Promise!

Chapter 48, Hope

Zhuang Jin left the Huangzi No. 9 Martial Arts Training Ground and came to the Xuanzi No. 28 Martial Arts Training Ground where he practiced martial arts last month. Now it was occupied by a new group of formal warriors who were learning martial arts. He went to other Xuanzi No. 28 Martial Arts Training Grounds.

He found a Xuan-branded martial arts training ground with fewer people. Since he had drunk more than a bowl of Kailuo Soup before, he did not swallow the Black Yuan Powder. He started practicing standing meditation and refining his internal energy directly, and then went to the quiet room to practice static meditation and condense his energy.

After about half an hour, the medicinal effect of Kailuo Decoction was exhausted.

"Needless to say, when I was a martial artist, last month, when I was at the first level, a bowl of Kailuo soup could sustain me for half an hour of martial arts training. Now that I have reached the second level, this bowl of Kailuo soup can also sustain me for half an hour, which is reasonable."

"Half an hour a day, that's fifteen hours a month. If I practice five hours a day now, I'll use up a pack of Black Yuan Powder every two days. In other words, the benefit of Kailuo Soup every day is roughly equivalent to half a pack of Black Yuan Powder, which costs seven and a half cents of silver. It can be considered an invisible benefit of teaching martial artists."

Zhuang Jin nodded slightly, then pondered for a moment, deciding whether to continue improving his realm or practicing the Black Evil Palm. He made a plan for himself: "Now, the focus should be put back on the realm cultivation. As for the Black Evil Palm, I will practice it for an hour every night."

In fact, if he continues to focus on martial arts, he will be able to reach the bottleneck of getting started with the Black Evil Palm in about three to five days. If his golden finger has no bottleneck and is effective for martial arts, he will be able to get started directly then. But now that the environment is safe in the Shen family headquarters, there is no need to rush. Just practice for an extra hour every night as planned, and this month will be enough for him to get started.

"Realm first, martial arts later!" Zhuang Jin made such a plan with this sentence in mind and considering his own situation.

Of course, martial arts are not unimportant. In the same realm, when there is no difference in the level of internal energy, martial arts are very useful. Once you have mastered the Black Evil Palm, you can strike out in the air an inch, an inch longer and an inch stronger. In the same realm, when a martial artist who has not mastered martial arts fights a martial artist who has mastered martial arts, he will be restricted everywhere. Even if he has accumulated more and condensed internal energy in the same realm, he is likely to be killed.

"Martial arts still cannot have obvious weaknesses, so the focus now is still on the realm of cultivation. It is enough to practice martial arts for an extra hour every night to ensure that you don't fall behind the martial artists of the same realm."

"In fact, if my lack of bottlenecks also applies to martial arts, I don't need to worry about this as long as I set aside extra time for practice every day."

'Speaking of the realm of cultivation,'

Zhuang Jin secretly estimated: "If I continue to practice for five hours every day and take a pack of Black Yuan Powder every two days, with sufficient resources, I will be able to complete the accumulation of the Second Sutra Realm and break through to the Third Sutra Realm by the end of next month!"

"What a pity! If there were a sufficient supply of exotic beast meat, I could be even faster!"

He thought about the exotic beast meat he had eaten at noon yesterday. His energy and blood were thriving yesterday afternoon, and his cultivation speed had increased by 30%. "If I had not only sufficient cultivation resources but also an adequate supply of exotic beast meat, I'm afraid I could break through the three classics by the beginning of next month!"

"Never mind. Currently, I only get a pound of exotic beast meat per month, which is barely enough for two meals and a day's needs. It's really a drop in the bucket. I'd better just focus on cultivation. Having enough cultivation resources for now is already a great achievement, surpassing many people."

"Besides, even at this rate, after four months of self-selected missions, I might even be able to break through the Fourth Classic! Hmm, the Fourth Classic?"

When Zhuang Jin realized this, he suddenly became a little excited.

He has already understood that the Four Classics Realm is the first major qualitative change in the Qi Condensation Realm. Breaking through to this point, the degree of internal energy condensation enters a new level. This is why the Black Evil Palm requires the Four Classics Realm to reach the minor success level.

Moreover, one can tell from their titles that in the Shen family, one to three are servants.

What is a servant?

Servant, slave!

But when it comes to the Four Classics, he becomes a servant.

What is a servant?

There are people in the family!
Did you see that? Even a powerful family like the Shen family, who control an entire prefecture, would recognize you as a human being as long as you reach the Four Classics realm. You know, in this world, being a human being isn't easy. Ordinary people are nothing but grass in the eyes of a powerful family like the Shen family. Even those who are well-known and respected in the eyes of ordinary people are just leeks in the eyes of a powerful family like the Shen family. Even Zhuang Yutang, who has now reached the ninth rank, is treated as a slave by those high-ranking and well-organized yamen clerks who can be summoned and dismissed at will, and they don't regard you as a human being.

From this we can also see how drastically one’s status changes after breaking through the Four Classics.

'The value of the Four Classics lies not only in the small qualitative change in strength that comes with a breakthrough, but also in its rarity, because the bottleneck between the Three Classics and the Four Classics is the first major bottleneck a warrior encounters!'

"Chang Bo became a formal warrior in just 23 days. His aptitude was quite good, but he was stuck at this bottleneck for years, unable to break through. Even those with better aptitude and superior martial arts talent would waste a lot of time at this bottleneck, and some would even be stuck here, unable to make any progress. But I am different. No matter how big the bottleneck is or how difficult it is to break through, I don't have any!"

"Alas, even though I hope to experience a bottleneck, I'm afraid I won't be able to do it in this lifetime. Life is really... lonely like snow!"

"Well, let's set a small goal. Break through the third level by the end of next month, and then strive to break through the fourth level before the end of the four-month protection period, and reach the level of a householder!"

After Zhuang Jin established his goal, he felt more motivated. He practiced all morning, practiced more after lunch, taught for an incense stick in the afternoon, continued to practice, and practiced martial arts again after dinner.

His level of diligence and hard work is no worse than when he was a martial artist or last month.

In short, Zhuang Jin's first day as a martial artist teaching a martial artist passed smoothly with diligence and hard work.

……

The next morning, Zhuang Jin arrived at the Huangzi No. 9 martial arts training ground early. Ni Ying, who was distributing the Kailuo Soup, had not arrived yet. However, some martial artists had come, gathering in a disorderly manner like ducks, talking in groups of three or five, and only a few were practicing standing meditation.

Soon, Ni Ying came over with the Kailuo Soup and greeted Zhuang Jin with great energy, "Master Zhuang Wu, good morning!"

In fact, she came quite early. The martial artists had not yet arrived. She talked with Zhuang Jin for a while, and then when it was almost time, she started to distribute the Kailuo Soup. She then gave the rest to Zhuang Jin, said goodbye, and left happily like a deer.

Zhuang Jin also began today's teaching: "Do you remember the standing meditation we taught yesterday? Is there anyone willing to come up and practice it?"

After yesterday's private communication with other martial arts training grounds, the martial artists knew that it was extremely rare to find a martial arts instructor like Zhuang Jin who was willing to ask someone to come on stage for individual instruction. This opportunity was even more precious, and many people immediately raised their hands.

Zhuang Jin glanced at a martial artist who had come over that morning and was diligently practicing standing meditation. He looked pleasing to the eye and asked, "What's your name?"

"Master Zhuang, my name is Zhang Ming!"

"Yeah." Zhuang Jin nodded: "Come up!"

This person practiced quite well. Under his guidance, he did it twice and then let him go. Then he did not choose anyone else and led all the martial artists to practice together.

Zhuang Jin simply ignored the resentful looks from those who cast them because he stopped selecting. The instructions he had given to Zhang Ming just now were just some leisurely and elegant hobbies he had after practicing, but he didn't have the time to really give instructions to everyone one by one.

Just like yesterday, he left after an incense stick of time.

……

(End of this chapter)