Red Affix

Seeing this, Lu Jing'an became even more determined to study martial arts under Chen Xuan.

Obtaining Affixes was no easy matter.

In the half month since acquiring the panel,

Lu Jing'an had constantly wanted to understand how Affixes were obtained.

Yet after trying all manner of methods, he had gained nothing.

Until yesterday, when he obtained a [Clear as Fire] from the Lamp Cultivator.

Lu Jing'an had vaguely grasped a hint of the underlying rule.

But Lu Jing'an could not possibly encounter dying cultivators every day.

Nor did he possess the ability to hunt cultivators.

Even if he did, Lu Jing'an would not want to do so.

It was not because Lu Jing'an was kindhearted.

It was because Lu Jing'an guessed

that not every cultivator would drop an Affix upon death.

Killing too many cultivators, the gains might not be proportionate to the cost.

Now, he could obtain an Affix without taking any risks.

Lu Jing'an certainly would not give that up.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Chen Xuan said no more and led him directly toward a private training room.

Along the way, Lu Jing'an quietly looked above Chen Xuan's head:

[Extraordinary Physique] (Green)—Can be obtained by standing stake for 50 hours.

[Note]: This Affix comprehensively improves the physique, increases body-tempering speed by 50%, additionally increases all attributes of body-tempering cultivation methods by 100%, grants a 100% breakthrough rate for body-tempering cultivation methods, and permanently increases both attack and defense by 2 points.

[Fist Master] (Red)—Can be obtained through 100 hours of fist training + First Blood Transformation.

[Note]: This Affix grants master-level comprehension of fist techniques. Fist technique cultivation speed increases by 500%, breakthrough rate is 100%, and all fist moves gain an additional 10 attack points.

"Two Affixes!"

Lu Jing'an looked at the two Affixes on Chen Xuan, one of which was even a red Affix, second only to gold.

The number and quality of Affixes

were absolutely linked to a cultivator's strength.

Chen Xuan was unquestionably far stronger than that Lamp Cultivator.

Kui An's words had not been empty boasts.

But there was one thing Lu Jing'an did not quite understand.

The red Affix on Chen Xuan was [Fist Master].

Yet according to Lu Jing'an's memories,

Chen Xuan's usual weapon was a saber, and he rarely used his fists.

"There must be some secret behind this."

Lu Jing'an did not dwell further on the matter.

Who in this world had no secrets?

He himself had even more secrets.

When it came time to choose techniques, he could simply choose fist techniques.

For now, obtaining the green Affix was what mattered most.

The two entered Chen Xuan's private training room one after the other.

"Young Master, I will teach you standing stake first."

"Once you have entered the door of stake training, I will teach you other moves."

Chen Xuan spoke politely.

Yet Lu Jing'an could still tell that Chen Xuan did not think highly of him.

Perhaps in Chen Xuan's eyes,

standing stake alone

would be enough to make Lu Jing'an retreat in the face of difficulty.

"Young Master, the stance I will teach you is called Standing Stake."

"The key is for both feet to be like roots, burrowing deep into the earth."

"No matter what force comes from any direction, you will remain standing, unshaken."

"Once you enter the door, you can achieve the First Blood Transformation."

As Chen Xuan explained, he assumed the stance.

His body sank slightly, his feet taking root in the ground.

His spine relaxed and stretched, as though leaning against empty space.

His arms embraced the void, his entire body seeming loose yet not loose, containing a majestic impetus for movement within utter stillness.

Beside him, Lu Jing'an copied Chen Xuan's posture and assumed a roughly similar stance.

The instant he completed the movement,

Lu Jing'an felt its difficulty.

Lu Jing'an's posture was certainly far from standard.

But even this less-than-standard posture brought him no end of suffering in merely a minute or two.

At that moment, Lu Jing'an felt every muscle in his body trembling.

This body, pampered and coddled for so many years,

truly could not endure even a trace of hardship.

Fifty hours!

Originally, Lu Jing'an had thought it was nothing much.

Now, it seemed anything but simple.

Chen Xuan watched Lu Jing'an's flesh tremble all over.

He said nothing.

He did not even correct Lu Jing'an's imperfect posture.

Five minutes!

Though Lu Jing'an's posture had not severely deformed,

fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

Ten minutes!

Lu Jing'an's posture had already deformed badly.

Large beads of sweat appeared across his forehead and neck.

Thirty minutes!

Lu Jing'an's vision had begun to darken.

His legs shook like chaff in a sieve.

Watching Lu Jing'an continue to endure,

a subtle change came over Chen Xuan's face.

Clearly, Chen Xuan had never expected Lu Jing'an to last this long.

Forty-five minutes!

Lu Jing'an licked his dry lips, his vision went black, and his legs gave way.

He collapsed facedown on the floor.

His entire body was drenched in sweat.

He gulped down air in huge, greedy breaths.

Lu Jing'an had truly felt as if he were about to meet his great-grandmother.

In the end, four servants carried Lu Jing'an and placed him in the bathtub.

With the warm water flowing over him and four young maids massaging him from every direction,

Lu Jing'an immediately fell into a deep sleep.

When Lu Jing'an opened his eyes again,

it was already afternoon.

His clothes had long since been changed into a dry shirt.

The moment he tried to move, tearing soreness throughout his body nearly suffocated him, followed by a surging wave of hunger.

Just as Lu Jing'an opened his mouth,

the round-faced young maid who had been waiting beside him immediately stepped forward.

"Young Master, Military Officer Chen instructed that when you woke up, you were to have a slice of ginseng."

"Ah!"

Lu Jing'an simply opened his mouth.

He left everything else to the maid.

The little maid carefully dipped the ginseng slice in some honey.

She gently placed it on Lu Jing'an's tongue.

Then she gently closed his mouth for him.

This ginseng was the other root from the two century-old Wild Ginseng plants Lu Huaishan had sent earlier.

At Chen Xuan's instruction, it had been sliced.

More than an hour passed like this.

At last, Lu Jing'an felt alive again.

Following Chen Xuan's instructions, dinner

included many more foods that replenished blood and qi.

While wolfing down food under the servants' care, Lu Jing'an asked Chen Xuan,

"Uncle Xuan, is there any way for me to recover faster?"

If this was the way things went,

Lu Jing'an felt that even at his fastest, fifty hours of standing stake

would take him two months to complete.

That pace was far too slow for Lu Jing'an.

Chen Xuan answered cleanly and decisively, "Hire a Medical Cultivator."

Lu Jing'an's eyes lit up.

This world had all kinds of cultivators.

Medical Cultivators differed from traditional physicians.

They were like supernaturally enhanced physicians.

Ordinary physicians prescribed remedies and administered medicine, with slow results.

Medical Cultivators were different.

Not only did their treatments take effect astonishingly quickly,

they also possessed all kinds of unimaginable abilities.

For instance, breaking curses and evil arts, prolonging life, and healing damaged souls.

All of these were miraculous abilities of Medical Cultivators.

Of course, the greatest difference was still the price.

An ordinary physician, even a famous one,

would charge at most ten silver dollars for a house call.

A Medical Cultivator charged at least a hundred silver dollars for a single visit.

That did not even include the cost of medicine.

Ordinary households simply could not afford them.

"Uncle Xuan, go hire a Medical Cultivator for me." Lu Jing'an made his decision at once.

Lu Jing'an did not care about spending money at all.

He would tip two or three hundred silver dollars for a single night of music and entertainment at a pleasure house.

He could easily spend two or three thousand silver dollars in a month.

Chen Xuan also knew the Lu Family's financial resources.

So he did not try to dissuade him.

He nodded and agreed directly.

The next morning, Chen Xuan brought back a female Medical Cultivator with a lovely figure.

Looking at this female Medical Cultivator, who suited his tastes so perfectly,

Lu Jing'an was somewhat speechless.

But Chen Xuan explained it to Lu Jing'an.

The reason he had chosen her

was, first, that she was one of Yinshan County's few ranked Medical Cultivators.

Second, faster blood circulation could accelerate the healing process.

With such a reasonable explanation, Lu Jing'an naturally could not refuse.

And after experiencing the female Medical Cultivator's healing effects once,

Lu Jing'an expressed great satisfaction.

With the Medical Cultivator's support after every standing stake session,

Lu Jing'an's total time spent standing stake increased greatly.

Lu Jing'an could now spend a total of three hours a day practicing the stance.

That was still far from his limit.

According to Lu Jing'an's estimates,

with the support of a Medical Cultivator, six hours a day should have been his limit.

By that calculation,

Lu Jing'an would obtain his first Affix in around ten days.

Five days passed in a row like this.

Every day, Lu Jing'an cycled between being carried away for treatment and continuing to persevere.

Chen Xuan watched everything.

At the same time, Chen Xuan's demands of Lu Jing'an grew increasingly strict.

The force and range with which he corrected Lu Jing'an's movements became greater and greater.

By now, Lu Jing'an's stance had begun to look quite convincing.

Another three days passed.

Once again, Lu Jing'an had exhausted himself until his body went limp.

The servants waiting nearby immediately stepped forward to support him.

They absolutely could not let Lu Jing'an fall to the ground again.

"Young Master, you started training in martial arts rather late. It won't be easy for you to get started."

"This can be taken slowly."

Chen Xuan had said this more than once.

But Lu Jing'an merely waved a hand and said between ragged breaths, "It's fine, Uncle Xuan. I can still keep going."

Watching Lu Jing'an get carried away and handed over to the Medical Cultivator for treatment,

Chen Xuan's view of Lu Jing'an began to change.

Originally, Chen Xuan had thought

that Lu Jing'an had merely been swept up in a moment of enthusiasm.

It would have been enough if he could persist for a day or two just for the novelty of it.

Yet Lu Jing'an had unexpectedly persisted for eight days.

And with the Medical Cultivator's support, he had become even more diligent and hardworking.

Chen Xuan truly had not expected that.

The servants removed Lu Jing'an's shirt and trousers.

Wearing only a pair of underpants, Lu Jing'an was placed on a soft mattress.

The female Medical Cultivator, dressed in a qipao,

approached in high heels.

She took the century-old ginseng slices that had long since been prepared

and precisely inserted them with silver needles into the major acupoints on Lu Jing'an's body.

As the Medical Cultivator's abilities took effect,

the silver needles trembled faintly and gradually turned red.

The ginseng slices rapidly melted into essence,

which entered his body bit by bit through the acupoints.

This process generally lasted from forty minutes to an hour.

It healed on one hand and replenished his body on the other.

Under such treatment,

Lu Jing'an felt his body recover rapidly.

[Standing Stake: 50 hours condition met. Obtained Affix: Extraordinary Physique (Green)]

Seeing the prompt before him,

Lu Jing'an finally broke into a grin.

He had suffered for eight days for this very moment.

Lu Jing'an immediately equipped the [Extraordinary Physique] Affix.

The instant the Affix settled onto him, Lu Jing'an felt every bone in his body explode with cracks, while his blood and qi surged like a tidal wave!

The ginseng essence that had originally required an hour to absorb was devoured completely in an instant.

"Doctor Cui, add more ginseng slices!" he called urgently.

The female Medical Cultivator noticed something was wrong and immediately pressed half an old ginseng root against his back.

Using her Medical Cultivator abilities, she dissolved the medicine's potency.

The medicinal power surged wildly into him.

All the memories of his grueling training over the past eight days branded themselves into his flesh and blood like red-hot irons!

The Standing Stake had finally taken shape.