CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 0070: OPENING UP 13 MERIDIANS_1

The next morning, Tian Guangjin hurried back to the Longyin Martial Arts Hall, panic-stricken.

Such a significant event had occurred. First, Turen Xiong, a renegade from the Iron Sword Sect, came to challenge the hall and had his cultivation crippled by Zhang Bin. Then, for some inexplicable reason, Tian Bingbing dismissed Zhang Bin. He naturally had to return to find out what had happened.

He immediately called Tian Bingbing into a private room and asked solemnly, "Bingbing, what exactly happened? Tell me everything."

Tian Bingbing recounted the incident of Turen Xiong’s challenge, but she didn’t mention why she had dismissed Zhang Bin.

"Zhang Bin has actually opened eleven meridians? And his swordsmanship is that good? He even defeated Turen Xiong? That’s simply too powerful. Give him another ten years, and he could definitely make it onto the world’s expert rankings, probably breaking into the top ten thousand," Tian Guangjin said, his face filled with shock. "But he’s only twenty years old now. In ten years, he’ll only be thirty. That’s nothing short of a miracle."

"Zhang Bin is indeed very powerful and talented, and it’s possible he’s still hiding his true strength. Afterward, I even tested his sword speed, and it reached a terrifying eleven strikes per second," Tian Bingbing added, her expression full of admiration.

Though she despised Zhang Bin’s character for hitting on her, she couldn’t deny his genius and strength.

"Eleven strikes per second is impressive, truly impressive. In this world, there are no more than five thousand people who can strike a sword faster than him. Give him a sword, and he’s a top-tier expert," Tian Guangjin exclaimed before his tone turned cold. "Since he’s so powerful and could greatly enhance the reputation and prestige of our Longyin Martial Arts Hall, why did you dismiss him? Did your brain short-circuit?"

"Dad, my brain is perfectly fine. It’s precisely because he’s so powerful and talented that he’s like a Divine Dragon in the heavens, while our martial arts hall is merely a pond. How could we possibly keep him?" Tian Bingbing had no intention of revealing the real reason for dismissing Zhang Bin.

If the truth got out, it would damage Zhang Bin’s reputation, which would mean making an enemy of him. That would certainly not be a good thing for the Longyin Martial Arts Hall.

"We’re the ones paying his salary," Tian Guangjin said with a frown. "Even if he didn’t want to be our head instructor anymore, he should have been the one to bring it up, not us dismissing him."

"Dad, you know as well as I do that Zhang Bin has developed the incredible Bright Eye Liquid and, I’ve heard, even more amazing Weight Loss Pills. Is he short on money? A monthly salary of sixty thousand is nothing to him. Our martial arts hall operates on a thin margin and can’t offer him a raise, yet we’d have to rely on him to fend off any top-tier experts who come challenging us. I felt that was unfair. Besides, he didn’t want the job anymore but was too embarrassed to say so. We mutually agreed to terminate the contract. It wasn’t a dismissal, and it definitely wasn’t a firing," Tian Bingbing had her explanation prepared, and it sounded completely watertight.

"Alright then. Our martial arts hall truly cannot hold on to a peerless genius like him," Tian Guangjin sighed. He then called Zhang Bin to apologize, and only after confirming that Zhang Bin wasn’t angry did he finally relax.

Next, he had Tian Bingbing post a recruitment notice. It stated that because Head Instructor Zhang Bin had resigned, the hall needed to hire a new head instructor, with the salary being negotiable.

This notice served another purpose: it was to inform the Martial World that Zhang Bin was no longer the head instructor of the Longyin Martial Arts Hall. Naturally, this meant that people coming to challenge Zhang Bin would no longer show up at their door.

He then had Tian Bingbing transfer Zhang Bin’s pay—a total of one hundred thousand.

Zhang Bin’s salary was sixty thousand a month, and he hadn’t even worked for a full month. Giving him one hundred thousand was a clear sign of their acknowledgment and gratitude.

My salary? And it’s one hundred thousand! Not bad, not bad at all. A nice little windfall.

Zhang Bin received the bank notification and accepted it with a clear conscience.

It wasn’t because he had crippled the challenger, Turen Xiong; after all, Turen Xiong had come specifically for him. It was because he had used his Longevity Qi to reconstruct the nervous system in Tian Bingbing’s right hand, enhancing her sword speed. He estimated she could now achieve at least six strikes per second, putting her on par with Turen Xiong.

To turn a weak swordswoman into a sword expert for a mere one hundred thousand was an absolute rock-bottom price.

Unfortunately, Tian Bingbing seemed to have been deeply affected by Zhang Bin’s actions. Perhaps fearing that practicing would bring back painful memories, she had stopped practicing swordsmanship altogether. For the time being, she was unlikely to discover this secret.

In the following days, Zhang Bin focused entirely on opening his meridians. He would take a Gathering Qi Pill to accumulate True Qi, recover with Spiritual Water, and then continue the process.

The human body has a total of twenty meridians: twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians.

Each time a meridian is opened, the Dantian undergoes a fission, doubling in size. After the Dantian doubles, it requires an amount of True Qi equal to all the True Qi accumulated thus far just to build up enough pressure to attempt breaking through to the next meridian.

Therefore, cultivation becomes increasingly difficult, with the primary challenge being the accumulation of True Qi.

Even though Zhang Bin had created the miraculous Gathering Qi Pill and could absorb the Spiritual Energy of plants—which was akin to cheating—his cultivation speed still grew progressively slower.

After more than ten days, he had only managed to open two more meridians, bringing his total to thirteen.

I wonder how fast my sword is now?

Muttering to himself, Zhang Bin pulled out his dagger, cut down a bamboo stalk, and quickly fashioned it into a Bamboo Sword. Since he was no longer the head instructor of the Longyin Martial Arts Hall, he naturally felt it was inappropriate to keep using Tian Bingbing’s Heirloom Sword. He had left the treasured sword at the hall that day.

In truth, he didn’t covet that treasured sword at all.

Given his current Cultivation Level, a Bamboo Sword was more powerful in his hands than an iron one. His True Qi was Longevity Qi, which easily infused into wooden weapons. Infusing it into an iron sword was actually more difficult, unless it was specially forged. In that case, it would no longer be considered a mere weapon but a Magical Instrument or even a Magical Treasure.

He gripped the Bamboo Sword, and Longevity Qi rapidly poured into it. The sword immediately underwent a strange transformation, becoming as smooth as jade, indestructible, and exceptionally sharp.

He gently thrust the sword into a Large Tree.

PFFT!

The sword sank deep into the trunk.

Then he stabbed at a rock.

CRACK!

The sword plunged deep into the stone. An iron sword might not have been able to penetrate it and, at best, would have only shattered the rock.

A peculiar smile spread across his face. From now on, he could roam the world unhindered with his Bamboo Sword, and no police would ever bother him. After all, it was just a Bamboo Sword, not an iron one.

He took out his cell phone and asked Tutu to test his sword speed.

Then, he unleashed a flurry of strikes like a violent storm, once again using the first move of his Lightning Three Swords: *Sword Out, Enemy Crippled*.

HISS, HISS, HISS...

The very air seemed to tear.

The test results came back quickly. Tutu said with delight, "Master, you’ve made significant progress! You’ve reached 12.5 strikes per second."

An increase of 1.5 strikes per second? Not bad, not bad at all. Improving my Cultivation Level really is useful. A brilliant smile lit up Zhang Bin’s face.

Just then, his phone rang. It was an angry Liu Ruolan. "Xiao Bin, someone is causing trouble at our company..."