Chapter Thirty-Three: A Sudden Breakthrough

  (Today's second update, seeking votes)

  The clothes were the same as yesterday's, and the person was still the same as yesterday's, but Hong Hao could clearly feel that this 99th VIP seemed more spirited than when he came in yesterday. Especially his eyes, Hong Hao took a glance and felt like danger was approaching, hastily not daring to look straight at him.

  His eyes no longer had their previous dull simplicity, a sharp gaze seemed to be able to pierce through everything, making Hong Hao dare not look straight at him.

  An intangible pressure made Hong Hao feel like retreating, a feeling he had only experienced a few times in his years at the imperial court. Recalling those instances made his heart even more apprehensive, as they were all top-notch individuals, including some figures that even his own boss couldn't afford to offend. Was it possible that...

  The breakthrough has been made, finally breaking through the barrier of the first-order congenital early stage and reaching the mid-term strength of the first-order congenital martial artist. Wentai had long felt that after reaching the congenital level, he had not made any progress, which was absolutely abnormal. No matter how hard he trained, it was difficult for him to make further progress.

  He was once lost, like a ship without a shore, without a goal, and every place was a failure.

  If he gave up like this, he could only stay in the primary realm of innate first grade for his whole life. But Wentai would never give up. He changed places and completed some things outside of Tiexiu, such as his favorite medical skills, opening a clinic, and traveling to big cities.

  It's like he needed to catch his breath after holding it in for too long, but his heart remained steadfast and his willpower was strong. After a brief rest and relaxation that changed his life, he began a new physical training regimen.

  Unexpectedly, this time it was just such a short period of rest after exercise for the first time, and I actually broke through.

  At this time, Wentao was full of energy and in a good mood, his strength had reached another level, and it was such a crucial step forward, how could he not be happy.

  This breakthrough made him realize a truth, that he had been stuck at the First Heaven Realm for two years, and no matter how hard he trained or how much time he spent, he couldn't make any progress. It was only after this period of relaxation and correction in the city that his power finally broke through.

  There is a saying that quantity can turn into quality, but more importantly, it reminded Wén Tāo of a phrase his old master Gu Hàn had once said: "state of mind".

  Whether it is the internal family mind method or the true heart method, if you are too eager to succeed, and your power advances beyond your mental state by too much, you will produce a demon in your heart, leading to entering madness through excessive energy. The improvement of one's mental state must be proportional to the enhancement of one's power; if one overemphasizes the growth of power, they will fall into error.

  It is for this reason that most cultivators emphasize enlightenment, and what is referred to as enlightenment is not bitter cultivation, but rather the ability to understand elevated mental states.

  Wen Tao had always thought that the path of physical cultivation he was on didn't need those things, as long as he kept increasing his strength and developing the limitless potential of his body. But after today, he discovered that it wasn't entirely so.

  In the post-heavenly realm, in terms of external skill cultivation, there is indeed no such thing as a state of mind. However, after entering the pre-heavenly realm, it's completely different. Simply cultivating power alone is no longer enough; one needs to cultivate both state of mind and power simultaneously.

  It's just that Wen Tao hasn't fully grasped it yet. The cultivation of a true immortal is constantly comprehending the origin of the universe, but what about himself?

  This breakthrough was due to the interplay of tension and relaxation, which allowed for the breakthrough. So next time, after one's own strength reaches a certain level, how can they make another breakthrough? Wentai is walking a path that no one has ever walked before, everything relies on oneself, especially in terms of mental cultivation.

  He certainly couldn't think of such a thing at once, after the whole-hearted body repair was completed, because the power broke through, and the pain of high-intensity cultivation was offset by many.

  Look at the time, it's already morning, fortunately, I can still make it back to the clinic.

  When Wen Tao came out, he was still thinking about his mental cultivation, so he hadn't fully retracted his aura. Especially since he had just reached the middle stage of a pre-heavenly first-class warrior, his sharpness was even more pronounced than before. This made Hong Hao tremble with fear at just one glance, and when Wen Tao saw Hong Hao's expression, he immediately came to his senses.

  Hurry up and tone down your sharpness and aura, if you go out like this, it's hard to avoid attracting trouble.

  It all happened in an instant, Hong Hao was intimidated by Wen Tao's sharp breath, but when he carefully stole a glance again, he found that Wen Tao was still the same as yesterday. Had he misjudged him?

  Wen Tao took a glance at the time, still made it, and saw Hong Hao's eyes. Wen Tao smiled faintly in his heart, but on the surface, he said calmly: "Manager Hong, prepare some simple breakfast for me."

  "Yes, I'll instruct them to prepare. Please, this way." Hong Hao led Wen Tao to the dining hall downstairs. As the manager of the Imperial Court Fitness Club, he didn't need to ask what guests liked to eat. If a guest specified something, he would make specific arrangements; if not, they had simpler options available. If guests didn't like something, they could change to one of dozens or even hundreds of alternative options at any time.

  The restaurant is divided into three parts: Chinese, American and French. The Chinese section is solemn and elegant, the American section is modern and luxurious, and the French section is romantic and warm.

  Wen Tao was eating at a Chinese restaurant on the 15th floor, by the window. From above, he could see that the streets below were already crowded. Wen Tao calculated the time and found that the clinic wasn't far from here, but if there was a traffic jam, it would be troublesome. However, thinking about it, he could take the subway, so it wouldn't be a problem.

  Wen Tao is familiar with all the traffic routes, if standing next to him, ordinary Hong Hao would not know what this 99th VIP guest is thinking about at this moment.

  It's said to be simple, and it really is simple: a bowl of fish fin clear porridge, four small dishes, two kinds of pastries, and two kinds of delicate small buns.

  "Our Chinese restaurant has over a dozen top chefs from four major cuisines: Cantonese, Shandong, Sichuan and Huaiyang, who can serve you at any time."

  Wen Tao's usual food intake was ordinary, but after intense physical repair, he needed to replenish a lot. Fortunately, he didn't rely solely on food to supplement his strength; otherwise, with his current consumption, it would be impossible to replenish. Mainly, it was the nourishment of the spiritual energy gathered by the Lingyi garment and the nourishment of various spiritual medicines and elixirs.

  Even so, these are not enough. Wén Tāo eats at a moderate pace, saying as he eats: "Keep an eye on the dishes, bring one bowl of soup, two steamed buns, and fry three strips of fried dough with a bowl of soy milk, that's all. With such a large amount of exercise, just eating these delicate things won't do. Hmm, this fish fin clear porridge is not bad, can have another bowl, but plain tea and simple food are more nourishing."

  If it were an ordinary person who made these requests here, the royal court might say no, and ordinary members can only enjoy some fixed things. But as a diamond-level member, Mr. 99's instructions are different, and he immediately instructs people to do so.

  "Hmm..." Wen Tao had just finished speaking when a soft laughter came from a short distance away.

  Wen Tao put down the porridge and turned his head to take a look. The two beautiful women, both over 1.7 meters tall, wearing clothes that accentuated their figures, were giggling. They were in an area some distance away from Wen Tao's VIP section, but it was clear they had heard what he just said and were now looking over at him.

  As soon as Hong Hao gave the order, he saw Wentai looking down and said with great tact: "Those two are our club's top physical trainers and also the most famous physical trainers in the country. Their program has been broadcast for several years and the effect is very good. If you have any needs, you can let them come to answer you at any time."

  Hong Hao took one look at Wen Tao's physique and knew that he absolutely wouldn't be the type to work out his muscles, even if he did exercise, it would just be simple physical training, practicing his form was already pretty good.

  Xing Ti, Wen Tao rarely exposed his own body. If he could find someone better than himself now, that would be a ghost. Even if all the cultivators in the cultivation world were counted, it was impossible to have someone better than him in terms of physical body.

  Wen Tao ate his meal and didn't think much of it. He suddenly broke through his emotions and honestly told him, "I'm still okay teaching them!"

  "Hmm...yes...yes..." Hong Hao smiled and agreed, but in his heart he was thinking that this person was either someone who had seen many grand scenes before or there was something wrong with them. It was rare to see the Imperial Court's flower being so indifferent. He also didn't know how many people came to the Imperial Court just to get close to her, and yet this person seemed uninterested.

  Wen Tao's voice was neither loud nor soft, and one of them stood up and walked over.

  Obviously just after exercise, jet-black long hair scattered, light and clear makeup, willow-leaf eyebrows, the most heart-moving is that devil-like figure: "I'd like to ask this gentleman if there's anything I can learn from you."

  Hong Hao took one look and his heart sank, it's going to be a disaster!!!!!

  Cantonese cuisine

  One of the four major Chinese cuisines, including Cantonese cuisine, Teochew cuisine and Hakka cuisine, with Cantonese cuisine as its representative. Cantonese cuisine is known for its wide range of ingredients, exotic and diverse, with seafood being a delicacy, and birds, mice, snakes, and insects all being considered fine dishes. The selection of ingredients also emphasizes freshness, crispness, and tenderness, with light flavors in summer and autumn, and rich flavors in winter and spring. In addition to emphasizing the freshness of ingredients and cooking them immediately after slaughter, Cantonese cuisine also emphasizes maintaining the original flavor of the ingredients through precise control of heat. Cantonese cuisine has unique seasonings, commonly used ones include oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, sugar vinegar, and Western-style sauce. The cooking methods are also unique, with techniques such as braising, stewing, and "lok" (a type of steaming). Representative dishes of Cantonese cuisine include: Three Snakes Dragon Tiger Meeting, Dragon Tiger Phoenix Snake Soup, Oil-Wrapped Fresh Shrimp, Eight Treasures Fresh Lotus Eight Treasures Bowl, Oyster Sauce Fresh Mushrooms, Wah Kiu Mountain Delicacy, Crispy Skin Suckling Pig, etc.

  Shandong cuisine

  Also known as Shandong cuisine, one of the four major Chinese cuisines. Lu cuisine has a wide range of ingredients, fine selection, emphasizes richness and value, comprehensive cooking methods, exquisite soup making, and skilled use of scallions for flavoring. Lu cuisine is unique in its preparation of seafood, especially in the cooking of abalone and small yellow croaker, which is unparalleled. Representative dishes include: Scallion-braised abalone, Steamed sturgeon eggs, Crab meat with fish maw, Dezhou-style braised chicken, Milk soup with walnut kernel, etc.

  Sichuan cuisine

  Also known as Sichuan cuisine, one of the four major Chinese cuisines. It is famous for its spicy and numbing flavor overseas, with the reputation of "Eating in China, tasting in Sichuan". Sichuan cuisine selects ingredients carefully, with fine seasoning, exquisite cooking techniques, and diverse flavors, especially with a variety of flavors, known as "100 dishes, 100 flavors". Common flavors include fish fragrance, five-spice flavor, strange flavor, spicy and numbing flavor, sour and spicy flavor. Famous dishes include: Fish Fragrance Meat Shreds, Kung Pao Chicken, First-Rate Bear's Paw, Strange Flavor Chicken Cubes, Mapo Tofu, Dry-Braised Rock Carp, etc.

  Huaiyang cuisine

  Huaiyang cuisine is a collection of the essence of dishes from Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Huai'an and other water towns in southern Jiangsu Province, representing the characteristic flavor of Jiangsu cuisine. Huaiyang cuisine pays attention to freshness and tenderness in ingredient selection; fine production, with emphasis on knife skills; light and refreshing flavors, emphasizing original flavors, importance of soup seasoning, fresh and clean flavors; bright colors, refreshing and pleasing to the eye; beautiful shape, unique and new, vivid and lifelike. Famous dishes include: "Crispy Fried Chicken", "Sugar Vinegar Mandarin Fish", "Lotus Chicken Slices", "Salted Duck", "Clear Steamed Crab Roe Lion's Head", "Steamed Mullet" and so on.