Officially Begin Practicing Saber Art

In the following days, Lu Ming's life became increasingly fulfilling.

He would wake up in the morning, stretch his muscles and bones, then practice Eight Extremes Fist a few times to exercise his body. In the mornings, he naturally went to learn characters from the old man.

On the afternoon of the day he ate, he had learned all the characters.

Next was understanding their meaning, which took much longer to learn.

It wasn't that it was difficult, but rather that the content was more complex.

Of course, he didn't forget to cultivate Inner Qi; this was something he did every night before sleeping.

After about ten days of recuperation, his body finally felt full and energetic, brimming with vitality.

This also made his cultivation progress increasingly rapid.

His physical aptitude was indeed very good. Even though his physical condition restricted him from cultivating for too long each time, it still couldn't stop his Inner Qi from generating quickly.

Of course, Heavenly Saber Art also played a part in this. After all, it was an Earth-grade cultivation technique. The speed and quality of Inner Qi generated by it far surpassed Human-grade cultivation techniques.

Heavenly Saber Art had a total of twelve layers. The first six layers were for the Inner Qi Realm. Upon reaching the sixth layer, the Inner Qi throughout the body would circulate in a Lesser Heavenly Cycle.

Reaching this realm not only accelerated the generation of Inner Qi but also made its circulation more fluid and effortless.

Lu Ming had now cultivated it to the third layer, which was considered extremely fast progress.

And this was even with him intentionally suppressing it. After all, the higher the realm of the cultivation technique, the faster and more intense the Inner Qi refinement would be.

He feared his frail body would be drained.

So, he didn't continue cultivating the technique further, relying only on the first three layers to refine Inner Qi.

"I should be able to break through."

That night, in his room, Lu Ming felt that the Inner Qi in his dantian had reached a critical point, and he could enter the Second Layer of Inner Qi.

Without further delay, he quickly calmed his mind and entered meditation.

As the cultivation technique slowly circulated, a faint "pop" sound suddenly came from within Lu Ming's body, so subtle that it was almost inaudible. Then, it sounded like tea being poured from a kettle.

He then opened his eyes.

"I broke through just like that?"

Lu Ming looked astonished. He had just successfully broken through to the second layer of the Inner Qi Realm.

It was just that the process seemed too simple, completely exceeding his expectations. He had been prepared to put in a lot of effort.

And it turned out to be this easy.

"The technique's bonus must be significant too."

After a careful examination, Lu Ming concluded that the Inner Qi cultivated by Heavenly Saber Art was extremely sharp and dominant.

This not only provided a significant advantage in combat but also had a remarkable effect on breaking through realms.

Therefore, those who practiced Heavenly Saber Art often made rapid progress in the early stages.

However, there was also a downside: cultivating too quickly could lead to Inner Qi and True Qi being less profound compared to other cultivation techniques of the same level.

These were things he had learned from another book he found in the stone coffin.

Ever since he learned to read, he understood the content he had memorized while flipping through it earlier.

It was an autobiography, recording the life of a man named Old Man Heavenly Saber and some strange occurrences he encountered. The content was extremely rich.

This had greatly broadened Lu Ming's horizons.

It was a bit unfortunate that he had only skimmed through it at the time, and many pages were not fully read, resulting in fragmented content.

So, he planned to find time to retrieve the book.

Without further thought, Lu Ming quickly tested the effects of entering the Second Layer of Inner Qi. He found that when circulating Inner Qi, his strength would suddenly increase significantly.

He then tried circulating Inner Qi and jumping, discovering that his body felt much lighter, easily leaping onto a table that was a meter high.

"Now I'm finally not an ordinary person."

After the tests, Lu Ming was extremely excited and stopped cultivating, falling directly asleep.

Tomorrow, he planned to start practicing saber techniques.

Time passed quickly, and it was the next morning. Lu Ming had already developed a habit and woke up naturally.

First, he started a fire to cook the porridge, then washed up, went to the courtyard to stretch his muscles and bones, and finally practiced his boxing routine again.

After completing these basic exercises, the porridge was cooked. He ate it quickly, and after digesting his meal, he planned to officially begin practicing saber techniques.

His saber was already prepared; it was mainly made of wood.

Unfortunately, he couldn't afford an iron saber yet, so he had to make do with a wooden one for now.

However, the wooden saber was too light. To increase its weight, he had to combine two wooden sabers into one, sandwiching a long, thin stone strip in the middle, and finally wrapping it tightly with rope.

This, however, led to another problem: although the weight increased, it also made the saber somewhat bulky.

It looked like a wooden club.

Heavenly Saber Saber Art was a saber art that pursued speed and sharpness, so a thin saber half a finger wide would be more suitable. However, as mentioned before, his conditions were limited.

Without any disdain, Lu Ming picked up the homemade wooden sword and swung it a few times to get accustomed to it.

The Heavenly Saber Art has a total of nine stances. The first three stances are for the Inner Qi Realm, while from the fourth stance onward, one needs to reach the True Qi Realm to cultivate and execute them.

Lu Ming had already reviewed the first three stances countless times and simulated them repeatedly in his mind, reaching a point of mastery.

However, just like the Eight Extremes Fist, this was still just his mind understanding it; his body would require arduous training.

In the courtyard, Lu Ming stood with his saber, then assumed a stance and began to swing it, one strike after another.

What he was practicing now was the basic saber technique, included within the first three stances of the Heavenly Saber Art. Although the first three stances only contained three moves, their content was extremely rich.

They included the introductory basic saber technique, as well as accompanying footwork and body movement techniques.

The variations between the stances were even more complex.

Overall, it was a set of progressive cultivation methods.

Lu Ming felt fortunate that he had obtained the Heavenly Saber Art. During this time, besides learning from the old man, he would also actively delve into his study and read on his own.

As a result, his knowledge had grown considerably.

He learned that many high-level cultivation techniques and martial arts did not include the foundational parts, only becoming available for cultivation after reaching a certain realm.

And he was clearly lucky.

Without further ado, in the small courtyard, Lu Ming continuously swung the wooden sword, sometimes chopping, sometimes hacking, sometimes slashing upwards, then chopping down, lifting, cutting, and pushing.

Each move was executed with perfect form.

Soon, he had clumsily completed this set of basic saber techniques, and he was already drenched in sweat.

"Continue."

Still having energy, Lu Ming took a few breaths and, without stopping, continued practicing.

It wasn't until the eleventh repetition that he finally stopped, exhausted. Practicing saber techniques was indeed much more tiring than practicing fist techniques.

However, his hard work was not in vain. After more than ten repetitions, he was executing this basic saber technique more and more smoothly, and his speed was increasing.

Now, only the transitions between movements were still a bit stiff, but it wasn't a big problem. He believed that a few more repetitions would resolve it.

After a self-assessment, Lu Ming concluded this training session.

His clothes were now completely soaked with sweat, and his arms had no strength left, requiring rest.

So, he boiled water and took a hot bath, then drank a bowl of meat congee to replenish his expended energy. After a brief rest, he headed towards Old Man Zhao's courtyard.

"Why are you so late today?"

Old Man Zhao still had his usual lazy demeanor.

Lu Ming smiled, "It's so close, can't you see, old man?"

During this period, his relationship with Old Man Zhao had grown closer.

"You little rascal."

Old Man Zhao cursed him with a smile, then sized him up. He nodded, "Not bad. Ten days ago, you were just a skinny kid with a trace of weak Inner Qi. Now you've actually broken through to the Second Layer of Inner Qi."

"And your realm is very stable."

Lu Ming was long accustomed to the old man's sharp eyesight and asked:

"Then, old man, what level do you think my cultivation speed is at?"