Reading Brings Wisdom

Lin Lin began practicing the newly acquired Superior Martial Arts.

He started with "Cold Plum Swordplay."

This superior sword art had been created by a senior of Hundred Flowers Valley after observing plum blossoms in the snow and drawing upon their unyielding spirit of blooming alone in the bitter cold. Its techniques were fierce and forceful.

Compared to the "Hundred Flowers in Disarray" that Lin Lin had already mastered, Cold Plum Swordplay had fewer variations but greater speed and power.

Practicing this sword art could temper one's body and Inner Breath at the same time, condensing one's Sword Intent.

Once it reached the level of minor accomplishment, its power already surpassed that of Hundred Flowers in Disarray even when the latter had reached its pinnacle.

But that did not mean Lin Lin's past training had been in vain. As he delved deeper into Cold Plum Swordplay, he could clearly sense that it contained many traces of Hundred Flowers in Disarray.

That was hardly surprising. After all, every disciple of Hundred Flowers Valley began their swordsmanship training with Hundred Flowers in Disarray.

Even after their martial arts reached a higher level and they summarized their learning to create new martial arts, they would retain some of the essence of the sword arts they had studied before.

Lin Lin's past insights and experience from cultivating Hundred Flowers in Disarray were partially applicable while he practiced this new sword art, allowing him to progress rapidly in this newly learned Superior Martial Art.

After just one afternoon of focused practice, Cold Plum Swordplay had already reached the level of initial mastery.

It was also then that Lin Lin experienced the difference between Superior Martial Arts and ordinary sect martial arts.

To unleash the power of ordinary sect martial arts, one only needed to master the corresponding qi circulation methods and the force behind the techniques.

But to bring out the full power of Superior Martial Arts, one also had to nurture and open certain acupoints corresponding to the circulation of Inner Breath in the sword art. Cold Plum Swordplay, for example, required Lin Lin to open an additional seventeen acupoints beyond the eighty-four that absolutely had to be opened.

After carefully studying the body-protection technique as well, he found that it required even more additional acupoints than the sword art. Even excluding those overlapping with his Inner Power Cultivation Method and sword art, he still needed to further nurture and activate twenty-two acupoints.

It seems that the movement technique I have yet to learn, the advanced Inner Power Cultivation Method for Hundred Flowers True Qi, and that life-risking technique will all require their corresponding acupoints to be opened before they can display their true power. In the end, I'll probably need more time than expected before I can break through to the True Qi Condensation Realm.

Lin Lin silently calculated in his heart.

At that moment, Lin Lin also came to understand why Senior Brother from the Cui Family, despite having the status to learn numerous Superior Martial Arts and even the Sect's Supreme Skill, still specialized in a single sword art.

That was because martial arts at the Superior level and above, whether Inner Power methods or techniques, all demanded an enormous investment of time.

Trying to learn everything meant mastering nothing.

One could study more Superior Martial Arts along the path of cultivation to broaden one's horizons, but when it came to advancing one's own martial arts, one still needed to focus on a single path.

At the dinner table, Lin Lin spoke with his mother, Zhang Fei, about what had happened during the day.

He told her everything: Elder of Teaching Skills Ji Yun's suggestions, his choice to work at the Cold Iron Mine, and how he had beaten up Zhao ChuXue and the other three on the way back.

At the end, Lin Lin said, "Of the five Superior Martial Arts Elder of Teaching Skills recommended, I've already learned 'Cold Plum Swordplay' and 'Immovable as a Mountain' from him. As for the remaining three, Mother, who has time to teach me, you or Father?"

Without hesitation, Zhang Fei replied, "Mother can teach you both the Inner Power method and the life-risking technique, but you'll have to ask your father about the movement technique. Mother practices a different movement technique. I happen to be free these next few days, so I can teach you both the Inner Power method and the life-risking technique."

After discussing that important matter, Zhang Fei turned to another topic with Lin Lin.

"Little Lin, Mother has no objection to your decision to become a supervisor at the Cold Iron Mine in order to cultivate the Body Protection Divine Skill, 'Immovable as a Mountain.' But Mother does need to have a proper talk with you about beating people up today."

"The four of them were speaking badly of others behind their backs, and you caught them in the act and gave them a beating. You knew your limits and did not hit them too hard, so they are completely in the wrong. Even if they complain to their parents and make a fuss in the sect, you have done nothing wrong."

"But you must remember this: from now on, you must not have any overly close dealings with those four. Otherwise, they may well resent what happened today and look for a chance to stab you in the back."

"If you want friends, you can make new ones elsewhere. You must not cling to old feelings for those four. Should you encounter similar situations while traveling the martial world in the future, handle them the same way."

Zhang Fei warned him solemnly.

It was only a quarrel between children. Lin Lin had exercised restraint, neither seriously injuring them nor ruining their martial arts futures.

Their parents were all influential figures in the sect, so they would not fall out over such a matter.

At most, they might secretly find ways to improve their children's martial arts progress so they could win back their pride. They would never personally step in.

But those half-grown children who had been beaten were at the age when they held grudges yet lacked much sense. Zhang Fei feared that they might sweet-talk Lin Lin into deliberately drawing closer to them, then find a chance to plot against him once they were outside.

In matters like this, it was best to prevent trouble before it began.

Lin Lin had never planned to have anything to do with those people anyway.

Whether it was their past scorn and disdain for him or their behavior today of speaking ill of others behind their backs, both sufficiently proved their character. They were never people worth befriending deeply.

It could be said that Zhang Fei's words had been entirely unnecessary.

Still, Lin Lin said nothing more. Probably only his own mother would say such things to him.

So Lin Lin merely smiled and said, "Got it."

That concluded their discussion about the events of the day.

After dinner, Lin Lin did not immediately go cultivate his Inner Power Cultivation Method as usual.

Recently, he had constantly been using Dual-Mindedness to cultivate his Inner Power Cultivation Method wherever and whenever he could. Although this made him less efficient when doing other things, the time saved on cultivating his Inner Power Cultivation Method gave Lin Lin far more time at his disposal.

His stamina and Inner Force had been drained to the bottom from practicing swordsmanship during the day, and were currently recovering. Yet he could not sleep if he went to bed now.

So, for once, Lin Lin had some free time to do something else.

He chose to spend that free time reading.

Reading brought wisdom.

Lin Lin had heard that saying many times in his past life, but he had never possessed the talent or perseverance to put it into practice. The moment he picked up a book and began studying, he would grow restless and impatient.

Games, videos, novels, wandering outside—whatever it was, everything seemed more interesting than reading.

But the current Lin Lin had already undergone a transformation of both body and mind through half a year of martial arts cultivation.

When he picked up a book again, he no longer felt restless or impatient.

Even with a dull and tedious medical text in his hands, he could read it calmly.

Although the knowledge in this book seemed useless to him at present, Lin Lin gained a sense of satisfaction from becoming more learned and more capable, much like watching the attributes on his Attribute Panel steadily rise.