Lu Lin stared at the progress bar, which had increased by another 4 points, and fell into deep thought.
Could this be the Simplification System's hidden mechanic?
Those who didn't realize this could only accumulate proficiency bit by bit. That worked quite well while a martial art was still at a low level, since it didn't take much proficiency to level up.
But if you kept using this clumsy method after reaching a high level, the time and effort it took to advance even one layer would be more than an ordinary person could bear.
Take Sky Breaking Thirteen Slashes, for example. If he wanted to reach the thirteenth layer and multiply his combat power by 200, the proficiency required would probably be astronomical—tens or even hundreds of billions. Lu Lin could spend his whole life at it and still never reach such a level.
But—
Heaven never seals off every road.
The Simplification System had opened up a brand-new path for Lu Lin. Train hard and seriously, move by move, and practice diligently. It might be slower, but diligence was rewarded. In the short term, his progress might not match the speed of wild slashing.
But Lu Lin would gain a deeper understanding of the Blade Technique. As his level rose and his insights deepened, his progress would remain steady—and might even grow faster over time.
He understood!
It all suddenly became clear!
If that was the case, Lu Lin was even more determined to focus on training.
"Third Slash."
"Crack."
[Sky Breaking Thirteen Slashes: 12/1000]
His proficiency rose steadily, and a blazing fire kindled in Lu Lin's eyes.
But after he swung another dozen times, Lu Lin suddenly felt weak, as if he couldn't muster any strength.
Poisoned?
Impossible. Who would poison him at Liu's Martial Arts School?
He carefully sensed what was happening inside his body, and immediately understood: his Vitality Power was depleted.
Using the moves at full strength let him experience the subtleties of the Blade Technique, but it also consumed a great deal of Vitality Power.
Now, his progress had barely reached 64/1000, and he already had to rest.
Wait!
Lu Lin suddenly realized: training Sky Breaking Thirteen Slashes the right way had improved his understanding. What about Thousand Layered Breathing Technique?
If Lu Lin practiced Thousand Layered Breathing Technique the way it was truly meant to be practiced, might it bring unexpected benefits too?
He acted on the thought at once, sitting cross-legged and concentrating on what was happening inside his body.
Blood vessels.
Organs.
Bones.
Muscles.
Lu Lin couldn't see them, but when he focused his mind within himself, his Vitality Power grew more active.
Before meditating, Lu Lin had made a point of checking his Thousand Layered Breathing Technique proficiency: 2066/10000.
After spending some time sensing his body, he opened his eyes and checked again. His Breathing Technique proficiency had soared by 40 points, reaching 2106.
It looked like only a 40-point increase, not even as much as a few minutes of breathing with weights. But this was from training on his own, without weights.
And maybe it was just his imagination, but Lu Lin felt his Vitality Power had increased a little too. It might even have gone up by more than 2 points.
Excellent! Lu Lin's idea really worked.
For the rest of the afternoon, Lu Lin alternated between practicing Thousand Layered Breathing Technique and Sky Breaking Thirteen Slashes. The increase in proficiency was secondary; he could clearly feel that his combat ability had grown quite a bit.
If he ran into Scarface and his four apprentices again now, Lu Lin wouldn't need to run away or deliberately pretend to be weak. He could kill them with ease.
The feeling of growing stronger was wonderful. Lu Lin took a shower and walked out of the Martial Arts School. Only when he saw the sky darkening did he suddenly remember something.
He'd said he was going to move today, but he'd gotten so absorbed in training that he'd forgotten.
At once, Lu Lin hurried home.
When he got back, he found his parents and Lu Qi still packing.
His parents had been frugal for so many years that they couldn't bear to throw much away. They planned to take all sorts of things to the new house, where they could still be used, and packed them up one by one. Who knew when they'd ever finish?
Lu Lin could understand. After all, changing one's habits took time. They could take it slowly; there was no need to rush.
But when Chen Xiaoyan was about to take even a tattered dishcloth from the kitchen, Lu Lin couldn't hold back. "Mom, can't we leave the dishcloth behind?"
Chen Xiaoyan paused, then agreed. "All right, all right. We'll leave it."
As the sky grew darker, Lu Lin figured they wouldn't just fail to move today—they might not even get dinner. He simply called a halt to the family's packing.
"Mom, Dad, I'm hungry. Let's go out and get something to eat."
"Yeah!" Lu Qi was always the first to respond at times like this.
Chen Xiaoyan instinctively started to refuse. "Lu Lin, we still have noodles at home, and the hind-leg meat we bought yesterday. I can whip something up quickly, and we'll eat in no time."
Lu Ping nodded in agreement.
"Mom, let's go out for a meal today. You've been busy all day. Dad, Lu Qi, and I all feel bad for you."
"Besides, it's been ages since our family went out to eat together."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaoyan put a hand to her lower back. She hadn't noticed it before, but now she felt as if her back might snap after a whole day of work.
"All right, all right. But you work hard for your money, so let's just have something simple."
The family of four enjoyed a lavish meal together. Everything went smoothly, except that Chen Xiaoyan looked a little uncomfortable when it came time to pay.
That was what happened when Lu Lin spent money so freely. He'd ordered six meat dishes alone, and those six dishes came to a total of 3,000 yuan.
The meal had cost half a month of Chen Xiaoyan's salary. No wonder she wasn't pleased.
Seeing her unhappy expression, Lu Lin deliberately raised his voice. "Lu Qi, didn't you say yesterday that you were having trouble with Mad Ox Strength Fist? Big brother's free today, so I'll give you some pointers."
"Mom, Dad, you can head back first. I'll take Lu Qi to train for a while."
Without waiting for Lu Ping or Chen Xiaoyan to reply, he grabbed Lu Qi and led him to the neighborhood fitness plaza.
"Bro? When did I ever tell you I was having trouble with Mad Ox Strength Fist?"
Lu Qi hadn't even figured out what was going on before Lu Lin brought him here. Now he looked utterly confused.
"Enough talk. Come on, let me see how your Mad Ox Strength Fist is coming along."
"Lu Qi, don't take this the wrong way, but you're about to start your second year of high school. You're still slacking off every day. How do you expect to become a Martial Artist like that?"
"Bro, my punch force is already 880 kilograms," Lu Qi protested.
"Enough excuses. Train!"
At Lu Lin's command, Lu Qi had no choice but to swallow his complaints.
From the perspective of someone at the Fourth Layer of Mad Ox Strength Fist, what on earth was Lu Qi doing?
His little brother had decent talent, at least better than Lu Lin's.
The problem was that he was far too lazy. "Lazy glutton" was practically made to describe Lu Qi.
Give him food, sleep, and video games, and he had no trouble at all.
Ask him to study or train, and it became a herculean task.
Lu Qi had been disciplined by Lu Lin plenty of times before, but the kid was thick-skinned and never learned his lesson. As long as Lu Lin wasn't watching him, he'd never make an effort to train on his own.
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