The next few days.
Li Jinshui became a champion eater, following his routine of nutritional supplements every morning and taking lessons from Old Huang every afternoon.
Huang Lichen's lessons covered more than martial techniques. He also taught him how to run the new delivery station, including everything he'd learned from delivering food himself back in the day.
Li Jinshui listened attentively from start to finish, looking as if he couldn't get enough. The old instructor was deeply pleased, and kept saying that the boy was a quick learner.
What he didn't know was that Li Jinshui had no intention of running a station on his own, much less becoming a station manager and dealing with conflicts with the Weihu Security Company.
How could he face off against his enemies before reaching the Martial Saint level?
Before long, five days had flown by.
Li Jinshui had successfully eaten all the nutritional supplements allocated for two months.
[Basic Stance Technique (Proficient 550/1000)]
His proficiency in Stake Standing was already more than halfway there. Mastery was just around the corner!
It's time to have a heart-to-heart with Old Huang!
Li Jinshui got up early, flipped out of bed, and headed straight for the 52nd floor without even brushing his teeth.
At that moment, Huang Lichen was still teaching the Grade B students in Training Hall One.
Ten days had already passed in the second month of the Youth Training Camp, and the poor students were still trying to get the hang of wrapping Qi-Blood around electricity. They were all being shocked into grimacing and shrieking.
"Whoosh!"
Li Jinshui activated the electric charge in his legs and rushed inside using Lightning Pulse Step.
He held back most of his Qi-Blood power, showing only an entry-level performance, yet it still drew envious and admiring looks from quite a few students.
"The class monitor's here!"
"He's even more handsome than a few days ago!"
"Good grief, why does his Lightning Pulse Step look even smoother? Has he already reached the proficient level?"
"Are you crazy? The class monitor only reached the entry level at the end of last month. There's no way he could've gotten proficient that fast!"
The students stopped what they were doing and whispered among themselves, their compliments rising one after another.
Huang Lichen had been interrupted mid-lesson. He glared at Li Jinshui in annoyance and frowned. "Weren't your lessons scheduled for the afternoon? Why did you come here first thing in the morning to show off your martial skills?"
"How am I showing off? I'm just walking here like normal."
Li Jinshui looked utterly innocent as he walked up beside Huang Lichen and lowered his voice. "Old Huang, I have a secret I want to tell you. It's urgent."
"Hm?"
Huang Lichen immediately perked up.
He loved hearing secrets, especially ones like that secret about a Qi-Blood value of 503 from ten days ago.
"Could it be that you've—"
"That's right." Li Jinshui nodded.
"Excellent! Amazing!" Huang Lichen burst into a grin, clapping his hands again and again. "Go wait for me in the testing room. I'll be right over. This time, we'll have to let them see it in person."
As he spoke, he eagerly pulled out his phone and made a call.
Li Jinshui couldn't be bothered to wait around. He shoved his hands into his pockets, turned, and headed downstairs.
He entered the testing room and walked up to the Blood Qi Tester.
Li Jinshui rolled his neck, loosened up his limbs, and began adjusting his breathing.
Last time, he'd hidden his strength and used only seventy percent of his Qi-Blood, leaving the other thirty percent untapped.
This time, he used only thirty percent of the Qi-Blood in his body, holding back the remaining seventy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In no time, his lightning-fast punches and kicks became a series of afterimages, all crashing into the Force Testing Target.
The image on the display flickered, and the test results appeared.
[Qi-Blood value: 511]
"Not bad."
Li Jinshui gave a faint nod.
Using only thirty percent of his Qi-Blood power, he'd scored 511. That meant his Qi-Blood value was already over 1,700 if he went all out.
He compared it with the Value Comparison Chart beside him.
[501–1000: Second-rate Martial Artist] [1001 and above: First-rate Martial Artist]
Excellent. His actual Qi-Blood value had already far surpassed the standard for a First-rate Martial Artist.
"Alas, I'm only a regular protagonist. I'm still not strong enough. If I had more resources, I'd have already ascended in a single day and shattered a planet with my fist."
Li Jinshui sighed, maintaining a humble attitude as he continued to encourage himself.
"Ah Shui, Ah Shui, how's it looking? Did your Qi-Blood value—"
At that moment, Huang Lichen's loud voice came from outside.
Li Jinshui turned to look. Old Huang came in wearing an eager, expectant smile, with Ye Mei, Zhang Li, and Chen Yu from the Intelligence Department following behind him. The four big shots had gathered once again, hurrying into the testing room.
But when Huang Lichen saw the number on the Blood Energy Tester, his smile immediately froze.
"Uh, 511?"
The creases on Old Huang's face drooped, and his eye twitched. "You had a Qi-Blood value of 503 ten days ago, and now it's 511. Sure, that's progress, but you call that a secret?"
"Commander Huang, that's already pretty good progress. Don't put too much pressure on the young man."
Granny Zhang Li smiled as she spoke. "Don't forget, we only asked him to become a Second-rate Martial Artist within two months. He'd already reached the basic Second-rate level earlier, but as long as he completes his switch to Ninth Grade Stake Standing within those two months, that's all he needs to do."
She was quite satisfied with Li Jinshui's progress.
Ten days ago, they'd been shocked to learn that his Qi-Blood value exceeded five hundred. After all, that was the standard for a Second-rate Martial Artist.
Of course, it was only the basic Second-rate level.
Switching to Ninth Grade Stake Standing now would take more time and resources than it would have at the Third-rate level. But at least he had Second-rate strength to fall back on, which was good news in itself.
So they'd unanimously agreed to change his daily allowance to one jin of nutritional supplements.
Now Li Jinshui's Qi-Blood value had risen from 503 to 511, which meant his transition to Ninth Grade Stake Standing was going smoothly. There was a good chance he'd become a "Ninth Grade Second-rate Martial Artist" in two months.
"But speaking of which..."
Zhang Li abruptly changed her tone, her eyes narrowing. "Li Jinshui, although we all agreed to let you decide how to use your resources, I heard that you withdrew all sixty jin of Exotic Beast Meat in just ten days—and it was all cooked meat. May I ask what exactly you're doing with it?"
The others had clearly already heard about it too. All their eyes were fixed on Li Jinshui.
At first, they'd suspected the boy might have resold the meat for cash. But their follow-up investigation revealed that he'd taken all of it to his room and hadn't brought any back out. Nor had he made any financial transactions with other people, so they hadn't interfered or questioned him.
But now, two months' worth of nutritional supplements had been used up in just ten days. They could no longer hold back their curiosity and confusion.
"Li Jinshui, once Exotic Beast Meat has been cooked, it's not suitable for long-term storage. It can easily lose its energy..." Ye Mei reminded him with a frown.
"Don't worry, I didn't take it back to store."
Li Jinshui shook his head and cut her off. "I simply ate it all through my own efforts."
"???"
The four people present stared at him.
Was he kidding?
He'd eaten it all?
Sixty jin of E-Class Exotic Beast Meat in ten days?
"Also, you may have a tiny misunderstanding about me..."
Li Jinshui walked back to the Blood Qi Tester and slowly rolled up his training uniform sleeves. The corner of his mouth curled into a wild, chilly smile. "A Qi-Blood value of 511 isn't the full extent of my strength."
Boom!
The moment he finished speaking, he launched into a rapid attack. His punches and kicks blurred into a mass of afterimages, pounding the Force Testing Target with unstoppable force.
This time, he used forty percent of his Qi-Blood power.
The display on the tester flickered again.
[Qi-Blood value: 681]
Whoosh!
In an instant, the testing room fell silent. Not a sound could be heard!