No matter how the world outside changed, Shen Fan kept to his own path, practicing the Three Yuan Art—a Health Cultivation Method looked down upon by many of the martial school's disciples.
At first, facing the pointing fingers and whispers of most people had embarrassed Shen Fan a little. But once he got used to it, he could take both praise and scorn in stride.
In a way, this had tempered Shen Fan's State of Mind and made his resolve to pursue the Martial Path even firmer.
More than ten days slipped by in a flash.
One evening, the setting sun on the horizon turned an unusually vivid red. The soft clouds of dusk hung across the sky like a curtain.
In a secluded corner, Shen Fan practiced the Three Yuan Art beneath the evening glow. His movements were slow, yet carried a special quality—if one had to describe it in a single word, it was artistry.
With each move and stance, he flowed with unrestrained ease and grace, like a Martial Path grandmaster, blending into the world around him.
Cultivating health meant nourishing the body, but even more, it meant nourishing life itself.
Though the Three Yuan Art had no powerful moves for defeating enemies, its benefits exceeded Shen Fan's wildest expectations.
The deeper he practiced, the more he felt the art's remarkable power.
Over the past few days, Shen Fan had nearly brought the Three Yuan Art to Minor Accomplishment. His rapid progress was also thanks to the surprises he'd gotten from the entry-level Three Yuan Art.
Since it was a Health Cultivation Method, breaking through with the Three Yuan Art had added a full seven years to Shen Fan's lifespan—almost as much as breaking through to Minor Accomplishment with a technique like the Savage Bull Fist would grant.
And the greater his lifespan, the stronger his aptitude became. Though it hadn't quite increased by a whole point, Shen Fan could still feel the improvement.
So Shen Fan devoted himself even more to practicing the Three Yuan Art as his primary technique.
Then, today, he suddenly felt that he had reached a minor bottleneck.
Beneath the blood-red setting sun, Shen Fan's mind grew exceptionally calm. His understanding of the Three Yuan Art deepened, and the moves he performed took on more and more spirit.
"Whoosh!"
When Shen Fan reached the peak of his practice, a warm current suddenly surged up from the soles of his feet. It was unmistakably a surge of qi and blood!
The qi and blood spread throughout his body, stirring the rest of it into motion and coursing through his flesh.
"I broke through!" Shen Fan was delighted, but soon his expression turned uncertain.
He had suddenly discovered that this newly formed qi and blood contained a special energy. Wherever it flowed, his meridians grew more resilient.
Even the damaged areas showed signs of healing. But as this miraculous qi and blood repaired the hidden injuries he had sustained from martial training, it also brought him pain.
After all, these were ailments that had built up over many years. It was inevitable that the qi and blood's impact would cause sharp stabs of pain.
That was what had unsettled Shen Fan. But once the pain faded, a feeling of even greater comfort spread through him, and he understood that this was a good change.
He calmed himself, activated the Three Yuan Art, and accelerated the flow of its qi and blood.
Half an hour later, Shen Fan suddenly stopped. His eyes narrowed, and then he spat out a mouthful of black blood.
A foul stench rose from where the blood splattered.
These were the injuries and ailments that had accumulated over many years. At last, Shen Fan had expelled them from his body.
The results were striking. Once they were gone, Shen Fan felt clear-headed and sharp-eyed, his vision bright. His body seemed to have slipped free of a shackle, becoming lighter and more agile.
Breaking through with the technique had improved Shen Fan's aptitude, though he couldn't tell exactly by how much.
On top of that, he could wield the technique with greater ease! That meant he'd be able to bring more of his combat strength to bear.
Host: Shen Fan Aptitude: 15 (Some Talent) Lifespan: 80 Martial Path: Savage Bull Fist (Minor Accomplishment), True Combined Strength (Minor Accomplishment), Three Yuan Art (Minor Accomplishment) Realm: Peak Skin Refining
Shen Fan opened the Attribute Panel and nodded with satisfaction.
His aptitude had increased by two points, giving his cultivation speed another substantial boost. His lifespan had reached eighty years, practically the limit for ordinary people. At least since he'd crossed over, Shen Fan hadn't met anyone who lived past eighty.
Even high-level Martial Artists, such as those at the Blood Condensation and Viscera Refining stages, only lived for a mere sixty or seventy years!
And he was hardly any different from ordinary people.
But today, at least in terms of lifespan, Shen Fan had surpassed them.
It was all thanks to the Three Yuan Art reaching Minor Accomplishment. Shen Fan had to admit, a Health Cultivation Method really did what it promised: reaching entry level had added seven years to his life, and Minor Accomplishment had added another thirteen!
He shouldn't underestimate this. Lifespan gains clearly diminished as one progressed to later stages. Yet the Three Yuan Art at Minor Accomplishment had still added so much to Shen Fan's life—almost as much as reaching Great Accomplishment with other entry-level martial arts!
This gave Shen Fan a new idea, though he'd need to plan it out carefully later.
Most exciting of all, the qi and blood in his body seemed to have reached a limit. That meant he was on the verge of breaking through to Muscle Refining!
Normally, one needed to bring a fist technique to Great Accomplishment before entering Muscle Refining. But Shen Fan had defied convention and would break through to Muscle Refining by another method.
That was what excited Shen Fan most. It would save him several months of hard work.
But it made sense. In the Qi and Blood Great Realm, qi and blood were everything. With enough qi and blood, a Martial Artist could improve rapidly.
And Shen Fan, who had brought three entry-level martial arts to Minor Accomplishment, already had enough qi and blood to break through to the next stage. So it was only natural that he would advance to Muscle Refining.
If he managed to bring all three entry-level martial arts to Great Accomplishment, he might even break through the techniques' limits and reach Bone Forging!
It was all still speculation, but even the possibility thrilled Shen Fan.
"Give me a day or two to get used to my qi and blood, and I should be able to use it to nourish my flesh. Breaking through to Muscle Refining will happen naturally!"
A flash of light passed through Shen Fan's eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
Sure enough, two days later, Shen Fan successfully broke through to Muscle Refining. No one knew, though, since the breakthrough made no sound. In fact, breakthroughs in the Qi and Blood Great Realm were all silent, as they usually involved changes within the body.
But though others didn't know, Shen Fan certainly did.
The moment he entered Muscle Refining, his strength surged by several hundred pounds. His single-arm strength exceeded three hundred pounds, and this was only the beginning of Muscle Refining. Once he reached its peak, a thousand pounds of strength would be nothing unusual!
Shen Fan clenched his fist, feeling explosive power surge through him.
He spotted a stone weight in the corner and charged straight over. Gripping it with both hands, he set his stance and lifted the nearly seven-hundred-pound stone weight!
Then he set it down again. He hadn't controlled his strength properly, and the stone weight cracked the floor when it hit.
Shen Fan startled, noticed no one was around, and hurriedly slipped away.
Breaking the Martial Hall's property meant he'd have to pay for the damage!
Speaking of money, today was also payday at the Martial Hall. As a formal disciple, he received two taels of silver each month.
In this world, at least in Laiyang City, silver still had quite a lot of purchasing power.
One tael of silver could be exchanged for a thousand copper coins, and one copper coin was roughly equivalent to one yuan in Shen Fan's former world.
For an ordinary family, those two taels of silver were enough to cover at least two months of expenses for a family of four. But at the Ox Demon Martial Arts School, it was merely pocket money for a formal disciple!
Shen Fan went off to collect his pay, full of excitement.
After he left, several disciples who had been studying at the school for years happened to pass by the place where Shen Fan had broken through.
One of them noticed the cracked floor beneath the stone weight and asked curiously, "Which Senior Brother was practicing here? Why did he need a stone weight?"
"Yeah, that stone weight looks pretty heavy!"
As he spoke, the veteran disciple tried to move the stone weight back into place. But when he bent down, grabbed it, and tried to lift it, he discovered that it was far heavier than he'd expected.
With his strength at Peak Skin Refining, he couldn't move the stone weight at all!
He strained until his face was red and his neck bulged, but in the end, he gave up.
His companions immediately teased him. "Liu Kui, what's wrong with you today? Feeling weak? You can't even lift a stone weight?"
Liu Kui bristled. "If you're so capable, try it yourselves!"
To prove their manly strength, the others took turns trying too. Unfortunately, not one of them succeeded.
After all, though these men had been studying at the school for years, they were all at Peak Skin Refining. How could they possibly lift a seven-hundred-pound stone weight?
"An accomplished Senior Brother must have moved it. That's incredible!"
The others nodded, their faces full of admiration.
If they knew it had been lifted by a new disciple who'd only been there a month, who knew what their faces would look like!
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