The next morning, before the sun had even risen.
Around five o'clock in the morning.
Lam Minh woke up very early, dragging Le Dao Khuc along with him.
Dressed in sporty attire, he and Le were jogging along the neighborhood street. The rhythmic thud of his footsteps echoed.
His body dashed along the sidewalk.
He wasn't very tired, as his blood essence index was already at 382.
Lam Minh's physical condition had improved significantly; one could faintly see his muscles developing quite well and becoming defined after just one day.
If one wanted to see a physical transformation, Lam Minh was the prime example.
But the morning jog was genuinely good for his cardiovascular system and the circulation of his blood essence.
Lam Minh chuckled to himself as he ran. How amusing.
This morning when he woke up, he had seen a friend request from To Quyen.
It was a bit confusing. Why hadn't she accepted the request he sent, but instead canceled and sent a new one?
Could it be that To Quyen's type was to play cat and mouse? Things were getting more and more interesting.
So, he had sent her a message early in the morning: "Good morning, beautiful. Wake up before it's too late."
After a while, his body was drenched in sweat. He conveniently stopped at a hot steamed rice roll stall.
He wolfed down a portion for 15,000 VND.
"Breakfast after a workout is truly delicious," Le Dao Khuc said, his mouth slurping up the delicious dish.
"Are you a pig? Eat slowly. When you're done, come with me to a dojo. Do you know any?" Lam Minh said.
Lam Minh was having a headache about the dojo issue.
Of course, there were many dojos in Ho Chi Minh City, but...
Were there any dojos that offered free training?
No.
Lam Minh dragged his best friend along with a very simple purpose.
First, to help him train his physical fitness, as this guy was also quite lazy.
He didn't understand how his blood essence could reach 377.
Second, to ask him to help find a dojo he was familiar with, hoping to find a part-time job there to earn some extra income while also having a place to train.
Le thought for a moment and then said, "Yes, my uncle is the owner of the Bach Hoang Dojo, only about 2 km from our school."
"Ah, but I want to both work part-time to increase my income and have a place to train daily. Can you ask your uncle if there's any suitable work? Just part-time, because I have to go to school in the afternoon," Lam Minh asked.
Le slurped up the rest of the rice rolls on his plate and patted Lam Minh's shoulder. "Follow me, I'll introduce you to him."
With that, the two of them casually set off for the Bach Hoang Dojo.
Before long, they were standing in front of the dojo.
It was called a dojo, but it was actually a rather grand and large house. The dojo was divided into two areas.
One area was the residence of the dojo owner, his uncle.
The other area was the actual dojo building, according to Le's introduction.
Le went up and rang the gate bell. After a moment, a woman of about 25 appeared to open the gate. Her face wasn't particularly striking, but her fair skin and well-proportioned, slightly curvy figure were her strengths.
"Oh, young master Le, are you visiting today?" Sister Lien, the uncle's housekeeper, exclaimed upon seeing Le Dao Khuc.
"Ah, sister Lien, I'm just here to see Uncle Quoc. Is Uncle Quoc home?" Le replied to sister Lien.
"Of course, the master is in the living room. Let me take you in. And is this your friend, young master Le?" sister Lien asked, sizing up Lam Minh with her eyes.
Her first impression was that he was tall. Her second was that Lam Minh's face was very captivating.
Even though she was a 25-year-old married woman, she couldn't take her eyes off Lam Minh's face.
A solid temperament radiated from him, a sense of steadfastness that could not be toppled.
"Hello, sister. I'm Le's friend," Lam Minh replied upon seeing the woman in front of him staring.
Why is she staring at me like that? Did I not wipe my mouth after eating?
They entered the living room. Sitting there on a wooden chair was a dignified man.
He looked to be around 30, with a stern face, a solid body, and a buzz cut that further enhanced the seriousness in his eyes.
"Hello, Uncle Quoc. How are you?" Le went up to greet this uncle as soon as he saw him, as if the two were very close.
He didn't understand why Le called this man uncle, when he looked so young.
"Ah, Le. What brings you to my house today? Usually, I'm the one who has to go serve wine to you and your father," Mr. Quoc said, putting down the newspaper he was reading, standing up to shake Le Dao Khuc's hand.
Le gave a fake laugh and replied, "You're kidding, Uncle. I visit your house all the time, hee hee."
"You don't have to say that. Isn't it because I used to make you practice martial arts every time I saw you, so you were too scared to come to my house? Your uncle knows you too well," Mr. Quoc replied.
Then he looked over at Lam Minh next to Le. "Is this your friend? He looks solid, bright, and has a good temperament."
"Hello, Uncle. I'm Le's friend," Lam Minh replied.
He felt an extraordinary aura from this man, a very strong sense of pressure. And when their eyes met, although Lam Minh's will didn't want to yield, he couldn't help but avert his gaze.
It felt as if this man's gaze could see through to the very depths of a person's soul.
"Alright, you two have a seat. Sister Lien, please get some water for our guests. What would you boys like to drink, beer or wine?" Mr. Quoc sat down on the chair and gestured for Lam Minh and Le to sit.
"Water is fine," Le and Lam Minh said in unison.
They were only 16 years old; beer and wine were not appropriate.
Lam Minh turned to Le and whispered, "Hey, he looks like he's only in his 30s. Why do you call him uncle?"
Le gave Minh a smirk and replied, "He may look like that, but he's actually 45. He's at the Nascent Soul realm, forever young."
Lam Minh immediately shut his mouth after hearing Le's words. "A Nascent Soul powerhouse, a real Nascent Soul realm powerhouse is sitting opposite me. No wonder there's such a sense of pressure."
Including his entire past life, this was the first time Lam Minh had met a Nascent Soul powerhouse. Everything before had only been through the news or on TV.
And the Nascent Soul realm was the dream of many cultivators. The general level was only Golden Core and below; breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm was truly rare and could be counted on one's fingers.
Each country only had a few Nascent Soul cultivators. It was normal for some major powers on the Asian continent to have up to 20 Nascent Soul powerhouses.
Since the emergence of the cultivator world, the situation in various places had changed quite a bit. In the Asian continent alone, the number of Nascent Soul powerhouses was much higher than in other continents, and the trend of cultivation development in Asia was also at the forefront.
And the country of Viet had up to 6 people who had reached the Nascent Soul realm.
And in front of him now was one of those 6 people, those with the highest cultivation levels in the country.
Snapping out of his thoughts made him respect the man in front of him even more. At this moment, Lam Minh looked at him and felt that he was much more handsome than before.
Le, I asked you to take me to find a dojo to practice.
You took me to meet a peak powerhouse instead.
"Alright, let's not beat around the bush. Tell me, what business do you two have with me today? Let me tell you beforehand, I don't meddle in worldly affairs, so I won't help or protect you," Mr. Quoc said, taking a sip of wine, putting it down on the table, and looking at Le and Lam Minh.
"No, no, no, Uncle. I brought my friend here today because he wants to find a job to earn extra income at the dojo, and also have a place to practice. He's very determined to get into the Combat University," Le quickly replied, then covered his mouth and whispered very softly, "His family is poor, he doesn't even have money for food, Uncle."
After hearing this, Mr. Quoc looked at Lam Minh with a scrutinizing gaze. "He looks very solid, but his blood essence is quite low for his age. Either he's lazy like Le, or he lacks proper nutrition and has a poor spiritual root."
Then he continued, "If you want to work here, that's fine. First, you must pass a test of blood essence, spiritual root, and willpower to be allowed to work here. What do you think, kid?"
"Yes, I agree!" Lam Minh replied hastily.
An opportunity to work for a top-tier powerhouse like this? Refusing would be like resigning himself to collecting scrap metal for a living.
"Alright, follow me. And Le, if you want to take the test too, speak up now," he stood up, looked at both of them, and asked.
"No, Uncle, I'll take my leave first. I have something to do in a bit," Le said, and without waiting for Mr. Quoc's response, he immediately ran off.
How could he not be scared? He had been through this uncle's test before. It was hell, to say the least.
Good luck to you, Minh.
Watching Le's figure disappear at the door, Lam Minh immediately became extremely flustered.
This bastard, ditching his friend in the middle of the road again.
"Let's go," Mr. Quoc said and walked ahead, with Lam Minh trotting behind him.
Seeing Lam Minh walking timidly behind him was quite amusing.
It was his first time interacting with a powerhouse of this level, after all.
A moment later, the two of them appeared in his dojo.
Inside, there were only 3 students sitting in meditation.
Two males, one female.
The males had an imposing aura, an indescribable sternness.
The female was breathtakingly beautiful, exuding an irresistible air of nobility.
"Don't disturb them; they are cultivating." Just as Lam Minh was about to greet the three, Mr. Quoc spoke up to remind him.
Lam Minh silently nodded as if confirming his words.
Seeing the pure white bubbles dropping from these three people, Lam Minh was really curious to know what they were. Why were they white?
It was the first time he had seen white attribute bubbles being dropped by others, and he couldn't contain his curiosity.
But why were there only white bubbles and no red ones?
Logically, cultivation should drop blood essence points.
Lam Minh's confusion was very reasonable.
Because in both his past and present life, he had only reached the Body Tempering realm, so he only knew about Blood Essence.
But when a cultivator finished the Body Tempering realm, what they cultivated was no longer blood essence, but spiritual energy.
The Body Tempering stage of cultivating blood essence was actually just to create a foundation for the body to cultivate in the Qi Refining realm.
This meant that you could completely skip the Body Tempering stage and go straight to the Qi Refining stage if you wanted.
But you would have no foundation, and your Qi Refining realm would be as thin as a piece of paper containing spiritual energy.
Cultivating the Body realm would help a person become a solid cauldron, absorbing spiritual energy powerfully without any reservations.
The more solid the Body Tempering, the stronger the Qi Refining.
Before humans discovered that cultivation techniques were the right path.
Many people had directly absorbed spiritual energy, and when they stepped onto the battlefield, a ninth-layer Qi Refining human was instantly annihilated by an early-stage Qi Refining otherworldly being.
That was the difference.