Wang Family Pharmacy.
"What can I get for you, customer?"
As soon as Lin Yan stepped inside, a shop assistant greeted him enthusiastically.
"How much is the Qi Nourishing Soup?"
Lin Yan had learned the names of many medicinal soups used by martial artists from Zheng Guang, and the Qi Nourishing Soup was the most suitable for beginners.
"One hundred copper coins for a dose. One packet can be brewed and taken twice. You’ve come to the right place, customer. Our pharmacy’s Qi Nourishing Soup is famous for its quality."
"I’ll take one dose."
"One dose?"
The shop assistant’s expression was a bit strange. All who came to buy Qi Nourishing Soup were martial artists.
Although many had been bankrupted by their training, this customer was young and looked like he had just started. He shouldn’t be so stingy.
’Buying Qi Nourishing Soup one dose at a time... what kind of martial arts can he even practice?’
Lin Yan paid no mind to the assistant’s changing expression. He still had plenty of the three taels of silver Zhang Dahai had given him, so buying a single dose was certainly not because he was short on cash.
After paying the copper coins and taking the medicine packet, Lin Yan turned and went to another pharmacy on the street, where he bought another packet.
He did this at three different pharmacies, buying one packet of Qi Nourishing Soup from each, before finally heading home.
That Master Zheng had sounded very sincere, but one could never be too careful. What if Master Zheng had some deal with the Wang Family Pharmacy, directing people to buy medicine there to get a commission?
He wanted to test whether the Wang Family Pharmacy’s Qi Nourishing Soup was truly more effective.
Others might not be able to tell the difference, but he had the Martial Arts Tree. He could judge by observing the growth of its leaf.
Back home.
His aunt was in the house preparing dinner. Seeing Lin Yan carrying medicine packets, a look of confusion appeared on her face. "Yan’er, did you buy these medicine packets?"
"Aunt, when I was out today, I ran into one of Father’s old friends, Uncle Zhang. Uncle Zhang recognized me and took me to a teahouse for a while. These pastries are from there; I brought back the leftovers. Also, Uncle Zhang gave me some silver coins."
Lin Yan repeated the story he had prepared in advance. Before his death, his father had worked for a medicinal ingredient merchant in the city, traveling to villages to procure herbs, so he did indeed know many people.
"Uncle Zhang said my father helped him in the past, and this money is to repay that kindness."
"What is this Uncle Zhang’s name?"
"Zhang Xiaohe."
"Xiaohe... that’s a rather strange name."
Madam Liu made a mental note. She knew that her elder brother had made some friends back when he was a Traveling Merchant, and it was through these connections that he could procure high-quality medicinal herbs from the countryside.
Having dealt with his aunt, Lin Yan began to brew and take the medicine, then started cultivating the Rock Pillar Posture.
「Three days passed.」
Lin Yan looked at the leaf patterns he had drawn on a piece of paper. The leaf in the middle drawing had clearly grown much more.
’I was being petty. Master Zheng was right, the Wang Family Pharmacy’s ingredients are the best quality.’
He drew the leaf from his mind for another reason besides verifying which Qi Nourishing Soup was most effective.
He wanted to predict what the leaf would look like when fully grown based on its current shape as a sprout, and from that, estimate how long it would take for him to succeed in Nourishing his Foundation.
After some estimation, Lin Yan came to a conclusion.
Based on the sprout’s current growth rate, he would be able to meet the conditions for skin tempering in three months.
Of course, that was on the condition that he took Qi Nourishing Soup every day. Otherwise, the time required would be several times longer, taking nearly a year to achieve.
This was much shorter than the three years Master Zheng had mentioned for Nourishing the Foundation.
’Master Zheng said that an ordinary person practicing Pile Skill would take a year or two to succeed in Nourishing their Foundation, but I only need three months.’
’A beginner without a teacher would probably take quite some time just to get started with the Pile Skill, and their posture might not even be perfectly standard.’
’Of course, there was another possibility: he might just be a talented martial arts genius.’
The days passed peacefully, flowing like water.
「Three months passed in the blink of an eye.」
The tender leaf in his mind was just short of being fully formed, its vibrant green a captivating sight.
Lin Yan looked on with great satisfaction. This was the fruit of his two-plus months of arduous training.
After bathing and changing into a clean set of clothes, Lin Yan stood in the courtyard. He had a premonition that today was the day he would succeed in Nourishing his Foundation.
It was his first breakthrough in Martial Arts, after all. A little bit of ceremony was in order.
He assumed the starting stance of the posture. Between breaths, the warm current in his Dantian stirred in response.
Once, twice, three times...
On the fifth repetition, the warm current in his Dantian suddenly surged, propelling itself to circulate even faster.
Lin Yan’s eyes lit up. His body felt like a giant furnace, and his Qi Blood was boiling.
Feverish, exhilarated.
This was a situation he had never experienced before.
He suppressed the emotional fluctuations and continued his Cultivation, slowly allowing himself to enter a state of self-forgetfulness.
The ever-expanding warm current reached its limit, and then, following his Breathing, it began to collapse inward and condense.
Until a certain moment!
"BOOM!"
A soft hum, audible only to him, resounded from within Lin Yan’s body.
In his Dantian, the core of the extremely active hot current abruptly contracted and then stabilized.
A solid, explosive "Power" erupted from the depths of his Dantian, rushing toward his limbs and bones.
Lin Yan raised his right arm and threw a punch, which actually broke the air with a piercing sound.
The Power dissipated quickly, but Lin Yan could clearly feel the changes in his body.
He walked over to a nearby stone lock, a hundred-jin one he had bought half a month ago.
"Up!"
With a soft shout, Lin Yan took a deep breath and lifted the stone lock to his chest with one hand, silently counting the time.
Ten breaths, a hundred breaths, and he still had strength to spare.
Only after one hundred and fifty breaths did he feel his arm grow sore and numb, and he set the stone lock down.
’I’ve met Master Zheng’s standard of holding a hundred-jin stone lock for a hundred breaths. I’ve succeeded in Nourishing my Foundation with Qi Blood. The tender leaf should be fully formed by now.’
Thinking of the leaf, Lin Yan quickly turned his gaze inward, to his mind.
In his mind, the last curled tip of the leaf on the strange tree’s green branch quietly unfurled.
It was rounded, full, and vibrantly green. Its veins were as clear as a painting, and it radiated a soft yet vigorous, living light.
At a thought from Lin Yan, the green leaf trembled.
A heavy, turbid stream of heat shot down from the crown of his head, slamming deep into his lower back and spine.
Lin Yan felt his lumbar vertebrae suddenly tighten, and the Shenshu acupoints on either side of his waist burned like fire. His waist and abdomen felt as if they had been cast into a solid iron block, resting heavily on his pelvis.
Almost simultaneously, his tailbone let out a soft "K-CHAK".
A tingling power, like a living snake, shot up his spine, vertebra by vertebra.
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK...
A series of more than ten small, crisp cracks echoed up his spine. It wasn’t painful; instead, it felt like a rusted chain being shaken out and straightened, link by link.
His entire spine suddenly came "alive." Each vertebra became thicker and denser, fitting together with perfect precision.
His tendons tightened, hiding a latent elasticity.
Lin Yan subconsciously sank his waist slightly and hollowed his chest.
BONG!
The great tendon in his back twitched violently, emitting a deep thrum like a fully drawn bowstring.
The muscles on either side of his back rippled like waves, their definition suddenly becoming clear, full of a primal tension.
’The fully formed leaf actually bestowed a Root Bone upon me.’
[Root Bone (Unique): Stone Waist Barbarian Ridge: Stone Waist Root, Barbaric Spine Power]
[Additional Effect: Tempers the body, provides extra growth for Qi Blood.]
Information about the "Stone Waist Barbarian Ridge" Root Bone naturally appeared in his mind.
Lin Yan looked down at the stone lock at his feet. He gripped it with his right hand, and this time, lifting it was much easier than before.
’Is this the power of a Root Bone? It can increase my Power... no, that’s not right... it’s my short-term Explosive Power.’
After experimenting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Lin Yan figured out the strengths of his Stone Waist Barbarian Ridge.
When he activated the Root Bone, his speed and Power increased significantly, but he couldn’t determine the exact amount without any measuring tools.
Lin Yan looked into his mind again. The green leaf, having seemingly fulfilled its purpose, slowly drifted down to the roots and was quickly absorbed by the Martial Arts Tree. The trunk of the entire Martial Arts Tree grew a little taller.
As the Martial Arts Tree grew, a piece of information also flowed into his mind, and a look of sudden understanding dawned in Lin Yan’s eyes.
The height of the Martial Arts Tree was related to his Realm.
Every breakthrough in his Realm would allow the Martial Arts Tree to grow.
Just as Lin Yan was pondering the wonders of the Martial Arts Tree, Zhang Dahai’s knock came from the courtyard gate. "Young Brother Lin."
Lin Yan moved the stone lock into the house before going to open the gate.
"Young Brother Lin, good news! The Lord Martial Artist is back. You’ve been drinking medicinal soup for so long, your body should be ready. It’s time to meet him."
"That’s great! Brother Zhang, please wait a moment. I’m going back inside to get something."
Lin Yan hurried back into the house and changed into a set of loose-fitting clothes. The two of them left the Lin Family residence. As they were walking down the street, Lin Yan suddenly stopped. "Brother Zhang, is it inappropriate for me to show up empty-handed? Should I buy some pastries?"
Looking at a shop to the side, Zhang Dahai laughed. "Young Brother Lin, you are so considerate. The Lord Martial Artist will surely be even more pleased."
However, Lin Yan remained standing in place, looking a bit sheepish. Zhang Dahai’s eye twitched; he had a familiar, bad feeling.
"Brother Zhang, could you lend me some money for pastries?"
Zhang Dahai’s expression showed that he had expected this. He couldn’t help but ask, "You didn’t bring any money? Then why did you go back into the house just now?"
"I just went back to change my clothes. Brother Zhang, don’t worry..."
"Alright, alright. I only have sixty copper coins on me. Here, take it."
Zhang Dahai didn’t want to hear another word from Lin Yan. ’Just endure it one more time,’ he thought. ’As long as Lin Yan signs the papers this time, the Lin Family’s old house and the one he’s living in now will all be theirs.’
"Thank you, Brother Zhang! I’ll be sure to pay you back multiple times over."
Zhang Dahai forced a smile and waved his hand, not wanting to say anything more.

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