Breakthrough

Peaceful Lane.

In a mud-brick cottage separated from the Dragon Mountain Hall Lower Academy by only a single wall, Chen Cheng helped his mother, Madam Li, simply arrange the few belongings they had brought. Their new residence was thus completely settled.

The small mud-brick, tiled-roof cottage was not large, nor did it come with a courtyard, but it was clean and fresh inside and out. It neither leaked wind nor rain, and sunlight could reach it normally.

Most importantly, it stood right beside the Dragon Mountain Hall Lower Academy. Chen Cheng had spoken with Fatty Fang, so it was safe enough.

Compared with their former shack, surrounded by broken planks, roofed with tattered felt, forever shrouded beneath the city wall's shadow and unable to receive even a ray of sunlight, this was better by heaven knows how much.

"This good a house, the rent can't be cheap, can it?" Madam Li felt another pang of heartache.

"Not expensive."

Chen Cheng spoke as usual, casually gathering the last of the miscellaneous items into a corner by the wall.

"The landlord saw that I was from Dragon Mountain Hall and was extremely polite, nearly refusing to take any money at all. After pushing it back and forth for quite a while, I paid only a hundred coins and rented the place for a full three months."

Upon hearing this, the bit of heartache on Madam Li's face abruptly melted away, turning into solid, heartfelt relief. The fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes relaxed along with it.

"Thank goodness our Little Cheng is capable... Following you, your mother is finally living in comfort."

"Why are the two of us talking like this? Just live here in peace. I'll come see you whenever I have time."

Chen Cheng glanced at the westering sun outside the window. If he hurried back to the Middle Academy now, he should still make dinner.

In the blink of an eye, several more days passed.

Chen Cheng swallowed the last of the Blood-Boosting Powder and, as usual, tempered his Crouching Dragon Fist in the room beside the warehouse.

After that night, he had cautiously visited two fairly large pharmacies separately and bought a bottle of Blood-Boosting Powder from each. Both cost five taels of silver, with no bargaining allowed.

Their effects were roughly similar in use, but upon careful examination, the one produced by Shen Family Pharmacy seemed to have a more enduring medicinal potency, its effect in strengthening Blood Qi faintly surpassing the other by half a notch.

Having used up the last of the powder today, his tempering of the Crouching Dragon Fist had finally come naturally to fruition, reaching a new threshold.

His fist wind howled as he tempered himself again and again.

The One-Incense Blood Qi within him, long since strengthened and condensed, flowed and circulated with his fist forms, growing faster and hotter, like a fire dragon imprisoned for far too long and desperate to burst from the abyss, charging left and right through his spine.

Suddenly, a faint yet distinct tremor sounded from deep within his spine, audible only to himself.

It was as though some barrier had been abruptly pierced through, or as though a dam had finally filled to capacity and its floodgates burst open.

A wholly new, scorching, yet even more condensed and weighty sensation of power surged upward from his tailbone, connecting every section in turn before finally taking firm root beneath the Baihui at the crown of his head, condensing into a second stick of blood-red, lustrous incense.

It echoed from afar with the first stick of Blood Qi within the Great Dragon of his spine, advancing side by side without conflict.

The Second-Incense Blood Qi had formed!

[Crouching Dragon Fist]: Beginner (333/1000), Trait (Armor Piercing)

[Health-Preserving Taiji Fist]: Beginner (423/1000), Trait (Health Preservation), Limit Break (No)

Chen Cheng slowly drew in his stance and exhaled a long, scorching breath. Beads of sweat rolled down his temples, but his eyes shone with an almost inhuman brightness.

He could clearly sense that both the quantity and quality of the power within him had climbed to a new level. The sharpness of his five senses and six perceptions had risen with the tide as well.

His ears twitched slightly.

He clearly caught the footsteps of three people on the street outside, approaching the door to his room.

Their strides, weight, and rhythm differed, yet none could escape his ears.

Before they reached the door, he had already walked over first and pulled it open.

The three were still several meters away.

The woman in the center, leading the group, was none other than the proprietor of the trading company, Shen Mi.

Today, she wore a somewhat fitted dark teal silk dress, its fabric draping smoothly.

As she walked with slightly hurried steps, it was as though two rabbits were tumbling beneath her lapels, while beneath her slender waist, a millstone seemed ready to emerge.

Zhang Ping followed closely on her right, while on her left was the Inner Courtyard steward, the shrewd-looking Mother Ding.

Each of them held a thick stack of account books, nearly blocking their vision.

"The Proprietor has come personally to inventory the goods and check the accounts?"

Chen Cheng was somewhat surprised.

Warehouse inventory had always been work handled by the accountant Zhang Gu and his apprentices.

"Yes. Mister Zhang has fallen ill again... He even called both apprentices back to his home to tend to his medicine..."

Shen Mi sighed softly, unable to conceal the weariness between her brows.

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Chen Cheng, as though caught by something invisible, and did not move away for a long while.

"The Proprietor?"

Mother Ding frowned slightly and reminded her in a lowered voice.

She was, after all, the proprietor of the trading company. Staring so blankly at a young man, especially with Zhang Ping beside her, was not quite appropriate.

"Oh, I..."

Only then did Shen Mi snap back to herself. She withdrew her gaze, uncertainty and hesitation in her voice.

"I feel that Chen the Retainer seems somewhat different today... but exactly how, I cannot say for the moment."

"The Proprietor has sharp eyes."

Chen Cheng smiled calmly and told her frankly.

"I gained a little from my cultivation just now and was fortunate enough to condense the Second-Incense Blood Qi."

Whether to hide one's strength depended on the situation, and even more on the person involved.

Before a proprietor who controlled his source of income, and from whom he needed to display value in exchange for further resources, appropriate honesty and a demonstration of strength were far more necessary than blind concealment.

Only by letting her see his tangible growth and potential could this employment relationship become more secure, and the value it could create become greater.

"The... Second-Incense Blood Qi!?"

At his words, Shen Mi's eyes abruptly brightened, and the weariness seemed to have been blown away somewhat by a clear breeze.

She leaned forward slightly, taking the initiative to shorten the distance between herself and Chen Cheng. Her lips naturally curved upward, blooming into an undisguised smile of genuine admiration and understanding.

"Chen the Retainer, this is truly cause for celebration! Breaking through two thresholds in just over a month—with such progress, not only in the Outer Hall, but even across the entire Longshan Middle Academy, you would rank among the finest!"

As soon as those words fell, Zhang Ping hurriedly cupped his hands in congratulations, his face piled with smiles.

Mother Ding's usually stern face softened considerably as well. After giving a slight nod, she congratulated him in a deep voice.

A different warmth entered Shen Mi's smile. She waved her hand at Zhang Ping and Mother Ding.

"Take the account books inside first. I have a few words to say to Chen the Retainer."

"Yes."

The two obeyed, carrying the account books as they turned into the warehouse beside them.

Shen Mi looked at Chen Cheng again and asked seriously.

"With Chen the Retainer's astonishing talent, I imagine it will not be long before you enter the Inner Hall of the Middle Academy. In the future... would you still be willing to remain at my insignificant trading company?"

She knew as clearly as a mirror that before long, the more deeply rooted and more lavishly spending forces in the Outer City would take the initiative to recruit Chen Cheng.

In her eyes, Chen Cheng was truly rare.

Even setting aside his astonishing martial talent, he still possessed many virtues: a known background and clean history, steadiness in both character and work, an unyielding temperament that would not bend despite a hundred setbacks...

Such a young man, if she could maintain a long-term relationship with him and treat him sincerely, might not be impossible to rely on as a trusted confidant and right-hand aide in the future.

But at this point, no matter how much Shen Mi wished to keep him, his ultimate decision to stay or leave was no longer something she could determine through wishful thinking alone.

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