Chapter 85: Qi and Blood Threshold

After Zhou You returned to the martial arts hall, he weighed out over 2,500 taels of silver and set them aside for use.

Six or seven days later, the medicinal materials from Xingren Tang were delivered; after inspection, they were all high-quality ingredients, and he gave the silver to Du He, who had delivered the goods, completing the transaction.

In the days that followed, he worked in the workshop with peace of mind, honing his medicine-making skills, and took time off to return home during the interval.

He ate a meal with his parents and entrusted his father to purchase some medicinal raw materials for him at the firm.

Do not put all your eggs in one basket; this was his innate style of doing things.

Of course, as a martial arts hall Apprentice, his main profession of martial arts was not neglected, and he had to go to the training ground every day to practice boxing.

His sparring partner Li Hao was not there, having recently been called away by the eldest young lady Wang Yan to serve as a bodyguard.

Originally, Wang Yan had specifically named Zhou You and Li Hao to serve as bodyguards to protect her safety at her side.

However, the martial arts hall recently had a large batch of orders, requiring 1,000 plasters of Tiger Bone Wine, and there was a severe shortage of manpower.

Zhou You was skilled and nimble, one person doing the work of two, and it took Xu Ying exhausting all his eloquence to get the Big Senior Brother to let him stay.

"Once you finish this batch of orders, you will go and serve as a bodyguard for the eldest young lady."

Recently, Gongliang City has been plagued by a flower-plucking thief, and many daughters of good families have been defiled.

This matter has caused a great uproar, and every woman in the city with any beauty is in a state of panic, especially those from wealthy families, who are under strict guard.

The eldest young lady Wang Yan likes excitement and often visits close friends to go out, which carries great risk.

The hall master dotes on his daughter and could not resist her coquettish pleas, so he had to assign more Disciples to guard her at her side.

"Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 51.

Speed: 50.

Defense: 51.

Experience Points: 1040.

Occupation: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Level: Intermediate Force.

Skills: Great Poison Sand Palm lv1, Subduing Tiger Fist lv16, Yanxing Quan lv16, Basic Lightness Skill lv2/lv?, Soul-Chasing Seven Steps lv2, Pipa lv0, Medicine Refining lv6.

Ultimate Moves: Wind-Chasing Triple Technique lv1, Tiger Fiend lv2.

Talent: Hunger.

Armory: Void Mask (Flesh Magic Treasure) — False Identity: Lu Zhigang.

Trial Project One (Two-Star): Break through the Qi and Blood barrier and become an Inner Court Disciple of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall.

Trial Project Two (Four-Star): Perfect the Basic Lightness Skill.

Trial Project Three (Two-Star): Master the technique of imbuing objects with Tiger Fiend.

Trial Project Four (Two-Star): Successfully refine one Heart-Protecting Pill."

In the battle at Shan Shen Miao, Zhou You killed countless hunters, especially the two force-wielding martial artists Pan Laoda and Second Master, gaining a significant harvest.

His Experience Points skyrocketed, breaking through the 1,000-point mark in one go, and they have been rising steadily since.

The Experience Points on the panel are a cycle of positive feedback; as long as he is willing to put in the effort, the data will continue to rise slowly and steadily.

Usually, when practicing boxing or learning skills, as long as one is willing to put in the work, the Experience Points can increase.

Breaking through a level also brings a large sum of gains.

If one encounters a bottleneck, there is no need to worry; consuming Experience Points can save a lot of effort.

Therefore, the three greatest benefits the panel brings to Zhou You are: Heaven rewards diligence, no bottlenecks, and universal Secret Medicine.

Ordinary martial artists practicing martial arts often take detours, fearing most that they will waste time and effort only to gain nothing.

The cruel reality is that putting in effort does not necessarily yield a return.

Zhou You is different; whenever he practices or learns, his Experience Points rise steadily, a tangible gain.

This is the first: Heaven rewards diligence.

The second is having no bottlenecks...

Cultivation is not a smooth path; many times, when encountering difficulties and obstacles, one needs to waste a lot of time to break through.

Those with good luck have a master or sparring partner to help them break through; those with bad luck may waste ten or more years before breaking through, and those even less fortunate remain stuck at their original realm for a lifetime, with no hope at all.

This situation is called a 'bottleneck', and everyone has them, though they differ from person to person.

For Zhou You, when he encounters a bottleneck, he can consume Experience Points to force a breakthrough, so there is no situation where he has to waste time struggling.

"Endowed by nature!"

Zhou You's aptitude is ordinary, at an intermediate level in Gongliang City, but with the blessing of the panel, even the top geniuses cannot compare to him.

As for the third, Experience Points increase data attributes, with an effect equivalent to a Secret Medicine with no side effects.

What is even rarer is that Experience Points have no drug resistance, equivalent to a Secret Medicine with infinite refills.

As long as there are enough Experience Points, theoretically, one can reach the ceiling of human physical limits.

The Heart-Protecting Pill has not yet been refined, and the drug resistance to Tiger Bone Wine is gradually increasing, so there is no Secret Medicine supplement for the time being.

With over 1,000 Experience Points, they should be used exactly where they are needed most. "20 jars of Tiger Bone Wine, digested using the talent Hunger, conservatively estimated to increase data by 7 or 8 points."

"Then, by adding points with Experience Points to upgrade, I can reach the threshold of the Qi and Blood barrier, with three attributes at 65."

"Hmm, Subduing Tiger Fist as the main, Yanxing Quan as auxiliary, and also practicing the Seven Step Poison Sand Palm."

Zhou You opened the sealed wine jars lined up in front of him, opened his mouth, and inhaled violently, "Talent, Hunger."

Swish! A spectacular scene occurred; 20 crystalline columns of liquid rose into the air, leaving behind empty, pitch-black jars.

The medicinal power of the Tiger Bone Wine was absorbed, and the prompt sounds of 'Success' and 'Failure' alternated in his ears.

"Medicinal efficacy absorption rate 65%, Strength +7, Speed +6, Defense +7."

"Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 58.

Speed: 56.

Defense: 58.

Zhou You did not hesitate, consuming Experience Points to raise all three attributes to the 65 threshold in one breath.

"Experience Points -70, Strength 58→65."

"Experience Points -90, Speed 56→65."

"Experience Points -70, Defense 58→65."

"Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 65.

Speed: 65.

Defense: 65.

Experience Points: 810.

After Zhou You's three attributes broke through 60, they finally settled at 65.

Boom—a ball of fire ignited within his body, burning until his blood boiled and his body surface temperature rose sharply.

Jinli originates from the flesh and blood body; it is the potential of the skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and internal organs catalyzed into being.

The transformation and strengthening of flesh and blood represent an elevation in Jinli Level, reaching the point of being one step away from the threshold.

An epiphany arose in Zhou You's heart; the three attributes at 65 were one of the conditions for charging through the Blood-Qi Barrier, and could be considered initially achieved.

For the Blood-Qi Barrier, both strength and technique are indispensable.

The Jinli threading the needle's eye demonstrated by Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang represents the other hard condition: specific, minute control of Jinli.

"Experience Points -160, Yanxing Quan lv16→lv17."

"Experience Points -170, Yanxing Quan lv17→lv18."

"Experience Points -180, Yanxing Quan lv18→lv19."

"Experience Points -190, Yanxing Quan lv19→lv20."

Zhou You raised Yanxing Quan to lv20 in one breath; having grown accustomed to using it, he wanted to improve it further, however...

"Insufficient remaining Experience Points; threshold not broken through, improvement conditions not met."

"Comprehensive evaluation starting..."

"Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 65.

Speed: 65.

Defense: 65.

Experience Points: 110.

Profession: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Level: Jinli Proficient.

Skills: Great Poison Sand Palm lv1, Subduing Tiger Fist lv16, Yanxing Quan lv20, Basic Lightness Skill lv2/lv?, Soul-Chasing Seven Steps lv2, Pipa lv0, Medicine Refining lv6.

Ultimate Moves: Wind-Chasing Triple-Stack Technique lv1, Tiger Fiend lv2.

Talent: Hunger.

Armory: Void Mask (Flesh Magic Treasure)—False Identity: Lu Zhigang.

Trial Project I:..."

Zhou You was already standing firmly before the threshold of the Blood-Qi Barrier; whether in strength or skill level, both conditions met the requirements.

Although it was not the main-cultivated Subduing Tiger Fist, if Yanxing Quan could break through first, it could also be considered accumulating experience.

(End of chapter)