Testing Strength

Testing Strength

The moonlight was cold and clear.

Jiang Ning stood in the courtyard.

[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Beginner 0/100)

He looked at his status panel, deep in thought.

"While practicing fist techniques this afternoon, I actually gained another four experience points! It seemed that practicing a fist technique once did not mean I could only gain one experience point. As long as I practiced seriously, I would gain at least one experience point!"

After thinking it over briefly, Jiang Ning found it perfectly reasonable.

Ordinary people spoke of sudden enlightenment in martial arts, and there were also sayings about seeing the whole from a lofty height and drawing inferences from one instance to another.

If practicing a technique could increase experience by only one point at most each time, then once his martial arts reached great mastery, would he not need to practice an ordinary low-grade martial art ten times just to get started?

That would be far too unreasonable!

"This is how it should be!!!" Excitement surged in his heart.

With this panel, it meant Heaven rewarded diligence—his efforts would surely bear fruit.

This was practically a road leading straight to the heavens.

How could he not be excited?

Then—

"Whew—"

He slowly exhaled a breath of foul air and gradually suppressed the excitement in his heart.

What changes had the Five Animals Fist undergone after reaching Beginner level?

According to the records in the fist manual, condensing the first wisp of qi and blood through practicing the fist technique signified that one had entered the Five Animals Fist.

Once the Five Animals Fist reached the Beginner realm, every round of practice could temper the physique and offered a chance to condense the power of qi and blood.

He might as well give it a try!

Jiang Ning clenched his fists. The physical strength he had expended practicing earlier that afternoon had long since fully recovered after the bowl of medicinal soup and his hearty meal. He was brimming with energy, his body filled with strength that had nowhere to go.

This was the perfect state for practicing fists.

The next moment, Jiang Ning assumed a stance and began practicing.

On the steps, Jiang Li sat quietly in a chair and watched.

As he watched Jiang Ning coordinate every move with his breathing technique, cutting an imposing figure like a tiger in full might—

"Not bad! Truly not bad!!" He nodded in satisfaction.

[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]

The instant that prompt appeared, Jiang Ning immediately felt another warm current arise within his body.

Wherever the warm current passed, it felt as though he were bathing in a warm spring, incomparably soothing.

He could sense his physique continuously growing under the nourishment of that power of qi and blood.

[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Beginner 1/100)

In an instant, the Five Animals Fist had broken through and reached the Beginner level.

"I now have two wisps of qi and blood!"

Jiang Ning clenched his fist. The two wisps of qi and blood coursed through his body as easily as if they were extensions of his own arms.

When the power of qi and blood flowed into his right palm, Jiang Ning could feel it becoming more powerful under its enhancement.

This was the effect of entering the Five Animals Fist—he could circulate the power of qi and blood in conjunction with the Five Animals Fist.

In such circumstances, when the power of qi and blood surged into his fists and he used Tiger Form, his explosive force would be immense. When he used Bear Form, his strength would soar and he would stand rooted to the ground.

When the power of qi and blood surged into his feet and he used Ape Form, his body would become nimble and agile, able to shift and move as he pleased. When he used Crane Form, his speed would greatly increase.

The next moment—

His qi and blood fused together. He circulated Tiger Form Fist and drove a punch into the tree trunk before him, his fist force erupting.

Thud—

With a dull sound, the young tree swayed, its leaves rustling loudly.

"This is!!!" Jiang Li, seated in the chair, instantly widened his eyes at the sight.

"Is that the power of qi and blood enhancing his fist?" He could scarcely believe it.

When Jiang Ning withdrew his fist, he saw that the fist, far more fragile than the tree trunk, was only slightly reddened, without a single wound.

"So it truly is as they say: only by mastering the power of qi and blood can one barely be considered a martial artist!"

He muttered to himself and walked toward a corner of the courtyard.

Two rows of stone locks were set in that corner, ranging from fifty jin, one hundred jin, and one hundred fifty jin all the way to one thousand jin.

"I wonder whether practicing fists for an afternoon has increased my strength."

He came before the smallest stone lock.

It was a fifty-jin stone lock.

With one hand, he lifted it effortlessly.

"It really is much easier. It seems my strength truly increased after practicing fists all afternoon!"

Jiang Ning set the fifty-jin stone lock back on the ground, then placed his right hand on the one-hundred-jin stone lock beside it.

"I wonder if I can lift this one-hundred-jin stone lock." He muttered inwardly.

He had tried lifting this one-hundred-jin stone lock before, but no matter how hard he strained, he had been unable to lift it completely.

That was perfectly normal.

From what he knew, even in his previous life, not many adult men could lift a one-hundred-jin dumbbell with one hand.

What was more, he was only eighteen in this life, living in an era akin to feudal times, where nutrition was far inferior to that of an ordinary man in his previous life.

So he had found it entirely normal that he had previously been unable to lift a one-hundred-jin stone lock with one hand.

The stray thoughts flashed through his mind, and Jiang Ning suddenly exerted force with his right hand.

The one-hundred-jin stone lock instantly left the ground, suspended in the air in his single hand.

"My strength really has increased!!"

Jiang Ning tried hefting it a few times with one hand. Only when he was somewhat exhausted did he set the stone lock down.

"I still had strength to spare after lifting a one-hundred-jin stone lock with one hand. It seems my strength rose by ten to twenty percent in just one afternoon. The effect is truly obvious!!"

"That is only a simple change in my body. If I combine it with the power of qi and blood, the increase in strength will be even more apparent!"

At that moment, Jiang Ning gained a preliminary understanding of the martial path in this world. The effects of martial cultivation techniques were far more miraculous than any method of exercise from his previous life.

Meanwhile, Jiang Li stared wide-eyed at Jiang Ning's actions.

"Could my little brother be a martial arts prodigy? He achieved such results after practicing martial arts for only one afternoon??"

After finishing his test—

Jiang Ning struck while the iron was hot and resumed practicing fists.

This time, it took him only a little over a quarter of an hour to complete one round of the Five Animals Fist.

[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]

He sensed his body again, and joy rose in his heart.

"According to the fist manual, only after the Five Animals Fist reaches the Beginner realm does one gain the chance to condense qi and blood—but it is only a chance!"

"Ordinary people often need to practice the fist technique three or four times to condense a single wisp of qi and blood. Only those with exceedingly high talent and comprehension can ensure that they condense a wisp of qi and blood nearly every time they practice the technique."

"I have practiced the fist technique twice, and each time I condensed qi and blood. Does that mean I can condense qi and blood one hundred percent of the time?"

Jiang Ning assessed his condition. Thanks to the bowl of medicinal soup from the martial academy and the lavish dinner, he could probably support another two rounds of fist practice.

"I might as well test it!" he muttered inwardly.

Just then, Jiang Li's voice sounded beside his ear.

"Little brother, have you condensed qi and blood?"

Jiang Ning looked up and saw Jiang Li rise from his chair, staring at him in shock.

"Yes!" Jiang Ning nodded, choosing to tell the truth.

"So it really is so!!" Jiang Li could not help widening his eyes as he looked at Jiang Ning, as if this were the first time he had ever known him.

Seeing Jiang Li's expression, Jiang Ning smiled. "The Five Animals Fist is a low-grade martial art. As long as one enters the fist technique, condensing qi and blood is simply a matter of water flowing into its channel! I have a strong memory—I can remember the fist manual after reading it once, and I can fully remember the technique after watching Academy Master Wang Jin practice it once. On top of that, a senior brother was generous enough to give me a wild ginseng worth more than ten taels when I entered the academy."

"Then sending you to study martial arts at Blue-Wave Martial Academy was indeed the right choice! You earned back more than ten taels of silver right at the start. Not bad, truly not bad!!" Jiang Li laughed heartily.

Jiang Ning merely smiled slightly without confirming or denying it. A wild ginseng worth more than ten taels was indeed an unexpected delight.

Without the potent medicinal effects of that wild ginseng, he would not have been able to enter the fist technique in a single day.

That night—

Jiang Ning practiced the fist technique two more times. Though there was no further unexpected delight and he merely gained another two points of Five Animals Fist experience, he condensed two more wisps of qi and blood.

Thus, his total qi and blood reached four wisps.

As those four wisps of qi and blood merged together, that stream of qi and blood became thicker.

It circulated throughout his body, constantly nourishing his physique.

After completing those two rounds of fist practice, Jiang Ning could also feel that his body could no longer continue practicing.

Once he noticed this condition, he did not force himself further.

Forcing himself to practice would be going too far and falling short; it would certainly harm his body.

He then asked Jiang Li about the doubt in his heart.

That was, what level of strength Xu Yunfeng actually possessed.

After Jiang Li's explanation, Jiang Ning roughly understood both his elder brother's former strength and Xu Yunfeng's strength.

Before his elder brother Jiang Li had been injured, at his peak, the power of qi and blood had already penetrated his limbs. The cultivation technique he practiced was also an extremely common low-grade saber art, focused primarily on killing enemies and secondarily on tempering qi and blood.

Xu Yunfeng, however, was different. He had most likely reached the limit beneath a ninth-rank martial artist, with qi and blood flowing throughout his entire body.

Comparing the two, Xu Yunfeng was clearly a notch above Jiang Li.

After learning this, Jiang Ning understood that he was still very far from Xu Yunfeng.

Their strengths were simply not on the same level.

Yet he was neither discouraged nor particularly afraid.

Given the speed of his progress, as long as he was given some time, he would surpass Xu Yunfeng sooner or later.

Now that he had joined Blue-Wave Martial Academy, at least for these few months at the academy, a clever man like Xu Yunfeng would neither dare nor choose to make a move against him.

But Jiang Ning also knew that one day, he might be swept into the bloody armed conflict between the two major gangs.

Xu Yunfeng worked for Cao Bin. To force his elder brother into submission, the threats he had made before might become reality.

Before that happened, he had to raise his fist technique realm as quickly as possible.

As long as his fist technique reached great mastery, he could pass Wang Jin's test and become a true disciple of the martial academy.

As the saying went, leaning against a great tree brought cool shade. Once he became Wang Jin's true disciple, his status would be no less than that of ordinary officials or wealthy merchants.

Even Xu Yunfeng would not dare touch him under such circumstances, much less the gangs Xu Yunfeng could command.

(End of Chapter)