Breaking the Deadlock with Strength

Lin Rongshan and Li Xiulan both froze, failing to grasp what Lin Hao meant.

"The minimum requirement for recruitment to the security posts at the eastern industrial park is a qi and blood value of 0.9."

Lin Hao tapped his fingertips lightly against the coffee table. "As long as my qi and blood value meets or clearly exceeds that standard, I'm certain to be hired through normal recruitment.

"That means Zhang Mao's claim of 'illegally recruiting unqualified personnel' won't hold up, and those supposed testimonies about coercion and accepting bribes will naturally fall apart too."

The living room fell quiet.

Lin Rongshan's eyes suddenly lit up with disbelief. "But last time you told us your qi and blood was only 0.76. This..."

Li Xiulan's heart tightened, and even her voice trembled. "Xiao Hao, you... what do you mean? Your qi and blood..."

Seeing his parents' expressions, Lin Hao smiled. "That Primordial Qi and Blood Potion from before worked really well. I'm certain I can reach the Martial Artist Examination's qualifying threshold of 1.0 or above within these two days. Who would believe someone with 1.0 qi and blood needed my cousin, a district bureau detachment captain, to use threats and inducements just to get a security job?"

"R-really?" Li Xiulan could hardly believe it. This happiness had come so suddenly that she couldn't help asking again, "Xiao Hao, you're not lying to your mom, are you?"

"Even if I lied to anyone else, I could never lie to my own mom," Lin Hao said with a smile.

At his words, Li Xiulan grew so excited that tears welled in her eyes. "Good... good. I said so. I knew my son could do it!"

Lin Rongshan stared at Lin Hao, an astonishing light shining in his clouded eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed twice involuntarily. "Good. That's wonderful. Our Xiao Hao really has grown up."

Looking at his parents, Lin Hao didn't want the mood to stay so solemn. He smiled. "I'm your son, after all. With parents as outstanding as you, how could I possibly turn out badly?"

Li Xiulan smiled at that and raised her hand to pat Lin Hao lightly on the arm.

Lin Rongshan smiled too. "Then it's settled. I'll contact your eldest uncle first and see if there's any way to get word to your cousin beforehand. Whatever happens, come home after class tomorrow morning at the latest. Your mom and I will go to the Discipline Bureau with you and clear things up."

"All right." Lin Hao nodded in agreement, his fingers unconsciously pressing against his temple.

Now that they had a plan for handling the matter, the discomfort from exhausting his mental power while refining potions surged back strongly.

"What's wrong?" Li Xiulan immediately noticed something was off and reached out to feel Lin Hao's forehead.

"It's nothing, Mom. I probably just cultivated a little too long yesterday. I'm a bit sleepy and dizzy." Lin Hao smiled. "I'll go back to my room and sleep for a while. I'll be fine after some rest."

"Then hurry off to bed and get some proper rest," Li Xiulan said at once.

Lin Rongshan added, "You need to balance cultivation with rest too. Your health comes first. You're always pushing yourself so hard, child."

"I know," Lin Hao answered, returning to his room.

He lay on his bed, his mind filled with lingering images of the dancing fire elements from the refining process. His head throbbed terribly.

Even though he was already exhausted, this made it hard for him to fall asleep quickly.

He tossed and turned for over half an hour before finally falling asleep.

Once asleep, he lost all sense of time.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky outside his window was already dark.

Lin Hao sat up and picked up the phone beside his bed. It was already seven thirty at night.

He had only intended to sleep for two hours, but after closing his eyes, he had slept for nearly eight.

He opened his bedroom door. His parents in the living room immediately stood when they saw him come out.

"You're finally awake!" Li Xiulan let out a relieved breath and hurried over. "We couldn't wake you at noon, and we still couldn't wake you this evening. You scared your dad and me half to death. You can't keep wearing yourself out like this. What if you work yourself into the ground?"

Lin Rongshan nodded along, his tone serious. "Your mom and I have discussed it. Once this matter with your cousin is over, we'll ask her to get you another Primordial Qi and Blood Potion. There are only twenty-odd days until the examination. Your nutrition has to keep up. You can't keep depriving your body like this."

Warmth filled Lin Hao's heart, but he immediately shook his head. "There's no need, really. I haven't finished the Primordial Potion from before. There's still over half a bottle left, enough to last a long time. There's no need to buy more."

He knew very well that a Primordial Qi and Blood Potion cost thirty thousand, no small burden for his parents. He didn't want them running around for the potion again.

Seeing this, Lin Rongshan nodded, but still added, "Then if it isn't enough, you must tell us. The examination is right around the corner. As your parents, we can't let you down at a time like this."

"I know, Dad," Lin Hao replied with an easy smile.

"The food's keeping warm in the pot. We saved you some from both lunch and dinner. I'll bring it out." Li Xiulan turned toward the kitchen as she spoke, her steps noticeably lighter.

The warm food filled his stomach with comforting warmth. Lin Hao cleared away his bowl and chopsticks, said a word to his parents, and returned to his room.

Looking at the two Primordial Qi and Blood Potions on the desk, the anticipation previously suppressed by his headache and drowsiness surged up again.

He took a deep breath and summoned the system panel in his mind.

[Host: Lin Hao]

[Qi and blood value: 1.72]

[Mental power: 0.13]

[Combat power: 6.42]

[Elemental affinity: fire (max level)]

[Cultivation method: "Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood" (great perfection)]

[Martial skill: "Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist" (great perfection)]

[Pharmacology: "Underlying Logic of Elementary Potion Refining" (proficient)]

[Potion: "Primordial Qi and Blood Potion" (perfect grade)]

Lin Hao's attention went straight to his mental power.

0.13.

It had increased by 0.01.

He paused, then realized it was probably because he had refined potions at the competition venue that morning.

The parallel refining operations had squeezed nearly every last drop of mental power out of him, while also forcibly pushing his mental power a small step forward.

0.01 didn't look like much.

But he knew very well that increasing his mental power by 0.01 in a day was already quite a feat.

Just two days ago, he hadn't known how many days and nights he would have to grind through just to raise his qi and blood value by 0.01.

It was only because he was improving so quickly now that he had the illusion that 0.01 was too little.

He smiled and picked up a Primordial Qi and Blood Potion from the desk, his eyes full of anticipation.

Over these past few days of cultivation, as his qi and blood value rose, the rate of improvement had clearly slowed.

Yesterday afternoon, even with Crimson Potions sustaining his cultivation, his qi and blood had only increased by 0.4.

Still, this didn't surprise him.

It was common knowledge in martial cultivation that the higher one's qi and blood, the harder it became to increase further.

Unless one used qi and blood to temper and strengthen the meridians, raising the upper limit of how much qi and blood they could hold.

To temper and strengthen the meridians, however, one's qi and blood value had to reach at least 3.0.

That was also why a qi and blood value of 3.0 had been designated as the basic standard for a one-star martial artist.

Besides that, the Crimson Potions' medicinal potency was too ordinary, another important reason his qi and blood gains had slowed.

Yesterday afternoon, the energy from those five Crimson Potions had struggled to sustain his cultivation.

After only five hours or so of cultivation, hunger would interrupt him, leaving him not daring to practice the Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood at full effort.

Now, however, with two Primordial Qi and Blood Potions he had refined himself in hand, things were entirely different.