Chapter 25: Seeking Advice

Standing before the one-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock, Jiang Ning exhaled softly, adjusting his state.

Jiang Ning gripped the handle of the stone lock firmly. As he exerted force, the muscles in his right arm bulged visibly, their textures becoming clearly defined.

With the burst of his strength, the stone lock suddenly left the ground.

Seeing this scene, a strange expression flashed in Cheng Ran's eyes.

"I recall Junior Brother Jiang has only been practicing martial arts for four days! To think your physique has already strengthened to this extent, capable of lifting a one-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock—extraordinary!"

Jiang Ning slowly set the stone lock down before speaking, "Senior Brother Cheng overpraises me! Ordinary farmers can even lift two-hundred-pound stone locks; what is it that I can lift one-hundred-and-fifty pounds?"

"It is not the same!" Cheng Ran shook his head quite seriously. "Junior Brother Jiang is physically frail; one can tell at a glance that you are someone unaccustomed to manual labor and unfamiliar with the grains of the field. Now, counting at most four days of martial training, your physique and strength have grown this much, allowing you to lift a one-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock. It is evident that your martial talent is quite outstanding!"

As Cheng Ran spoke, he shook his head and swayed, his expression full of emotion.

Then, he asked, "Junior Brother Jiang, you must have entered the threshold of the Five Animals Fist a few days ago, right?"

Jiang Ning nodded, rather than denying it. "Senior Brother Cheng's insight is sharp!"

Cheng Ran smiled. "Of course! But it isn't hard to see! Since you can lift a one-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock, your blood and qi must have already been condensed. Once one can condense blood and qi, mastery of fist techniques naturally follows!"

At this point, a look of regret appeared on Cheng Ran's face.

"Junior Brother Jiang has only been at the entry level for a few days, yet you are practicing all five postures of the Five Animals Fist simultaneously and have already reached the entry stage. Speaking of which, your martial talent is truly exceptional—above mine, and even above Xiao Peng's."

"It is a pity you started martial arts too late! If Junior Brother Jiang had started a year or two earlier, you would likely already be Teacher's true disciple, an established practitioner of martial arts. You would have naturally joined the Inspectorate to complete your leap through the dragon gate; how could Xiao Peng have such an opportunity to be so ostentatious?"

As he spoke toward the end, Cheng Ran shook his head repeatedly.

Jiang Ning smiled but said nothing more.

He also set down the one-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock.

Through this test, he had a rough idea of his current strength.

It was approximately one-hundred-and-seventy or eighty pounds.

Because lifting the one-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock did not place a heavy burden on him, he felt he still had some residual strength. Although not much, it wouldn't be difficult to force himself to lift another twenty or thirty pounds!

"After practicing boxing for only a few days, my physique has strengthened this much. The martial arts of this world are indeed miraculous!" Jiang Ning was very satisfied. "Now that my Five Animals Fist has reached the Proficient stage, one round of practice can condense two strands of blood and qi, doubling my previous efficiency!"

"The speed of my physical tempering will also increase greatly! There are still three months left; perhaps it will be just in time. After all, if my fist technique breaks through once more to the Small Success stage, the efficiency of condensing blood and qi will increase even further."

At this moment, Cheng Ran seemed to have been injected with adrenaline.

"Junior Brother Jiang, I cannot remain decadent here! I want to achieve Great Success in my fist techniques! I want to become Teacher Wang Jin's personal disciple! I want to defeat Xiao Peng and become a member of the Inspectorate! If I cannot do it, I will have no choice but to go back and inherit my family's thousand acres of fertile land!!"

Inherit a thousand acres of fertile land!

Jiang Ning: "..."

What a rich bastard!!

A mere thousand acres of fertile land would be an estate worth more than ten thousand taels of silver!!

And the "thousand acres" he mentioned might not be a mere thousand.

What a wealthy landlord!!

Jiang Ning complained inwardly.

After lunch.

After practicing the Five Animals Fist once, Jiang Ning finished the last remaining portion of the wild ginseng. He then wasted no more time and focused entirely on practicing his fist techniques.

[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]

[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]

[Five Animals Fist Experience +2]

[...]

Throughout the entire afternoon, he practiced the fist technique ten full times. With every round, two strands of blood and qi were condensed within his body.

Among these ten rounds, there were two instances where the prompt for "Five Animals Fist Experience +2" appeared.

[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Proficient 13/200)

The others had already set off to collect their medicinal decoctions, and Jiang Ning was panting heavily.

After closing the panel, he clenched his fists again. The power of his physical strength and blood and qi surged, flowing directly into his right arm.

In the next moment.

"The blood and qi power can penetrate half of my right arm. During Big Brother's prime, his blood and qi strength could penetrate all four limbs. This means my current blood and qi strength is roughly one-eighth of Big Brother's peak."

Feeling the changes within his body, Jiang Ning nodded with satisfaction.

"With this rate of growth, it won't take many days for my strength to catch up to Big Brother's footsteps! This panel is truly miraculous! If the Five Animals Fist can break through to the Small Success stage again, the total amount of blood and qi condensed per round will surely be even greater..."

"A pity!" Jiang Ning shook his head slightly and sighed softly.

"Now that the wild ginseng is completely used up, without the help of such medicine, even with the nutritious meals provided by the martial arts hall, I will have to reduce my practice frequency of the Five Animals Fist by half."

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning's brow furrowed.

A single wild ginseng was worth ten or twenty taels of silver. Now that he was in the martial arts hall, how could he obtain such large sums of money?

Ten taels of silver was equivalent to the monthly living expenses of a family of three or four ordinary people.

Its purchasing power was roughly equivalent to ten thousand yuan in his previous life.

And he could absorb a single wild ginseng in just three or four days.

At this thought, Jiang Ning felt a headache coming on.

He patted his head. Forget it, don't think about it. He couldn't go out recklessly until he had the power to protect himself!

Even if he went out, he had no way to make money; instead, he might run into Xu Yunfeng.

If he were accidentally injured, it would only delay his training progress.

It was better to lay low for now and increase his strength a bit more. Regardless, Big Brother wouldn't be in danger in the short term.

There was no need to take unnecessary risks; it was better to go slow!

After clearing his thoughts, Jiang Ning walked directly toward the kitchen.

Through his testing over the past few days, the daily bowl of medicinal decoction from the hall had a decent effect!

It allowed him to practice one or two more rounds of his fist techniques without placing too much burden on his body.

Might as well continue to show his progress to Wang Jin and see if he could obtain more benefits?

As Jiang Ning walked toward the kitchen, he fell into deep thought.

At night, the martial arts hall was silent and desolate.

Cold moonlight spilled from above, making the patterns on the ground clearly visible under the bright lunar glow.

"Master!" Jiang Ning bowed.

Wang Jin nodded. "You said you wanted to ask me for insights on fist techniques?"

"Yes!" Jiang Ning bowed again and continued, "This disciple wishes to know: in the Tiger Form, what is meant by 'strength within softness' and 'softness within strength'? In the Bear Form, what is meant by 'stability containing agility'? In the Ape Form, what is meant by 'agility and flexibility, with unpredictable movements'? In the Deer Form, what is meant by 'the combination of motion and stillness, stillness within motion, and motion within stillness'? And in the Crane Form, what is meant by 'soaring through the clouds' and 'movement following the will of the heart'?"

Hearing this, Wang Jin looked at Jiang Ning with a hint of surprise.

"What you are describing is something that can only be achieved at the Small Success stage of the Five Animals Fist. Considering your current level, it is too far ahead. Once your Five Animals Fist reaches the Proficient stage and your techniques and breathing become instinctive, come back and ask me then!"

(End of Chapter)