Breaking Past Jingwu's Qualification Threshold

Lin Hao unscrewed the cap of a bottle of Primordial Qi and Blood Potion and studied the markings on the bottle for a moment.

He recalled that the last time he had taken a Primordial Qi and Blood Potion, he had drunk three measures before his body felt half full.

His qi and blood had increased considerably since then.

But to be safe, he still poured only three measures into the cap and drank them.

As the potion slid down his throat, it felt gentler than the previous bottle of Primordial Qi and Blood Potion.

He felt the changes in his body and soon discovered another difference between the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion he had refined and the previous bottle.

The previous potion had seemed to force his qi and blood forward, breaking through the blockages in his meridians.

But the potion he had refined was much gentler, even completely dissolving the tiny blockages in his meridians that had resisted dissolution before.

The muscle soreness left by his cultivation over the past few days, along with the mental fatigue from refining potions, gradually eased under the effects of this warm medicinal current.

At the same time, he felt a long-absent sense of fullness.

But this bodily comfort lasted only a few minutes before his expression abruptly changed.

Although the energy flowing through his meridians was gentle, there was more and more of it. His meridians gradually began to swell, with faint stabbing pains.

Lin Hao's heart sank.

He immediately realized that he had still underestimated the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion he had refined!

Before, when his qi and blood had been much lower, drinking three measures of Primordial Qi and Blood Potion had only made him feel half full.

But now, despite his considerably increased qi and blood, drinking the same three measures of his own Primordial Qi and Blood Potion had clearly exceeded what his body could bear!

He could feel that if he let the medicinal power keep building like this, his meridians might suffer irreversible damage!

Not daring to delay, he immediately lowered his stance and spread his feet in his room, assuming the opening posture and beginning to practice the Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood.

Every movement was precise to the smallest fraction, guiding the immense medicinal power along the circulation routes of his qi and blood and into his meridians and flesh.

As he cultivated, the energy inside him swelled much more slowly.

Yet it was still swelling. It had not stopped.

The medicinal power of the three measures of Primordial Qi and Blood Potion continued to release, and the stabbing pain in his meridians not only failed to fade but gradually intensified.

Lin Hao could only smile bitterly to himself.

He had never imagined that two potions bearing the same name could differ so greatly in medicinal power.

But it had already happened, and he had no other choice but to keep cultivating.

As he practiced over and over, sweat kept dripping down his cheeks, spraying with every punch and kick.

Puddles of sweat accumulated on the floor.

Fortunately, after two hours, the stabbing pain in his meridians finally began to ease.

But he still did not dare stop cultivating.

The Primordial Qi and Blood Potion was still releasing medicinal power, only much less than before.

The moment he stopped cultivating, that medicinal energy would once again become more than his meridians could bear.

He kept cultivating like this until the hour hand of the clock on the wall pointed to one in the morning.

Only then was the medicinal power inside him finally refined. The stabbing pain in his meridians vanished completely, replaced by an unprecedented sense of unobstructed flow.

Lin Hao finished his movements and stood still, panting heavily, his clothes soaked through with sweat and black grime.

The floor was covered in filth as well, and a rank smell filled the air.

Without stopping to clean up, he immediately summoned his system panel.

[Host: Lin Hao]

[Qi and blood: 2.23]

[Mental power: 0.13]

[Combat power: 8.03]

[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)]

A qi and blood value of 2.23!

A combat power value of 8.03!

Looking at the numbers on the panel, Lin Hao's breathing grew heavier, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

Capital Martial University's selection qualification threshold was 2.0 in both qi and blood and combat power.

Now, not only had his qi and blood firmly crossed that threshold,

His combat power exceeded the qualifying standard by more than three times!

At that thought, he could not help smiling.

The Primordial Qi and Blood Potion he had refined truly was extraordinary.

Yesterday afternoon, his qi and blood had only risen by 0.4, but these five hours of cultivation had raised it by a full 0.51!

It had outright broken the rule that qi and blood became harder to increase the higher they rose.

With this, anyone who still believed his cousin Lin Qing would use threats and inducements on the industrial park to arrange a security position for him definitely had something wrong with their head.

At that thought, Lin Hao breathed a sigh of relief. Dragging his exhausted body along, he cleaned the filth off the floor, then took a hot shower.

Returning to his room, he carefully locked the remaining Primordial Qi and Blood Potion in his desk drawer and lay down on his bed. The moment his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.

Early morning, Jiang City, No. 2 Middle School.

Lin Hao had barely reached the classroom door when he heard the unusually loud commotion inside.

Normally, at this hour, the top students would mostly be leafing through cultivation methods while the poor students slept at their desks.

Now, however, the students were gathered in groups of three or five, excitedly discussing something.

Lin Hao walked toward his seat, his classmates' excited voices filling his ears.

"Did you see the bulletin the Martial Arts Association released this morning? Yesterday's Six-City Young Pharmacists Competition completely blew up! An anonymous champion emerged!"

"The one who competed under the name of Zhou Mingxuan from Linshui City! I was there. This person finished refining a Primordial Qi and Blood Potion in less than an hour, even purifying and fusing ingredients along multiple tracks at once. Absolutely heaven-defying!"

"I was there too. Even Su Mo, that fourteen-year-old intermediate pharmacist genius from the Su Family, admitted he couldn't measure up and conceded the championship on the spot!"

"That's not all! My dad works at the Wansheng Potion Trading Company. He said the potion trading companies, the city lord's manor, and the factions from the five surrounding cities have all gone crazy. They'll dig three feet into the ground to find this person. As long as this person agrees to join them, they can name any terms they want!"

"My god, now that's a real big shot! Without even showing their face, they poked a hole right through the sky over the six cities' potion circles!"

"..."

Listening to their discussions, Lin Hao suppressed the upward curl of his lips, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

He had not expected a farce involving taking someone else's place in a competition to end up stirring a storm throughout the city.

From the looks of it, the organizers had not pursued his violation of competing in someone else's place.

Instead, the major factions were scrambling to recruit him.

This gave him an idea. If he could make a career as a pharmacist, never mind easing his family's burden-soaring to success would be just around the corner.

As for his cousin's trouble with the Discipline Bureau, with these factions backing him, it would take no more than a word.

But before the thought had even made half a turn through his mind, he suppressed it.

Right now, apart from the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion, he did not know how to refine any other potion at all.

Although he possessed a max-level fire elemental affinity talent, had already mastered the underlying logic of elementary potion refining, and even had thirty years of grandmaster-level experience in controlling fire elemental essence,

All of this would surely allow him to quickly master the methods of refining other potions.

But that would all take time.

Joining these factions rashly might bring him some unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, he decided to take the Martial Artist Examination in just over twenty days first.

The matter of becoming a pharmacist could wait until after the examination.

Besides, his sights were no longer limited to Jiang City and the five surrounding cities.

If he truly wanted to join a faction, he should cast his gaze across the entire Dragon Nation.