Cultivation

The "Hidden Weapon" skill... he had actually grinded it out!

Looking at the description of "Hidden Weapon" that had truly appeared on his panel, a look of pleasant surprise surfaced in Qin Fang's eyes.

...This golden finger was real!

Through his own efforts, it was truly possible to develop!

For the past three or four months, although he had the Dagger skill, its progress was slow, and his attempts to acquire more skills through other means had consistently ended in failure.

To be honest, he had harbored some doubts about the effectiveness of this golden finger.

It was hard not to be anxious about gains and losses.

But now, through his efforts, he had actually managed to grind out a brand-new skill!

This joy was completely impossible to describe in words.

This was not just as simple as a "Hidden Weapon" skill...

It represented the absolute reality of his golden finger!

After clenching his fists in surprise, he couldn't wait to test what was different about this "Entry Level" throwing dart.

The moment he pinched the dart, he immediately felt a completely different sensation.

It was the same dart, but before, when he pinched and threw it, he had no idea where it would land or what effect it would have.

But this time, after gripping the dart, an indescribable sense of certainty welled up in his heart.

It became crystal clear to him exactly how much force to use and at what angle to throw it to achieve a specific result.

Following this intuition, he threw the flying blade without a moment's hesitation!

Swish!

Thud!

The second dart traced the same arc and instantly struck the wooden board!

Qin Fang's eyes lit up.

With one dart left in his hand, he threw it out using the same feeling.

Swish... thud!

The third one pierced the wooden board once again!

Qin Fang's eyes shone bright; he hurried forward to retrieve the four darts and returned to his original spot.

Swish, swish, swish...

Thud, thud, thud!

The darts flew out in succession.

All of them hit the wooden board, embedding themselves deep into the wood!

Qin Fang was shocked.

Although the accuracy still left something to be desired and none had hit the bullseye...

But ever since "Hidden Weapon" appeared on the panel, at least every single dart was able to firmly stick into the board!

...This was simply incredible!

Qin Fang widened his eyes, and a realization dawned upon him...

"Is this the effect of 'Eternal Fruit of Dao'?"

"As long as a skill is mastered, one can always maintain the optimal state of that skill?"

When this realization surfaced, even Qin Fang was stunned.

One must know that a person's state fluctuates.

It's like playing a game; sometimes when you're in the zone, a Silver-ranked player can pull off Challenger-level plays.

But when you're in a bad state... you'll get beaten so badly your own mother wouldn't recognize you.

Just because you've learned a skill doesn't mean you can always maintain peak performance.

Why do acrobats practice day in and day out, despite the monotony? Isn't it just to maintain their best state?

Competitive games are the same, and so are acrobats...

Clearly, practicing martial arts... follows the same principle!

When in a good state, the power of a punch might be greater.

When in a bad state, it might just be mediocre.

But now, every dart Qin Fang threw was maintained at the optimal state of his mastery over dart-throwing!

How could Qin Fang not understand what was going on?

It must be the effect of the "Eternal Fruit of Dao" from his golden finger!

This made Qin Fang gasp in cold air.

This effect might seem unremarkable, but it is undoubtedly terrifying.

Because this means Qin Fang can maintain his peak state at all times!

Even if he stops practicing from now on, after ten days, half a month, or even a year... he could pick up a dart and use it just as effectively!

This...

Qin Fang was shocked.

Immediately after, his eyes lit up with unprecedented brightness.

In such a chaotic world, possessing such a golden finger, as long as he is given enough time...

Qin Fang's body trembled slightly.

It was a long while before he let out a long breath.

The excitement in his heart was gradually suppressed.

Then he looked up and realized that, unknowingly, the sky had already darkened, and his stomach was growling.

Then, waves of exhaustion began to wash over him.

...It turned out that, without realizing it, he had been "throwing" darts for several hours.

While he was fully focused just now, the feeling hadn't been too obvious.

But now that he had come to his senses, the physical fatigue surged up completely, and his arms were so sore he could barely lift them...

"Hiss..."

Qin Fang winced, his eyelids twitching: "This body is still too weak... I must get it back in shape as soon as possible."

He thought to himself.

Then he exhaled lightly and glanced at the wooden board. Forget it, haste makes waste; let's call it a day.

He dragged his exhausted body toward the kitchen...

The house naturally had a kitchen, and it was stacked with plenty of firewood. Qin Fang had already cleaned it up today, so he could cook.

The staple food Elder Wu brought him was coarse flour and broomcorn millet... but kneading dough was out of the question now; it was too tiring. He could only wash the broomcorn millet and put it in a pot with water to boil.

Elder Wu was very thoughtful; the supplies he brought included flint and tinder. Qin Fang had naturally never lit a fire like this before...

But fortunately, he had the original owner's memories. The original owner had often done manual labor, so this naturally didn't stump him.

With nimble hands and feet, he got the stove going and started cooking.

He would just have some broomcorn millet porridge for the evening.

In the interval while waiting, he held the dart, rubbing it constantly, a glimmer of light flickering in his eyes.

...Qin Fang felt it was quite marvelous.

After mastering a skill, one always feels the urge to use it.

It's like when you were a child, holding a long, straight stick in your hand while passing by a field of golden rapeseed flowers... what would you do?

...Qin Fang was now holding this "stick."

However, he also knew his physical condition; his hands were incredibly weak, so he ultimately didn't mess around...

An hour later, after eating, Qin Fang returned to his room.

He glanced at the panel from time to time.

A small "Hidden Weapon" skill was nothing.

But the significance behind it was immense.

This thing was called hope!

Since arriving in this world, for the first time, Qin Fang fell into a peaceful and sound sleep...

Over the next few days, Qin Fang lived an extremely stable life.

Every day, he practiced throwing darts in the courtyard.

Now, every dart could hit the wooden board, but his accuracy was lacking; only one out of every three or five darts would hit the bullseye.

"Eternal Fruit of Dao means that the skills mastered will not be forgotten, and the application of force will be thorough, without low-level mistakes. However, there are many factors affecting accuracy, not just the technique of applying force... it still needs to be polished well..."

An epiphany emerged in Qin Fang's heart.

After all, he was only at the "Entry" level now, so it was naturally impossible to reach the level of "hitting the target every time without fail" immediately.

But with his full dedication, his understanding of darts grew more and more, and the number behind the hidden weapon skill jumped rapidly.

"Hidden Weapon (Entry): 63/500..."

"Hidden Weapon (Entry): 64/500..."

In just three short days, he had grinded it up to over sixty.

At this frequency, within a month, he would be able to train (Entry) to (Minor Achievement).

This speed was still limited by the fact that he could only cultivate for an hour or two each day...

Why?

His body was too weak.

This significantly impacted the duration of his daily cultivation.

Every time he practiced for half an hour, he would be completely exhausted, wasting a vast amount of time just to recover his strength.

Furthermore, the further he progressed, the lower his efficiency became.

"This can't go on."

Qin Fang furrowed his brows.

But the most critical factor in nourishing his body was...

Food.

Yet, what was he eating every day?

Millet porridge, coarse grain buns, and some boiled vegetables...

Not a single drop of oil to be seen.

A diet like this could, at best, keep him from starving to death.

But to have enough energy to nourish his body?

That was out of the question.

But what could he do?

In his current state, he didn't even dare to step out the door. Without Elder Wu by his side, if he were to go out, he might be recognized as a refugee, and he could even lose his life in the process...

Sighing, Qin Fang had no choice but to keep things as they were for now.

He would focus on healing his sunburned skin first.