Chu Huaixu's second aperture was indeed already open.
He had spent the entire morning cultivating painstakingly. His body was telling him that at most, he could circulate the technique three times a day, otherwise it would be overloaded. And this was on the basis of him having added 1 point to [Physique].
After finally gathering enough technique experience, Chu Huaixu spent a full five minutes mentally preparing himself before gritting his teeth. "System, level me up!"
Even though he was prepared, he still almost fainted from the pain.
Clearly, in the three realms of "enduring pain," "getting used to pain," and "enjoying pain," he was still at the most superficial level.
The first time he broke through, he felt like someone was riding a motorcycle over him again and again.
The second time he broke through, he suspected that the back seat of the motorcycle was also occupied, and by a fat, dead pig.
How could it be even more painful...
However, don't be fooled by his foxy face and standard fox-like appearance, he was a werewolf at heart and was ruthless enough to himself.
The more this stupid technique messed with him, the more his stubborn personality refused to admit defeat.
"Bestow upon me the scripture! Give me the most painful one!"
I'll fucking practice you to death!
"Practicing only 3 times a day is my body's limit, not my willpower's limit."
"If you have what it takes, then kill me with the pain!"
...
...
"He's a cultivation genius, just like me," Han Shuangjiang thought to herself, standing outside the door. After everything that had happened, even if she were a fool, she should know by now that her own cultivation talent was exceptional.
The two sat down at the stone table outside the hut, and Han Shuangjiang laid out her grand money-saving plan.
"You know how to cook?" Chu Huaixu's tone was surprised.
"A little," Han Shuangjiang nodded, answering modestly.
Hearing this, the foxy-faced man, on the basis that he was not a picky eater, immediately concealed the fact that his own culinary skills were amazing. The path of cultivation was already so difficult; he might as well be a little lazy in his daily life where he could.
All those "The Gorgeous Foodie Fell in Love with Me" tropes can get lost.
As for why Han Shuangjiang knew how to cook, it was naturally from her training in the brothel. Some sisters, before their patrons arrived, would personally prepare some small dishes, so that those whose home lives were not going well could experience the warmth of an outside home.
"Cooking for ourselves is a good idea," Chu Huaixu immediately agreed.
An unattached man and woman eating out is called a date. Eating at home every day is called life.
Hearing him agree, Han Shuangjiang was joyful, but her tone was as cold as ever, betraying no emotion, as if she were speaking with pure rationality.
"I've calculated it. With our cultivation speed, the silver will definitely be enough."
"Are you sure?" Chu Huaixu smiled.
Han Shuangjiang looked at him with a puzzled expression but said nothing.
The foxy-faced man began to explain, "You should know that after an in-name disciple opens all nine apertures, they can go to the outer sect's Scripture Pavilion to obtain a first-realm cultivation method."
The cold-faced girl nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"Whether it's cultivation techniques or arts, they are all divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. You surely know this too, right?"
She nodded again.
"Then do you know how to obtain a high-grade cultivation technique?" Chu Huaixu looked at her.
Han Shuangjiang replied, "This is all written in the in-name disciple's handbook."
She was indicating that he should get to the point.
The first floor of the outer sect's Scripture Pavilion was divided into four areas. The outermost area held the worst, Yellow-grade techniques, while the innermost area held the Heaven-grade ones. Each area was protected by a formation. An in-name disciple only needed to forcefully break it to enter. Simply put, this was the test.
"For those of us in the aperture-opening stage, we can't retain spiritual energy in our bodies. Each breakthrough mainly strengthens our physical body," Chu Huaixu began to get to the point.
"Therefore, these formations require us... to break them with strength!"
"Someone like you, with a Profound Yin Physique, a top-tier Spirit Embryo by birth—it will help you absorb the [Aperture-Opening Pill] and strengthen your physique, so the medicinal effects won't be wasted."
"So, purely through cultivation, the improvement of your body's various functions will be a cut above that of ordinary people."
"This is your advantage."
Chu Huaixu clapped his hands together, then spread them out to the sides. "So, here comes the question."
"You, who were born with an advantage, do you know... how to throw a punch?"
"Like this? Or like this?" He swung his arm in the air twice. "Which way has the most power?"
Hearing this, Han Shuangjiang immediately understood. "You mean, we have to practice, we have to learn."
"What else?" Chu Huaixu smiled.
They needed to learn some simple moves.
Sour-faced girl, your big brother is going to take you to learn some [Skills].
The cool and aloof young woman was no fool. She had already figured it out and asked, "Does it cost silver?"
"What else?" Chu Huaixu repeated those two words.
Now Han Shuangjiang understood why "wealth" was first among the four essentials of cultivation: Wealth, Technique, Companion, and Land.
However, she soon had a new question.
"If that's the case, then don't those who walk the path of body tempering have an advantage in this situation?" she said.
"Naturally," Chu Huaixu said.
Strictly speaking, the "Demonic Art" he was cultivating—the 'Sword Tempering Art'—was a bit of a mix of internal and external, somewhat incorporating body tempering. Plus, he had added 1 point to his [Physique] attribute, so his physical qualities were much stronger than others. But he was an anomaly.
Chu Huaixu explained, "Do you know how slow the progress of body tempering is, and how arduous the process is?"
"Relying on your innate Profound Yin Spirit Embryo, you can fully absorb the medicinal effects of the Aperture-Opening Pill. The improvement brought by this alone is something an ordinary body-tempering practitioner couldn't catch up to even with a year of hard training."
"If there is effort, there should be a reward, shouldn't there?" Chu Huaixu said. "Breaking the formations of the Scripture Pavilion—that is the reward."
Han Shuangjiang was convinced.
But soon, like a girl full of questions, she had a new one. "Then what if one consumes other pills, or relies on medicinal baths to improve the body?"
"That is certainly a shortcut," Chu Huaixu nodded.
"But I have to tell you two things."
"First, the Aperture-Opening Pill was created by the Dao Ancestor. It is the most compatible body-tempering spiritual pill for everyone at the current stage. No one's mastery of pills can surpass the Dao Ancestor's."
"Under these circumstances, if we consume other pills or soak in medicinal baths during the aperture-opening stage, the room for improvement is very limited."
"Of course, no matter how limited, there will definitely be some effect."
"So, now I have to tell you the second point."
He propped his face up with a fist, tilted his head to look at her, and asked a question that struck right at the heart:
"Do you have money?"
Han Shuangjiang fell silent, this time completely silent.
Whether it was pills or medicinal baths, it was likely that neither was affordable with their current financial state. After leaving the Joyful Sect, she had lived a life of displacement, and the thorny problem of having no money had always surrounded her. She never thought it would still be like this after arriving at the Dao Gate.
In this regard, Chu Huaixu's mentality was quite good. There was no such thing as absolute fairness in this world to begin with. The rich had their own ways, and geniuses could also rely on their talent to make up for it. The most pitiful were often the mediocre. And the mediocre were the majority. They struggled their whole lives, only to realize their own mediocrity and accept it.
A chosen one of heaven like Han Shuangjiang, with her Profound Yin Physique, wasn't just being fed by the heavens; the heavens were chasing her to feed her.
"Let's go. We'll spend some money to have someone teach us a few moves," Chu Huaixu was the first to get up. "This little bit of silver I have really won't last us long."
Han Shuangjiang followed behind him, her mood somewhat gloomy. It wasn't just because of the poverty she couldn't shake off, but also because she felt like she had just been lectured by him.
But soon, the cold-faced girl adjusted her mentality and muttered to herself, "See! I told you we should buy groceries and cook for ourselves!"
...
...
Along the way, Chu Huaixu walked in front, and Han Shuangjiang, with her long, jade-like legs, followed behind, having no trouble keeping up. Her naturally superior hip-to-waist curve made her walk with a graceful sway.
"We don't need to learn much. Spending money to learn a move or two will be enough," the foxy-faced man said.
Time to learn some [Skills]. He was quite excited. His fighting ability was about to increase in a straight line.
He looked back and asked curiously, "By the way, have you ever been in a fight with anyone?"
Han Shuangjiang looked at him, responding again with silence.
A fight? What kind of fight could she get into at [Red Sleeves Beckon]? Pulling hair and slapping faces with the other sisters? She had only ever been beaten by the "Madam." As for later, when she went to the [Joyful Sect], don't even mention it. The most popular thing there was bed battles, fighting to their hearts' content. Either the man would submit, or the woman would collapse in exhaustion.
As it turned out, Chu Huaixu asked another question.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked.
Han Shuangjiang looked at his back as he walked ahead and said with a rather speechless frown, "Of course not. Don't tell me you have?"
The moment her voice fell, she saw Chu Huaixu, who was three steps ahead of her, stop in his tracks.
It all happened so suddenly that she didn't stop, and soon she was walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
And at that moment of being shoulder to shoulder, Chu Huaixu turned his head to look at Han Shuangjiang.
The noon sun shone
on his shoulders and on that foxy face.
"I have," he said.