Condensing Again

The setting sun sank westward, its afterglow staining the training grounds red.

Fang Han picked up his outer robe and put it on, then left the martial arts hall and headed straight for Poplar Street in Eight Treasures Ward.

Fang Han made his way familiarly to the butcher shop at the end of the street.

The butcher was tidying up his chopping block. Seeing Fang Han arrive, he immediately broke into a smile.

"Young man, tiger meat again today?"

"Boss, give me two jin of bear meat."

Fang Han got straight to the point.

"Coming right up!"

The butcher deftly pulled out a large chunk of dark red meat from beneath the chopping block.

With a swing of his cleaver, he cut off two jin of bear meat, wrapped it in oiled paper, tied it with hemp rope, and handed it over.

"Two taels of silver."

Fang Han took out the silver and paid, accepting the paper package. It felt satisfyingly heavy in his hand.

If he was lucky enough to condense another strand of Blood Qi after eating these two jin of bear meat, he would have made a killing.

Silver could be earned again after it was spent, but once Blood Qi was condensed, it was his forever. No matter how he calculated it, this deal was worth it.

Ever since his finances had become more comfortable and he had started supplementing himself with wild beast meat,

Fang Han no longer ate dinner at home.

He had already informed his mother, Chen Cui, that he would be eating outside, so she did not need to worry about him.

Chen Cui grumbled a few words, but did not ask further.

Carrying the bear meat, Fang Han crossed half the Outer City and eventually arrived by the riverbank.

His little fishing boat was still tied beneath the old willow tree, gently rocking with the ripples.

Fang Han untied the rope and jumped aboard.

Dusk deepened, and a thin layer of mist rose across the river.

Lights came on along the distant shore, scattered like stars and reflected in the water, swaying gently with the ripples.

Fang Han crouched at the bow and set up his iron pot.

The flames licked at the bottom of the pot as the river water inside gradually came to a boil.

Fang Han took out the bear meat, placed it on the deck, and sliced it thinly.

He had no real cooking skills, nor did he want to waste time on such things.

Whether it was tiger meat or bear meat, his only method was to boil the slices and dip them in salt before eating them.

Simple, convenient, and it did not interfere with his training.

The water boiled, steaming white vapor rising from the pot.

Fang Han picked up a slice of bear meat, swished it through the boiling water, then took it out, dipped it in coarse salt, and put it into his mouth.

As he chewed carefully, Fang Han was slightly startled.

This bear meat was actually far more tender than tiger meat!

Tiger meat was coarse and carried a strong gamey stench.

Bear meat, however, was tender, and its gamey flavor was much lighter.

It even had a bit of taste to it.

He picked up another slice, swished it through the pot, dipped it in salt, and ate it.

While chewing, Fang Han sighed inwardly.

If this had been his previous life, he would probably have been thrown in prison long ago.

But in this world, wild beast meat was nothing unusual.

As long as one had silver in one's pocket, one could buy whatever one wanted to eat.

Before long, all two jin of bear meat had gone into his stomach.

Fang Han set down his chopsticks, leaned against the deck, and closed his eyes to feel.

Sure enough, warmth slowly rose from his lower abdomen and flowed toward his limbs and bones.

The sensation was exactly the same as when he had eaten tiger meat.

Fang Han was delighted.

Eating bear meat could indeed produce that sense of Qi in his abdomen. It seemed he could condense Blood Qi from it.

That meant his earlier guess had been correct!

Different meats had different effects.

Only by rotating what he ate could he avoid his body developing a tolerance.

Yet this gave rise to another question.

According to Senior Brother Huo, newcomers who had yet to become Martial Artists

could only rely on luck during the early stages of learning martial arts and condensing Blood Qi, unless they possessed exceptional Bone Constitutions.

But when Fang Han looked back on his own process of condensing Blood Qi, it had almost always come naturally.

And he happened to possess a Lower-grade Bone Constitution, completely contrary to what Senior Brother Huo had said.

Fang Han secretly wondered whether he possessed some special physique.

He thought it over and over, yet could not make sense of it.

After analyzing it for a while, Fang Han could only temporarily explain it as having a "special physique."

If he could not figure something out, he would not dwell on it.

He rose to stand at the bow, assumed the opening stance of the Gale-Breaking Fist, and began practicing.

The warmth in his abdomen slowly flowed along with his fist technique, spreading through his limbs and bones and merging into his flesh, tendons, and bones.

Every punch, every kick, every movement carried a thoroughly satisfying force.

The next day.

After finishing his martial training, Fang Han went to the butcher shop on Poplar Street as usual and bought another two jin of bear meat.

The butcher did not ask questions when he saw him. He swiftly cut and wrapped the meat, accepted the silver, and cheerfully said, "Take care."

Carrying the bear meat, Fang Han returned to the little fishing boat by the river.

This time, he was thoroughly familiar with the process. He lit the fire, boiled the water, sliced the meat, and put it into the pot in one smooth motion.

After the two jin of bear meat entered his stomach, the warm sensation of Qi was even stronger than yesterday.

Fang Han did not dare delay and immediately rose to practice his fists.

He performed the Gale-Breaking Fist over and over...

The warmth inside him circulated with the momentum of his fists, growing fiercer and stronger, as though something were surging within his dantian, ready to burst forth.

At a certain moment, a faint hum sounded from within his body.

The fifth strand of Blood Qi had formed!

Fang Han withdrew his fists and stood still, breathing slightly heavily, though the corners of his mouth could not help rising.

Five strands of Blood Qi. From the third strand to the fifth, only a few short days had passed.

This progress was even two days faster than when he had eaten tiger meat.

He now had five strands of Blood Qi in his body. As long as he condensed five more, he could attempt the Body Tempering First Layer.

Ten strands of Blood Qi were neither a great many nor a small number.

At this pace, so long as his silver held out, condensing ten strands of Blood Qi within half a month was no pipe dream.

Fang Han calculated inwardly as he walked briskly back to the bow and sat down.

The night breeze brushed his face, while the river murmured on.

The moon reflected on the river, shattered into a field of silver-white by the ripples.

Sitting at the bow and gazing at the bright moon, Fang Han's thoughts stirred.

That transparent Panel appeared before his eyes:

[Forged to Excel]

[Name: Fang Han]

[Age: Twenty-three]

[Bone Constitution: Lower-grade (Cultivable)]

[Comprehension: 117]

[Realm: None]

[Martial Art: Gale-Breaking Fist (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 624/5000, Major Accomplishment]

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 1779/5000, Major Accomplishment]

[Talents: Unyielding Practice (Never Regress), Rising Talent (Comprehension Increase)]

Fang Han's gaze swept across the numbers, and after only a glance, he withdrew it.

Nine Flood Dragon Palms was at 1,779 points, still more than 3,000 points away from the 5,000 needed to break through to Perfection.

At his current pace, it would take at least ten days to half a month for the Martial Soul Avatar to train Nine Flood Dragon Palms to Perfection.

Too slow.

Fang Han frowned and began making calculations inwardly.

Through his observations over this period, he had gained a deeper understanding of the Martial Soul Avatar's training patterns.

Although the Martial Soul Avatar could practice a second martial art for him like an avatar, it was not omnipotent.

As the realm of the martial art it practiced grew higher, the more energy the Martial Soul Avatar needed to consume.

That expenditure of energy would directly feed back onto Fang Han.

The longer the Martial Soul Avatar trained, the more exhausted he became, his mind clouded and his spirits weakened.

He had to practice his fists during the day and conserve his energy at night, leaving very limited time for the Martial Soul Avatar to practice martial arts.

"I need to find some medicinal herbs that can restore energy. Only by increasing my energy can the Martial Soul Avatar have more time to practice Nine Flood Dragon Palms..."

Fang Han's eyes flickered. He had already made up his mind.

Tomorrow morning, he would go to the Outer City Black Market.

He would return to the same apothecary where he had sold the Jade-whisker Ginseng last time and see whether there were any medicinal herbs that could nourish his energy.