Testing Strength

The moonlight was cold and clear.

Jiang Ning stood in the courtyard.

[Skills]: Five Animal Frolics Fist (Initiation 0/100)

He looked at his panel, lost in thought.

"When I practiced my fist techniques this afternoon, I actually gained another four Experience Points! It seems it isn't that practicing a fist technique once can only increase one Experience Point. Rather, as long as I practice seriously, I should gain at least one Experience Point!"

After giving it some thought, Jiang Ning found this perfectly reasonable.

Ordinary people spoke of enlightenment when practicing martial arts, and there were also sayings such as standing high for a broad view and understanding by analogy.

If each practice session could increase Experience Points by at most one, then when his Martial Path reached Great Completion one day, wouldn't even initiating an ordinary Lower Grade Martial Art require him to practice it ten times?

That would be far too unreasonable!

"This is how it should be!!!" He grew even more excited.

With this panel, it meant that Heaven rewarded diligence—his efforts would surely bear fruit.

This was practically a road leading straight to the heavens.

How could he not be excited?

Then—

"Hoo—"

He gently exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly suppressed the excitement in his heart.

What changes would the Five Animal Frolics Fist undergo after reaching Initiation?

According to the records in the fist manual, condensing the first wisp of Blood Qi through practicing the fist technique signified that the Five Animal Frolics Fist had reached Initiation.

Every time the Five Animal Frolics Fist at the Initiation realm was practiced, it could temper the body and offer a chance to condense Qi and Blood Power.

He might as well give it a try!

Jiang Ning clenched his fists. The physical strength he had expended while practicing earlier that afternoon had already fully recovered after the bowl of medicinal soup and a hearty meal. He was brimming with energy, his body filled with strength that had nowhere to go.

Now was the perfect time to practice his fist techniques.

The next moment, Jiang Ning assumed a stance and began practicing.

On the steps, Jiang Li sat quietly in a chair and watched.

Watching Jiang Ning's every move coordinate with the Breathing Method, seeing how his form roared with tiger-like might—

"Not bad! Truly not bad!!" He nodded in satisfaction.

[Five Animal Frolics Fist Experience Points +1]

The instant this notification appeared, Jiang Ning immediately felt another warm current arise within his body.

Wherever the warm current passed, it felt as though he were bathing in a hot spring, incomparably comfortable.

He could feel his physique steadily growing under the nourishment of that Qi and Blood Power.

[Skills]: Five Animal Frolics Fist (Initiation 1/100)

In an instant, the Five Animal Frolics Fist had broken through and reached Initiation.

"I now have two wisps of Blood Qi!"

Jiang Ning clenched his fists. The two wisps of Blood Qi coursed through his body as obediently as his own arms and fingers.

When the Qi and Blood Power reached his right palm, Jiang Ning could feel that palm becoming even stronger under its enhancement.

This was the effect of the Five Animal Frolics Fist after reaching Initiation: one could circulate Qi and Blood Power in conjunction with the Five Animal Frolics Fist.

Under such circumstances, when Qi and Blood Power surged into his fists, using Tiger Form would produce astonishing explosive force; using Bear Form would greatly increase his strength, rooting him firmly to the ground.

When Qi and Blood Power surged into his legs, using Ape Form would make his movements agile and allow him to shift about as he pleased; using Crane Form would greatly increase his speed.

The next moment—

His Blood Qi merged together. He circulated Tiger Form Fist and hurled a punch at the tree trunk before him, his fist force erupting.

Bang—

With a dull thud, the small tree swayed, its leaves rustling loudly.

"This is!!!" Jiang Li, seated in the chair, instantly widened his eyes at the sight.

"Is that Qi and Blood Power enhancing his fist?" He could hardly believe it.

After Jiang Ning withdrew his fist, he saw that the fist, which had seemed fragile compared to the trunk, was merely reddened at the skin, without a single wound.

"So it truly is as they say: only after mastering Qi and Blood Power can one barely be considered a Martial Artist!"

He muttered to himself and walked toward a corner of the courtyard.

Two rows of stone dumbbells stood in that corner, ranging from fifty jin and one hundred jin to one hundred and fifty jin and one thousand jin.

"I wonder whether practicing fists for an entire afternoon has increased my strength!"

He came before the smallest stone dumbbell.

It was a fifty jin stone dumbbell.

With one hand, he lifted it easily.

"It really is much easier. It seems that after practicing fists all afternoon, my strength has indeed increased!"

Jiang Ning set the fifty jin stone dumbbell back onto the ground, then gripped the one hundred jin stone dumbbell beside it with his right hand.

"I wonder if I can lift this one hundred jin stone dumbbell." He muttered inwardly.

He had tried lifting this one hundred jin stone dumbbell before, but no matter how he strained with all the strength he could muster, he had been unable to lift it completely.

That was perfectly normal.

From what he understood, even in his previous life, it was uncommon for an adult man to lift a one hundred jin dumbbell with one hand.

What was more, he was only eighteen in this life, living in an era resembling feudal times, where nutrition was far inferior to that of ordinary men in his previous life.

So he had found it perfectly normal that he could not lift a one hundred jin stone dumbbell one-handed before.

The stray thoughts flashed through his mind, and Jiang Ning's right hand instantly exerted force.

The one hundred jin stone dumbbell immediately left the ground, held aloft in one hand.

"My strength really has increased!!"

Jiang Ning tried weighing it in his hand a few more times before finally setting down the stone dumbbell when his strength began to fail.

"I can lift a one hundred jin stone dumbbell with one hand and still have strength to spare. It seems my strength has increased by ten to twenty percent in just one afternoon. The effect is truly obvious!!"

"This is merely a pure change in my body. If I combine it with Qi and Blood Power, the increase in strength will be even more apparent!"

At this moment, Jiang Ning gained a preliminary understanding of the Martial Path in this world. The effects of Martial Arts Techniques were far more miraculous than any method of exercise from his previous life.

Meanwhile, Jiang Li stared wide-eyed at what Jiang Ning was doing.

"Could my little brother be a martial arts prodigy? He has only practiced martial arts for one afternoon, yet he has achieved such results??"

After finishing his tests—

Jiang Ning struck while the iron was hot and continued practicing his fist techniques.

This time, he completed one round of the Five Animal Frolics Fist in just over a quarter of an hour.

[Five Animal Frolics Fist Experience Points +1]

He examined his body again, and delight rose in his heart.

"According to the fist manual, only after the Five Animal Frolics Fist reaches Initiation does one have a chance to condense Blood Qi—but it is merely a possibility!"

"Ordinary people usually need to practice a fist technique three or four times before they can condense one wisp of Blood Qi. Only those with exceptionally high talent and comprehension can ensure that nearly every practice condenses a wisp of Blood Qi."

"I have practiced the fist technique twice now, and condensed Blood Qi both times. Does that mean I can condense Blood Qi one hundred percent of the time?"

Jiang Ning assessed his condition. Thanks to the bowl of medicinal soup from the Martial Arts Hall and that generous dinner, he could probably still support another two rounds of fist practice.

"I might as well try it!" he muttered inwardly.

Just then, Jiang Li's voice sounded beside his ear.

"Little brother, have you condensed Blood Qi?"

Jiang Ning looked up and saw Jiang Li rising from his chair, staring at him with astonishment in his eyes.

"Yes!" Jiang Ning nodded, choosing to tell the truth.

"So it really is so!!" Jiang Li could not help widening his eyes as he looked at Jiang Ning, as though he were seeing him for the first time.

Seeing Jiang Li like this, Jiang Ning smiled. "The Five Animal Frolics Fist is a Lower Grade Martial Art. As long as one reaches Initiation in the fist technique, condensing Blood Qi becomes as natural as water flowing downhill! I have a strong memory—I can remember the fist manual after reading it once, and I could completely memorize Hall Master Wang Jin's fist practice after watching it once. On top of that, a Senior Brother was generous and gave me a wild ginseng worth more than ten taels when I joined."

"Then sending my little brother to learn martial arts at Canglang Martial Hall was indeed the right choice! You recovered more than ten taels of silver the moment you joined. Not bad, truly not bad!!" Jiang Li laughed heartily.

Jiang Ning simply smiled faintly without confirming or denying it. That wild ginseng worth more than ten taels of silver had indeed been an unexpected delight.

Without the potent medicinal effects of the wild ginseng, he would not have been able to reach Initiation in the fist technique within a single day.

That night—

Jiang Ning practiced his fist techniques another two times. Though he received no unexpected delight and merely gained two more Five Animal Frolics Fist Experience Points, he condensed another two wisps of Blood Qi.

Thus, his total Blood Qi reached four wisps.

As those four wisps of Qi and Blood Power merged together, that stream of Qi and Blood Power became thicker and stronger.

It circulated throughout his body, continuously nourishing his physique.

After practicing those two rounds of fist techniques, Jiang Ning could also feel that his body could no longer continue.

Once he noticed this state, he did not force himself.

Forcing himself to practice would be going too far and falling short; it would certainly harm his body.

He then asked Jiang Li about the doubt in his heart.

That was, exactly what level of strength Xu Yunfeng possessed.

After Jiang Li described it, Jiang Ning roughly came to understand both his eldest brother's former strength and Xu Yunfeng's strength.

Before eldest brother Jiang Li was injured, at his peak, his Qi and Blood Power had already penetrated his limbs. The technique he cultivated was also an extremely common Lower Grade Saber Technique, primarily meant for killing enemies and secondarily for tempering Blood Qi.

Xu Yunfeng, however, was different. Xu Yunfeng had very likely reached the limit below a Ninth Rank Martial Artist, with his Blood Qi penetrating his entire body.

Comparing the two, Xu Yunfeng was clearly a notch above Jiang Li.

After learning this, Jiang Ning understood that he was still very far from Xu Yunfeng.

Their strengths were not on the same level at all.

But he was neither discouraged nor particularly afraid.

With the speed of his progress, as long as he was given some time, he would surpass Xu Yunfeng sooner or later.

Now that he had joined Canglang Martial Hall, at least during these months at the hall, a clever man like Xu Yunfeng would neither dare nor choose to make a move against him.

But Jiang Ning also knew that he might one day be swept into a deadly melee fight between two major gangs.

Xu Yunfeng worked for Cao Bin, and to force eldest brother to submit, his previous threats might become reality.

Before that happened, he had to raise his fist technique realm as quickly as possible.

As long as his fist technique reached Great Completion, he could pass Wang Jin's test and become a Direct Disciple of the Martial Arts Hall.

As the saying went, leaning against a great tree made for cool shade. Once he became Wang Jin's Direct Disciple, his status would be no less than that of ordinary officials or wealthy merchants.

Even Xu Yunfeng would not dare touch him under such circumstances, let alone those gangs Xu Yunfeng could command.