In chaotic times, one can become a martial immortal.

"The so-called bottleneck, though ethereal and elusive, truly exists. For those with exceptional talent, bottlenecks are almost nonexistent, and even if they exist, they are extremely easy to overcome. For those with mediocre talent, not only are there bottlenecks everywhere, but they are also extremely difficult to overcome!"

Master Huang pondered for a moment, then glanced at the young man in the leather coat and continued, "Zhang Feng, take yourself as an example. You've already hit a bottleneck. If you continue to persevere in your cultivation, it might only take a few days, or even several dozen days, or longer, before you can suddenly see the light, break through the bottleneck, and continue to improve!"

"However, it's also possible that you'll never break through this bottleneck, and no matter how hard you try or persevere, you might remain stuck there for the rest of your life, unable to improve even a fraction!"

Upon hearing Master Huang's words, Zhang Feng's face immediately turned pale.

The others also looked quite solemn, as they didn't know when they might also be hit by a bottleneck.

Only Lu Yuan remained calm and stood there quietly.

Because of him, there are no bottlenecks!

As long as you work hard to improve your skill level, you will surely succeed!

"Of course, you don't need to worry too much!"

Master Huang smiled and said, "Before reaching the next level, as long as your aptitude isn't particularly poor, you just need to persevere, and you'll eventually break through the bottleneck. If you can eat plenty of meat at every meal, and have enough Rejuvenation Pills and Qi-Blood Pills to help you, breaking through the bottleneck will be extremely easy; you can do it in just a few days!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up at first, but then they shook their heads and sighed.

What is "great meat"? It refers to meats that are even better than beef and pork, such as venison, tiger meat, and bear meat.

Although they are now receiving financial assistance from the Zhou family and can eat meat for free at every meal, it is still not easy for them to have a big meal of meat, let alone every meal.

As for the Rejuvenation Pill and the Qi and Blood Pill, they are extremely precious, each costing twenty or thirty taels of silver. They simply cannot afford them, and the Zhou family would not provide them for free.

"If the Zhou family can provide me with plenty of meat at every meal, and even a sufficient supply of Rejuvenation Pills and Qi-Blood Pills, I am confident that I can break through to the Transformation Realm before the martial arts examination!"

Someone said with a hopeful look in their eyes.

However, everyone looked at him speechlessly, thinking he was daydreaming.

Although the Zhou family is wealthy, they would not provide such unscrupulous financial assistance to them.

It's already quite good if we can provide them with meat at every meal and a nourishing soup every five days.

As a person, you should know how to be content!

"I think you've eaten too much meat and it's ruined your brain!"

Master Huang frowned and rebuked him, "If you are a top-tier genius with exceptional talent and are willing to sign a master-servant contract with the Zhou family, perhaps they will grant you this wish. Otherwise, stop daydreaming here!"

"I was just saying!"

The man's face was slightly flushed, and he muttered something under his head.

"Master Huang, how much would a large meal of meat cost if we bought it ourselves?"

Someone else asked out of curiosity.

"Although the Zhou family has ways to obtain large quantities of meat, they don't have much, so the price is quite expensive, costing at least three taels of silver per meal!"

Master Huang stated directly, "Even just one large meat dish a day would cost nearly a hundred taels of silver per month!"

Upon hearing his words, everyone gasped in shock.

If you want to achieve the best results, eating meat three times a day would cost nearly three hundred taels of silver per month.

We can't afford it, we simply can't afford it!

If you also include medicinal soups, and even precious resources like Rejuvenation Pills and Qi and Blood Pills, the monthly cost would probably exceed a thousand taels.

Horror!

Born into humble circumstances, and with less than exceptional natural talent, even with the Zhou family's support, it was still no easy feat for them to advance to the Dark Force or even the Transformation Force, or even pass the martial arts examination.

"The poor are scholars, the rich are warriors—that saying is indeed true!"

Although Lu Yuan didn't look as worried as the others, he couldn't help but feel secretly alarmed.

No wonder even though Master Song has reached the Transformation Realm, he still takes on all kinds of jobs just to make money. Such astonishing expenses are something that only truly wealthy and powerful families could afford.

Fortunately, even without sufficient resources to support him, he not only doesn't encounter bottlenecks, but he can also train faster and faster. Even if his progress is affected, he will still be faster than others.

"In the path of martial arts, innate talent is important, but resources are even more crucial. In fact, even with less-than-ideal innate talent, one can still achieve great things by accumulating resources!"

Master Huang sighed softly and said, "It's a pity that unless you're from a wealthy family, it's almost impossible to have enough resources to support you. This applies to you, and it applies to me too!"

Once you reach the level of hidden strength, the effects of ordinary meat are far less than when you reach the level of manifest strength.

Even common medicinal soups like Qi-boosting soup and Yuan-boosting soup will gradually lose their effectiveness.

To go further, one must consume truly large pieces of meat, and even precious resources such as Rejuvenation Pills and Qi and Blood Pills.

"Master Huang, besides eating large amounts of meat and consuming precious resources like Rejuvenation Pills and Qi-Blood Pills, are there any other ways for us to quickly break through this bottleneck?"

Zhang Feng still asked, somewhat unwillingly.

"Of course!"

Master Huang glanced at Zhang Feng with a half-smile, then nodded.

"What method is there?"

Zhang Feng immediately stared intently at Master Huang.

The others also looked at Master Huang with hopeful eyes, clearly eager for an answer.

"It's simple, just reincarnate!"

Master Huang said calmly, "The outside world is far more vast than you can imagine. Not to mention other places, just looking at the entire Anyang Prefecture, there are many aristocratic families that have been passed down for hundreds of years. They not only have a strong foundation, but also a powerful bloodline. Almost every generation produces two or three first-class geniuses with exceptional talent."

"Most importantly, they not only have access to higher levels of martial arts from a young age, but from the day they embark on their martial arts journey, they have been provided with ample resources. Whether it's large pieces of meat or precious resources like Rejuvenation Pills and Qi-Blood Pills, in their eyes, these are merely the most basic daily needs. Furthermore, their inheritance and vision far surpass yours!"

"At the same age, you are still struggling to break through to the Dark Force realm, while they have already reached the Dark Force realm, or even the Transformation Force realm, and are preparing to enter the Rank realm. Even with the same innate talent, their current and future achievements are destined to far surpass ours!"

Everyone listened quietly, feeling a mix of envy, helplessness, and even a touch of sadness.

In this world, it is incredibly difficult for those born into poverty to rise up!

The real ways to make big money have long been controlled and blocked by powerful families.

If anyone attempts to compete with the powerful families, they will be utterly crushed.

If they want to transcend social classes, the only path they can take is through martial arts.

Even passing the martial arts exam is extremely difficult.

Although it is said that hard work pays off and effort will bring results, hard work cannot make up for lack of talent. They did not have exceptional natural talent, nor did they have sufficient resources to support them. How easy would it be for them to compete with those geniuses from aristocratic families and stand out from the crowd?

"So, it turns out, what I lacked wasn't innate talent, but rather family background!"

Zhang Feng muttered to himself.

"Of course, there are always some geniuses in the world who, even if they come from humble backgrounds, can still grow rapidly with meager resources and even easily surpass those geniuses from aristocratic families to reach the pinnacle of martial arts."

Seeing that everyone was in low spirits, Master Huang comforted them, saying, "Perhaps there's a genius among you. So, don't overthink it. Focus on building a solid foundation first, and you'll be able to climb higher step by step!"

The group was indeed comforted, though not much, but they said no more. They all clasped their hands in a salute to Master Huang and then resumed their cultivation.

"A prodigy?"

Lu Yuan thought to himself, "Perhaps I should be considered one?"

He immediately stopped delaying and continued practicing the Wind-Breaking Saber Technique.

……