Reading and Writing, Improving Toad Skill

With one punch, Chu Qing split Liu Xiaogou dead. He did not even clean up the scene.

After all, carrying a corpse out in broad daylight would be far too conspicuous. It was better to toss it into this remote alley.

Even if someone discovered it, he did not care.

In this world, human lives were as cheap as grass.

It was only one thug. No one would care.

Unless... Liu Jun investigated.

But so what?

"I am no longer a lackey."

Chu Qing swaggered back to the Martial Hall.

He ate, practiced his fists, and attended lessons.

What pleased him was this:

Perfected Mantis Fist could raise Iron Sinew progress by 1% in a single session. Though it was not as fast as taking medicine,

compared to an entry-level fist art, its efficiency was at least ten times greater.

But with greater efficiency came hunger all the sooner.

"I'll borrow some more money tomorrow."

"Only, I need a different excuse this time. After all, secret medicine can only be taken once every ten days."

"This time, I'll say I need meat to replenish my nutrition."

Near noon, Senior Disciple Brother gathered all the Assault Class students and began teaching.

At first, Chu Qing thought he would be lecturing about secret matters of the martial path, examination essentials, and such.

The result was:

Senior Disciple Brother actually taught them how to read and write.

"If you want to enter a Martial Academy, you must know how to read."

"The Martial Academy's entry standard is three hundred characters."

Chu Qing...

The young men and women... were bewildered.

Senior Disciple Brother smiled. "If you cannot read, then even if you enter a Martial Academy, you will not understand the manuals."

"If one day you test into a Martial Academy, then you will need to know even more characters."

"There are other benefits to warriors reading as well."

One youth asked, "What benefits?"

Senior Disciple Brother frowned, unwilling to answer.

Chu Qing was also curious about the connection between the two.

He cupped his fist and said, "Senior Disciple Brother, please give us a little hint!"

Considering how many commissions he had earned from Chu Qing, Senior Disciple Brother gave a simple explanation:

"Many Martial Arts Manuals are profound beyond comprehension, wondrous beyond words. If you know too few characters, you simply cannot understand them."

Chu Qing understood.

Still, this did not affect him. The original owner could not read, yet by flipping through books at random, he had still learned Toad Skill.

"Besides, it is said that reading more books and understanding reason can temper one's Martial Will."

"But Martial Will is still far too distant for you."

"For now, you only need to learn three hundred characters."

Reading and writing were related to Martial Will?

Chu Qing aspired to walk toward the Peak of Martial Arts.

So... he had to learn to read and write.

"I wonder whether reading and writing can form a skill."

The result was:

After Senior Disciple Brother taught twenty characters, no reading skill had appeared in the Profession Slot.

Chu Qing guessed that the Profession Slot might only display martial arts techniques.

"Since the Profession Slot is useless, I'll work hard myself."

The writing of this world resembled the traditional characters from his previous life.

Chu Qing learned quickly, advancing at a tremendous pace.

While the others bit their fingers and painstakingly studied twenty characters, he had already mastered them all.

"Senior Disciple Brother, could you teach me a few more characters?"

Senior Disciple Brother froze for a moment. "You remembered them all?"

"I remembered them."

Senior Disciple Brother used his finger to write several characters on the ground.

Chu Qing recognized every one of them.

Senior Disciple Brother sighed. "Your martial talent is ordinary, but you have a talent for studying."

"You should not have learned martial arts. You should have studied."

Chu Qing merely smiled and said nothing.

Great Qian had been founded upon martial power. The martial path stood high above all else, and great might belonged to oneself.

When warriors encountered grudges, they either personally slew their enemies or were personally slain by them.

When scholars encountered grudges, did they persuade others with reason?

Ridiculous!

Senior Disciple Brother taught Chu Qing another ten characters.

Chu Qing learned them swiftly.

Delighted, Senior Disciple Brother decided to test him and taught him several characters with many strokes.

The result was that Chu Qing learned them just as quickly.

"Impossible. It took me ages to learn these characters."

"How did you learn them so quickly?"

Senior Disciple Brother refused to believe it. This time, he taught Chu Qing the thirty most difficult characters he knew in one breath.

"You study first. I'll go instruct them in their practice."

"I'll inspect and test you tonight."

Chu Qing nodded.

An hour later:

Chu Qing found Senior Disciple Brother and said:

"Senior Disciple Brother, I've learned them."

"Please teach me more characters."

Senior Disciple Brother...

By evening:

Senior Disciple Brother numbly inspected Chu Qing's progress in reading.

Three hundred characters. Chu Qing used his finger as a brush and wrote them on the ground without a single mistake.

Senior Disciple Brother said numbly, "Mm, you have completed your reading and writing lessons."

"From now on... practice your fists more!"

Chu Qing blinked. "Senior Disciple Brother, I still want to learn characters."

The corner of Senior Disciple Brother's mouth twitched. "Characters beyond the lessons cost one tael of silver for ten."

"How many taels of silver do you have?"

Chu Qing's pockets were cleaner than his face.

Senior Disciple Brother secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Practice your fists more from now on."

With that, he left at great speed.

Fortunately, Chu Qing had no money. Otherwise, even if he had money, Senior Disciple Brother would not have known any extra characters to teach him.

He... was half-illiterate.

Chu Qing was speechless.

Reading and writing were actually this expensive?

Poor scholars, rich warriors? What nonsense!

By Senior Disciple Brother's logic, without money, one could forget about studying.

Scrape.

Chu Qing was wiping away the characters on the ground when Shi Tiezhu passed by, with several dozen characters still remaining.

He saw the ground full of writing, then looked at Chu Qing. After hesitating, he asked:

"Did you write this?"

Chu Qing nodded.

Shi Tiezhu was astonished.

There were so many characters on the ground that they made his eyes swim.

Damn it... I have only barely learned twenty-odd characters, yet he already knows so many?

Has he surpassed me?

Uneasy, Shi Tiezhu feigned disdain. "Your fist art is no good. Practice your fists more and learn fewer characters."

"Otherwise, you will never pass the Martial Academy Preliminary Exam."

After saying that, he hurried toward the dining hall.

Chu Qing did not care. After clearing away the characters on the ground, he also went to the dining hall to eat.

Then he saw Shi Tiezhu seriously using soup as ink, writing characters as he ate.

Spurred on by him, the other youths also wrote while eating and discussed the characters among themselves.

"He is really intense when he gets serious."

Practicing fists, eating, and mentally preparing himself.

Since Mantis Fist could not be promoted, Chu Qing prepared to enter Toad Skill.

As the lanterns began to glow:

He stared blankly at ten frogs.

Although he had mentally prepared himself, when it came time to truly eat the frogs, he still could not bring himself to do it.

The things looked terrifying just by sitting there.

Not eat them?

For the martial path, for strength.

I have to eat them.

Chu Qing grabbed a frog, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth.

Gulp!

Someone swallowed.

Chu Qing froze.

He slowly turned his head and looked to the side.

The blacksmith's son—Shi Tiezhu.

"Boiled spicy frogs are tasty."

"Eating them like that... doesn't it disgust you?"

Disgusting...

Half an hour later:

Chu Qing borrowed chilies and an iron pot from the dining hall, then had Shi Yuzhu make a large pot of boiled spicy frogs.

For that, he caught another dozen or so frogs.

You consumed a frog. Progress +1

At that moment, Chu Qing looked gratefully at Shi Tiezhu.

What a good man.

Shi Tiezhu took huge bites of meat and said indistinctly:

"Tell me next time you catch frogs. I'll stew them for you."

"But I get half the meat."

Chu Qing nodded vigorously.

Good man.

A truly good man.

You consumed a frog. Progress +1

Promotion Condition for Toad Skill achieved.

Technique: Toad Skill, Entry—practice one hundred times daily, master it in one hundred days. (Secret Transmission)

Promotion Condition: 1. Consume one thousand frogs. 2. Perform one thousand Frog Jumps.

Chu Qing...

Good heavens, it started with ten, and now he had to eat a thousand just to get going?

Did reaching the proficient level mean he had to eat ten thousand of them?

"Good thing I have Shi Tiezhu."

Chu Qing looked at Shi Tiezhu.

Shi Tiezhu, meanwhile, felt quite content.

Because:

He had gotten to eat meat without spending a penny.

He looked at Chu Qing and muttered to himself:

"This guy... though he isn't suited for martial arts, he's suited to being a friend."

"If he can still get hold of toads in the future, then once I get into the Martial Academy, I'll definitely look after him a little."