Qi and blood reached new heights

Lin Hao gazed out the window at the old mining district's family housing compound, his thoughts flying.

In this world where martial strength reigned supreme, as long as he was strong enough, every problem would indeed unravel like bamboo before a blade.

Everything he had never even dreamed of before would be delivered to him, ascending the steps of his strength.

He stopped letting his thoughts wander. For tomorrow's One-Star Martial Artist certification, his qi and blood value had to reach the exceptional qualification threshold of 2.5 before tomorrow.

He raised his hand and unscrewed the bottle of Primordial Qi and Blood Potion he had refined himself, which still held what remained after yesterday's dose.

He had learned his lesson last time, when three measures of potion had nearly burst his meridians.

This time, he poured only one measure into the bottle cap and drank it.

The mild potion slid down his throat, its immense medicinal power spreading through his meridians.

He lowered his waist and stepped out, bending his knees into a squat as he began the Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood, his movements flowing like clouds and water.

As he moved, the qi and blood in his meridians flowed like water, scouring away the blockages within.

At the same time, the medicinal power passed through his meridians and was absorbed throughout his body.

Time trickled by. He became completely immersed in cultivation, losing all sense of time.

All he knew was that he drank the seven remaining measures in the bottle, one measure at a time.

During that time, he went through three towels and changed the water in the towel-washing bucket twice.

Outside the window, the blazing sun overhead gave way to the sinking evening sun.

Only when he finished his forms, stood still, and checked the time on his phone did he realize with a start that more than six hours had passed.

After cultivating, every muscle in his body ached and felt swollen, but the qi and blood in his meridians remained abundant.

He carried the blackened wastewater into the bathroom and poured it out, scrubbed the towels clean, then took a hot shower and went to the living room.

His parents were sitting on the sofa, waiting for him.

Seeing him emerge, Li Xiulan immediately stood and headed for the dining room. "I knew you'd be hungry after training. The food's already warmed up. I'll go get you a bowl of soup."

Lin Rongshan also headed toward the dining room and said in a low voice, "About going to the assessment center tomorrow-your cousin said it would be best if your mother and I didn't go with you."

"You don't need to come. I can go myself." Lin Hao sat down at the dining table as he spoke and smiled. "Didn't my cousin say it was just a formality? It's nothing major."

Li Xiulan came out with the soup, set the bowl in front of Lin Hao, and cautioned him, "Then you must be careful tomorrow. I'm still worried about that Zhao Man. Don't let her scheme against you."

"I know, Mom. Don't worry." Lin Hao took a sip of hot soup and smiled.

Dinner did not last long. After chatting briefly with his parents, Lin Hao returned to his room to continue cultivating.

Rather than using the two bottles of Primordial Qi and Blood Potion his cousin had given him, he first used the remaining bottle he had refined himself.

After all, the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion he refined himself was much more effective than what was sold on the market.

This time, he still drank only one measure at a time, steadily guiding the medicinal power as he repeated the Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood over and over.

This bout of training lasted another five hours and more.

When he finished his forms again, the time on his phone already showed midnight.

The aching and swelling in his muscles had nearly reached his body's limit.

He tidied his room, took another shower, then lay down on his bed and summoned the system panel in his sea of consciousness.

[Host: Lin Hao]

[Qi and blood value: 2.79]

[Mental power: 0.13]

[Combat power: 9.21]

[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)]

Looking at the numbers on the panel, especially his qi and blood value of 2.79, Lin Hao's expression brightened with joy.

Tomorrow's One-Star Martial Artist certification should be no problem.

But after his delight passed, he still could not help shaking his head and sighing.

Yesterday, he had cultivated for five hours, driving his qi and blood from 1.72 to 2.23, an increase of 0.51.

Today, he had trained for nearly twelve hours altogether, yet his qi and blood had only risen from 2.23 to 2.79, an increase of 0.56.

Sure enough, the higher his qi and blood value, the harder it became to increase it.

If he wanted his qi and blood to keep surging as it had before in his subsequent cultivation...

He would have to wait until his qi and blood reached 3.0 and he began using it to temper and strengthen his meridians, raising the upper limit of the qi and blood they could carry.

But the effects of meridian tempering ultimately depended on his own meridian aptitude.

So far, the system had given him perfect comprehension of cultivation methods and martial skills, but it had never improved his meridian aptitude at all.

He did not know what level his meridian aptitude would be.

That required a specialized meridian aptitude test after becoming a One-Star Martial Artist.

But considering that his qi and blood had only reached 0.3 over the dozen-odd years before the system began operating, his meridian aptitude probably would not be very high.

These thoughts circled through his mind a couple of times before he suppressed them.

There was no use overthinking it. He should first secure a solid pass in tomorrow's One-Star Martial Artist assessment.

As for his meridian aptitude, after the Martial Artist Examination, he would carefully consider how to trigger system missions to improve it.

No sooner had that thought settled than exhaustion from nearly twelve hours of intensive cultivation surged over him like a tide.

His eyelids closed, and he sank into a deep sleep.

In the morning, since Lin Hao did not have to attend classes, he slept a little later.

Although his father, Lin Rongshan, and his mother, Li Xiulan, followed his cousin's advice and did not accompany Lin Hao to the martial artist assessment center, both took leave to stay home and wait for his retest results.

After breakfast, before Lin Hao set out, Li Xiulan repeatedly reassured him, saying, "Be careful on the way," and "Don't panic. Just take the test normally."

But Lin Hao knew his mother was still worried. Though she was reassuring him, it also seemed as though she was reassuring herself.

Lin Hao stepped outside and smiled at his parents. "Dad, Mom, my cousin's arranged everything. Nothing will happen. Besides, with my qi and blood, even without her arrangements, there wouldn't be any problems."

With that, he nodded to his parents again, then turned and set out.

The martial artist assessment center was a little over twenty minutes from Lin Hao's home for an ordinary person. He reached it in just over ten.

Standing before the gates of the Jiang City Martial Artist Assessment Center, he paused.

Above the main entrance hung a black plaque bearing the gold characters "Jiang City Martial Artist Assessment Center." The strokes were sharp as blades and faintly exuded an imposing pressure. He had heard that a Five-Star Martial Artist had been specially invited to write them.

Two stone lions, each as tall as a person, stood on either side of the entrance.

Unlike ordinary stone lions, these bared their fangs, and beneath their paws lay demonic beast skulls.

Standing before the gates, Lin Hao saw few people.

That did not surprise him.

After all, the whole of Jiang City had only a little over five hundred official martial artists of One-Star rank or above.

Even though the assessment center scheduled only half a day of assessments each month, few people came each time. He had heard there were generally only thirty to fifty.

Feeling the breeze blow against him, he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, then clenched his fists to calm his surging feelings.

He was not as relaxed now as he had appeared before his parents.

But this was not because he was nervous. Rather, an irrepressible feeling welled up in his heart.

Twelve years...

He had always been at the bottom of the class in the eyes of his teachers and classmates.

His parents had also toiled for twelve years for his martial education.

Today, all of this should finally reach a conclusion...