Learning

Qin Fang carefully sensed the state of his body and felt lighter than ever before.

Last year's exile had nearly hollowed out his body. After arriving in True Martial, he had managed to recover somewhat... but honestly, a body whose foundations had been hollowed out wasn't easy to restore.

Shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, listlessness, poor sleep...

These subtle symptoms had actually been with him all along.

He had simply forced himself to overcome them and worked hard to adjust.

To be honest, it wasn't that he'd seen no results... but the gains had been meager.

But today, after taking a Blood-Qi Pill and practicing a round of the stance, he could clearly feel a new force within his body.

This force not only made his body feel noticeably lighter, but also lifted his spirits considerably.

...Was this the effect of eating the pill?

Just standing in the stance yesterday hadn't done this!

The pills in this world seemed to have astonishing effects...

Qin Fang swallowed and looked again at the porcelain bottle in his hand.

He felt an urge to take another pill.

In the end, though, he managed to suppress it.

"There are only nine Blood-Qi Pills in total. I have to use them sparingly... and there still seems to be a little of the medicine's effect left in me."

He could feel it. The warm current in his abdomen wasn't as violent as it had been at first, but little streams were still welling up. If he paid close attention, he could feel them.

Qin Fang took a deep breath, assumed the stance once more, and continued practicing...

Another half hour passed.

"Wild Ox Qi Force Stance (Low-Grade Fundamental) (Initiation Stage): 17/500"

The warmth within his body had completely faded. Qin Fang felt refreshed as he looked at the words on the Panel.

He let out a long breath...

A single Blood-Qi Pill had raised his proficiency by sixteen points.

But his body was beginning to feel tired, too.

...Standing in the stance was exhausting in itself.

His stamina wasn't enough to keep going indefinitely.

He exhaled softly, stretched, and glanced up at the sky.

It was snowing again. After a moment's thought, he went inside to change, then headed out.

...His master had said the refugee stink had nearly worn off him, and that he could go outside now.

He bought some food on the street, then took a roundabout route to an alley.

He knocked on the gate of a courtyard.

"Who is it? Coming!"

Master's Wife's voice came from inside.

Soon, the gate opened. An elderly woman holding a broom stood there.

Qin Fang smiled when he saw her. "Master's Wife."

"Oh, it's Xiaofang... Come in, come in."

The elderly woman's face brightened with a kind smile as soon as she saw him. She ushered him inside.

Qin Fang answered and entered. The courtyard was covered with snow, and the elderly woman had clearly been in the middle of sweeping it.

He handed her the things he'd brought, then naturally took the broom from her. "Master's Wife, where's my master?"

"He went out early this morning... Oh, I'll do it, I'll do it. You go sit down."

"It's fine. I'll do it. You rest."

Qin Fang smiled and began sweeping the snow.

The elderly woman stared for a moment, then smiled too. She didn't insist, and her gaze grew gentler as she watched him.

...Ever since he'd spent New Year's here, Qin Fang had come by every day or two.

He brought food and drink, helped Master's Wife with chores, and the like.

His master hadn't formally said he would take him as a disciple, but he'd invited him over for New Year's, officially introduced him to his family, and now had begun teaching him cultivation...

It was as good as accepting him as a formal disciple.

There just hadn't been a ceremony.

His master had shown Qin Fang a kindness as weighty as a mountain. Without him, Qin Fang might not even be alive now. Naturally, he wanted to do what he could in return.

While chatting casually with Master's Wife, he soon swept the snow in the courtyard into a pile at the side.

Qin Fang's eyes lit up. He could clearly feel the difference...

Before today, sweeping all this snow would have left him with an aching back and sore limbs for quite a while.

But now, he barely felt any discomfort at all.

Most importantly...

His back didn't ache.

Mopping and sweeping were most uncomfortable because they required bending over. Staying bent over for a long time put tremendous strain on the lower back. It didn't take long—even two or three minutes—for a noticeable ache to set in.

But now...

Not a trace of soreness.

"It feels like... the way I exert force has changed. I'm still bent over, but somehow, some of the sensations from the stance have naturally carried over..."

Qin Fang instinctively paid attention to what he was feeling.

Before, sweeping had simply meant bending at the waist.

Now, as he swept, his chest and back seemed to naturally settle into the right posture, and he held his waist up... With his waist held up, the strain wasn't concentrated there, so it naturally didn't ache as easily.

And more importantly...

"I've only practiced the stance for two days... Is the effect really this obvious?"

Qin Fang was delighted.

Sweeping the snow was only a small thing.

But this clearly noticeable improvement in his body, this positive experience... filled him with joy.

In truth, many people didn't lack perseverance when it came to doing something; they simply couldn't see the results right away.

If the feedback were tangible—if people could see their body fat changing in real time while working out, or immediately feel the improvement in their bodies as their body fat changed for the better... there probably wouldn't be any fat people in the world.

Most good habits required delayed gratification. Only after enough gradual change could there be a sudden transformation... and that was why so many people couldn't stick with them.

Now Qin Fang could easily feel his body changing, and it filled him with motivation.

When Master's Wife saw that he'd finished sweeping, a pleased smile appeared on her face, and her gaze grew even kinder. "I'll go make lunch. Stay and eat here in a bit."

Qin Fang came back to himself and didn't stand on ceremony. "Master's Wife, you'll have to make extra. I've got quite an appetite now."

"Good, good," Master's Wife replied with a smile.

Master's Wife went to make lunch. Qin Fang finished tidying up, and after making sure there was no snow where she and his master usually walked, he put away the broom and went into the kitchen to help.

When she saw him come in, Master's Wife smiled and told him he didn't need to help. Qin Fang looked around and noticed that the woodshed was stacked with firewood, but winter meant they were using a lot, and not much of it had been chopped.

He simply fetched the hatchet, carried some firewood outside, and started chopping.

Master's Wife watched him, her smile growing warmer.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Qin Fang carried a pile of firewood to the kitchen doorway and started chopping.

"It feels like I'm putting more force into this chopping motion than before, too... Before, I just used my arms. Now, I naturally draw on the strength of my waist and abdomen as I chop... But this way of exerting force feels a little stiff..."

Drawing on the strength of his waist and abdomen naturally produced more force than using only his arms.

But the force felt a little "dead"...

Qin Fang chopped as he pondered.

Even a simple task like chopping firewood seemed to have all sorts of subtleties he'd never noticed before...

Just then—

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Qin Fang looked up, startled.

Master's Wife's voice came from the kitchen. "Xiaofang, go open the gate."

"Okay."

Qin Fang answered, set down the hatchet, and wiped the sweat from his forehead... Then he went to the gate and, almost instinctively, peered through the crack.

He saw an unfamiliar young man standing outside, holding several things.

At a glance, the clothes the young man wore caught Qin Fang's eye.

A uniform of dark robes...

Was he from the yamen?

Qin Fang's heart jumped.

After all... he was still a refugee.

But he quickly came to his senses.

"This must be the senior brother Master mentioned?"

He wondered, then took a deep breath and opened the gate.

"Mas—"

The young man smiled and began to call out when the gate opened, but he stopped as soon as he saw the tall, thin young man before him. Surprise flashed across his face.

He stared for a moment.

"Who are you?"