Night came, and Apollo glanced at the two bronze coins on his palm.
"This brings me to 19 Alm points," he muttered while standing up and going back inside his beggar spot.
The Beggar Spot doesn't limit his movements, and as long as he recognizes his place as his beggar spot, the System won't punish him with a Lightning Tribulation.
Sitting under his makeshift roof, he couldn't help but think about the upcoming Advancement Examination. There were only three days left before it began, and he hadn't seen any Martial Students so far.
It seems they are now really focusing on increasing their strength.
Apollo put a hand under his chin. "That guy must be also in deep cultivation."
He expected Arke to come back to take revenge. But that guy didn't even show his shadow. Did he get scared because I made him look like a person who likes boys? Apollo thought in amusement. Although thinking about it was funny, he knew that wasn't the case.
Arke was commissioned to take him away to a safe place, but he didn't. He said it was only for money, but Apollo had long since realized that there was a third party involved, especially when looking at the mission the System gave him.
"Mission: Revenge for your family.
Part 1: Kill the hooded man who threw you in the alley.
Time Limit: 5 days left.
Reward: 100 Alm Points.
Punishment: Lightning Tribulation."
It's a chapter mission with different parts to complete. Apollo has to finish this mission before the time limit ends, or the lightning tribulation will come. Just thinking about the punishment made him shiver in fear.
Apollo let out a heavy sigh.
"Hopefully, they will never find out," Apollo muttered, referring to the upcoming event. When he was at the training ground previously, he actually told Sir Guo that he was going to enter the Advancement Examination, which is contradictory to what he said about staying low-key.
However, who said Apollo is going to enter as Apollo? He smiled while bringing up the System Store and looking at a particular item.
It cost only 20 Alm points, but its effect is more than enough for the Advancement Examination.
"Although it only lasts for two hours, it's better than nothing," Apollo muttered before he crossed his legs and started cultivating the Simple Breathing Technique. The world turned black, and the only thing that remained was him and the surrounding Qi that revolved around him.
He continued to inhale it through his nose and mouth, but it didn't take him long before he opened his eyes in evident confusion.
He could feel it again: something was blocking him from getting stronger, but at the same time, he knew that he could break past this. Apollo then recalled that the System said the limit of this Technique is only at the 4th-Step, so why did he feel like he could get stronger if he really tried?
This made him want to question the System, but thinking about it, he didn't. What if it's a bug? The System will definitely fix it. Yeah, yeah, that sounds about right, Apollo reached a ridiculous conclusion that he didn't believe himself but was just too lazy to ask the System. If he feels like he can break 'that' barrier, he will do it.
Thus, the beggar went back to close his eyes and force the cultivation.
Following the pattern from the Simple Breathing Technique, Apollo let the Qi circle inside his body, trying to break the cells that were already at their full potential. The Qi wanted to break them and then heal them in order to give birth to a stronger cell. Nevertheless, no matter how much it tried, it only managed to budge the cell.
Apollo frowned, and with his eyes closed, he made the Qi revolve faster than before. It didn't take him long to realize that this action was wrong.
He threw up a mouthful of blood the next second, and the Qi inside him dissipated.
"T-that f*cking hurts," Apollo cursed, wiping his bloodied mouth with his sleeves. Frustrated, he turned to the System. "Hey System, how can I break this barrier?"
A light blue interface appeared with words written on it, and the emotionless voice of the System echoed inside his mind. "The Simple Breathing Technique only lets the user reach the 4th-Step Foundation Building Stage. If the user wants to reach a higher stage, he has to buy a new Cultivation Technique."
"Yeah, I figured that much. Then why can I feel it?" Apollo asked. The System went quiet for a moment before the interface in front of him disappeared. Seeing this, the beggar frowned. "Hmph! If you're not going to tell me, then I'll figure it out on my own!"
He searched the pile of trash on the side and took out a book. This is the book that Big Chub gave him, and Apollo decided to throw it away because it would mean trouble if people found out a beggar had a book in hand. They would definitely think he stole it, as books are only accessible to those with money.
Fortunately, he only threw it near him.
He blew on the book and patted it to get rid of the dust. Then Apollo went to the page where the Cultivation Stages were introduced. His eyes stopped on the words "Qi Condensation" and the description written beside it.
Qi Condensation: Absorb Qi in the air to circulate through the whole body. This will revitalize the organs and the mind. Once achieved, the Cultivator doesn't have to worry about stamina…
"So the Simple Breathing Technique skips the training that normal Foundation Building Cultivators do and lets those who learn it basically achieve the same effect by just sitting and absorbing Qi," Apollo muttered. Well, he already knew about this fact. "But if the Simple Breathing Technique resembles what Qi Condensation Cultivators do… I'll just have to adjust it.
Then I don't have to buy anything from the System Store!"
This thought caused the beggar's eyes to shine with excitement. I'm really smart! With this, I can save my Alm points!
With this in mind, he threw the book back in the trash and closed his eyes. The pattern from the Simple Breathing Technique only allows him to move the Qi to enhance his muscles, bones, and skin. But Qi Condensation can enhance the whole body, including the organs and the brain, revitalizing them as well.
"All I have to do is change the pattern, increase the volume of Qi to penetrate the bones and muscles…" Apollo whispered while mobilizing the Qi around him. In a split second, the world became dark, and the Qi was absorbed through his nose and mouth.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Because the introduction about Qi Condensation includes the whole body, Apollo mobilized some of the Qi to enter through his skin.