Talent Skill

After finishing the meal, Jiang Ling continued mending clothes.

Jiang Che picked up a twig, dipped it in water, and squatted on the ground to practice writing.

When Jiang Che was little, his family had been fairly well-off, so he had attended a private school for several years. But his handwriting had been ugly.

After obtaining the Proficiency Panel, he started practicing again. Without realizing it, he was nearly grinding it to completion.

Of course, what the panel recorded was writing, not Calligraphy.

He also knew there was still a vast gap between his handwriting and Calligraphy.

For now, he could only write quickly, neatly, and with few mistakes.

But these days, not many people knew how to write.

If one wrote well, one could help others write letters for them.

After their parents went missing, the family's income had been cut off.

The money his sister earned from mending was not even enough for daily expenses, let alone support his martial arts training.

He decided that once he raised writing to completion, he would go to the streets and write letters for others.

The money would not be much, but the work did not consume physical strength.

For martial artists, excessive exhaustion was taboo.

Besides, it was low-key work that would not invite envy.

When he had first awakened the memories of his past life, Jiang Che had also considered using a modern person's knowledge to make money.

But he quickly discovered that it would not work.

In this world, the authorities were corrupt and gangs ran rampant.

The better an unprotected business did, the faster its owner died.

For ordinary people, there was only one road to rise above the rest: martial arts.

Snap!

As he wrote, the twig suddenly broke.

[Writing Proficiency +2]

[Writing Complete]

[Talent Unlocked: Flow State]

[Flow State: Passive skill, condition-triggered.]

[Description: When you concentrate, your focus, thinking speed, and neural reactions will improve.]

"Writing has finally reached completion... and a talent appeared too!"

After reading the description, Jiang Che was overjoyed.

"Let's try it..."

He began to focus.

In an instant, the world fell silent.

The sound of his sister mending clothes, the insects chirping outside the window, and the commotion next door all vanished.

The lines on his palm became crystal clear; he could even see every speck of dust.

Jiang Che immediately picked up a new twig and continued writing.

"Whew—"

After writing the last character, Jiang Che set down the twig.

His face was somewhat pale.

His head also throbbed faintly.

But he felt exceptionally refreshed.

"So this is Flow State? This feeling of losing oneself... it's truly wonderful."

Looking at the words he had written, he could faintly see the charm of Calligraphy in them.

"If I used it while practicing fist techniques..."

The thought filled him with excitement.

Unfortunately, his daytime training had already drained his strength. He could only wait until tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Jiang Che headed out.

"Brother," Jiang Ling said from the doorway, "come back early."

After their parents went missing, only the two siblings remained at home.

Whenever Jiang Che went to the Martial Arts Hall, she was always afraid to stay home alone.

"Mm."

Jiang Che patted her head. "I'll come back after training."

When he arrived at the Martial Arts Hall—

Only the hall master, Luo Kun, was practicing in the courtyard.

Jiang Che did not dare disturb him and quietly waited to one side.

The White Cloud Fist looked ordinary enough.

Yet in the hands of Hall Master Luo Kun, it displayed an utterly different bearing.

He was clearly only a white-haired old man with a withered, gaunt frame.

Yet every move and stance carried the crushing pressure of mountains roaring and seas howling!

With every punch he threw, the air trembled!

Jiang Che even felt his chest tighten, making it difficult to breathe.

"So this is a true martial arts master..."

Jiang Che's heart pounded wildly as he watched, his eyes full of shock.

"If I could reach such a realm..."

The moment the thought arose, his heart burned hot. He wished he could begin practicing immediately.

Once Luo Kun withdrew his fists and stood still, Jiang Che hurried forward and clasped his hands in salute.

Luo Kun merely gave a slight nod, then walked beneath the eaves and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Jiang Che returned to the courtyard, stretched his limbs, and decided to test yesterday's idea.

He took a deep breath and kept his attention intensely focused.

In an instant, he entered that mysterious state again.

The sounds around him gradually faded away, but his vision became exceptionally clear.

He immediately assumed the White Cloud Fist stance and began practicing.

"This..."

The tiny flaws in his movements that had previously been hard to notice—

Were now magnified without limit.

Even more wondrously, every movement the hall master had demonstrated—

Appeared vividly in his mind.

Jiang Che began continuously adjusting his posture, correcting himself again and again.

Each punch he threw came closer than the last to the hall master's movements in his memory.

Luo Kun was not in a good mood at the moment.

Excluding these ordinary apprentices who had not even touched the threshold of Qi-Blood—

And some disciples who had already left the Martial Arts Hall—

He had a total of twenty-two disciples who could truly be considered formal disciples.

Though the number was not small, there were very few among them whose innate physique and talent could catch his eye.

His second disciple, Shao Jianbo, had the highest talent, but unfortunately he was the son of an aristocratic family. He idled about all day, practicing martial arts purely to pass the time.

The rest of the disciples were even more mediocre in aptitude, unlikely to amount to much.

"In half a year, these youngsters will have to compete with Old Li's disciples again..."

Whenever Luo Kun thought of Old Li's smug old face after their defeat last time, he could not help grinding his teeth.

At that moment, more and more apprentices gradually arrived to practice.

He narrowed his eyes and inspected them one by one.

"Fortunately, among the disciples recruited recently, there are two rather promising seedlings."

He first looked toward a tall, skinny youth with an arrogant expression—Gong Yulei.

Though this man had only been at the Martial Arts Hall for a month, he had already faintly touched the threshold of Qi-Blood.

In terms of innate physique, he was even several points stronger than Shao Jianbo!

"Unfortunately, his temperament is too wild and his actions too ruthless. He'll likely cause trouble in the future..."

Luo Kun silently calculated that he needed to find a way to blunt his sharp edge.

Then his gaze fell upon another youth with a sturdy build and thick brows like blades.

This person was called Zhang Xiong. He had practiced martial arts for half a year and was already close to making a breakthrough.

Though his innate physique was slightly inferior to Gong Yulei's, he was steady-minded, diligent, and able to endure hardship.

"This one is a good seedling. Perhaps he can suppress some of Gong Yulei's viciousness."

Thinking this, Luo Kun finally felt somewhat better.

But when he looked at the other apprentices, his brows furrowed again.

Most of their fist techniques were stiff and raw, riddled with flaws. They had not even touched the edge of Qi-Blood. They were truly unbearable to look at.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, his gaze stopped on a lean, capable-looking youth.

It was Jiang Che.

That brat was especially focused in his fist practice today, his movements becoming more precise with every repetition.

Even Luo Kun was somewhat surprised by the speed of his progress.

"Interesting..."

But on second thought, he shook his head again.

"Unfortunately, his innate physique is too poor. No matter how well he practices, he will never amount to much."

Jiang Che had practiced martial arts for nearly a year, yet showed no signs of Qi-Blood. He was ultimately rotten wood that could not be carved.

Luo Kun could not be bothered to watch any longer. He simply closed his eyes to rest, out of sight and out of mind.

Jiang Che slowly withdrew his stance and exhaled a breath of foul air.

The Flow State had lasted for half an hour.

His temples now throbbed fiercely, and his brain ached faintly. He had actually exited the Flow State automatically.

He raised a hand and summoned the panel:

[Name: Jiang Che]

[Age: 16]

[Realm: None]

[Skills: White Cloud Fist Mastery (344/400), Writing Complete]

[Talent: Flow State]

"Just one hour, and my proficiency rose by four points?"

Jiang Che was somewhat stunned.

He had assumed the Flow State talent was only effective for writing. He had not expected it to trigger while practicing fist techniques too!

"At this rate..."

Thinking that he could raise the White Cloud Fist to completion even faster—

He could not wait to enter the Flow State again.

But the moment he concentrated, his head hurt as though needles were stabbing into it.

"Looks like there's an internal cooldown."

Jiang Che rubbed his temples, then thought that it made sense.

If he could truly activate it without limit, that would be far too heaven-defying.

He tried practicing a few forms in his ordinary state and immediately felt the difference was like heaven and earth.

It was like falling from high-definition quality back into standard definition; every movement became blurry and indistinct.

Worse still, his body felt hollowed out, and even raising an arm took effort.

"The Flow State is like overclocking the body..."

Jiang Che recalled how computers in his previous life looked when running under excessive load.

The price of soaring performance was a multiplied drain on physical and mental strength.

"Quit while I'm ahead."

Though he had only trained for an hour, the gains matched an entire day of bitter cultivation in the past.

The time saved would be perfect for trying out the letter-writing business.

After asking the hall master for permission, Jiang Che left the Martial Arts Hall early.

Watching Jiang Che's departing figure, Hall Master Luo Kun frowned.

"That brat is always the one who trains the latest every day, yet today he's leaving so early..."

"Has he finally given up?"

"Forget it, forget it... With that kind of aptitude, no amount of persistence will help!"