Target: Capital Martial University

Seeing his parents like this, Lin Hao felt happy, but his nose stung despite himself.

Their son was about to make something of himself!

With a qi and blood value of 0.46, why would he need three months?

He only needed a single day.

If his parents learned that his combat power had already reached 3.52, the level of a One-Star Martial Artist, they would be overjoyed.

After some thought, he decided not to tell them about his combat power.

It was simply too incredible to say aloud, and he was afraid his parents would overthink it.

He might as well wait until the martial examination was over and the results came out, then give them a huge surprise.

Seeing that Lin Hao had remained silent, Li Xiulan thought he was feeling the pressure of the martial examination and quickly reached out to pat the back of his hand.

"Are you thinking about how the Martial Artist Examination is less than a month away?" she asked gently. "It's all right. You're only eighteen. Getting in this year would be best, but even if you fall a little short, we still have two more years of chances."

Lin Rongshan nodded as well, his voice steady. "Don't worry. Your mother and I can afford to support you. There's no need to rush. Don't put too much weight on your shoulders. Even if the sky falls, your parents will still be here."

Lin Hao's throat tightened. "Dad, Mom, I know," he said quietly. "I know where I stand."

Looking at him, Lin Rongshan suddenly remembered something, stood up, and went into the bedroom.

When he came back out, he held something wrapped in several layers of clean cotton cloth.

As he unfolded the cloth layer by layer, a lustrous white glass potion bottle came into view.

It was a Primordial Qi and Blood Potion, which cost thirty thousand a bottle.

"Your cousin had someone get this Primordial Qi and Blood Potion from the city bureau's potion depot. Ordinary people might not be able to buy it even if they have the money."

Lin Rongshan placed the potion in front of Lin Hao and pointed at the markings on the bottle. "Your cousin said this potion is very potent. Drink no more than one small measure at a time. Don't get greedy and hurt your meridians."

Lin Hao looked at the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion before him and remained silent for a long time.

He knew very well that the money spent on this potion had been set aside to treat his father's lower back injury.

It was his father's hard-earned money, dug out one swing of the pickaxe at a time on trip after trip hundreds of meters down into the mine.

"Don't think so much." Li Xiulan saw through her son's thoughts at a glance. "Your dad's back is an old problem. It's the same whether he gets treatment or not. It doesn't stop him from working."

Lin Rongshan gave an easy smile as well. "Your old man is in great shape. Running five kilometers in one go wouldn't be a problem."

Looking at his parents, Lin Hao did not want to say anything sentimental. He managed a smile, put the potion bottle away, and spoke half jokingly, half seriously.

"Don't worry. Your son is definitely going to place first this year and bring you an admission letter from Capital Martial University!"

Hearing this, Lin Rongshan and Li Xiulan both laughed and praised their son's ambition.

Still, they did not take it seriously, assuming their son was joking with them.

In his bedroom, Lin Hao's stomach was bloated from eating, yet he still felt hungry.

He sat at his desk for a while to recover, then took out the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion.

He unscrewed the cap, and a fresh, soothing herbal fragrance wafted out, carrying a faint sweetness.

Using the markings, he poured exactly one measure into the bottle cap, tilted his head back, and drank it.

The potion went down his throat and turned into a warm current, sliding down his esophagus into his stomach before spreading through his meridians to every limb and bone.

The hollow feeling inside his body gradually faded.

He closed his eyes, sensing the circulation of his qi and blood and checking for any discomfort in his meridians.

Only after more than ten minutes, once he had confirmed there was no discomfort at all, did he slowly open his eyes.

He stared at the second marking on the bottle for a long time.

In the end, he still did not dare risk pouring a full measure. He poured out just a quarter measure and took a sip.

The potion slipped down his throat, its warmth still gentle.

He closed his eyes to sense it again, waited two minutes, and took another sip after confirming his meridians were fine. Then he waited again.

Like this, he spent nearly half an hour taking one sip at a time.

Only then did he finish the second and third measures of the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion.

At last, most of the hunger that had persisted since the previous night receded, leaving him feeling half full.

He summoned the system panel and checked his current status.

[Host: Lin Hao]

[Qi and blood: 0.89]

[Mental power: 0.12]

[Combat power: 3.92]

[Cultivation method: "Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood" (Great Perfection)]

[Martial skill: "Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist" (Great Perfection)]

Sure enough, his qi and blood and combat power had increased again.

However, that morning, his 0.42 qi and blood had produced 2.02 combat power, a multiplier of 4.8.

Now, his combat power of 3.92 was only a multiplier of 4.4.

He was not surprised by this.

His martial skill had not improved any further during this time.

It was like a two-year-old child who could do addition and subtraction with numbers up to a thousand being called a child prodigy.

But if that child reached fifteen and could still only do addition and subtraction with numbers up to a thousand, they would no longer be a child prodigy. Instead, people would suspect there was something wrong with their intelligence.

Still, he had seen on the martial arts news that someone who could produce combat power twice their qi and blood could already be hailed as a martial skill genius.

If he told people his combat power was 4.4 times his qi and blood, probably no one would dare believe it.

Of course, he would not grow arrogant over it.

Qi and blood were the roots, and martial skills were the leaves. Without deep roots, even the lushest leaves amounted to nothing solid.

That was also why Teacher Zhou Lie had been instantly disappointed upon seeing his qi and blood value of 0.42 that morning.

Lin Hao did not dwell on it. He put away the bottle with the remaining potion, stood up, and began practicing the Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood in his room.

Unlike his practice the previous night, he now had the medicinal power of the Primordial Potion supporting him. With every movement, his qi and blood flowed through his meridians with greater precision.

The blockages in the tiny branch meridians that he had not cleared the previous night also began dissolving bit by bit.

But after half an hour of practice and several rounds of the eighteen forms, that familiar hunger surfaced again.

At this, he could only stop, pick up the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion, and drink another measure according to the markings.

The gentle medicinal power spread through his body, easing his hunger considerably.

He lowered his waist, stepped into his stance, and continued practicing.

Like this, he practiced the eighteen forms while drinking the Primordial Qi and Blood Potion. In less than two hours, the bottle was empty.

Having learned his lesson the previous night, he did not dare continue practicing once he noticed a slight hunger.

Only after he stopped practicing did he discover that a layer of sticky black grime had seeped from his pores and was running down his body mixed with sweat.

The black grime dripped onto the wooden floor, collecting in a dirty puddle.

A rank odor mingled with sweat hung in the air.

The temperature in the room had also risen considerably, and a layer of condensation had formed on the window glass.

Breathing heavily, he walked to the window and pushed it open.

Cool air poured in from outside, immediately cooling him down considerably.

Then he went to the balcony, fetched a mop and bucket, and mopped the floor clean before taking a hot shower.

Once the black grime had been washed away, he felt as though he had shed dozens of pounds of weight, leaving his whole body lighter.

After his shower, he returned to his room and lay down on the bed, feeling loose and relaxed all over, utterly comfortable.

He summoned the system panel and checked his current status.

[Host: Lin Hao]

[Qi and blood: 1.32]

[Mental power: 0.12]

[Combat power: 5.28]

[Cultivation method: "Basic Eighteen Forms of Qi and Blood" (Great Perfection)]

[Martial skill: "Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist" (Great Perfection)]

1.32 qi and blood!

He stared at the number, excitement stirring inside him.

Just yesterday, his qi and blood had been 0.3. He had been at the very bottom of the class, a poor student whom his homeroom teacher Shi Tie would not spare a second glance when passing by.

Now, his qi and blood had not only comfortably surpassed the Martial Artist Examination's qualifying threshold of 1.0.

It had even exceeded Bai Cheng's qi and blood value of 1.29, making him the new top student in the class.

Since the senior year at Jiangcheng No. 2 High School had only one martial arts class.

His qi and blood value was therefore now also the highest in all of Jiangcheng No. 2 High School.

As for his combat power of 5.28, it was surely the highest in all of Jiang City!

It might even be the highest in the history of Jiang City's Martial Artist Examination!

This inevitably reminded him of Capital Martial University's eligibility thresholds of 2.0 in both qi and blood and combat power.

With his current combat power of 5.28, perhaps they might even make an exception and grant him eligibility.

Still, even if he could not qualify through an exception, it did not matter.

He would simply spend a few more days raising his qi and blood to 2.0.