Perfection

Li Gan opened his eyes. It was as though lightning had flashed into being from the void. He stretched out his palm, and a strange current of air surged from the acupoint in its center, whirling endlessly above his hand with faint hissing sounds.

"Is this Internal Qi?"

Li Gan muttered to himself.

Suddenly, his hand shifted. He pressed his fingers together like a sword and slashed through the air. Accompanied by a shrill whistle, a streak of Sword Qi shot forth, flying a full three feet before dissipating.

Yet after that single strike, he immediately felt his Internal Qi had been greatly depleted, leaving him with an intangible sense of emptiness.

"At most, it can travel three feet before the Internal Qi disperses. Its effective attack range is probably only around one foot."

Li Gan muttered to himself.

Do not underestimate that extra foot. It was equivalent to wielding a one-foot-long sword, greatly increasing its threat.

As the saying went, an inch longer, an inch stronger.

What was more, Internal Qi attacks were abrupt and traceless to begin with. In battle, they posed a far greater threat than weapons.

The drawback was that Internal Qi was consumed upon use and could not be recovered at all.

Once his Internal Qi was excessively depleted, he would be no different from a Martial Apprentice with Internal Force.

"Besides, the Internal Qi attack I just released was only formed through the guidance of the Sword Piercing Fist. Its offensive power is extremely limited. A true Martial Technique would surely be far more powerful."

Li Gan sighed.

Obtaining Martial Techniques and better martial arts cultivation methods would not be easy for him at all.

He did not have many Contribution Points. Even though he knew the Black Market had plenty of good things, he had no chance of getting his hands on them.

He could only place his hopes on the Treasure Map Elder Song had left behind.

But his current strength was too weak. He simply did not dare take such a huge risk.

"Better to take it slowly. I'm a Ranked Martial Artist now, with at least some ability to protect myself."

Li Gan shook his head, casting those unrealistic thoughts out of his mind.

After becoming a Ranked Martial Artist, Li Gan's daily routine did not change in the slightest.

Ringing the bell, practicing martial arts.

It was only that the Sword Piercing Fist was becoming less and less effective, and his Internal Qi was increasing at an extremely slow pace.

He urgently needed a genuine Internal Cultivation Technique. Even with the Chen Bell assisting his cultivation, his Cultivation Base would remain stuck at the Postnatal Realm First Layer for a long time.

Time passed day by day.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had gone by.

Without realizing it, he had already spent two full years in the Divine Sword Sect as a Menial Disciple.

Host: Li Gan.

Cultivation Base: Postnatal Realm (First Layer 17/100).

Sacrificial Tool: Chen Bell (Treasure 721/1000).

Martial Arts: Sword Piercing Fist (Great Accomplishment 99/100).

The information displayed on the System Panel had changed greatly.

His Cultivation Base had reached the Postnatal Realm First Layer.

Moreover, a progress indicator had appeared after the First Layer.

Even the Sword Piercing Fist now had a progress indicator after it. This had appeared after he became a Ranked Martial Artist.

After several consecutive months of cultivation, his Internal Qi Cultivation Base had only increased by seventeen points—roughly three points per month.

At his current cultivation speed, it would probably take him more than two years to reach the Second Layer of the Postnatal Realm.

It was simply far too slow.

There were nine layers in the Postnatal Realm. If advancing from the First Layer to the Second Layer took three years, would reaching the Postnatal Realm Ninth Layer not take decades, perhaps even a century? No, he would never be able to cultivate that far...

The higher one's Cultivation Base, the more difficult cultivation became and the slower one progressed.

There was no helping it. The cultivation effect of the Sword Piercing Fist would grow worse and worse until it eventually became completely useless.

"Should I take the Inner Disciple assessment?"

That thought had crossed his mind for an instant.

But he immediately rejected it.

He absolutely could not leave the Bell Tower.

To him, martial cultivation was actually secondary. The most important thing was the Sacrificial Tool, the Chen Bell.

"In a little over a year, the Chen Bell will be able to upgrade once more. It will definitely undergo even greater changes."

Light flickered in Li Gan's eyes.

He had to be patient enough.

As for the hidden risks, he was now a Ranked Martial Artist. As long as he did not leave the Bell Tower, it could provide him with a certain degree of defense and sonic deterrence, thereby increasing his strength.

Although his Cultivation Base was only at the Postnatal Realm First Layer, with the Chen Bell, he should be able to deal with martial artists whose Cultivation Base was higher than his.

Of course, that was only his speculation.

After all, he had never used the Chen Bell's defensive or offensive abilities.

Chen Hour.

After Li Gan rang the bell, he practiced the Sword Piercing Fist again. Only after completing one Grand Heavenly Cycle did he stop.

With his current Cultivation Base, he had to practice the Sword Piercing Fist several times before he could complete a Grand Heavenly Cycle.

After finishing, his Internal Qi Cultivation Base had barely improved at all, and the progress indicator had not moved in the slightest.

However, his attention suddenly fell upon the Sword Piercing Fist's progress. It had already reached 99/100 two months ago.

That final point of progress seemed to be stuck, as though it had jammed.

"I wonder what changes there'll be once the Sword Piercing Fist breaks through beyond Great Accomplishment?"

He felt a little expectant.

Just then, Chen Yong's voice suddenly drifted up from the foot of the mountain. "Brother Gan."

Li Gan jumped down from the Bell Tower and came to the slope, where he saw Chen Yong rushing over with two wooden buckets slung from a shoulder pole.

"Chen Yong, pour it in there for me."

Li Gan said.

"Sure thing."

Chen Yong immediately strode over like the wind, carrying the buckets to a dirt pit covered with a wooden lid.

Lifting the lid, Chen Yong poured the two large buckets of night soil into it.

Li Gan had reclaimed quite a bit of land on the mountain to grow vegetables, and naturally, they needed fertilizer. Without chemical fertilizer, farm manure was the best possible choice.

"Brother Gan, this year's Combat Ranking List is about to begin. Are you joining?"

After finishing, Chen Yong suddenly asked.

"The Bell Tower can't be left unattended, so I won't be taking part."

Li Gan shook his head. "You plan to participate?"

"Yes. I'll treat it as training and broaden my horizons. Last time I joined the Combat Ranking List, I felt I gained quite a lot from it."

Chen Yong nodded.

After Chen Yong went down the mountain, Li Gan weeded the vegetables in the field. There was no need to fertilize them for the time being, and the night soil needed to ferment and mature properly before it could be used. Otherwise, it could easily burn the roots.

Halfway through his work, he returned to the Bell Tower, cleaned the mud from his hands and feet, then climbed onto the bell platform to prepare to ring the bell at Si Hour.

After ringing the bell for so long, his grasp of time had become extremely precise.

Now, unlike when he had first started, he no longer needed to wait half an hour in advance for fear of delaying the bell-ringing time.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

After the bell rang three times, Li Gan once again practiced the Sword Piercing Fist beside the Chen Bell. The lingering echoes of the bell resounded endlessly in his mind, making his Internal Qi even more lively. Guided by his fist technique, it flowed ever more smoothly, like running water.

All of a sudden, Li Gan's consciousness entered a wondrous state. It was as though inspiration had flashed through his mind. His Sword Piercing Fist underwent subtle adjustments and changes, and faintly, an invisible fist intent radiated from his body.

This caused the Internal Qi within him to accelerate violently. As the fist intent spread outward, his entire body seemed to become a razor-sharp sword bared from its sheath.

Invisible Sword Qi permeated his surroundings, slicing through the air.

Abruptly, he gave a low shout and thrust both fists out like twin swords, carrying a shrill whistle.

Bang! Bang!

With two soft sounds.

A hanging Hourglass was actually shattered by invisible Sword Qi. A great quantity of sand spilled out, scattering across the ground.

Li Gan opened his eyes, astonishment written across his face.

The place where he had performed his punches was more than a meter away from the shattered Hourglass.

At such a distance, it should have been impossible to shatter it through the air with Internal Qi.

After all, the Sword Piercing Fist's attack range was only around one foot.

But now, it had increased severalfold.

What was going on?

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something and hurriedly checked the information on the System Interface.

Martial Arts: Sword Piercing Fist (Perfection).