"Knock, knock, knock..."
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Lu Ming heard the commotion coming from the neighboring courtyards and opened his eyes.
The examinations had begun!
Even at night, he had occasionally heard the sounds of people practicing martial arts as he slept. Some were training through the night.
Now they were starting so early, too, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous. He cursed under his breath. None of you care if you live or die.
He immediately got up, washed up quickly, ate some dry rations, then left his room and went over to the Nine Palaces Stakes.
By now, he was fully awake. After briefly reviewing the finger techniques from the Bone-Unraveling Technique, he stepped into the Nine Palace Living Stakes with a Mud-Wading Step.
He had trained hard all afternoon yesterday and reached the level of five breaths, nine strikes. That meant he could cross the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes within five breaths and hit all nine wooden tablets.
Today was his first time entering the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes and striking the tablets with the finger techniques from the Bone-Unraveling Technique.
He heard nine sharp taps, and Lu Ming stepped out at the other end of the Nine Palaces Stakes. Since he had changed his striking method, he felt he had been a breath slower.
He had dropped to six breaths, nine strikes.
But when the Divine Ability Panel's information came through, a hint of delight rose in his heart.
[Acupoint Divine Ability evolving (42/1000)...]
42!
His experience had reached 42. He remembered ending yesterday at 40, which meant he had just gained two experience points in one go!
He had doubled it!
Lu Ming clenched his fists in excitement. This meant he wasn't limited to gaining 40 experience a day—he could earn a full 80!
He had originally needed twenty-five days to evolve his Acupoint Divine Ability again, but now he needed less than thirteen.
The time required to cultivate had shrunk dramatically!
The finger techniques really were related to acupoints. And his memory had been right: as long as he practiced different methods of the same kind, each with a different underlying principle, he could shorten the time needed to evolve that kind of divine ability.
That was because evolving a divine ability required him to have experience in that area. The more he learned about finger techniques, the easier it would be to deduce an Acupoint Divine Ability.
The only downside was that after one round, his fingers seemed a little swollen and ached faintly.
"Finger techniques are tough at the beginning! Harder than palm blades!" Lu Ming grimaced slightly as he applied medicine to his fingers.
His fingers felt cool, then a little hot, before slowly returning to normal. Without hesitation, he turned around and continued practicing.
[Acupoint Divine Ability evolving (44/1000)...] [Evolving...] [Acupoint Divine Ability evolving (60/1000)...]
In just one hour, he crossed the Nine Palaces Stakes ten times, and his experience shot straight up to 60.
Yesterday, it had risen one point at a time. Now it was going up two points at a time, clearly much faster. The anticipation in his heart grew. It wouldn't be long now—soon, he would evolve a divine ability again.
And after ten rounds, he had gradually mastered striking the wooden tablets with his fingers, returning to the level of five breaths, nine strikes.
"Clang! Clang!" Just then, the bell summoning everyone to the Martial Arts Arena rang. He headed straight out to practice there.
Since he had to pay for any wooden tablets he broke himself, he didn't dare use his full strength when practicing alone.
So he had to practice on the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes at the Martial Arts Arena at least once or twice a day to test his progress.
If he broke any tablets there, Wei Jinlin would replace them, and Lu Ming wouldn't have to pay.
Over the next ten days, he trained diligently every day.
He had completely mastered the finger techniques in the Bone-Unraveling Technique and could execute them smoothly while moving through the Nine Palace Living Stakes.
He had long since reached the level of three breaths, nine strikes on the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes.
His performance at the Martial Arts Arena had also attracted some attention. After all, once you reached three breaths, nine strikes, the next step was three breaths, nine breaks!
That step was difficult. He had to transform Integrated Force into Blood-Qi Power and use Blood-Qi Power to temper his skin, reaching the realm of Skin Refining before he could do it.
But many people struggled even to reach three breaths, nine strikes, let alone three breaths, nine breaks.
It could be said that Lu Ming had already touched the threshold of a martial artist. He was just one step away from advancing.
Once he became a martial artist, past experience suggested he would definitely rank within the top two hundred at the Military Service Bureau. After the Grand Examination, he would at least earn the status of a martial warrior. That would change everything!
Lu Ming paid no attention to the looks of others and simply buried himself in training.
More exciting to him than reaching three breaths, nine strikes on the Nine Palace Living Stakes was the fact that after ten days, his acupoint experience was nearly full.
[Acupoint Divine Ability evolving (920/1000)...]
920 experience!
At dusk, after completing his final round on the Nine Palace Living Stakes, Lu Ming felt an ache all over his body, especially in his fingers. His heart, however, was bursting with excitement.
He needed only 80 more experience to evolve his Acupoint Divine Ability.
That meant... he could evolve it after training tomorrow!
That night, he slept soundly and drifted off with eager anticipation.
"Who dares trespass in the Military Service Bureau!"
Just as he was sleeping deeply, a thunderous shout rang out, shaking the entire Military Service Bureau.
Lu Ming woke with a start and rushed outside. The stars filled the sky; it was the dead of night.
That had been Wei Jinlin's voice! After the shout, three dark figures leaped onto the rooftops and fled in three different directions.
"Die!"
Another shout rang out, this time accompanied by the faint rumble of thunder.
One of the three figures cried out in horror, "Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound!"
"No..."
In the darkness, three pale streams of air shot out like arrows, striking the three men in the blink of an eye.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three were struck in midair by the streams of air. Blood sprayed as they fell straight to the ground.
Cries of alarm erupted around them. Someone lit a lamp, and people opened their doors and came outside.
"It's over. Go back and get some rest. Continue practicing tomorrow."
Wei Jinlin's calm voice rang out. Everyone immediately answered respectfully, glanced at him with awe, then turned and went back to their courtyards.
But many people would probably lie awake that night. His body produced the roar of tigers and leopards, and he could kill with arrows of air shot from his mouth!
Wei Jinlin's strength was terrifying.
Lu Ming shut the courtyard gate. Recalling what he had just seen, he couldn't help yearning for such power.
He suddenly understood why Wei Jinlin hadn't even hired any guards. He had thought Wei Jinlin was simply stingy about this, too.
Now he knew the truth: Wei Jinlin alone was enough to guard the sprawling Military Service Bureau!
His strength was terrifying.
Lu Ming's blood surged with excitement. He returned to his room, still thrilled.
After a long while, he finally calmed down, but his brow furrowed slightly.
This world was far from peaceful. He was now in Red Cloud County of the Great Li Dynasty, yet the Dynasty's power could not overshadow those martial sects.
The Dynasty and the sects were both ruled by higher-level orthodox lineages.
The Military Service Bureau was a force belonging to those orthodox lineages, and every county had one.
The talented disciples across the entire Great Li Dynasty had to be supplied to the orthodox lineages first, before the Dynasty and ordinary sects got their share.
Yet even with the Military Service Bureau's lofty status, someone had dared to spy on it in the dead of night. He had no idea what they were after.
If he wanted to survive in this world of martial arts, he had to improve his strength as much as possible.
Lu Ming thought to himself that he had to hurry.
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