Breakthrough, First Blood-Qi Transformation

"So those three characters meant Blood-Strength Powder."

Chen Xun held a porcelain bottle in his hand, a faint look of delight on his face.

Around noon, after finishing his meal, Chen Xun made a trip to the Li Estate's private school. He found a child and spent a few copper coins to have him teach Chen Xun over a dozen characters.

In truth, Chen Xun only wanted to know the meaning of three of them.

The rest were merely there to throw people off the scent.

Chen Xun had heard the Martial Artists in the dining hall mention Blood-Strength Powder before.

It was said that Blood-Strength Powder was a medicinal powder refined from Mutant Beast blood mixed with several herbs.

It was extremely suitable for Martial Artists in the First Blood-Qi Transformation to consume while cultivating.

The Blood-Strengthening Soup Chen Xun and the others had drunk was simply Blood-Strength Powder diluted with water.

Chen Xun had yet to gain control over his Blood Qi, so he naturally could not consume it directly.

He fetched a large bowl and poured in hot water. Then, holding the porcelain bottle above it, he shook out a small amount of red powder.

The moment the powder fell into the hot water, it dyed the entire bowl red.

Chen Xun continued shaking out Blood-Strength Powder until the water in the bowl turned a deep crimson. Only then did he stop.

Then, while it was still hot, he swallowed the bowl of Blood-Strengthening Soup in one gulp.

Soon after, Chen Xun felt a warmth bloom in his stomach, and a stream of heat swiftly spread throughout his body.

Before long, Chen Xun's face had turned as red as a monkey's backside, and his whole body was burning hot.

"I can't take it anymore."

Chen Xun hurriedly assumed a Stake Stance and began cultivating the Primordial Stance Technique.

He practiced it over and over. After several dozen repetitions, Chen Xun was drenched in sweat, yet he felt incomparably cool all over. A full, satisfied feeling surged into his heart.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

"So comfortable."

Chen Xun sighed in wonder.

He did not understand why refining the medicinal effects of the Blood-Strengthening Soup this time had left him feeling so comfortable.

It was not as though he had never drunk Blood-Strengthening Soup before, but he had never felt this way in the past.

Unable to figure it out, Chen Xun did not dwell on it. After simply wiping away the sweat on his body, he left the empty communal sleeping quarters.

By then, quite some time had already passed.

He had deliberately waited until Sun An left before sneaking back.

His purpose was naturally to test the effects of the Blood-Strength Powder.

When he arrived at the Small Martial Arena, he discovered that there was one more person present, while everyone else stood neatly before the two of them.

Chen Xun's arrival immediately drew everyone's gaze.

"Who are you?"

The stranger frowned and asked.

"Reporting to you, sir, I am also one of those who practices martial arts here."

Chen Xun hurriedly replied.

"Then why are they all cultivating diligently here while you are slacking off?"

The man questioned sternly.

At once, Li Peng in the crowd revealed a gleeful, malicious smile.

"Haha, this mud-legged peasant is in for it now."

Sun An, meanwhile, looked at Chen Xun with concern.

Chen Xun had not expected that merely arriving a little late today would land him in such a situation.

What bad luck.

He grumbled inwardly, but outwardly he wore an earnest expression as he replied, "I did some extra training at noon, then went back to rest for a while. I did not expect to sleep longer than intended."

"Is that so?"

"Does anyone have proof for you?"

The man continued to demand.

Upon hearing this, no one stepped forward to testify for Chen Xun.

Only Sun An spoke up. "Sir, I can testify for Chen Xun. He is usually the most diligent cultivator among us."

"Is that so?"

The man looked toward the others.

Several people in the crowd hesitated before nodding and testifying for Chen Xun, while even more remained silent.

But silence was also an answer.

"Fine, I understand. I'll let you off today. If I catch you doing this again, you won't get off as easily as you did today."

With a wave of his hand, Chen Xun returned to the group in relief.

Li Peng was extremely dissatisfied with this outcome, but he did not dare say anything.

After returning to the group, Chen Xun stood in a corner and listened carefully to the man's speech.

As it turned out, this man had come from the inner courtyard to select people as sparring partners for several young masters in the inner courtyard who had just begun practicing martial arts.

More accurately, he was selecting punching bags.

Yet even this kind of work had people scrambling to do it.

Formal Martial Artists were too strong. Even if they did not fight back, they could still easily injure the young masters.

Ordinary people, on the other hand, were too weak to let the young masters enjoy themselves.

Only people like them, caught between ordinary people and Martial Artists, were the most suitable.

"This time, I will select four people."

The instant the inner courtyard man finished speaking, a crowd of people raised their hands. "Me! Sign me up!"

The reason they fought so fiercely for these spots was simple: they only wanted to show their faces before the young masters. If one of the young masters remembered them, they would have struck gold.

Moreover, sparring partners did not work for free. They would also receive a substantial reward.

The inner courtyard man was very satisfied by everyone's eagerness.

But when he noticed that Chen Xun had not raised his hand, his brow furrowed again.

After thinking for a moment, he pointed at Chen Xun and asked, "Why have you not raised your hand?"

Chen Xun had not expected the other man to specifically ask him this. He could only answer respectfully, "Reporting to you, sir, I have poor aptitude and an impulsive temperament. I fear that I might anger an honored person when the time comes, and perhaps even implicate you, sir."

His words made the man ponder for a moment.

"What this person says is true. I must choose carefully. I cannot try to steal a chicken only to lose a handful of rice and end up being implicated by them."

In the end, the inner courtyard man selected Li Peng, Sun An, Zhao Qing, and Bai Zhen.

Those who had not been selected were all deeply disappointed. Liu Feng in particular, the most talented among the twelve, kept muttering even after everyone had left, "Why didn't they choose me?"

He did not know that he had not been chosen precisely because he was talented.

The young masters' talent was all inferior to his. If they let him go over, would that not merely make the young masters feel worse?

"I'm a dignified young master of the Li Family, yet my aptitude is inferior to even a servant's."

Li Peng did not comfort Liu Feng in time. Instead, he was extremely pleased with having been selected.

He was currently discussing with the others who had also been selected how to win the young masters' favor.

He even spoke a few extra words to Sun An, whom he had always been at odds with.

At the same time, he did not forget to mock deliberately, "Some people do have self-awareness. Knowing they would not be selected, they voluntarily gave up."

Chen Xun had not reacted yet, but Ye Feng became agitated. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I have no self-awareness?"

"No, that's not what I meant."

Li Peng hurriedly denied it.

Then the two began arguing and parted on bad terms.

The two who had once been so close they could wear the same pair of trousers now ignored one another.

Chen Xun paid them no mind. He found himself a quiet corner and continued practicing his Stake Stance.

95%, 96%... 99%.

That bowl of Blood-Strengthening Soup at noon had increased his progress by quite a bit.

Again and again, Chen Xun immersed himself in the Stake Stance.

Suddenly, Chen Xun's body trembled, and he slowly stopped moving.

At that moment, his eyes shone with extraordinary brightness.

"I succeeded."

Chen Xun sensed that genuine, unmistakable thread of Blood Qi slowly circulating through his body.

"So this is Blood Qi?"

Then he looked at his status panel and discovered that it had gained another line.

[Name: Chen Xun]

[Constitution: 5 points (Grade C, Lower Tier)]

[Comprehension: 10 points (Grade C, Upper Tier)]

[Cultivation: First Blood-Qi Transformation (1%)]

[Martial Arts: Primordial Stance (Minor Accomplishment 1/300), Mountain-Splitting Saber Technique (Beginner 52/200), Charging Bull Step (Beginner 73/200)]

[Universal Points: 0 points]

"I'm a Martial Artist now."

The First Blood-Qi Realm had three transformations, but Chen Xun did not yet know exactly how they changed.

Chen Xun suppressed the excitement and joy in his heart, then began guiding his Blood Qi bit by bit to strengthen his body.

Before it had even traveled halfway, the Blood Qi had already been absorbed by his body. Yet Chen Xun did not feel any changes in his body.

"There's too little Blood Qi."

Chen Xun quickly reached this conclusion and continued standing in the stance to generate Blood Qi.

He used all the Blood Qi he gained to strengthen his body.

But he soon stopped doing so, because he was hungry.

A fierce hunger surged up without warning, catching him completely off guard.

"Chen Xun, why has your face suddenly become so pale?"

Sun An asked worriedly from the side.

"It's nothing. My stomach suddenly feels a little uncomfortable."

"I'll leave for a while first."

With that, Chen Xun hurried away.

He did not go to the dining hall. It was not yet mealtime, and there would be no food even if he went.

He returned to the communal sleeping quarters, took out the bottle of Blood-Strength Powder, and steeped another bowl of Blood-Strengthening Soup with boiling water.

He drank it in one gulp, and warmth spread through his entire body.

Gradually, the hunger eased considerably. Though he was still somewhat hungry, it was no longer a problem.

"No wonder they say Martial Artists are thirty percent training and seventy percent eating!"

Chen Xun sighed. "Today, I've finally gained some understanding of it."

Without sufficient energy and nutrition, even if Chen Xun had become a Martial Artist, it would be difficult for his strength to improve.

Merely condensing a dozen or so threads of Blood Qi had exhausted all the energy stored in his body.

If he continued training by force, he would probably faint from hunger.

After easing his hunger, Chen Xun felt the lively medicinal power in his body. Not wasting it, he began standing in the stance to condense Blood Qi.

This time, he condensed more than thirty threads of Blood Qi in succession, which were absorbed by his body and used to strengthen it.

Only then did Chen Xun finally feel the strengthening effect that Blood Qi had on his body.

"My strength seems to have increased a little."

Chen Xun clenched his fist and swung it.

When he checked his cultivation progress again, it was still 1%.