56: Chapter 56 Picking Flowers!

Inhale.

Exhale.

The night was deep, and outside the window, the lights of ten thousand homes surged like a tide. Su Ye stood alone in the center of the room, his chest rising and falling slightly.

Over the past few days, every time he practiced, he was no longer satisfied with simply absorbing spiritual energy.

After circulating the Breathing Technique, he would immediately begin tempering his Inch Power.

Once.

Ten times.

A hundred times.

He was using his own body to grind that 'Technique' bit by bit, correcting the rhythm of his force, refining the coordination between his heart and muscle fibers, gathering that power from the depths of his fascia, and then pressing it into the tip of his fist.

The path of Cultivation was, after all, long and boundless; it was not a task that could be accomplished in a single day.

But as long as the path was correct, unremitting effort would eventually lead to its end.

Su Ye closed his eyes, and his Mental Energy sank into his body.

Heart.

Fascia.

Muscles.

That already-formed spiritual energy meridian was like a glowing rivulet, flowing slowly within him. As the Breathing Technique circulated, the spiritual energy naturally sank into his flesh and blood following the rhythm of his inhalations and exhalations.

The next moment.

Su Ye suddenly noticed a difference.

Several bones and muscles that had been difficult to move before now seemed to be lit up by something. His shoulders, elbows, wrists, and even his waist, back, and intercostal areas—places that had always felt dull and sluggish in the past—suddenly all came to life.

It was as if an invisible giant net had been pulled tight by him.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump-thump!

His heart suddenly accelerated. That drum-like throbbing was denser and sharper than before, as if it wanted to twist every muscle in his body into a single strand.

Su Ye's heart jolted.

After tempering for so long.

It was finally here!

Now was the time!

He snapped his eyes open and pulled his right fist back, his fascia stretched to the limit. His entire arm was like a fully drawn greatbow. The next moment, he threw a punch.

Boom!

Before the fist even arrived, the air in front of it exploded first, bursting in an instant!

The water cup on the table jumped violently, the curtains billowed, and even the room door shook slightly. A metal bucket filled with junk a few meters away instantly gained a hairline crack, as if an invisible needle had pierced through its center. This was only because Su Ye had restrained his strength while practicing in his rental; otherwise, the wind from this single punch could have snapped a large tree!

Su Ye maintained his punching posture, stopping for a full two seconds.

Then, he slowly withdrew his fist.

The shock in his eyes was even more intense than the commotion caused by that punch.

It was different.

An indescribable change had occurred in his Inch Power!

That punch just now had utilized all his strength flexibly with a smaller point of impact, fiercer penetration, and more condensed explosive power. It was incredibly light and agile, yet it was as unstoppable as a hot knife through butter—it was terrifyingly powerful.

Su Ye hurriedly took out his notebook, his fingers feeling a bit warm. He found the page where he first recorded Inch Power. After a moment of thought, he continued writing the second level after the first level of Inch Power. He recorded all his sensations, though he hesitated a bit when it came to naming it.

"Let's call it Flower Picking."

After writing it down, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Picking a flower with a smile—this name is quite flashy."

He began to rapidly recall the details of that moment.

Accelerated heartbeat.

High-frequency muscle vibration.

Those small muscles and bones that were originally difficult to mobilize were all brought into play, as if the force lines of his entire body had suddenly become more complete. When he threw that punch, he even had the illusion that he wasn't punching, but rather 'twisting' an invisible force.

Next, Su Ye began to calculate.

This time, he didn't directly explode with Inch Power. Instead, he first mobilized his heart alone, suppressing his breathing and allowing that force to circulate within his body.

After several conversions, he quickly reached a conclusion.

Without using Inch Power or extreme compression, and merely using his mind to control his heartbeat, his current self could stably reach 300 beats per minute.

And that punch just now...

In that short instant, the peak of his heartbeat had been forced up to 720 beats per minute by him.

Pressure.

It really was a bit too much.

At 720 beats per minute, that was no longer a heartbeat a normal flesh-and-blood body should have. Even if it was only for an instant, he could feel that terrifying load—his chest felt tight and bloated, blood surged upward, and even his eardrums felt numb from the vibration.

The power of that punch was terrifying. Su Ye didn't have a suitable opportunity to test it yet, but he had confirmed his theory:

As long as his heart could become stronger,

His Inch Power could also become stronger.

And now, Flower Picking was complete.

This meant that he had truly established himself at the second level of this 'Technique'.

Su Ye was so busy with his Cultivation that he overlooked that today was the day to pay rent, only realizing it when he heard a knock at the door.

"Collecting rent, Dr. Su."

The landlady's voice was very recognizable.

Su Ye's spirits immediately jolted. He got up to open the door and pay the money. The process was incredibly smooth. Seeing Su Ye pay the rent so quickly without any delay, the landlady's eyes crinkled into lines. Once she walked away in her slippers, satisfied, he closed the door and returned to the table, his face looking as bitter as a gourd. He looked down at his wallet.

Nine hundred and twenty-six yuan.

When Su Ye thought about how there were still nearly twenty days until the next payday, his vision went dark.

“...”

"A few pieces of silver can stump a hero."

"I'm so damn poor."

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes glazed over.

Having cultivated to this point, he finally realized a very realistic problem.

His strength was growing.

And his appetite was also growing.

Eating a meal was like filling a bottomless pit. His wallet was dropping faster than his blood pressure. The meager salary of a Standardized Resident Trainee used to be enough for one person to scrape by, but now that he'd started cultivating, plus his younger brother had moved in, he had instantly become destitute.

I need to make some money.

While he was worrying, his phone suddenly vibrated.

The caller ID showed Zhou Jingtang.

Su Ye composed his emotions, turned serious, and immediately answered.

"Elder Zhou."

On the other end of the phone, the old man's voice was calm, but it held a rare note of gravity.

"Come over to my place tomorrow morning."

"I have a very important surgery to perform, and I want you to assist me."

Su Ye's expression instantly tightened.

Surgery?

And he was being asked to assist Zhou Jingtang?

Although Elder Zhou usually thought highly of him and often took him along for consultations, this was the first time he had actually asked Su Ye to assist in a surgery.

And hearing that tone...

It was very solemn.

And very rare.

Thoughts raced through Su Ye's mind.

This likely wasn't an ordinary surgery.

Who was the patient?

And what were the symptoms that required Elder Zhou to personally perform the surgery?

Su Ye didn't ask further questions and simply gave a serious response.

"Alright, I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning."

After hanging up, the room became quiet again.

Su Ye sat where he was, feeling quite curious about this surgery.

However, the most pressing issue right now was still making money.

"To think that in my first month of encountering the supernatural, the biggest hurdle would return to the most primitive problem of survival. Interesting."