"It is said that this medicinal pill came from grandmaster Sun Yi. The medicinal efficacy is very strong."
Looking at the thing the little girl claimed was a pill and had been created by a man who called himself a grandmaster in the way of alchemy, Min Hong's face couldn't help but turn a bit strange.
Even this kind of thing could be called a pill? It was so unsightly that it looked more like a ball of shit rolled up by a dung beetle.
Shape aside, its color was like a mix between green, grey and black and there wasn't even a trace of luster on it.
If it wasn't emitting a very faint pill aroma, then Min Hong might even think that it was truly a ball of bull shit.
After staring at the thing in his hand for a long time, Min Hong couldn't help but heave a helpless sigh.
Someone who had ending up losing over eighty percent of the pill's efficacy was still thick-skinned enough to deem and call himself a grandmaster?
Min Hong had never felt so frustratingly bewildered, wondering how someone could have created something so soft and mushy.
Pills and Potions could be divided into five grades: Quasi grade, Low grade, Menial grade, High grade, and Peak grade. As for the pill in his hand, it couldn't even count as any of the five grades.
Min Hong suddenly realized that this was not just a defective good; it was a trash pill.
Normally, alchemists would definitely not sell these kinds of medicinal pills since they couldn't afford to lose their customers. Oftentimes, they would be turned into some repellant or just directly thrown out.
"Young master, don't daydream. In order to obtain this precious pill, Mrs. Min had to sell off her precious jewelries. You should hurry and take it," Qing urged.
Min Hong couldn't help but feel a pang of pain hit his heart. His impression of this mother of his shot up another level.
His mother had done everything and anything for him.
She had given birth to him while she was still young.
She had been gifted with great beauty growing up, but now she was barely thirty-some years old and already had wrinkles in the corner of her eyes. Seeing those deep wrinkles, Min Hong could tell she had sacrificed far too much for him.
Looking at the medicinal pill in his hand, he observed that even though it was a defective good, at least the herbs it had been concocted from hadn't been too shabby.
Though impurities took up over eighty percent of it content, it wouldn't have any problems healing his injuries.
Taking the medicinal pill, Min Hong ordered Qing to not leak any news about him to anyone bar his mother.
Although the little Qing didn't really understand why, she still nodded obediently.
Upon ingesting the pill, and despite having no way of absorbing its efficacy, Min Hong was managed to guide the medicinal energy towards his wounds using his formidable Spirit Sense, allowing him to recover quickly.
Dawn the next day.
Min Hong slowly opened his eyes, and as he rose to his feet, a smile appeared on his lips as he began to exercise his muscles.
"Nice! Though that pill was pretty awful, the herbs still managed to deliver some efficiency. Other than my hindbrain, the majority of my injuries have already healed, and the amount of energy left is more than enough to heal me completely."
Slowly making his way towards the mirror, Min Hong gazed upon his reflection, he saw a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary, handsome youngster with sleek brows and bright eyes.
Taking a deep fresh breath, he charged himself;
"From today onwards, I, Min Hong, will no longer be the previous Min Hong. I will rise above all oppositions."
Although his body was still pale and weak, walking was no longer a problem, and thus, he left his room.
After pondering deeply for an hour, he called Qing over and gave her a list of medicinal herbs to buy.
However, Qing's face suddenly turned red, and upon noticing her embarrassment, Min Hong swiftly recalled that their family was currently poor and Qing had no method or means of getting a loan from anyone, anywhere.
It was o wonder his own mother had to pawn off her precious jewelries; a part of her exceptionally precious dowry. The present Min Family had already fallen into dire straits.
Feeling around in his pocket, he found about seventy or so silver coins. Although it wasn't a lot, it was still enough to buy those medicinal herbs he scribbled on the list.
Qing hurriedly left the house and after less than two hours of diligent hardwork, she returned with a pouch full of medicinal herbs.
Receiving the pouch from her, Min Hong immediately began to divide and measure them into several portions, before boiling a batch within a teapot.
Six hours later, a very thick medicinal potion giving off a very aromatic medicinal scent bubbled over within the teapot.
Pouring himself a bowlful, Min Hong stared at the work of art he made out of cheap medicinal herbs and a smile appeared on his face;
"I, Min Hong, will rise above all oppositions, starting with this bowl of medicinal potion."
The medicinal potion entered his stomach, and Min Hong swiftly used his Spirit Sense to guide the medicinal energy throughout his body, allowing it to permeate his bones.
Normal martial artists would let the medicinal energy gather within their Spiritual Foundation before using their Spirit Root to suck it into their meridians and then send it towards its destination.
This is a process that converts the medicinal energy into pure Qi that would be much milder and unique to their body constitution.
However, since Min Hong didn't have a Spirit Root, he had no way to get the medicinal energy into his Spiritual Foundation for conversion, thus the only thing he could do was allow the medicinal energy permeate into every cell in his body.
Though the medicinal potion was concocted from cheap medicinal herbs, it displayed a surprisingly remarkable medicinal efficacy due to his concoction method.
As the medicinal energy flooded through his body, every entry point within his cells opened wide as they hungrily devoured the medicinal energy like starved vultures upon finding animal carcass.
Flush!
A muffled surge echoed within Min Hong's body as the cells within his body bathed and sucked up all the medicinal energy within the potion.
The sensation was so overbearing on his cells that Min Hong couldn't stop himself from letting out a stifled groan.
The medicinal energy was like the ocean flowing into a river channel; its violent and tyrannic nature wasn't something any ordinary mortal could withstand.
"This pain… I will definitely remember this pain." Min Hong gritted his teeth as he endured through the process.
If it weren't for some vicious person stealing his Spirit Root, how could he have been forced to go through with such a crazy method?
BANG BANG BOOM!
Several muffled explosions reverberated through Min Hong's body as the overflowing medicinal energy slammed into his cells which were getting overwhelmed by the excess energy barging into them.
Every time a cell reached its limits, they would explode into smaller cells which would then gobble up more medicinal energy, with each explosion sending bursts and jolts of pain that wreaked terror across his body.
By the time his cells were done absorbing the medicinal energy, Min Hong's consciousness was already dancing on the edge of blinking off. He had to rest for three solid hours before he slowly regained ample clarity.
However, with the pain now a thing of the past, Min Hong could feel his entire body thrumming with strength.
With every breath he drew, his cells would once again consolidate the energy they had absorbed, bringing his health and vitality closer to the condition optimal for his age.
"Great, my head and hindbrain seems to have almost healed up. The lagging lethargy within every corner of my body seems to have been washed away as well." Min Hong commented on his body's condition with an approving nod.
Now that his body has experienced the first process of his new method of training without any mishaps, he can now focus on bringing them to their peak fitness level.
He also marveled at the medicinal potion; just his first session had already filled him with strength. Clenching his fist, his knuckles popped and croaked as they got accustomed to the sudden rise in strength.
Throwing out a swift punch, Min Hong couldn't help but whistle out when he saw and felt the amount of momentum that backed it. It seems he hadn't endured all that pain for nothing.
For ordinary cultivators, they first had to pass through the Body Tempering Realm. Only after this was done would they be confident to face their Awakening, and afterwards sense Qi that will enable them step into the true path of cultivation.
However, Min Hong was now taking an alternative route, and even he wasn't sure how his journey through the body tempering realm would be like.
Nonetheless, since he would be using medicinal pills and potions personally, carefully and perfectly concocted by himself, he was sure he wouldn't be any worse off than those with Spirit Roots and Spiritual Foundations.
Though he had yet to step into the Body Tempering Realm as he had no cultivation method to do so, he was determined to ensure that he brought his body to its utmost fitness levels, so that when he eventually began tempering his body, he wouldn't lag behind the top geniuses, and if lucky, even surpass them.
"Though my body has now exceeded its previous peak condition, compared to my peers who have begun tempering their bodies, their endurance still vastly surpasses mine. This still isn't good enough."
Min Hong muttered to himself as he began to rummage through his jumbled memories in search of a solution.
After hours of deep thoughts, Min Hong realized that most of the useful information he had were about alchemy, but he eventually found a fragmented memory that contained a body tempering technique.
It was a technique titled; The Jade Primal Dragon Body.
However, Min Hong was given a very pleasant surprise when he realized that it was a technique that seemed to have been custom made for him.
It was a secret technique that focuses on excavating every shred of potential within his body. At every level of the Body Tempering Stage, he was required to put his body through some level of danger that would force it to evolve.
It was a technique with nine levels, with each of them intent on evolving its user from outside-in, following the order;
[1] Flesh; [2] Pores; [3] Veins; [4] Muscles; [5] Tendons; [6] Bones; [7] Tissues; [8] Blood and finally; [9] Cells.
But as he continued to assimilate the cultivation technique, he suddenly broke out in cold sweat.
Each of the cultivation process of this technique required him to use medicinal potions of specific and unique extreme attributes.
In order to train the preparatory phase of this technique; The Phoenix Rebirth Phase, he would practically need an endless amount of herbs with fire attributed energy.
This meant he would either need to refine an endless amount of cheap medicinal pills and potions or a batch of expensive ones.
The current financial state of his family meant he could only take the former route and even at that, the amount of herbs he would need to concoct these pills and potions were something beyond what his family could muster even if they were sold at inflated price, five times over.
"The first task on the agenda is to find a way to make some money." Min Hong muttered to himself as he leapt to his feet, switched his clothes and left his room.
It was already past noon, but strangely, there were only a handful of people roaming their huge estate, making it seem like an extremely desolate place.
Min Hong's father was a border protector. He was currently fending off a nomadic tribe that was looking to invade their territory.
With him absent, he and his mother have had to suffer many condescending gazes from everyone in the tribe over the past few years.