The Stone Origin Pill melted the instant it entered his mouth. Its immense medicinal power roared through his body like a rampaging dragon, crashing wildly about. Already prepared, Fu Shaoping immediately circulated the Mysterious Tortoise Qi-Nourishing Art. Using its special breathing pattern of three long breaths and one short, he dispersed the pill's medicinal power and tempered it into his flesh, turning it into surging blood and qi that washed through his body again and again.
Three days later.
Inside the training room.
Fu Shaoping's entire body was covered in a thick crust of dried blood, mixed with impurities expelled from within.
"Whew-"
Seated in meditation with his eyes closed, Fu Shaoping gently exhaled.
His eyes suddenly opened.
The Treasure Mirror in his sea of consciousness flickered:
Body Tempering Realm: Fourth level (1/100)
Delight shone in Fu Shaoping's eyes.
As he circulated his cultivation art,
the origin energy drifting through the air entered his body through his nose and mouth. Once refined into origin power, it flowed into every inch of his skin. This was what it meant to train power into the skin!
The fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm-skin tempering.
Its purpose was to gradually make the skin as tough as copper.
Once he perfected the fourth level, both his strength and speed would improve considerably.
After taking a moment to feel the increase in his strength following his breakthrough,
Fu Shaoping finally pushed open the door and stepped out.
He went to the washroom and rinsed the filth off his body, immediately feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Now that he had reached the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm,
continuing to take low-grade tier-one Blood Qi Powder would do little for him.
Looks like I'll have to ask Uncle Zhan whether there's any way to progress quickly through the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm.
Upon reaching the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm, he could be promoted to Commandant.
Although he had not been with the Martial Suppression Bureau for long, he had already clearly sensed that only by climbing higher in rank and status could he uncover more of this world's hidden secrets.
He was still two levels away from qualifying for promotion to Commandant.
Naturally, he needed to find ways to pick up the pace rather than rely solely on the Treasure Mirror.
After leaving the Training Hall, Fu Shaoping headed to the rear office to report for duty.
Old Zhan still preferred spending his time in the side hall of the rear office. Seeing Fu Shaoping beaming like a man blessed by a spring breeze, he knew the young man had successfully advanced.
The two had grown much closer.
Fu Shaoping was no longer as formal as before and cut straight to the chase:
"Uncle Zhan, now that I've reached the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm, do you know how I can improve my cultivation quickly?"
"There are two ways."
Old Zhan took a sip of tea.
He continued:
"The first is to consume the blood essence of tier-one demonic beasts directly. Their meat can improve your cultivation too, but its grade is too low and the origin energy it contains is limited. Drinking their blood essence directly is the most effective method."
"However,"
"demonic beast blood essence is far too overbearing, and it hasn't been refined. If taken over many years, it can easily affect those of weak resolve. Becoming short-tempered is a mild consequence. Plenty lose their minds and go completely mad."
"So,"
"whether they belong to aristocratic clans or the great hidden sects, their disciples all take a mid-grade tier-one spirit pill called the Origin Energy Pill."
As he spoke,
Old Zhan rummaged in his sleeve, then tossed Fu Shaoping a pill bottle.
Fu Shaoping opened it, and a jasmine fragrance wafted into his nose. He tipped its contents into his palm and saw a diamond-shaped pill the size of a soybean.
Just from taking a breath,
Fu Shaoping could sense the immense medicinal power contained within it.
"What you're holding is an Origin Energy Pill. They sell for ten Low-Grade Essence Stones apiece, and our Hundred Treasures Pavilion stocks them too. Consider this one my gift to celebrate your breakthrough."
Oh, how could I possibly accept this!
Fu Shaoping promptly tucked the pill into his pocket and said with a smile:
"Thank you, Uncle Zhan."
Old Zhan smiled and tapped him on the head.
Fu Shaoping grinned:
"Uncle Zhan, these Origin Energy Pills are far too expensive. How many origin stones would it cost to buy the pill recipe?"
"You want to buy the pill recipe? Impossible! Neither the aristocratic clans nor our Martial Suppression Bureau ever allow that recipe to circulate outside. If you want Origin Energy Pills, you'll just have to earn the origin stones and buy them."
After a pause,
Old Zhan pointed toward the Alchemy Hall:
"Or you could join the Alchemy Hall."
He certainly did not want to become a pill-refining machine, shut in a cage by the Martial Suppression Bureau.
For now, he had no way to get his hands on the Origin Energy Pill recipe.
But he had already gained an initial grasp of Heavenstone Archery. He could try heading into the mountains' outer reaches and see whether he could hunt some early-stage tier-one demonic beasts.
No criminal cases had come up at the Mission Hall over the past few days either.
After bidding farewell, Fu Shaoping headed straight for the Earthfire Hall.
He no longer needed to take Blood Qi Powder himself. He planned to refine all twenty-five sets of ingredients he had, then exchange the powder with Granny Tang at the Black Market for fifty sets of ingredients. The next exchange would get him a hundred sets. That way, he would have a hundred portions of Blood Qi Powder, which he could sell for two hundred Low-Grade Essence Stones.
Two hundred Low-Grade Essence Stones should be enough to buy a tier-one alchemy furnace.
Once he had an alchemy furnace,
Sister Pan'er could start learning alchemy.
Then the two of them could take turns refining pills.
He would be able to free up more time for catching criminals and cultivating. After all, a person's energy was limited.
More importantly, with his own alchemy furnace, he would no longer have to pass under the Hundred Households Office's watchful eyes every time he refined pills. If he found the Origin Energy Pill recipe in the future, he could work on it in secret.
When he arrived at the Earthfire Hall,
Junior Banner Liu greeted Fu Shaoping with considerably more warmth.
Fu Shaoping's discovery of the fish-headed men in the Longflow River had earned him a measure of fame within the Hundred Households Office. Anyone would show a capable man a little more respect.
Besides,
Junior Banner Liu had something else he wanted.
He still needed Fu Shaoping's help refining Grade A Qi-Refining Powder.
Seeing Fu Shaoping heading toward Room A again, he hurriedly stopped him, pointed at the Earth Room beside it, and lowered his voice:
"Shaoping, I set this room aside especially for you. Go ahead and refine your pills in peace."
There were only five Earth Rooms in the entire Earthfire Hall, and they were normally used by the Alchemy Hall's alchemists. Fu Shaoping was rather overwhelmed by this unexpected favor, but a moment's thought made the reason for this friendliness clear. The man obviously wanted him to produce Grade A Blood Qi Powder sooner.
"Thank you, sir!"
Fu Shaoping cupped his hands.
After that,
for two whole months,
Fu Shaoping turned into an alchemy fanatic.
His portions of Blood Qi Powder piled up, and his experience kept rising.
When he reached his hundredth portion,
the writing on the Treasure Mirror in his sea of consciousness flickered:
Blood Qi Powder: Proficient (100/100)
From then on,
every portion of Blood Qi Powder he refined was Grade A.
He had thought proficiency was the highest stage for Blood Qi Powder.
To his surprise,
when he refined his hundred and fiftieth batch, the writing on the Treasure Mirror in his sea of consciousness refreshed again:
Blood Qi Powder: Perfection (2/100)
Another stage had actually appeared.
But Grade A was already the highest quality Blood Qi Powder could reach. Fu Shaoping did not understand why there was yet another stage.
Could it be...?
Fu Shaoping poured the latest portion of Blood Qi Powder out of the alchemy furnace.
The moment he lifted the furnace lid,
he gave a soft exclamation of surprise.
Unlike before,
not a trace of bloody odor drifted out of the furnace. Instead, there was a faint fragrance of wheat!
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