21: promote

In the dead of night, in a guest room on the second floor of the clinic, Qin Feng lay on the soft bedding, tossing and turning. With his injuries mostly healed and the environment stable, his thoughts became more active. Habitually, he refreshed the System intelligence at the zi hour. Three new pieces of information surfaced, and their content left him completely wide awake.

[(White) Eldest Senior Brother Liu Da: Although he has a wife from an arranged marriage by his parents, they have lived apart for a long time and their relationship is weak. He has always harbored a secret affection for Junior Sister Xiao Chun, which he has never expressed because he feels unworthy. Your arrival, especially the high regard Master has for you, has given him a strong sense of crisis.]

[(White) The owner of the 'Fugui Gambling House' in the west of the city often fills dice with mercury, using subtle methods. For the past six months, Liu Da has been secretly going there every week to gamble. He has lost almost all of his savings from over the years and owes a small amount of high-interest loans.]

[(White) Master Chu Yunhe disguises himself in the middle of every month and goes alone to Heaven Room No. 1 of the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion, staying for about two hours. The specific purpose is unknown.]

"This..." Qin Feng looked at these three pieces of intelligence, momentarily dazed. This was essentially discovering some incredible secrets!

Master goes to the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion every month? Recalling his understanding of 'full of vitality' and the phrase 'acting for the occasion' from earlier today, Qin Feng couldn't help but smile bitterly. Could Master be going there to... inspect the business? Or was there some other hidden reason? He shook his head, not daring to think too deeply. After all, Master had shown him great kindness, and his private life was not something Qin Feng should comment on.

And Eldest Senior Brother Liu Da, who seemed honest and kind and was so warm toward him, actually had such a side. Secretly liking Xiao Chun? And being a gambling addict who lost all his savings? Qin Feng immediately felt a bit more cautious and had complex feelings toward this Senior Brother. Indeed, appearances could be deceiving; even within this clinic, things weren't as perfectly harmonious as they seemed on the surface.

"I should just read a book." He suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, took out the 'Fundamentals of Herbology: Basic Volume' given to him by Master, and began to flip through it silently by the oil lamp. The sea of knowledge temporarily drowned out his desire to investigate the secrets of those around him.

The next day, before dawn, around five in the morning (the beginning of the mao hour), Qin Feng woke up on time. He dressed neatly and went to the backyard, finding that Liu Da had indeed not arrived yet and seemed to still be in a daze. He didn't mind and began to Cultivate on his own.

First, he loosened his muscles and bones, then he began to practice that set of 'Basic Sword Art.' With the enhancement of the Sword Heart and Sword Bone, he had long since mastered this sword technique by heart. Performing it now, it was even more fluid and natural. The wooden stick pierced through the air with a faint whistling sound; though there were only three simple Moves, they seemed to have a Foundation of infinite variations.

After a while, Liu Da arrived in the backyard, rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning repeatedly. Seeing that Qin Feng was already sweating from his practice and his Moves were sharp, a fleeting, indiscernible look of complexity flashed in his eyes. He then put on a smile: "Junior Brother Qin, so early? Your practice of this Basic Sword Art is really good; you're almost catching up to those who have practiced for several years."

"Senior Brother Liu overpraises me. I'm just figuring it out on my own and practicing blindly; I can't compare to Senior Brother's solid Foundation." Qin Feng retracted his stick and stood still, speaking humbly.

Liu Da seemed to want to prove something and also began to practice his Cultivation Technique. What he Cultivated was a Yellow Rank Medium Grade Internal Skill called 'Withered Wood Art.' His Moves were steady and his breath was long, and he already had the cultivation of the Martial Artist Middle Stage. However, just as the intelligence stated, his talent indeed seemed average. There was a lack of agility and variation in his Moves, making them appear somewhat rigid.

After the two finished their practice, the clinic was almost ready to open. Qin Feng officially began to follow Doctor Chu to learn the Dao of medicine. Identifying medicinal materials, learning their properties, observing consultations, recording pulse cases... a surge of complex knowledge came rushing in.

However, possessing the 'Sword Heart' not only improved Qin Feng's Comprehension Ability of sword techniques but also seemed to make his mind clearer, with memory and understanding far exceeding before. Many medicinal materials that Doctor Chu only mentioned once, he could remember their characteristics, properties, and contraindications. He could also more quickly understand the medical principles behind complex pulse theories. This feeling of rapid progress intoxicated him and made him even more grateful for the small silver sword that had merged into his body.

Doctor Chu took note of his hard work and talent. Although he didn't say it explicitly, the look of approval in his eyes grew stronger day by day.

After the clinic closed in the evening and they had dinner, Qin Feng would return to his room, take a blood qi pill, and then begin to Cultivate the Five Poisons Inner Breath Art he had obtained from the Flower Picking Bandit's treasure.

Although this Cultivation Technique was only Yellow Rank Medium Grade and its name sounded evil, its content was not the kind of malicious technique that benefited oneself at the expense of others. Instead, it focused on tempering one's own Internal Energy by simulating and refining five different types of 'poisonous' breaths (which were actually five types of erosive worldly energies leaning toward cold, heat, etc.). This made the energy more resilient and erosive while also increasing the cultivator's resistance to toxins, making it a somewhat unconventional but practical Internal Skill.

Tonight, as usual, he swallowed a blood qi pill. The warm current from the Medicinal Pill merged with the Internal Energy produced by Cultivating the Five Poisons Inner Breath Art—which alternated between a hint of cold and heat—and accelerated through his Meridians. The massive energy provided by the qi and blood pill was continuously refined and transformed into pure Internal Energy, nourishing the Meridians and impacting the barriers.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint 'crack' sounded within his body, as if some kind of shackle had been broken. The Meridians instantly widened slightly, the flow of Internal Energy suddenly accelerated, and a sense of power filled his entire body!

He abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing and then vanishing.

Martial Apprentice Middle Stage!

Feeling the Internal Energy that had clearly grown significantly and was running more smoothly, Qin Feng clenched his fists, his heart filled with excitement. Relying on intelligence, resources, and his own hard work (along with the hidden enhancement of the Sword Heart and Sword Bone), his strength was steadily improving at a visible rate!