Health Cultivation Method: Three Yuan Art

Time flew by, and over ten days had passed.

In this short span of ten-plus days, Shen Fan had pushed the already-begun True Combined Strength to the Minor Accomplishment level. Relying on the Attribute Panel, his lifespan and Talent had changed once more—

Host: Shen Fan Talent: 13 (Slightly Gifted) Lifespan: 60 Martial Path: Savage Bull Fist (Minor Accomplishment), True Combined Strength (Minor Accomplishment) Realm: Skin Refining

As could be seen, the Minor Accomplishment realm of True Combined Strength had added another seven years to Shen Fan's lifespan. Compared to when he first crossed over, his lifespan had now fully reached a level above that of an ordinary person—he was no longer a short-lived wretch!

This brought Shen Fan some comfort. His path of martial longevity had finally taken a solid step forward.

His Talent had also increased by one point.

Though it was only a single point, it boosted his cultivation speed by another thirty percent on top of the original. This meant the time needed to train Savage Bull Fist or True Combined Strength to Great Accomplishment would be shortened considerably.

However, martial cultivation methods grew harder to improve the further one went. Although Savage Bull Fist and True Combined Strength were both Third-class Martial Arts, meant for ordinary people to enter the Martial Path, training them to Great Accomplishment still required decades for an average person—a lifetime gone just like that.

Even for someone with good Talent, it would take several years.

Shen Fan's current Talent already stood out among ordinary people like a crane among chickens. Yet even so, to train Savage Bull Fist to Great Accomplishment, he still needed about half a year!

Of course, this was the speed under current conditions. If he could obtain a new martial method or better auxiliary cultivation resources, that speed would no longer be fixed.

Once his entry method reached Great Accomplishment, Shen Fan's martial realm would reach the Muscle Refining level, and his strength would surge. Within the martial arts school, he could even be considered a core Disciple!

Half a year—not long if you thought about it, but not short either. Before he discovered the function of the Attribute Panel, Shen Fan would have just trained obediently. But having obtained such a heaven-defying aid and not using it—he'd probably be struck by divine punishment!

So, rather than hard training, Shen Fan was more eager to learn a new martial method. It didn't need to be powerful—just enough for a Rapid Breakthrough to boost his lifespan and Talent. That would be sufficient.

But obtaining a martial method in this world was no simple matter.

Especially in a small city like Laiyang City, martial methods could be considered extremely rare treasures.

After all, they were the best shortcut for ordinary people to turn their lives around.

But to acquire one—even an Entry-level Martial Arts—was incredibly difficult.

It might seem that Shen Fan had easily learned two entry-level methods at the Ox Demon Martial Arts School, but that was only because the school had deep foundations.

The entire school was a renowned and fearsome presence within Laiyang City.

As Shen Fan learned more, he also discovered that the five most powerful forces in Laiyang City were the City Lord's Mansion and the Four Great Martial Arts Schools, including the Ox Demon Martial Arts School.

The City Lord's Mansion held the mandate and occupied the center of Laiyang City, while the Four Great Martial Arts Schools were located in the four directions, each controlling their own territory.

Within their respective domains, they wielded absolute authority.

All shops in the area bore the shadow of these five major powers. Every year, they had to pay tribute to these hegemon forces in exchange for protection.

Thus, a unique order had emerged in Laiyang City.

No matter how complex or unfair, the hundreds of thousands of residents of Laiyang City did live relatively peacefully under the efforts of these five major forces.

And these hegemon forces, "supported" by the common people, grew ever stronger and their foundations ever deeper.

The ladder for ordinary people to rise—martial methods—were tightly held in the hands of those big shots. Even if some remnants existed, they could not be easily revealed.

Otherwise, they would surely face oppression and plunder!

So, for Shen Fan to obtain a new martial method, the best way was to get it from within the school. But there was a prerequisite—he needed money!

Yes, for school Disciples to learn more powerful methods, they had to purchase them with large sums of money. Ordinary Entry-level Martial Arts cost about ten taels of silver per volume, Third-class Martial Arts twenty taels, Second-class Martial Arts one hundred taels, and First-class Martial Arts—priceless, only personally taught by the Hall Master!

Because even Second-class Martial Arts could only train one to the Viscera Refining level, not even reaching Peak Viscera Refining.

But First-class Martial Arts could allow a Martial Artist to break through the Qi and Blood Great Realm and enter the Xiantian level. Such methods had long become heirlooms of the major powers—how could they be easily taught?

If leaked, it could mean the destruction of a power!

But Second-class Martial Arts and below were fine. Even if someone stole and learned them, they couldn't defeat the leaders of forces practicing First-class Martial Arts, so a bit of leakage risk didn't matter.

It had to be said that in this world, the "intellectual property" of martial methods was very well protected, and "paying for knowledge" was played very smoothly.

When Shen Fan learned the prices of these methods, he was stunned for a long time.

Based on his current "salary"—two taels of silver a month—to obtain a new method, he would need at least five months. Then training it to Minor Accomplishment would take about ten-plus days. With that time, he could completely rely on his own effort to train Savage Bull Fist or True Combined Strength to Great Accomplishment!

He believed that the improvement from breaking through a method to Great Accomplishment would definitely be greater than the cumulative gains from Minor Accomplishment.

So, for now, it seemed Shen Fan didn't have the ability to easily obtain a new method.

Thus, the "Talent point-adding" plan seemed about to die in the womb.

For a moment, Shen Fan felt a bit frustrated. Even his fist practice became less focused, and his training efficiency noticeably declined.

At that moment, the apprentice Li An seemed to notice Shen Fan's frustration.

Over the past ten-plus days, Li An had received quite a bit of care from Shen Fan, who always assigned him the lightest tasks.

So Li An understood that this Senior Brother Shen was a good person.

To repay Shen Fan's kindness, Li An was meticulous every time he served tea—making sure the leaves were fully steeped, the water temperature just right, and all such details handled perfectly.

Now, seeing his senior brother troubled, Li An couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother Shen, is there something on your mind? You can tell me about it, can't you?"

Looking at Li An's cautious demeanor, Shen Fan was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled lightly. "It's nothing major. Lately, I've just hit a bottleneck in my cultivation. I was hoping to find some other Martial Arts to gain insight by analogy, but—"

He didn't finish, but Li An understood immediately.

It was simply that Shen Fan lacked the money to buy the Martial Arts from the school.

But Martial Arts were top-tier "resources"—how could an ordinary person obtain them?

Even getting into the Ox Demon Martial Arts School had taken Li An a stroke of great luck. If he had a Martial Art to offer, he would never have started as an apprentice!

Seeing Li An's furrowed brow, the faint light in Shen Fan's eyes dimmed again.

Right. This kid was just an apprentice, not even a Disciple. How could he possibly have a Martial Art not already recorded by the school?

Shaking his head, Shen Fan silently mocked his own wishful thinking.

But just as Shen Fan was about to give up entirely, Li An suddenly blurted out, "Any Martial Art will do?"

"Hm?"

"Of course, any Martial Art will do—even an entry-level one!"

Shen Fan said firmly.

"Then, Senior Brother Shen, I actually do know something!"

"Senior Brother, you should know that the Martial Arts collected by the major powers are all extremely powerful—Martial Path techniques that help Martial Artists quickly raise their Realm and boost their strength. As for the rest, they don't think much of them!"

Shen Fan's interest was piqued.

"You mean—"

"That's right. The kind that only helps ordinary people strengthen their bodies, loosen their tendons, and improve circulation—the Health Cultivation Methods!"

"As far as I know, Health Cultivation Methods are extremely slow to cultivate, and even after entering the gate, they have no real power. Though mastering them deeply can help others raise their Realm, compared to other Martial Arts, they're just too inferior!

Relying on a Health Cultivation Method to break through means your combat power will be the lowest at that Realm—you might even be killed by someone at a lower level!

So, slow cultivation speed and weak breakthroughs make most people dislike, even despise, these methods."

"Big Brother Shen, I know one technique—the Three Yuan Art. It's the most widespread Health Cultivation Fist Technique in Laiyang City. Do you want to learn it?"

Li An asked weakly, feeling like he was insulting Shen Fan.

After all, Martial Artists who practiced Health Cultivation Methods were constantly mocked by the masses!

But how could he know that Shen Fan was staring straight at him and said, "Learn? Of course, I'll learn!"