Chapter 30: Chapter 30
‘It seems word of Tian Erhu’s death hasn’t leaked yet… just as well. Let the muddy waters settle for a few more days. Nothing but upside for me.’
Shen Xiuhan tucked away the cold glint in his eyes and strode into the inner court.
By now the sky had brightened, but the inner court was still silent and empty — not a soul in sight.
Second Senior Brother Xu Chuan hadn’t arrived yet, and even once he did, the morning session for those thirty-odd outer-court disciples still required him to oversee.
Shen Xiuhan wasted no time. Facing the biting morning wind, he sank his waist, settled his hips, and assumed the opening stance of the Dark Eagle Stance.
Two hours later.
“Hoo!”
Shen Xiuhan slowly drew his form to a close, exhaling a long, ribbon-like plume of white mist.
He opened his eyes, and an irrepressible flash of elation broke across his face!
Yesterday, the system’s Deduction had not only pushed the Dark Eagle Stance all the way to Perfection and unlocked the killing technique Heavenly Dark Eagle Force — it had also brute-forced his cultivation up to the Peak of Bone Tempering!
He’d originally assumed that when his consciousness snapped back, the system only fed back the stance comprehension and combat techniques.
The fifteen years of cultivation achieved during the Deduction, he’d thought, hadn’t fully carried over — only enough to help him knock on Blood’s door and step into the beginning of Manifest Strength.
He’d thought that was the end of it. But what he never expected was…
Those fifteen years of cultivation hadn’t vanished into nothing. They had been branded into this body in a far more heaven-defying way.
On the martial path, four things mattered: method, companions, wealth, and land.
For an ordinary practitioner, from the moment they knocked on Blood’s door, bringing Blood Tempering to Full Mastery would take at least half a year to a full year — even with daily training and medicinal supplementation.
To push further into mid-Manifest Strength and break through the Sinew Tempering gate required even more painstaking effort. Martial artists who spent three to five years stuck without the slightest progress were as common as carp crossing a river.
And yet, Shen Xiuhan had just run through the stance five times — and with each repetition, he’d felt his qi-blood surging explosively higher!
In barely an hour, his total qi-blood had shot up an entire tier!
At this rate, refilling his qi-blood back to the Peak of Bone Tempering from the Deduction would take no more than three or four months!
And if he could find qi-blood nourishing medicinal meals and pills to supplement… it would go even faster!
Shen Xiuhan’s mind raced, and a bold hypothesis crystallized.
The martial realm and insights he’d cultivated during the Deduction had truly and completely been fed back into his body.
The only thing was — the qi-blood energy of heaven and earth couldn’t be created from nothing. His physical body had to re-temper and absorb it on its own.
For an ordinary person, stepping onto the martial path was like carving a reservoir from barren rock.
Not only was it slow and exhausting, but one wrong chisel stroke — one misaligned meridian, one collapsed foundation — and the result was deviation, a failed breakthrough!
But because Shen Xiuhan had absorbed the realm cultivated during the Deduction, a fully carved reservoir already existed inside him. It was simply dry.
All he needed to do now was pour water in!
And his cultivation in the Deduction had peaked at the Peak of Bone Tempering.
Which meant…
Until his cultivation returned to the Peak of Bone Tempering, his martial path would be a wide-open road — smooth as level ground!
‘Then what if… in the next Deduction, or the one after that, my cultivation breaks through to Sinew Tempering? Or even Hidden Strength, Transforming Strength, or realms beyond?’
‘Wouldn’t that mean the martial path holds no bottleneck for me — not a single one?!’
“Hss…”
Shen Xiuhan sucked in a sharp breath, a tidal wave crashing through his heart:
‘So this… this is the true, heaven-defying power of Deduction!’
“Junior Brother, what are you spacing out about?”
Just then, Xu Chuan came striding into the inner court, carrying a bowl of something black as pitch, thick as ink.
“Morning, Second Senior Brother!”
“Morning, morning, morning! Get over here — look what your senior brother brought you!”
Xu Chuan broke into a wide grin, an air of mystery about him as he held out the bowl of black broth.
Shen Xiuhan leaned in for a look. His brow furrowed, and after a moment’s thought, he said:
“Judging by the color… is this some kind of poison?”
“…”
Xu Chuan’s expression froze. He stared at Shen Xiuhan, thoroughly unamused:
“Nonsense!”
“This is Ebony Restoration Broth — a powerful tonic. It’s Master’s personal brew, reserved exclusively for inner-court disciples. One bowl every seven days!”
“Outer-court disciples don’t get any at all. If they want some, they have to pay out of pocket!”
Ebony Restoration Broth?
Shen Xiuhan’s eyes lit up. He reached out at once.
Leaning close for a sniff, a pungent, almost eye-watering medicinal bitterness shot straight up his sinuses. Before it even reached his lips, his stomach was already turning.
Seeing his reaction, Xu Chuan burst out laughing:
“Don’t let the looks fool you — the potency is fierce!”
“It’s brewed with Blood Vine, Yuan-Restoring Ginseng, and Goldthread Leaf for replenishing vitality and invigorating blood, plus Ebony Stem to stabilize the foundation and lock in essence. Master brews it herself — only ten bowls every seven days.”
“Only inner-court disciples staying at the hall receive their allotment. Those out on retainer duty miss out.”
“Whatever’s left from the quota gets sold to the wealthier outer-court disciples.”
Shen Xiuhan, curious, asked:
“Senior Brother, how much does a bowl cost?”
“Six hundred wen.”
Six hundred wen — six-tenths of a tael.
Enough to feed a family of four in the outer-city slums for two or three months.
Yet for a martial artist, it bought a single bowl of medicine — two gulps and gone.
Scholarship truly was cheap, and martial arts truly did devour fortunes!
“That six hundred wen price is only for outer-court disciples. Sold outside, it would cost at least another hundred or two more.”
“Some people have tried buying the broth and reselling it for profit. That enraged Master so much she made a rule: you have to drink it on the spot.”
As if worried Shen Xiuhan might get the wrong idea, Xu Chuan added:
“Of course, the rule is mainly aimed at the shrewder outer-court types…”
“If you’re short on silver, Junior Brother, don’t even think about selling your allotment. If Master found out, she’d be far from pleased.”
“And if you really need coin to get by… your senior brother isn’t rich, but I can spare a tael or two to lend you.”
Hearing Xu Chuan’s concern, a warmth passed through Shen Xiuhan’s chest. He smiled openly and cupped his fists:
“Senior Brother worries too much. A tonic this good for building qi-blood — I’d drink it myself before I ever thought of selling it.”
With that, he raised the bowl and drained the Ebony Restoration Broth in one long pull!
BOOM!
The broth hit his stomach!
It was like swallowing a ball of roaring flame. His qi-blood erupted like boiling water, churning and surging wildly in response!
Without waiting for Xu Chuan to prompt him, Shen Xiuhan’s feet found the plum blossom posts.
He sank his waist, settled his hips, and thrust both claws out!
The Dark Eagle Stance unfurled. Breathing in rhythm, he used the stance to refine and absorb the domineering medicinal power rampaging through his body!
One full cycle of the stance, and roughly thirty percent of the drug’s potency had been absorbed.
Shen Xiuhan immediately pressed the advantage, running through three more full cycles before slowly settling his breath and drawing to a close.
Every pore in his body seemed to sigh open at once, his whole frame suffused with a bone-deep satisfaction!
“How was it? Feels good, doesn’t it?”
Nearby, Xu Chuan had been practicing his combat techniques on his own. He wiped the sweat from his face and grinned.
“…Very good!”
Shen Xiuhan leapt down from the posts, eyes gleaming.
That was fast!
A single bowl of Restoration Broth, less than two hours, and his total qi-blood had surged by a full twenty-five percent!
At this rate, Shen Xiuhan was confident he could bring his qi-blood to the Full Mastery of Blood Tempering within roughly two months.
“Come on — let’s eat lunch first, and then you and I will spar on techniques!”
Xu Chuan wiped his sweat and grinned.