Efficient Training

Now that Qin Chao had finished his cultivation plan, Bibi Dong naturally gave him her full support. In just one night, the blueprints he had drawn became reality, appearing in Spirit Hall's training grounds.

The next day, barely a fish-belly white had appeared on the horizon when Yue Guan woke Qin Chao from bed.

"Little fellow, get up and have breakfast!"

A bowl of black sludge sat before Qin Chao, looking decidedly strange.

"Teacher, this is..." Looking at the suspicious sludge before him, Qin Chao simply could not connect it with food.

A suspicious blush crept onto Yue Guan's face, and his gaze grew evasive.

Qin Chao had asked for better nutrition, so naturally, as his teacher, Yue Guan had to put some thought into it. After racking his brains all night, he had devised a medicinal meal plan tailored to Qin Chao's physical condition. He had even gotten up two hours early specifically to cook.

"This is a medicinal meal your teacher prepared for you himself. It may look a little rough, but its nutritional value is absolutely first-rate!"

He was not lying. He had painstakingly simmered this bowl for two or three hours, adding plenty of nourishing medicinal ingredients. Its nutritional value was unquestionably first-rate. As for everything else...

Since his teacher had said so, Qin Chao suspected nothing. He tipped his head back and took a great gulp...

The moment the sludge entered his mouth, tears nearly burst from Qin Chao's eyes.

What was this horrifying medley of flavors?!

Its texture was like crushed cockroaches, thick and sticky with tiny gritty bits. A scorched bitterness spread across his tongue and surged straight into his nose. Sourness, numbness, bitterness, and heat erupted together, testing the limits of his taste buds and making him instinctively want to vomit...

"Don't waste it!" Yue Guan's eyes and hands were quick. Before Qin Chao could open his mouth to spit it out, he slapped him on the back and circulated his Titled Douluo-level Soul Power. Not only was Qin Chao unable to expel the bizarre-tasting food, he swallowed every last bit instead.

Qin Chao wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

Mouthful after mouthful, his taste buds went completely numb. His normally lively eyes grew vacant. Qin Chao had lost all strength and every means of resistance.

With Yue Guan's "assistance," the "nutritious breakfast" was successfully finished. Qin Chao's little face crumpled into a chrysanthemum, rather befitting his identity as Chrysanthemum Douluo's disciple...

Watching the little fellow's suffering, a trace of guilt entered Yue Guan's eyes. Actually, it need not have tasted so terrible, but he was a complete novice at cooking. As he kept adjusting the seasoning, the flavor had gotten somewhat out of control...

"Little Qin Chao, your master isn't deliberately tormenting you. Only with a solid nutritional foundation can you train better, wouldn't you agree...?"

Yue Guan gently patted Qin Chao's shoulder, a trace of pity in his eyes.

The poor little fellow looked as though he had nothing left to live for. Little did he know that Yue Guan's meal plan contained dozens more medicinal dishes just like this...

After washing up, Qin Chao's small figure appeared on Spirit Hall's training grounds.

He wore a white, close-fitting training outfit and looked sharp and energetic.

Though neither the appearance nor the taste of that black sludge deserved any compliments, its effects were genuinely good.

Waves of warmth spread from his abdomen, gradually seeping into his meridians with the flow of his blood, then turning into fine threads of energy that slowly merged into his bones and blood.

The sensation was soothing and comfortable. Like a gently babbling spring, that energy nourished Qin Chao's blood with the utmost tenderness, also providing a foundation of energy for the training ahead...

Looking at Qin Chao's rosy complexion, Bibi Dong nodded in satisfaction.

The body was the foundation of cultivation. Without a strong body, how could anyone withstand the immense Soul Power within them?

"Little Qin Chao, I've prepared everything you asked for..." Bibi Dong waved her delicate hand, revealing the exercise equipment beneath the black coverings one piece at a time.

Looking at the dazzling array of equipment before him, Qin Chao almost thought he had returned to the gym from his previous life.

Never mind the dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells of every size-even shoulder press machines and spin bikes had all been provided.

Although their shapes were somewhat off, the sheer manpower and resources required to produce so much equipment in a single night were easy to imagine.

"Pretty big sister..." Qin Chao's eyes brimmed with delighted surprise, and even their rims reddened a little.

"What's wrong, little fellow? Is something not right? You know, this is my first time seeing these things too. If anything's wrong, I'll go find..."

Bibi Dong had assumed there was a mistake with the equipment, but Qin Chao's kiss cut her explanation short.

Qin Chao rose onto his tiptoes, wrapped his arms around Bibi Dong's neck, and planted a firm kiss on her fair cheek...

"Big sister, thank you!"

Qin Chao looked straight into Bibi Dong's eyes, his gaze exceptionally clear and bright, as though his gesture had merely been a child's excited reaction...

Although she knew perfectly well that he was only a child, Bibi Dong's face flushed beyond her control. Even her heartbeat seemed much faster than usual...

"Ahem. The equipment is ready, so hurry and try it out. If there's a problem, I can have someone fix it..."

"Okay!" Qin Chao nodded vigorously and tried each piece in turn, introducing them to Bibi Dong as he went.

"I call this a dumbbell. It serves the same purpose as those black iron blocks from before, mainly building muscle strength..."

After a few tests, Qin Chao found a suitable weight. Gripping the dumbbell in one hand, he squatted, swung it between his legs, then immediately pulled it upward, raising it toward his head as he straightened his legs.

"This is a simple exercise called a dumbbell swing. It works the glutes, leg muscles, abs, and shoulders..."

"This is a dumbbell lift... It works the glutes, calves, and upper arms..."

"This is..."

After the dumbbells came the kettlebells, followed by the barbells and spin bikes... Qin Chao tested them one after another. Not only was his form precise, he also explained which parts of the body each exercise worked.

At first, Bibi Dong merely listened casually, but the more she heard, the more interesting she found it. When her interest really caught fire, she even tried a few movements herself, following Qin Chao's instructions.

Sure enough, once she tried them, she felt an ache in exactly the areas Qin Chao had mentioned. These exercises were far more efficient than simply running, and the equipment was quite comfortable to use.

As the two of them trained, the morning quickly passed.

There truly was something to Qin Chao's training methods. After just one morning, even Bibi Dong, supported by her powerful Soul Power, felt weak and sore all over, with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. Qin Chao had clearly expended far more energy. His clothes were already soaked through, and sweat kept dripping from his hair.

Only after experiencing Qin Chao's training firsthand did Bibi Dong appreciate its intensity, and her admiration for him deepened. But could methods this efficient really have been conceived by a six-year-old child?

"Little fellow, how did you come up with this equipment and these movements?"

Well, I'd still given myself away...

Qin Chao felt rather helpless, but fortunately, he had prepared for this.

"When I was younger, my family was poor and couldn't afford meat. Grandpa often took me into the mountains to catch wild game. Back then, I noticed that whether it was rabbits or frogs, the meat on their legs came in distinct chunks. I wondered whether that had something to do with exercise..."

"Then I started thinking about how to exert force if I wanted to train the strength of a particular part of the body. After thinking about it enough, I started making my own exercise equipment. I still have homemade dumbbells at home, though they're made from wood and stone, so they're a bit crude..."

Qin Chao scratched his head bashfully, two perfectly timed patches of red rising on his cheeks. He looked exactly like an insecure boy from a poor family.

Such a persona was devastatingly effective against a woman like Bibi Dong, whose maternal affection overflowed.

Without pausing to consider the logic of his story, Bibi Dong reached out and gathered Qin Chao into her arms.

"That's all in the past. From now on, tell me if you need anything. I'll find a way to get it for you..."

"Really? Then could you get me eight or ten wives or something? I'm not picky. They only need to be half as pretty as you!" Qin Chao said with a cheeky grin.

"You little rascal, dreaming in broad daylight..." Bibi Dong curled a finger and flicked Qin Chao's little head. "You're barely bigger than a bean, yet your head is full of nonsense all day long. Eight or ten, indeed! Why not say you want to marry the Pope?"

"Can I really?" Qin Chao's eyes instantly lit up. "I do! I do!"

"Hey, now you're getting carried away!" Bibi Dong's cheeks flushed crimson. She had only been joking, but Qin Chao had taken an inch and tried to climb all the way up her face. She immediately raised her delicate hand as though to strike him.

Qin Chao hastily slipped out of her arms. "I was joking... Big sister, I'm hungry. I'm going to eat first!" With his soles practically greased, he fled even faster than a rabbit.

Watching the little fellow's comical figure race away, Bibi Dong could not help chuckling.

"This boy really is... quite adorable..."