Encountering a Bottleneck

Five days later.

Zhao Ya finished his day's cultivation and opened his attribute panel.

Name: Zhao Ya. Age: 16. Remaining lifespan: 30 years.

Skills: Eight-Part Vajra Art (Entry-level 304/500), Five Tigers Fist (Small Success 13/1000)

[Stomach unlocking progress: 80%]

After cultivating for five full days, aside from a slight increase in the proficiency of the Eight-Part Vajra Art and the Five Tigers Fist, there was almost no change in other aspects.

The stomach unlocking progress, in particular, had not moved at all.

Zhao Ya frowned, knowing he had encountered a bottleneck.

In fact, ever since he reached the Great Completion of Bone Refining, ordinary meat had less and less effect on him.

For the past few days, he had relied entirely on the blood-rich meat provided by the Prosperity Escort Agency at noon, as well as the highly nourishing soup after the meal to replenish his blood and qi, so his progress was naturally much slower.

The time was about right; tomorrow, he would reveal to the Escort Agency that he had also reached the Great Completion of Bone Refining.

If he did that, his treatment should improve, which might slightly alleviate his current predicament.

Zhao Ya sighed helplessly.

He knew this was not a long-term solution. Although the Prosperity Escort Agency had a solid foundation, it had many disciples, and when averaged out, the resources for each person were quite thin.

If he wanted to make progress, he had to find a way through other means.

In particular, meat or medicinal herbs that could replenish large amounts of blood and qi were the key of keys.

But where could he get such things?

One had to know that in this world, there were many martial artists, and cultivation resources were extremely precious.

Anything that could enhance blood and qi was a closely guarded secret of every family.

Not to mention anything else, even the nourishing soup Zhao Ya drank every day was an exclusive secret recipe of the Prosperity Escort Agency. Apart from the Chief Escort Meng Lei and a few old escorts, no one else knew about it.

Zhao Ya was deep in thought when the voice of Tang Zuier woke him up.

"Brother Xiaoya, it's time to eat."

"Oh, right!"

Zhao Ya responded casually and turned to walk into the kitchen.

The food was already set on the table, and even the chopsticks had been laid out for him.

Just as Zhao Ya sat down to eat, Tang Zuier handed him a hot towel.

"Brother Xiaoya, you've been practicing martial arts for a long time, your face is covered in sweat, wipe it off."

Zhao Ya took the towel and wiped his sweat while sighing to himself.

Ever since he took in Tang Zuier, if nothing else, his life had become much more comfortable than before.

Not to mention cooking and washing dishes, even these small details of daily life were handled perfectly by this little girl.

In just a few days, Zhao Ya felt like he couldn't do without her.

After wiping his sweat, before Zhao Ya could put the towel down, Tang Zuier reached out and took it.

"Eat while it's hot, Brother Xiaoya."

Zhao Ya nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and began to devour the food like a whirlwind.

He had to admit that Tang Zuier's cooking skills were much better than his own.

Even this simple stewed meat was made quite flavorful by her.

Zhao Ya ate with great relish.

Tang Zuier watched with a smile.

A moment later, Zhao Ya looked up and said with some surprise, "Zui'er, what are you looking at? Hurry up and eat too."

"Mm-hmm."

Only then did Tang Zuier pick up her own bowl and eat in small bites.

Soon, a whole pot of food had entered Zhao Ya's stomach again.

But even so, Zhao Ya still didn't feel much satisfaction.

Zhao Ya even suspected that if he ate to his heart's content, a whole pig might not be enough for one of his meals.

"Brother Xiaoya..."

"Hmm?"

Zhao Ya looked up and saw Tang Zuier looking at him with some hesitation.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Zhao Ya asked.

"I want... I want to find some work."

"Find some work?" Zhao Ya was a little surprised.

"Yes." Tang Zuier nodded vigorously, looking very serious.

"Brother Xiaoya, it's not easy for anyone to live in this world, especially since you need to practice martial arts to strengthen your body, which consumes more than the average person. Now that you have me, it must be even harder, so I want to find some work to help with the household expenses."

Zhao Ya was left speechless by her words.

This little girl was quite eloquent, saying that his consumption was higher than the average person.

To put it bluntly, this little girl saw how much he could eat and was afraid that one day he wouldn't be able to afford to raise her.

Zhao Ya suppressed the laughter in his heart and asked deliberately, "Oh? And what kind of work do you plan to do to help with the household expenses?"

"I've already thought about it. There are only two of us at home now, and there isn't much work to do, so I can wash and mend clothes for others. Even if I can't earn much money, it's better than just sitting around at home," Tang Zuier said with great enthusiasm.

"That sounds good, but where will you find customers?"

"That's where you come in, Brother Xiaoya. After all, it's not good for me to show my face in public, but you're different. You're a man and you have martial arts skills, so others definitely wouldn't dare to cheat you."

"Besides, you can tell your colleagues at the Escort Agency to bring the clothes they need washed to you. That would also be a source of income. Don't you think that's a good idea?" Tang Zuier looked at Zhao Ya with great excitement after she finished speaking.

Zhao Ya nodded, "Good..."

"Good your head!"

Saying this, Zhao Ya raised his chopsticks and tapped Tang Zuier on the head.

"Ouch..." Tang Zuier held her head, looking at Zhao Ya with a pained expression.

Zhao Ya said sternly, "Stop with the wild thoughts. Since your grandmother entrusted you to me before she passed away, I will naturally take good care of you. Besides, I, Zhao Ya, don't need the few pennies you'd earn from washing clothes for others."

"But we..." Tang Zuier's eyes turned red.

"There are no 'buts.' Don't worry, I can still afford to raise you."

Tang Zuier finally stopped insisting on her idea and turned to silently clear the dishes.

Zhao Ya smiled and didn't say anything else. He washed up and lay down on the bed in the outer room, falling into a deep sleep.

The next day.

Zhao Ya arrived at the Escort Agency early. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Luo Feng in high spirits.

"Morning, Brother Zhao!"

Zhao Ya was a little surprised, but he nodded, "Mm, morning!"

Then Zhao Ya walked toward the backyard of the Escort Agency, intending to see the Chief Escort, Meng Lei.

But after walking a few steps, he saw that Luo Feng was following him.

Unexpectedly, Luo Feng was even more surprised than he was.

"Brother Zhao, what are you doing here?"

"Going to see the Chief Escort."

"What a coincidence, me too."

Speaking of this, Luo Feng smiled even more brightly, "To tell you the truth, Brother Zhao, I also successfully broke through yesterday."

Zhao Ya was quite surprised.

He had thought that the next one to break through would be Zhou Hua, but he didn't expect it to be Luo Feng.

But then, thinking of Luo Feng's family background, Zhao Ya couldn't help but feel relieved.

With an uncle like Luo Qiang, it was likely that Luo Feng could obtain more resources, so it was no surprise that he had broken through.

"Oh, then congratulations, Junior Brother Luo!"

"Hehe, thank you, thank you. By the way, Brother Zhao, what do you need to see the Chief Escort for?"

Zhao Ya smiled, "Nothing much, it's just a coincidence. I also happened to break through last night."

I had some things to do during the day today, so I only managed to write one chapter in the evening. The next chapter will be around eight or nine tonight!

(End of chapter)