Formally Practicing the Saber Technique

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 morning, he would naturally go to the old man to learn characters.

On the afternoon of the day he started eating, he learned all the characters.

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

It wasn't difficult, but 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, truly brimming with vitality.

This also made his cultivation progress increasingly rapid.

His physical aptitude was indeed very good. Even though his physical condition limited how long he could cultivate each time, it still couldn't stop his Inner Qi from generating quickly.

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

The Heavenly Saber Art has a total of twelve layers. The first six layers are for the Nei Qi Realm. By the sixth layer, the Inner Qi in the entire body circulates through the Lesser Heavenly Cycle.

Reaching this realm not only speeds up the generation of Inner Qi but also makes its circulation more efficient.

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

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

He feared his frail body would be drained dry.

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, allowing him to 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. It was so quiet that it could be missed if one wasn't paying attention, followed by a sound like tea being poured from a teapot.

Then he opened his eyes.

"I broke through already?"

Lu Ming looked surprised. He had just successfully broken through to the Second Layer of Inner Qi Realm.

It was just that the process seemed too simple, completely exceeding his expectations. He had prepared himself for a strenuous effort.

And it turned out to be this.

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

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

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

Therefore, those who cultivate the Heavenly Saber Art often experience rapid progress in the early stages.

However, there was also a drawback: 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 obtained from the stone coffin.

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

It was an autobiography, chronicling the life of a person named Old Man Heavenly Saber and some strange encounters he had. The content was extremely rich.

This had broadened Lu Ming's horizons considerably.

It was a pity 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. He easily jumped 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 in the blink of an eye, it was the morning of the next day. Lu Ming had already developed a habit and woke up naturally.

He first started a fire to cook the porridge, then washed up, went to the courtyard to stretch his muscles and bones, and finally practiced his punches again.

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

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

He couldn't afford an iron saber for now, so he had to 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, with a thin stone strip sandwiched in the middle. Finally, he wrapped it tightly with rope.

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

It looked like a wooden club.

[Heavenly Saber Technique] is a saber art that pursues speed and sharpness, so a thin saber half a finger wide is more suitable. However, as the saying goes, conditions are limited.

Without any complaints, Lu Ming picked up the homemade wooden saber and swung it a few times to get a feel for it.

[Heavenly Saber Technique] has a total of nine stances. The first three stances are for the Nei Qi Realm, while from the fourth stance onwards, one needs to be in the Zhen Qi Realm to cultivate and perform them.

Lu Ming had already reviewed the first three stances countless times and simulated them repeatedly in his mind, to the point of knowing them by heart.

However, just like with Eight Extremes Fist, this was still only in his mind. To make his body follow suit would require arduous training.

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

He was currently practicing the basic saber techniques, which were included in the first three stances of [Heavenly Saber Technique]. Although there were only three stances, their content was extremely rich.

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

The variations between the stances were even more complex.

Overall, this was a cultivation technique that progressed step by step.

Lu Ming felt fortunate to have obtained [Heavenly Saber Art]. During this time, besides learning from the old man, he would also actively immerse himself in the old man's 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, and could only be cultivated after reaching a certain realm.

And he was clearly lucky.

Without further ado, in the small courtyard, Lu Ming continuously swung the wooden saber, sometimes chopping, sometimes hacking, sometimes lifting, then chopping again, lifting, intercepting, pushing, and so on.

Each move and stance was perfectly executed.

Soon, he finished practicing this set of basic saber techniques, which he was still quite unfamiliar with. He was already drenched in sweat.

"Continue."

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

He quickly finished the second round, the third round...

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

However, his hard work was not in vain. After about ten repetitions, his execution of this basic saber technique became smoother and faster.

Currently, only the transitions between movements were still a bit stiff, but it wasn't a big problem. He believed that with a few more practice sessions, it would be resolved.

After a brief self-assessment, Lu Ming concluded his 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 porridge to replenish his energy. After a short 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 and said, "It's so close, can't you see, old man?"

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

"Little rascal."

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

"And your realm is very stable."

Lu Ming, long accustomed to the man's sharp eyesight, asked:

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