Comprehension Transformation, Average Talent!

Night fell, and moonlight spilled across the earth.

In a secluded corner of Miraculous Garden, the Attribute Panel appeared before Lu Changsheng's eyes.

He saw that Tiger Pounce Hand had reached perfection on the Attribute Panel, while his Comprehension value had abruptly risen by two points.

This left Lu Changsheng astonished.

"Comprehension increased by 2 points, not 1."

"Previously, Basic Fist Techniques only increased Comprehension by 1 point."

"Could it be that Tiger Pounce Hand is a little more advanced than Basic Fist Techniques, so it gave 1 extra point of Comprehension?"

Thinking it over, Lu Changsheng felt that really did seem to be the case.

The greater the difficulty, the more profound the martial art; once perfected, it could increase Comprehension by more points.

That was perfectly reasonable!

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes, and his mind seemed to grow clearer.

Things that had once been complicated and difficult to understand now seemed clear with only a little thought.

Previously, Lu Changsheng had still been puzzled by the "Strengthen Qi and Blood" aspect of the Great River Blood Strengthening Technique.

But now, a flash of insight streaked through his mind, and he understood at once.

The Great River Blood Strengthening Technique actually used a special kind of "Vibration" to continuously temper the body.

It allowed the body to replenish Qi and Blood, thereby strengthening it.

At the same time, the body had to take in all kinds of nutrients—meat, for example, and the nourishment in Medicinal Cuisine—to strengthen itself and form a virtuous cycle.

Questions that had troubled him for days were instantly resolved.

Lu Changsheng immediately checked the Attribute Panel.

Host: Lu Changsheng

Comprehension: 101 (Average Talent)

Basic Saber Technique: Minor Accomplishment

Basic Sword Technique: Minor Accomplishment

Basic Staff Technique: Minor Accomplishment

Tiger Pounce Hand: Perfection

Great River Blood Strengthening Technique: First Layer

On the Attribute Panel, his Comprehension had risen from 99 to 101, and even its evaluation had changed.

Previously, it had been "utterly ordinary." Now, it had become "Average Talent."

Clearly, this improvement was a transformation in quality.

Lu Changsheng murmured softly, "So this is an increase in Comprehension? Average Talent sounds fairly ordinary, but this improvement is truly immediate. The effect is incredible..."

Lu Changsheng practiced the Great River Blood Strengthening Technique again.

Rising to Average Talent could not make his Qi and Blood grow rapidly, but it allowed him to sense the state of his Qi and Blood as it circulated and even analyze it, enabling him to guide it more efficiently.

Over time, this would also help the growth of his Qi and Blood.

Lu Changsheng was very satisfied.

This was only Average Talent.

If he continued increasing his Comprehension in the future, the effects would surely become even better!

Lu Changsheng also practiced the Basic Saber Technique, Basic Sword Technique, and Basic Staff Technique. The increase in Comprehension was even more helpful for Martial Skills.

Before long, these three Martial Skills would surely reach perfection.

Then, his Comprehension could increase by another 3 points!

After finishing his practice, Lu Changsheng carefully reviewed his battle with the two bandits during the day.

Though he had killed the two bandits, Lu Changsheng had actually been in great danger.

Neither of them had been martial artists. They had merely been strong, sturdy ordinary people.

Even so, using Tiger Pounce Hand against them had been quite dangerous. With the slightest mistake, he would have been the one to die.

"I need a weapon."

"Carrying a saber or sword isn't convenient, but I can carry a Dagger."

"With Tiger Pounce Hand at perfection, plus a Dagger, that will be enough to deal with ordinary opponents."

After considering it, Lu Changsheng felt that, given his current status, carrying a Dagger was clearly the most suitable choice.

Over the next few days, Lu Changsheng returned to his former routine.

He was busy every day, from morning until night.

He did not even have time to rest in between.

Lu Changsheng wanted to buy Medicinal Cuisine to practice martial arts, but with his current status, it was difficult even to leave.

The status of a Menial Apprentice was far too inconvenient.

"I have to find a way to shed my Menial Apprentice status. I need some free time of my own."

Lu Changsheng was guarding a treasure mountain yet unable to use it, and it tormented him.

He clearly had more than eight hundred taels of silver to buy Medicinal Cuisine and practice martial arts, yet he had no chance to retrieve the silver.

His status restricted Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng was currently a Menial Apprentice of Miraculous Garden. If he wanted to advance further, there were only three paths.

One was to become a Guard Apprentice. That was the best choice, but he had performed poorly before, so that path was closed to him.

The second path was to become a Regular Apprentice. So-called Regular Apprentices were actually assigned under the bookkeepers, shopkeepers, and others in the various pharmacies, going wherever there was work to be done.

Such apprentices had a great deal of work, no prospects for advancement, and little free time. It was not a good choice.

The final path was to become an Apothecary Apprentice.

An apothecary was not a physician.

An apothecary specialized in processing medicinal herbs. Though they could not treat illnesses, all the medicinal herbs in the pharmacies were processed by apothecaries, and their status was only slightly below that of physicians.

If he became an Apothecary Apprentice, he would only need to identify and process medicinal herbs each day. He could also study under an apothecary, and even his wages would be much higher than those of a Regular Apprentice.

Moreover, as an Apothecary Apprentice, he might even catch a physician's eye and become a physician's apprentice.

At that thought, Lu Changsheng had already made his decision.

He wanted to become an Apothecary Apprentice!

However, becoming an Apothecary Apprentice was not easy. He had to be thoroughly familiar with the names, ages, and effects of all kinds of medicinal herbs.

That required tremendous effort, and his mind had to be quick.

A slow mind could not remember so many medicinal herbs.

"Looks like I can't retrieve the silver in the cave for now. I'll first strive to become an Apothecary Apprentice."

Lu Changsheng let out a long breath.

He had been thinking constantly about retrieving the silver.

Now that it seemed hopeless in the short term, he instead felt more at ease.

Thus, over the following days, Lu Changsheng studied books and learned to read under Master Mo's special tutoring while clutching books on medicinal herbs every day and cramming them into his head through sheer memorization.

After more than ten days of this, his body was not tired, but his mind was exhausted.

When one's brain was not up to the task, studying was torture.

Fortunately, after more than ten days, Lu Changsheng's three basic Martial Skills reached perfection as well.

"With three basic Martial Skills perfected, my Comprehension has increased by another three points."

Lu Changsheng's Comprehension had risen from 101 to 104.

Comprehension of 104 was not merely effective for martial arts; it was also greatly beneficial for studying and memorizing all kinds of medicinal herbs.

Lu Changsheng even felt that his memory had improved considerably.

However, it was somewhat regrettable that after the three basic martial arts, Lu Changsheng could not find any other basic martial arts.

After all, although there were eighteen kinds of weapons, those obscure weapons and niche martial arts simply did not have any "basic Martial Skills."

Only extremely common martial arts, such as saber, sword, and fist, had basic Martial Skills.

For weapons such as whips, spears, hammers, and so on, there were only things like Zhao's Whip Technique, Ma's Long Spear, Wang's Twin Hammers, and the like.

These relatively obscure and niche martial arts were not so easy to obtain.

At the very least, they were not something a Menial Apprentice like Lu Changsheng could acquire.

This only made Lu Changsheng grit his teeth harder, hoping to become an Apothecary Apprentice as soon as possible.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

"Finally, I've memorized them all."

"Master Mo said that I now recognize all the characters I need to know."

"What remains is interpreting texts and the like, which will take much longer."

"But there's no need to rush that. I can slowly learn it when I have time in the future. Over these past few months, I've memorized at least several hundred kinds of medicinal herbs. That should be enough to become an Apothecary Apprentice."

"I won't wait any longer. Today, I'll go take the Apothecary Apprentice assessment!"

After thinking it over, Lu Changsheng decided to give it a try and see whether he could become an Apothecary Apprentice.

He no longer wanted to waste time as a Menial Apprentice.

After all, in three months, he had not obtained any new Martial Skills, and his Comprehension had remained fixed at 104, with almost no improvement.

Without Medicinal Cuisine to replenish him, the progress of the Great River Blood Strengthening Technique had been agonizingly slow.

That morning, when all the apprentices gathered in the square, Lu Changsheng stepped forward and said to Steward Zhang, "Steward Zhang, I wish to apply for the Apothecary Apprentice assessment. I ask for your permission."

Whoosh.

Not only Steward Zhang, but every other apprentice turned their gaze toward Lu Changsheng, their faces filled with astonishment.