Night fell, bathing the earth in moonlight.
In a secluded corner of Miaoshou Garden, an attribute panel appeared before Lu Changsheng's eyes.
On the attribute panel, he saw that Tiger Pounce Hand had reached perfection, and his comprehension value had jumped by two whole points.
Lu Changsheng could not help feeling astonished.
"The comprehension value increased by two points instead of one.
"Earlier, the Basic Fist Technique only gave one point of comprehension.
"Could it be that Tiger Pounce Hand is slightly more advanced than the Basic Fist Technique, so it granted an extra point?"
Thinking it over, Lu Changsheng felt that this was indeed the case.
The greater the difficulty and the more profound the martial art, the more comprehension points it would bestow once brought to perfection.
That made complete sense!
Lu Changsheng closed his eyes, his mind noticeably clearer.
Things that had been complex and difficult to grasp in the past now seemed understandable after just a brief thought.
Earlier, Lu Changsheng had still harbored some doubts regarding the principle of "strengthening qi and blood" in the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique.
Now, a flash of insight crossed his mind, and he understood immediately.
The Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique was actually using a particular kind of "vibration" to continuously temper the physical body.
It allowed the body to replenish qi and blood, thereby augmenting and expanding it.
Meanwhile, the body had to take in various nutrients—such as meat and the nourishing essence in medicinal cuisine—to fortify the physical form, establishing a virtuous cycle.
Doubts that had lingered for days dissolved in an instant.
Lu Changsheng immediately checked his attribute panel.
Host: Lu Changsheng
Comprehension: 101 (Average Talent)
Basic Saber Technique: Minor Mastery
Basic Sword Technique: Minor Mastery
Basic Staff Technique: Minor Mastery
Tiger Pounce Hand: Perfection
Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique: First Layer
On the attribute panel, his comprehension had shifted from 99 to 101, and even the evaluation had changed.
Before, it had read "Mediocre," but now it had become "Average Talent."
Clearly, this enhancement represented a qualitative leap.
Lu Changsheng muttered under his breath, "Is this what an increase in comprehension feels like? Average talent might still sound very ordinary, but the results are truly immediate—it works wonders..."
He began practicing the Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique once more.
Raising his comprehension to "average talent" could not make his qi and blood swell overnight, but it allowed him to perceive the state of its flow. He could even analyze it and guide his qi and blood along more optimal pathways.
Over time, this accumulation would naturally benefit the growth of his qi and blood.
Lu Changsheng was thoroughly pleased.
This was merely "average talent."
If he continued to elevate his comprehension in the future, the effects would surely be even more astonishing!
Lu Changsheng then practiced his Basic Saber Technique, Basic Sword Technique, and Basic Staff Technique. The boost in comprehension offered even greater aid when it came to martial skills.
He was confident that before long, all three martial skills would reach perfection as well.
When that time came, his comprehension would increase by another three points!
After finishing his practice, Lu Changsheng reviewed the daytime fight against the two bandits.
Although he had killed both of them, the encounter had been perilous for him as well.
Neither of them was a martial artist—merely strong, burly ordinary men.
Even so, executing the Tiger Pounce Hand against them had been fraught with danger; a single misstep would have cost him his life.
"I need a weapon.
"Carrying a saber or sword on me is inconvenient, but I can carry a dagger.
"With the Tiger Pounce Hand at perfection, paired with a dagger, that should be enough to handle ordinary adversaries."
Lu Changsheng considered his circumstances; given his current status, a dagger was clearly the most suitable choice.
Over the following few days, Lu Changsheng settled back into his previous routine.
He was busy every day, rushing about from morning until night.
There was not even a moment to rest in between.
Lu Changsheng wanted to purchase medicinal cuisine to aid his martial practice, but with his current station, even leaving the grounds proved difficult.
His status as a chore apprentice was simply too restrictive.
"I have to find a way to shed this chore apprentice status. I need some free time of my own."
Sitting on a mountain of wealth without being able to spend a coin brought Lu Changsheng immense frustration.
He clearly possessed over eight hundred taels of silver to buy medicinal cuisine and advance his training, yet he had no opportunity to retrieve the money.
His status tied his hands.
As a chore apprentice in Miaoshou Garden, there were only three paths forward if he wanted to rise higher.
One was to become an apprentice in the guard team. That was the best option, but his early showing had been poor, so that road was closed to him.
The second path was to become a regular apprentice. The so-called regular apprentices were assigned under the shopkeepers, accountants, and staff of various medicine shops, dispatched wherever help was needed.
Those apprentices had heavy workloads, offered no real future for advancement, and provided little free time. It was not a good choice.
The final path was to become an apothecary apprentice.
An apothecary was not a physician.
Apothecaries specialized in processing and preparing medicinal ingredients. Though they could not diagnose illnesses or treat patients, all the herbs in the medicine shops were processed by them, placing their status only slightly below that of physicians.
If one could become an apothecary apprentice, daily duties would consist solely of distinguishing and processing medicinal herbs while studying under an apothecary. The pay was even far higher than that of regular apprentices.
Furthermore, an apothecary apprentice had the chance to catch a physician's eye and become an apprentice physician.
With that in mind, Lu Changsheng made his decision.
He would become an apothecary apprentice!
However, becoming an apothecary apprentice was by no means an easy feat. One had to be intimately familiar with the names, ages, and medicinal properties of a vast assortment of herbs.
This required immense effort, and one had to be sharp-witted.
Anyone lacking a nimble mind could never memorize so many medicinal herbs.
"It seems the silver in the cave will have to wait for now. I should secure a spot as an apothecary apprentice first."
Lu Changsheng let out a long breath.
He had been constantly fretting over how to retrieve the silver.
Now that he accepted it was impossible in the short term, his mind felt much easier.
And so, in the days that followed, Lu Changsheng spent his time studying literacy through Master Mo's private tutoring on one hand, while on the other, he buried himself in herbology books every day, memorizing the texts by rote.
After a dozen or so days of this, while his body was not fatigued, his mind was utterly exhausted.
When mental capacity was stretched thin, studying became a form of torment.
Fortunately, within those dozen or so days, Lu Changsheng brought his three basic martial skills to perfection as well.
"With all three basic martial skills at perfection, that's another three points of comprehension."
Lu Changsheng's comprehension value had risen from 101 to 104.
A comprehension score of 104 was not only beneficial for martial arts; it also had a profound impact on studying and memorizing various medicinal herbs.
Lu Changsheng even felt his memory had improved considerably.
To his regret, however, after those three basic martial arts, he could find no other basic techniques.
After all, although there were eighteen traditional weapons, those niche arms or uncommon arts had no such thing as "basic techniques."
Only the most widely practiced disciplines, such as the saber, sword, and fist, possessed basic forms.
For weapons like whips, spears, and hammers, there were only things like Zhao Family Whip Art, Ma Family Spear, Wang Family Twin Hammers, and the like.
Such specialized, uncommon arts were not easy to come by.
At the very least, they were beyond the reach of a mere chore apprentice like Lu Changsheng.
This only hardened his resolve to become an apothecary apprentice as soon as possible.
Three months flew by in the blink of an eye.
"I've finally finished memorizing them all.
"Master Mo says I now recognize all the characters I need to know for now.
"The rest is textual interpretation and literary analysis, which will take much longer.
"Still, there's no hurry for that; I can take my time later when I have the leisure. Over these past few months, I've committed at least several hundred varieties of herbs to memory. That should be more than enough to qualify as an apothecary apprentice.
"No more waiting—I'll take the apothecary apprentice exam today!"
After turning it over in his mind, Lu Changsheng decided to give it a try and see whether he could become an apothecary apprentice.
He was unwilling to waste any more time as a chore apprentice.
After all, during these three months he had acquired no new martial skills, and his comprehension value remained fixed at 104 with virtually no progress.
Without the nourishment of medicinal cuisine, the advancement of his Great River Blood-Strengthening Technique had slowed to a torturous crawl.
That morning, when all the apprentices gathered in the open courtyard, Lu Changsheng stepped forward of his own accord. Facing Supervisor Zhang, he said, "Supervisor Zhang, I would like to apply to take the apothecary apprentice assessment. Please grant your permission, Supervisor."
Whoosh!
Not only Supervisor Zhang, but every apprentice turned their gaze onto Lu Changsheng, their faces filled with utter astonishment.
Chapter 6