The Legend of Upgrading the Medicinal Broth

Lin Xiaotian thought of many things in an instant, thinking of his sister's memory blockade on him that day.

If her ability were a bit more powerful, spreading across the entire town, it might not even be impossible.

Suddenly, he was startled.

Just how much great power would it take to alter the memories of an entire town!

"Gulp."

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He feared that even reaching Hidden Force would make it impossible to duel such an entity.

Clearly, a great power capable of altering the memories of an entire town had already transcended the boundaries of the Martial Dao.

I must seize the time to raise my strength, raising it until I surpass Hidden Force.

He muttered to himself in his heart, raising his eyes, but Qin Yueyao had long since disappeared without a trace.

"To just leave like this, I always feel it's not that simple."

Lin Xiaotian looked at the sky.

A "rumbling" sound from his belly rang out once more again.

Damn it! This Blood Qi was good in every way, except that its consumption was a bit large, and the top-grade pills had all been used on Skin Tempering, leaving not much saved up in the Blood Qi.

He had just healed his injuries, which used up quite a bit of Blood Qi, so he still needed to eat a lot.

Right now, he could not afford to rest and had no choice but to start a fire and cook late into the night.

After a full meal, perhaps because of the Blood Qi, he actually fell soundly asleep once again.

This sleep felt exceptionally refreshing, sleeping all the way until the bright morning.

Yet on the very night he fell asleep.

Outside the courtyard, a few exquisitely dressed people suddenly arrived.

"Miss Qin ought to have come here. This fellow is sleeping soundly, so let's investigate other things first before making a decision."

"Yes!"

The two people beside him replied.

Lin Xiaotian had a good dream where the Martial Dao in the dream surpassed Hidden Force, and then he encountered his sister. With a single punch, he shattered his seductive sister, leaving behind his normal sister.

Following that, the two of them became husband and wife, and also had a pair of cute children.

"Ah! What on earth is all this."

Waking up, Lin Xiaotian was shocked. Was he thinking about women?

He shook his head, looked at the sky, and was speechless once more.

"Forget it, Senior Brother Tao is used to it anyway, so I'd better eat first and talk after."

When he arrived at the martial hall, Senior Brother Tao rolled his eyes so hard that he was practically writing his disgust on his face.

"Junior Brother Lin, do you really take my Huang Family Martial Hall for an inn, coming as you please and leaving as you like."

"This is showing disrespect to your master and ignoring the Dao."

Lin Xiaotian smiled bitterly:

"Senior Brother Tao, calm your anger. It won't happen again."

"Hmph!" Senior Brother Tao's attitude clearly turned unfriendly. "Don't rely on having a bit of comprehension and willpower to act so wildly."

"Failing to enter External Force in one year, or at most two years, basically means this Martial Dao has reached its end, and making further progress will be difficult hereafter."

This was the first time Lin Xiaotian had heard such a saying, and his expression grew much more cautious.

"Five taels is the initiation screening, and the martial hall doesn't play the fool to be a good Samaritan by filtering out a batch of people who can't pay the silver in advance, which is also considered income within the hall."

"Twenty taels is after initiation; if you don't temper your skin in less than a month, then you have to fork out the twenty taels every month for the remaining three months, though those who pass don't need to."

"After Skin Tempering, if you fail to enter External Force within a year, then you must pay five taels of silver every month for the remaining time."

"Senior Brother Tao, after one year without entering External Force, only five taels is collected later. Is there any particular reason for this?"

Senior Brother Tao hummed twice:

"Five taels is the cost, and the tonic broth you use every day..."

"Alright, you need to practice diligently and stop being late all the time like this. Otherwise, when Master goes over personally, it will be the time you are expelled from the hall."

"Go on. There are a few people in the courtyard who are estimated to break through to Skin Tempering this week. If there are no accidents this month, half the people should be able to break through."

"The rest depends on financial resources. Those who can support a breakthrough within four months still have hope of charging at External Force, while those exceeding four months are persuaded to quit with not a single shred of hope left."

This Martial Dao practice was not smooth sailing; even if one entered the doors of this Martial Dao, it did not mean they would necessarily walk it to the end.

Bone structure, resources, diligence, willpower, comprehension, and so on—not a single one could be lacking. Otherwise, perishing midway was entirely normal.

No wonder it took reaching External Force for the masters to acknowledge all this potential; there were simply too many unexpected circumstances.

"This Junior Brother Lin really puts on grand airs. In just a few days, he's late almost every day. If it weren't for his startling performance on the day of his initiation, I'm afraid his master would have kicked him out on his ear long ago with this kind of attitude."

"I heard his silver was even extorted from Young Master Qin."

The sounds of a crowd whispering came over.

Lin Xiaotian arrived in the courtyard, listening one by one. His ears twitched, and he treated it as though he hadn't heard.

A bit of gossip wasn't enough to affect him yet.

However, he truly needed to pay attention from now on.

Hmm, he needed to find a way to get a Blood Essence Pill.

Since the major lineages would consider it once they reached strengths above External Force, asking Master should allow him to acquire one.

Regrettably, Senior Brother Tao had opinions about him, otherwise asking Senior Brother would be best.

After having his meal at noon, Lin Xiaotian walked to the back courtyard and, amid the astonished gazes of his martial senior brothers and sisters, knocked on Master's door.

This time Master was quite casual, and there was a small courtyard behind that room.

Master was lying on a chair with a relaxed expression, rocking back and forth.

"Among your batch, you actually have the guts to be the first to come find me."

"Even though there is no ban preventing you from seeing me, new disciples generally don't have this guts. Speak, what business do you have with your master?"

Lin Xiaotian spoke without reservation, stating his purpose.

Master Huang listened and shook, the recliner emitting "creak," "creak" sounds.

He raised his eyes and slightly slanted them at Lin Xiaotian, his voice low and slow:

"At your stage, using this... is still too early... hmm..."

Suddenly, Master Huang seemed to have discovered something, his figure shifting once before already arriving by Lin Xiaotian's side.

Before he even had time to react, Master Huang had already pinched his arm, and then, internal force blew gently.

Lin Xiaotian only felt a stabbing pain across his skin, followed by a conditioned reflex of his body where a force arose between his muscles, pushing out toward this internal force.

Master Huang abruptly loosened his hand, and looking again, he had already retreated back to the recliner, lying down comfortably once more.

"No wonder you came to inquire at this time... It seems a bowl of broth at noon is not enough! From now on, you can have two bowls of broth daily, don't waste it."

Lin Xiaotian was a bit dazed. Was Master misunderstanding something here, even though he took advantage of this kind of misunderstanding?

"What, do you think two bowls of broth aren't enough?" Seeing that he hadn't left for a moment, Master Huang patiently explained instead.

"When your martial cultivation progress becomes a bit stronger, ordinary meals can no longer satisfy your massive essence and Qi demands, so you need to additionally supplement some things that nourish Qi and blood."

"This is the Blood Essence Pill. Your broths all have it put inside, with ten people sharing one pill. Too much is also a waste, and is instead disadvantageous to your practice."

"You are currently at Skin Tempering, progressing by leaps and bounds, so normally you wouldn't need this Blood Essence Pill."

"However, Master just probed you, and this Blood Qi of yours looks unassuming, but it's like a bottomless pit with decent potential... Add another bowl to nourish and irrigate it in advance, and perhaps it will grow in the future."

"Alright, you head back first. This extra bowl doesn't mean your Blood Qi is strong; it's just feeling that there is somewhat this possibility. Since you've entered the martial hall, of course it's nurtured treating you as having this potential."

"Hmm, regarding the matter of the extra bowl, you shouldn't talk about it, I will inform the kitchen to use it for you secretly."

"When you reach Blood Tempering, that is truly the time you will need it."

"Master, then this Blood Essence Pill—if I want one individually, where can I acquire it?"

"Five taels of silver per pill, and now is not the time for you to be thinking about this. Go."

Seeing that Master was unwilling to speak further, he had no choice but to take his leave.

It seemed Master did not want him to learn about the Blood Essence Pill; could it be that there was some special trick to it here?

Lin Xiaotian's brows furrowed slightly.

Through his teacher's stray remarks just now, this Blood Essence Pill was indeed helpful for martial cultivation.

That's right, martial cultivation required consuming Blood Qi, and supplementation by the Blood Essence Pill indirectly aided Blood Qi...

Moreover, his own special Blood Qi also needed the Blood Essence Pill as a supplementary raw material.

He just wondered if using Blood Qi to nurture it could upgrade the daily medicinal broth provided.