[Your Cloud-Dispelling Palm proficiency has reached 100. Its proficiency level has advanced from Initiate to Lesser Completion.] [Your Martial Realm has successfully advanced to Fourth-Rank Martial Artist.]
As this special force flooded into his body, Lu Feng felt himself growing feverish, and his strength began to climb steadily.
He hadn't felt this way in a long time. It was a telltale sign that he was breaking through to a higher martial rank.
"Did I... break through?!"
As he spoke, many more applications of Cloud-Dispelling Palm surfaced in his mind, including the methods for generating force in the Fourth to Sixth Palm.
Seeing this, Lu Feng focused his thoughts and brought up the Proficiency Panel to take a look.
[Name: Lu Feng] [Age: 19/50] [Realm: Fourth-Rank Martial Artist] [Cultivation Method: None] [Martial Skill: Cloud-Dispelling Palm (High-Grade, Lower-Tier, Lesser Completion 0/300)]
Seeing the changes on the panel, Lu Feng was overcome with excitement.
It seemed his earlier guess had been right. As long as he filled the number beside Cloud-Dispelling Palm, he could raise the skill's level.
What's more, as Cloud-Dispelling Palm advanced to Lesser Completion, his martial rank had also risen by one level.
A Fourth-Rank Martial Artist wasn't especially powerful, but it gave Lu Feng hope.
As long as he continued practicing Cloud-Dispelling Palm and brought it to Greater Completion—or even a higher level—his Martial Realm would surely advance along with it.
Thinking of this, Lu Feng's enthusiasm for practicing Cloud-Dispelling Palm grew even stronger.
Now that his Cloud-Dispelling Palm had reached Lesser Completion, it was time to test its power.
Lu Feng returned to the tree in the small courtyard, circulated his internal force, and called out,
"Cloud-Dispelling Palm, Fourth Style—Mountain-Overturning Sea-Crushing!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Feng's right palm slammed into the trunk.
A muffled thud rang out. The tree quivered slightly, sending quite a few leaves fluttering down.
A clear palm print appeared where his strike had landed.
[You used Cloud-Dispelling Palm once. Proficiency +1]
Lu Feng was slightly startled by the sight.
This palm strike was about fifty percent stronger than before. The solid improvement left him both shocked and delighted.
"Not bad! At this rate, once I've practiced Cloud-Dispelling Palm to Greater Completion, I should be able to shatter a stone slab with a single palm strike."
As he spoke, Lu Feng sensed how much internal force he had used. He found that his reserves were now more substantial, enough to use Cloud-Dispelling Palm thirty times in a row.
At his current level of internal force, he would need only three shichen to practice Cloud-Dispelling Palm to Greater Completion.
After thinking it over, Lu Feng decided he might as well bring the skill to Greater Completion that very night before getting some rest.
No sooner said than done!
Lu Feng raised his hand and used Cloud-Dispelling Palm again. The number on the Proficiency Panel began to tick upward.
Before long, three shichen had passed. Lu Feng was drenched in sweat, but Cloud-Dispelling Palm's proficiency had already reached 199.
He only needed to use Cloud-Dispelling Palm one more time, and the skill would break through to Greater Completion.
Panting, Lu Feng swung both arms again and struck out with a palm.
[You used Cloud-Dispelling Palm once. Proficiency +1] [Your Cloud-Dispelling Palm proficiency has reached 300. Its proficiency level has advanced from Lesser Completion to Greater Completion.] [Your Martial Realm has successfully advanced to Fifth-Rank Martial Artist.]
As the panel notifications appeared, another special force flooded into Lu Feng's body.
This was the sensation that came with advancing in the martial arts. But this time, the breakthrough also brought with it a fierce hunger and an overwhelming feeling of emptiness.
At the same time, the techniques for the Seventh to Ninth Style of Cloud-Dispelling Palm all flowed into his mind.
"Uh... why am I suddenly so hungry? Is this a side effect of breaking through twice in a row?" Lu Feng said, baffled.
As he spoke, his stomach began to growl.
Seeing this, Lu Feng had no choice but to hurry into the kitchen and search for food. In the end, all he found were some cold steamed buns and pickled vegetables.
There was nothing for it. Even cold buns and pickled vegetables would fill his stomach, so he began wolfing them down.
Soon, he had eaten all six large buns, but the hunger in his belly remained.
"Forget it. I'd better go out and get something to eat."
With that, Lu Feng went straight to a noodle shop and ordered ten bowls of Yangchun noodles.
Only after polishing off all ten bowls did the hunger in his belly ease a little, though the feeling of emptiness remained.
It wasn't a mental emptiness, but a response from his body, as if it urgently needed energy.
He'd eaten the noodles, and his stomach wasn't particularly hungry anymore. So why did he still feel this way?
After thinking for a moment, Lu Feng suddenly remembered that his predecessor's father often ate beef and had a tremendous appetite.
"Huh?! Could it be that martial artists need to eat a lot of meat to nourish their bodies while practicing?"
After a moment's thought, Lu Feng got up, left the noodle shop, and headed to a restaurant.
The restaurant before him was called Hongman Tower, a well-known establishment in Qinglu County. It offered all kinds of fine wine, and its dishes were just as varied.
Lu Feng felt his money pouch and found that he had only a few taels of silver.
That was all he owned. He wasn't sure whether it would be enough to eat here.
But since he had come all this way, he still wanted to test his theory.
So Lu Feng walked into Hongman Tower and found a seat.
A waiter came over and asked what he wanted.
Lu Feng didn't dare order too freely. He only asked for a portion of cooked beef and a serving of rice.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the cooked beef and rice were brought out.
The sight of the beef on the plate stirred his hunger once more.
Lu Feng didn't waste any time and started eating.
As he swallowed one piece of beef after another, the emptiness in his body slowly began to fade.
"Mm, it really works!"
Seeing that beef could ease the emptiness, he asked the waiter to bring him two more portions.
Half an hour later, he had finished all three plates of beef and eaten six bowls of rice.
"Burp!"
After eating his fill, Lu Feng took out some silver to pay. Fortunately, the meal had cost only five qian of silver.
After paying, he left Hongman Tower. By then, the emptiness in his body had almost completely disappeared.
"Mm, it seems martial artists really do need to eat a lot of meat to nourish themselves. It's just that I'm afraid I can't afford what I'll need for my future training."
Lu Feng weighed his money pouch and gave a helpless smile.
His predecessor had plenty of ways to get money, but he'd loved gambling and drinking with women, so there wasn't much left in the family coffers.
Now, improving his Martial Realm required plenty of meat. And he was only a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist; beyond that lay the even more powerful Martial Master Realm, and beyond the Martial Master Realm was the Grandmaster Realm!
If he wanted to reach those profound realms, he'd need a great deal more meat.
There was no way a little constable like him could afford to support himself.
As the saying went, "The poor studied letters; the rich practiced martial arts." It really was the truth.
"Forget it. I'll take things one step at a time!"
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