Chapter 22: Breaking Through to the Fullness Realm

Just as Feng Zi was talking to himself, the two elders staying in the inner room also walked out.

Feng Zi's house was nothing more than an ordinary thatched cottage, and it was not very soundproof to begin with, so the content of his conversation with the County Magistrate was naturally overheard by the two elders.

Looking at the three lacquer boxes on the table, Feng Fu hesitated for a long time before subconsciously asking, "Zi'er, such precious items... can our family really accept them?"

Hearing this simple question, Feng Zi could not help but be stunned:

He suddenly realized that a great divergence had appeared between his own perspective and that of his parents—

He knew that he had already become a Martial Master, and the youngest Martial Master in Wutai County at that, and furthermore, he had captured the title of Champion at the Martial Meet in one fell swoop; he ought to accept these gestures of goodwill.

Yet in the eyes of his parents, they were still the honest and simple farmers they had always been; how could they accept such precious charity from the County Magistrate?

After thinking this through, Feng Zi cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Father, Mother, please sit down first."

Seeing him so serious, the two elders, though puzzled, sat down as instructed.

Seeing this, Feng Zi firmly handed the lacquer box containing the land deed to his parents and said in a clear voice:

"Father, Mother, these were not bestowed upon us by the County Magistrate or any other official, but were earned by my own fists!

"You must remember, because I am a Martial Master, and because I defeated other opponents to become the Champion of the Martial Meet, I finally earned these!

"You are my parents; if I say you can accept them, then you must be able to accept them with your heads held high and in good conscience!"

Listening to these resounding words, the two elders pondered for a long time before finally reaching out together to take the lacquer box.

Seeing that his parents had finally steeled their resolve, Feng Zi finally smiled: "Alright, you two just keep these land deeds safe, and I am going to continue practicing my fist techniques."

Finally, the two elders calmly picked up the lacquer box and returned to their room.

Feng Zi withdrew his gaze, looked at the remaining two lacquer boxes on the table, and let out a long sigh:

He understood that a change in perspective was not a matter of a single day, and his parents would always need time to adapt to his new status.

"Alright, stop overthinking, it is time to continue cultivating!"

Thinking this, Feng Zi stood up, took off his shirt, and put on the Inner Armor from the lacquer box—this was a means of preserving his life, so naturally, he could not take it off again from now on.

After putting his clothes back on, he cut off a small piece of the Blood Vine, closed his eyes, and swallowed it whole.

As soon as his tongue touched the juice seeping from the Blood Vine, Feng Zi's mind instantly went blank, and only one sensation remained in his heart:

So bitter!

But by the time Feng Zi made up his mind to force the Blood Vine down, the plant had already turned into a cool liquid and flowed into his throat.

In an instant, Feng Zi sensed an extremely pure surge of Qi and Blood Power pouring into his meridians and subsequently merging into his flesh and blood.

Feeling the Qi and Blood Power in his body that had yet to be absorbed and converted, Feng Zi immediately hid the lacquer box containing the Blood Vine under the bed and ran into the courtyard to practice Taizu Changquan.

Unlike before, this time, after consuming the Blood Vine, he clearly sensed:

That long-lost feeling of his strength having tangibly improved had returned!

Gradually, Feng Zi sank into selfless practice, with only his pair of fists in his eyes and only insights and reflections on his Fist Technique in his heart.

……

Over these three days, Feng Zi, with the misgivings in his heart now gone, seemed to have returned to the half-month before the Martial Meet, with only single-minded cultivation in his heart.

When the Qi and Blood Power absorbed into his body was completely refined, he would simply rinse his body, consume another small piece of Blood Vine, and continue practicing his Fist Technique.

During these three days, apart from eating with his parents, all of Feng Zi's time was devoted to selfless cultivation; he did not even sleep:

For a Martial Artist at the Martial Master realm, as long as there was sufficient Qi and Blood Power in the body, going without sleep was not an issue.

Finally, the time arrived at noon on the third day.

When Feng Zi finished practicing the Taizu Changquan in its entirety once more, he suddenly felt a certain invisible shackle within his body break through.

In an instant, he felt that his mind, which had not experienced sleep for many days, had become much clearer, and his body had become much lighter.

This was not an illusion—when he threw a punch again, he discovered that his footwork had become faster, and his punches were becoming increasingly forceful and swift.

As his consciousness sank into his heart, a few lines of text slowly appeared before Feng Zi's eyes:

【Martial Master (Fullness): 605/1000】

【Taizu Changquan (Pure Mastery): 2589/3000】

【Zhao Family Long Fist (Peak Perfection): 3000/3000】

Seeing these lines of text, Feng Zi let out a long breath of relief in his heart:

Finally, he had managed to shake off the predicament of insufficient Qi and Blood in his body and had broken through to the small realm of Fullness!

The speed of his realm breakthrough was not like before, but Feng Zi also understood:

Martial cultivation is inherently such that the further one progresses into higher realms, the harder it is to improve; one absolutely cannot apply the experience from the Martial Artist period rigidly.

At the same time, the joy of the realm breakthrough surged into his heart, making him suddenly notice a "small matter" he had not paid attention to:

Unknowingly, the 【Diligence Can Compensate for Lack of Talent】 talent seemed to no longer appear suddenly at any time or place—

Only when he actively sensed it would the prompt for this talent appear.

In other words... as my realm continues to improve, am I also able to gradually master this mysterious talent?

Feng Zi pondered this in his heart.

Of course, regarding this unrealistic speculation, Feng Zi only thought about it casually before temporarily pushing it aside:

Regardless of whether this speculation was true or not, even assuming it were, it had nothing to do with his current self, so there was truly no need to waste time on it.

Looking at the sun hanging high in the sky, Feng Zi rinsed himself off, put on his outer shirt, and went into the house to help his mother cook.

Although his capture of the Martial Meet Champion title meant his parents no longer had to toil as they had before, the two elders had been busy for many years and truly could not stay idle:

His father still led the ox as usual to tend to the family's fields;

His mother also continued to take on sewing and mending work as usual, though it was no longer as arduous as it once was.

Feng Zi had once thought about persuading the two elders, but after thinking it over carefully, he ultimately gave up—life had to go on, and the two elders needed to have some goals in life.

After Feng Fu returned home and the family had finished lunch, Feng Zi tidied up a bit and walked toward the County Government Office:

As the Champion of the Martial Meet, he had yet to choose his own Human Grade Technique.

That said, regarding whether a Human Grade Technique could assist in Martial Artist cultivation, Feng Zi did not actually hold much expectation in his heart:

Although Human Grade Techniques are hard to come by, that is only for ordinary Martial Artists; the Martial Artists of Wutai County all practice them, yet it is not as if any of them have broken through the great realm of the Transformation Realm!

But one cannot judge it like that either—

After all, he is about to travel far; learning one more technique different from his Fist Technique, even if it cannot improve his cultivation efficiency, can still add a trump card for his self-preservation.