WORKING HARD

"Hooh… Hooh…" Lin Chen breathed heavily as he circulated qi through his body. After a few minutes of circulating qi, he opened his eyes and wiped away the sweat from his forehead before grabbing a water bottle and downing it completely in one go.

After returning home, the first thing that Lin Chen did was to head to his room and start cultivating. He knew that in order to get accepted into the Grand Central University, he first had to achieve a favourable result in the third talent test that was scheduled to be conducted this week.

With his current progress, Lin Chen could only hope for an E-Grade. Maybe a D-Grade in the best case scenario, but that was all he could hope for. But Lin Chen wanted more. And for that, he needed to train even harder.

"I already knew that I had really shitty natural talent, but still…" Lin Chen had a bitter smile on his face as he spoke to himself. "...Everytime I try to circulate internal energy through my body, I'm reminded of it. What a pain in the ass!"

Due to his weak natural talent, Lin Chen was having trouble in his attempts to clear the blocked meridians. His internal energy was being utilized quickly, and his qi pool had a rapid rate of getting drained, which meant that he couldn't continue circulating internal energy for too long; not unless he cleared up one more meridian, which would provide him with a lot more qi, as well as a bigger qi pool that would help him circulate internal energy through his body for a larger period of time.

"And unfortunately, it seems like I'm still average when it comes to cultivation." Lin Chen shook his head and placed the water bottle back on the table. Even though he could be considered a better than average sorcerer, he was still lacking when it came to cultivation. After all, he did only study it during his school days, and chose the life of a vagrant after the results were announced.

"Oh well, I guess the one good thing that came out of working under a strict and ruthless cult was the ability to handle troublesome training for an extremely long period of time." Lin Chen then sat down on the floor, crossed his legs and shut his eyes.

[ Do you need my help? ]

The boar demon's voice reverberated in Lin Chen's mind, and he opened one eye and asked, "What can you do to help?"

[ Although I am not exactly familiar with the practice of cultivation, I am connected to your soul, after all. I may be able to provide you with a boost of demonic magic for a few minutes, but that's all I can do for now. ]

"For a few minutes, huh…" Lin Chen clicked his tongue and spoke with a dissatisfied expression. "Don't tell me that you've grown weaker, because I still remember how long you helped me out during my final battle."

[ Like I said, boy.. I'm not familiar with cultivation. The demonic magic that I provide you is tailored to a magic arts user; especially a dark sorcerer. Not to cultivators. Be thankful that I'm even able to help you out for a few minutes, punk! ]

The boar demon sounded unhappy, and Lin Chen squinted his eyes. 'I guess a few minutes is all I can get from him.'

He placed his hand under his chin as he began to think. The boar demon might've agreed to help me out with my cultivation training, but he needed to clear the fifth meridian as quickly as possible if he wished to get an improved grade in the third test, and for that, the boar demon's help wouldn't be enough.

"I guess it was a good thing I stopped by the medicine store," Lin Chen snapped his fingers as he got up from the floor and moved to his table, where a bottle that was filled to the brim with tablets were present.

[ Are those energy enhancing pills? ]

"It's similar to that." Lin Chen decided to explain what the tablets were to the boar demon as he picked up one from the bottle. "Instead of extracting from organic and natural materials as we would've done back in your world, these tablets are created from chemical ingredients, and are produced in a factory."

He then brought the pill close to his eyes before continuing, "Ingesting a single tablet is comparable to taking five energy enhancing pills from your world. Of course, you have to be careful with the dosage, as it could be lethal for your body if you end up taking a lot."

[ Hm.. modern technology is interesting. Are you planning on ingesting this drug in order to help you with the cultivation? ]

"I am. I have to, unfortunately, as my body is far weaker than my dark sorcerer counterpart in the previous world," Lin Chen grabbed one of the tablets and sat down once again.

[ Do you think you'll be able to hold on until you open your fifth meridian? ]

"You obviously know the answer, so why bother asking?" Lin Chen said with a smile as he gulped down the tablet and instantly began circulating qi through his body.

[ Gahahaha! Crazy punk! Alright, just tell me when you need assistance, alright? ]

The boar demon's maniacal laughter reverberated within Lin Chen's mind, but he was too focused on his cultivation process to even respond to the demon spirit.

"GAH!" Lin Chen grunted, as his veins popped up, becoming visible all over his body, and droplets of sweat began forming within seconds.

'Ha! The medicinal tablets are definitely making a difference!' A distorted smile was forming on Lin Chen's face. 'But this is nothing compared to the abuse I faced everyday at the Secret Subjects Sector!'

Lin Chen's surroundings began shaking as the energy boost provided by the tablets made his qi pool uncontrollable.

[ Control it boy! Find the balance! ]

The boar demon spirit watched quietly as Lin Chen began subduing the chaotic reactions within his body, and soon, the violent shaking came to a rest.

[ He's doing it! ]

The boar demon sounded ecstatic. The previously blocked fifth meridian was now slowly being cracked open by the qi circulated by Lin Chen. Slowly, but surely, he was clearing the fifth meridian!