Chapter 61: Chapter 58: There won't be any accidents!

By the time the monthly minor test had ended, it was already noon.

Xue Jing loosened his wrists, placed the notebook with the recorded scores in the office, had a meal of medicated cuisine in the cafeteria, and after leaving the cafeteria, he made his way through several turns to arrive in front of a room.

He pushed the door open and entered, immediately greeted by an extremely strong scent of medicinal herbs.

The room was like that of a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, with densely packed, numbered medicine cabinets filling the four walls. A rough count showed there were several hundred compartments, each crafted from wine-red solid wood, with characters carved on the outside, indicating the type of medicine contained within.

This was the Hidden Dragon Dojo's Medicine Storage, with the four walls filled with medicine besides the large Medicine Preparation Table in the center of the room, covered with various instruments for preparing medicines.

Xue Jing expertly picked up a scale pan from the table and began selecting the medicines he needed for the day from the various cabinets.

After he had finished picking, the scale pan was filled to the brim, and he carried it over to the Medicine Preparation Table to start preparing the Body Refining Elixir of the Hidden Dragon School, according to the steps taught by Li Qi.

Once the preparations were complete, Xue Jing placed all the medicines into a container resembling an electric kettle, poured in water at the appropriate ratio, turned on the switch, and let it simmer automatically.

Having done all this, Xue Jing took the notebook and pen from the Medicine Preparation Table, opened it and started writing down the specific quantities of the medicine he had used.

After writing it down, he referred to the price list beside him and did some calculations, totaling about twelve thousand Zhuxia currency.

"Who can afford to practice martial arts...," Xue Jing sighed.

Half an hour later, with a ding, the Secret Medicine was ready.

Xue Jing picked up the Nebulizer Inhaler beside him, resembling a thermos, opened the lid, and poured all the prepared medicinal liquid into it.

The black medicinal liquid emitted a strong, pungent odor, which Xue Jing faced with an unchanged expression, already accustomed to it.

After pouring, Xue Jing walked out of the Medicine Storage, closed the door behind him, and returned to his own cultivation room.

He placed the Nebulizer Inhaler aside, took a deep breath, assumed the proper stance, and began practicing the Armor Shaking Skill of the day.

This technique comprised five sets of movements, one for each day, completing a cycle in five days. Today, Xue Jing was practicing movements related to 'Bone Training.'

As he operated his breathing skills, Xue Jing started to pose in a series of strikingly difficult positions.

At the end of each movement, his body would tremble like a True Dragon Shaking Armor, followed by the sound of numerous bones grinding against each other from within his body, resonating like thunder rolling across a cloud-packed sky.

Intense stabbing pain and scorching heat emerged from the depths of his bones, but Xue Jing remained unaffected, his expression unchanged, as he practiced the Armor Shaking Skill step by step, slow but resolute.

An indeterminate amount of time passed.

Following the final tremble and the cacophony of bone-cracking sounds, Xue Jing's breathing gradually returned to normal, and he stood in place.

As if having an epiphany, he gleaned something from the full set of Armor Shaking Skill movements, a sense that was fleeting and vague, impossible to grasp firmly.

"Master said that this set of Bone Training movements corresponds with one of the five main offensive techniques of the Hidden Dragon School, the 'Seal Cloud Tail,' which relies on one's own formidable Root Bone to guide, bear, and channel the enemy's Power, enhancing one's own body before launching a Counterattack Skill," he thought.

"If I could have an intense enough battle, maybe I could capture that inspiration...," Xue Jing considered.

Shaking his head, he picked up the Nebulizer Inhaler beside him, turned it on, and inhaled the pale black medicinal fog into his lungs, using the corresponding breathing skills.

As he circulated his breathing skills, he glanced at the panel.

[Fitness Lv6 (2108/3000)]

[Health Cultivation Lv4 (669/1200)]

[Cooking Lv4 (681/1200)]

[Running Lv5 (1821/2000)]

[Charm Art Lv5 (335/2000)]

[Aiming Lv5 (227/2000)]

[Fighting Lv5 (785/2000)]

[Channeling Energy Lv6 (733/3000)]

[Meditative Visualization Lv3 (337/800)]

In these seven or eight days, he had spent all his time diligently practicing martial arts and 'grinding' other skills, accruing substantial gains.

Aiming had leveled up again, reaching Lv5, enhancing his accuracy, vision, Reaction Speed, and other areas.

Plus, with the daily practical training with Meng, his Fighting skill had also leveled up again.

Meditative visualization within the practice of Coiling Dragon Art had also advanced a level, enhancing his consciousness and spirit-related abilities, and his body's 'Dragon Qi' grew increasingly intense.

Of course, there were also gains that were not directly visible on the panel.

The practice of the five Armor Shaking Skill movements brought about a strengthening of skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and blood. Although it wasn't reflected on the panel, Xue Jing could clearly feel the benefits himself.

For instance, he could now utilize Soft Power, which, aside from the growth of his Channeling Energy skills, also had a lot to do with the 'Blood Training' aspect of the Armor Shaking Skill.

Blood is the source of human kinetic power; the cleaner and more exceptional the blood, the more smoothly energy flows through it, like adding lubricant to gears, making it exceptionally smooth.

Staring at the conditions for the ascension of the [Fitness] skill for a while, Xue Jing closed his eyes and began to circulate his breathing skills seriously, silently absorbing the medicinal mist.

...

Elsewhere, in North City District, a certain villa.

In the spacious and luxurious living room, Pei Youguang sat in a corner on the couch feeling like he was on pins and needles and very uncomfortable.

He couldn't help but glance toward the group of people seated in a circle, chatting and laughing with ease, showing a complex expression.

He felt his presence there was superfluous and out of place.

Pei Youguang looked toward the young and handsome man at the center of the crowd.

Dressed in a very simple leisure outfit, the saying "clothes make the man" seemed inapplicable to him and instead became "the person beautifies the clothes."

His clean, handsome face bore a warm smile like the sun, and he mingled effortlessly with the sons and daughters of wealth and status, not showing any timidity and even vaguely regarded as the center of the crowd.

The simple clothes he wore seemed as if they had become the elaborate attire of a banquet.

"Only someone like big brother deserves to be here," Pei Youguang sighed, gazing at his own brother, Pei Tiancheng, somewhat spellbound.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of another figure.

'Hmm... If Jing were here, maybe he could compare with big brother,' he thought.

It had been a long time since he last saw Jing, who had been taking leaves of absence lately and hadn't been to school for many days.

They had only met once at school previously, and Jing mentioned that he had joined a dojo and became a Direct Disciple... How enviable.

"Youguang, why are you sitting so far away? Come over here, I have something to tell you."

At that moment, Pei Tiancheng's gentle voice came from the center of the group.

Pei Youguang jerked to attention, quickly stood up and found a place to sit next to his brother. seaʀᴄh thё Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Being too hasty, he even bumped into a pretty girl with exquisite makeup; she rolled her eyes and disdainfully twitched her mouth, tutting, as if she wanted to say something, but after glancing at Pei Tiancheng, she held her tongue.

"Tomorrow is Ye's banquet, remember to dress up nicely and don't disgrace our Pei family," Pei Tiancheng said.

His voice was consistent in its gentleness, quite pleasant, making the girls from wealthy families nearby reveal smiles.

"Ah? I have to go too?"

A look of difficulty appeared on Pei Youguang's plump face.

What was he going for? To make up the numbers?

A well-dressed man sitting on the couch said with a smile, "The younger brother of Pei is also an attractive talent; how could he disgrace us?"

"However, the hotel hosting the banquet is rumored to have a murderous demon on the loose. Should there be any danger, Pei shouldn't just focus on protecting his own brother and neglect us, your sworn brothers and sisters."

As soon as these words were spoken, laughter erupted in the living room; upon hearing of the murderous demon, all eyes gleamed with excitement and interest.

Having a banquet in a hotel where a murderous demon might appear was thrilling - it felt like a scenario straight out of a detective novel!

Pei Tiancheng chuckled and shook his head.

"Rest assured, everyone, although my martial arts are not perfect, I do have some skills, and these cowards who attack only defenseless women are far from being a concern in my eyes."

His tone was as gentle as ever, but a strong confidence was unmistakable.

"I assure you all, tomorrow night will be a wonderful banquet with no accidents."

...