Comprehension!

Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 98 (Mediocre) Lu Changsheng stared at the attribute panel floating before him, his expression turning rather odd. A score as high as ninety-eight, yet labeled as merely "mediocre"? That could only mean the baseline standard was a flat one hundred. He had a general grasp of what comprehension meant. Yet what purpose did this attribute panel actually serve? Thinking back, he had already been in this world for over a month. At the very beginning, he had been nothing more than a beggar struggling along the borderline of death. A little over a month ago, Miaoshou Garden recruited a large batch of apprentices. Relying on his quick wits, Lu Changsheng managed to be taken in, officially becoming one of their apprentices. Miaoshou Garden was a long-established medical clan with numerous apothecary shops scattered across all of Nanyang City. Their reach even extended beyond Nanyang, with branches in several surrounding cities. As an apprentice at Miaoshou Garden, the work was exhausting and the days were packed, but it guaranteed three meals a day. However, apprentices received no wages at all. Only after completing an apprenticeship or transferring to another post within Miaoshou Garden would one earn a salary. Yet having endured the gnawing pangs of starvation when he first arrived, Lu Changsheng was already quite content with his current life. The only thing was this attribute panel—even now, he had not figured it out. Perhaps because he had yet to find the proper way to use it, the panel had shown no change whatsoever up to this day. Thump, thump, thump. "Wake up! Rise and shine!" The supervisor's booming shouts echoed through Miaoshou Garden. Lu Changsheng snapped his eyes open. He scrambled out of bed, threw on his clothes, and trotted briskly toward the central square of Miaoshou Garden to assemble. It was barely the Mao hour, roughly five in the morning. Yet in Miaoshou Garden, all apprentices were required to be out of bed by the Mao hour, beginning a relentless day of labor that lasted until nightfall. A quarter of an hour later, all the apprentices had gathered on the square. The supervisor began calling the roll, name by name. "Chen Zhao! Chen Zhao!" The supervisor called the name several times in succession, but received no response. After a brief wait, a youth finally hurried in late, his face flushed crimson as he stammered, "Supervisor, I... I'm here." The supervisor shot him a cold glance. "Name." "Chen Zhao." "Tardy without cause. Ten strikes of the plank, and no food for you today." Chen Zhao's face drained of color. Two burly men immediately dragged him to the side, pressing him down to administer a harsh flogging in full view of everyone. "Aargh..." Chen Zhao's agonizing shrieks sent a collective chill through the crowd of apprentices. Miaoshou Garden had many virtues, but its rules were mercilessly strict. Tardiness, slacking off, and similar offenses were met with heavy penalties. Repeat violations could even result in being beaten to death. Battered half to death, Chen Zhao was dragged away to lie in the back courtyard. The entire square fell dead silent. The supervisor cast his gaze over the crowd and spoke up. "You have been at Miaoshou Garden for over a month now, and your bodies have mostly recovered their strength. Starting today, you will formally begin practicing martial arts. "Our Miaoshou Garden is a clan of medicine, and medicine and martial arts have gone hand in hand since ancient times. Martial arts strengthen the body. If you want to become a skilled physician, you cannot do without a robust physique. "For the coming month, Elder Liu, instructor for the Miaoshou Garden guard team, will instruct you in martial arts. "Bear this in mind: study with utmost care. This may be the opportunity that alters the course of your life!" Beneath his harsh exterior, the supervisor was not truly malicious. He had even explicitly impressed upon all the apprentices the sheer significance of this martial training. Lu Changsheng's spirits lifted. Martial arts? He had long heard that Miaoshou Garden employed martial artists, and that every member of the guard team was one. Who would have guessed that mere apprentices like them would have a chance to learn martial arts as well? This was an opportunity he had to seize at all costs. Like Lu Changsheng, none of the youths chosen as apprentices by Miaoshou Garden were fools. They instantly grasped the gravity of practicing martial arts, their eyes fixing intently on Elder Liu. Elder Liu was already in his sixties, yet he had white hair paired with a youthful complexion, radiating vigorous energy. "Heh heh, Supervisor Zhang has already put it plainly enough: medicine and martial arts are intertwined. If you train well, it will bring immense benefits whether you end up joining the guard team or practicing as a physician later on. "All right, enough idle talk. I will first teach you the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique..." As Elder Liu began demonstrating the forms, the apprentices followed suit, mimicking his movements. Lu Changsheng followed along methodically, replicating Elder Liu's motions step by step. The stances felt awkward and unnatural, requiring one to quiet the mind completely. Yet for some reason, the more he practiced, the more irritable and restless he felt. At last, Lu Changsheng completed an entire routine of the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and the attribute panel materialized before his eyes. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 98 (Mediocre) Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique: Not Initiated Practicing a round of the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique had actually produced an effect. Awkward as it was, Lu Changsheng felt a pleasant warmth coursing through his entire frame, and he seemed to have gained a fraction more strength all over. Furthermore, the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique had officially appeared on the attribute panel, even if its status was marked as "Not Initiated." "Your constitutions are still frail right now, so you may only practice the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique for one shichen each day. Any more, and your bodies will not be able to bear it. "To initiate into the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique, you must sense your own qi and blood. Once you perceive your qi and blood, you will be able to circulate it actively without having to perform these cumbersome movements. "These elaborate forms merely serve to help beginners sense their qi and blood more easily. Within this month, whoever manages to sense their qi and blood must come report to me at once. "All right, carry on with your practice." Having finished speaking, Elder Liu sat down on a chair to oversee the apprentices. Before long, one shichen slipped by. Lu Changsheng still had not achieved initiation into the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique. After two hours of continuous practice, a dull ache radiated through his limbs and torso; this martial art truly was not something one could overtrain without consequence. Once the training session concluded, the apprentices turned to their chores. The tasks at Miaoshou Garden were not brutally backbreaking, but they were intricate. Every day, the apprentices had to identify various medicinal herbs, cultivate them, lay them out to dry, and process them. In short, they toiled from dawn till dusk with scarcely a moment to rest. Come nighttime, Lu Changsheng lay on the communal sleeping platform. Beside him lay an apprentice named Zhou Sheng. Zhou Sheng was somewhat slick by nature, loved digging up gossip, and took great pleasure in showing off what he knew. The room was pitch-black. Just as the apprentices were settling in to sleep, Zhou Sheng suddenly spoke up. "Do you know why Elder Liu gave us a one-month deadline to achieve initiation?" Rustle. At once, all drowsiness vanished from the room. When it came to martial arts, their interest was naturally piqued. More importantly, this seemed tied to their future prospects. "Zhou Sheng, you have inside news?" "Come on, Zhou Sheng, tell us what's going on!" "I saved a piece of fatty meat from lunch—it's yours if you talk." "Yeah, I saved a bone with meat on it, you can have that too!" "I still have a piece of candy tucked away from a few days ago, it's yours!" The apprentices eagerly offered up the little treasures they had stashed away, which mostly consisted of food. After all, having no wages, the only thing they could squirrel away was an occasional bite saved from their own mouths. Pleased with himself, Zhou Sheng grinned and said, "Fine, hand it all over, and I'll tell you everything. "Elder Liu is no ordinary figure. He's the instructor for the guard team, and word has it that many of the guards were trained personally by his hand. "The reason Elder Liu set a one-month limit is to weed out those without martial talent. As long as someone can initiate into the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique within a month, Elder Liu will bring them into the guard team to be groomed as guards. "That would mean leaping into high fortune in a single bound! Guards, even apprentice guards, draw a monthly wage. What's more, they get all sorts of medicated diets every single day, which is why they all grow up so massive and strong. I hear the food is amazing too, with plenty of meat every day. Tsk tsk, just imagine the taste..." At the mention of meat, the apprentices could not help swallowing hard. Though Miaoshou Garden provided meals, meat was exceedingly rare. Clearly, the moment one was selected for the guard team, the treatment would vastly surpass that of ordinary apprentices. "So that's how it is." "Then we really have to train hard in the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique." "Getting into the guard team is the best path. Otherwise, going from chore apprentice to apothecary apprentice, and finally to a full apothecary, will take at least ten years—if we even become apothecaries at all instead of remaining chore laborers forever..." Although the apprentices had not been at Miaoshou Garden for long, competition had already begun to simmer among them. Hearing their discussion, Lu Changsheng felt an urge to practice the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique again. But as soon as he tried moving, sharp aches flared across his entire body. He knew that haste makes waste. Elder Liu had said one shichen a day, so one shichen it had to be. Pushing beyond that would only damage the body, doing more harm than good. There must be a way to speed up my progress in the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique, Lu Changsheng thought to himself.