Afterward, a new martial art called Turtle Shell Art appeared in Zhao Ping'an's mind, as if it had been engraved directly into his memory. He couldn't forget it even if he tried.
The cultivation method on the attribute panel had also changed:
[Name: Zhao Ping'an] [Realm: Warrior First Level] Cultivation Methods: [Turtle Shell Art (Third-rate Cultivation Method): 0/200 (Not Initiated, Simplified) Repeatedly slam your body into a wooden stake 100 times to gain 1 point of proficiency] [Deduction Points: 0%] (Method of Obtaining Deduction Points: Eating, absorbing external energy, and other things can all grant Deduction Points! The higher your cultivation, the greater your total Deduction Points! Once a cultivation method is fully mastered, you can spend Deduction Points to deduce and advance it!)
"Turtle Shell Art? Is this a cultivation method purely for training the body?
The required proficiency has increased too? And my Deduction Points have gone back to zero?
That makes sense. The cultivation method has advanced a level, and the Body Tempering Art was purely a method for cultivating the body in the first place."
"If I keep deducing it, won't I end up becoming a saint through the body alone? Just thinking about it gets me a little excited..."
Looking at the new cultivation method and numbers on the panel, Zhao Ping'an muttered to himself, surprised yet feeling that it was only natural.
"This is good, too. With a purely physical cultivation method, I'd have no idea how strong I am without experiencing it firsthand. Thoughtful!"
He might not be able to sever mountains and rivers with a blade, but breaking all techniques with sheer force was pretty good, too.
Besides, he could conceal his cultivation to the greatest extent. Zhao Ping'an was very satisfied with the result of the deduction.
"Let's see how it works!"
Turtle Shell Art required him to repeatedly slam his body into a wooden stake one hundred times to gain one point of cultivation progress.
There were no wooden stakes in the clearing in the woods, but there were plenty of trees. Those counted as oversized stakes.
Zhao Ping'an found a tree more than half a meter in diameter, took off his shirt, and began slamming his bare torso into the trunk.
Once, twice, three times...
He didn't slam into it very quickly, striking the tree about once per second.
In less than two minutes, Zhao Ping'an had completed one set of one hundred strikes. He immediately checked the panel to see whether crashing into a tree had worked.
[Turtle Shell Art (Third-rate Cultivation Method): 1/200 (Not Initiated, Simplified) Repeatedly slam your body into a wooden stake 100 times to gain 1 point of cultivation progress]
"It worked! Good. Too bad I'm out of time..."
Seeing Turtle Shell Art's proficiency increase by one, Zhao Ping'an's eyes lit up. He picked up his clothes, put them back on, and walked toward the nearby houses.
Blood Exchange had taken quite a while. The sun had already sunk below the horizon, leaving only a lingering orange-red glow.
It was time for dinner!
When he woke up the next morning, Zhao Ping'an quickly opened the Game Panel and looked at the [Deduction Points] at the bottom.
The [Deduction Points] that had been completely depleted the previous afternoon had begun to rise again. They had reached: [Deduction Points: 2%].
In other words, after he had finished absorbing it, one lavish dinner had provided him with 2% in [Deduction Points].
"I wonder if the medicinal bath at noon will increase my [Deduction Points]?"
Looking at the progress of just 2%, Zhao Ping'an was dissatisfied. Dinner had been the most lavish meal. Even including breakfast and lunch, he could gain only 5% in [Deduction Points] a day. That meant he would need a full twenty days before he could deduce again.
So Zhao Ping'an set his sights on the medicinal bath. It surely contained a great deal of energy.
After that, while there was still time, he went back to the clearing behind the house, took off his shirt, and once again slammed his bare torso into the tree in front of him.
From deep in the woods came the steady, rhythmic sounds of "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
By the time the sun appeared on the horizon, Zhao Ping'an had finished the last dozen or so strikes and slowly came to a stop.
After the three stages of sinew training, bone tempering, and skin polishing, followed by the comprehensive boost from Blood Exchange, his body was already much stronger than an ordinary person's.
But after every set of one hundred strikes, he still needed to rest a while before continuing his training.
He also had to keep changing which parts of his body he struck with. Otherwise, his body simply couldn't take it.
At that moment, Zhao Ping'an was red from head to toe, the result of the several hundred strikes he had just delivered.
But his gains were considerable, too. Turtle Shell Art on the panel had become:
[Turtle Shell Art (Third-rate Cultivation Method): 5/200 (Not Initiated, Simplified) Repeatedly slam your body into a wooden stake 100 times to gain 1 point of cultivation progress]
In other words, he had completed four sets of strikes during the short time that morning.
Feeling how much stronger his body had become, Zhao Ping'an got dressed and headed to the dining hall for breakfast.
Today's breakfast: rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and dried meat.
At noon, after lunch, Zhao Ping'an once again lay down in the emerald-green medicinal broth and closed his eyes in comfort.
Streams of heat seeped into his body through his pores, easing his fatigue.
Before he knew it, an hour had passed.
When he heard Master say that the time was up, Zhao Ping'an quickly got out of the medicinal tub, got dressed, and dashed back to his room.
He eagerly opened the panel.
The Deduction Points at the very bottom had become: [Deduction Points: 9%].
"It went up!"
Zhao Ping'an remembered clearly that before the medicinal bath, his Deduction Points had been only 3%. Even with the energy from lunch, he could have gained at most 5%. Now he had a full 9%, which meant that one medicinal bath had given him at least 4% in Deduction Points.
"Great! At this rate, I'll be able to deduce again in twelve days at most!"
Zhao Ping'an felt reassured. He lay down on the bed and began to rest.
That afternoon, deep in the woods.
Since the sound of his body striking the tree was louder, Zhao Ping'an moved several dozen meters farther into the woods and chose another tree half a meter in diameter to strike.
Deep in the woods, the sounds of "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" rose and fell, carrying far into the distance and occasionally startling several birds into flight.
He continued until the sun was setting in the west. Only after finishing the last dozen or so strikes did Zhao Ping'an slowly come to a stop.
The bark of the half-meter-thick tree had been smashed to pieces where he'd struck it, showing just how hard he hit.
Zhao Ping'an had also tried merely tapping the trunk lightly, but after a hundred strikes, Turtle Shell Art's proficiency hadn't increased. Clearly, the panel didn't approve of cutting corners.
After an afternoon of training, Turtle Shell Art on the panel had become:
[Turtle Shell Art (Third-rate Cultivation Method): 35/200 (Not Initiated, Simplified) Repeatedly slam your body into a wooden stake 100 times to gain 1 point of cultivation progress]
In other words, he had completed a full thirty sets of strikes that afternoon. At most, it would take him a week to initiate Turtle Shell Art.
After resting a while, Zhao Ping'an got dressed and headed back to his room. He planned to get a good night's rest, because Senior Disciple Brother Ji Xiangming would return tomorrow at noon.
Master had also specially permitted him to take the morning off tomorrow.
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