A New Atmosphere

Days in the herb garden passed slowly and peacefully.

Lu Chen continued to cultivate step by step.

Before dawn every day, he stood in the small courtyard practicing the Coiling Dragon Stance. A Blood-Qi Powder entered his abdomen, and its medicinal power transformed into a scalding hot current, dispersing along his chest and abdomen into his limbs and bones.

Ever since the Coiling Dragon Stance Art reached perfection, Lu Chen's efficiency in refining and absorbing medicinal power had reached its peak.

A single Blood-Qi Powder could be absorbed in less than a day.

In Wang Zhong's view, Lu Chen was no longer practicing martial arts here; he was burning silver.

A single Blood-Qi Powder had a market price of two taels, and Lu Chen burned through two taels of silver every day, which did not even include meat and medicinal baths.

Twenty Blood-Qi Powders a month were actually not quite enough for him to consume.

Fortunately, he repelled the Black Wind Stronghold, guarded the herb garden, and made a great contribution. Upon learning of this, Wang Shouyi secretly supplemented him with an extra ten Blood-Qi Powders every month.

Thus, Lu Chen had thirty Blood-Qi Powders a month, which barely kept pace with his cultivation speed.

An expense of this magnitude was already far beyond what other martial artists at the Blood-Qi Minor Achievement could compare to.

Others mostly dared to take one every three to five days, yet Lu Chen took them day after day without interruption.

Medicinal power stacked up, and his blood-qi grew wildly.

Every single day, Lu Chen could feel the blood-qi circulation within his body growing even stronger.

In the short span of a month, his physical strength surged from fourteen hundred catties to two thousand catties.

And after the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist reached perfection, Lu Chen shifted the focus of his martial arts to the Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg.

Every afternoon, Lu Chen entered the woods to the east of the herb garden alone to hone his leg techniques.

The accumulated snow in the mountain forest had not yet completely melted, and the terrain was chaotic; a single wrong step would cause him to slip and fall. Ordinary people had to walk with extreme caution, let alone dash and maneuver swiftly among the trees.

Yet this happened to be the ideal place to practice the Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg.

Mountain winds brushed past his ears.

Withered branches grazed against his sides.

Startled birds fluttered into the air, flying toward the distance.

After countless falls, Lu Chen's figure became faster and more agile in the forest.

The setting sun slanted down, casting a golden hue over the residual snow.

Lu Chen passed continuously through seven old trees in the forest without stopping his momentum; the tips of his toes tapped against a rock, and his entire person soared upward like a leaping golden ape, instantly gaining height as he lashed out with a final horizontal kick against a trunk as thick as a half-man.

Bang!

The forceful leg technique kicked a half-chi-deep gash into the tree trunk, sending wood chips flying in all directions.

The next moment, a light screen quietly materialized before his eyes.

[Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg: Great Achievement]

[Progress: 0/1000]

Lu Chen's eyes lit up.

Well, the Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg has also reached great achievement.

Just as the thought finished forming, countless insights regarding leg techniques flooded into his mind, then sank down through his blood-qi into both legs.

His calves, knees, thighs, waist, and hips simultaneously radiated waves of aching heat.

Lu Chen looked down and saw the muscles in his legs twitching slightly under the nourishment of his blood-qi. The originally slender and sturdy lines of his legs became even tighter and more powerful, every single muscle distinct yet not bulky, instead exuding a nimble quality akin to an ape.

With a light tap of his foot, his entire body instantly catapulted forward.

Whoosh!

Mountain winds brushed past his ears.

With a flash of his figure, Lu Chen had already appeared three zhang away.

He trod upon a rock once more, his figure instantly soaring upward as he nimbly cleared a pine tree.

Gaining leverage, changing directions, maneuvering, and leaping... These movements that originally required him to consciously control had now all transformed into instinct.

This made his footwork even more nimble and fluid, and his speed was more than double what it had been before.

Now, there probably isn't a single martial artist at the Blood-Qi Minor Achievement who can catch up to me!

The advantage in footwork and speed granted Lu Chen the initiative in battle.

He could fight whenever he wished and run whenever he wanted, rendering himself practically invincible.

Furthermore, his explosive power was even stronger than before. The instantaneous acceleration brought by the Golden Ape Leap made Lu Chen's Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist even harder to guard against and far more destructive.

If he were to encounter Qiu Heixiong, the leader of the Black Wind Stronghold, once more, Lu Chen was confident he could avoid the man's hidden force and beat him black and blue all over the ground.

After the New Year, the long winter finally passed.

Spring returned to Scarlet Cloud Mountain, and the accumulated snow in the mountains turned into stream water, gurgling down along the rock crevices.

After celebrating the New Year with his parents, Lu Chen made a trip back to Scarlet Cloud County.

At the Little Prosperity Tower, Lu Chen and Senior Brother Chen Chong had a small gathering.

A new year brought a new atmosphere.

Chen Chong ordered a large table of dishes and beckoned for Lu Chen to sit down.

Lu Chen looked at the table full of renowned Little Prosperity Tower dishes and asked with a puzzled expression, "Senior Brother Chen, did you strike it rich?"

Chen Chong instead laughed and shook his head, "It's even more gratifying than striking it rich!"

"Oh?" Lu Chen stared at Chen Chong, looking him up and down. "Could it be that Senior Brother has broken through?"

"Haha, Junior Brother has a sharp eye!"

"That's right, your senior brother here has broken through to the Blood-Qi Minor Achievement!"

"A new year brings a new atmosphere, so we must celebrate properly today. Junior Brother, don't stand on ceremony; eat your fill!"

Chen Chong said with a radiant face, his eyes full of a bright luster.

Lu Chen was likewise happy for Chen Chong and offered his congratulations, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Chen."

Chen Chong raised his wine cup, drained it in a single gulp, and then spoke with hearty satisfaction:

"This hurdle has kept me stuck for quite a while."

"Seeing your progress advance by leaps and bounds before, it would be a lie to say I wasn't in a hurry."

"Yet on the path of martial arts, it is useless even if you are in such a rush that you stamp your feet."

"Later on, I simply calmed my mind, set aside my work as an outer courtyard instructor, and practiced stances and fist techniques every day, tempering my tendons and bones and honing my blood-qi bit by bit. Finally, right before the new year, my blood-qi formed a stream, and my entire body unblocked."

"At that moment, it felt as natural as water flowing to form a channel."

Speaking up to this point, Chen Chong's eyes held a few more shades of lingering emotion.

"The Blood-Qi Minor Achievement, ah."

"At least it hasn't let down the financial support my family has given all these years, nor has it let down the teachings of Master."

Lu Chen said, "Senior Brother, this time you have not only broken through a martial barrier, you have also broken through a mental barrier. From here on, things will only become smoother and smoother!"

He knew this path had not been easy for Chen Chong, who was already twenty-six years old. The further along one went, the smaller the probability of breaking through realms.

Now that he had advanced to the Blood-Qi Minor Achievement, with his deep accumulation finally bursting forth, there was even a possibility of looking toward the Blood-Qi Major Achievement in the future!

Chen Chong smiled and poured Lu Chen a cup of wine.

"Come, today you must keep me company and drink a few extra cups."

"From now on in the Hidden Dragon Martial Hall, I can also be considered to have truly planted my feet firmly."

Lu Chen raised his cup, thought for a moment, and said, "Senior Brother Chen, actually I also have a piece of good news to tell you."

Chen Chong raised an eyebrow. "What news?"

Lu Chen spoke in a calm tone, "Actually, two months ago, I reached the Blood-Qi Minor Achievement."

The private room fell quiet for a brief instant.

The hand with which Chen Chong was holding his wine cup froze midair, and his eyes widened bit by bit.

"What did you say?"

Lu Chen said earnestly, "I've also advanced to the Blood-Qi Minor Achievement."

Chen Chong stared at him for a long while, then couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

"Good, very good."

"I was originally still thinking that today I could finally show off a bit in front of you, my junior brother."

"Yet I never expected that I, as the senior brother, am actually inferior to you!"

Lu Chen quickly said, "Not at all, Senior Brother mustn't belittle yourself."

Chen Chong then blamed him, "Since you broke through to the minor achievement two months ago, why didn't you tell me?"

Lu Chen patiently explained, "It was Manager Wang's arrangement. He wanted me to act as a hidden trump card and placed me inside the herb garden. That's why he didn't allow me to make a fuss about breaking through to the minor achievement, which is why I didn't inform Senior Brother."

"So that's how it is." Chen Chong nodded. He could understand Manager Wang's approach, and the trace of estrangement and displeasure in his heart instantly vanished like smoke in thin air.

Following that, he also sincerely felt happy for Lu Chen: "We can also be considered to have a double blessing. Come, cheers!"

"We won't stop drinking today until we're drunk!"