Chapter 100

100. Chapter 100: Qi and Blood Perfection, Comprehending Runes

. After breakfast, Lu Qing began teaching the two little ones to read.

“The sky and earth are dark yellow, the universe is vast and boundless…”

Lu Qing used a small wooden stick to write in a basin of sand, reading it to them.

Having never tutored children in his previous life, he could only teach them based on his own understanding.

Unaware of the kind of elementary reading materials used in this world, he taught them piece by piece from the Thousand Character Classic he had learned.

Fortunately, Xiaoyan and Xiaoli were both very intelligent, and despite Lu Qing’s clumsy teaching, they quickly memorized them.

Of course, they only knew how to recognize the characters; they couldn’t write them or understand their meaning.

“Okay, now you two know these characters. You can try writing them on your own.”

Seeing that Xiaoyan and Xiaoli had memorized them, Lu Qing brought two more basins of sand and placed them in front of them.

If the teacher saw this, he’d probably be furious.

Teaching characters was not a haphazard thing. Cramming them on the first day wasn’t enough to worry about the children failing.

But at this moment, only Lu Qing and the two little creatures were in the room.

They were both eager to teach and learn. Hearing Lu Qing’s words, Xiaoyan and Xiaoli both began to learn to write seriously.

Xiaoyan grabbed a small wooden stick, first observing her brother’s handwriting, then copied it herself on the sand basin.

Xiaoli had a harder time. With only claws, he tried a few times, but finding the stick awkward, so he simply threw it aside and used his sharp claws to write on the sand basin.

Lu Qing watched with amusement, but didn’t stop him.

Asking a small animal to hold a pen and write was indeed too much for it.

Just as the two little creatures were diligently learning to write, a voice rang from outside: “Ah Qing.”

“Master, what are you doing here?”

Lu Qing asked, surprised, stepping out to greet them.

“I’ve prepared the blood-tonifying and qi-boosting pills you need and brought them to you,” said Doctor Chen with a smile.

“How can I ask you, Master, to deliver them personally? I should go and get them,” Lu Qing said with a hint of embarrassment.

“Why would we, master and disciple, bother with all this? I’ve been sitting in the medicine room for a few days, so I’m going to get some fresh air.”

The old doctor walked into the room.

“Grandpa Chen!”

Xiaoyan greeted her politely, and even Xiaoli called out.

“Well, dear, what are you doing?”

The old doctor was curious to see the two little ones sitting in front of a sand basin.

“Brother is teaching us how to read, and we’re learning how to write!” Xiaoyan said happily.

“Reading?” The old doctor was even more puzzled and looked at Lu Qing.

Teaching Xiaoyan how to read was understandable, but why was Xiaoli sitting so obediently?

Lu Qing said embarrassedly, “I had nothing to do, and thought Xiaoyan was old enough to start learning how to read, so I taught her. I didn’t expect Xiaoli to be interested, so I taught her together.”

Old Doctor Chen looked at Xiaoli in surprise. He had never expected the little black beast to have such a keen interest in learning, which was much better than many human children.

Little did he know that the two little ones were so eager to learn to read because Lu Qing had whetted their appetites with stories, sparking their passion for learning.

“Learning to read is good. Most of the knowledge in the world is hidden in books. If you know how to read, you can learn a lot of things on your own in the future,” the old doctor said with satisfaction.

“Then, Grandpa Chen, are there a lot of interesting stories in books?” Xiaoyan asked excitedly.

Xiaoli also looked over.

The old doctor was stunned for a moment, then nodded, “Of course, many vernacular stories are also very interesting.”

Xiaoyan and Xiaoli’s eyes lit up when they heard this, and their enthusiasm for writing became even greater.

Lu Qing was embarrassed and quickly distracted his master. “Master, you said the blood-replenishing and qi-invigorating pills are ready?”

“Yes, they are,” the old doctor nodded, pulling out several large medicine bottles. “They’re all here. I’ve sorted the pills by efficacy. These two are made from ginseng under two hundred years old, this one is three hundred years old, and this one is from that five hundred-year-old precious ginseng. Keep them.”

Seeing Lu Qing accept the pills, the old doctor added, “Ah Qing, while the pills are good, you must be careful when taking them. All medicines are toxic. Even the best pills require careful dosage. Don’t rush into anything and harm yourself.”

“Disciple, I’ll remember that,” Lu Qing said seriously.

“Alright, I won’t bother you anymore. Let’s go back to the mountain.”

After delivering the pills, the old doctor felt relieved and said,

“Master, you’ve been helping me refine the pills for several days. I’m afraid you haven’t even had a good meal. Why don’t I make you a simple meal?”

Seeing that his master was leaving so soon, Lu Qing hurriedly said.

“No need, I’ve already eaten. During the past few days of refining the elixir, I pondered over the innate method you gave me and gained some insights. It’s a good time for me to go back and do some retreat. You can continue to teach Xiaoyan and the others to read.” But the old doctor refused.

Seeing that the master said so, Lu Qing had no choice but to give up.

After all, insights are rare, and he was really afraid of interrupting the master’s understanding.

After the master left, Lu Qing saw that Xiaoyan and the others were still writing seriously, so he didn’t disturb them. He went to the yard, took out a hundred-year-old blood-replenishing and qi-invigorating pill, swallowed it, and began to practice.

After the pill was swallowed, the medicinal power quickly dissipated in the body. Lu Qing opened his fist stance and practiced the first nine moves of the health-preserving fist one by one.

Now Lu Qing’s health-preserving fist has changed a lot compared to before.

During his journey into the mountains, Lu Qing gained a great opportunity. Not only did he receive the inheritance of Li Weitian, a supremely powerful master with innate perfection, but he also obtained the methods for practicing runes.

While these two inheritances didn’t directly enhance his strength, they greatly broadened his horizons.

They gave him a new understanding of cultivation,

and a deeper appreciation for the Yang Shen Fist.

Lu Qing’s movements were untouched by mundane techniques, brimming with vibrant energy. Simply watching them brought a sense of peace and relaxation. He

perfectly embodied the “nourish” element in Yang Shen Fist.

Had the old doctor been here, he would have been astonished by Lu Qing’s boxing skills.

Lu Qing’s mastery of the first nine forms of the Yang Shen Fist rivaled his own.

His deepening mastery of the Yang Shen Fist also significantly accelerated Lu Qing’s refining of the Blood and Qi Replenishing Pills.

Before long, the medicinal power of a century-old blood-tonifying and qi-replenishing pill had been completely refined by him, transforming it into his own qi and blood.

Without hesitation, he took another pill from the medicine bottle, swallowed it, and continued his cultivation.

Lu Qing’s martial arts realm had long since reached the point of perfect understanding of qi and blood; all he lacked was the energy of qi and blood.

Therefore, continuously refining pills was not a problem for him.

He needed to be careful not to refine too many blood-tonifying and qi-replenishing pills in a single day, giving his body time to adjust.

However, refining a few blood-tonifying and qi-replenishing pills daily would not be a problem.

Lu Qing practiced in the courtyard, and passing villagers could not help but stop and watch with envy.

However, no one dared to disturb him.

Lu Qing’s status in Jiuli Village was now very high.

Not only was his strength capable of easily killing someone, but the silver he had previously distributed to the village was enough to make the entire village remember him as a favor.

So, seeing Lu Qing practicing, no one dared to disturb him.

…

In the following days, Lu Qing’s life became very regular.

Every day, apart from paying respects to his master and learning some medical skills,

he spent most of his time practicing and refining blood-tonifying and qi-invigorating pills.

The rest of the time, he taught Xiaoyan and Xiaoli to read.

Occasionally, he would go fishing to replenish Xiaoli’s food.

It is worth mentioning that since that time when he caught two golden loaches, Lu Qing has never been able to catch any strange fish again.

It is not known whether the strange fish in the river were all caught by him or he became wary.

As a result, Lu Qing’s previous promise to Xiaoli has never been fulfilled.

In this way, time passed quickly.

As Xiaoyan and Xiaoli learned more and more words, Lu Qing’s martial arts strength was also rapidly improving.

On the seventh day after Xiaoyan and Xiaoli started learning to read, Lu Qing reached the state of great perfection of qi and blood.

On the fifteenth day after learning to read, in the bamboo forest in the back mountain. Lu Qing, who was currently cultivating, felt a tremor throughout    his body.

A vast surge of Qi and Blood energy surged up, flowing freely with his mind, gathering and dispersing at will, in a perfect harmony.

“Finally, I’ve reached the Qi and Blood realm,” Lu Qing opened his eyes, a look of joy on his face.    After practicing continuously for half a month, consuming most of his Qi and Blood Replenishing Pills, he had finally raised his Qi and Blood energy to its limit, reaching the Qi and Blood Perfection realm.    Now, as long as he rested for a while and thoroughly mastered the power of Qi and Blood Perfection, he could attempt to reach the Muscle and Bone realm.    “This martial arts training is truly a beast that devours gold,”    Lu Qing exclaimed, looking at the medicine bottle beside him.    In just half a month, he’d gone from Qi and Blood Minor Success to Qi and Blood Perfection.    Other martial artists would be stunned by this speed of cultivation.    But Lu Qing didn’t find it remarkable at all.    He had consumed countless Qi and Blood Replenishing Pills over the past two weeks.    If all those pills were converted into silver, they would likely crush several Muscle and Bone realm cultivators to death.    With so many resources piled up, if his martial arts progress didn’t accelerate, he’d be practicing like a pig.    “However, thanks to taking the Earth Vein Spiritual Fluid, my potential has been greatly enhanced. The Qi and Blood Power I can contain far exceeds that of an average Qi and Blood Realm cultivator.”    “The Qi and Blood Power within me now is probably several times greater than that of an average Qi and Blood Perfected cultivator at the same level.”    Feeling the harmonious and satisfying Qi and Blood within him, Lu Qing was extremely satisfied.    After all, the Earth Vein Spiritual Fluid was a spiritual object created by a mysterious being above the innate realm, and its effect on enhancing aptitude was still very powerful.    If the Heart-Pickling Wolf were to resurrect and face him again,    he was confident that he could kill it with a single punch, without even needing to use a blade.    Even a Qi and Blood Perfected cultivator of the same level, unless they were equally gifted martial arts prodigies, would likely struggle to withstand a few of his attacks.    “I just don’t know what my chances would be against Ma Gu now.”    Lu Qing remembered that Ma Gu’s martial arts level was at the beginning of the Muscle and Bone Realm.    He was at the bottom of the Muscle and Bones Realm. In    the martial arts world, there was a vast gap between each realm.    Logically, even the weakest Muscle and Bones Realm was undoubtedly stronger than the Qi and Blood Realm.    But many things in this world defy logic.    Some martial arts prodigies, possessing extraordinary talent, were able to transcend that gap and fight against opponents of higher rank.    Lu Qing wasn’t sure if his current talent matched that level of prodigy.    Therefore, he wasn’t sure if he was worthy enough to fight Magu.    “Perhaps, I could find an opportunity to spar with Magu?”    The thought flashed before Lu Qing immediately dismissed it.    His current strength far surpassed that of an average Qi and Blood Realm Perfected warrior, so it wasn’t advisable to reveal it.    Otherwise, it would undoubtedly spark unwarranted speculation.    There was always a reason behind the unusual, and no one was truly foolish.    His ability to cultivate to Qi and Blood Perfection in such a short period of time was already astonishing enough.    But that could be explained by natural talent.    If he also revealed his far superior Qi and Blood power, even a fool would know something was wrong.    Even if others couldn’t guess the existence of the Earth Vein Spirit Fluid, they would likely speculate whether he had obtained some incredible elixir.    Then, all sorts of troubles would surely ensue.    Lu Qing, currently, didn’t possess the strength to withstand such trouble.    “For now, I should keep a low profile. Once I reach the Inner Viscera Realm, or once Master officially breaks through to the Innate Realm, then I won’t have to fear most of the world’s forces.”    Lu Qing set a goal for himself.    He also warned himself not to become complacent simply because of a small gain in strength.    The Qi and Blood Realm is merely the first stage on the path to martial arts; he still has a long way to go.    If he gets complacent now, how can he reach the pinnacle of martial arts in the future?    After a moment of self-reflection, Lu Qing calmed down the excitement of his breakthrough and regained his usual composure.    He sat cross-legged, slowly regulating his breathing, then activated his supernatural powers, entering a state of calm and peace of mind. He pulled a piece of silver from his pocket.    He had been spending most of his time refining Qi and Blood Replenishing Pills to break through to a new level in his martial arts.

His comprehension of the Way of Runes has decreased significantly.

Now that he has broken through, it will take some time to enter the realm of bones and muscles.

He can continue to comprehend the Way of Runes.

Holding the broken silver in his hand, Lu Qing looked at it with a calm mind.

During this period, he did not spend too much time comprehending the Way of Runes, but he still occasionally comprehended the patterns on the silver.

He had a feeling that as long as he seriously comprehended it again, he would be able to fully comprehend the patterns on the silver.

The mountain breeze blew gently, and a slight sound of wind came from the bamboo forest.

The sun shone quietly through the gaps between the bamboo.

Everything seemed so leisurely and comfortable.

In such an environment, Lu Qing quietly comprehended the mysterious patterns on the silver.

Time passed bit by bit, and the sunlight gradually slanted. Lu Qing’s body remained motionless, and he looked at the silver with full concentration.

Finally, as the sun was getting darker, a light suddenly appeared in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)