Chapter 29, Activating the Lower Dantian

Translator: StarReader

 

Time flowed like mountain stream water, swift and unstoppable.

 

Su Chen was guarding the herb garden at the rear mountain of the Medicine King Estate while quietly cultivating. A practitioner could only take the body-strengthening formula every seven days due to danger; medicine was in part poison, and overuse could lead to poisoning or resistance, diminishing the refining effect. So once every seven days was sufficient.

 

Su Chen, however, drank the body-strengthening soup more often, roughly every four or five days, and also soaked in herbal baths for muscle refinement. Since he used herbs of very low grade and young age, their properties were weak and easily absorbed by his body. By taking small doses frequently, it became possible.

 

What was most incredible was that despite Su Chen using only the lowest-grade herbs, because his herbology skills were improving at an extraordinary rate—approaching the level of excellence—he tailored his herbs to suit his needs, achieving nearly perfect refining effects. He got the results of mid-grade herbs just by using low-grade ones.

 

Over just three months, Su Chen had undergone at least a dozen herb-refining sessions, with his cultivating time increasing as well.

 

One day, after Su Chen drank a bowl of blood ginseng soup, he was taking a herbal bath in a large wooden tub.

 

He introspected his physical body and noticed that strands of thick vital energy were rapidly flowing out from his spinal cord and marrow. His blood vessels pulsed with an unusual intensity, and the energy coursed through them like streams, steadily converging towards his Lower Dantian. Inside this energy reservoir, the vital energy was surging, threatening to overflow like a full bowl of water about to spill over.

 

Su Chen felt something amiss. He had used this herbal formula many times before, and while it did stimulate his vital energy, the effects today were unusually strong.

 

“Why is today’s effect so intense… Could it be?”

 

His expression shifted slightly as he quickly realized what was happening, his face lighting up with a look of astonishment and excitement.

 

Could it be that his Lower Dantian was about to activate? Was this a sign of breaking through the third-rate stage after just three months?!

 

“Judging by the time, it should be that.” Su Chen pondered.

 

Li Kui had personally formulated a refining herb prescription for Wang Fugui and Li Jiao. They had taken it to the herbalist shop, had the herbs prepared, brewed it into soup, and consumed it. After using some high-quality tempering herb, they had activated their Lower Dantian in just four or five months and stepped into the third-rate stage.

 

The speed of cultivating was very fast with tempering herbs.

 

At that time, Su Chen and Yang Caizhi, along with four other outer disciples, couldn’t afford expensive refining herbs, so they had remained stuck, far from reaching the third-rate stage. Breaking through would have taken at least another two to three years.

 

Su Chen calmed his mind and focused inward on his Lower Dantian, closely monitoring the changes in his vitality and blood flow.

 

Su Chen felt that, at this moment, his Lower Dantian had grown unusually strong, with a steady and forceful pulse, far stronger than before.

 

“Initial activation of Lower Dantian, finally stepped into the third-rate realm!”

 

Su Chen was visibly pleased as he absorbed all the medicinal power, completing his body refinement. His face glowed with healthy redness and a radiant sheen, looking refreshed and revitalized. He stepped out of the bath, donned a plain set of work clothes, and made his way to the ten thick wooden posts in front of the shack, each as sturdy as a forearm, testing his strength.

 

During his prior training in martial arts techniques, he had left a dense pattern of half-inch-deep fist impressions on some of the posts, which remained firm and unyielding despite repeated use. His strength was insufficient to shatter them outright; all he could do was leave shallow indentations.

 

“Let’s see what power I can muster now that I’ve reached this third-rate stage,” he thought to himself. “I’ll start with a basic technique—straight punch!”

 

“Boom!”

 

The thick wooden post was struck right in the middle and shattered to pieces, with splintered wood flying out a dozen meters in all directions.

 

Su Chen swung his fist and struck three thick training posts one after another; each one shattered by a single blow.

 

“It’s true—once you reach the third-rate realm, attacks pack a serious punch! That strike alone must have delivered at least fifty kilograms of force!”

 

Su Chen rubbed his slightly numb fist, filled with excitement as he confirmed that he had indeed reached the third-rate practitioner level.

 

After achieving the Lower Dantian, a practitioner’s strength greatly increased, enabling them to deliver blows with at least one hundred pounds of force. Crossing this threshold into the third-rate practitioner realm was the most noticeable external distinction between practitioners who had reached this level and those who hadn’t.

 

“Entry-level leg technique—sweeping kick!”

 

Su Chen suddenly raised his leg and delivered a powerful sidekick, sweeping through several wooden posts in succession. The snapping sound of breaking wood echoed as his leg struck each one with the force of a whip.

 

“Entry-level footwork!” Su Chen crouched low, vaulted forward, and leaped nearly ten feet in a single bound. His movements were swift and graceful as he dodged gracefully within a radius of several yards. With such speed, even mountain wolves wouldn’t be able to catch him.

 

After breaking through the third-rate realm, his punches and kicks had gained significant power. His entry-level martial techniques naturally became more potent by several times over.

 

These entry-level skills he practiced daily were already highly polished, lacking only in terms of destructive power. With increased force, their effectiveness naturally amplified.

 

“Finally… I’m officially a martial artist now!” Su Chen exclaimed, thrilled as he clenched his fists tightly. He couldn’t believe that after guarding the herb garden for three months and thinking he was about to leave, he had stepped into the realm of martial arts at this pivotal moment, achieving initial success in Lower Dantian and becoming a third-rate practitioner.

 

Among the latest batch of disciples in the Medicine King Group, only ten inner disciples had mostly advanced to become third-rate practitioners. Out of over a hundred outer disciples, none succeeded.

 

Currently, Su Chen’s cultivation stood out among his peers in the Medicine King Group. He had caught up with the top tier of ten inner disciples in terms of progress.

 

Sighing deeply, Su Chen thought about the unwritten rule in the Wu Region’s martial world. Only those cultivators who had reached the third-rate stage could be considered true martial artists. It was only then that groups would permit their disciples to venture out on their own and train in the martial world.

 

On the other hand, cultivators below this threshold were merely disciples, not yet recognized as true martial individuals. They remained within the groups’ halls, continuing their cultivation until they achieved third-rate status.

 

Without explicit approval from their masters, these low cultivators could not venture out into the martial world on their own. Entering the martial world without proper standing was perilous; a mere skirmish with a third-rate cultivator could cost them their lives.

 

Now that Su Chen had reached this threshold, he too could stand tall among other martial individuals, no longer just a disciple but a true martial cultivator.

 

The three-month period set for his duty at the herb garden was nearly over. He was about to complete his task and leave, yet he felt an odd sense of reluctance. He would have liked to stay longer, perhaps even a year, to further enhance his cultivation.

 

During his last use of blue water in planting tempering herbs, only a small portion of the lowest-grade herbs had been consumed over three months. There was still a plentiful supply of higher-quality refining materials stored away—hoarding them seemed pointless now that he had completed his task.

 

Estimating that the remaining herbs would last him more than half a year, he felt a sense of security about the upcoming period. However, as the three-month term for guarding the herb garden neared its end, Su Chen had grown sick of the silent isolation in the desolate back mountain. Not only was there no one to talk with, but the monotony of salt-and-vinegar-dipped rice for every meal had become thoroughly uninspiring.

 

His thoughts drifted toward the forthcoming departure from this tranquil yet stifling haven. The prospect of finally being able to venture outside and explore the lively places like Medicine King Estate and Gusu County City, stretching his legs a bit, filled him with growing anticipation.