Chapter 43: Getting into the Groove

【Begin cultivation now?】

Looking at the prompt in his supernatural vision, Lu Qing chose "Yes" this time.

In the next instant, a massive amount of information surged into his mind.

Various insights regarding the Body-Nurturing Fist emerged in his heart like a sudden, divine enlightenment.

Combining these with his master's previous guidance in the courtyard at the foot of the mountain, Lu Qing instinctively began to practice the Body-Nurturing Fist.

First form, second form, third form...

It seemed his master had not named each individual move of this set, so Lu Qing could only refer to them in sequence.

He practiced slowly and somewhat clumsily. After finishing the ninth form, he was about to attempt the tenth when he felt a wave of soreness through his bones.

Though he knew all the technical points of the tenth form in his mind, his body found it extremely difficult to execute them.

Recalling his master's warnings, Lu Qing knew that the forms following the ninth were not something his current physique could endure.

Forcing the practice would likely cause physical injury.

He immediately stopped the tenth form and instead began practicing again from the first.

In this manner, Lu Qing practiced the first through ninth forms of the Body-Nurturing Fist, over and over again.

Following the insights in his mind, his movements gradually shifted from clumsy to fluid.

If someone were watching from the side, they would notice

During his first repetition, Lu Qing's movements were stiff; his forms were crooked, and he couldn't even stand steadily.

By the second repetition, his movements were noticeably more continuous, and his forms were much more standard.

By the third repetition, he had begun to show some semblance of skill, no longer appearing so awkward.

The fourth time...

The fifth time...

With every repetition, Lu Qing made visible progress.

By the ninth repetition, his forms were incredibly fluid. The transitions between moves were natural and the execution was standard, providing a pleasing sight to behold.

It was as if he had been immersed in this fist technique for a very long time.

Upon completing the ninth repetition, Lu Qing experienced a moment of sudden intuition; he did not continue further, but instead slowly gathered his stance to finish.

As he finished, Lu Qing exhaled a breath of hot air.

He felt his breath flowing smoothly, his spirit was peaceful, and his entire body felt warm and comfortable.

He was pleasantly surprised, knowing that he had grasped a bit of the knack for the first nine forms of the Body-Nurturing Fist.

Moving forward, as long as he practiced persistently, it shouldn't be long before he could step into the Blood-Qi Realm his master had mentioned.

At the same time, Lu Qing began to understand how his ability to simulate cultivation techniques actually worked.

To put it simply, once the ability successfully simulated a technique, it did not grant him immediate mastery over it.

Rather, it acted as a guide, presenting the key points and insights of the cultivation technique within his mind.

This allowed him to use those insights to comprehend the technique much faster.

However, to truly master a technique and make it part of his physical prowess, he still had to put in the hard work of personal cultivation.

Just as it was now: his mind was filled with a vast amount of insights regarding the Body-Nurturing Fist, yet he still needed to practice it repeatedly to digest those insights and strengthen his own power.

*Gurgle...*

Lu Qing's stomach let out a sound.

Feeling the hunger in his belly, he knew that this bout of fist practice had consumed a significant amount of energy.

Recalling his master's previous instructions, he returned to the house and took down a piece of cured meat he had made a few days ago.

He then went to the bucket in the kitchen and caught a river fish he had fished yesterday, weighing about two or three catties.

Next, he went into the courtyard to pluck a handful of wild vegetables.

The green vegetables he had planted a while ago had only just sprouted small green shoots; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed the wild ones.

With the ingredients prepared, Lu Qing set about cooking.

First, he washed the pot to steam rice. Once the rice was nearly done, he began cooking the dishes.

Before long, a dish of stir-fried cured meat with wild vegetables and a steamed fish were ready.

Just as the meal was laid out on the table, he saw Xiao Yan rubbing her eyes as she walked out of her room.

"Xiao Yan is awake. Are you hungry? I was just about to go call you up."

The little one rubbed her stomach and answered seriously, "I think I'm hungry."

"If you're hungry, come eat," Lu Qing said with a smile.

Children were mysterious; she had clearly eaten some snacks from their master before going to sleep, yet she was already complaining of hunger after only a short nap.

Only after a bowl of rice hit his stomach did Lu Qing feel the hunger subside significantly, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Aside from the first two days after he had woken up, he hadn't felt this hungry in a long time.

One could imagine just how much energy that bout of fist practice had consumed.

Lu Qing ate several bowls of rice during this meal and finished every bit of the dishes, leaving nothing behind.

After eating, Lu Qing sat back in his lounge chair as usual, digesting his food while he began to reflect.

A lot had happened today, and he needed to sort through it.

First was the change in his identity.

He had finally become the disciple of the Great Physician. With this identity, he finally had a semblance of a foundation in this different world.

He would no longer be like a rootless duckweed, unsure of which path to take.

Second were the details regarding martial artists that his master had mentioned.

The martial artists of this world were even more powerful than Lu Qing had imagined.

Based solely on his master's descriptions of the various levels of the Houtian Realm, Lu Qing could sense that those martial artists were almost non-human, each possessing staggering strength and incredible survival capabilities.

Not to mention the higher-level Xiantian martial artists.

According to his master, Xiantian martial artists seemed to be beings capable of suppressing the very destiny of a nation.

That the martial path could allow an individual to cultivate to such heights made it impossible for Lu Qing not to yearn for it.

Therefore, he decided that in the coming days, he would focus primarily on martial cultivation, with medical studies as a secondary pursuit.

Since he possessed a supernatural ability, balancing both would not be difficult for him.

Since he was going to practice martial arts, he also had to consider other matters thoroughly.

After that meal, Lu Qing estimated that as his mastery of the Body-Nurturing Fist grew, his appetite would likely increase even more once he officially entered the Blood-Qi Realm.

If that were the case, he would need to keep up with the nutritional requirements of his daily diet.

As the saying goes, "Literature is for the poor, but martial arts require wealth." To maintain the daily consumption required for martial training, expenses would certainly not be low.

He wondered how long the silver earned from selling the Red Moon Carp would last.

Lu Qing decided that in a few days, he would head back to the Strange Fish fishing spot to try his luck again.

If he was lucky enough to catch another one or two strange fish, then he wouldn't have to worry about finances.

After pondering these matters, Lu Qing remembered the situation regarding the original owner's parents.

From what Old Man Zhang had said, the death of the original owner's parents clearly involved some hidden circumstances.

However, Lu Qing did not intend to investigate this for the time being.

Unless he achieved success in his martial cultivation and became strong enough, he might look into the truth in the future—if only for Xiao Yan's sake.

For now, it was better to focus on living his own life peacefully.

After thinking on the lounge chair for a while, Lu Qing had processed everything on his mind.

Feeling that his food had mostly digested, he finally took out the book his master had taught him before he descended the mountain.

(End of Chapter)