In the end, it took Lu Ming a full two hours, plus some practice after dinner, before he finally learned the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms.
That was because he already had a foundation in several finger techniques. Starting from scratch would not have been so simple.
On the surface, the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms was a staff technique. In truth, Feng Qingzhu had developed it by drawing inspiration from the Green Bamboo Gang's Dragon-Snake Staff Technique.
Through Feng Qingzhu's own innovations, its essence had gradually shifted until it revolved around acupoints.
Feng Qingzhu herself simply hadn't clearly realized that yet.
[Evolving acupoint divine ability (6648/10000)...]
Lu Ming returned to his courtyard and couldn't resist grabbing a staff to start practicing.
The result left him overjoyed.
That morning, after practicing the final set of Cloud-Piercing Finger, his Acupoint experience had reached 6642.
Now, after just one round of the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms, it had reached 6648—an increase of six experience points in one go!
Before, every time he practiced Cloud-Piercing Finger, he only gained four points.
In other words, the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms gave him an extra two experience points.
"Feng Qingzhu's comprehension really is astonishing. It was her first time creating a technique, and she actually came up with a second-rate martial art!"
Lu Ming was both astonished and delighted.
Only second-rate martial arts could grant two extra experience points.
It was true that the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms had borrowed from the Dragon-Snake Staff Technique, a top-tier second-rate staff technique. Even so, this was more than enough to show how impressive Feng Qingzhu was.
Lu Ming pushed his distracting thoughts aside and continued practicing with renewed excitement.
Now that each practice session gained him six experience points, he could earn 450 in a day.
In just eight days, he could save up enough experience to evolve his third Acupoint Divine Ability.
That would leave him with more than half a month before the Grand Examination. If he worked hard, perhaps he could evolve his third Leg Dao Divine Ability and strengthen his arsenal of abilities.
His efforts over the past several days hadn't been in vain. And those stories he'd told hadn't been for nothing, either.
Lu Ming smugly congratulated himself. Just as he was about to keep practicing, he suddenly remembered, I haven't taken the Enlightenment Pill yet!
He immediately took out an Enlightenment Pill. It was dark and unremarkable, with a faint medicinal aroma.
He'd been worried that taking the Enlightenment Pill at the Grand Martial Arts Arena would leave him vulnerable to distractions, ruin his concentration, and waste a pill.
So he hadn't taken one during his morning practice. He'd planned to test its effects first, then decide whether to take it in the morning next time.
Now, alone in his own courtyard with no one to disturb him, he naturally had to take today's pill.
"Let's see what epiphany feels like." With that thought, Lu Ming swallowed the Enlightenment Pill.
The pill didn't hit his stomach with the explosive force of Qi-Nurturing Powder, nor did it have the gentle, lingering medicinal effect of a Qi-Enhancing Pill.
It was like swallowing an ordinary mint. Apart from making his breath fresher, he felt nothing.
"Hm? Wait." Lu Ming soon felt that cool, clear sensation spread from his mouth throughout his body.
His mind in particular became perfectly calm, a flood of inspiration welling within it.
The world around him seemed different from usual, every sensation far clearer.
It worked!
Lu Ming's spirits lifted. Not daring to waste the pill's effects, he immediately began practicing.
[Evolving acupoint divine ability (6660/10000)...]
He continued practicing the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms. When he saw the information from the Divine Ability Panel, he stared in stunned disbelief.
6660?
Hadn't it just been 6648?
"What happened?" Lu Ming's heart pounded. His Acupoint experience had suddenly increased by twelve points.
He'd taken the Enlightenment Pill only to master the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms as quickly as possible. Once he got the technique down and gained its steady bonus experience, he could switch back to Cloud-Piercing Finger.
After all, Wei Jinlin had set him the goal of reaching Minor Completion in Cloud-Piercing Finger before the Grand Examination.
He hadn't expected this practice session to double the experience he gained!
An epiphany!
Lu Ming's eyes widened slightly. This had to be the effect of an epiphany.
Practicing in an epiphany state could actually double the experience gained toward evolving a Divine Ability?!
The unexpected surprise sent Lu Ming into a frenzy of delight.
The Divine Ability Panel was a game cheat he'd used in his previous life, but it had slight differences from one game to another.
He hadn't expected the panel to have a feature in this world that doubled his gains during an epiphany.
It made sense, on second thought. An epiphany was no ordinary state, so doubling the efficiency of evolving a Divine Ability was perfectly reasonable.
That meant the Enlightenment Pill gave Lu Ming a double bonus, leaving him thoroughly satisfied.
With the Enlightenment Pill, he effectively gained the practice experience of an extra full day every day.
That meant 900 experience points a day!
He could evolve his third Acupoint Divine Ability in just four days!
Lu Ming was suddenly full of motivation.
"Time to grind!"
He gripped a short staff and immediately started practicing the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms.
[Evolving acupoint divine ability (6672/10000)...]
[Evolving acupoint divine ability (6684/10000)...]
[Evolving acupoint divine ability (6696/10000)...]
The rapidly rising Acupoint experience filled Lu Ming with excitement, and the more he practiced, the harder he went at it.
That day, he practiced late into the night, using up the three hours he had left before finally going to bed.
The next day, having learned from experience, he knew the Enlightenment Pill's effects were special and that its medicinal power made them difficult to disrupt.
So he took the pill early, then headed to the Grand Martial Arts Arena.
"Brother Lu, I never would have guessed you'd been hiding your abilities so well. You made a name for yourself in one fell swoop and even won the favor of Pavilion Master Qin of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion."
As soon as Lu Ming entered the Grand Martial Arts Arena, a graceful young man approached with a smile to congratulate him.
He took a closer look. It was Zhao Zhiqiu, whom he'd dealt with before.
Lu Ming smiled. "I just got lucky, just lucky."
After the preliminary test, Zhao Zhiqiu had returned to his family. He'd only come back today, and now he brought a young man over to Lu Ming and said:
"This is my younger kinsman, Zhao Ming. He just reached Major Completion in Skin Refining and has come to the Grand Martial Arts Arena.
"I've already sponsored someone, so I can't sponsor Zhao Ming as well.
"Brother Lu, you're now at the Flesh Refining stage, and you haven't sponsored anyone yet. Would you be willing to help look after my younger brother?
"If you agree, I'll offer you two hundred silver taels in thanks."
The young Zhao Ming held a wooden tray covered with red cloth. The outline of silver ingots was faintly visible underneath. He stepped forward respectfully and said:
"Zhao Ming requests Brother Lu's protection."
Only then did Lu Ming suddenly realize that, now that he had reached the Flesh Refining stage, he was not only eligible to train at the Grand Martial Arts Arena for the full session himself, but could also sponsor one other person.
He remembered how no one had been willing to sponsor him before, and how he'd struggled to get Feng Qingzhu to help, relying on a Qi-Enhancing Pill. Now a Zhao Family prodigy had come seeking his help for a younger kinsman, offering two hundred taels of silver for his protection.
A surge of pride welled in Lu Ming's chest. He knew that with his current cultivation, even without the Heavenly Secret Pavilion recruiting him, his standing had already changed.
His Sweet Dew Powder was almost used up. With these two hundred taels, he could prepare twenty more portions.
So Lu Ming accepted the silver and smiled. "Since Brother Zhao asked, of course I'll help."
Zhao Zhiqiu chuckled. "Brother Lu, you're a straightforward man!"
A hint of delight appeared on Zhao Ming's face as well. With Lu Ming's protection, he would be able to train for the full three hours at the Grand Martial Arts Arena every day, giving him a much better chance of becoming a martial arts prodigy.
The two parties went to Wei Jinlin, registered the sponsorship, and completed the transaction smoothly.
Lu Ming entered the Iron Stake Area and continued practicing the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms.
[Evolving acupoint divine ability (7104/10000)...]
[Evolving...]
[Evolving acupoint divine ability (10008/10000)...]
Four days later.
At the Grand Martial Arts Arena, Lu Ming practiced the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms for the final time. Seeing that his Acupoint experience had finally reached the limit, he hurried out of the Iron Stake Area.
[Evolution complete!]
[Acquired acupoint divine ability: Finger Flick.]
(P.S. I miscalculated earlier. Based on the original progression, he would have evolved his third Acupoint Divine Ability in a little over ten days, not fallen just short by the time of the Grand Examination. I've corrected the earlier parts.)
Heavenly Leak had reached Minor Completion, allowing him to see through walls.
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