"Congratulations on breaking through the Skin Gate, Junior Brother Chen," Tao Ping said with a smile.
To succeed in breaking through the gate in such a short amount of time without the slightest hindrance was clearly a testament to his immense accumulation of blood qi.
The surrounding senior and junior brothers also offered their congratulations. Those who were still struggling to cultivate their blood qi couldn’t help but reveal their envy.
The senior brothers who had already broken through also showed their goodwill. After all, successfully passing the gate in just two and a half months proved that he had decent talent. However, with Xu Heng’s earlier brilliance outshining him, his achievement seemed somewhat pale by comparison, and naturally, no one offered any celebratory gifts.
Smiles appeared on the faces of Sun Chengjie and his two companions; Chen Yuan had set a great example for them. Xue Anping’s admiration for him grew even stronger. To successfully break through the gate despite such emotional turbulence meant his daily accumulation had played an undeniable role!
Meanwhile, the Zhou Brothers’ expressions instantly turned incredibly ugly. They had assumed Chen Yuan had a low chance of success and had even wanted to kick him while he was down. After all, they had been practicing martial arts for nearly five months, completely draining their family savings, yet they still hadn’t touched the threshold of breaking through. They wondered how they were supposed to face the fact that Chen Yuan had succeeded so effortlessly.
"It was a lucky breakthrough. Thank you for acting as my Guardian, Senior Brother," Chen Yuan said, cupping his hands in gratitude.
Tao Ping nodded slightly. "It had nothing to do with me; it was the result of your hard work and accumulation in your daily martial arts training. From now on, you can collect one Blood Qi Pill from the Dining Hall as a small reward."
Rewarding disciples who broke through the Skin Gate with a Blood Qi Pill was a tradition of the Huo Courtyard.
He continued, "Junior Brother Chen, I believe you can feel it too. Breaking through the Skin Gate allows your blood qi to flow through your skin and membrane, making them as tough as cowhide and drastically increasing your defense. You can now begin refining your skin to further enhance its toughness while continuing to accumulate blood qi in preparation for breaking through the Bone Gate."
Chen Yuan nodded. Having practiced martial arts for over two months, he already had a basic understanding of the Martial Arts Four Gates and Three Forces. The Skin Gate focused on defense, the Bone Gate provided an overall enhancement to the entire body, the Muscle Gate strengthened raw power, and Marrow-refining provided endless stamina. The saying "Copper Skin, Iron Bones, Golden Flesh, and Jade Marrow" was the manifestation of refining each gate to its absolute limit.
Not far away, Song Bridge teased, "Junior Brother Xu, your good friend has successfully broken through the gate. Aren’t you going to congratulate him?"
Xu Heng’s tone was indifferent. "It is quite rare for him. It’s fine for others to say congratulations, but ultimately, we are not walking the same path."
He truly didn’t think that breaking through in two and a half months was anything worth congratulating. With that said, he turned his head and stopped paying attention.
Song Bridge chuckled in agreement. "True. All sorts of people gather here in the Huo Courtyard, but their circumstances are vastly different." Some trained for a lifetime and amounted to nothing, while others were destined for greatness the moment their Root Bone was tested.
The congratulatory crowd dispersed.
Tao Ping smiled and said, "Junior Brother Chen, shall I help you get familiar with the force of the Skin Gate?"
Chen Yuan nodded. "Thank you, Senior Brother. I also have a favor to ask."
Tao Ping raised his eyebrows slightly. "Oh? Let’s hear it."
Chen Yuan revealed his intentions. "Senior Brother Tao, I would like to ask you to keep an eye out for a commissioned post for me."
Tao Ping was the person in charge of commissioned posts within the courtyard. Handpicked by Master Huo, he was well-informed and had a vast network of connections. At this moment, however, he looked troubled. "Junior Brother Chen, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. I know you’re in a difficult spot, but there are strict requirements for taking a commissioned post. Not only do you need to break through the Skin Gate, but you also must comprehend Manifest Force."
It was not hard to understand Chen Yuan’s urgency. Having just been cut off from the Gu Family’s financial support, he was naturally anxious to earn next month’s martial arts tuition. However, it was an ironclad rule that only a true entry-level Martial Artist could take a commissioned post. The Skin Gate focused on defense, while Manifest Force governed offense. Only when offense and defense complemented each other could one form an effective combat strength.
Chen Yuan remained silent. He spread his legs, bent his knees, lowered his shoulders, and threw a straight punch. His entire right arm instantly erupted with loud CRACKLEs, generating a fierce gust of wind. Retracting his hand, he cupped his fists. "Senior Brother, I have already attained Manifest Force."
Tao Ping’s pupils abruptly shrank amidst the continuous crisp echoes. He stared at Chen Yuan in disbelief, his voice trembling slightly. "Junior Brother Chen... you’ve actually comprehended Manifest Force? When did this happen?"
It wasn’t that it was completely unimaginable, but rather that it was too sudden. To silently comprehend it, and then catch someone completely off guard with the declaration "I have already attained Manifest Force"—if that wasn’t trying to scare someone to death, then what was?
Chen Yuan smiled faintly. "I was lucky enough to comprehend it yesterday."
Tao Ping took a deep look at Chen Yuan and let out a long sigh. "Ah, Junior Brother Chen, you truly are full of surprises. You’ve made your Senior Brother see you in a whole new light."
To actually comprehend Manifest Force before breaking through the Skin Gate—this was exceedingly rare. It was common knowledge that the difficulty of Manifest Force was higher than that of the Skin Gate. Even Xu Heng had achieved the Skin Gate first before comprehending Manifest Force. Reversing the order required an exceptionally high level of Comprehension. But as far as he knew, Chen Yuan’s Comprehension wasn’t outstanding. Otherwise, their master would have mentioned it long ago.
Chen Yuan lowered his head slightly. "Perhaps I just had a sudden epiphany. I comprehended it out of nowhere."
Tao Ping pursed his lips, his gaze wandering. He wondered if the boy had experienced an epiphany, or if he was simply the late-bloomer type. He decided to just let it be. He cleared his throat and said seriously, "Alright, since you’ve comprehended Manifest Force and broken through the Skin Gate today, you are now an entry-level Martial Artist. I will keep an eye out for a commissioned post for you. At the same time, your quota for Blood Qi Pills will be increased to two."
His voice wasn’t loud, but he didn’t try to hide it either. It instantly reached the ears of the junior brothers who had just dispersed. Each of them doubted their own hearing. Chen Yuan had comprehended Manifest Force?
They crowded around once again.
Chen Yuan couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He had specifically waited for the crowd to disperse before bringing this up. He never expected Senior Brother Tao to pull such a stunt. He really didn’t want to show off like this! After all, "showing off" and "keeping a low profile" were as mutually exclusive as fire and water. He didn’t want to get his Low-key Points deducted again.
Looking up, however, he met Tao Ping’s meaningful smile.
He thought, "You little brat, trying to scare me? Trying to show off to me alone, huh? Don’t even think about it!"
Chen Yuan instantly read his eyes and sighed repeatedly in his heart, "I just want to be someone who keeps a low profile! Senior Brother, you’ve doomed me!"
"Senior Brother Tao, did Junior Brother Chen really comprehend Manifest Force? Don’t lie to me, didn’t he just break through the Skin Gate?"
"How is that possible? Who comprehends Manifest Force before breaking through the Skin Gate? That’s absolute nonsense!"
"Senior Brother Chen! Is what Senior Brother Tao said true? Have you really comprehended Manifest Force? When did you do it? That’s amazing!"
A barrage of chaotic questions flooded in. Their tones were urgent, clearly filled with doubt and curiosity regarding the news. Since when was Manifest Force so easy to comprehend? Among them were miserable souls who had broken through the Skin Gate over a year ago but still couldn’t comprehend Manifest Force, preventing them from becoming entry-level Martial Artists to take commissioned posts. Hearing this news was like the sky collapsing on them.
Furthermore, Chen Yuan only had a Grade-D Upper aptitude. To become an entry-level Martial Artist in two and a half months—even an average Grade-C Upper aptitude wouldn’t be able to achieve that, right? Various doubts lingered in their minds, and the looks they gave Chen Yuan were filled with insatiable curiosity.
Tao Ping quelled the commotion with a hand gesture and chuckled lightly. "What’s so hard to believe about this? Come, Junior Brother Chen. Let me help you get familiar with the force of the Skin Gate, and you can show off your skills to your junior brothers."
Hearing this, the crowd tactfully retreated to the perimeter, leaving space for the two of them. At the same time, they widened their eyes, wanting to see exactly what kind of methods Chen Yuan had.
Chen Yuan shook his head and smiled bitterly. What else could he say? He cupped his fists and said, "Chen Yuan requests your guidance, Senior Brother."
Tao Ping stood quietly in place. "Go all out and attack me. The stronger you perform, the more confidence I’ll have to raise the asking price when finding you a commissioned post."
Hearing about the asking price, Chen Yuan was instantly motivated. Using the Eagle Catch starting stance, he darted forward with a sudden leap.