Today was the third day of cultivating Wandering Steps.
Whoosh! Jiang Liu let out a long breath, then stood and walked toward his room.
Looking at the clean and orderly room, he could not help giving the servants of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall a mental thumbs-up. They were quite responsible in their work.
This showed that the Fallen Blossom Gang truly treated disciples with cultivation talent well. All one had to do was focus on cultivation.
There was no need to worry about anything else. Those with outstanding talent even received additional rewards.
There was only one strict rule for newly admitted apprentices: unless they had a reason, they were not allowed to wander outside at will. Other than that, there were no mandatory requirements.
Besides! Even if apprentices wanted to go wandering, they had no time for it. With that time, they would rather practice a couple more rounds of boxing. After all, if they failed to improve, others would overtake them. If they failed the assessment, they would be eliminated.
Once eliminated, they would have to sell themselves into the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall as servants. The Fallen Blossom Hall would make them feel the difference between heaven and earth.
Jiang Liu meditated twice a day as usual, circulating his method for moving qi and blood.
The next morning.
Jiang Liu slowly woke up. After washing up, he called Wang Zhuang and went together with him to Apprentice Plaza.
Some people had already begun practicing Wandering Steps and boxing in the plaza.
Everyone's really working themselves to the bone! Jiang Liu thought.
Jiang Liu and Wang Zhuang each began cultivating.
Jiang Liu circulated Wandering Steps to warm up. Following the footwork, he used Wang Zhuang as an imaginary opponent, moving back and forth.
After circulating Wandering Steps twice, the system responded.
Auxiliary System: Name: Jiang Liu Realm: Body Refinement (Bone Tempering 3.2/206) Alchemy (Beginner 37/100) Five Elements Fist (Minor Accomplishment 163/300) Wandering Steps (Beginner 0/300)
Hiss! When Jiang Liu saw it, he drew in a sharp breath! That was a little outrageous! The proficiency required for Wandering Steps to reach the beginner level was actually the same as what Five Elements Fist required to reach minor accomplishment. Wouldn't reaching major accomplishment be even harder?
It seemed he could only work even harder at cultivation. Fortunately, he had now reached the beginner level, which should be enough for the time being.
Looking around, he saw that not a single person on the plaza practicing Wandering Steps had reached the beginner level. It seemed his talent was still the best. Jiang Liu could not help secretly gloating.
Bah! Think about it! If it weren't for the Auxiliary System, would you have reached the beginner level so quickly? After one round of practice, others could at most become a little more familiar with the footwork and positioning. You just dragged the progress bar directly, and you still have the nerve to boast about your talent? If the system could talk back, it definitely would have given Jiang Liu a wake-up call.
Jiang Liu composed himself and continued cultivating Wandering Steps.
Sure enough, compared to circulating Wandering Steps before, it was much smoother now, and the transitions were more natural. There was basically no sense of stagnation, and his movements appeared even more ethereal and unpredictable.
Sure enough, when he sparred with Wang Zhuang afterward, he completely overwhelmed him.
This left Wang Zhuang deeply frustrated. He realized then that Jiang Liu's Wandering Steps had definitely reached the beginner level.
Wang Zhuang did not say much. He simply cultivated even harder, as though he would not stop until he passed out.
Jiang Liu did not know what to say. Should he tell Wang Zhuang, Don't compare yourself with me. I'm using a cheat, so if you want to compare, find a normal person instead?
"Enough! Stop practicing! Let's go eat. Cultivation has to proceed step by step. You can't reach the destination in a single stride," Jiang Liu said to Wang Zhuang.
Jiang Liu was genuinely afraid the boy would practice until he fainted.
Jiang Liu and Wang Zhuang arrived at the Dining Hall. By now, the apprentices' strength had all improved. The meals being served had also grown much more generous. After all, as their strength increased, so did their appetites.
Watching everyone eat from their large trays, Jiang Liu could not help feeling that it looked exactly like a group of modern-day pigs feeding.
Bah! Didn't that include insulting myself? Jiang Liu felt as though his head had been caught in a door. How could he insult himself like that?
After eating, resting for a while, and finishing the medicinal soup for Five Elements Fist, Jiang Liu and Wang Zhuang slowly walked back to the courtyard where they lived.
Nowadays, Jiang Liu and Wang Zhuang spent almost every afternoon sparring in their residence's courtyard. Sometimes they cultivated alone, and they rarely went to the plaza anymore, usually only visiting in the morning.
Jiang Liu returned to his residence and cultivated according to the plan he had made.
Wang Zhuang usually sparred with Jiang Liu after dinner. Before, they had practiced boxing techniques together; now, they practiced Wandering Steps.
At first, Jiang Liu could not coordinate Five Elements Fist with Wandering Steps. After stumbling through it for a while, he finally managed to practice them together.
Jiang Liu practiced continuously for two days and finally became familiar with it.
Now that Jiang Liu's Wandering Steps had reached the beginner level, Wang Zhuang could no longer keep up.
Wang Zhuang always felt as though Jiang Liu was crushing him mercilessly, so he went off to train extra on his own.
This left Jiang Liu somewhat depressed. He had lost such a good sparring partner.
After all, cultivating alone was not as effective as improving through sparring. And he had not interacted much with the other apprentices, so for the moment, he had no one to spar with.
Jiang Liu could not help wondering, Should I find a few more cultivation tools?
Then he shook his head. It was not easy to find someone as good-natured as Wang Zhuang and so compatible with him.
Besides, his progress was far too rapid. Others would not help him keep his secrets.
Forget it. I'll just cultivate on my own. It shouldn't take Wang Zhuang much longer to reach the beginner level of Wandering Steps anyway.
Jiang Liu began cultivating alone again. After all, cultivation was lonely; one just had to get used to it.
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