[Illustrated Guide: Squatting Horse Stance] (High Level Mastered)

[Effect 1: Strengthened Lower Limb Strength]

[Effect 2: Enhanced Endurance]

[Effect 3: Deeply Rooted (Physical Strength +0.03; Endurance +0.03; Power +0.03; Coordination +0.03)]

[Skill Ultimate Form Fulfillment Conditions: Accumulated Duration of 10,000 Hours] (1000/10000)

...

Night fell. A cool evening breeze blew as the distant city lights twinkled.

On the rooftop, Wan Ze finally completed the Special Level mission for his Squatting Horse Stance.

In an instant, a surge of hot blood gathered at the soles of his feet and shot upwards, spreading through his limbs. The soreness in his legs vanished completely.

In his field of vision, the Attribute panel showed that his Physical Strength, Endurance, Power, and Coordination had all increased.

...

[Physical Strength: 0.79]

[Intelligence: 0.81]

[Agility: 0.75]

[Endurance: 0.75]

[Power: 0.77]

[Coordination: 0.75]

...

Wan Ze felt the surging power within him, his face lit up with pleasant surprise.

"Did I... undergo a Qi Blood Transformation?"

He had guessed that he would undergo a Qi Blood Transformation once his attributes reached 0.75, and he was right!

The data panel slowly faded, and a new line of information appeared.

[Cultivation: Blood Tempering First Transformation]

"It really worked!"

"I’m a Martial Artist now!"

But before Wan Ze could celebrate for long, an overwhelming hunger from his stomach washed over him like a tidal wave. He staggered, rushing back home. He didn’t even hear his sister calling out to him as he burst into the kitchen, grabbed the beef that had just been marinated for dinner, and started stuffing it into his mouth.

Wan Xiaoyu was stunned.

’Did my brother get bitten by a zombie and start turning?’

"Are you still my brother?"

Wan Ze shot her a cold glance, and Wan Xiaoyu was so frightened she turned and ran. "Don’t eat me! Don’t eat me! I promise I’ll study hard from now on!"

"..."

He devoured the two pounds of beef in a few large bites, but he was still starving.

Wan Ze rummaged through the refrigerator, desperate to sate the emptiness caused by his depleted qi and blood.

Father Wan was startled by the commotion.

Seeing his son devouring food like a ravenous beast, he was dumbfounded.

He couldn’t help but ask, "Xiaozhe, are... are you okay?"

"I’m fine." Wan Ze felt about half-full. He took out all the money he had on him, which he had earned recently. "Take this. Stock up on beef at home. My appetite is... a little big right now."

’A "little" big?’

As a father, he didn’t know what to say. He took the money and was shocked. "This is so much! Beef is four silver a pound right now. This is enough to buy dozens of pounds. We won’t be able to finish it all."

"Just buy what you think is best. Now that I’m practicing martial arts, I only want to eat meat... Also, buy some fruit for yourselves. I’ll keep earning more money." Wan Ze closed the refrigerator door and stood up.

Father Wan opened his mouth, unable to stop himself from asking, "Xiaozhe, I heard that practicing martial arts... isn’t it very expensive? How are you making money so fast?"

"The expenses aren’t small." In just a few days, Wan Ze had already eaten through half a month of his parents’ salary. "I guess I have some talent, so the senior brothers and old masters at the dojo are willing to help me out... I hear that once you become an official Martial Artist, corporations and organizations will hire you for a high price. Earning hundreds of thousands a year isn’t a problem."

’Hundreds of thousands?’

Father Wan’s eyelids twitched, and he swallowed hard. He nearly blurted out, ’Do you think I still have a chance?’

The words were on the tip of his tongue before he remembered his dignity as a father. He cleared his throat and said, "Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Your mother and I can still earn money."

Wan Ze snapped out of his daze and smiled. "Don’t worry, Dad, I know what I’m doing. By the way, there’s an event at the dojo tomorrow. Can you call the school and get me the day off?"

"Okay, don’t worry about it."

"What about Mom..."

"I’ll talk to your mother."

Father Wan knew his son wasn’t cut out for academics and had never forced the issue. Besides, how much could he earn after graduation anyway? If his son truly had the talent for martial arts, he would support him with everything he had.

...

「The next morning.」

A few white-tailed birds darted between the buildings and quickly disappeared from sight.

Wan Ze stood in front of the dojo, a military-green sling bag over his shoulder containing medical supplies they might need for mountain climbing.

Just then, a large black vehicle appeared. It had the shape of an off-road truck, with an open-air bed in the back.

The front had massive, inverted triangular headlights.

The sides of the vehicle were spray-painted with some messy blue and white text. Taken together, the words roughly meant something like "hot-blooded youth."

"Come on, get in." The driver’s side window rolled down, revealing Lei Ming’s familiar buzz cut. Seeing Wan Ze’s stunned expression, he couldn’t help but chuckle. "Didn’t expect this, huh?"

"I really didn’t," Wan Ze said with a smile as he got in, taking the passenger seat and looking around.

"Picked it up at a secondhand market. A new one costs fifty thousand. Only a fool would buy that," Lei Ming said with a slight laugh, his muscular arm resting on the door frame.

As he spoke, the engine rumbled to life with a VROOM. The truck quickly pulled out of the alley and headed for the mountain road in the distance.

"My friend’s surname is Song. Later, you can just call him Professor Song like I do," Lei Ming explained in the car.

Wan Ze nodded, asking curiously, "Professor?"

"Yeah, Old Song is a professor of archaeology at National University." Lei Ming hesitated for a moment before continuing, "He’s a rather meticulous person and can be very direct sometimes. Don’t take it personally. Our job is to protect him."

Wan Ze nodded.

’Take their money, do their work.’

"It’s about a two-hour drive from here. Want to take a nap and rest up?"

"No need. Have you eaten breakfast?"

"I’ve got some beef jerky in my bag. If you haven’t eaten, you can have some."

"Beef jerky? Then don’t mind if I do."

Lei Ming chuckled at his words, but a moment later, the smile vanished. "Hey, buddy, have you not eaten in days?"

"I don’t know what’s wrong. Ever since my Qi Blood Transformation last night, I’ve been constantly hungry," Wan Ze mumbled, his mouth full.

SCREECH!

The car slammed to a stop.

If it weren’t for his seatbelt, Wan Ze would have flown out of his seat. He whipped his head around to look.

Lei Ming’s face was a mask of disbelief. "Wait, what did you just say? You reached the Blood Tempering First Transformation?"

"I think so."

"Holy shit!"

Lei Ming clutched his head, completely stunned. He had suffered so much to achieve his own Qi Blood Transformation, yet this guy had just quietly succeeded.

"Maybe my perception was off," Wan Ze said uncertainly.

Lei Ming hesitated for a moment, then restarted the car. "When we get there, punch me. I’ll be able to tell right away by feeling it."

"Okay."

Lei Ming suddenly fell silent, seemingly lost in thought about Wan Ze’s breakthrough. After a while, he finally spoke up. "I never explained the three stages of Qi and Blood Refining in detail before because I thought you still had a long way to go. Since we have time today, I’ll tell you about them now."

Wan Ze immediately perked up his ears to listen.

Lei Ming said, "The Blood Tempering First Transformation is about stretching the tendons and pulling the bones, with the fascia rising like tiles... When you draw a bow, don’t your shoulder blades feel like a trigger mechanism? And your qi and blood surges, increasing your resistance to cold."

Wan Ze nodded.

’That confirms it,’ he thought.

Seeing this, Lei Ming knew the kid had definitely made it. ’Holy shit!’ he thought.

He became even more determined to build a good relationship with him.

He continued with a smile, "During this stage, you need to constantly stretch your fascia and vibrate open the seams of your bones to let qi and blood infuse the tips of your limbs... Then, you use Breathing Techniques to pressurize your organs, forcing the qi and blood to permeate your bone marrow. That’s why the sign of the Blood Tempering Second Transformation is ’blood like mercury paste, and marrow like frosted crystal’!"

"Then what about the third stage?" Wan Ze asked instinctively.

"A drop of blood can pierce stone; the heart’s fire forges qi and blood into an innate state, which can be released externally as an aura... When you reach that stage, it’s ’blood like molten gold, the spirit illuminating the great thousand worlds’!" Lei Ming himself sounded full of longing as he spoke.

He turned his head, saw Wan Ze’s silence, and laughed. "Don’t worry. After today’s business is over, I’ll personally take you to the assessment... You need to become an Official Disciple as soon as possible to become a true disciple of the dojo! When that time comes, you’ll discover that the Martial Dao is far more complex, and far more powerful, than you can ever imagine!"