Early the next morning, a martial academy staff member arrived as promised. Besides handing over a bank card loaded with 180,000, he also brought a technique.
The night before, Lu Jue had lain in his hospital bed, carefully considering which technique he should use to strengthen his head's defenses.
Techniques like the Iron Head Skill were simple and direct, but far too limited. His head was not fragile; compared to the rest of his body, it was merely a little weaker, yet it was still a hundred times tougher than that of an ordinary student of his year.
Rather than specifically reinforcing his head, Lu Jue wanted to improve his overall defense while shoring up that weakness.
After some searching, he quickly found a technique online that suited his needs well: the Iron Bone Stance.
It was said that this technique had been the secret, untransmitted art of Grandmaster Li. Later, that master of hardening arts suffered the calamity of having his entire family wiped out, and the technique drifted into the outside world. After passing through countless hands for over twenty years, the true complete version had long vanished without a trace. Only an abridged version remained on the market.
This technique was fairly obscure, and its philosophy emphasized "medicine first, moves second."
Practitioners mainly used medicinal baths to let the medicinal power seep into their bones, then supplemented that with specific movements to guide the power deeper into the skeleton. Only through the accumulation of days and months could they eventually reach completion.
Its advantage was that its cultivation path was clear and controllable. So long as one took a medicinal bath, the medicinal power would certainly be absorbed by the body—every effort brought a reward. Unlike pure move-based techniques that relied on comprehension and grueling practice, where one could spend months without advancing an inch.
But its drawbacks were equally obvious. The required medicinal ingredients were expensive, progress was slow, and it could not be rapidly mastered through sudden enlightenment. To cultivate it to Great Accomplishment required not only an ocean of money, but also long years of time.
According to one netizen's account, he had persisted with two medicinal baths every day and spent a full seven years before barely cultivating the Iron Bone Stance to Great Accomplishment. The medicinal packets alone had cost him over a million!
Lu Jue concluded that the root cause of its slow progress was the extremely low efficiency with which medicinal baths absorbed medicinal power. It was far inferior to swallowing Pills.
Even for someone gifted beyond measure, absorbing sixty percent of the medicinal power was already the limit. Of that sixty percent, perhaps only half could truly affect the bones. Ordinary people were even less efficient.
By that calculation, out of 10,000 worth of medicinal ingredients, perhaps less than 3,000 would truly be converted into strength.
But Lu Jue did not care. He had the panel. He only needed to use medicinal baths to get the technique started; afterward, he could obtain energy through eating and directly rapidly master the technique to completion!
For others, cultivating the Iron Bone Stance was a long and bitter journey that demanded huge investment while yielding painfully slow results.
But for Lu Jue, it was an unquestionable shortcut!
Not only could he use cheaper food in place of medicine, he could also maintain a one-hundred-percent absorption rate!
Thus, he contacted Su Li overnight and used her Technique Authority to borrow the Iron Bone Stance.
Ignoring the medical staff's objections, Lu Jue swiftly completed his discharge procedures. After leaving the martial academy, he immediately rushed to the market and found a reputable old-established medical clinic.
Though the Iron Bone Stance was relatively obscure, it was one of the rare Bone Forging Techniques among ordinary techniques. Some martial artists with decent means, who were devoted to the arts of hardening, still chose it to consolidate their foundations.
As soon as Lu Jue handed over the prescription, the shop owner understood at once and directly took out three options. "You're here for the Iron Bone Stance, right, little brother? Our Jishitang has three medicinal prescriptions. Please take a look."
Lu Jue examined them carefully. The first was the standard formula, exactly matching the one recorded in the technique, at 300 per packet.
The other two were optimized versions, and naturally, their prices had risen with the tide.
The owner enthusiastically introduced them. "To be honest, one of the physicians in our hall spent eight years researching the Iron Bone Stance and came up with these two optimized formulas. They've received a flood of praise."
"This first Optimized Formula can greatly ease the pain of medicinal power entering the body, and sells for 400. The second scientifically strengthens the medicine's potency. With long-term use, you can certainly hope to reach Great Accomplishment within seven years."
Hearing that introduction, Lu Jue clicked his tongue inwardly.
Even using only the cheapest medicinal packets, two baths a day would cost 600. The annual expense would exceed 200,000!
And he would have to persist like that for seven years before Great Accomplishment was even within reach.
Too expensive! Too slow!
Fortunately, all he needed was the "key" to successfully get started.
"No need. I'll take the standard formula, two packets!" Lu Jue said decisively.
The owner's enthusiasm did not diminish as he continued recommending. "It's your first time cultivating the Iron Bone Stance, isn't it, little brother? Our shop has dedicated medicinal bath rooms. A single use of a standard room costs only 100, and someone will be specially assigned to brew the medicine. It can save you quite a bit of time and effort."
Lu Jue's heart stirred at those words.
There was no large bathtub at home, so he could not take a complete medicinal bath. The professional medicinal bath room's environment and medicine-brewing service could indeed save him much trouble, allowing him to focus more fully on withstanding the medicinal power's impact.
A cost of 100 was acceptable.
"Fine. I'll use a standard medicinal bath room." Lu Jue nodded in agreement.
The smile on the owner's face grew even broader. He immediately called over an apprentice. "Take this customer to Room 208. Prepare the Medicine Pot and brew the medicine according to the formula he provided."
Lu Jue followed the apprentice through the rear hall, thick with the rich fragrance of medicine, and arrived at a clean and orderly stone chamber.
A heavy cypress bath barrel stood in the center of the room. Beside it were a dedicated stove and Medicine Pot. The apprentice deftly began the fire and poured in the medicinal ingredients, his movements practiced and smooth.
Twenty minutes later, the Medicinal Soup was finished. The dark brown liquid churned in the barrel, giving off a pungent yet strangely fragrant smell.
The apprentice adjusted the water temperature, bowed respectfully, withdrew, and shut the door behind him.
Lu Jue removed his clothes and stepped into the bath barrel.
The scalding medicinal liquid instantly enveloped his entire body, and a numb, prickling pain immediately surged over him, stronger than he had expected.
But pain of this degree was utterly insignificant to him.
"The main feature of this technique is that so long as one takes a medicinal bath, one is certain to gain something. Getting started is easy, Great Accomplishment is difficult, and completion is harder than climbing to heaven."
"According to the guides online, most people find the feeling after bathing in the second medicinal packet. If nothing unexpected happens, I can get started today!"
With his mind made up, he cast aside every stray thought. He immediately concentrated inward, silently reciting the medicinal absorption formula of the Iron Bone Stance, relaxing every muscle in his body as he guided the medicinal power with all his strength to strike his bones.
After using the first medicinal packet, Lu Jue rested for two hours before continuing with the second.
At four in the afternoon, Lu Jue clearly felt that some "threshold" within his body had been broken through.
At the same time, several lines of text appeared in his mind:
After deducting other losses and focusing on the optimal cultivation path, the Iron Bone Stance still requires 227 days to reach completion. Based on the host's current physical strength, time required for rapid mastery: 1 hour 30 minutes! Energy Requirement difficulty: 3 Activate rapid mastery?
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