Chapter 4: The Path of the Strong, The True Martial Artist_1

That night, when they learned about Ye Fan's successful employment and that they would be rewarded with ten taels of silver every month, the whole family was overjoyed.

As for why Ye Fan had not revealed his medical skills before, no one in the Ye family doubted him.

The authority of the head of the family was explicitly displayed.

After dinner, the two boys went to the yard to practice Jiu Niu Body Refining Technique which they had just learned.

In the Body Forging Realm, practice makes three parts of progress and food supply contributes to seven parts.

Through the body refining technique, the food taken into the body is transformed into energy to temper the flesh.

First three stages are to refine the skin, middle three stages are to refine the bones, and the last three stages are to refine the five internal organs, followed by the condensation of both qi and blood.

Once qi and blood reach the peak, one will cultivate the first strand of True Qi and enter the Postnatal Realm.

What Ye Jintian and Ye Jinhai need to do now is to officially temper the skin for the first time, and then truly step into the first level of the Body Forging Realm.

Generally, it takes at least three months for a person to step into the Body Tempering Realm.

However, Ye Fan plans to start preparing the body tempering powder for his two sons to use.

With the body tempering powder, Ye Fan is confident that he can help his two sons step into the first level of the Body Tempering Realm within a month.

The next day, Ye Fan took out a prescription, "Doctor Wang, I want to buy some herbal medicines."

These medicinal materials are mixed with some other supplements by Ye Fan.

It's not that Ye Fan is too cautious, but the body tempering powder is too rare.

Otherwise, Duobao Pavilion wouldn't be the only place in Changhe Town selling body tempering powder.

One dose of body tempering powder costs two taels of silver, one dose every seven days, meaning a month's supply for two people would cost sixteen taels.

Plus the cost of meat, medicinal materials for recovery from fatigue, and so on, a person would needs at least an additional three or four taels a month.

The principle of prosperity through martial arts over penmanship stands — without some foundation, one really can't afford to cultivate.

Ye Fan also felt the heavy pressures. Raising a family was really not easy.

…

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

With Ye Fan's full support, Ye Jintian and Ye Jinhai were on the verge of breaking through to the first level of the Body Forging Realm.

Ye Jintian and Ye Jinhai were looking forward to it, as was Ye Fan.

Once the two of them break through, they will also become true martial artists.

"Here are five taels of silver, split it between you two, buy more meat, don't be reluctant to eat at the martial arts hall at noon."

Meals are not included in the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall, if they want to eat well, they need money.

This month, in addition to completing his regular tasks, Ye Fan also made an additional fifty doses of Hemostatic Powder, earning an extra five taels of silver.

It's not that Ye Fan didn't want to make more, but this was the limit of what Five Blessings Hall could absorb at present.

If they wanted to continue to improve, they would have to wait for the word of mouth to ferment.

A monthly income of fifteen taels may be a lot for others, but it is far from enough for Ye Fan.

The body tempering powder still has uses now, but once they progress to the later stages of the Body Tempering Realm, if they want to keep improving rapidly, they would then need a better powder.

The expenses then will be even greater, the money they have now is far from enough.

It seems they need to find more ways to make money.

As for selling the body tempering powder, although it could be sold, it is not the right time to do so.

At the very least, they need to have a certain level of self-defense abilities before they can sell the body tempering powder.

The two boys cheerfully went to the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall and found the master.

When the master heard that Ye Jintian and Ye Jinhai were about to break through to the Body Forging Realm, he was shocked.

He had evaluated the talents of Ye Jintian and Ye Jinhai himself, and found them to be quite ordinary.

Those with better talents than them had not broken through yet, but these two were about to do so!

The master was puzzled, wondering if he had made a mistake when assessing their talents.

The master once again felt Ye Jintian's bones, and after finishing, he was even more confused, "That's not right, their talents are still very ordinary."

"Did you take any special medicines?" The master voiced his doubts.

"Medicine? My dad gives us a dose of body tempering powder every seven days." Ye Jintian scratched his head and responded.

This is why Ye Fan had his two children explain, there always needs to be a reason for such rapid progress.

Since Body Building Powder can be purchased, Ye Fan was not afraid that the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall would be suspicious.

Body Building Powder! So that's it.

The instructor suddenly understood, though the realization made his heart uncomfortable.

Using Body Building Powder from the outset of practicing, what kind of family was that!

As the instructor of the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall, he, too, could not afford to take a dose of Body Building Powder every seven days.

"Who's your wealthy merchant father?" Being able to afford a dose of Body Building Powder every seven days was quite an achievement, and the instructor was interested in making acquaintances.

"My dad's not a rich merchant, he's the Pharmacist of Five Blessings Hall, Ye Fan."

The Pharmacist from Five Blessings Hall? Suddenly, the instructor remembered an individual who had recently emerged.

The recent Hemostatic Powder and antidote elixirs from Five Blessings Hall had improved significantly.

News traveled fast within a place as small as Changhe Town.

Many people knew about the good quality of the Five Blessings Hall's medicinal concoctions and chose to buy from them when in need.

It seemed that those high-quality elixirs had been concocted by the father of his two apprentices.

"You guys go ahead and practice, and when I have time, I'll visit your home."

"That'd be great, Sir. We'll be thrilled to have you as a guest at our home."

Being an instructor at the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall means that one's cultivation level is not lacking.

This instructor, called Mu Tang, was at the sixth level of Body Forging Realm, close to entering the latter phase, which made him quite an important figure in Changhe Town.

Relationships between individuals often begin with mutual benefits.

Ye Fan's status as a pharmacist was likely to make many people want to get to know him better.

...

When the final small patch of skin was successfully forged, forming a cohesive whole, Ye Jintian broke through to the first level of the Body Forging Realm.

Having undergone a full round of skin forging, his resistance to physical blows had greatly improved, distinguishing him from ordinary people.

At long last, the Ye family produced its first martial artist.

Very quickly, Ye Jinhai also successfully broke through to the Body Forging Realm, becoming the second martial artist in the Ye family.

After their breakthroughs, they skipped lunch and quickly returned home to Ye Fan. They were eager to share the news with him and let him know they had not disappointed his expectations.

"Dad, we've broken through," Ye Jintian announced, breathless and excited with the news.

"Dad, I've also broken through," said Ye Jinhai, his eyes shining with excitement.

Ye Fan, too, sat up in excitement. They had broken through, what wonderful news!

"Detected that a member of the host's family has become a true martial artist, a long-term task has been issued.

Long-term Task, Path to Becoming Strong I: Family member reaching the Body Forging Realm Martial Artist (Completed), reward ready to claim."

"System, claim reward."

"Congratulations, you have received the reward: the Family Stat of Enlightenment (Increase of Enlightenment by 50 points) Green tier."

Wow, a green-tier stat, that's a great thing!

Enlightenment represents one's learning speed.

For techniques like the one the two members of the Ye family learned at the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall, the Jiu Niu Body Refining Technique, it has different stages like beginner, small success, great success, perfection.

The higher the proficiency, the faster the cultivation speed.

Enlightenment can make up for the lack of talent to some extent.

With regards to learning martial arts skills in the future, it plays a significant role.

The amount of enlightenment given by the green-tier stat is five times that of a white-tier stat, so the effect is obviously much more powerful.

This should make it much easier to improve in the future.

However, now isn't the time to consider that.

Ye Fan is about to become a martial artist!

PS: Thanks for the encouraging messages, and please keep the recommendations and bookmarking the new book coming!