Chapter 7: Tempered, Real and Illusory

【Junior Achievement - Deep Sleep (2/7)】

The next morning, as soon as Qin Shi opened his eyes, lines of text flashed across his vision, sinking swiftly into the depths of his consciousness.

The black-framed Stele Panel, that blood-flesh embryo like a sprouting seed, seemed slightly larger, growing more robust.

【Anchor Point: Qin Shi】

【Growth Stage: Embryo】

【Progress: 0.008%】

【Monument Count: 2】

"Although the progress hasn't moved, the improvement isn't small, and moreover the growth degree keeps accumulating—what Old Liang taught me should be right!"

After a night of deep sleep, Qin Shi was full of spirit; the fatigue accumulated from yesterday's training was swept away, not left to build up inside his body.

"Xie Yucheng said, the first time you open your meridians, your muscles ache so much the next day you can't even crawl... Old Liang gave me such high intensity, presumably because he thinks this body of mine can't take it, and that once I suffer I'll retreat."

Qin Shi washed up quickly; his youngest sister Qin Lan had already gone out, leaving a bowl of soaked rice and a pot of hot water on the table.

He took two small dishes of pickles from the sauce jar in the corner of the room, then poured hot water into the covered bowl of rice, eating it soaked with the pickles.

He wolfed down two big bowls before his growling stomach felt five or six parts full.

In the past, when family conditions were poor, he often just made do with a meal like this.

"Training really consumes a lot; in the past two bowls were about enough, but now I still feel hungry, my stomach empty."

Qin Shi couldn't help missing the school cafeteria's nutrition meals; although the synthetic food tasted bad enough to make him want to vomit,

the energy provided was maxed out, absolutely enough to support the training needed.

He threw the bowl and chopsticks into the plastic basin for washing dishes, planning to clean them when he got back; after closing the doors and windows tightly, he jogged toward Zi Fu No. 9 Middle School.

"I don't know exactly how much my life force has increased, but after Old Liang opened my meridians, my muscles are indeed more solid and stronger."

Qin Shi silently estimated in his heart that a journey that used to take half an hour took him just over twenty minutes this time.

And he felt very relaxed, without sweating profusely or gasping for breath.

"The strengthening that opening meridians brings to physical quality is visible to the naked eye."

Qin Shi slightly calmed his heartbeat, then bought several large meat buns from a breakfast shop near No. 9 Middle School to fill his stomach.

Seeing a familiar figure slowly walking into the guard booth, he wiped his mouth and crossed the street.

"Yo, little brat, why are you here again?"

The old man was stunned.

"Yesterday someone carried you home, and you're still not giving up, insisting on finding suffering in Old Liang's hands?"

Qin Shi smiled ingratiatingly:

"Which student runs away after one class? I've been an excellent student since childhood, never failed a subject."

The old man looked at Qin Shi, who looked obedient and well-behaved, just like his own eldest grandson, and sighed:

"Old Liang running a tutoring class to recruit students was never proper to begin with, and moreover, you're not even from our No. 9 Middle School..."

Qin Shi handed that pack of hard-shell Li Min Cigarettes through the small window of the guard booth.

"I really want to follow Teacher Liang to settle down and cultivate; I want to improve so much. Please do me a favor."

The old man's eyelids twitched, and he said helplessly:

"Ai, I'm not deliberately making things difficult for you, a child. Forget it, forget it, I'm old and my eyes are bad; I saw nothing.

Remember to enter through the back gate, not the front gate."

Qin Shi nodded vigorously, thinking his eldest sister was right—there's no small matter in the world that a pack of cigarettes can't solve!

One pack isn't enough; two packs!

"You, how did you come?"

Teacher Liang saw Qin Shi jumping around full of life and was stunned on the spot.

"Didn't you tell me to follow and study for two days, attend two classes?"

Qin Shi's face was full of sincerity, doing his best to suppress the upturned corners of his mouth.

No matter how Old Liang calculated, he couldn't beat a cheat!

"You can walk on the ground?"

Teacher Liang was extremely surprised.

"I ran here."

Qin Shi answered truthfully.

"This... makes no sense!"

He must have drunk himself muddled and not sobered up!

Teacher Liang thought to himself.

Even though Qin Shi studied at Xin Yi High School in the Urban Circle, and his life force development was a step ahead of the students at No. 9 Middle School on Old Factory Street,

it was impossible for him to withstand the brutal test of having his meridians opened!

"Did you get injections and take medicine?"

Teacher Liang gave him a doubtful look.

In recent years, a "tech trend" had risen in the Urban Circle: when in doubt, pop supplements first; if strength isn't enough, go wild with banned drugs.

Indeed, this method could let ordinary people achieve a leap in overall quality in a short time.

And it was a comprehensive improvement from physique to muscles!

But the price paid was greater than that of Old Martial Arts training.

Such things as cardiovascular blockage and premature organ failure are mere child's play.

Some reckless fools who blindly take massive doses of injections even trigger fleshly mutations, aberrating into inhuman creatures.

Qin Shi twitched the corner of his mouth:

"Look at me, do I look like a rich person?"

Liang Laoshi was rendered speechless; this kid even had to hide the registration fee inside his underwear, the poverty Qi Breath radiating from his whole body was truly impossible to conceal.

"Come over, raise your arm, let me squeeze a bit."

He reached out and grabbed Qin Shi's shoulder, secretly exerting force to knead it.

A moment later, the astonishment in his eyes grew even thicker.

"Yesterday's Meridian Opening intensity was so high, yet not even half a bit of muscle fatigue accumulated, no wonder there's no soreness... this kid, truly endures training!"

At the open space by the playground, Xie Yucheng stopped his warm-up movements:

"Damn, how is this guy like nothing happened? Subjected to Old Liang's intense tossing, he can still climb out of bed?"

Li Yuan was pressing his legs nearby, glancing at the frail and refined Qin Shi:

"His physique doesn't look hard either. Old Liang must have held back!

If he truly does Meridian Opening for twenty-odd minutes and is still full of vitality, what kind of Legendary Endurance King would that be!"

Xie Yucheng scratched his hair; after sending Qin Shi home he specially asked a mouthful, only to learn this guy attends the Urban Circle's Xin Yi High School.

Old Factory Street's quite famous "good student", "obedient child" Representative.

"Hard to say, the guest doesn't attend a Zidi Xuexiao. Brother Ze said, the Urban Circle's rich kids soak in Cultivation Halls from middle school, there are even those who set Section Rank at eleven or twelve."

Li Yuan stood up and spat a mouthful of saliva, not concealing his cold face at all:

"Dogshit Urban Circle, if not for our Dangyang transfusing blood, could it have developed this fast? Really thinks it's the Imperial Capital's grandpa!"

Xie Yucheng smiled broadly, watching with great amusement:

"Brother Yuan, didn't listen carefully in class. Dongxia's development policy for Administrative New Stars has always been concentrated construction of large Urban Circles, surrounding central major cities, shouldering the blood transfusion task.

Surrounding areas belong to blood suppliers, hmm, this is called local support, the rich get rich first then bring along the later rich."

Li Yuan, seemingly full of grievances, couldn't help but curse and grumble:

"Sucked dry Dangyang District to create Taian Urban Circle, result? These years of aided targets, where is our Old Factory Street's share?"

"Cough cough, don't know how Old Liang is drilling this guy today."

Xie Yucheng changed the topic.

Brother Yuan used to be a standard worker family, dad did assembly in a military factory workshop, mom worked as a female worker in a cotton textile mill.

Later they ran into that layoff wave, instantly lost both pillar supports, collapsed out of shape in one go.

Therefore his complaints about Taian Urban Circle are very large.

Li Yuan pouted:

"Meridian Opening is merely a test, Grasping Qi Sensation is what's called difficult.

Without this step, he can't even see the Old Martial Arts Threshold!"

"Not bad, not bad, looks like your 'meridians' are quite sturdy, counts as a physique suited for Old Martial Arts."

By the playground, Liang Laoshi rarely gave out praise:

"Alright, today I'll give you another lesson!

Qi Life Force is an ethereal thing, cannot be seen, cannot be touched, this is called 'Void'.

The human body is the root that nurtures bloodlines and generates limbs, this is called 'Substance'.

The mystery of Old Martial Arts developing Qi Life Force lies in 'using Substance to nurture Void'."

Qin Shi listened and just wanted to scratch his head, no wonder Dongxia promotes New Martial Arts, with this verbose long passage of words, making people dizzy, how could one understand the true meaning.

So, he seriously asked:

"Liang Laoshi, what is called using Substance to nurture Void?"

(Chapter End)