Understanding by Analogy, Blacksmithing Cultivation

"Tiger Subduing Fist has been mastered!"

After five days of training in Tiger Subduing Fist, Su Mu had mastered the technique and, to his fortune, had even birthed his first wisp of force.

Amid his delight, Su Mu was also surprised. Tiger Subduing Fist was merely a Ninth Rank martial art; according to the manual's description, one had to reach its profound depths to advance to the Ninth Rank Qi Refining realm.

Su Mu had originally thought he would need at least minor mastery, or even major mastery, to generate force—never expecting it to appear upon mere mastery.

"It seems the same martial art differs in different hands. This is likely due to my comprehension..."

Su Mu let out a light breath and immediately called up his current panel.

[Name: Su Mu (13 years old)]

[Lifespan: 43 years]

[Skills: Five Animal Frolics (Major Mastery 7%), Forging (Minor Mastery 67%), Tiger Subduing Fist (Mastery 1%)]

[Comprehension: 5 (Modest Potential)]

Opening the panel, sure enough, Tiger Subduing Fist had appeared in the skills column, marked as mastered, but this time his lifespan and comprehension had not increased.

"It seems comprehension and lifespan aren't so easy to raise... Even a Ranked Martial Art needs to reach minor mastery."

Su Mu muttered to himself, then carefully sensed that wisp of "force" within his body.

Soon, Su Mu realized this force was far too weak. After a moment's thought, he retrieved the Tiger Subduing Fist manual and flipped through it again.

Before long, he found the answer.

"I'm not yet a true Qi Refining martial artist; I'm still in the 'Nurturing Force' stage... Only by continuously nurturing and strengthening this force can I be considered a Ranked Qi Refining Martial Artist."

Refining Strength into Force—this was the first realm of a Ranked Martial Artist. Once a martial artist cultivated force, they could shatter rock with their physical body; reaching this realm meant truly stepping into the world of martial artists.

Qingshui Town was a small place, with few Ranked Martial Artists. Any Qi Refining Martial Artist who wished could choose to join a gang or become a guard for a major family, thereby securing excellent treatment and living a comfortable life.

But Su Mu couldn't do that. He hadn't forgotten the strange poison in his body, nor had he forgotten for a moment that his true identity was that of a death soldier whose life was controlled by another.

Reborn into this life, with such a comprehension panel, if he only aimed to join a gang or become a dependent family guard, wouldn't it be a wasted life?

"At the very least, I must shed the identity of a pawn... and seize control of my own fate."

Su Mu's thoughts returned. After training in Tiger Subduing Fist, his appetite had been steadily increasing. Now, with the first wisp of force birthed, he felt even hungrier—his body craving energy replenishment.

Turning back into the house, Su Mu fried three eggs in lard, then boiled a pot of water and cooked a large batch of noodles. Sprinkling a pinch of scallions on top, his appetite was whetted.

Slurp—

Standing by the stove, Su Mu lifted the steaming bowl of noodles with his hands and slurped them down. In just three or five mouthfuls, a large bowl was gone. After downing four or five bowls, he used his chopsticks to pick up the three fried eggs and ate them.

Huff—

After eating, Su Mu let out a long breath. A full belly brought a sense of happiness.

"Now is the time for nurturing force. Eating meat not only helps replenish energy but also boosts blood and qi, greatly aiding the process. I'll need to buy more meat and eggs in the future..."

With his current monthly wage of three hundred coppers, Su Mu couldn't afford much meat. Fortunately, Sun Li had generously donated twenty-six taels of silver.

Eggs cost one copper for two, a catty of flour five coppers, and ready-made noodles were pricier. Tonight's meal alone cost about six coppers.

Nowadays, Su Mu ate breakfast at home first, as the Iron Shop's morning meal simply wasn't enough.

Even without meat, a day cost ten coppers. A month's wages of three hundred coppers would be eaten up entirely, leaving no margin.

As for meat, chicken was the cheapest on the market—a chicken of two or three catties cost about twenty to thirty coppers, averaging fifteen coppers per catty. Next was pork at thirty coppers per catty.

Mutton was twice that at sixty coppers per catty. As for the best common meat, and the most suitable for martial artists, beef cost a hundred coppers per catty—over three times the price of pork, plus ten coppers more.

Moreover, even if common folk had the money, beef was hard to come by, as the Great Yan Dynasty forbade private slaughter of plow oxen. Of course, this was no issue for wealthy families and officials.

Su Mu estimated his appetite. If he ate freely, he could easily down three to five catties of meat in one sitting. At that rate, with two extra meals a day, even the cheapest chicken would cost a hundred and twenty coppers daily.

Over a month, that would reach a staggering three thousand six hundred coppers—a full year's wages for Su Mu now—and that didn't even include the cost of staple grains like rice and flour.

"Poor scholars, rich martial artists—the ancients weren't wrong... I need to forge a Ten Refinements Weapon quickly and find a way to earn more money!"

Su Mu had thought twenty-six taels of silver was a considerable sum, but after careful calculation, Sun Li's sponsorship wouldn't last more than a few months. Eating meat helped with "Nurturing Force," and since it concerned becoming a Ranked Martial Artist, Su Mu had to consider making more money.

No words that night.

The next day, before the sky had even brightened, Su Mu rose early. He couldn't wait to practice his newly mastered Tiger Subduing Fist in the courtyard.

After finishing his practice, Su Mu stir-fried a catty of meat with green peppers, wolfed down several large bowls of rice, and then headed into town.

Clang!

In the forging room, Su Mu skillfully hammered the iron on the anvil. With each strike, sparks flew, followed by a crisp clang of metal.

"Good lad, this kid's progress has been incredible lately!"

Zhou Shan, whose brow had been furrowed over Sun Li's disappearance, couldn't help but relax his expression, a look of surprise on his face.

The heavy hammer rose and fell in Su Mu's hands. Each strike was rhythmic—even an outsider could see the proficiency of Su Mu's forging technique.

"That kid's name is Su Mu, right?"

"Yeah, Su Mu. His rate of progress is astonishing. At this rate, by next year, his skill might match ours!"

"Zhou Shan has really brought up a promising apprentice."

Many of the blacksmiths in the forge couldn't help casting glances over, then letting out sighs mixed with amazement and envy. Zhou Shan's heart blossomed with joy at this—Su Mu truly had a gift for forging, otherwise he wouldn't have let Su Mu, who had only been forging for half a year, take on the task of crafting a weapon solo.

"As long as he doesn't fail this time, as long as he can complete a single weapon from start to finish, that's already excellent."

From the very start, Zhou Shan hadn't expected Su Mu to forge a decent weapon on his first solo attempt. If Su Mu could independently finish a blade, that talent alone would be astonishing!

As the target of everyone's discussion, Su Mu himself had fallen into a peculiar state, throwing his entire being into the hammering.

In that moment, insights clicked into place, and he had a sudden epiphany.

"Tools and weapons are just extensions of the fist... While striking iron, I can also train the Tiger Subduing Fist, and even channel that force to aid me!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each hammer blow shook the forging table, sending impurities in the iron flying out as sparks.

Force grows stronger with use. Amid the relentless forging, Su Mu's force slowly began to rise.

Not long after, Su Mu discovered with surprise that by merging the Tiger Subduing Fist and his force into the smithing, the iron he had estimated yesterday would take until afternoon to finish was completed in less than an hour this morning.

"Forging is also cultivation!"

Having realized this, Su Mu threw himself into hammering with even greater drive.

But after returning home at the end of the day's smithing, Su Mu faintly sensed something was wrong. When practicing the Five Animal Frolics and the Tiger Subduing Fist, sharp pain stabbed through his muscles—especially noticeable during the Tiger Frolic and the Tiger Subduing Fist.

"Maybe I just haven't adapted to this intensity yet. It'll get better in a few days."

Su Mu gritted his teeth and pushed through.

Three days later, however, the muscle pain worsened. His arms, now visibly swollen, couldn't be hidden. Zhou Shan and the other blacksmiths at the Iron Shop all urged him to stop.

"Kid, why don't you take the day off and rest properly at home? Too much is as bad as too little."

At noon, Li Tie directly ordered Su Mu to take three days off. He didn't need to go to the Iron Shop that afternoon either.

Su Mu didn't refuse. He understood his own body better than anyone, and he had sensed something was off these past few days.

"The Five Animal Frolics are divided into five sets: Tiger, Deer, Bear, Monkey, and Bird. The reason I never had problems before is that the Frolics include both the fierce Tiger and Bear sets and the gentle Deer and Bird sets to balance them out."

"But the Tiger Subduing Fist is all about wide, sweeping moves and a brutal, domineering style. Now, during the day, I'm even using smithing to train the Tiger Subduing Fist—so the balance is severely broken..."

Su Mu quickly identified the problem, and the solution was simple.

"If I don't want to slow down my training... I'll need to rely on medicinal aids from now on."

This world had martial arts, and naturally, there were medicines tailored for Martial Artists. The issue Su Mu faced wasn't unique, but he didn't have a prescription on hand.

"I've got the afternoon off. Might as well head to the Medicine Shop in town and take a look."