In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.
In those brief ten-odd days, Shen Fan had advanced True Combined Strength, which he had already learned, to Minor Accomplishment. Thanks to the Attribute Panel, his lifespan and aptitude had changed once again—
Host: Shen Fan Aptitude: 13 (Some Talent) Lifespan: 60 Martial Path: Savage Bull Fist (Minor Accomplishment), True Combined Strength (Minor Accomplishment) Realm: Skin Refining
As one could see, True Combined Strength at Minor Accomplishment had added another seven years to Shen Fan's lifespan. Compared to when he had first transmigrated, his lifespan was now well above that of an ordinary person. He could no longer be called a short-lived wretch!
That gave Shen Fan some comfort. He had finally taken a solid step along the path to martial longevity.
His aptitude had also increased by one point.
Though it was only a single point, it boosted his cultivation speed by another thirty percent. That meant the time needed to cultivate Savage Bull Fist or True Combined Strength to Great Accomplishment would be cut down considerably.
It was just that the further one advanced in martial arts, the harder it became to make progress. Savage Bull Fist and True Combined Strength were both Third-class Martial Arts, after all, intended to introduce ordinary people to the Martial Path.
Even so, cultivating either to Great Accomplishment would take an ordinary person at least decades. By then, a lifetime would have passed.
Even the gifted needed several years.
Among ordinary people, Shen Fan's aptitude now stood head and shoulders above the rest. And yet, even so, he would still need about half a year to cultivate Savage Bull Fist to Great Accomplishment!
Of course, that was the speed under his current circumstances. If he could obtain a new martial art or better cultivation resources, that timeline could change.
Once his Entry-level Martial Arts reached Great Accomplishment, Shen Fan's martial realm would advance to Muscle Refining, and his strength would surge. He would even count as a core disciple in the Martial Hall!
Half a year wasn't a long time, but it certainly wasn't short, either. If he hadn't discovered the Attribute Panel's usefulness, Shen Fan would probably have kept his head down and trained.
But with such an astonishing aid at his disposal, wouldn't he be inviting heaven's wrath if he didn't use it?
So rather than train harder, Shen Fan would rather cultivate new martial arts. They didn't need to be powerful; as long as he could advance quickly and improve his lifespan and aptitude, that would be enough!
But obtaining martial arts in this world wasn't easy.
Especially in a small city like Laiyang City, martial arts could be considered exceedingly rare.
After all, they were the best shortcut for ordinary people to change their lot in life.
But getting one, even an Entry-level Martial Art, was incredibly difficult.
It might seem like Shen Fan had easily learned two Entry-level Martial Arts at the Ox Demon Martial Arts School, but that was only because of the school's deep foundations.
The Martial Arts School was renowned throughout Laiyang City.
As Shen Fan learned more, he discovered that there were five most powerful forces in Laiyang City.
They were the City Lord's Mansion and the Four Great Martial Arts Schools.
The City Lord's Mansion held the moral high ground and occupied the center of Laiyang City, while the Four Great Martial Arts Schools stood at the city's four corners, each controlling its own territory.
Within their respective territories, they held absolute authority.
Every shop in those areas had ties to the five great forces. Each year, the shops had to pay tribute to these overlords in exchange for protection.
Laiyang City had thus developed a peculiar order.
No matter how complicated or unjust it was, the hundreds of thousands of people in Laiyang City did, in fact, live relatively peacefully thanks to the efforts of these five forces.
And with the "support" of the people at the bottom, these overlords grew ever more powerful, their foundations ever deeper.
The ladder ordinary people could climb—the martial arts—was firmly in the hands of those powerful figures. Even if some arts had been left behind, there was no way they would be revealed lightly.
Otherwise, they would surely be oppressed and plundered!
So, if Shen Fan wanted to obtain new martial arts, the best way was to get them from a Martial Arts School. But there was one prerequisite: he needed money!
That was right. If disciples wanted to learn more powerful arts, they had to pay a great deal of money. An ordinary Entry-level Martial Art cost about ten taels of silver, a Third-class Martial Art twenty taels, and a Second-class Martial Art one hundred taels. First-class Martial Arts were priceless—they could only be taught personally by a Hall Master!
After all, even a Second-class Martial Art could only be cultivated to the Viscera Refining realm. Reaching Peak Viscera Refining was impossible.
But a First-class Martial Art could help a Martial Artist break through the Qi and Blood Great Realm and enter the Xiantian realm. Such arts had long since become family heirlooms of the great forces. How could they possibly be taught lightly?
If one leaked, an entire force could be wiped out!
But Second-class Martial Arts and anything below them were different. Even if someone secretly learned one, they still couldn't defeat the leaders of forces that cultivated First-class Martial Arts. So a little risk of leakage didn't matter.
One had to admit, the "intellectual property rights" of martial arts were very well protected in this world, and they were also exceptionally good at making people "pay for knowledge."
When Shen Fan learned the prices of these arts, he was dumbstruck for a long while.
At his current "salary" of two taels of silver a month, he would need at least five months to afford a new martial art. Then, cultivating it to Minor Accomplishment would take another ten-odd days. With that much time, he could simply rely on his own efforts to cultivate Savage Bull Fist or True Combined Strength to Great Accomplishment!
He was sure that the gains from advancing an art to Great Accomplishment would exceed the cumulative gains from advancing it to Minor Accomplishment.
So, for now, Shen Fan had no easy way to obtain a new martial art.
It seemed his "add points to aptitude" plan was about to die before it even got started.
For a while, Shen Fan felt rather glum. He couldn't even focus on his training, and his cultivation efficiency noticeably fell.
Just then, the apprentice Li An seemed to notice Shen Fan's gloom.
Over the past ten-odd days, Li An had also received plenty of consideration from Shen Fan, who always gave him the easiest jobs.
So Li An knew that Senior Brother Shen was a good person.
To repay Shen Fan's kindness, Li An was always careful whenever he brought tea or water. He made sure the tea leaves had properly unfurled, the water was just the right temperature, and every little detail was handled well.
Now, seeing his senior brother looking troubled, Li An couldn't help asking, "Senior Brother Shen, is something bothering you? You can tell me about it, if you like."
Seeing Li An's cautious expression, Shen Fan paused, then smiled faintly. "It's nothing major. I've just hit what seems to be a bottleneck in my cultivation lately. I was hoping to find some other martial arts to broaden my understanding, but—"
He didn't finish, but Li An understood at once.
Senior Brother Shen was short on money and couldn't afford the Martial Arts School's martial arts.
But martial arts were a top-tier "resource." How could an ordinary person possibly get one?
Even getting into the Ox Demon Martial Arts School had taken a stroke of luck for Li An. If he had had a martial art to offer, he certainly wouldn't have started out as an apprentice!
Seeing Li An furrow his brow, the faint light in Shen Fan's eyes dimmed again.
Right, this kid was only an apprentice, not even a disciple. How could he know of any martial arts the Martial Arts School hadn't collected?
Shen Fan shook his head, secretly laughing at his own wishful thinking.
But just as Shen Fan had given up hope entirely, Li An suddenly asked, "Would any martial art do?"
"Hm?"
"Of course. Any martial art will do, even an Entry-level one!"
Shen Fan replied firmly.
"Then, Senior Brother Shen, I actually do know of something!"
"Senior Brother, you should know that the martial arts collected by the major forces are all exceptionally powerful. They help Martial Artists advance quickly and grow stronger. As for the rest, they don't think much of them!"
Shen Fan immediately perked up.
"You mean—"
"Right. The kind that can only help ordinary people strengthen their bodies and loosen their sinews and joints: Health Cultivation Methods!"
"As far as I know, Health Cultivation Methods are extremely slow to cultivate, and they're powerless even after you learn them. Though mastering one can help someone advance, compared with other martial arts, they're truly far inferior!
"If you break through by relying on a Health Cultivation Method, your fighting strength will be the weakest at the same realm. You might even be killed by someone at a lower realm!
"So their slow cultivation speed and weak breakthroughs make most people dislike them. Some even look down on these methods."
"Brother Shen, I only know one, the Three Yuan Art. It's the most widely circulated Health Cultivation fist art in Laiyang City. Would you like to learn it?"
Li An asked timidly. Shen Fan thought he was mocking him.
After all, Martial Artists who cultivated Health Cultivation Methods were always ridiculed by the masses!
But how could Li An know that Shen Fan was staring straight at him as he said, "Learn it? Of course I want to!"
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