Martial arts immortality begins with upgrading buildings.

Like father, like son! He's destined to be a laborer his whole life!

What a spendthrift! He has absolutely no self-awareness. I wonder what he'll ever amount to!

Old Master Liu Boqian glared angrily.

Liu Jingheng's son, Liu Shijie, scoffed and shook his head.

As an external martial arts master, he was all too aware of the difficulty of entering this profession.

The mere hurdle of money is enough to keep all the poor out.

Not to mention the crucial requirement of physical constitution.

If you have poor physical constitution, no amount of effort will be of any use.

Even if one has the right physical attributes, one must still possess a level of perseverance that is difficult for ordinary people to endure.

One must endure the pain of standing in the meditation posture every day to draw blood, and must not slack off for even a single day.

If Chen Qinglian can't even get past the first hurdle, how easy is it for him to enter the world of martial arts?

Liu Shuyao sighed softly.

Because of what happened to her aunt back then, the family members harbored some malice towards Chen Qing.

She really hoped that Chen Qing could become a martial arts master and make everyone who looked down on him look at him with new eyes.

Unfortunately, this hope is too slim.

......

Chen Qing was unaware that many people did not have a high opinion of him.

He continued to work, practice, and improve every day in a routine manner.

After observing for several days, he discovered that the Golden Feather Demon could consistently lay one golden egg every day, and every few days it would lay two chicken eggs.

After he eats the golden egg, he can accumulate an extra wisp of vital energy.

It also addresses most of the nutrients the body needs.

In this way, the money he earned from selling free-range eggs was enough to cover his daily expenses, and he was no longer in debt.

So he took the five silver dollars that Liu Shuyao had given him last time and used them to buy ten old hens.

These old hens, once inside the spirit beast enclosure, were able to lay eggs consistently every day. After deducting living expenses, Chen Qing was still able to save twenty copper coins a day.

"It feels so good to save money every day!"

Chen Qing couldn't help but sigh.

Time flies, and soon it was time for the small-scale stance training competition again.

Chen Qing still secured first place and received two bowls of blood-nourishing soup as a reward.

That noon, Chen Qing drank two bowls of blood-strengthening soup and was practicing Wuji stance training.

A sudden exclamation came from the courtyard.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Shen, on breaking through the barrier and becoming an External Strength Martial Master!"

Someone shouted, and then deafening congratulations erupted in the courtyard.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Shen, on breaking through the barrier and becoming an External Strength Martial Master!"

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Shen, on breaking through the barrier and becoming an External Strength Martial Master!"

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Shen, on breaking through the barrier and becoming an External Strength Martial Master!"

Everyone looked at Shen Yifei, who was surrounded by a crowd, with envy in their eyes.

"As expected of the only prodigy with superior aptitude in the outer academy, he entered the martial arts path in just three weeks!"

An apprentice who had been there for two months looked at Shen Yifei's figure and exclaimed in amazement.

"Once you enter the path, you become a true martial arts master, and from then on, you are from a completely different world from ordinary people."

Another person sighed, their tone full of envy, tinged with a hint of bitterness.

"I think this is the only one who has successfully broken through this barrier this month. All six of my classmates failed."

"More than a dozen people have left this month. All of us from that cohort have failed and left. There are now many new faces in the courtyard."

"Zhao Tiezhu, who is closest to me, used to have a respectable small business. But in order to support his martial arts training, his family sold off all the shops and incurred a lot of debt. Now the whole family doesn't even have a place to live."

"For those of us from middle-class families who want to learn martial arts, it's like this: we have to give it our all. If we succeed, we'll be rich and powerful. If we fail, we'll have nothing."

The cheers in the courtyard continued, but the atmosphere around them gradually became somber.

Surrounded by admirers, Shen Yifei was beaming with pride.

He glanced in the direction Chen Qing was, his eyes filled with contempt.

As a prodigy with superior physical attributes, he should have been the most dazzling person in the outer academy.

But ever since Chen Qing took third place in the first small-scale stance training competition, he has completely stolen the limelight from him.

Especially after Chen Qing took first place for two consecutive weeks, he seemed to be trampling him underfoot, which made him feel extremely humiliated.

That glory should have belonged to him, but it was stolen by a good-for-nothing with only inferior talent. How could he be willing to accept that?

He worked hard in silence, cultivating his qi and blood, all for the sake of slapping Chen Qing in the face!

Now, he has achieved great success. In just twenty-one days, he has accumulated a hundred strands of qi and blood, breaking through the gate and becoming a martial arts master!

And what about Chen Qing?

How much energy and blood did he sacrifice?

Ten strands?

Or twenty strands?

It seems that reaching the goal of 100 strands is still a long way off.

This is the difference between a good-for-nothing and a genius!

What good is standing on the stake for a long time?

When it comes to cultivating qi and blood, it's not about standing in a meditation posture for longer, but about having the best physical constitution, the most resources, and the most money!

In what way can Chen Qing compare to Shen Yifei?

At this moment, Shen Yifei felt a sense of complete clarity throughout his body.

"Senior Brother Shen has already become a Martial Master. This afternoon he will enter the inner courtyard to learn real combat techniques. We are truly envious!"

Zhang Zhihe was fawning over Shen Yifei when he noticed Shen's gaze fixed on a certain spot. Suddenly, his tone shifted, and he said sarcastically:

"Unlike some people, what's the use of being number one in standing meditation?"

The longer one stands in a static posture, the greater the damage to the body. Does he have the money to repair it?

Buying a dose of tiger bone and musk ointment costs three silver dollars, which is equivalent to half a month's wages for him, right?

He just stands there all day, relentlessly practicing the standing meditation. His body must have been ruined long ago.

Even if he were to exhaust himself to the fullest, failure would still be his only fate!

"With his inferior physical constitution, he might not even have enough qi and blood to break through the barrier."

Lin Meng replied with a disdainful look.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yifei's lips curled up slightly, and a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes.

"Why mention him? He's the kind of guy who'll be kicked out sooner or later. He's not worth wasting your breath on."

He waved his hand casually, pretending to be nonchalant, and asked Zhang Zhihe and Lin Meng casually, "You two shouldn't slack off either. Gather your qi and blood as soon as possible so you can break through and enter the inner courtyard."

"I have accumulated 38 strands of Qi and blood. In another month and a half, I can try to break through the barrier."

Zhang Zhihe smiled confidently.

"I'm about the same age as him, I'll come to the inner courtyard to find you later."

Lin Meng retorted, not to be outdone.

It was as if breaking through the barrier was as easy as taking candy from a baby for them.

On the other side, Chen Qing remained unmoved by Shen Yifei's breakthrough and continued to hone his Wuji stance training.

[Wuji Stance +1]

Chen Qing glanced at his personal panel as usual.

Name: Chen Qing

[Occupation: Martial Artist]

[Level: None (46/100)]

[Skills: Eight-Section Brocade (breakthrough limit 23/500 in one go), Wuji Stance (46/100)]

"It'll be soon. At my current rate of blood-burning, I can accumulate nearly three strands of blood energy per day on average. I'll be able to break through the barrier in less than twenty days!"

Chen Qing pondered to himself.

He was already very satisfied that the time it took to fully replenish his energy and blood had been shortened from nearly a hundred days to forty days.

The next step is to cultivate your Qi and blood step by step. Once your Qi and blood are fully cultivated, you can break through the barrier and become a true martial arts master!