32: Chapter 32: Strength Surges, Breaking Through Flesh and Blood!

The subsequent training went even smoother than expected.

Qian Duoduo was responsible for getting his movements corrected, and then getting beaten up.

Qian Shuying was responsible for high-intensity combat training, while also continuing to get beaten up.

Lu Cheng was responsible for earning money, teaching, and improving himself—killing three birds with one stone.

Qian Duoduo was beaten until he was howling in agony.

"Brother Lu! Take it easy!"

"I'm paying with money, not my life!!"

Lu Cheng's expression was serious.

"High-end private coaching is always like this. The more money you spend, the harder the beating, which just means the service is more thorough."

Qian Duoduo: "..."

It sounded absurd, but why did it also seem to make some sense?

As for Qian Shuying, her foundation was too good.

For many problems, Lu Cheng only needed to point them out once, and she could adjust on her own.

But her problem was also very obvious: she liked frontal suppression too much.

Therefore, Lu Cheng specifically targeted her rhythm, forcing her to change moves at the most uncomfortable positions.

At first, Qian Shuying fought quite uncomfortably.

But the more they fought, the brighter the light in her eyes became.

Because the problems Lu Cheng pointed out were ridiculously accurate.

It was as if he could directly see the gaps in her fighting habits.

By the time it was completely dark, there weren't many people left in the martial arts gym.

Qian Duoduo lay sprawled by the side of the ring, like a puddle of overcooked meat patty.

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng and Qian Shuying were still in their final round of sparring.

Bang!

Lu Cheng punched through her defense.

Qian Shuying was finally exhausted; her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

The strands of hair on her forehead were soaked with sweat, her chest heaved violently, and her arms were trembling slightly.

Lu Cheng walked up to her and reached out his hand.

"Let's call it a day."

Qian Shuying looked up at him, and after a moment, placed her hand in his.

Her palms were very hot.

Lu Cheng pulled her up with a tug.

As she stood up, Qian Shuying swayed, almost bumping into his chest, but she forcibly steadied herself.

"Thanks," she said in a low voice.

Lu Cheng smiled.

"You're welcome, Boss."

He turned to leave.

But just as he reached the door, Qian Shuying suddenly spoke up.

"Lu Cheng."

"Hmm?"

She looked at him, her expression much more serious than during the day.

"You're about to break through to the Blood and Flesh Realm, right?"

Lu Cheng stopped in his tracks and looked back at her.

"You can tell?"

"More or less," Qian Shuying nodded. "Your Qi and Blood and physical body are sufficient now, but don't rush to charge into the Blood and Flesh Realm."

"Before breaking through to the Blood and Flesh Realm, polish your Tendon & Bone Stage once more."

"The Tendon & Bone Stage is the frame, the foundation. If the frame isn't set firmly, the subsequent Blood and Flesh Realm and Viscera Realm will be affected."

Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment.

This was the first time he had heard such a theory.

His school teachers had certainly never mentioned it.

Qian Shuying saw his confusion and spoke in a calm tone.

"The teachers at your school don't talk about this, not because they're hiding it on purpose, but because they only cultivate step-by-step themselves and haven't been exposed to higher-level knowledge."

"But you are different."

She paused, her gaze falling on Lu Cheng.

"Since you have this talent, don't ruin your future path just to be a little faster."

"I don't want someone who can beat me now to fall behind later because of such low-level problems."

Lu Cheng looked at her, his heart stirred slightly; this reminder was truly valuable.

He nodded seriously.

"Understood."

"Thanks."

After saying that, he waved at her and turned to leave the gym.

Only after that figure completely disappeared outside the door did Qian Shuying slowly retract her gaze.

Qian Duoduo then struggled to climb up from the ground and shuffled over to her side.

"Sis, how was it?"

Qian Shuying was silent for a moment, then said indifferently: "Very strong."

"Your judgment this time was indeed spot on."

She paused and added another sentence.

"When the martial arts exam approaches, if he still maintains this momentum..."

"You can consider investing in him."

Qian Duoduo was stunned.

He looked towards the doorway, his eyes somewhat complex.

After a moment, he nodded slightly. "Okay."

...

Lu Cheng did not go back but instead went to the Qi and Blood Chamber. The bone-cleansing potion the principal gave him today was specifically for him to properly temper his bones before stepping into the Blood and Flesh Realm.

It was just that the old fart of a principal hadn't explained it clearly.

Someone like Qian Shuying, who grew up in a big family system, clearly knew much more than him due to her environment.

In the Qi and Blood Chamber, Lu Cheng swiped his card to enter a private room, locked the door behind him, and dumped all the resources he had obtained today onto the table.

Advanced Qi and Blood potion, the cultivation card given by the school, the newly acquired B-grade martial arts materials, and that vial of bone-cleansing potion with a faint milky-white luster.

Lu Cheng stared at the potion for two seconds.

"I hope it doesn't hurt too much."

After saying that, he chuckled to himself.

Saying something like that was a bit self-deceptive.

In this high-martial world, anything involving words like "tempering," "bone-cleansing," or "strengthening" would make nine and a half out of ten people hurt so much they'd question their existence.

He took a deep breath, first activated his Guiding Technique to adjust his physical state to the best condition, and then unscrewed the seal of the potion and gulped it down in one go.

The next second.

The expression on Lu Cheng's face froze instantly.

A sharp pain, as if countless steel needles had instantly pierced into his bone joints, exploded along his throat and spread to his entire body in the blink of an eye!

"Hiss!"

Lu Cheng arched his back violently, the veins on his forehead bulging instantly; he almost couldn't catch his breath.

It hurt!

It hurt like hell!

It felt like someone was taking his bones apart one by one, tossing them into a furnace to heat them until red-hot, and then putting them back together.

His fascia was trembling, his bones were vibrating, and even his tooth roots were aching.

Lu Cheng gritted his teeth tightly, pressing his palms against the floor, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.

"Damn it... the principal really gives good stuff... but he's also really ruthless..."

While cursing, he forced himself to sit cross-legged.

The more critical the moment, the less he could afford to lose focus.

The medicinal power of the bone-cleansing potion was permeating frantically; if he just endured it blindly, at least half of the effect would be wasted.

Only by actively guiding it with his Guiding Technique, allowing the medicinal power to flow inch by inch along his entire skeletal frame, could he truly convert this pain into improvement.

Soon, Lu Cheng closed his eyes and forcibly steadied his breathing.

Guiding Technique - Origin, activate!

Hum~

A familiar warm current rose from within his body and collided with that violent medicinal power.

One cold and one hot, one soft and one hard.

The medicinal properties, which were almost out of control, began to flow along his spine, shoulder bones, ribs, arm bones, and leg bones under the guidance of the Guiding Technique, like an invisible little hammer, tapping his skeleton over and over again.

The pain was still intense.

But Lu Cheng could clearly feel that his bones were becoming denser and tougher.

This improvement was real.

Every bit of pain would be exchanged for a bit of strength.

This feeling was more addictive than leveling up in video games in his past life.

No matter how high the numbers were in a game, they were just digits popping up on a screen.

But martial arts practice was different.

Every time he tempered his body, every bit of pain, could be converted into real improvement, allowing him to clearly feel that he was getting stronger.

This addiction was simply impossible to quit.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the medicinal power finally began to wane.

Lu Cheng was already soaked through with sweat, as if he had just been fished out of water, and a small puddle of sweat had accumulated on the floor.

Yet his eyes began to light up bit by bit.

Because he could feel that the layer of vague sluggishness between his tendons and bones had disappeared.

The next moment.

The Qi and Blood in his body suddenly began to vibrate spontaneously!

The power that originally only roamed between his skin and tendons and bones began to penetrate further into the depths of his flesh.

Chest, back, arms, thighs...

Each muscle seemed to be awakened, bulging slightly, and then quickly contracting, becoming more solid.

Qi and Blood value — 32 points, officially entering the Blood and Flesh Realm!

Lu Cheng opened his eyes abruptly and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Although the process hurt like hell, the result was truly sweet.

He stood up and stretched his tendons and bones; a series of crisp cracking sounds immediately erupted from within his body, like popping beans.

Checking the time, only an hour had passed.

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

"So fast?"

He had originally thought that this bone-cleansing and breakthrough process would take at least two or three hours; he hadn't expected the efficiency to be this high.