035 Taking Elixirs Plus Cultivating = ?

The documentary was titled "Legends of Martial Arts," and it was released in several seasons, each with eight episodes. Every episode explored a real-world martial arts school, traversing from the southern regions to the north, from within the country to abroad—essentially covering every notable form and style of martial arts.

Chen Jue was utterly engrossed, watching two episodes in a row before finally glancing at the time—nearly midnight had crept up on him, prompting him to finally set his phone aside.

…

The next morning, perhaps because he had achieved mastery in his foundational training, Chen Jue felt remarkably refreshed. A quick look at his health index showed it had risen to 98%, with only 1% left before he was fully recovered.

After washing up, he unwrapped the bandage from his right hand. The blackened scab had fallen off, revealing a layer of tender new skin underneath.

“As expected, the stronger the physique, the faster the recovery!” he thought with quiet delight. “Such a flesh wound, and it healed in just three days.” Elated, Chen Jue ran to the reservoir dam for his morning training.

The weather was beautifully sunny, though the temperature had already dropped quite a bit compared to the peak of summer. Autumn was visibly approaching.

Two hours of practicing martial forms and stance work earned Chen Jue a total of 0.04 free attribute points. As for his main attribute panel, there was not the slightest movement. Clearly, since each attribute had already surpassed the threshold of “1,” these basic forms and stances alone could no longer raise his stats.

But even being able to gain free points left Chen Jue thoroughly satisfied! Once his new fitness equipment arrived, he could use “scientific” training to further improve strength and agility.

After finishing his morning exercise, he glanced at his smartwatch. It was just after eight o’clock, so he returned home, showered, changed into clean clothes, and made his way to Linjia Village for breakfast.

Today was the day he’d arranged to pick up his medicine—Shaolin Great Strength Pills, compounded at Ye’s Benevolent Hall. Chen Jue had been eagerly awaiting this.

He decided not to jog, but instead, after breakfast, flagged down a departing minivan, spending five yuan to get to the main road, where he caught a bus into the city.

Since it was a weekday, there were fewer passengers than on weekends, and he didn’t run into any incidents like last time with the thief chase. Gazing out the window at the passing scenery, he spent over an hour on the journey into the county seat.

…

At Ye’s Benevolent Hall, the same young male doctor who’d attended him before greeted him: “Here are thirty concentrated Great Strength Pills in total. These are very potent—one every three days at most! Absolutely do not take more!”

“And you must take them with yellow wine. We have a cask of twenty-year-aged yellow wine in the shop—would you like one?”

Chen Jue nodded, surprised to learn that this traditional medicine shop also sold wine—it was his first time hearing of such a thing. “I’ll take one.”

“Very well, one cask of yellow wine, plus the remaining balance comes to 4,862 yuan.” The doctor printed a receipt and instructed Chen Jue to pay at the counter.

The cost was high because Chen Jue had purchased a large quantity, and he’d selected several aged medicinal ingredients, driving up the price.

After paying, he collected his medicine and the cask of yellow wine, the pain of the expense evident on his face as he left the shop with a finely decorated bag bearing the Ye’s Benevolent Hall logo.

As he departed, the young doctor reminded him to try steeping some medicinal wine when he got home, saying it was highly effective for martial artists—far better than indiscriminately consuming all-purpose tonics. Clearly, these were words of advice specially passed on from the elderly traditional physician through his grandson.

Chen Jue took the advice to heart, recognizing the genuine goodwill behind it, and expressed his thanks before planning to research how best to prepare his own medicinal wine.

Of course, the necessary herbs for steeping wine would likely have to be purchased from Ye’s Benevolent Hall in the future—ensuring ongoing business and establishing goodwill.

Indeed, it was no wonder this venerable establishment had been in business since 1670. Even a young doctor there understood the subtleties of social dealings so well—Chen Jue could not help but admire them.

…

Having obtained the Great Strength Pills, Chen Jue was eager to try them. With no interest in strolling around town, he transferred to the intercity bus at the coach station. The express ticket cost fifteen yuan but got him to Panlong Town in just thirty minutes, much faster than the regular bus.

From there, he took a rural taxi—a seven-seater minivan—and returned to the old family home in Chen Village, arriving just before noon.

He cooked a simple meal, then set about studying the Shaolin Great Strength Pills.

Taking out a wax-sealed pill, he peeled off the waxy layer, revealing the dark, hefty pill within. He held it under his nose and inhaled deeply—a rich medicinal aroma filled his senses.

He uncorked the aged yellow wine, poured a small bowl, and swallowed the entire Great Strength Pill with the wine. Then, Chen Jue began practicing the Twelve Forms of the Muscle-Tendon Classic right there in the living room.

After all, the Great Strength Pill’s formula originated from the Muscle-Tendon Classic itself—the two perfectly complemented each other.

Sure enough, after taking the pill, Chen Jue felt his body grow inexplicably hot as he practiced, his muscles swelling with a subtle sense of fullness.

Even the usually sluggish skill proficiency, which typically took half an hour to increase by one point, began to accelerate. After just one set of movements—ten minutes—his skill proficiency had increased by two points. Over an hour, that meant a gain of six points, a rate far beyond his previous frustratingly slow progress—his state was absolutely optimal!

Most importantly, both his strength and constitution attributes increased by 0.01 each.

“No wonder they call it the Great Strength Pill—it truly enhances power!”

What Chen Jue hadn’t anticipated was that this rapid effect was possible only because his constitution was already extraordinarily robust—even to a superhuman degree. With the added boost from his perfected foundational skills, his digestive and absorptive abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people, allowing him to quickly absorb the full potency of a pill without any medicinal waste.

He was absorbing every last bit of the medicine!

After over an hour of practice, Chen Jue finally felt the pill had been fully digested.

Both his constitution and strength had increased by 0.03—far more efficient than adding points through free attribute training.

“Taking medicine while training brings instant satisfaction!”

“But if I keep taking pills like this, I wonder if there might be side effects?” Chen Jue was so energized he didn’t even feel like taking an afternoon nap. With the bonus from his perfected foundational skills, he felt completely invigorated all day.

He glanced at the remaining wax-sealed pills and recalled the young doctor’s warning. In the end, impulse won over reason, and he opened a second pill, washing it down with yellow wine.

“If my health index drops, that’ll mean there’s a downside to taking pills consecutively!”

“If not…”

Chen Jue decided to use himself as a test subject. After all, with his nearly superhuman physique, he figured he could tolerate a larger dose of the Great Strength Pills.