"Third Brother, what's wrong with you?"
"Third Brother, don't scare me! Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"Stop asking so many questions, just get Third Brother to the hospital! Look at him, he must be having some kind of medical emergency!"
Zhao Yuan's agonizing display while stretching his muscles caught the attention of his three dorm brothers. They rushed to his side at once, chattering over each other with questions as they prepared to call for an ambulance.
Zhao Yuan was touched by his three brothers' concern. After the muscle stretching was complete and the intense pain subsided, he quickly said, "I'm fine, don't worry. I don't need to go to the hospital. I just overexerted myself while working out."
"Are you really okay?" His three brothers were still unconvinced.
"I'm really fine." Zhao Yuan struggled up from the floor and struck a few bodybuilding poses. "See? I can stand, I can jump. Do I look like there's something wrong with me?"
His three brothers circled Zhao Yuan a couple of times, examining him closely. Only after confirming he was really alright did they finally relax.
"As long as you're okay. You scared us to death just now," Liu Zhu said, still shaken.
Wu Yan nodded in agreement. "You looked terrifying just now. I thought you were having an epileptic seizure."
Wang Rongfeng, however, said, "Your stamina is terrible, isn't it? You get this worn out from a bit of plaza dancing? You really need to work out more. Ugh, go take a shower. You're covered in sweat, and you stink."
Zhao Yuan noticed it too. The sweat covering his body gave off a strong, foul, fishy stench that was disgusting. It was also incredibly sticky, like a layer of oil, making his skin feel very uncomfortable.
'These are the toxins being expelled from my body!' He quickly understood the reason.
As people go through life, they accumulate toxins for all sorts of reasons. These are the main culprits behind sickness and aging.
As one of the most supreme Basic Cultivation Techniques in the Cultivation Realm, the Four Saints Technique not only had the effect of Muscle Strengthening but also the ability to expel toxins. Of course, it was impossible to purge all the toxins from his body in one go. Zhao Yuan would have to persevere with his Cultivation.
"I'm going to take a shower."
There was no shower in the dorm room, but there was a washing area on the balcony. When the weather was hot, the boys would just use a basin of cold water to wash up out there.
After a few splashes of water, most of the toxin-laden sweat was washed away. Under the light, clear lines of muscle had actually appeared on Zhao Yuan's previously skinny frame.
Zhao Yuan didn't notice this. As he washed, he mused to himself, 'I never expected cultivating the Four Saints Technique to be so painful. It's a good thing it's effective, or I'd never have the courage to practice it a second time. According to the records in the Inheritance Seed, to succeed in Muscle Strengthening and enter the Marrow Cleansing stage, I need to cultivate the Four Saints Technique for at least four months. That's way too long... '
It was a good thing no Martial Artists heard his inner thoughts, or they would have died of sheer indignation!
For an ordinary Martial Artist to complete Muscle Strengthening, which one of them didn't spend years, or even decades, of painstaking effort and endure countless hardships to succeed? And now, Zhao Yuan could achieve successful Muscle Strengthening with just four months of Cultivation. In the Martial Arts Realm, this was simply an unbelievable feat! Yet he still had the gall to complain it was too long...
Zhao Yuan, of course, was unaware of all this. He only knew that Body Refining was divided into three stages: Muscle Strengthening, Marrow Cleansing, and Qi Listening. Only by completing these three steps could one advance from the Postnatal to the Innate realm. If Muscle Strengthening alone took four months, wouldn't the subsequent Marrow Cleansing and Qi Listening take years, or even decades? And this was just Body Refining. Above that were the two major realms of Innate and Extraordinary, which contained another six stages. Who knew how many years that would take to cultivate.
'I wonder if there's a way to shorten the Cultivation time?' Zhao Yuan narrowed his eyes, searching for an answer within the Inheritance Seed.
And he actually found one.
"If the Four Saints Technique is used in conjunction with Blood Circulation Soup, Bone Refining Pills, and Soul-Stabilizing Incense during Cultivation, the effect will be twice the result for half the effort!" Zhao Yuan saw this sentence in the Inheritance Seed.
The Blood Circulation Soup, Bone Refining Pills, and Soul-Stabilizing Incense mentioned here were the very same recipes recorded under the medical category.
Zhao Yuan was thrilled at first, but his expression soon soured. The medicinal ingredients required to concoct the three items were all expensive.
'I still have to find a way to make money,' Zhao Yuan sighed.
Cultivation was a bottomless pit that devoured money. No wonder the ancients always spoke of the four pillars of cultivation: technique, wealth, companionship, and location. Without enough financial backing, you couldn't buy medicinal ingredients or rare treasures, which meant your Cultivation would never reach a high level.
Making money was no easy task, and for a poor student like Zhao Yuan, it was even harder. The money earned from an ordinary part-time job probably wouldn't even be enough to cover his food expenses, let alone buy medicinal ingredients to aid his Cultivation.
'I've got to think of some other way to make money!'
'Maybe I can use the Blood Circulation Soup, Bone Refining Pills, and Soul-Stabilizing Incense to make money?' Zhao Yuan's focus shifted to the three medicinal formulas recorded in the Inheritance Seed.
In the end, he chose to make money with the Soul-Stabilizing Incense. For one, it used the fewest ingredients and was the cheapest to produce. Secondly, Soul-Stabilizing Incense was a type of combustible incense, which meant it faced far fewer restrictions than the Blood Circulation Soup or Bone Refining Pills.
The Blood Circulation Soup and Bone Refining Pills were obviously medicines at a glance. Trying to sell them without a permit from the drug administration would easily lead to trouble. Besides, most people wouldn't dare to buy some unknown medicine for external soaks or internal consumption.
Soul-Stabilizing Incense was different. Scented incense had become a modern trend. Moreover, as a formula invented by Wu Peng, its effects were extraordinary. According to the Inheritance Seed, it could refresh the mind, eliminate fatigue, enhance memory, and increase mental acuity, among other benefits. Zhao Yuan felt that if his final product had even half... no, even a tenth of the efficacy described in the Inheritance Seed, it would be a huge seller!
Nowadays, many people suffered from mental exhaustion due to overworking their brains. For them, Soul-Stabilizing Incense would be an absolute godsend!
Zhao Yuan mentally calculated his remaining money. It should be just enough to make a small batch of Soul-Stabilizing Incense. However, he would have to sell it as soon as it was made, or he'd be starving for the next few days.
With a potential way to make money, Zhao Yuan felt much more relaxed. He quickly rinsed himself off and returned to the dorm room.
He had just gotten dressed when Guo Shun from the room next door pushed the door open and yelled at Liu Zhu, "Why are you still on the computer? Did you forget about our match against the second Orthopedics class?"
"What's going on? You guys scheduled a fight with the second Orthopedics class?" Wu Yan put down his phone and asked in surprise.
"A basketball game," Liu Zhu said, slapping his forehead in embarrassment. "I got too into my game and forgot all about it. Wait for me, I'll go as soon as I finish this match."
Zhao Yuan was a little puzzled. "Playing basketball this late at night? Can you even see?"
Guo Shun replied, "The basketball court has lights. They don't turn off until eleven."
Liu Zhu quickly finished his LoL match. After changing into a basketball jersey, he didn't forget to call out to his brothers in dorm 301, "Hey guys, you coming to cheer me on?"
"Of course!" Zhao Yuan and the other two replied in unison.