Skillful Ease

On the way back, Su Yuan pondered the future.

The Martial Registry was finally in sight, but Yun Xu's situation remained thorny.

Even if she truly wanted him to rescue her, he lacked the strength to do so for now.

Fortunately, she still had means to protect herself. Aside from being hung up for display, she seemed not to have suffered any other torment. She should be able to hold on for quite some time.

Back in the small courtyard, Su Yuan bolted the door and opened the wooden box.

Soft silk lined its interior, upon which lay a fish the length of his palm.

Its entire body was crimson, its scales flowing with a gemstone-like dark sheen. A crisp, exotic fragrance rushed at his face.

"Madam is truly generous."

Warmth stirred in Su Yuan's heart.

Only afterward had he understood some of the meaning in First Madam's gaze.

Young Master Shan had taken more than twenty concubines, enough to reveal the discord between husband and wife. But this was something Su Yuan absolutely could not involve himself in.

Su Yuan went to the kitchen. Preparing this Treasure Fish was a technical task in itself.

First Madam had explained that the fish flesh could be eaten raw, but its scales were exceptionally tough and had to be removed.

He fetched his sharpest knife and tried cutting along the fish's body.

The blade scraped against the scales with a teeth-aching creak, making slow progress.

[Sawing: 1957/2000 (Mastery)]

Now his skill showed itself. These skills were never limited to carpentry; Su Yuan felt they were more like a category of actions.

He felt that once he finished cutting this fish, his Sawing skill would reach mastery.

He calmed himself and focused on the minute weaknesses where the scales joined. Adjusting the angle, he cut in through the gaps, and it indeed became much smoother.

One glimmering Red Scale after another was carefully peeled away, exposing snow-white, crystalline fish flesh beneath. Su Yuan switched to slicing, following the grain to cut fish slices as thin as cicada wings.

Before he knew it—

[Sawing: 2000/2000 (Mastery)]

[Obtained Trait: Skillful Ease]

[Calm in hand, wielded as the heart desires]

[Upper-body control greatly improved; able to release and restrain with ease, act calmly and effortlessly. Learning all manner of skills requires far less effort, and the accumulation speed of personal skills increases by fifty percent.]

"Skill accumulation speed increased by fifty percent?!"

Su Yuan's heart jolted, followed immediately by wild delight.

He picked up a slice of fish and put it into his mouth.

The flesh nearly melted the instant it entered his mouth. There was no fishy odor at all, only an indescribable freshness and sweetness that slid down his throat into his stomach, turning into a warm current.

"What nourishing Treasure Fish!"

He immediately raised his head and charged into the courtyard.

"Haah! Haah!"

He trained until he was drenched in sweat. Whenever he tired from running, he returned to eat a slice of Treasure Fish.

He repeated this cycle until night fell. Only then did Su Yuan stop, so as not to disturb the neighbors.

In truth, his cries were more like a breathing method, and he had deliberately kept the noise under control.

With the effects of [Skillful Ease] and the Treasure Fish combined, the Golden Horse-Head Technique's progress was moving enough to bring tears to one's eyes.

[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 65/500 (First Layer)]

Skillful Ease did not merely speed up progress.

It also made cultivation itself easier, conserved stamina, and allowed him to persist in martial training for longer.

Together with the Treasure Fish, today's accumulated progress was nearly triple what it had been before.

At this rate, with sufficient resources, becoming a Martial Warrior within one or two months was no empty dream!

With the Trait's support, his cultivation speed could no longer be judged by ordinary innate talent.

These Traits might seem to offer little immediate improvement to combat strength, but in truth, they made up for Su Yuan's weak foundation and paved the road for his future martial path.

Glancing at the little less than half of the Treasure Fish remaining, he carefully put it away, saving a portion for Tie Niu to try tomorrow.

"Looks like I need to spend more time around First Madam." Su Yuan rubbed his hands together.

The next day, Su Yuan went to Chai Pass Horse Farm, only to come up empty-handed.

The familiar stable stood there, but the tall figure was nowhere to be seen.

"Su Tieniu? He changed jobs. That big fool has a fool's luck—Young Master Chai took him back to serve his prized horses exclusively." The front-desk steward cracked sunflower seeds, his voice tinged with envy.

The Chai Family?

Su Yuan recalled that this was one of Ji City's great Lineages, on equal footing with the Shan Family.

It was a good thing that Tie Niu had found a better master, but why had he not come to tell him?

Su Yuan consoled himself. Perhaps it had happened too suddenly, and he had not had time to inform him.

Unable to find out where Tie Niu had gone, he returned home first.

After returning home, his desire to train had faded somewhat.

He picked up his carving knife and began making Building Blocks.

"Once I have a Martial Registry and can buy medicine, I'll need money."

"Brother Su, open up!"

Han Gui's familiar voice came from outside the door.

The efficiency was quite high this time. Only one day had passed.

He pulled open the shop door and saw Han Gui standing outside with his hands behind his back. Only one person followed behind him: Wang Er, his face waxy yellow.

The sight of Wang Er gave Su Yuan a bad feeling.

He ushered the two inside and brewed them tea.

Han Gui sat down with the imposing air of a general, took a sip of tea, then slowly pulled something from his robes and pushed it in front of Su Yuan.

A stiff black card with dark patterns stamped along its edges.

Su Yuan's gaze was immediately drawn to it. From its appearance, it had to be the Martial Registry!

His heart began beating faster.

"What is this?" Su Yuan noticed a sheet of paper beneath the Martial Registry.

When he removed it and looked, it was a contract.

Su Yuan picked up the contract and skimmed it. Its clauses tightly bound all his future craftsmanship and output to the Shan Estate.

It was practically a deed of sale!

"The Martial Registry has been arranged, but estate rules say you must sign this first." Han Gui tapped the contract with his finger.

"Five wood carvings as a daily minimum? Are you treating me like a black slave?"

With his previous level of skill, if he signed it, what time would he have left to practice martial arts?

Su Yuan's face darkened. "Is this Madam's decision?"

Han Gui did not answer. Wang Er, beside him, cut in with a shrill voice, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Little Brother Su, this is Young Master's grace. Resources are scarce throughout the city right now, and martial training slots are reserved for those with outstanding innate talent. Your innate talent is worse than even mine. Young Master saw that your craftsmanship was passable and gave you this contract to point you toward a clear road."

He kept saying "grace" and "innate talent," his gaze brimming with smugness.

Su Yuan looked coldly at Wang Er.

That smile was nauseating. He knew Wang Er had to be stirring up trouble behind this matter.

He had martial arts and Traits. At worst, he could slowly endure and build himself up; he would not truly sell himself.

Then he reconsidered. A so-called contract was just a sheet of yellow paper. Once he was strong enough, he could simply tear it up.

For now, he truly needed the Martial Registry and the Shan Family's resources.

"My apologies. I'll sign."

Wang Er's finger nearly jabbed into Su Yuan's nose. "Young Master has shown you grace, and you dare refuse? Wait, you said you'll sign!"

Before Wang Er could react, Su Yuan grabbed his finger. A crack sounded, followed by a scream.

"I'm Young Master's man! You dare lay hands on me?"

Bang!

With a casual fling, Su Yuan hurled him into a wooden cabinet. Then he turned around, picked up the brush, and signed and stamped the contract.

In any case, it was this brush that had signed it. What did it have to do with Su Yuan?

Han Gui was also stunned. This differed from what Wang Er had predicted—Su Yuan had agreed so decisively.

Wang Er had intended to wait for Su Yuan to refuse, then use Han Gui's authority to humiliate him.

"Lord Han, if there is nothing else, please leave." Su Yuan tucked the Martial Registry into his robes.

Han Gui coughed and shook his teacup.

Su Yuan handed over one tael of silver. "Lord Han, may I report to the Martial Academy tomorrow?"

Seeing only one tael, Han Gui looked displeased. "The Martial Registry is merely a stepping stone. Your aptitude is too poor, and Young Master has withdrawn your qualification to enter the Martial Academy directly. You must take the Martial Assessment in half a month. Only after passing the evaluation may you enter the academy."

"If you fail, you must return the Martial Registry. Then settle down and be a carpenter, and stop dreaming of practicing martial arts. Even entering the Martial Academy is only the beginning of martial training. Plenty of people train themselves to death without achieving anything. I myself endured for a year back then."

"Is martial training really that difficult?"

Su Yuan glanced at his progress, then handed over another tael. "May I ask, Lord Han, what will this Martial Assessment test?"

"This Martial Assessment has been reformed. It has changed from separate tests in each academy to a centralized test. The aptitude recheck and Loyalty Test remain unchanged, but the ability test has not yet been announced." Han Gui accepted the silver, rose to his feet, and dragged away the groaning Wang Er.

It was all useless talk, and he fleeced me for nothing again. Looks like I'll have to ask Madam. Su Yuan calculated inwardly.

Han Gui reached the doorway, then suddenly turned back. "Oh, right. This ability test is only for those with low-grade innate talent. Those with medium-grade aptitude or above need not participate. In the past, low-grade candidates had to fight on the arena, so injuries and crippling were unavoidable. With those skinny arms and legs of yours, if you're afraid of dying, you'd best not go."

After hearing this, Su Yuan sighed. This damned theory of innate talent.