Poor Scholarship, Rich Martial Arts

At the end of their talk, Lu Danian pulled another two taels of loose silver from his pocket and pressed it into Lu Chuan's hand. "Chuanzi, take it."

"Dad, I can't!" Lu Chuan quickly refused.

"I've joined the Martial Arts Hall now, I should figure things out on my own. The family's not well-off either..."

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

"Dad knows martial training takes strength. Just eating grain isn't enough—you need meat! Take this money and get yourself some meat every now and then."

Afraid Lu Chuan would still worry, he added, "Don't worry, I've bought enough grain to last us three months. As long as we get through this winter, once spring comes and there's more in the mountains, your old man has plenty of ways to get food!"

Hearing his father say this, Lu Chuan remembered he only had a little over one tael of silver left himself.

That amount probably wouldn't last long supporting the high energy consumption of martial training.

Lu Chuan stopped refusing and tucked the silver away. "Alright, Dad, I won't be polite then."

Afterward, Lu Chuan got up and went back to his room.

He closed the door, and darkness swallowed everything.

But though his body was utterly exhausted, he couldn't fall asleep at all.

Every time he shut his eyes, the faces of the Li Family Three Brothers flashed through his mind.

It was his first time killing someone, after all—how could it be easy?

"Hah, can't sleep..." Lu Chuan sat up abruptly, rubbing his temples. "No, I can't just lie here doing nothing."

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

"Then I'll practice the saber a bit."

He rose quietly, took down the long saber leaning against the wall.

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

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

Moonlight painted the yard a silvery white.

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

In his mind, the thirty-six forms of the Mountain Splitting Saber at Minor Success level surfaced one by one.

Then he moved.

At first, Lu Chuan's movements were slow, each one striving for precision.

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

The long saber in his hands danced naturally with the rotation of his body—chopping, slashing, lifting, hooking, wiping... the basic forms unfolded one after another.

As the saber technique progressed, Lu Chuan felt a wondrous change happening inside him!

A faint current of heat, as if drawn from the depths of his bones and sinews, slowly surged through his body.

"So this is... the feeling of Tempering Qi and Blood?" Lu Chuan was both startled and delighted.

Senior Disciple Brother Zhou had said that only by training the Mountain Splitting Saber to Initiate could one truly begin to channel Qi and Blood to temper the body.

And he, with Minor Success-level insights in his mind, could naturally touch that threshold quickly!

"A Minor Success-level saber technique, and the speed at which it channels Qi and Blood to temper the body... truly fast!" His heart surged with excitement, and he focused even more.

Under the moonlight, the boy's figure shifted and turned in the courtyard, the saber's gleam appearing and vanishing.

Before he knew it, two hours had flown by.

Lu Chuan was completely immersed in the wondrous sensation of his strength gradually growing.

With every repetition, his power increased by a tangible amount.

This feeling was more real than any game level-up.

But everything has its limit.

After two hours, Lu Chuan felt the faint Qi and Blood that had been slowly circulating inside him gradually drain away, and a gnawing hunger crept over his body.

"Damn..." Lu Chuan's forehead was drenched in sweat as he gasped for air.

"I only trained for two hours... that Yam Stewed Meat I ate today cost at least a qian of silver... and it's already used up?"

Only then did he truly understand what Senior Disciple Brother Zhou Ming Chuan meant when he said, "Meat is absolutely vital."

A Minor Success-level saber technique was extremely efficient at channeling and tempering Qi and Blood, but its consumption of the body was equally astonishing!

Without sufficient Flesh and Blood essence to replenish it, this kind of training could hardly be sustained, and might even damage one's foundation.

A wave of intense fatigue washed over him again.

"Time to rest..." Lu Chuan shook his dizzy head. "When dawn comes, I still have to go to the Martial Arts Hall..."

Back in his room, his head had barely touched the pillow before he sank into deep sleep.

He slept less than two hours. As soon as the sky began to lighten, Lu Chuan forced himself up and set out on the road to the Martial Arts Hall.

By the time he arrived at Mountain Splitting Saber Hall, the Training Ground was already buzzing with noise.

Dozens of disciples had taken their stances, practicing the Thirty-Six Basic Forms of the Mountain Splitting Saber.

Lu Chuan didn't dare slack off. He grabbed a long saber and joined the practice.

He only drilled the three most basic slashing forms Zhou Ming Chuan had taught him yesterday, his movements barely passable.

But as he practiced, Lu Chuan's heart stirred.

He noticed his panel had changed somehow.

[Name: Lu Chuan]

[Age: 16]

[Martial Arts: Basic Archery Skill - Minor Accomplishment (Draws Six-Power Bow, no missed shots within sixty paces) Mountain Splitting Saber - Minor Accomplishment (1/500)]

[Talent: Eagle Eye]

[Collectible Weapons: 1]

Sure enough, behind the Mountain Splitting Saber entry, a proficiency marker (1/500) had appeared!

"Does this represent the results of my own hard training?" Lu Chuan understood instantly.

The system had granted him martial insights by collecting the weapon, but he could also raise his martial realm through sheer effort.

That 1 probably came from last night's exhausting, blood-draining practice.

"But... the results aren't much." Lu Chuan calculated quickly.

A whole night of training, nearly collapsing from exhaustion, and he'd only gained 1 point of proficiency.

At this rate, to rack up 500 points... wouldn't that take nearly a year and a half?

"My talent... looks like it's really average." Lu Chuan shook his head inwardly, but felt little discouragement.

"Forget it," he adjusted his mindset quickly.

"A Minor Accomplishment level Mountain Splitting Saber is more than enough for Tempering Qi and Blood. Now..."

"The most urgent thing is to eat meat!"

He glanced at the disciples on the Training Ground. Many of them practiced with strong, full voices, clearly getting proper nutrition.

Those dressed as shabbily as him were few.

"No wonder they say poverty breeds scholars, wealth breeds warriors..." Lu Chuan tightened his grip on the saber hilt.

The Martial Arts Hall's morning practice ended with Old Zheng's shout.

Lu Chuan put away his saber and was about to find Senior Disciple Brother Zhou Ming Chuan for more lessons when he saw Chen Mo Bai strolling over slowly.

"Junior Disciple Brother Lu," Chen Mo Bai said in a flat tone, "How are those three forms Junior Disciple Brother Zhou taught you yesterday? Any questions?"

Lu Chuan knew in his heart that this Senior Disciple Brother was probably just going through the motions.

He performed the three basic slashing forms as he'd learned them yesterday, but kept his skill level at just Initiate level.

Chen Mo Bai watched, his face expressionless. "Mm, your stance is decent. Looks like Junior Disciple Brother Zhou taught you well. Keep practicing."

With that, he turned and left, clearly uninterested in Lu Chuan's mediocre progress.

Lu Chuan watched him go, his mind untroubled.

This was fine. He didn't want to stick around that fat bastard anyway.

As for those Five Taels of Silver, "I'll make you cough it up double when the time comes!"