Lu Changsheng came to a stop.
The increase to his comprehension was still underway.
He could feel a cool, refreshing sensation coursing through his mind.
He couldn't describe the exact feeling in words, except that his mind felt faintly clearer, sharper.
Yet that was all.
"That's it?"
Lu Changsheng's brow furrowed slightly. There didn't seem to be any dramatic effect, did there?
Was it because the increase was too small?
Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside and simply began practicing the Tiger Pounce Hand.
Every night, he would practice the Basic Fist Technique and the Tiger Pounce Hand.
Even though his Tiger Pounce Hand had hit a bottleneck—unable to progress without sensing the intent of the ferocious tiger—he still made sure to run through it once each day.
Lu Changsheng immediately assumed the opening stance of the Tiger Pounce Hand, his mind recalling Elder Liu's movements.
Crouching low, he looked like a genuine predator stalking its prey.
Whoosh!
The next instant, Lu Changsheng lunged forward.
As he leapt, an invigorating sense of freedom washed over him, as though some unseen force had truly transformed him into a ferocious tiger.
Thud!
Lu Changsheng slammed into the dirt, gouging a deep set of marks into the ground.
"What?"
Lu Changsheng stared at his hands in disbelief.
He hadn't even sensed qi and blood yet. He wasn't even a martial artist, yet he had managed to leave such deep gouges in the earth.
If he could do this to the hard-packed ground, how terrifying would it be if he struck a human body?
"The intent of the ferocious tiger... This is the true intent of the ferocious tiger!"
"I grasped the intent, and my Tiger Pounce Hand advanced?"
Lu Changsheng focused his mind at once and examined his attribute panel.
Host: Lu Changsheng
Comprehension: 99 (Mediocre)
Basic Fist Technique: Perfection
Tiger Pounce Hand: Minor Accomplishment
Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique: Uninitiated
On the attribute panel, his comprehension had indeed changed to 99, though the evaluation was still "Mediocre."
Yet this single, modest point of change had allowed him to break through the bottleneck, grasp the intent of the ferocious tiger, and advance his Tiger Pounce Hand to minor accomplishment!
Now that he had grasped the intent, as long as he kept training, bringing the Tiger Pounce Hand to major accomplishment or even perfection would only be a matter of time.
Seeing this, Lu Changsheng finally understood how to properly utilize the attribute panel.
Whenever he trained a martial art or martial technique to the realm of perfection, his comprehension would increase.
And as his comprehension grew, learning and practicing other martial arts and techniques would become easier and faster.
The more techniques he perfected, the higher his comprehension would rise.
Back and forth it would go, creating a virtuous cycle.
If this continued indefinitely, how far would his comprehension eventually climb?
A surge of fiery excitement washed through Lu Changsheng's chest.
His lingering regret over failing to master the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique and missing out on the guard team vanished without a trace in that instant.
Compared to what this attribute panel could do, what was a mere spot on the guard team worth?
Lu Changsheng headed back into his room to sleep.
That night, he slept deeply and soundly.
Early the next morning, Lu Changsheng rose at the usual hour.
Without Elder Liu around, however, he couldn't devote all his time to practicing the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique with peace of mind.
He had chores and labor to perform.
Fortunately, there wasn't much work to do in the early hours.
Lu Changsheng still managed to carve out time to practice the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique.
He knew every single movement of the technique by heart; by now, he could perform them with his eyes closed.
In the past, the forms had felt painfully awkward and unnatural.
This morning, however, the sensation seemed entirely different.
He could faintly hear the sound of his blood coursing through his veins, churning with a rushing, gurgling cadence like a great river.
Those awkward, twisted postures were, in truth, designed to force the blood to surge rapidly through the body.
"I can hear the blood surging like a great river."
"According to Elder Liu, that means I'm right on the verge of sensing qi and blood."
"Hard work truly pays off. In ten days at most, I'm certain I'll be able to sense qi and blood!"
Delight bloomed in Lu Changsheng's heart.
Still, he could guess that this breakthrough was likely linked to the increase in his comprehension from the night before.
A rise in comprehension was an all-around improvement.
It didn't just apply to martial techniques; it benefited internal cultivation methods just as much.
Like Lu Changsheng, a handful of other apprentices who had failed to make the guard team were still persisting with the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique.
They were the minority, however.
Most of the apprentices chose instead to scoff and sneer.
"Hey, look at them. Every single one acting more dedicated than the last, but what's the point? If you don't have martial talent, practicing is useless no matter how hard you try. With that time, you might as well lie down and take a rest."
"Exactly. No matter how hard they work, they can't get into the guard team now. Without the guard team, there's no medicinal cuisine to nourish them. There's no future in their training."
"Let's see how long they can keep this up."
Lu Changsheng paid no heed to the jeering apprentices.
Some people were naturally lazy, preferring to slack off rather than put in effort, yet they sneered at and belittled those who worked hard.
In the end, time would reward those who persevered!
Of course, these apprentices weren't truly idle either.
Aside from chores, the most important task for apprentices barred from martial training was their studies.
After all, if one wanted to become an apothecary physician and hold consultations, being illiterate was out of the question.
If you couldn't even read a medical text, how could you be a doctor?
Because of this, Miaoshou Garden arranged for a scholar to teach the apprentices for two hours every afternoon.
Lu Changsheng took these lessons very seriously.
No matter where one was or what circumstances one faced, knowledge was wealth.
Literacy and basic comprehension were fundamental skills.
Otherwise, setting medical texts aside, you wouldn't even be able to read a martial arts manual if one were handed to you.
The teacher assigned to instruct the apprentices was Master Mo.
Master Mo was around fifty years old, though he appeared quite aged for his years.
He was meticulous and exceptionally strict in his teaching, but as long as a student studied earnestly, he favored them greatly.
Having lived two lives, Lu Changsheng understood the importance of knowledge, so he applied himself with tremendous diligence.
In martial cultivation, Lu Changsheng's talent was unremarkable.
In literary studies, however, he stood head and shoulders above the other apprentices.
After all, he had over a decade of schooling from his previous life.
Even though the writing system was different, the underlying logic of learning remained the same.
Moreover, Lu Changsheng worked hard, which earned Master Mo's immense favor. The teacher frequently praised him and was even willing to provide him with private instruction after class.
"Sigh. What a pity that you are an apprentice of Miaoshou Garden. Otherwise, with your natural aptitude, you might well have passed the imperial examinations and entered officialdom," Master Mo once lamented.
He considered Lu Changsheng prime scholar material.
Yet Lu Changsheng knew his own situation best.
He was merely leaning on the memories of a past life, which gave him an early edge in reading and recognizing characters.
If he were truly asked to study for the imperial exams, his chances would be slim at best.
More importantly, deep down, Lu Changsheng's true passion was martial arts.
Following the standard path would make progress agonizingly slow.
However, Lu Changsheng had struck upon an idea.
"Bringing the Tiger Pounce Hand to perfection will take time—perhaps three to five months."
"So why shouldn't I seek out more martial techniques similar to the Basic Fist Technique?"
"Reaching perfection in the simplest techniques is easy and takes very little time. More importantly, it can rapidly boost my comprehension."
Lu Changsheng's primary objective was to elevate his comprehension.
As long as his comprehension rose, martial training would become much simpler.
Acquiring basic martial techniques presented no real difficulty for him.
Plenty of people in Miaoshou Garden knew basic techniques.
Such skills were as common as dirt; virtually anyone who practiced martial arts had learned a few basic forms.
Trading away only a modest portion of food, Lu Changsheng managed to acquire three basic martial techniques: the Basic Saber Technique, the Basic Sword Technique, and the Basic Staff Technique.
Chapter 3