Chapter 29: Senior Brother, How Did You Know I Broke Through?

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Senior Brother, How Did You Know I Broke Through?

"However, if I can identify the medicinal herbs in this powder, I might be able to formulate the Qi and Blood Powder myself," he thought.

Over the past five days, besides taking the medicine and practicing his boxing, Su Chen had also been studying medical knowledge. This was primarily to prevent similar situations from happening again in the future. Even if he couldn’t find the exact herbs required by the panel, he might be able to satisfy its requirements by concocting them himself.

Naturally, he harbored a sliver of hope that he could formulate the Qi and Blood Powder on his own. However, Su Chen had clearly underestimated the complexity of the Qi and Blood Powder. With his current knowledge, he still couldn’t determine its composition. He figured that even if he studied for another couple of weeks, the result would be the same.

"Forget it. I’ll go to the Martial Arts Hall this afternoon and give it a try," he decided.

After lunch, Su Chen got up and headed to the Martial Arts Hall.

Later that afternoon, in the inner courtyard of the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall.

It was the dog days of summer. The scorching sun blazed overhead, and the air itself was thick with heat. Yet, Hong Ming was in an incredibly good mood. Qin Hao had just informed him that the iron lines on his arms had completely turned red.

This indicated that Qin Hao had trained the Iron Wire Fist to the minor accomplishment stage. It hadn’t been long at all, yet Qin Hao had already achieved what many disciples of the Martial Arts Hall couldn’t accomplish in years. How could he not be thrilled? Along with his joy, he felt immensely gratified.

It seemed his rigorous training of Qin Hao recently had been the correct approach. When a talented person became diligent, the results were astonishing. Even he was moved by Qin Hao’s cultivation speed, which showed just how incredibly fast it was. After all, back in his day, it had taken him nearly three months to master the Iron Wire Fist to the minor accomplishment stage. Qin Hao’s speed was even faster. In the future, the young man might be able to elevate the Iron Wire Fist to a realm that even Hong Ming had never reached.

Seeing the irrepressible smile on Hong Ming’s face, Qin Hao also felt delighted. He had pushed himself ruthlessly during this period, hoping to break through before Su Chen did. Now that he had achieved his breakthrough, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. The mere thought that Su Chen hadn’t broken through yet filled him with a surge of excitement.

"Hao, well done. I’ll give you the rest of the day off to rest. Come back tomorrow," Hong Ming said with a smile. Given Qin Hao’s current state of mind, continuing to train wouldn’t yield much result anyway, so it was better to let him rest for a day.

Sure enough, a bright smile broke across Qin Hao’s face. "Thank you, Master!" With that, he turned and left the Martial Arts Hall, his footsteps remarkably light and brisk.

"Senior Brother Qin Hao!"

Qin Hao had just stepped out of the Martial Arts Hall and was stretching his back when he heard someone calling him. He turned around. Seeing that it was Su Chen, he paused in slight surprise. "Junior Brother Su!" he replied, before a faint, complacent smile quickly graced his lips.

Su Chen greeted him and was about to enter the Martial Arts Hall when Qin Hao spoke up. "Are you here to see Master, Junior Brother Su?"

"Yeah." Su Chen nodded.

The smile on Qin Hao’s face widened. "I’d advise against disturbing Master right now."

"Why not?"

A slightly trembling voice escaped Qin Hao’s lips. "I just broke through. Master is probably still elated about it, so he likely won’t have the time to pay attention to you right now."

"You broke through?" Su Chen asked, looking a little surprised.

Catching the surprise in Su Chen’s eyes, Qin Hao pursed his lips and gave a soft "Hmm" of confirmation.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother!" Su Chen offered his felicitations, cupping his hands.

"You’re too polite, Junior Brother. It was just a stroke of luck on my part. With a bit of meager talent and Master’s guidance, I managed to break through this quickly," Qin Hao said, unable to hide his smugness.

Su Chen’s lips twitched imperceptibly at those words, but he said nothing.

Qin Hao asked with feigned concern, as if the thought had just occurred to him, "Oh, right, Junior Brother. I remember your cultivation progress was quite fast before. How is it going now?

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Although I’ve only just broken through, I have gained some insights. Guiding you should be more than easy enough."

Su Chen could obviously see the irrepressible smile on Qin Hao’s face; it was practically overflowing.

"There’s no need to trouble yourself with that, Senior Brother," Su Chen refused, shaking his head. It wasn’t that he looked down on Qin Hao, but with Qin Hao’s current strength, he likely couldn’t even withstand a single slap from him. How could he possibly offer any guidance?

"Junior Brother, there’s no need to act like strangers. Just spit it out!" Qin Hao urged. He had no intention of letting Su Chen off the hook so easily. Seeing Su Chen decline, he immediately put on the airs of a senior brother.

Hearing this, Su Chen furrowed his brows slightly before a meaningful smile spread across his face.

"Since that’s the case, I won’t hold back," he said. As he spoke, Su Chen rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arm. "Senior Brother, when I woke up this morning, I noticed the iron lines had turned red. I was quite alarmed. I don’t know if something went wrong with my cultivation. Please enlighten me, Senior Brother."

After saying this, Su Chen looked at Qin Hao with an expression of pure bewilderment.

Meanwhile, the smile on Qin Hao’s face slowly froze at Su Chen’s words. As if he couldn’t believe it, he hurriedly grabbed Su Chen’s arm and examined it closely.

"They actually turned red... How is this possible? How could you have broken through so quickly!" Qin Hao muttered to himself, utterly shell-shocked.

"Senior Brother? Senior Brother..."

It took a long while before the dazed Qin Hao heard Su Chen’s voice. He let out a start and finally snapped back to reality.

"What’s wrong?" Qin Hao asked.

"Senior Brother, how did you know I broke through?" Su Chen asked, scratching his head with feigned curiosity.

"Huh?"

"Didn’t you just say I broke through? Never mind, I’ll go ask Master." With that, Su Chen turned and walked away, leaving Qin Hao standing there, completely dumbfounded.

"What? You broke through too?!"

Compared to Qin Hao, Hong Ming’s reaction was even more exaggerated. Upon hearing that Su Chen had broken through, he nearly yanked off his own beard in shock. Bursting forth with a speed far surpassing that of an ordinary old man, he arrived in front of Su Chen in an instant, grabbed his arm, and stared intently.

When he saw the color of the iron lines on Su Chen’s arm, Hong Ming was left speechless. "You really did break through!"

Su Chen retracted his arm and chuckled. "It’s all thanks to Master’s Qi and Blood Powder that I was able to break through so quickly."

Hearing this, Hong Ming coughed lightly and looked at Su Chen with a strange expression.

"Master, what’s wrong?" Su Chen asked, sensing that there was something off about Hong Ming’s gaze.

Hong Ming shook his head. "It’s nothing. It’s just that your talent is even higher than I imagined!"

Qi and Blood Powder did indeed boost martial arts training, but its effects were nowhere near as exaggerated as Su Chen claimed. Hong Ming knew this perfectly well. The fact that Su Chen was able to break through this quickly could only mean one thing: his innate talent was extraordinarily high.

Qin Hao’s breakthrough had made him happy, but Su Chen’s breakthrough was a pleasant surprise. Soon, he burst into hearty laughter. The thought that both of these prodigies were his disciples made him beam with joy.

"Ahem. Chen, although you used Qi and Blood Powder to break through, remember not to rely too heavily on medicine, lest you overdraw your potential," Hong Ming advised earnestly after a light cough, afraid that Su Chen might become overly dependent on drugs.

Su Chen nodded, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Hong Ming glanced at him and asked, "Was there something you needed me for?"

Hearing this, Su Chen spoke up with a slightly embarrassed expression, "Master, I was wondering if I could ask you for a few more doses of Qi and Blood Powder!"