Five days later.
Still in the morning.
Jiang Ning practiced his fist technique over and over in his courtyard.
[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]
[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]
[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]
[...]
As he practiced, the experience value of the Five Animals Fist slowly increased.
He could also feel his blood and energy growing stronger.
A moment later.
He stopped and stood still.
[Skills]: Five Animals Fist (Perfection 1000/1000)
"It's full!"
Looking at his panel, Jiang Ning let out a light sigh of relief.
The next moment.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Because even though the experience value of the Five Animals Fist had reached 1000 points, the panel didn't show the familiar plus sign that usually appeared after an experience value was full.
Then, he looked at his panel again.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 37.8
[Skills]:
Literacy (Second Breakthrough 1043/3000) (Traits: Photographic Memory, Enhanced Senses)
Five Animals Fist (Perfection 1000/1000)
Firewood Chopping Blade Technique (Fourth Breakthrough 5000/5000) (Traits: Versatility, Swift as the Wind, Divine Blade Control, Unity of Man and Blade)
Inner Alchemy Cultivation Technique (Proficient 1243/2000)
Surging Wave Blade Technique (Mastery 48/1000)
Indestructible Vajra Body (Proficient 266/2000)
Water Affinity (First Breakthrough 187/2000) (Trait: Underwater Breathing)
"That's right!"
"In the past seven days, the outer layer of the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill in my stomach dissolved, and my body absorbed the medicinal energy. The Source Energy points I gained that day skyrocketed."
"Over the past few days, I've accumulated nearly thirty Source Energy points, bringing my total to 37.8."
"But even with so many Source Energy points, the experience value of my Five Animals Fist has reached 1000 points, yet the familiar plus sign hasn't appeared."
"It seems my earlier premonition was correct!"
"For a lower-tier martial art like the Five Animals Fist, breaking through requires far more Source Energy points than skills like Water Affinity or the Firewood Chopping Blade Technique, which are not even considered formal martial arts."
"I wonder how many Source Energy points the Five Animals Fist will need for its first breakthrough? Fifty points? Or a hundred?"
Jiang Ning thought to himself.
Then, he glanced at his panel again.
[Skills]:
Five Animals Fist (Perfection 1000/1000)
Firewood Chopping Blade Technique (Fourth Breakthrough 5000/5000) (Traits: Versatility, Swift as the Wind, Divine Blade Control, Unity of Man and Blade)
He thought to himself, "Now that two of my skills have reached full experience value, as long as I have enough Source Energy points, I can immediately breakthrough with these two skills."
"My strength will undoubtedly increase significantly."
"Counting the days, there are only about ten days left until the Inspection Bureau opens."
"In such violent institutions, strength is undoubtedly extremely important."
"I need to find a way to gather enough Source Energy points for the Five Animals Fist's first breakthrough before then."
With this in mind, Jiang Ning turned and walked into the house.
A moment later.
He counted his money, totaling over eighteen hundred taels.
He then took this money, along with some of his previous spoils, and headed to Wanhua Pavilion.
After experiencing the benefits of the Blood Lotus, Jiang Ning knew that if he wanted to rapidly increase his Source Energy points in a short time, he would have to rely on so-called natural treasures.
Not ordinary supplements like wild ginseng or lingzhi.
There's a limit to how much of these supplements one can consume in a day.
The human body has its limits, and over-supplementing can cause the body to break down.
The same goes for Blood Energy Pills and herbal essences.
All medicine has some toxicity.
Absorbing a little every day is fine for his current physique and internal organs.
However consuming large amounts can lead to the accumulation of medicinal toxins, eventually causing irreversible damage to the body.
This is something no one can avoid.
This is also why natural treasures like the Blood Lotus, which contain powerful medicinal effects, are so valuable.
They seem completely not cost-effective.
This is also why the value of the Blood Lotus doubles with every additional ten years of growth.
Because the erosion on the body is constant, the stronger the medicinal effect, the greater the benefits.
Naturally, the value also increases accordingly.
Jiang Ning was now going to Wanhua Pavilion to sell some of his previous spoils, gather some silver, and see if he could buy some powerful natural treasures.
He had also fully figured out the growth regular pattern of his Source Energy points.
It was determined by the amount of energy he consumed each day.
When he first started practicing martial arts and eating simple meals, the Source Energy points he gained daily were minimal, usually around 0.1.
On days when he had some meat, it would increase to 0.2.
After joining the martial arts school and being able to eat meat, his Source Energy points also increased accordingly.
When he started consuming wild ginseng, his daily Source Energy points skyrocketed.
Then, Blood Energy Pills also brought some additional growth in Source Energy points.
In recent days, the two biggest sources of his Source Energy point growth were:
First, the fifty-year-old Blood Lotus.
Jiang Ning roughly calculated that the Blood Lotus had brought him over twenty Source Energy points.
Second, the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill. Every time his body absorbed part of its medicinal energy, his Source Energy points would skyrocket.
Based on the frequency of the pill's outer layer dissolving over the past few days and Jiang Ning's internal observations, it would take at least half a year for him to fully absorb the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill.
This was without actively refining the pill.
From his observations, it took about five days to dissolve one layer of the pill's outer coating.
Just from this estimation, Jiang Ning knew how terrifying the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill was.
If he fully refined the pill in his body, the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill alone could provide him with several hundred Source Energy points.
Plus, he had another one.
If he refined both, he estimated that he could gain nearly a thousand Source Energy points.
This also showed how precious the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill was and how much medicinal energy it contained.
Not to mention, this was just the additional effect of the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill.
The most important effect was improving his innate talent.
The improvement of innate talent, the faster growth of his physique, and the greatly increased absorption efficiency of various medicinal meals, pills, and natural treasures.
This was the most valuable aspect of the Leopard Fetus Bone-Remolding Pill.
Compared to these effects, the hundred taels of gold offered by the Medicine King Valley was nothing.
Then.
Jiang Ning took these items and left the house, heading straight for Wanhua Pavilion.
Meanwhile.
Canglang Martial Arts School.
"Senior Brother Zhou Xing is here!"
"Senior Brother Zhou Xing is here!"
"Senior Brother Zhang Tiesheng is also here!"
"..."
As the carriage stopped, Zhou Xing entered the martial arts school.
Seeing Zhou Xing's arrival, everyone's faces lit up with excitement.
With the arrival of Zhou Xing and Zhang Tiesheng, the front courtyard became even more lively.
Everyone greeted Zhou Xing and Zhang Tiesheng.
"Where's Junior Brother Jiang Ning?" Zhou Xing scanned the crowd and asked.
Someone immediately replied, "Senior Brother Jiang Ning hasn't arrived yet, but Senior Brother Cheng Ran has gone to find him!"
Hearing this, Zhou Xing nodded. "Then which other brothers haven't arrived?"
Zhao Hu, standing nearby, couldn't help but sneer.
"Who else could be later than you?"
Hearing Zhao Hu's words, Zhou Xing ignored him completely, not wanting to engage with such a troublemaker.
It was beneath his dignity and pointless.
At that moment.
Wang Jin and Li Qing slowly appeared in everyone's sight.
As Wang Jin appeared, the entire courtyard suddenly fell silent.
"Is everyone here?" Wang Jin asked, his voice deep and resonant, instantly filling the entire courtyard.
Someone replied, "Senior Brother Jiang Ning hasn't arrived yet. Senior Brother Cheng Ran has gone to fetch him, so he's not here either."
Wang Jin nodded slightly, then said to Zhou Xing and the others, "Don't worry about him. As long as you're here, that's enough."
Zhou Xing immediately cupped his hands and asked, "Master Wang, what's the matter?"
Wang Jin said, "Tomorrow, the Prefect will arrive in Luoshui County and begin preparations for the opening of the Inspection Bureau. Therefore, those of you who will participate in the assessment will become my disciples in three days. Everyone will witness this, and you will represent my face in the Inspection Bureau's assessment."
Hearing this, Xiao Peng slowly stepped forward from the crowd.
"Master Wang, I have an objection!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes instantly turned to Xiao Peng.
"What objection do you have?"
Xiao Peng clenched his fists and punched them together in front of his chest.
Boom
A dull sound instantly rang out.
Xiao Peng said, "I have now stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts, and both of my fist techniques have reached the mastery level! I also know that Master Wang only has five spots available. I want to compete for one of those spots."
"To compete with Junior Brother Jiang Ning!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire courtyard erupted in an uproar.
"Did I hear that right? Senior Brother Xiao Peng has done it? He's stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts?"
"I said it before, Senior Brother Xiao Peng was more promising than Senior Brother Cheng Ran!"
"No wonder Senior Brother Xiao Peng stepped forward after reaching this level."
"Yeah! If it were me, I wouldn't be willing to back down either!"
"That's right! Although Senior Brother Jiang Ning is favored by Shen Congyun, even Shen Congyun might be mistaken! It's still uncertain whether Senior Brother Jiang Ning has stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts!"
"That's true! After all, Senior Brother Jiang Ning has been practicing martial arts for too short a time. Even if his martial talent is truly exceptional, it's still uncertain whether he can step into the ninth rank in such a short time."
"In my opinion, even if Senior Brother Jiang Ning has stepped into the ninth rank, he might not be a match for Senior Brother Xiao Peng. After all, Senior Brother Xiao Peng's combat experience far surpasses Senior Brother Jiang Ning's."
"If Master Wang agrees and Senior Brother Jiang Ning loses to Senior Brother Cheng Ran, that would be interesting!"
At this moment, everyone voiced their opinions, one after another.
All expressed their lack of confidence in Jiang Ning.
Because Jiang Ning hadn't come to the martial arts school to practice with them for a while, many people had already developed resentment.
So at this moment, using this as an excuse, they all vented their grievances.
And the most direct way to express this was by belittling Jiang Ning and praising Xiao Peng.
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