Blood qi

The next day.

Jiang Chen rolled out of bed at the first glimmer of dawn.

After a quick wash, he began practicing his stance in the courtyard.

This was a martial training habit he had developed in his previous life.

He had long since ground away every thought of laziness, procrastination, or rest.

When Lin Shuyun heard about it, she felt even more gratified and immediately instructed the kitchen to prepare Tiger Bone Soup.

By the Chen Hour, between seven and nine in the morning.

Only when his stomach began growling did Jiang Chen finish his stance practice and go to eat.

"Chen'er, this is Tiger Bone Soup. Your father specifically asked the kitchen to prepare it for you."

During the meal, Lin Shuyun had someone bring over a bowl of steaming, pale-red soup.

A rich medicinal fragrance greeted his nose. Clearly, the medicinal ingredients had cost a pretty penny.

"Thank you, Father."

Jiang Chen had naturally heard of Tiger Bone Soup.

At the martial hall, disciples who had grasped stance sense used this medicinal soup to aid their cultivation, speeding up the awakening of their primordial energy.

"Condensing blood qi is no simple matter. Don't rush it. Work at it patiently."

Jiang Sihai gave a slight nod, keeping up his stern-father demeanor.

"I understand."

Jiang Chen drank the Tiger Bone Soup.

Within a few breaths, his organs and every part of his body seemed to boil.

This really packs a punch.

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen ran back to the courtyard and settled into his stance, entering a meditative state.

With the medicinal power of the Tiger Bone Soup helping him, the burning sensation throughout his body was several times stronger than during yesterday's practice.

He could even faintly sense distinct streams of heat stirring, as though they might break through a barrier at any moment.

Unfortunately, that barrier remained unbroken.

So this is the difference bone aptitude makes.

Jiang Chen thought of Jiang Xuan.

If he remembered correctly, Jiang Xuan, who had joined the martial hall at the same time as him, had successfully awakened his primordial energy on the very day he perfected the White Ape Stance and grasped stance sense.

Previously, he had not understood the gap between ordinary bone aptitude and medium bone aptitude.

Now, however, he did.

Even if he had not wasted the past six months neglecting his cultivation, he could only have gazed up at Jiang Xuan's retreating back.

In martial bone aptitude, a single step of difference was a gulf between heaven and earth.

Fortunately, with the Myriad Dao Chart now helping him, his comprehension was astonishingly profound.

As long as his cultivation resources kept pace, he could grow stronger step by step. There was no need to compare himself with anyone else.

Over the next few days, Jiang Chen threw himself into grueling cultivation.

Aside from eating and sleeping, he spent all his time practicing his stance.

Seeing the change in Jiang Chen, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun felt increasingly gratified.

It seemed the prodigal son had truly turned back, rather than merely acting on a passing whim.

Five days passed in a flash.

It was the Si Hour, between nine and eleven in the morning.

"Hm?"

As Jiang Chen focused intently on his stance, his expression suddenly shifted.

My primordial energy has awakened?!

Turning his awareness inward, he found pure energy continually welling up throughout his body, gathering into wisps of heat.

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

And those warm currents were martial blood qi condensed from primordial energy.

Although the blood qi was still quite weak, he could feel the vigorous vitality it contained as it flowed through him.

[Myriad Dao Chart]

[Dao Master: Jiang Chen]

[Cultivation: First Qi and Blood Gate · early stage 1%]

[Cultivation method: White Ape Stance · perfection]

A cultivation entry had appeared on the Myriad Dao Chart.

A martial artist!

Feeling the martial blood qi flowing within him, Jiang Chen was in excellent spirits.

Successfully condensing martial blood qi meant he had officially set foot on the martial path.

Let's test its power.

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

He drove a punch into it.

His martial blood qi erupted with it, producing a low thud.

"A hundred jin of force!"

Jiang Chen's eyes shone.

A hundred jin of force was not particularly powerful.

But he had only just begun condensing blood qi.

As his martial blood qi accumulated, his strength would continue to grow.

More importantly, martial blood qi did not merely amplify strength. It also increased speed, sharpened reflexes, and strengthened his defenses.

It was an enhancement and transformation in every respect.

Keep going!

After carefully examining and pondering the sensation for a long while, Jiang Chen gathered his thoughts and returned to quiet cultivation.

This small achievement was nowhere near enough to satisfy him.

What he wanted was to soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth, to live for centuries like the earthly immortals described in ancient records!

Through the monotonous stance practice, his martial blood qi absorbed more and more primordial energy.

At noon.

"Whew!"

Jiang Chen exhaled a breath of hot air.

The faint martial blood qi within his body had grown a little stronger.

[Cultivation: First Qi and Blood Gate · early stage 2%]

On the Myriad Dao Chart, his martial blood qi progress had risen to 2%.

An increase of 1% in an hour.

That pace was not slow, but neither could it be called fast. It was simply average.

If I want to cultivate faster, I'll still have to start with resources.

Jiang Chen formed a plan.

"Father, Mother, I've condensed blood qi."

Over lunch, Jiang Chen told his parents the news.

"You've condensed blood qi?!"

"Really?!"

Both Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun were overjoyed at his words.

They had known that, with Jiang Chen cultivating so diligently these past few days, condensing blood qi was only a matter of time.

Yet hearing him say it himself still left them deeply excited.

Now that he was a martial artist, both his status and strength would undergo tremendous transformations!

"By the way, Father..."

Once the two had calmed down a little, Jiang Chen brought up cultivation resources.

Among cultivation resources, Tiger Bone Soup was merely a basic medicinal preparation with very limited potency.

Now that he had condensed blood qi, he naturally needed the superior Blood-Qi Soup.

"Don't worry. I already have the Blood-Qi Soup ready."

Jiang Sihai spoke with a smile.

As its name suggested, Blood-Qi Soup was a medicinal preparation that greatly nourished martial blood qi.

Of course, it did not strengthen martial blood qi directly. Instead, it nourished primordial energy, allowing it to awaken more quickly.

Tiger Bone Soup could not compare to it.

A single dose cost one tael of silver.

At one dose a day, that came to thirty taels of silver a month.

That alone showed how much money martial cultivation consumed.

Jiang Sihai immediately instructed the steward to have the kitchen prepare Blood-Qi Soup.

Before long.

A steaming bowl of medicinal soup arrived, its fragrance far richer than that of Tiger Bone Soup.

Gulp, gulp.

After Jiang Chen drank it down in great mouthfuls, the primordial energy hidden within him immediately stirred like a cat catching the scent of fish.

Its potency far surpasses Tiger Bone Soup...

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen returned to the courtyard and began his stance practice.

Soon, the pure medicinal essence in the Blood-Qi Soup penetrated his stomach wall, continually nourishing his primordial energy with astonishing potency.

"It seems we'll have to send Chen'er back to the martial hall."

Jiang Sihai spoke after watching Jiang Chen leave.

Having condensed martial blood qi, Jiang Chen had reached a new level in his cultivation. From now on, he would need a dedicated martial artist to guide him.

"Will Chen'er... become infatuated with that Wang Clan girl again?"

Lin Shuyun was somewhat worried.

"Chen'er has faced life and death. He won't tread the same disastrous path again."

Jiang Sihai was not particularly concerned.

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

After accidentally entering the Cursed House, Jiang Chen had clearly matured a great deal.

Of course, if Jiang Chen truly did return to his old ways, they would simply confine him to the house.

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

"Then should we inform the lineage?"

Lin Shuyun asked another question.

"Let's keep it quiet for now."

Jiang Sihai considered it before answering.

In the past, Jiang Chen becoming a martial artist would have given him a greater voice within the lineage.

After all, no matter the faction, martial artists always took priority when resources were allocated.

But under the current circumstances, reporting this to the lineage would not change anything.

Their Jiang Clan would still prioritize Jiang Xuan.

Since that was the case, they were better off lying low for now and waiting to see how things developed before making further plans.