The Cost of Literature is Poverty, the Cost of Martial Arts is Wealth

Talking until the end, Lu Danian took two taels of crushed silver from his pocket once more and shoved it into Lu Chuan's hand. "Chuanzi, take it."

"Father, how can I do this?" Lu Chuan hurriedly refused.

"I've entered the martial arts hall, so I should figure things out for myself, and the family isn't well-off either..."

"Take it!" Lu Danian's tone was firm.

"Father knows that practicing martial arts is hard physical work. Just eating grain isn't enough; you have to see meat and grease! Take this money and go eat a meal of meat every few days!"

Fearing that Lu Chuan wouldn't be at ease, he spoke again.

"Rest assured, the grain your father bought is enough for the two of us to eat for three months. As long as we get through this winter, once spring arrives and there are plenty of things in the mountains, your father has plenty of ways to get food!"

Hearing his father say this, Lu Chuan thought again of how he indeed only had a little over one tael of silver left on him.

This bit of money probably really couldn't last long if he wanted to support the high consumption required for practicing martial arts.

Lu Chuan no longer refused, putting the silver away. "All right then, Father, I won't stand on ceremony."

Subsequently, Lu Chuan got up and returned to his room.

Closing the door, pitch-black enveloped him.

Yet his body was clearly tired to the absolute extreme, and he couldn't sleep no matter what.

As soon as he closed his eyes, the faces of the Li Family Three Brothers repeatedly flashed in his mind.

After all, it was his first time killing someone; how could it be that easy.

Hah, I can't sleep... Lu Chuan abruptly sat up, rubbing his temples. No, I can't just lie here like this.

Since he couldn't sleep, he might as well do something useful.

Then I'll practice the saber for a bit.

He got up on tiptoe and took down that long saber leaning against the wall.

From his parents' room next door came the sound of even breathing; they were already fast asleep.

Lu Chuan pushed open the room door and stepped into the chilly courtyard.

The moonlight illuminated the courtyard in a sheet of silver white.

He gripped the hilt with both hands and slowly closed his eyes.

In his mind, the thirty-six essential forms of the Mountain Splitting Saber at minor success level surfaced.

Immediately, he moved.

At the start, Lu Chuan's movements were very slow, striving for precision in every single movement.

Gradually, his saber technique began to flow, and his speed also picked up.

The long saber in his hand danced naturally with the turning of his body, cleaving, chopping, lifting, hanging, wiping... the basic forms unfolded one by one.

As the saber technique unfolded, Lu Chuan felt a certain wonderful change occur within his body!

A faint current of heat, as if drawn forth from the depths of his muscles and bones, slowly washed through his body.

"Is this... the feeling of tempering qi and blood?" Lu Chuan was both startled and overjoyed in his heart.

Senior Disciple Brother Zhou had said that only by practicing the Mountain Splitting Saber to the initiate stage could one truly begin to draw forth qi and blood to temper oneself.

And he, with the insights of the minor success level in his mind, could naturally quickly touch this threshold!

"The saber technique at the minor success level... the speed of drawing forth qi and blood to temper the flesh is truly fast!" He felt inspired in his heart and grew even more focused.

Beneath the moonlight, the youth's figure darted and turned in the courtyard, the saber light flickering in and out of view.

Unawares, two hours flashed by.

Lu Chuan was completely immersed in this wonderful sensation of strength gradually growing.

Every time he practiced it one more time, his strength also solidly grew just a tiny bit.

This feeling was far more real than any game leveling up.

Yet all things always had a limit.

Two hours later, Lu Chuan felt that the faint qi and blood originally circulating slowly in his body had gradually depleted to exhaustion, and a sense of hunger also came from his body.

"Good grief..." Lu Chuan's forehead was covered in sweat as he breathed heavily.

"I've only practiced for two hours... The yam stewed meat I ate today was worth at least a qian of silver... It actually consumed it all this fast?"

Only then did he truly experience what Senior Disciple Brother Zhou Ming Chuan's warning that "meat nourishment is paramount" meant.

Saber technique at the minor success level had an extremely high efficiency in drawing forth and tempering qi and blood, but its consumption of the body was likewise astonishing!

Without a plentiful supplement of flesh-and-blood essence, this kind of cultivation was simply difficult to sustain, and would even damage one's foundation.

A strong sense of exhaustion swept over him once more.

"I have to rest..." Lu Chuan shook his slightly dizzy head. "It's dawn, and I still have to go to the martial arts hall..."

Returning to the room, the moment his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.

Sleeping for less than two hours, just as the sky grew bright, Lu Chuan forced himself up and set off on the road toward the martial arts hall.

When he hurried to the Mountain Splitting Saber Hall, the training ground was already a boiling sea of voices.

Dozens of disciples had already struck their poses, practicing the thirty-six basic forms of the Mountain Splitting Saber.

Lu Chuan didn't dare to neglect, also finding a long saber to join the ranks of practice.

He only practiced the three most basic forms of cleaving and chopping that Zhou Ming Chuan had taught yesterday, his movements barely passing as standard.

However, as he practiced on, Lu Chuan's heart stirred.

He discovered that his status panel seemed to have undergone some changes.

[Name: Lu Chuan]
[Age: 16 years old]
[Martial Arts: Basic Archery - Minor Accomplishment (Draws the Six-Power Bow, within sixty paces, arrows never miss)
Mountain Splitting Saber - Minor Success (1/500)]
[Talent: Eagle Eye]
[Number of Weapons That Can Be Recorded: 1]

Behind the martial art Mountain Splitting Saber, a designation similar to proficiency had indeed appeared (1/500)!

"Does this represent the fruits of my own arduous practice?" Lu Chuan comprehended in an instant.

The system recording weapons directly bestowed martial arts comprehension upon him, but likewise, he could also elevate his martial arts realm through diligent, arduous practice.

This 1 probably came from last night's arduous practice that exhausted his qi and blood.

"However... this fruit isn't much." Lu Chuan calculated swiftly in his heart.

Practicing ardently all night until he was practically on the verge of collapse, and this only increased 1 point of proficiency.

At this rate, wanting to accumulate a full 500 points... wouldn't that take close to a year and a half?

"My talent... truly seems ordinary." Lu Chuan shook his head inwardly, yet didn't feel much dejection.

"Never mind," he quickly adjusted his state of mind.

"The Mountain Splitting Saber at the minor success level is more than enough in speed for tempering qi and blood. Right now..."

"The most urgent matter is to eat meat!"

He glanced at those disciples on the training ground; quite a few of them were full of vigorous breath when practicing, clearly keeping up with their nutrition.

As for those wearing shabby clothes like him, there weren't many.

"No wonder they say the cost of literature is poverty, the cost of martial arts is wealth..." Lu Chuan gripped the hilt of his saber tightly.

The martial arts hall's morning practice ended amidst Old Zheng's shout.

Lu Chuan put away his saber and prepared to go find Senior Disciple Brother Zhou Ming Chuan to continue his studies, when he saw Chen Mobai strolling over leisurely.

"Junior Disciple Brother Lu," Chen Mo Bai's tone was neither warm nor cold,

"How did you practice the three forms Senior Disciple Brother Zhou taught you yesterday? Is there anything you don't understand?"

Lu Chuan understood clearly in his heart that this Senior Disciple Brother was probably here to perfunctorily go through the motions.

Following what he had learned yesterday, he practiced those three basic cleaving and chopping forms once, but kept his standard controlled to look like he had just initiated.

After watching, Chen Mo Bai didn't have much expression on his face. "Mm, your posture is still considered correct. It seems Senior Disciple Brother Zhou taught with care; continue practicing."

Having said that, he turned and left, clearly having no interest whatsoever in this mediocre progress of his.

Lu Chuan watched him depart, his heart without a ripple.

This was just as well; anyway, he didn't want to stay with this dead fatty either.

As for those five taels of silver...

"When the time comes, I'll make you spit it back out twofold!"