The Pill-Popping Plan

Backyard dining hall.

The martial academy's higher-ups were also eating at this time.

"The headmaster must have put a lot of thought into this batch. The quality of these disciples is quite good. I'd say at least thirty percent can reach the inner sect standard within three months."

Lu Sandao had presided over the morning's tests, and his words immediately drew considerable attention.

"Brother Blade, I saw a few whose families are fairly well-off. If they're willing to spend on medicinal soups, I reckon half of them can stay within three months."

Wu Yingcai was a generation younger than Lu Sandao, but both were ninth-rank Martial Warriors. In private, they therefore addressed each other as brothers.

However, his words drew Xu Qingsong's rebuttal.

"Those who train by dosing on medicine will ultimately never amount to much. I still think more highly of those four disciples brought in from the Brokerage Guild."

As the deputy headmaster of the White Ape Martial Academy, naturally no one wanted to provoke him.

After all, everyone present had come from the Brokerage Guild and benefited from that system. But now that the rules had changed, people like them had hope of advancing further.

The atmosphere fell quiet for a moment.

Fortunately, someone soon broke the silence, directing the topic toward Xie Guang, Chief Steward Xie, the highest-ranking person present.

"Elder Xie truly had keen eyes. Su Xinghe's fist technique is already no weaker than San Ke and the others'."

Somehow, the matter of Elder Xie making a bet with an apprentice had spread around. It had originally just been a joke for everyone after meals, but today, when they watched Su Xinghe demonstrate Golden Ape Fist in public, its flawlessly rounded perfection shocked several knowledgeable higher-ups.

Xie Guang had not expected the topic to land on him. After thinking it over, he proposed,

"It looks like this boy has already fully comprehended the fist technique. It is about time to teach him the mental method and combat techniques."

Someone immediately voiced a different opinion.

"Isn't that too soon? He hasn't even become an inner sect disciple yet. Directly teaching him the latter half of the true art would break the rules."

At those words, Xie Guang abruptly rose to his feet.

"Rules?"

He swept his gaze over the bewildered crowd.

There was rare severity in his voice.

"Do you still intend to cling to the Brokerage Guild's old rules while developing the martial academy?"

Seeing that everyone was still muddled, he drew a deep breath and said in a low voice,

"Everyone here is an old hand from the Brokerage Guild, so I'll speak plainly. The martial academy's current situation has already turned some things completely around!"

He paused, his gaze sharp.

"Recently, haven't you barely seen the headmaster at all?"

Without waiting for anyone to respond, he revealed the answer.

"That is because the headmaster is personally running about outside, earning martial resources for us so that the disciples can cultivate wholeheartedly, free of distractions!"

"In the past, we earned resources for the Brokerage Guild. Now, the headmaster is the one supporting us all."

"I'm truly afraid... that if he keeps supporting us, he'll support all the fire out of our blood and raise a pack of parasites who only know how to waste resources!"

"Some old rules are long overdue for change..."

At those words, aside from the few who were unaware, everyone lowered their heads.

Because they had been poor enough to pretend to be Head-Chopping Bandits outside the city...

September's sunlight was still scorching.

In one corner of the training grounds, Su Xinghe had just finished a set of Golden Ape Fist.

"Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."

"Golden Ape Fist, experience +1."

The familiar prompt surfaced in his mind, and a warm current of blood and qi, heavier than usual, surged from within him.

"What's going on?"

He lightly stirred his blood and qi and found everything normal.

Focusing his mind, he looked toward the destiny panel in his head.

Sets of data appeared.

The moment he looked, Su Xinghe discovered the problem.

Previously, with Golden Ape Fist at the consummate level, and relying on the power of blood and qi brought by Listening to the Waves Art,

each round of the fist technique could increase the Inner Tempering progress bar by roughly one-thousandth. But just now, that single round had increased it by two-thousandths.

Could it be because of that bowl of Bone-Strengthening Soup?

He secretly guessed to himself.

"Try again!"

Ten minutes later, the prompt surfaced in his mind again.

The same rich, warm current of blood and qi flowed through him, and the progress bar had indeed increased by another 0.2 percent.

"Good stuff!"

Without stopping his fist technique, he continued testing how long the bowl of medicinal soup could last.

On the afternoon training grounds, somehow the Yu siblings had moved Liu Bin, the senior brother of the outer sect. Under the blazing sun, he painstakingly taught them fist techniques for over two hours.

Looking at the smug pride in the siblings' occasional glances toward him, Liu Bin found himself even more annoyed.

Liu Bin had been noticed by the Brokerage Guild two months before Su Xinghe, yet now he could only watch this junior brother catch up step by step.

The fist-strength test results from a few days ago had dealt him an even heavier blow. Su Xinghe had clearly entered later than him, yet his score had already surpassed his.

The martial academy's attitude toward him had always been neither warm nor cold. Recently, he could even sense Elder Xie's hidden dissatisfaction.

But what could he do?

He came from a small town, and both his parents had died early. He had only an older sister in the city, washing clothes and cooking for a wealthy household.

He needed martial resources, even if it was only a bowl of medicinal soup.

Only then could he maintain his position as senior brother.

Su Xinghe paid no attention.

After practicing twenty rounds of the fist technique, he sat silently beneath the shade of a tree.

That earlier state had vanished halfway through his practice. In other words, Bone-Strengthening Soup could only last for one hour.

But that was already incredible.

He planned to drink two bowls at noon tomorrow and give it a try.

Three minutes later.

A familiar prompt appeared.

"Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."

"Listening to the Waves Art, experience +1."

Focusing his mind, he looked at the destiny panel in his head.

"Su Xinghe: White Ape Martial Academy (outer sect disciple)"

"Martial Path: Apprentice Grade (Inner Tempering 47%)"

"Destiny: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"

"Trait 1: Not a Drop Leaks Through, Unyielding"

"Trait 2: Gather Sand into a Tower, When Water Arrives, a Channel Forms"

"Listening to the Waves Art (consummate) 2152/10000"

"Golden Ape Fist (consummate) 385/10000"

"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"

"Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi (incomplete) 0/10000"

Thanks to Golden Ape Fist at the consummate level, his Inner Tempering progress bar once again rose at lightning speed.

Together with Listening to the Waves Art, which had reached consummate mastery even earlier, he would likely become a ninth-rank Martial Warrior in at most another ten days.

However, that did not yet account for today's medicine-dosing method.

If the Medicine-Dosing Plan was feasible, his breakthrough would come even sooner.

As for cultivating Listening to the Waves Art, he could now keep it at roughly three to four hundred practices a day.

Mainly because this art required no special movements and did not fear interruption. As long as he visualized the silverfish in his mind, it counted as one successful practice.

Early the next morning.

A wonton stall by Narcissus Street.

Su Xinghe was burying his head in breakfast when a scrawny youth hurried over.

"Boss, I think I saw that old swindler yesterday."

"That old swindler..."

Hearing that name, he froze for three seconds.

That old man who had once made Su Xinghe grit his teeth in hatred, wishing he could throw him into the Clearwater River to feed the turtles—now, hearing of him again, did not seem quite so infuriating, heavy, or suffocating.

Perhaps the debt of forty taels of silver from back then had long since been repaid.

Perhaps forty taels of silver no longer amounted to anything to him now.

Or perhaps it was precisely the pressure of those forty taels that had driven him to fight desperately in the Great River Gang. That was how he had caught the old gang leader's eye and been taught the ninth-rank true art, Golden Ape Fist.

And he truly liked the White Ape Martial Academy's current environment.

Su Xinghe raised his head. The skies full of seven-colored dawn clouds reflected in his bright eyes.

He lightly beckoned to Little Beggar.

"Come sit down. Eat something first."

Then he called to the stall owner boiling water beside them, "Boss, two more bowls of wontons and five portions of steamed buns."

When the steaming buns were served, Su Xinghe wolfed down ten in one go.

"How is your Listening to the Waves Art coming along?"

"Boss, I think I can hear ants crawling within thirty feet now."

At the mention of this, Little Beggar immediately forgot all about the old swindler.

"Thirty feet? Then you've already broken through to the Hall-Entering level. Have you seen the silverfish?"

"Boss, what are silverfish?"

"Eat your buns!"