, just the gap in their innate talent alone was hard to bridge.

"Let's go."

After watching for a long time, the two quietly left.

"Young master, dinner is ready."

When the sky began to darken, a maidservant came to call him, and Jiang Chen withdrew his fists and straightened his posture.

The evening meal was far more lavish than lunch—not only was the medicinal fragrance stronger, but there was also a clear balance of meat and vegetables, rich in nutrition.

At the dinner table, Jiang Sihai only asked about Jiang Chen's physical condition.

He didn't ask much about Jiang Chen's insight into stance sense or his day of martial training.

Young people were often rebellious—push them and they wouldn't move, scold them and they'd backslide. It was better to let go and let Jiang Chen figure things out on his own.

Whether it was just a three-minute passion or a true awakening, time would tell.

"Continue!"

After dinner, Jiang Chen didn't slack off. He resumed his stance training again.

If he hadn't grasped stance sense, he would have balanced work and rest, but now that he had, there were fewer concerns.

What he needed to do now was patiently refine himself and draw out his innate energy.

It wasn't until midnight, when clouds veiled the moon, that he finally stopped his stance training.

Though the burning sensation in his limbs and bones persisted, his innate energy still hadn't been drawn out.

"Time to sleep."

After awakening his past-life wisdom, Jiang Chen had become very patient and wasn't anxious at all.

He could feel that the heat inside him was growing stronger by the day—it was only a matter of time before it fully erupted.