Practicing the Five Elements Fist, Another Funeral

"Your kindness, Master, this disciple will never forget."

Master Meng waved his hand:

"When a student is in trouble, I, as their teacher, cannot uphold justice, and my conscience is uneasy."

Bai Yu said:

"This is all the Chen Family's fault, and has nothing to do with you, Master."

Master Meng tapped the table and said:

"This Five Elements Fist is the most basic martial art. You can practice it for self-defense, but never think about revenge."

"The Chen Family is powerful. Among their five brothers, two are Ranked Martial Artists."

"It's not too late to take revenge after you pass the Imperial Examination, return home in glory."

Master Meng's idea was to have Bai Yu study hard, pass the Imperial Examination, and then come back to deal with the Chen Family.

But Bai Yu's ideas were different.

As an immortal, why would he take the Imperial Examination?

On the contrary, he was more interested in martial arts.

He cupped his hands and said:

"Master, I don't know what a Ranked Martial Artist is?"

Master Meng stroked his long beard:

"Among the Nine Classes of Society, there is a saying: First-class Immortals, Second-class Lords, Third-class Martial Artists, Fourth-class Officials."

"Immortals are high above, difficult for mortals to find, Lords rule the people, noble beyond words."

"Apart from these, martial artists are the ones who dominate."

"Martial artists are divided into Nine Ranks, with the first rank being the lowest and the ninth rank being the highest."

"The lower three ranks are the Muscle Realm, the middle three ranks are the Qi and Blood Realm, and the upper three ranks are the Spirit Connection Realm."

"The Muscle Realm has three ranks, divided into Flesh Refinement, Sinew Forging, and Skin Tempering."

Bai Yu listened with great interest.

Immortals were ethereal and elusive, but martial artists could be sought out.

Anyway, he was immortal, so he could always practice martial arts until he made a name for himself.

Master Meng's voice was leisurely:

"Practicing martial arts requires great perseverance, strong aptitude, and good techniques."

"Some people can't even enter the ranks after practicing for a lifetime."

"The Chen Family's five brothers have two first-rank martial artists, and their strength is powerful."

"Chang Sheng, you must not act rashly out of youthful vigor."

Bai Yu nodded repeatedly:

"Don't worry, Master, I know what I'm doing. First, I will never act impulsively."

In his heart, he thought fiercely:

"So what if they're first-rank martial artists? When you're old, I'll break your cane!"

Master Meng gave some instructions and then returned to his rigid and serious expression.

Bai Yu bowed and took his leave.

Back home.

He couldn't wait to open the Five Elements Fist manual.

This Five Elements Fist was simple, with a total of five moves, corresponding to the five elements.

Arranged according to the order of metal, water, wood, fire, and earth, the five elements generate each other.

Bai Yu couldn't wait to start practicing.

"Metal is the White Tiger's invincible kill."

"Water is the Black Tortoise that suppresses the North Pole."

The little black dog also followed along, practicing in a similar manner.

These seemingly simple five moves were actually very difficult to practice.

They emphasized things like sinking the shoulders and dropping the elbows, containing the chest and pulling up the back.

There was also the harmony of the three external forms: hands and feet, elbows and knees, shoulders and hips.

Bai Yu practiced for two or three hours before he could complete one cycle.

After practicing the five moves, Bai Yu only felt his vision go dark, as if his body had been emptied.

He rested for a bit before looking at his attribute panel.

[Name: Bai Yu.]

[Aptitude: 1]

[Blood Essence: 2.8]

[Strength: 10]

[Technique: Five Elements Fist (Uninitiated)]

[Divinity: Immortality.]

[Skills: Suona Playing (Practice Makes Perfect), Literacy (Basic Understanding), Hunting (Basic Understanding).]

Sure enough, after practicing once, a Five Elements Fist appeared on the attribute panel.

Proficiency: 0.1/10.

At this rate, he would have to practice a hundred times to even get started.

The most crucial thing was that practicing the Five Elements Fist once actually consumed 0.2 of his Blood Essence.

At this rate, before he even got the hang of it, he would be completely drained.

What he didn't know was that the martial arts of this world were divided into practice methods and fighting methods, and if you went around selling your skills, there were also performance methods.

Practice methods were used for training, fighting methods for combat, and performance methods for entertainment.

Usually, martial arts practitioners use practice methods, which not only don't harm the body but also strengthen Blood Essence.

However, the Five Elements Fist was just the most basic Yellow Rank, Low Grade technique, with no practice method, only a fighting method, so the more you practiced, the more your Blood Essence would be depleted.

If one wanted to master the Five Elements Fist, they either had to be born with abundant Blood Essence, or have a large supply of medicinal herbs to replenish the losses, and they also needed to eat a lot of meat and fish regularly.

Bai Yu thought for a moment and added the remaining 2 points of life experience to the Five Elements Fist.

The Five Elements Fist's experience progress became 2.1/10.

It seemed it would be better to perform a few more funerals.

"No wonder they say the poor study literature and the rich practice martial arts. Without some money in your pocket, the more you practice martial arts, the more confused you become."

"No matter what world you're in, you need money."

"Medicinal herbs are out of the question. I'll eat some meat to fill my stomach first."

Bai Yu felt particularly hungry.

He started a fire to cook venison.

A pound of venison went down without him feeling anything.

In the end, he cooked another pot and ate five or six pounds of venison before he felt much better.

He could feel the energy from the venison replenishing the deficiencies in his body.

The depleted Blood Essence also recovered somewhat.

Bai Yu calculated that this meal alone, including what Old Mo ate, was nearly ten pounds of meat.

Ordinary families couldn't afford such consumption.

In the days that followed, Bai Yu didn't dare to force himself to practice the Five Elements Fist anymore.

Only when the mountain yielded a good harvest of prey did he dare to practice freely for a while.

In this way, his Five Elements Fist progress grew to 3.2/10.

When he wasn't cultivating, he took Old Mo and cleared two plots of wasteland on the mountain, planting sweet potato vines.

When the sweet potatoes matured, combined with the game he hunted, making a living wouldn't be a problem.

Farming, cultivating, hunting, and occasionally going to Master Meng's house to study.

"Now that I've solved the problem of food and clothing, how do I solve the Blood Essence deficiency?"

"If only I had money."

"People rush around in a panic, all for a few pieces of silver; but it is these few pieces of silver that can solve all kinds of panic."

Fortunately, Bai Yu was an immortal, so there was no need to rush.

Just as he was thinking, Uncle Dazhuang's voice came from the foot of the mountain:

"Chang Sheng, there's work! Bring your gear and go to Doctor Zhou's house."

Doctor Zhou was the village doctor, over sixty years old, and had died of old age.

Bai Yu grabbed his suona and rushed down.

This time, he played funeral music for the Zhou family for three days from beginning to end.

[Funeral Target: Doctor Zhou.]

[Identity: Physician, Farmer.]

[Cultivation: None.]

Skills: Zhou Family Medical Arts, Planting, Cooking.

Funeral Participation: 57%.

Base Rewards: Blood Essence +7, Life Experience +8.

Optional Rewards: Zhou Family Medical Arts, Essence Nourishing Formula.

The rewards finally appeared after Doctor Zhou was buried.

Having exceeded 50% funeral participation, he could choose an additional reward.

Bai Yu remained as steady as an old dog, not choosing immediately.

This funeral earned Bai Yu fifteen copper coins.

This was a 50% increase compared to the first one.

Once home, Bai Yu chose his rewards.

Funeral successful, Blood Essence +7, Life Experience +8!

Bai Yu's complexion instantly turned rosy, and a warm current flowed through his body.

His body was like a sponge, greedily absorbing the warm current and filling the void.

"Cough."

Bai Yu opened his mouth and coughed out a mouthful of black blood, feeling refreshed all over.

From now on, his congenital deficiency was completely resolved.

In high spirits, Bai Yu began to choose his other reward.

Zhou Family Medical Arts or the Essence Nourishing Formula.

The former was the Zhou family's ancestral medical skills.

The latter was a prescription for replenishing essence and vitality, which could not only nourish Blood Essence but also greatly benefit matters in the bedroom, supposedly having a yang-strengthening effect.

Which should he choose?