Basic Fist Technique Reaches Perfection!

The second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day... Every day, the apprentices woke up, practiced martial arts, and worked their chores according to the routine. Their schedules were packed to the brim. Yet not a single apprentice complained of exhaustion. Clenching their teeth, every one of them channeled all their drive into practicing the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique. However, several days passed without word of anyone successfully initiating the technique. Lu Changsheng also managed to learn some details about the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique. If one wanted to quicken their progress, there was indeed a way: medicinal cuisine. Supplementing their training daily with specialized medicinal cuisine could make progress in the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique remarkably swift. Yet medicinal cuisine was only provided to the guard team. Why would it ever be given to ordinary apprentices? As for buying it oneself, that was even more out of the question. Ordinary apprentices received no wages and did not possess a single coin. Where would they get the money to buy medicinal cuisine? In the blink of an eye, eleven days went by. On that day, just as Lu Changsheng and the other apprentices arrived at the courtyard square, one apprentice took the initiative to speak up: "Elder Liu, I... I think I've sensed my qi and blood." "Oh? Come here and let me see." Elder Liu's eyes lit up. A tall, thin apprentice stepped forward and presented his hand. Elder Liu grasped the apprentice's hand and closed his eyes. "Not bad. You have indeed achieved initiation." "Achieving initiation in just eleven days shows fairly good aptitude." "Good. Starting today, you no longer need to work menial chores as an apprentice. Report directly to the guard team. Practicing your technique with daily medicinal cuisine will yield even better results." "Ah... thank you, Elder Liu!" The apprentice was ecstatic. He was joining the guard team, which meant he would become a powerful martial artist. Once his martial arts progressed, even at the very least, he could become a guard for Miaoshou Garden—a world of difference compared to an ordinary chore apprentice. "All right, go report to the guard team." Elder Liu waved a hand. Sweeping his gaze across the rest of the apprentices, he said with a smile, "You all see that? As long as you can master the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique within a month, you can join the guard team. For you, that's equivalent to reaching the heavens in a single bound!" The apprentices grew restless. Staring after the apprentice, their hearts burned with fierce ambition. "Was that apprentice Zhao Ergou just now?" "Zhao Ergou is timid as a mouse and always gets bullied among the apprentices. He's really struck it rich now." "Zhao Ergou has a bright future ahead of him. From now on, he walks a completely different path from us..." "I'm so jealous. When will I ever master the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique?" In the crowd, Lu Changsheng felt envious as well. He had no desire to do menial chores either; he wanted to practice martial arts all day, every day. Unfortunately, his Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique remained uninitiated to this day. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 98 (Mediocre) Basic Fist Technique: Proficient Tiger Pounce Hand: Practiced Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique: Uninitiated Two new entries had appeared on Lu Changsheng's attribute panel: "Basic Fist Technique" and "Tiger Pounce Hand." Both were martial skills taught by Elder Liu. According to Elder Liu, practicing martial arts required at least some basic hand-to-hand combat skills. Otherwise, no matter how robust one's physique or how potent one's qi and blood, it would all be useless. Lu Changsheng discovered that although his Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique struggled to reach initiation, his progress in Tiger Pounce Hand and Basic Fist Technique was astonishingly fast. Basic Fist Technique in particular was exceedingly simple, consisting of merely a few repetitive moves. He had already reached proficiency and was not far from minor accomplishment. He was confident that reaching great mastery within a few days would be no problem at all. Since the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique could only be practiced for one shichen each day, Lu Changsheng seized every spare moment to train in Tiger Pounce Hand and Basic Fist Technique. As time went on, following the first apprentice to achieve initiation in the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique came a second, then a third. Over the following days, seven more apprentices achieved initiation one after another and were led away by Elder Liu to join the guard team. Soon, twenty days had passed. With the one-month deadline drawing ever closer, the remaining apprentices grew anxious. They began racking their brains for any possible way. Someone even attempted to steal medicinal cuisine. The culprit was discovered and beaten to death on the spot. On the twenty-eighth day, Zhou Sheng actually sensed his qi and blood and achieved initiation in the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique. This left Lu Changsheng feeling a bit disheartened. Normally, Zhou Sheng was lazy and crafty, constantly looking for ways to shirk his duties. Who would have thought that even someone like him could achieve initiation in the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique and leave the status of a chore apprentice behind? Finally, the one-month deadline arrived. The apprentices gathered in the courtyard square, each looking dejected and despondent. Elder Liu said coldly, "Over the course of one month, a total of nine apprentices sensed their qi and blood, proving they possess a certain talent for martial arts." "However, the rest of you need not be discouraged. You may continue to practice the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique. In time, you might eventually achieve initiation. Even if your martial arts never reach any profound heights, it will at least strengthen your body and health." "Though your aptitude for the martial path may not be exceptional, our Miaoshou Garden is renowned for the medical path, where medicine takes precedence over martial arts. If you cannot walk the martial path, you can still become apothecaries, physicians, or even renowned healers of your generation!" With that, Elder Liu departed. The one-month period was essentially a special training regimen, designed specifically to filter out seeds of martial talent to replenish the guard team. As for the remaining apprentices, they were expected to work honestly and strive to rise step by step from menial chore apprentices to apothecaries and even physicians. If one could become a physician at Miaoshou Garden and hold consultations in a clinic, their standing would not be inferior to a martial artist in the guard team. After a grueling day, Lu Changsheng lay on his bed. With nine fewer apprentices, the shared sleeping platform felt considerably more spacious. Yet many apprentices felt a bitter sting in their hearts. Failing to enter the guard team meant they would never receive the medicinal cuisine provided by Miaoshou Garden. Even if they could continue practicing martial arts, what would it amount to? Without medicinal cuisine, falling behind one step meant falling behind at every step. In the end, their martial achievements would almost certainly never catch up to those of the guard team's martial artists. Many apprentices resigned themselves to their fate, intending to spend ten or twenty years of honest effort in the hopes of one day becoming physicians who could see patients in a clinic. Yet a tiny minority still refused to surrender to fate. Lu Changsheng was among those who refused. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 98 (Mediocre) Basic Fist Technique: Great Mastery Tiger Pounce Hand: Proficient Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique: Uninitiated Looking at the attribute panel, Lu Changsheng saw that the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique remained completely stagnant, unable to achieve initiation. In contrast, Basic Fist Technique had reached great mastery. Tiger Pounce Hand had also reached proficiency. However, over the past few days, his progress in Tiger Pounce Hand had seemed to stall. Tiger Pounce Hand was a martial skill that imitated a ferocious tiger pouncing on its prey. According to Elder Liu's guidance, one had to comprehend the intent of the ferocious tiger before reaching minor accomplishment. Only then would Tiger Pounce Hand begin to show true power. Yet Lu Changsheng had not the slightest clue about the intent of the ferocious tiger. Only Basic Fist Technique was truly simple, entirely a matter of practice making perfect. Lu Changsheng could sense his understanding of Basic Fist Technique growing deeper and deeper; reaching perfection did not seem far off. Basic Fist Technique held little actual combat power; mastering it merely made one more familiar with basic hand-to-hand maneuvers. Most apprentices focused entirely on practicing the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique, or at most added Tiger Pounce Hand to their training. Because Tiger Pounce Hand was a genuinely practical offensive skill, many apprentices would put in some practice. Basic Fist Technique, however, was something hardly any apprentice bothered to waste effort on. Only Lu Changsheng, feeling that his Basic Fist Technique was continuing to improve and progress, wanted to keep practicing it. That night, Lu Changsheng slipped out of bed and through the door. He made his way to a secluded corner. Every night, he would carve out a bit of time to practice Basic Fist Technique and Tiger Pounce Hand. Once, twice, three times, four times, five times... When Lu Changsheng had practiced Basic Fist Technique over a dozen times, a line of small characters suddenly materialized before his eyes: "Basic Fist Technique reaches perfection; comprehension +1." Lu Changsheng immediately checked his attribute panel. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 99 (Mediocre) Basic Fist Technique: Perfection Tiger Pounce Hand: Proficient Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique: Uninitiated Looking at the panel, he saw that Basic Fist Technique had indeed reached perfection, and his comprehension had risen from 98 to 99, increasing by a single point. Enlightenment instantly struck Lu Changsheng. Only now did he truly understand the purpose of the attribute panel. It turned out that whenever he cultivated any martial technique or skill to the realm of perfection, his comprehension would increase. Still, what kind of difference could raising his comprehension from 98 to 99 actually make?