Chapter 11 – 7: One Qi Nourishing Pill

Zhou Leng returned home, sat on the sofa, and stared blankly for a while.

His mind was filled with thoughts of the school’s pill rewards and the Mysterious Forest.

After a moment, he took out his silent mobile phone.

He glanced at the class group, but no one was speaking.

He then looked at the Xiaoru Village group and saw Huang’s video, clicking to watch it.

Huang was playing happily with the kids.

He opened the “Guoyun Exploration Company Second Branch Demon Processing Plant Fifth Workshop” group and took a quick look. Besides some company announcements, there was nothing useful.

For the sake of the college entrance exam, Zhou Leng took a month and a half of leave from the Exploration Company.

Zhou Leng put down his mobile phone, pondered for a while, and sent a message to Martial Arts Committee Member Mo Hai.

“Mo Hai, there’s something I need to handle at home, so I won’t be training with everyone for the next three days. I’ll be training back in my hometown. Sorry.”

Soon, Mo Hai replied.

“Alright, I understand. Take a good rest.”

Outside the Eighth Middle School gate, Mo Hai put away his phone, sighed, and said, “Guess who just withdrew from the three-day training?”

Around him, Xu Qingjin and the other three all looked over.

“Zhou Leng gave up and said he was going back to his hometown to train.”

Xu Qingjin lightly bit her lip.

Mo Hai said, “It’s a pity, probably ran into some difficulty.”

“Maybe it’s not giving up, just changing his training plan.”

“Actually, even if he’s giving up, it’s understandable, considering how seriously injured he is…”

“Let’s go.”

Zhou Leng rested for a while, searched for powerful tree-like demons from various realms, but none resembled the Frost Giant Tree. Instead, he found something about the Ice Snow Divine Sect, but related information was scarce.

He looked at the time, put down his phone, and was about to exercise when he discovered a message from Xu Qingjin.

“Why aren’t you coming to train together?” followed by a small cat question mark face emoji.

“There’s something at home. You know, I like to train in the quiet hills behind Xiaoru Village; it’s more effective there.”

“But… doesn’t the school have teachers for guidance, isn’t that better?”

“You’ve met Uncle Li, my neighbor, right? He’s an expert at the Vitality Stage, with practical experience richer than the teachers. With him around, don’t worry. If necessary, I’ll knock on the door next to Zhang Xinglie’s unit; we’ve been playing together since childhood, and he taught me quite a bit back then.”

“Yeah, true. You seem to be in much better spirits today than before; don’t forget to take good care of yourself.”

“Thanks.” Zhou Leng replied with a smile emoji.

“See you at school on Friday, also say hi to Huang for me.” Xu Qingjin sent an emoji using Huang waving goodbye in a picture, where Huang’s right hand was energetically swinging.

“Alright!”

Zhou Leng stared out the window into the dim, dusky view.

After a long time, he opened his mobile phone again, searching repeatedly for the prices of Qi Nourishing Pills and Replenishing Essence Pills.

Winning the Progress Champion Prize could earn him at least 130,000 worth of pills.

Though training there is a bit risky, but…

Zhou Leng searched through Zhongwu Bank’s SMS, clicked on it.

Gazed at the balance in the bank message.

4026.12.

After the college entrance exam, state subsidies were stopped.

Zhou Leng looked for a long while.

Opened the calculator app on his phone, calculating the basic expenses for the next month, making several calculations before finally determining that he could spend around 1800 yuan directly now.

First opened the Martial Arts app, searched for the food with the highest cost-effectiveness for cultivation, then went downstairs straight to the nearby supermarket, purchasing high-calorie food ingredients and some Martial Artist food costing a total of 1479 yuan.

Went home and started stewing a big pot of pork belly, since pork was the highest energy density among common meat types.

While stewing the pork, started frying peanuts.

Peanuts are much cheaper compared to other nuts, yet have similarly high energy density.

…

Zhou Leng rummaged around, preparing for cultivation in the Mysterious Forest.

After tidying up, he opened his bag, took out the books inside one by one, checking if any should be taken along.

“Huh?”

Zhou Leng widened his eyes, reached out, and took out a small white pill box from his bag.

On the pill box, red clerical script was printed.

Qi Nourishing Pills.

Who sent it?

Zhou Leng tried hard to recall, there were too many who could have passed by his desk and put the pill box there while he was away.

Lost? Impossible, who would lose a pill worth ten thousand yuan, the entire class would have exploded.

Framed? Hardly, he hadn’t fallen out with classmates.

Especially in the last six months, there hadn’t been any disputes.

Looking at the Qi Nourishing Pills, his emotions surged.

After a long time, he finally put the Qi Nourishing Pills in the fridge.

Zhou Leng thought for a bit and sent two words in the third class group.

“Thank you.”

Soon, a new reply appeared.

“???”

“What do you mean?”

“Zhou Leng, who are you thanking?”

The classmates guessed for quite a while but didn’t figure it out.

Finally, Mo Hai popped up and said, “I got it, today is the last day of school, Zhou Leng is thanking all the classmates in this group for accompanying him for three years. I feel the same, thank you to every classmate, may our friendship last forever, in school we’re classmates, after graduation, we’ll be friends.”

A line of thumbs appeared, then another line of thumbs appeared…

“Even if Mo the Committee Member goes to Dongshan Province, he’ll rise step by step! Such a high level of thought! (thumb emoji)” Hu Yi’s message emerged.

Mo Hai sent a smiling face.

Zhou Leng also raised a thumb.

Putting down his phone, just as he was about to go downstairs, he glanced at the dark sky outside and remembered Uncle Li’s advice.

“Actually, you can go to the Martial Arts Cultivation Hall at night, but it requires a fee…”

He quietly laid out the training mat and performed a set of Overlapping Waves Palm…

Before sleeping, Zhou Leng continued to practice the Bean Shooter.

After washing up and lying down, Zhou Leng didn’t feel the slightest bit sleepy.

In his mind, images of the Mysterious Forest and Frost Giant Tree flashed by, then the progress award, followed by Qi Nourishing Pills…

At the break of dawn, as usual, Zhou Leng got up at 5:10 AM to go downstairs and train.

As he walked out of the community gate, six grandmothers stood aside chatting and laughing, and Zhou Leng walked around them.

Taking a few steps forward, a tall and robust figure came from not far away.

The man had bronze skin, a square face, a large hooked nose, a slightly thick upper lip, a mane of thick black hair slightly frizzing up like a lion’s mane.

His large eyes slightly lifted at the corners, giving a fierce look, yet mixed with an incongruous naivety.

Zhou Leng squinted his eyes and looked towards the man’s nostrils.

Calculating the time from the moment the nostrils flared.

One second, two seconds, three seconds… eleven seconds.

The nostrils retracted.

Zhou Leng’s eyes widened slightly.

Inhaling for ten seconds, Qi Nourishing Great Success.

When Zhang Xinglie was breathing, he inhaled for over eleven seconds, at least one level above Great Success, with True Qi cultivated to Perfection.

When Qi Nourishing reaches Perfection, and power emerges through the skin, one can enter the Blood Transporting Period.

As they approached each other, Zhang Xinglie on the opposite side smiled and nodded.

Although they were peers, same grade, Zhang Xinglie was half a head taller than Zhou Leng, resembling a small iron tower, with muscles stretching his short sleeves tight, his physique forming a perfect inverted triangle.

His arms were thicker than Zhou Leng’s legs.

In front of Zhang Xinglie, Zhou Leng’s figure seemed no different from someone who had never practiced martial arts.

Zhou Leng stopped, clasped his fists and said, “Congratulations, Senior Brother, on reaching Perfection, about to enter the Blood Transport.”

Zhang Xinglie, the top student of Eighth Middle School, first in science written exams, first in physical exams, first in martial arts exams.

Currently ranked third overall in written and physical exams city-wide, first in physical exam score city-wide.

As per tradition, called Senior Brother by all students of Eighth Middle School.

Zhang Xinglie grinned and said, “We’ve grown up wearing the same pants, no need to call me that.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the green wristband on Zhou Leng’s left wrist.

“When did you advance?” Zhou Leng asked.

“Three days ago.”

“Impressive! Even at Yunhua University, you’ll be among the top ranks.” Zhou Leng earnestly praised.

“You’ve recovered well, getting into Martial Arts University should be no problem!”

Zhang Xinglie extended his large hand to pat Zhou Leng’s shoulder, and finally grasped it gently, gazing into Zhou Leng’s eyes, nodding firmly.

Zhou Leng also nodded.

“Others might not know, but I believe, the difficulties you face now cannot stop you! No matter how the martial arts exam goes, you will stand with me Zhang Xinglie at the pinnacle of Martial Arts! When the time comes, we’ll trample West Sea Demon City and shatter the Eighteen Layers of Demon Purgatory!”

Zhang Xinglie burst into laughter, revealing gleaming white teeth, and strode forward.

Zhou Leng’s lips curled slightly, Zhang Xinglie had always been like this since he was young, full of dreams of Ascension to Divinity.

And deeply believed in it.

Zhou Leng continued forward, with the sound of the elderly chatting and laughing behind him.

“Tsk tsk, my grandson hasn’t gotten up yet, and others have already finished morning training. How can such a child not be first?”

“Xinglie, when you go to Yunhua University, don’t forget us old aunties.”

“Won’t won’t, even if I go to Innate Mountain, I won’t forget.”

Being called “Mad Lion”, Zhang Xinglie remained humble and polite in front of the old aunties.

“Look at Zhang Xinglie…”

Zhou Leng looked up at the sky.

He had also tried getting up earlier, but always felt weak and groggy, 5 AM was his limit.

The same went for classmates, except those who often consumed Meat Herbal Cuisine, Qi Nourishing Pills, or Replenishing Essence Pills, no one could get up extra early while maintaining normal cultivation and studies.

He was not as perfect as Zhang Xinglie, but he had tried his best.

Running all the way to Xiaoru Village, Huang came bounding over from a distance, panting loudly with his mouth wide open.

“Want to go home with me?” Zhou Leng asked.

Huang jumped off with a bounce, barked at Zhou Leng, then rolled his eyes, lifted his chin, and gestured towards Ruge Mountain with his head.

Zhou Leng took a look; the case was cracked, the big black boar was directing the way this way.

The fog on Ruge Mountain had already cleared, looking in the direction Huang faced, towards what seemed like the crevice in the mountain.

He looked around and asked in a low voice, “Are you going to see the Frost Giant Tree?”

Huang nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Leng mumbled and suddenly asked, “Can you understand me better now than before?”

Huang paused, shook his head desperately, even flinging off some drool.

Zhou Leng mumbled again, “So it’s like before; sometimes you understand, sometimes you don’t, right?”

Huang nodded quickly.

Became smarter, but not by much.

Zhou Leng said, “Wait for me a bit, I’ll run back to eat and then come find you.”

Huang grinned, tongue lolling, chuckling happily.

He patted the dog’s head, turned, and ran back.

After once again eating Uncle Li’s Meat Herbal Cuisine, Zhou Leng didn’t activate Qi to dissolve it, got two Qi Nourishing Pills from the refrigerator, packed his backpack, and headed straight for Ruge Mountain.

On the way, he bought a big bag of dog food.

At the village entrance, he took Huang with him and began to climb the mountain quickly.

After some running, Huang suddenly barked loudly.

Zhou Leng stopped and looked in the direction Huang was facing.

Ahead the forest swayed, and seven wild boars—one big, six small—emerged.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep