Lu Yuan hadn't told Madam Yang what had happened last night.
There was no point in doing so. It would only make Madam Yang panic.
All he needed to do was train harder and do his best to gain the strength to protect himself as soon as possible.
"Roar... ha... hey..."
After arriving at Song Academy, Lu Yuan continued practicing the Five Animals Fist alongside Chen Pi and the others.
He had come alone today. Whether Master Song thought so highly of him, or there was some other reason, Fang Chang seemed to have stayed the night in the Inner Courtyard. He still hadn't shown up.
About half an hour later, Lu Yuan successfully completed a full set of the Five Animals Fist.
At the same time, the golden words on the Ancient Scroll in his mind changed once again.
[Five Animals Fist: Not yet mastered (35/100)]
After practicing the Five Animals Fist twice yesterday, his proficiency had reached 20.
He hadn't expected that today's first practice would nearly equal the progress he'd made over the previous two days.
At this rate, Lu Yuan was almost certain he would master the Five Animals Fist tomorrow.
"Keep going!"
After resting for a while, Lu Yuan began practicing the Five Animals Fist again.
[Five Animals Fist: Not yet mastered (60/100)]
Just as expected, after he finished his second practice of the day, his proficiency had increased substantially again.
"One day. I only need to wait one more day!"
Lu Yuan thought of the Black Tiger Gang thugs' conversation last night, and a trace of coldness crept into his eyes.
Unfortunately, his body was aching all over, and he was also feeling dizzy. His stamina was clearly spent, and he couldn't manage a third practice.
Otherwise, he would have mastered the Five Animals Fist today!
"Good news!"
Chen Pi suddenly came over, excitement written all over his face, and told everyone, "Brother Hong just told me that Master Song plans to pick the three best among us Outer Courtyard apprentices for special training. Anyone who places in the top three in tomorrow's strength test will get a serving of meat every day!"
At those words, almost everyone looked delighted.
They knew that practicing the Five Animals Fist drained them constantly.
Though ordinary meals and a night's rest were usually enough to help them recover, they needed meat if they wanted to recover faster.
Unfortunately, they were all from poor families. Even filling their bellies with wild greens and coarse grain was difficult, let alone eating meat.
In this day and age, even having enough money didn't guarantee you could buy good meat.
Now they had a chance to eat meat for free—and receive a serving every day. How could they not be excited? How could they not go wild with anticipation?
They rubbed their fists together and began training even harder, all to claim one of the top three spots tomorrow.
Lu Yuan was looking forward to it too. Ever since he awakened the Practice Makes Perfect fate, his progress was no longer limited by so-called talent or bottlenecks. What held him back was the resources he needed to recover his stamina.
If he could get a serving of meat every day, he could practice the Five Animals Fist at least one extra time each day.
Three practices a day would naturally help him improve even faster.
Since he couldn't practice the Five Animals Fist any further today, Lu Yuan turned and walked out of Song Academy.
For ordinary apprentices like them, who could only train in the Outer Courtyard, Master Song wouldn't teach them personally or spare them a second thought. He didn't care if they came late or left early. They could even sleep at home every day, and he wouldn't ask a thing.
In short, as long as they paid the one tael of silver tuition each month, they could come or go as they pleased.
As the saying went, "The master leads you through the door; your own cultivation is up to you."
Before heading home, Lu Yuan spent his last bit of silver on some food and bought something useful for self-defense, just in case.
He was almost certain he would master the Five Animals Fist tomorrow and gain some ability to protect himself. But he was dealing with two thugs who lived by the blade, so he still needed to make sure nothing could go wrong.
In troubled times, it was best to play it safe if you wanted to live longer.
"Xiao Yuan, you'd never get mixed up in gambling, would you?"
The family of three sat around the table. Madam Yang glanced at the food and then asked Lu Yuan worriedly, "We had a little savings once, but your good-for-nothing father got hooked on gambling. He lost everything and even got himself killed."
"I won't!" Lu Yuan hurriedly smiled. "I'm making good progress in martial arts. Soon I'll be able to earn plenty of money and give you and Nannan a good life!"
He knew how dangerous gambling was. No matter what kind of person you were or what your status was, once you got hooked, it was like going mad. You wouldn't stop until you'd lost everything, or even destroyed your family.
"That's good... that's good..."
At his words, Madam Yang finally smiled again. Then she focused on feeding Nannan.
Lu Yuan finished eating and went to bed early, conserving his strength for tomorrow's push.
The next day, Lu Yuan arrived at Song Academy first thing in the morning.
He had come alone again. Fang Chang seemed to have spent the night in the Inner Courtyard once more.
Without wasting any time, Lu Yuan began practicing the Five Animals Fist.
He completed the Tiger Stance, Deer Stance, Bear Stance, Ape Stance, and Crane Stance in order. After this practice, he could clearly feel that although his stamina was still badly depleted, a faint current of warmth seemed to be flowing endlessly through his body.
This must have been the qi and blood Chen Pi had mentioned!
[Five Animals Fist: Mastered (1/200)]
When he checked the golden words on the Ancient Scroll, they had indeed changed.
The words "Not yet mastered" had become "Mastered."
Though the proficiency cap had risen from 100 to 200, Lu Yuan didn't think his training would slow down as a result.
His fate was Practice Makes Perfect. The more he practiced, the faster he improved. Every additional practice would bring him more proficiency. So even with the higher cap, his progress would keep accelerating.
More importantly, from this point on, practicing the Five Animals Fist would truly let him nurture and temper his qi and blood, until they were strong enough to support Blood Qi Tempering.
"Even though I've only just mastered the Five Animals Fist, I can already tell my strength has improved quite a bit!"
Lu Yuan clenched his fist, then did a few simple tests.
Sure enough, his strength, speed, reflexes, and coordination all seemed to have improved considerably.
He still hadn't undergone a complete transformation, and he was far from becoming a true External Energy Realm martial artist. But these improvements, together with his mastery of the Five Animals Fist, were enough to let him handle ordinary people with ease.
Lu Yuan didn't make a fuss or try to show off. He simply planned to keep training in silence.
"Everyone, the strength test is about to begin!"
Just then, two youths walked out of the Inner Courtyard. One of them was none other than Fang Chang.
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