Improvement

"Done!"

After completing the third round, Tao Yu, disregarding his appearance, plopped down onto the cinders, gasping for breath and recovering his stamina.

Smith, who had intended to let Tao Yu relax before sitting down, also had his eyes glaze over upon hearing Tao Yu's exclamation.

"Done?"

It was done just like that?!

When Tao Yu first started, Smith knew the highly talented student was learning quickly. He had even predicted that the young man would grasp the basics within a day!

But what was going on with mastering it in three rounds?

One of those rounds involved the student watching him, and he had only made corrections during the latter two.

Even though it was just the basics, it meant the student could now invest Wish Power to accelerate his progress!

Thinking of this terrifying talent, Smith felt a pang of unease.

But quickly, the jealousy in his heart was suppressed, and his face shifted into an expression of shock and delight.

"Junior disciple, your talent is truly immense! Is this the true value of an A-rank talent? It's truly unbelievable."

He then turned to the other equally stunned students.

"See that? Why aren't you working harder? Take advantage of this moment and ask any questions you have."

Tao Yu raised his hand and spoke up.

"Senior disciple, I'd like to buy some Qi Replenishing Soup to recover, and then strike while the iron is hot to accelerate with Wish Power."

"Alright, you all wait here and practice according to the instructions. I'll take Junior disciple Tao Yu and be right back. Then we can address your questions."

Smith immediately left the others to practice on their own, taking Tao Yu towards the direction of the dining hall.

As for Zhang Wei and the others, although they grumbled inwardly at being left behind, they said nothing and watched enviously as Smith led Tao Yu towards a large, wooden warehouse-like building, which they assumed was the mess hall.

Although Tao Yu's mastery in three rounds had been a blow to them, it also gave them a sliver of confidence.

They didn't need three rounds; three days to master it should be achievable, right?

After all, this was just a simple skill broken down for easier teaching!

They could definitely do it!

Meanwhile, Smith had brought Tao Yu to the cafeteria.

The Myriad Flow Dojo's mess hall was a single-story, large wooden warehouse. Inside, there were rows of square tables. Since it wasn't mealtime, the stools were placed upside down on the tables, resembling the scene of a rural banquet.

Although it wasn't mealtime yet, the cafeteria's kitchen was already bustling. The sound of chopping vegetables was continuous, and a rich aroma wafted out, making Tao Yu swallow involuntarily.

Smells great.

"This is the smell of Qi Replenishing Soup. It's a student benefit. We don't neglect any student who meets the conditions here."

Smith explained kindly.

As a senior student and now an assistant instructor, he certainly had his privileges. He went to the kitchen and fiddled around, eventually returning with three large bowls.

"Consider this my treat today."

"Thank you, Senior disciple."

Tao Yu didn't stand on ceremony. Thirty points of Wish Power for a meal was extremely luxurious in the Outer City.

Tao Yu looked at the brownish-gray soup, which resembled pork offal porridge, and without hesitation, picked up a bowl. After blowing away the steam, he gulped it down.

Despite being called Qi Replenishing Soup, it was indeed a type of porridge with a grainy texture and a rich internal organ aroma. It was savory, fragrant, and smooth, tasting quite good on its own.

The key was that after finishing the bowl, Tao Yu could feel a distinct warm current spreading from his stomach, being digested and absorbed at a speed far exceeding that of roasted meat.

With the additional ability of "One Proof, Eternal Proof," Tao Yu was particularly sensitive to this sensation.

"Awesome!"

Without hesitation, Tao Yu downed the remaining two bowls, even licking the bowls clean.

"Senior disciple, I'll practice and accelerate near the dining hall. You can head back now."

"Be mindful not to overdo it. You can also prepare some ointment; it's very effective and even promotes healing. You can buy it here too."

Smith advised.

"Okay."

After Smith left, the effects of the three bowls of Qi Replenishing Soup began to take hold, causing Tao Yu's Blood Essence to churn.

He then focused his attention on his newly acquired skill.

Relying on the Blood Essence circulation of the breathing technique, the motion capture of Dynamic Vision, and his current physical strength, he was quite satisfied with reaching the basic level in just three rounds.

This also included the "One Proof, Eternal Proof" trait that ignored physical pain, which allowed him to acquire this skill that required five hundred Wish Power for Deification!

[Myriad Flow Stance]: A technique for accelerated physical training that works the major muscles of the body, enhancing the elasticity of ligaments and meridians, and reducing the difficulty of using certain movements.

By itself, the [Myriad Flow Stance] was quite ordinary. It didn't possess any ability to increase human limits. Theoretically, it should be inferior to the [Basic Breathing Technique], yet its Deification cost was more than three times that of the [Basic Breathing Technique]!

Compared to the current most expensive skill, [Stealth: Aberration], the cost is slightly higher, second only to talent enhancement.

[Stealth: Aberration] allows one to meld into shadows, and its effect is stronger than [Stealth: Python].

However, considering that the enhancement for [Ambush: Aberration] only costs two hundred, but its theoretical utility is more practical than the two [Stealth] skills, Tao Yu couldn't quite figure out what determined the specific cost of skill enhancement.

Perhaps the enhancement for [Ambush] is priced this way because it builds upon the prerequisite shadow power from [Stealth]? Can [Ambush] not generate shadow power on its own?

Tao Yu didn't ponder further and directly injected five hundred units of Wish Power, allowing the newly born skill to complete its transformation.

Creak, creak~

Before he even started practicing, Tao Yu's bones made cracking sounds, his muscles tensed, and his tendons bulged. It took a few seconds for it to subside. The effect of the three bowls of Qi Replenishing Soup he had consumed felt like it had diminished by a third!

The previously churning Blood Essence had also faded slightly.

He clenched his fist and Tao Yu clearly felt an increase in strength. His body was still the same, but it seemed the coordination between his muscles was now fully utilized?

[Myriad Flow Stance (Modified)] Lv1: Possesses excellent training effects, capable of uniformly mobilizing all muscles and Blood Essence, condensing strength into a single force, increasing physical limits to a certain extent, and unlocking various high-difficulty movements.

Strength condensed into one force!

No wonder he didn't feel much physical enhancement, but the feeling of increased strength was obvious!

Tao Yu felt a bit eager to test his stats, but quickly suppressed the urge.

"The physical limits have been increased again to a certain extent. Combined with the Breathing Technique and the Blood Orchid's amplification, it will take some time to develop."

Tao Yu slowly exhaled, then simultaneously mobilized the Breathing Technique to circulate Blood Essence, and directly practiced the Myriad Flow Stance. He invested two hundred units of Wish Power per hour for each skill's acceleration!

It was extravagant!

But time is money!

Creak, a sourness spread throughout his body. Blood Essence continuously churned within him, his muscles twitched, feeling both sore and swollen, which was quite exhilarating. However, Tao Yu stubbornly pushed on, relying on the trait of [One Proof, Eternal Proof] to endure the pain.

As long as he could withstand the pain and didn't worry about ruining his body, he could be this unrestrained!

With both skills accelerating simultaneously, Tao Yu also realized it wasn't as simple as 1+1=2. The Breathing Technique could hold the Blood Essence, and the Stance could circulate it. After just one set, the remaining effect of the Qi Replenishing Soup was completely used up!

Under this acceleration, fifteen minutes required the energy provided by about two bowls of Qi Replenishing Soup. Tao Yu was inwardly shocked.

Fortunately, he had the Qi Replenishing Soup. If he were in the Abyss, relying solely on roasted meat, even with constant eating, he wouldn't be able to sustain practicing two abilities simultaneously!

The consumption of Deification abilities was indeed immense.

Tao Yu was willing to invest a total of four hundred Wish Power per hour for acceleration. With Qi Replenishing Soup costing 10 units per bowl, he naturally wouldn't hold back...

As the sky gradually darkened, Tao Yu finished another set. His taut nerves began to loosen, and even his energy was starting to falter. The accumulated soreness surged, causing his muscles to twitch continuously.

"That's enough for today."

Tao Yu, dragging his weary body, went to the cafeteria and, under the strange gaze of an auntie, ordered two more bowls of Qi Replenishing Soup.

Since the skills had reached the introductory level, with the Wish Power acceleration as a cover, drinking more Qi Replenishing Soup wasn't a big deal. After all, others didn't know how much he was accelerating.

There were enough trainees here, and those practicing core abilities in the dojo likely drank more than him.

Even so, it was a bit conspicuous today, so Tao Yu appropriately stopped his training.

He then walked slowly to relax his body and arrived at a corner of the dojo, standing before a stone lock.

The stone lock was marked with a weight: one hundred kilograms!

With a single hand, Tao Yu easily lifted the entire stone lock and clearly felt he had considerable strength left!

It didn't even add much burden to the soreness in his muscles after training.

Resisting the urge to toss it around, Tao Yu quickly put the stone lock down.

The limit for a normal human body is roughly a single-handed deadlift of just over one hundred kilograms, and a double-handed deadlift of over two hundred kilograms, which can be held overhead for a while. For a pure deadlift, the human limit is around five hundred kilograms.

Tao Yu knew that by consuming the Blood Orchid, upon his return, his normal body without skill bursts was probably at this level, just slightly stronger.

But now, facing this stone lock, he clearly felt he could toss it with one hand and catch it!

He had become stronger, and it was a significant improvement!

This kind of strengthening was truly utilizing the limits increased by the Breathing Technique, Blood Orchid, and Stance!

Moreover, Tao Yu could feel that this was not his current ultimate potential; he could still develop it further.

However, feeling his Wish Power drastically decrease to just over ten thousand, Tao Yu's mouth twitched.

He had become stronger...

...by spending money.

But [Basic Breathing Technique (Modified)] was already past Lv2, allowing him to circulate more Blood Essence.

And [Myriad Flow Stance (Modified)] had also risen to Lv2, also increasing his Blood Essence slightly, with significant improvements in flexibility and other aspects. Due to the efficiency of Deification skills, the conditions were definitely much better than the regular version's prerequisites.

This time, he had spent a lot of money because he wanted to start learning the fist techniques quickly and achieve an introductory level.

Tao Yu had already planned it out: five fist techniques. Two would be free slots, one at half price, he would buy another one himself, and then add one through 'Skill Loan' – that would be all five!

He aimed to learn them all before entering the Abyss next time, then deify them all before going to the Abyss to earn money.

The five fist techniques would definitely have higher introductory difficulty and learning costs, but Tao Yu's primary goal was just to reach the introductory level