Blood Battle Saber Technique

Leaving Instructor Duan's private courtyard, the thin manual tucked against his chest, Shen Xiu still felt as though none of it was quite real.

He had merely paid Instructor Duan a visit, and now he possessed a saber technique that could approach the mysterious grade?

Shen Xiu pinched the corner of the book in his robes, feeling that this technique carried considerable weight. Duan Hongfei had only told him to train without worry. When the time was right, on the right day, he was to pass this technique on to the next suitable person.

Upon returning to his courtyard, Shen Xiu immediately opened the saber manual. Its full name was the Blood Battle Saber Technique.

As its name implied, when this saber technique was unleashed, it resembled a flash of blood. Once blood was drawn, the more it fought, the braver it became—fierce and incomparably sharp.

The saber manual was recorded in great detail, marking out every movement, every variation, and the angle at which force should be exerted at every point with crystal clarity. This made Shen Xiu's practice far less strenuous.

Half an hour later, in the secluded courtyard.

Shen Xiu, who had been practicing each movement exactly as instructed, finally reproduced the last variation of the saber technique in a fairly convincing manner.

Of course, since he had no saber, he was only holding a wooden training saber, which did not seem to possess much killing power.

As the panel of light trembled in a pleasingly familiar way, the blank space beneath the techniques section quietly gained another line, just as expected.

[Techniques:]

[Blood Battle Saber Technique: First Level, Beginner's First Practice 0.1%]

Shen Xiu had perfectly added another skill.

Having become a Formal Disciple and shed the countless trivial matters that had bound him down, Shen Xiu discovered that he had more time than ever before.

After adding the saber technique, he spent the entire morning in his courtyard, stumbling through the Blood Battle Saber Technique. As unfamiliarity gradually turned to familiarity, his proficiency rose at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Only after training until he was utterly exhausted and drenched in sweat did he finally stop.

Seeing that it was already time for the midday meal, he rested briefly before rising and heading for the Canteen reserved for Formal Disciples.

When he arrived at the Canteen, Shen Xiu gained an even clearer understanding of the difference between Formal Disciples and Labor Disciples.

The moment he entered, he could smell the fragrance of fish and meat drifting everywhere. All manner of lavish foods dazzled the eye, basin after basin laid out upon the serving counters.

Formal Disciples could take whatever they wished.

Most of it was meat as well, complete in appearance, color, aroma, and taste, enough to hook one's very soul.

The Monster Beast Tonic Soup that had once cost him a coin per basin was freely available here, with as much as one could eat.

As soon as Shen Xiu entered, he took a basin, found a corner, and sat down. He ate with such gusto that it was downright exhilarating. After finishing, he went back for another basin.

After two basins went down his throat, his shriveled stomach from the intense exercise immediately swelled up.

His whole body was filled with heat, warm and comfortable.

Thinking of his Golden Cicada, which had gone hungry for several days, Shen Xiu asked whether he could take some food back. The answer he received was no.

On second thought, it made sense. If it could be taken out, those with ulterior motives could profit from it. After all, even the ordinary medicinal soups within the martial academy held some allure for outsiders.

With no other choice, Shen Xiu could only head to the back kitchen for a look.

With the Formal Disciple assessment over, the rumors about medicinal dregs had gradually faded away.

After one Labor Disciple ate himself unconscious, no one dared continue eating medicinal dregs.

Still, this might only last a year or two. Once another batch of Labor Disciples was recruited, it would probably sprout anew.

After all, the world turned in such a cycle.

The back kitchen had not yet reached its cleanup time, and there were still plenty of medicinal dregs. Shen Xiu directly filled an earthen jar to the brim and took it with him.

Steward Yu was there as well. He could only watch helplessly as Shen Xiu entered and took away the medicinal dregs. Facing a Shen Xiu who was no longer what he used to be, he stood to one side throughout and did not dare utter a single fart.

He could still put a Labor Disciple in his place, but Formal Disciples were the backbone of the martial academy and seedlings for True Disciples. He no longer dared show Shen Xiu any attitude.

Early in the morning, with the sun already three poles high.

Shen Xiu, sleeping beneath warm bedding, suddenly woke with a start. Only then did he realize that he no longer needed to do menial chores.

Even so, Shen Xiu still climbed up and practiced the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art once, feeling his physique grow stronger day by day.

There was still a month before he officially began carrying out a Formal Disciple's duties. During that month, he needed to improve everything he could.

After all, he did not know what sort of task he would be assigned then. The more strength he had, the more safety he would have.

Today, he planned to visit the apothecary hall and collect a serving of the Qi Cultivation Soup Instructor Duan had mentioned.

Following the memories in his mind, Shen Xiu arrived at the apothecary hall.

There, he saw a gaunt old man standing in the hall, directing numerous Labor Disciples as they selected herbs, refined medicine, and tended the heat.

As a large martial academy renowned both within and beyond Taixi City, hundreds of disciples practiced martial arts there every day. Naturally, medicinal soups, medicinal baths, and the like were consumed in vast quantities.

Thus, they had spent money to hire an apothecary from Shanglin, the prefectural city, to refine medicine here. He was a true big shot. Ordinarily, he only needed to keep hold of the important points, and at other times, merely move his lips.

All those strenuous chores requiring hands and feet were naturally handed over to the other Labor Disciples.

Looking into the past, Shen Xiu had once been one of them. Yet when he came this time, his identity had already changed completely.

"Disciple Shen Xiu has come to collect a serving of medicinal soup from Elder Yu."

Walking up to the apothecary, Shen Xiu bowed as he spoke.

Elder Yu clearly did not recognize Shen Xiu, or perhaps he did but simply did not care. After all, he had seen plenty of talented disciples.

"Take one yourself from the counter on the left."

Elder Yu gave a slight nod with a blank expression, his gaze flicking ahead.

Shen Xiu did not mind. Walking to the left counter, he saw a neatly arranged row of Qi Cultivation Soup and picked up the first bowl.

The Qi Cultivation Soup in the bowl gave off a clear, rich fragrance. The intensely concentrated medicinal scent burrowed into his nostrils, and he felt an indescribable scorching heat seem to rise within his body.

This scene felt very familiar.

He had felt something similar when he ate Monster Beast Tonic Soup in the Canteen before. Yet compared to this, that sensation had been like a witch's trick before a great sorcerer.

Still carrying the jar of medicinal soup, Shen Xiu brought the Qi Cultivation Soup back to his small courtyard and decisively drained it in one gulp.

Very quickly, Shen Xiu felt as though he had swallowed a great fireball. From his stomach, an overwhelming, irresistible scorching heat surged toward every part of his body.

The Qi Cultivation Soup from the apothecary hall was truly far stronger than that so-called Monster Beast Tonic Soup.

Shen Xiu could only marvel that an apothecary from Shanglin City was indeed extraordinary.

Without wasting any more medicinal power, he immediately used the heat within his body to practice the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art move by move in the secluded courtyard.

Supported by the surging medicinal power, Shen Xiu seemed unable to feel fatigue at all. He practiced again and again, while the proficiency on the panel rose at a speed he could never have imagined before.

Feeling his physique grow stronger, he sensed that he would soon temper his body for the second time and step into the Body Tempering Mid-Stage.