Promise!

Chapter 18, Beginning

laugh!
The internal energy surged and turned into strength, leaving a clear palm print on the wooden board.

"It's indeed successful. This is the sign of entering the Qi Condensation Realm and becoming a formal warrior! But after completing the first step of controlling Qi and blood, I directly skipped the warrior bottleneck and completed the second step? In other words, I am now a formal warrior?!"

Even though Zhuang Jin was usually calm, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart at this moment, but he quickly suppressed it and focused his attention on the strange thing just now: "From Master Ping to Xiang Qichen, Xiong Lei and others, I have never heard of anyone without a bottleneck. Could it be that not having a bottleneck is my golden finger?"

"If my golden finger is a bottleneck, then there is really great potential! However, this is only the bottleneck of entering the first level and becoming a formal warrior. I cannot confirm it yet. It is best to verify it after breaking through the second and third levels."

However, although it cannot be confirmed yet and needs further verification, Zhuang Jin has a strong intuition in his heart for no reason that the lack of a bottleneck is his golden finger.

'This is really... I haven't found the golden finger in several months since I traveled through time. I have already thought that I don't have it, but I never thought it would appear at this time.'

Zhuang Jin's heart was filled with complex emotions, and he couldn't explain what he felt for a moment. Scenes from the past few months flashed before his eyes: he gave up his dignity for survival and devoted himself to begging; as a beggar, he saved up his family fortune penny by penny; when faced with people like Tan San blocking his way, he took ruthless action; he valued fame over material gain, and endured the cold shoulder for a copper coin; when he entered the Shen family, he went on stage on the first day without fear of being laughed at; he practiced self-discipline from the very beginning, and would still think about what he had learned during the day when he lay on the bed; he sent away the Marquis who came to find him, and ignored the strange looks from others, and persisted... Until today, he finally succeeded!

'All the results of today have their causes from yesterday!'

"If I hadn't worked so hard to get this opportunity to learn martial arts; if I hadn't been so self-disciplined and diligent; if I hadn't been so determined and unwavering, unaffected by the outside world... there wouldn't even be a chance for the Golden Finger to appear!"

Zhuang Jin's thoughts extended from this, and he thought further: "The golden finger is ultimately just a talent. Everyone has talent, but in different aspects, some are more obvious, while others are more hidden. Many people never touch the field of their talent in their entire lives, while many people touch the field of their talent, but lack perseverance and give up before their talent is truly revealed, thus becoming lost in the crowd."

When he thought about this and verified it with his own experience, he felt his mind suddenly become clear and he vaguely realized that the mentality he had used in dealing with the world before he discovered the golden finger was a valuable asset that was no less valuable than the golden finger.

"As mentioned before, the so-called golden finger is merely a gift, an ability. Since it's a gift, an ability, it needs someone to control it. This gift and ability are certainly great, but the heart and mind of the person who controls it are equally important. The power of the golden finger, and the self-discipline, diligence, perseverance, and cautious nature of the person who controls it, only when the two are combined together can they thrive, complementing each other and allowing one to go further and further on the path of martial arts."

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of gongs and night watchmen outside: "Let's go, everyone in the martial arts training ground has left, it's time to lock the door!"

Zhuang Jin regained his composure and walked out. When he met the night watchman, he greeted him. From the first day on, he had been practicing extra classes every night until the martial arts training ground closed. Now the night watchman knew him.

On the way back to the dormitory, Zhuang Jin felt a faint sense of joy. His thoughts had been focused on the Golden Finger. While its lack of bottlenecks certainly meant huge potential for the future, the more important thing right now was reaching the Qi Condensation Realm and becoming a full-fledged warrior. This meant he could stay. "By becoming a full-fledged warrior and staying in the Shen family, Hou Yong would no longer be a concern. As I said before, he should be afraid of me. Even my predecessors, my uncle and my younger uncle, wouldn't be too worrying."

Although Zhuang Jin had just become a formal warrior and his weight in the Shen family was still small, it was impossible for him to immediately exert influence and borrow the power of the Shen family to get rid of Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong. However, by becoming a formal warrior and joining the Shen family, he was also wearing the Shen family's tiger skin. Even if he was exposed in front of his original uncle and younger uncle, the other party would not dare to take action openly.

"Of course, if I can avoid exposing myself to Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong, then it's better not to. When I pass Master Ping's review tomorrow and join the Shen family, there will definitely be a background check. I'll ask if it's possible to conduct a secret investigation without alerting Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong... It would be best if this situation of the enemy being in the open and I being in the dark continued until I matured and had absolute strength against them. Then I'd show up and crush them in one fell swoop, leaving them no chance of a comeback!"

After all, a journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. Now, the only thing left is to show the Qi Condensation realm and join the Shen family.

"Well, once a martial artist breaks through to the level of a formal warrior, he needs to be verified by a martial arts master before he can join the Shen family and move into the formal warrior's area. But it's late today, where can I find a martial arts master at this time?"

"Let's talk about it tomorrow morning. It won't hurt to wait one night."

Zhuang Jin suddenly thought of something and frowned: "Even if I announce my breakthrough to the Warrior level tomorrow morning, it will be too conspicuous. Seventeen days, uh, tomorrow will be eighteen days, eighteen days to break through to the Warrior level!"

"Should I hide for now and postpone my exposure?" He just had this thought in mind when he shook his head and rejected it: "Master Ping said that Kailuo Decoction has the effect of squeezing out the body's potential. Therefore, the later you become a formal warrior, the greater the damage to your body. Conversely, the sooner you become a formal warrior and begin practicing the Qi Condensation Realm, the sooner you can absorb the medicinal effects of the Black Yuan Powder and refine it into internal energy to nourish your body, which is better for the warrior."

The so-called 'Black Yuan Powder' was only a name Ping Yongfeng mentioned that day. Later, he heard from other martial artists that Black Yuan Powder was the nourishment used by formal martial artists for training. The Kailuo Soup they took now was just made from the leftovers of Black Yuan Powder, and could be seen as a beggar version of Black Yuan Powder.

"Luckily, I've been cautious and never told anyone about my progress. Even if I were to reveal it tomorrow, I wouldn't worry about others getting suspicious. At most, they'd think I was just being low-key."

From the first day, whenever Bi Kai inquired about his progress, Zhuang Jin would respond with "I don't feel anything." Even Xiong Lei only gave vague responses, never specifying his progress. The only time he was clear, he said, "Just a little bit," not that he was still a little short of mastering his Qi and blood. He'd imagine that Zhuang Jin was also just a little short of breaking through the bottleneck the next day, and at most, he'd complain that he was hiding it too well.

"This is the benefit of being cautious and keeping your mouth shut." Zhuang Jin thought to himself and headed back to the dormitory.

……

(End of this chapter)