Chapter 22: The Third Breakthrough of Ba Duan Jin (Seeking Follow-Up Reads, Seeking Investment!)

Qingshan Village wasn't ideal in terms of its geographical location for development, but as the dynasty neared its end, it became one of the few places that remained relatively peaceful.

It was in this environment that Wang Sheng could skill up without any concerns.

Had he been in an important major city, his biggest worry every day might have been whether an army would attack.

The likely outcome would still be to flee, to run to a village similar to Qingshan Village and scrounge a living.

Now, he was already well-settled, which was quite nice.

When there are no concerns weighing on the mind, one tends to work very efficiently.

The same principle applied to the progress bar, as Wang Sheng devoted most of his energy to advancing his Ba Duan Jin and Inner Core Skill.

Both were improving very quickly.

The Inner Core Skill had already reached "Breakthrough+2 (99%)" before, and the day after learning about the Martial Artist Plague, he successfully achieved the third breakthrough,

Wang Sheng had thought that, like Medicinal Plant Cultivation, the Inner Core Skill might gain new features after the third breakthrough, but the reality turned out to be somewhat disappointing.

With the breakthrough of Inner Core Skill, the speed of his Qi Blood Power circulation indeed increased significantly, and the progress of Qi Rushing to the Disease accelerated, but there were no new features.

He had his own speculations.

"Could it be that the premise of the Inner Core Skill is too lofty?"

The essence of the Inner Core Skill is the Immortal Law, which has an incredibly high aim. Perhaps three breakthroughs are not enough to induce new changes, unlike the first breakthrough.

"Forget it, let's not worry about that for now. Today, my Ba Duan Jin should also be ready for a breakthrough. Let's see if Ba Duan Jin will present any new features!"

The progress of Ba Duan Jin closely followed that of the Inner Core Skill, only slightly behind.

After dispelling the disappointment that came with no new features in Inner Core Skill, Wang Sheng wholly immersed himself in advancing the progress of Ba Duan Jin.

The day after the Inner Core Skill breakthrough, Ba Duan Jin also completed its third breakthrough.

At the moment of the breakthrough, Wang Sheng had some clear insights flash through his mind.

Ba Duan Jin had developed a new ability.

"Indeed, the Inner Core Skill's concept is so high that the requirements for gaining new features are higher as well; a third breakthrough is simply not enough."

After the breakthrough of Ba Duan Jin, the information he acquired seemed to prove this point as well.

However, Wang Sheng didn't dwell on it for too long.

Understanding the effects of Ba Duan Jin after the third breakthrough was what mattered the most right now.

The method, of course, was to experience it firsthand.

Without hesitation, he popped a Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill into his mouth and began performing Ba Duan Jin, post-third breakthrough.

Just after the first movement, he felt his body voraciously devouring the energy supplied by the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill, such an insatiable consumption that almost as soon as he swallowed the pill's essence, the energy within it vanished, replenishing his body.

"Is the Ba Duan Jin, post-third breakthrough, really that energy-consuming?"

Wang Sheng didn't dare to disrupt the breathing rhythm of Ba Duan Jin, and could only ponder silently in his mind.

Consider that when Ba Duan Jin was at the second breakthrough, the body couldn't keep up with the energy supplied by the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill. But after another breakthrough, it's the pill that can't supply energy fast enough.

Just from this fact alone, he knew for sure that the changes in Ba Duan Jin were far from minor.

As for where these changes lay?

It all depended on where this consumed energy was going. Once he understood this, he would comprehend the effects of the new features of Ba Duan Jin after the breakthrough.

More than ten minutes later, Wang Sheng completed the entire sequence of Ba Duan Jin after the breakthrough, and the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill in his mouth had been entirely used up.

Previously, one sequence of Ba Duan Jin only required half a pill.

"I really want to see where all this energy has gone!"

Wang Sheng quickly entered a state of internal observation, and the first thing he observed was his Qi Blood Power, which was still circulating within his meridians, seeking and breaking through diseased areas.

He had thought that such a large amount of energy would greatly increase the strength of his Qi Blood Power, but upon careful observation, he realized that compared to when he observed it yesterday, the change in the Qi Blood Power was not very significant.

"Where did the Qi-Blood supplemented by the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill go?"

A sense of doubt rose in Wang Sheng's heart.

Energy wouldn't just disappear without a reason, and since he had consumed the Qi-Blood replenished by the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill, it meant that there must be a destination for that replenished Qi-Blood.

While in the state of internal observation, he searched for several possible destinations for the Qi-Blood, but after one round of observation, he found nothing.

However, just as he was about to check again, he finally discovered something abnormal.

"Has the strength of my blood increased?"

The blood in his body was different from the Qi Blood Power.

Wang Sheng wasn't quite clear about what Martial Artists were like in this world, but based on his cultivation experience, he also had some understanding of blood and Qi Blood Power.

Although blood and Qi Blood Power complemented each other, they were essentially different. Qi Blood Power was extracted from blood, and this kind of energy could increase strength, strengthen the body, and was the source of a Martial Artist's power.

Theoretically, the stronger the blood, the stronger the Qi Blood Power extracted, and the stronger the Martial Artist's personal strength.

To increase the strength of his blood, Wang Sheng could previously only let it naturally and slowly improve.

But just now, while in the state of internal observation, he found that the strength of his blood had increased!

Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill energy consumption + blood strength increase + Ba Duan Jin breakthrough = ?

Thinking it over, the new characteristic of breaking through Ba Duan Jin three times had become clear—increasing the strength of the blood.

This characteristic seemed insignificant for now.

But as long as he continued to cultivate the breakthrough three times with Ba Duan Jin for a while, the terrifying nature of this characteristic would truly be understood.

Simply put, the previous Qi Blood Power was the essence, but if his blood strength increased, the Qi Blood Power that would be upgraded after would be the essence extracted from the essence.

The same amount of Qi Blood Power, which could previously enhance one's strength by 50 pounds, could later enhance it by 100 pounds, and the effect of strengthening the body would be the same. Most importantly, this enhanced effect would gradually increase with the strengthening of blood strength.

The breakthrough in Ba Duan Jin brought him a huge surprise.

"It's a pity I haven't encountered any Martial Artists from this world; otherwise, I could test my current strength."

Theoretically, he was still a First Grade Martial Artist.

But realm and combat ability are inevitably different; whether he was stronger or weaker than the average First Grade Martial Artist could only be determined through real combat.

Of course, Wang Sheng wouldn't seek out other Martial Artists to test his strength and invite trouble needlessly.

His initial reason for cultivation was self-preservation, but an even more important reason was the pursuit of longevity; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen the Immortal Law as his Foundation Method.

Nor would he deliberately seek trouble just to test his strength. The existence of the Martial Artist Plague was evidence that the Martial Artist World was probably not peaceful, so he wouldn't tempt fate.

Even without testing, he was very aware of one thing: the new characteristic of Ba Duan Jin could definitely enhance his strength.

And that was merely one of the benefits; there was another, greater hidden benefit.

The progress of Qi Rushing to the Disease!

The increase in Qi Blood Power, besides enhancing strength, also significantly helped in breaking through the diseased areas.

After all, the stronger the Qi Blood Power, the easier it was to break through diseased areas.

Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he could resolve all the diseased areas within his body, including that damned Martial Artist Plague!