Martial arts immortality begins with upgrading buildings.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing did not refute anything and quietly moved away from the group.

He didn't care about these people's opinions at all, nor did he have any intention of humiliating them. He just wanted to gradually become stronger and change his life.

He returned to his original spot to rest.

The aroma of meat wafted through the air from time to time, and a strong feeling of hunger suddenly surged in my empty stomach, as if every cell in my body was yearning to be filled with food.

Chen Qing endured his hunger, and soon he heard a shout from ahead.

"Dinner's ready!"

Dozens of disciples in the courtyard, like mad dogs just released from their cages, rushed in one direction and quickly formed a long queue.

Chen Qing walked to the end of the line alone, and as the line slowly moved forward, he could see the scene ahead.

A plump woman in her forties was using a large ladle to serve food to the apprentices who were queuing up.

In front of her was a long table with four large wooden barrels on it.

A bucket of rice, a bucket of green vegetables, a bucket of meat, and a bucket of dark, medicinal soup.

The plump woman picked up a large porcelain bowl from the side of the bucket, filled it with rice, pressed it down firmly with a spoon, and then began to serve the vegetables.

Unlike the cafeteria auntie from my school days, whose hands trembled repeatedly.

She scooped up each spoonful to the brim, making sure it was full, and soon it piled up into a small mountain in the bowl.

The apprentice at the front of the line took the food and quickly went to the corner of the courtyard to squat down and begin to eat heartily.

Chen Qing kept swallowing, and after waiting for another minute or two, it was finally his turn.

After receiving a large bowl of food from the plump woman, and picking up his chopsticks to leave, he heard her say, "New here, huh? Come back for a bowl of herbal soup after you finish eating. Master Hong said it will help with your training."

"Thank you, big sister."

Chen Qing thanked him, took the food to a corner, squatted down, and began to wolf it down.

He hadn't eaten more than a few bites when a strange young man approached, squatted down beside him, and asked with a smile, "I heard you also have inferior aptitude?"

"That's right."

Chen Qing gave a casual reply and continued shoveling rice into his mouth.

"We're really in the same boat!"

The boy sighed deeply and said to himself, "I'm of inferior talent too, but my father insisted on sending me here, saying I could learn real skills. Now look what's happened, I'm isolated every day. I haven't had anyone to talk to lately, it's driving me crazy!"

Chen Qing didn't answer and continued eating silently.

"You also got in through connections, it must have cost you a lot, right?"

My dad spent two thousand dollars to get a spot.

"It's all thanks to my dad's connection with Master Hong. Anyone else, without connections or connections, wouldn't have gotten in, no matter how much money they had."

The boy seemed to be a chatterbox who had been holding back his words, and he kept chattering even though Chen Qing didn't answer.

"Our martial arts club is at least in the top three in Ningjiang's martial arts scene. It's said that Master Hong has connections with a major sect in Haicheng and has even mastered internal martial arts techniques!"

"Do you know what true internal cultivation is? It's a secret technique that can only be practiced by those who have reached the Transformation Realm!"

"..."

Although the boy was very talkative, Chen Qing still gleaned a lot of useful information from him.

For example, in the early stages of martial arts, there are three realms: external strength, internal strength, and neutralizing strength.

A master of the Transformation Realm is already the most outstanding martial artist in the city.

Beyond the realm of Hua Jin, there are even higher realms, which are said to involve internal cultivation of true skills.

For example, the owner of this Wujiquan club is named Hong Zhenbang, who had already reached the level of Huajin many years ago.

The boxing club is divided into an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard.

The outer academy is for apprentices. Only those who have mastered the basics and become external martial arts masters can enter the inner academy and learn the true Wuji Fist.

"I'll go get a bowl of herbal medicine, and you can talk to me later."

After finishing his rice, Chen Qing stood up and spoke to the boy next to him.

The boy was very excited to see that someone was willing to listen to his rambling, and quickly said:

"Go ahead, this blood-strengthening soup is a real treasure. Drinking a bowl is equivalent to eating ten pounds of meat, and it also relieves body aches and pains. It's Master Hong's secret medicine. Outside, a bowl of it can sell for at least one silver dollar."

Chen Qing clicked his tongue in amazement after hearing this. A bowl of medicine cost a dollar. The expenses for practicing martial arts were indeed enormous.

If it weren't for Song Zheming's investment in him, he would have to go without food or drink for three days to afford a single bowl of water.

Not to mention the cost of joining this Wujiquan club.

The boy's father spent two thousand silver dollars to keep his son as an apprentice, so Song Zheming's price must not be much lower.

With his current income, he would have to work for twenty years without eating or drinking to save up that much money.

This is a huge favor to owe.

Chen Qing sighed and went to the fat woman to get a bowl of dark brown medicinal soup. A strong herbal smell wafted up and made his stomach churn.

He held his breath, tilted his head back, and gulped it down in one go, the bitter, hot liquid flowing down his throat and into his stomach.

At first, I only felt a warm sensation in my stomach, but after a while, the warmth seemed to come alive and began to spread to my limbs and bones.

First, my lower abdomen felt warm, then it spread to my back, shoulders, arms, and all the way to my fingertips, as if countless thin warm currents were flowing under my skin.

He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief; every pore on his body opened up, and a fine layer of sweat seeped from his forehead.

The soreness and fatigue accumulated during the standing meditation earlier seemed to dissipate little by little, as if washed away by hot water.

"Such a potent medicine!"

Chen Qing couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

He could sense that while the blood-strengthening soup was not as effective as the Eight-Section Brocade in relieving aches and pains, it had a remarkable effect on strengthening the body.

Just as the boy who had spoken to him said, the changes that this bowl of medicinal soup brought to Chen Qing were no less than those brought about by eating ten pounds of meat and carrying heavy labor for three days.

He felt full of energy at that moment. Although he was still a little sore, it would not affect his training in the afternoon.

After drinking the medicinal soup, Chen Qing returned to the boy's side and chatted with him for a while.

They learned that the other person's name was Wu Shun, and that his family owned a pawn shop and was quite wealthy.

Chen Qing also learned that most of the apprentices in the Wuji Boxing Club came from wealthy families, and it seemed that he was the only one struggling to survive at the bottom of society.

The break ended quickly, and Chen Qing went to Guo Hong's side to continue practicing the stance training.

After receiving the nourishing medicinal soup, standing in the stance became much easier than before.

The duration of each standing meditation session was nearly ten seconds longer than in the morning.

He endured the physical pain, practicing his stance training again and again.

If you can't train anymore, take a short rest, and then continue training when you have the energy again.

Two hours later, he finally completed a full rehearsal of the three stance exercises.

At the same time, a line of small print appeared before his eyes.

[Wuji Stance +1]

Chen Qing quickly opened the panel and found that there was a brand new panel next to the porter panel.

Name: Chen Qing

[Occupation: Martial Artist]

[Level: None (1/100)]

[Skills: Baduanjin (89/100), Wuji Zhuang (1/100)]

Just then, he suddenly felt a special aura within his body, constantly flowing through his meridians.

He had a vague premonition that if he channeled this energy into the meridians of his palm, the power of his punch would increase dramatically.

"Could this be qi and blood?"