20: Chapter 2 Baicaotang

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, my family is in the business of Medicinal Pills and herbs."

Zhou Nan explained, handing over a golden card, "If you want to buy Medicinal Pills in the future, you can bring this card to Hundred Herbs Hall and get a twenty percent discount."

Zhao Bin, standing nearby, saw the gold card, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He knew the weight of a Hundred Herbs Hall gold card; it was usually reserved for official Martial Artists or important partners. He hadn't expected Zhou Nan to be so generous as to give it to Qin Yan.

Qin Yan did not decline and accepted the card.

He had heard of Hundred Herbs Hall's reputation many times; it was a leading Medicinal Pill giant in Great Xia with a deep background.

This card would undoubtedly be of great use to him in the future.

"With such abundant resources, why is your qi and blood stuck at around 82 cal, making it hard to improve?"

Qin Yan asked a long-buried question.

He had originally thought the slow progress of the Elite Class students was due to resource issues, but seeing how much the two spent, Qin Yan felt the problem wasn't what he had thought.

"You don't know?" Zhao Bin and Zhou Nan were both a bit surprised, but then they understood.

Given Qin Yan's previous family circumstances, he indeed wouldn't have had access to this deeper martial arts knowledge.

"It's like this," Zhou Nan explained patiently. "The improvement of qi and blood isn't something that can grow infinitely just by piling up resources. It also involves a profound understanding of the Stance Training Realm."

"The higher the level of Stance Training, not only does the efficiency and speed of resource absorption increase greatly, but more importantly, it helps us break through qi and blood Bottlenecks more easily."

"We're stuck at 82 cal not because of a lack of resources, but because we've hit a Bottleneck."

"And to break through the Bottleneck relatively easily, the Stance Training Realm must keep up."

After hearing this, Qin Yan finally had an epiphany, understanding the deeper role of Stance Training and fully grasping why Zhao Bin and Zhou Nan valued his guidance so much.

Once their Stance Training broke through to the fourth layer, the qi and blood Bottleneck would naturally loosen. With the support of sufficient resources, breaking through 84 cal of qi and blood before the College Entrance Examination would happen naturally, allowing them to aim for better Martial Universities, such as Thunder Martial University in the neighboring province.

Next, Qin Yan asked them some questions about breaking through to become a Martial Artist, but their knowledge was also limited. They only knew that qi and blood must reach the 99 cal limit and required a powerful person as a Protector; they weren't very clear about the specific details and risks involved.

Qin Yan suppressed the thought for now; his current goal was the College Entrance Examination, and there was still a way to go before reaching 99 cal.

...

In the following days, Qin Yan's life became regular and fulfilling.

During the day, he practiced his Spear Technique at school and gave simple guidance to Lin Yang and Zhou Yuan.

In the evenings, he went to the Martial Arts Association and simultaneously guided Zhao Bin and Zhou Nan in their Stance Training.

During this time, Qin Yan was slightly surprised to find that Zhou Nan's Comprehension Ability and progress speed in Stance Training seemed to be even faster than Zhao Bin's.

One night, a month later.

Zhou Nan had changed into a slim-fitting athletic outfit, which perfectly outlined her tall, well-proportioned, and energetic figure.

She seriously assumed the posture of the Sky-Supporting One Qi Stance, her expression focused.

"Sink your intent into the Dantian and feel the flow of qi and blood. Don't force it as it flows; guide it to naturally wash through that Meridian..."

Qin Yan observed carefully from the side, giving verbal pointers while also reaching out to gently correct a subtle angle of her hips. "Here, sink down another half-inch. Yes, hold that."

Zhou Nan made the slight adjustment as instructed, focusing all her attention on the changes within her body.

Gradually, she felt the speed of her body's qi and blood flow suddenly accelerate. A current of heat surged toward her limbs and bones, fine beads of sweat began to seep from her skin, and wisps of white steam even rose from her!

This... this feeling is...

Zhou Nan was both surprised and delighted, looking uncertainly at Qin Yan.

It wasn't until she saw Qin Yan smile and nod at her with affirmation that she finally became certain—she had actually broken through!

Her Stance Training had officially entered the fourth layer!

"Qin Yan! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

A bright and radiant smile spread across Zhou Nan's face.

Her Stance Training had been stuck at the third layer for a long time, and she had almost thought she had no hope of breaking through, leaving her with no choice but to settle for Jianghai Martial University.

She never expected to meet Qin Yan, who helped her break through the Bottleneck in one go.

Qin Yan chuckled at her words, his eyes also reflecting a smile. "Don't be so polite. We're helping each other succeed; I've also benefited quite a bit from you."

At this moment, Zhao Bin, seeing this scene, couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.

"I have to hurry up too! I can't fall too far behind!"

He muttered, immersing himself even more diligently into his Stance Training.

Qin Yan also took the opportunity to open his panel and check the results of his hard work during this period.

[Sky-Supporting One Qi Stance: Fifth Layer (Perfection)

Qi and Blood: 9 cal

spirit: 42

Spear Technique: Second Stage (31%)

Skill Points: 64

Remark: As long as you work hard, you will reap rewards]

This month, he had completely consumed all the qi and blood potions he had obtained, and his qi and blood value had already reached a staggering 9 cal!

But he also found that after reaching 9 cal, the effects of ordinary qi and blood potions began to diminish significantly, and the growth slowed down noticeably.

"It seems the effect of qi and blood potions is nearing its limit."

He understood this but did not panic.

9 cal of qi and blood had already reached the admission line for Top-tier Martial Arts Universities last year!

And at this time, there were exactly 2 days left before the College Entrance Examination on June 8th.

He still had a total of 25 precious qi and blood pills saved up.

He would go to the Principal's office again tomorrow, and he expected to receive the next batch of resources provided by Director Wan.

In this final sprint phase, his strength would surely leap forward once again!

After training, to celebrate Zhou Nan's Breakthrough, the three decided to indulge a little and went to a popular barbecue stall near the school.

"Come! A toast to our goddess Zhou Nan's Breakthrough!"

Zhao Bin seemed exceptionally excited, raising his glass and shouting loudly.

"Cheers! Fill it up, fill it up!"

...

After a few beers, the atmosphere became even more lively. Before long, Zhao Bin, who had the lowest alcohol tolerance, began to look glazed-eyed and became talkative. He threw an arm around Qin Yan's shoulder and said with a slurred tongue:

"Qin Yan... hic... you're really a... freak! Stance Training... fifth layer... how did you train it... I'm impressed..."

After saying this, his head slumped to the side, and he fell fast asleep on the table.

"He's just like that, he has a poor tolerance but loves to drink."

Zhou Nan's cheeks were also tinged with a faint blush, making her look exceptionally pretty under the warm yellow lights of the night market. She looked at Zhao Bin's predicament and smiled softly at Qin Yan.

With his current 9 cal of qi and blood, Qin Yan's physical fitness far exceeded that of ordinary people. Although he had also drunk quite a bit, he only felt slightly tipsy.

He smiled, stood up, walked over to Zhao Bin, and easily supported him with one hand.

Perhaps because the movement was a bit sudden, he also wobbled slightly.

At that moment, a slender but strong arm reached out just in time, gently supporting his arm.