Blood Qi

The next day.

Just as the sky was barely light, Jiang Chen turned over and got out of bed.

After a quick wash, he began standing in a stance in the small courtyard.

This was a martial arts habit he'd developed in his past life.

Thoughts of laziness, procrastination, or rest had long been ground out of him.

Lin Shuyun, upon hearing the news, grew even more pleased and immediately ordered the kitchen to brew Tiger Bone Soup.

When the Chen Hour arrived.

His stomach growling loudly, Jiang Chen finally ended his stance practice and went to eat.

"Chen'er, this is Tiger Bone Soup. Your father had it specially made for you."

During the meal, Lin Shuyun had someone bring over a bowl of light red hot soup.

The rich medicinal aroma hit his nose—clearly, the ingredients used were no small expense.

"Thank you, Father."

Jiang Chen had naturally heard of Tiger Bone Soup.

In the Martial Arts Hall, disciples who had grasped the Stance Sense all used this kind of medicinal soup to aid their cultivation, speeding up the activation of their innate energy.

"Condensing Qi and Blood isn't a simple matter. Don't rush—take your time refining it."

Jiang Sihai nodded slightly, putting on the air of a stern father.

"I understand."

Jiang Chen drank the Tiger Bone Soup.

Within just a few breaths, his five viscera and six bowels, along with his limbs and bones, all seemed to boil over.

The potency was truly fierce.

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen ran back to the small courtyard and entered a meditative stance.

With the aid of the Tiger Bone Soup's medicinal power, the burning sensation in his limbs and bones was several times stronger than yesterday's stance practice.

Vaguely, there was even a distinct surge of heat, as if it might break through the barrier at any moment.

But unfortunately, that barrier never gave way.

"So this is the gap in bone structure?"

Jiang Chen thought of Jiang Xuan.

If he remembered correctly, Jiang Xuan, who had joined the Martial Arts Hall at the same time, had smoothly activated his innate energy on the very day he perfected the White Ape Stance and grasped Stance Sense.

He hadn't fully understood the difference between ordinary and medium bone structure before.

But now, he did.

Even if he hadn't wasted the past six months on cultivation, he could only look up at Jiang Xuan's back.

In martial bone structure, a single step of difference meant a world of separation.

Fortunately, with the Myriad Dao Chart aiding him now, his comprehension was astonishing.

As long as his cultivation resources kept up, he could steadily grow stronger step by step—no need to compare himself to others.

Over the next few days, Jiang Chen entered a grueling training mode.

Aside from eating and sleeping, he spent all his time standing in stance and cultivating.

Seeing Jiang Chen's transformation, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun grew more and more pleased.

It seemed Jiang Chen had truly turned over a new leaf, not just acting on a whim.

Five days passed in a flash.

The Si Hour.

"Hm?"

Jiang Chen, who was meticulously holding his stance, suddenly stirred.

"Activated innate energy?!"

Looking inward with his mind, sure enough, pure energy continuously surged from his limbs and bones, coalescing into strands of heat.

That pure energy was the innate energy hidden within his body.

And those strands of heat were the martial Qi and Blood condensed from that innate energy.

Though the Qi and Blood were still quite faint, as they flowed through his body, he could feel the vibrant life force they contained.

Code
[Myriad Dao Chart]
[Dao Master: Jiang Chen]
[Cultivation: First Qi and Blood Gate · Early Stage 1%]

[Technique: White Ape Stance · Perfection]

On the Myriad Dao Chart, a cultivation level column appeared.

"Martial artist!"

Feeling the martial blood and qi flowing through his body, Jiang Chen was in high spirits.

The successful condensation of martial blood and qi meant he had officially stepped onto the path of martial arts.

"Let's test the power."

Jiang Chen walked up to the ancient tree in the courtyard.

He threw a punch.

Martial blood and qi erupted with it, and a dull thud rang out.

"A hundred jin of force!"

Jiang Chen's eyes lit up.

A hundred jin of force wasn't all that strong.

But one had to know, he had only just begun to condense blood and qi.

As his martial blood and qi grew, so too would his strength.

More importantly, martial blood and qi didn't just amplify force—it also made him faster, more agile in reaction, and tougher in defense.

It could be said to be a comprehensive enhancement and transformation.

"Keep going!"

After carefully sensing and pondering for a long while, Jiang Chen calmed his thoughts and resumed cultivation with a focused mind.

The achievements so far weren't enough to satisfy him.

What he wanted was what the ancient texts recorded—soaring through the skies, living for centuries, like a land-bound immortal!

In the monotony of stance training, more and more primal energy was absorbed by his martial blood and qi.

At noon.

"Hah!"

Jiang Chen exhaled a breath of hot air.

The faint martial blood and qi within his body had grown slightly stronger than before.

[Cultivation: First Qi and Blood Gate · Early Stage 2%]

On the Myriad Dao Chart, the progress of martial blood and qi had become 2%.

A 1% increase per hour.

That pace wasn't slow, but it wasn't fast either—just an ordinary level.

"If I want to speed up my cultivation progress, I'll have to rely on resources."

Jiang Chen made up his mind.

"Dad, Mom, I've condensed blood and qi."

At lunch, Jiang Chen shared the news with his parents.

"Condensed blood and qi?!"

"Really?!"

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun were overjoyed.

Though they knew that with Jiang Chen's hard training these past days, condensing blood and qi was only a matter of time.

Hearing it from his own mouth still filled them with immense excitement.

Becoming a martial artist meant a huge leap in status and strength from then on.

"By the way, Dad..."

Once the two had calmed down a bit, Jiang Chen brought up the matter of cultivation resources.

Among training resources, Tiger Bone Soup was only a basic secret medicine with very limited effects.

Now that he had condensed blood and qi, he naturally needed to take a better Blood-Qi Soup.

"Don't worry, I've already prepared the Blood-Qi Soup."

Jiang Sihai said with a smile.

Blood-Qi Soup, as the name implied, was a secret medicine that greatly nourished martial blood and qi.

Of course, it didn't directly strengthen martial blood and qi, but rather nourished primal energy, allowing it to be stimulated more quickly.

This was nothing like Tiger Bone Soup could compare to.

One dose cost one tael of silver.

One dose per day means thirty silver taels a month.

From this, you can see how much wealth martial arts training consumes.

Right away, Jiang Sihai ordered the steward to have the kitchen prepare Blood-Qi Soup.

Before long.

A steaming bowl of medicinal soup was brought over, its herbal fragrance far richer than Tiger Bone Soup.

Gulp gulp.

After Jiang Chen downed it in big mouthfuls, the hidden source energy inside his body stirred restlessly, like a cat catching the scent of fish.

"This potency far surpasses Tiger Bone Soup..."

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen returned to his small courtyard and began standing at the stake.

Soon, the pure medicinal properties of the Blood-Qi Soup penetrated his stomach walls, steadily nourishing the source energy with remarkable effect.

"It seems I need to let Chen'er return to the Martial Arts Hall."

After watching Jiang Chen leave, Jiang Sihai spoke.

Now that Jiang Chen had condensed martial blood and qi, his training had reached a new level, and he would need guidance from a dedicated martial artist from now on.

"Will Chen'er... get infatuated with that girl from the Wang Clan again?"

Lin Shuyun was a bit worried.

"Chen'er has been through life and death; he won't repeat his mistakes."

Jiang Sihai wasn't too concerned.

Between life and death lies great terror, but also great opportunity.

After his accidental intrusion into the Cursed House, Jiang Chen had clearly matured a lot.

Of course, if Jiang Chen did fall back into his old ways, they would just confine him to the house from then on.

At worst, they could hire a martial artist to teach him privately.

"Then should we tell the clan about this?"

Lin Shuyun asked again.

"Keep it quiet for now."

Jiang Sihai thought for a moment before replying.

In the past, if Jiang Chen became a martial artist, he would have gained more say in the family.

After all, no matter the faction, resource allocation always prioritized martial artists.

But given the current situation, even reporting this to the clan wouldn't change anything.

Their Jiang Clan would still revolve around Jiang Xuan.

That being the case, it was better to lie low for now and see how things developed before making a move.