Chapter 28: 5 Doses of Medicine, Qi Blood Enhanced

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: 5 Doses of Medicine, Qi Blood Enhanced

"Not bad. It seems you haven’t been slacking off recently. Your moves are skillful, and your forms are seamless. I can tell you’ve put in the effort."

After a brief spar with Su Chen, Hong Ming commented flatly. However, he felt somewhat frustrated inwardly. He wondered, "How strange. Why do I always feel like I can’t exert my full strength when sparring with this kid?"

Naturally, he had no idea that Su Chen’s understanding of fist techniques had long surpassed his own. Their bout hadn’t felt like a spar; rather, it seemed like Su Chen was instructing Hong Ming.

Su Chen smiled, staring expectantly at Hong Ming. Seeing this, Hong Ming chuckled and went inside, returning with five packets of medicine.

"I originally planned to give you only three portions. But considering your performance, I’ll give you two extra. From now on, come see me every seven days to collect your Qi and Blood Powder." Hong Ming handed the Qi and Blood Powder to Su Chen, then explained how to use it and the required intervals between doses. "Remember, you’ve just started. You must not take the medicine too aggressively. One packet is enough to last for three days. Never rush it, lest you damage your body."

Su Chen nodded. He chatted with Hong Ming for a while longer before turning to leave.

"Su Chen..." Outside the courtyard, Qin Hao accidentally caught a glimpse of Su Chen, realizing that he had come to the Martial Arts Hall. When he spotted the five packets of medicine in Su Chen’s hands, his gaze sharpened slightly.

"Hao, come. We’ll continue our sparring today." Stepping into the inner courtyard, Hong Ming called Qin Hao over. He had been training Qin Hao personally during this period.

Qin Hao nodded, assuming his stance and beginning to spar with Hong Ming. After a brief exchange, Qin Hao was already panting. He wondered, "Strange, why have Master’s moves become so fierce today?"

As he thought this, Hong Ming’s voice rang out. "Hao, have you been slacking off lately?"

"Master, I haven’t!"

"Don’t lie to me. Your moves have become much sloppier. Extra training for you today!"

"Yes, Master!"

Later, upon returning home, Su Chen couldn’t wait to brew the medicine. He needed to verify whether the "Qi and Blood Powder" Hong Ming had mentioned was the same "Qi and Blood Powder" noted on his system panel. He took out a packet. Though it was called medicine, it looked more like herbs crushed into powder. It was likely prepared this way to prevent others from stealing the recipe.

Su Chen didn’t mind. According to Hong Ming, one packet could be used for three days and had to be divided into three small portions. He thought, "However, with my strength, even if I use an entire packet at once, it probably won’t have any negative impact." After pondering for a moment, Su Chen simply dumped the entire packet into the pot.

Soon, a rich herbal scent wafted from the medicine pot, spreading throughout the kitchen. Fortunately, it wasn’t a nauseating smell; if one sniffed carefully, there was even a hint of herbal fragrance. After brewing it for about fifteen minutes, Su Chen glanced at the slightly reddish liquid. Knowing it was ready, he lifted the pot from the stove. It yielded about a bowl and a half of medicine. Waiting for roughly ten minutes, Su Chen picked up the half-filled bowl and drank it.

After finishing it, he looked at his panel, only to find that there were no changes. His heart skipping a beat, Su Chen suddenly felt a bit nervous. He wondered, "Did I make a mistake? Or do I need to drink the other bowl as well?" He immediately turned his gaze to the full bowl, picked it up, and gulped it down in one breath.

With a bowl and a half of Qi and Blood Powder in his stomach, Su Chen felt a warm sensation spreading throughout his entire body. It felt as if the surrounding temperature had suddenly become scorchingly hot. "It changed!" Su Chen exclaimed joyfully. The panel was finally no longer the same as before; a slight change had occurred:

[... Iron Cloth Shirt · Incomplete: 0 times (0.8/10 portions of Qi and Blood Powder/time)]

Su Chen was speechless. There was a change, but not much, and it was a bit abstract. "One packet of Qi and Blood Powder equals 0.8 portions on the panel? Are you making me do math right now?" Su Chen grumbled speechlessly. However, it was just a passing complaint. After all, the fact that there was a change proved he was heading in the right direction.

Suddenly, his expression shifted. He thought, "This is bad, I drank it too fast." Feeling the surging Qi Blood within his body, he immediately ran out of the kitchen. In the courtyard, he began practicing his fist techniques like a madman. He trained continuously for a full half an hour before feeling the heat inside him gradually subside.

Covered in sweat, he stopped his movements. His breathing was somewhat erratic, but his expression was visibly relaxed. He thought, "After training, my whole body feels invigorated. But I can’t brew any more medicine today. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow." The effects of the Qi and Blood Powder were indeed excellent, but given Su Chen’s current state, it wasn’t suitable for him to drink any more. If he continued to consume it, his body likely wouldn’t be able to handle the strain.

Just like that, five consecutive days passed.

A new change appeared on the panel:

[... Iron Cloth Shirt · Incomplete: 0 times (5/10 portions of Qi and Blood Powder/time)]

In the courtyard, Su Chen had just finished practicing his fist techniques. Wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, a smile surfaced on his face. Over the past five days, Su Chen had consumed one packet of Qi and Blood Powder daily. The results were remarkable. It had directly advanced the progress for unlocking the easy mode of the Iron Cloth Shirt by half.

The reason for this leap was that on the second day, Su Chen had controlled the amount of water he used, brewing exactly one bowl of medicine. As a result, the amount of Qi Blood increased significantly upon consumption, instantly pushing the progress up to two-tenths. It was only after that instance that Su Chen realized the panel advanced its progress based on the actual Qi Blood effects yielded from brewing the medicine.

Unfortunately, for the next three times, even when following the same method, the progress gained from a single packet of medicine varied—sometimes more, sometimes less. Overall, though, it was positive. After using them up, the progress toward the ten portions was exactly halfway there. Su Chen guessed that the efficacy of the herbs in each packet of Qi and Blood Powder might differ, leading to these discrepancies despite employing identical brewing procedures. Of course, it was also possible that his own brewing skills were simply inconsistent.

After five days of consumption, Su Chen felt like... how should he put it? He could loosely be described as being as strong as an ox. Naturally, this didn’t refer to his physique. His physical build hadn’t changed much. Rather, it referred to his Qi Blood. The enhancement of his Qi Blood brought about far more changes than Su Chen had imagined.

To give a simple example, if the combat power of a punch he threw before was five thousand, it was now estimated to be ten thousand. The numbers weren’t necessarily precise, but the sheer destructive power of his moves had indeed grown significantly stronger. This wasn’t an enhancement of skill, but rather an increase in the fundamental energy driving his techniques.

Of course, the price for achieving such a result was that all five packets of Qi and Blood Powder he had brought back were completely depleted. He pondered, "Should I go find Master Hong and ask for another five packets of Qi and Blood Powder?" After all, he was only five portions short of meeting the panel’s requirements.

He thought, "If push comes to shove, I’ll just tell Master Hong that I’ve broken through. It’s been almost a month since I last stabilized my Qi Blood, so it should be believable enough." Previously, he hadn’t needed to rely on the Martial Arts Hall for anything, and he possessed his own cultivation resources, so he had deliberately kept a low profile. But now that he needed the Qi and Blood Powder, he could afford to reveal a fraction of his talent. He didn’t need to show off too much; reaching the minor success stage in the Iron Wire Fist would be enough.

Even though he knew this speed was still considered incredibly fast, with his current strength, he genuinely didn’t fear anyone—as long as they weren’t a Power Training Martial Artist. If there really were some blind fool who wanted to nip a genius in the bud like in the novels, he would just slap them to death!