The development within the village was orderly, and Wang Sheng had been constantly cultivating.
Refining stage was an extremely demanding phase, requiring nothing but time, time, and more time, with absolutely no shortcuts.
Even though Wang Sheng had a progress bar that ensured he made no mistakes while operating his Blood Qi, allowing him to cultivate without any worries, the four levels of Breakthrough in his Inner Core Skill did not make him feel any faster.
“I now understand why those cultivators often cultivate for decades or even centuries!”
Even with the advantage of cheating, he felt like he needed to cultivate for so long, not to mention how long it would take him to complete this stage of Refining under normal circumstances—perhaps even outlive the lifespan he had gained after reaching the Refining Essence to Qi realm.
Of course, the presence of the progress bar actually sped up his cultivation to a great extent but due to the discrepancy between his past and current cultivation speeds, Wang Sheng felt it was “slow.”
This is what is called no comparison, no harm.
Wang Sheng actually found something to compare himself with.
“Just endure it slowly!”
For this realm, Wang Sheng had no better methods, so he could only continue to cultivate daily, improving the levels of his Ba Duan Jin and Inner Core Skill.
Especially the Inner Core Skill, only when this was enhanced could his cultivation speed be accelerated.
Time quickly passed, and a month had gone by.
The physical fitness of the children in the village had been approved by Yue, and they could now start the preliminary cultivation of the Blood Qi Power technique.
The oldest child, no older than eight, was already able to embark on the path of a Martial Artist, and many people in the village went to watch the spectacle.
Wang Sheng was among them.
He had decided to go after listening to Yue’s words.
According to Yue, Liu Jian’an and Wang Lingwei had decent talent and might be able to quickly start their training as Martial Artists.
He aimed to see just how good their talent could be; he previously had no real sense of what ’talent’ meant.
Soon, it was the day to start cultivating the Martial Artist Skills, and a group of children, led by Xu Qu, were about to begin their Martial Artist training.
Although the techniques before reaching Seventh-Grade Martial Artist weren’t special, having Xu Qu, the strongest Martial Artist in the village now, to guide them made the village chief feel a bit more at ease.
After all, Xu Qu was more experienced and had taught Li Yongfeng among others, and he did not refuse.
“First, is the stance training. Remember to watch my breathing pattern; Qi follows the body’s movements…”
Wang Sheng, with the help of his progress bar, had condensed his Blood Qi Power, which was not the same routine as the children’s.
The method the children used to stir their Blood Qi seemed to involve unique stances that consumed their physical strength to trigger their Blood Qi.
Ordinarily, this method could cause quite damage to their bodies at such a young age, but their bodies had been nurtured for so long and were already full of potential, perfectly capable of withstanding the blood-boiling turmoil without any latent issues.
Time passed second by second, and soon, Liu Jian’an’s body underwent changes.
Little bumps had started to form on his skin, barely visible but definitely there, signifying that he had successfully stirred his Blood Qi, reaching the “Blood Qi Boiling, Sound like Drum” stage.
Of course, this was only the beginning, as these signs were not very apparent; only Wang Sheng, who had been paying close attention, noticed.
But as time went on, Xu Qu also noticed Liu Jian’an’s condition.
“That quick?”
Wang Sheng’s hearing was excellent, naturally catching that remark.
Was it strong?
He didn’t feel much.
But from Xu Qu’s reaction, Liu Jian’an’s talent was indeed very good, definitely much stronger than Xu Qu’s.
Of course, talent wasn’t everything. Not to mention, Xu Qu’s fortune was still unclear to this day—the fortune of surviving dozens of stabs wasn’t simple.
At least the current Wang Sheng couldn’t achieve that.
Of course, the people who could stab him dozens of times were few, and ordinary Grandmasters would just end up being stabbed by him.
However, he could only stab once because one time was usually enough to defeat his enemy.
Wang Sheng had a clear understanding of his own strength; he knew how to stay cautious and not undervalue himself, understanding his power to better conceal his abilities.
Naturally, the situation was special, between Xu Qu and Liu Jian’an; Xu Qu might have weaker talent than Liu Jian’an, but in the same realm, and with fortune considered, Xu Qu was definitely stronger.
In the Cultivation World, luck often mattered even more than talent.
Not long after Liu Jian’an got into the groove, Wang Lingwei, who was theoretically the second in talent, also reached the stage of Blood Qi Boiling.
In martial training, there wasn’t much difference between genders as long as the foundations were similar.
If Liu Jian’an could handle it, then naturally Wang Lingwei could too.
Xu Qu was still somewhat shocked seeing her capabilities, obviously indicating her talent also far exceeded his.
These two were the fastest, followed by Zhou Tian, then others also succeeded eventually, although their time taken was a bit longer, probably indicating average talent as seen from Xu Qu’s expressions.
“All of them succeeded, huh!”
Wang Sheng observed everyone succeeding and felt somewhat emotional.
“Does everyone have the potential to become a Martial Artist?”
Yue followed beside Wang Sheng and said, “Lord Wang Sheng, these children could become Martial Artists because you invested a lot of resources, Grandmaster level Evil Flood Dragon’s Body Tempering Liquid, all made from elixirs of Spiritual Medicine. It would be odd if they didn’t become Martial Artists.”
He also knew these children and understood how many resources they had used.
After those resources were used, he would be surprised if they didn’t become Martial Artists, and—
“Judging by potential, among these people, only Liu Jian’an and Wang Lingwei have the possibility to become Grandmasters, Zhou Tian has a little hope, and the others, without any extraordinary encounters, would likely only linger as Martial Artists for their lives, even with your help.”
Potential is a curious thing, invisible and intangible, yet it definitely exists.
Everyone has to admit, some people naturally have better potential.
The saying that hard work can make up for lack of talent does hold true, but that’s only in competition among ordinary people. Once there is a genius as diligent as you, it is generally hard to catch up to a genius unless life gives them a cheat.
Yue’s meaning was clear, these children, without any cheats (great opportunities), could only trail behind Liu Jian’an and Wang Lingwei.
He had also occasionally come to see, Liu Jian’an and Wang Lingwei were very earnest when they cultivated, practicing even without supervision.
It’s like a version where others are smarter and more diligent in cultivation than you.
Wang Sheng was thankful that he didn’t have such a problem.
However, he was quite curious about his own potential, although it seemed useless now, he still wanted to know.
“Yue, how do you distinguish potential?”
“Potential? Generally, it is determined by the final cultivation performance, but if you really want to test it, you can use the True Blood Testing Method.”
“What is the True Blood Testing Method?”
“Simply put, it involves placing a drop of one’s own blood on a special test paper, which can preliminarily assess potential.”
“Do you have such test paper?”
“Yes!”
Yue took out a piece of paper with several concentric circles, spreading outward, about six circles in total.
“If strength increases, can potential change?”
“It shouldn’t change,” Yue answered, “It’s a very fundamental thing, almost impossible to change, though the error might be about one circle.”
Wang Sheng dropped his own blood on it, and the blood quickly diffused, covering up to the sixth circle, then stopped.
“Lord Wang Sheng’s potential is really impressive.”
Yue seemed very surprised.
Six circles, which could be said to be at the pinnacle of potential.
Although Wang Sheng did not know if his potential had changed due to the Inner Core Skill, seeing his impressive potential still improved his mood.
Of course, his potential was most likely influenced.
The essence of a Martial Artist’s power is Qi-Blood Power, deriving from the blood.
And just so, his blood had already undergone two major transformations, and merely utilizing “Blood Qi Smoke” could easily overpower most of the Martial Artists.
Thus, his potential was mostly affected by the strength of his blood.
After he viewed his potential, satisfying his curiosity, the children’s first cultivation session also nearly ended.
They had all completed their first Qi-Blood manipulation, and Xu Qu did not let them continue, even the most talented Liu Jian’an and Wang Lingwei halted.
Xu Qu, observing the children’s eagerness, said, “If you aren’t afraid of ruining your foundation and being unable to advance further, then you can go back and practice secretly.”
This statement indeed made them all restrain themselves.
Though they were only at their first cultivation, their perspectives had broadened under Yue’s guidance; naturally, they were not satisfied to remain in their current state.
Seeing that the children seemed to have given up on the idea of extra practice, Xu Qu explained again, “Your ages are still suitable, practicing once a day is already enough, doing it too often will harm the body and may even stunt your growth…”
Given their young ages, some things needed to be clarified to prevent misunderstandings.
Of course, if something still went wrong after clarifying, then it wouldn’t be his fault, they would deserve it.
“Next, drink this and follow me to relax your bodies.”
Xu Qu let the children drink the prepared Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill Water and continued the training, but this time it wasn’t practicing the Cultivation Technique, it was further developing their bodies.
The children’s bodies were now in a state of craving, presenting a good opportunity to enhance their physical foundation, which should not be wasted.
Wang Sheng watched the whole process, looking at the lively children, and suddenly felt this was good too.
He had never considered “Supreme Indifference” in his cultivation.
Such a mental state might be beneficial for cultivation, but it didn’t match with his true self.
After thinking it over, Wang Sheng stood up.
“Let’s go back and cultivate!”