In the days that followed, Lu Ming's life grew fuller and fuller.
He rose in the morning, stretched his muscles and bones, then practiced Eight Extremes Fist several times to train his body. In the morning, he naturally went to find Old Man to learn the written language.
By the afternoon of the day he ate, he had learned all the written characters.
Next came understanding their meanings, which took much longer to learn.
It was not that they were difficult, but that the content was far more complicated.
Of course, he did not forget to cultivate Inner Qi. That was something he had to do before bed every day.
After more than ten days of recuperation, his body had finally grown full and vigorous. He could be said to be brimming with vitality.
This also made his cultivation progress increasingly rapid.
His physical aptitude was indeed excellent. Even though his bodily condition restricted him from cultivating for too long each time, it still could not hold back the speed at which his Inner Qi formed.
Of course, part of the credit also belonged to the Heavenly Saber Art. After all, it was an Earth-grade cultivation technique, and both the speed and quality of the Inner Qi it cultivated far surpassed those of a Human-grade cultivation technique.
The Heavenly Saber Art had twelve layers in total. The first six layers belonged to the Nei Qi Realm. Once one reached the sixth layer, the Inner Qi throughout the body would circulate through the Lesser Celestial Circuit.
Upon reaching this realm, not only would the speed of generating Inner Qi increase, but circulating it would also become far more natural and effortless.
Lu Ming had now cultivated it to the third layer, which was an astonishingly rapid pace.
And that was the result of him deliberately suppressing himself. After all, the higher the cultivation technique's realm, the faster and more violently it refined Inner Qi.
He was afraid his frail body would be drained dry.
So he did not continue cultivating the technique any 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. He could enter the Second Layer of Inner Qi.
Thus, he stopped delaying and quickly calmed his mind and entered meditation.
As the technique slowly circulated, a sudden "pop" came from within Lu Ming's body. It was so faint that it could not be heard without paying close attention. Then, it seemed as though the sound of water being poured from a kettle followed.
He opened his eyes.
"That's it? I broke through?"
Lu Ming's face was filled with astonishment. He had just successfully broken through to the second layer of the Nei Qi Realm.
The process had seemed far too simple, completely beyond his expectations. He had already prepared himself for a hard struggle.
And the result was this.
"The technique must have contributed quite a bit too."
After carefully examining himself, Lu Ming reached a conclusion: the Inner Qi cultivated by the Heavenly Saber Art was exceptionally sharp and overbearing.
This not only gave him a tremendous advantage against enemies, but also produced miraculous effects when used to break through realms.
Thus, people who cultivated the Heavenly Saber Art often advanced with astonishing speed in the early stages.
However, it also had a drawback. Cultivating too quickly meant that Inner Qi, True Qi, and the like would be shallower than those cultivated by other techniques of the same level.
He had read all this in another book he had obtained from the Stone Coffin.
After learning to recognize the written language, he understood the contents he had memorized while flipping through it earlier.
It was an autobiography that recorded the life of a man named Old Man Heavenly Saber, along with some strange and wondrous things he had encountered. Its contents were extraordinarily rich.
This had broadened Lu Ming's horizons considerably.
The only pity was that he had merely skimmed through it at the time. He had not finished turning many of the pages, leaving the contents broken and intermittent.
Thus, he planned to find some time to retrieve the book.
Without thinking about it any longer, Lu Ming quickly tested the effects of entering the Second Layer of Inner Qi. He discovered that when his Inner Qi circulated, his strength would suddenly surge.
He then tried circulating his Inner Qi while jumping and found that his body had become much lighter. With ease, he leaped onto the one-meter-high tabletop.
"I'm finally not an ordinary person anymore."
After finishing his tests, Lu Ming was extremely excited. He did not continue cultivating and went straight to sleep.
Tomorrow, he planned to begin practicing saber techniques.
Time flew. In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. Lu Ming had already formed a habit and woke naturally.
First, he started a fire and put the porridge on to cook. Then he washed up, went into the courtyard to stretch his muscles and bones, and finally practiced his fist once more.
By the time he finished these basic exercises, the porridge was cooked. He quickly ate it, and once he had digested his meal, he planned to formally begin practicing saber techniques.
His saber had long since been prepared. It was mainly made of wood.
There was no way around it. He could not afford an iron saber for the time being, so he could only make do with a wooden one.
However, the wooden saber was too light. To increase its weight, he had to combine two wooden sabers into one, sandwiching a slender strip of stone between them, then wrapping it tightly with rope, circle after circle.
But this created another problem: although the weight had increased, it had also become somewhat bulky.
It looked like a wooden club.
The Heavenly Saber Technique pursued speed and sharpness, so a thin saber half a finger's width would have been more suitable. But as the saying went, his circumstances were limited.
Lu Ming did not despise it. He picked up his homemade wooden saber and swung it a few times to get used to it.
The Heavenly Saber Technique had nine forms in total. The first three belonged to the Nei Qi Realm. From the fourth form onward, one had to reach the Zhen Qi Realm to cultivate and execute them.
Lu Ming had already looked over the first three forms countless times. He had also continually simulated them in his mind and had become thoroughly familiar with them.
But just like with Eight Extremes Fist, this meant that only his mind knew them. For his body to learn them, he still needed to undergo a period of arduous training.
In the courtyard, Lu Ming stood upright with his saber, then settled into a stance and began swinging it stroke by stroke.
What he was practicing now was basic saber technique, which was included in the first three forms of the Heavenly Saber Technique. Though the first three forms contained only three moves, their content was extraordinarily rich.
They included basic saber techniques for beginners, as well as footwork and body techniques that matched the saber art.
The variations between the moves were even more complicated.
All in all, it was a cultivation technique that progressed step by step.
Lu Ming felt somewhat fortunate that he had obtained the Heavenly Saber Art. During this period, apart from finding Old Man to study, he would also take the initiative to slip into his study and browse the books on his own.
Therefore, his knowledge had grown considerably.
He also learned that many high-level cultivation techniques and martial skills did not include the basics. One could only cultivate them after reaching a certain realm.
And he had clearly been quite lucky.
Without further ado, in the small courtyard, Lu Ming continuously swung the wooden saber. Sometimes he chopped, sometimes he hacked, sometimes he lifted, then he cleaved, raised, intercepted, thrust, and so on.
Every move and form was rigidly correct.
Very soon, he finished executing the entire set of basic saber techniques, though he was extremely unfamiliar with them. By then, he was already drenched in sweat.
"Continue."
Still having strength left, Lu Ming panted a few times, then continued practicing without stopping.
He soon finished the second round, then the third...
It was not until the eleventh round that he stopped, utterly exhausted. Practicing saber techniques was indeed far more tiring than practicing fist techniques.
Still, his hard work had not been in vain. After more than ten rounds of practice, he was already becoming increasingly fluid when executing the basic saber techniques, and his speed was growing faster and faster.
Only the transitions between movements were still somewhat sluggish. But it was not a major problem. He believed that a few more rounds of practice would solve it.
After summarizing his performance, Lu Ming ended this session of cultivation.
His clothes were now completely soaked with sweat, and his arms could not summon even a trace of strength. He needed to rest.
Thus, he heated some water and took a hot bath. Afterward, he drank a bowl of meat porridge to replenish what he had just expended. After resting briefly, he headed toward Old Man Zhao's courtyard.
"Why did you come so late today?"
Old Man Zhao still wore that same lazy expression.
Lu Ming smiled. "It's so close. How could you not see me, Old Man?"
During this period, his relationship with Old Man Zhao had grown increasingly close.
"You little rascal."
Old Man Zhao chided him with a laugh, then looked him over again. He nodded. "Not bad. Ten days ago, you were still a frail boy with only a thread of weak Inner Qi. Now you've actually broken through to the Second Layer of Inner Qi."
"And your realm is extremely stable as well."
Lu Ming had long since grown accustomed to the other man's viciously keen eyesight. He asked,
"Then what level would you say my cultivation speed is at?"
Before you continue