Time Flies, Saber Technique Mastered!

Time Flies, Saber Technique Mastered!

Moonlight spilled down.

"Where am I supposed to sleep tonight?" Jiang Ning stood there in a daze, momentarily at a loss.

All of a sudden.

Tap tap tap—

A rapid series of footsteps suddenly sounded from behind the wall.

A burly figure emerged from beyond the courtyard wall.

"Big Sister Sun!" Jiang Ning called out.

Madam Sun glanced at Jiang Ning and immediately noticed the steam constantly rising from his head, as well as his sweat-soaked clothes.

"Kid, you're working yourself far too hard! You're still training at this hour!!" Her gaze softened.

Jiang Ning smiled. "Since I chose to train, shouldn't I endure a little hardship? As a child born into an ordinary family, it wasn't easy for me to get this opportunity to learn martial arts. I have to seize it tightly."

"No matter how hard you work, you still need to sleep! It's already midnight. If you don't sleep properly and conserve your energy, how will you train tomorrow?" Madam Sun said angrily.

"I do need to sleep!" Jiang Ning nodded.

Seeing him nod, Madam Sun's expression immediately softened.

"Then come with me! I prepared a bed for you long ago. I saw you reading so attentively earlier and couldn't bear to disturb you!" Madam Sun chattered on.

Listening to her, a faint smile appeared on Jiang Ning's face.

The two walked through the silent martial arts hall along a path paved with gray bricks.

The moonlight flowed like water, casting their clear reflections upon the ground, while the cries of all kinds of insects continuously rang in their ears.

After passing through a courtyard and walking several dozen meters, they arrived at another courtyard.

"There are quite a few vacant rooms in the martial arts hall. This courtyard will be for you alone. I'm right next door!" Madam Sun stopped in the courtyard and spoke.

"Thank you, Big Sister!!" Jiang Ning pursed his lips and spoke earnestly.

Madam Sun could not help but smile. "You've already called me Big Sister. What are you thanking me for?"

Then she added, "Oh, right, your quilt hasn't had time to be aired out. Make do for tonight, and I'll air it tomorrow."

"It's fine!" Jiang Ning smiled. "As long as I have a bed to sleep in, that's enough! I came to the martial arts hall to learn martial arts, not to enjoy myself!"

"You're far too sensible, child!" Madam Sun said with a slight shake of her head. Then a trace of reminiscence appeared in her eyes. "Back then, he was sensible much like you!!"

"Big Sister Sun, who is this 'he' you mentioned?"

Madam Sun immediately came back to herself. She steadied herself, shook her head without answering, and instead said, "It's late. Take a bath and go to sleep! I should go back and sleep too!"

Under the moonlight, Jiang Ning watched Madam Sun's retreating figure.

It seems Big Sister Sun is someone with a story too!! Jiang Ning sighed inwardly, then headed toward his own room.

Creak—

He pushed open the door.

The entire room lay in full view.

The room was not large, only around forty or fifty square meters, and its layout was simple as well. There was only a basic table, chairs, stools, and a large redwood bed against the corner wall.

Yet the spotless furniture showed that whoever had cleaned this room had done so with great care.

The neatly folded bedding atop the bamboo mat on the bed also could not help reminding Jiang Ning of his previous life.

In his previous life, whenever he returned from outside at the end of the year, his mother would always have made his bed in advance. His bedding always carried the scent of sunlight.

Then he let out a soft sigh.

Afterward, he turned and left the room. He found two buckets, carried two buckets of water back from the front courtyard, gave himself a simple wash, scrubbed and wrung out the clothes he had worn earlier, then hung them on the windowsill.

It was mid-July, and Luoshui County had now entered the hottest period of the year.

In such scorching weather, any clothes would be dried by the warm wind overnight.

The next day.

The first thing he did upon waking was open his panel.

[Source Energy]: 4.4

"This time, Source Energy increased by 0.5."

Jiang Ning rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It seems the growth of Source Energy really is related to what I consume that day, just as I predicted! Yesterday, I ate wild ginseng twice, and both lunch and dinner were far more lavish than on any previous day. That's why this increase broke the previous record, rising by a full 0.5."

Then he muttered inwardly, "Judging from yesterday's efficiency, it will take at least another eleven days for my Source Energy to reach ten points! In that case, there's no rush to grind the experience for the Wood-Chopping Saber Technique. As long as I can grind out all the experience I need before my Source Energy reaches ten, that'll be enough!"

He then pushed open the door and walked outside.

Even during the hottest time of the year, the morning breeze still carried a trace of coolness.

At that moment, streaks of rosy clouds dyed the slightly cool horizon. Clearly, a fiery red sun would soon rise.

Jiang Ning took a deep breath of fresh air.

Hoo—

He slowly exhaled the stale air that had accumulated in his belly overnight.

After several cycles, he immediately felt incomparably relaxed in both body and mind.

"A morning like this is made for practicing boxing!" Jiang Ning laughed.

He immediately assumed his stance. Once he adjusted his breathing rhythm, he began practicing his fist technique.

[Five Animals Fist Experience +2]

After completing one round of the fist technique, nearly the time it took for an incense stick to burn had passed.

The horizon, where only a faint glimmer of light had appeared moments ago, now showed the head of a warm red sun.

By then, Jiang Ning's body had thoroughly heated up.

His skin was slightly flushed, steam rose from his head, and bean-sized beads of sweat began dripping from his cheeks.

Yet his body and mind were filled with immense delight.

One round of the fist technique had added two points of experience, equivalent to practicing it twice.

Such efficiency was naturally an enormous surprise.

After resting for a moment, he continued practicing.

[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]

[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Beginner 31/100)

Looking at his panel—

Hoo—

Jiang Ning let out a long breath of stale air.

One-third of the way there!

He was one step closer to another breakthrough in his fist technique.

Jiang Ning nodded in satisfaction.

In the blink of an eye.

Another two days passed.

During these days, Jiang Li personally came to the martial arts hall once more and brought Jiang Ning several changes of clothes.

Seeing that Jiang Ning's once somewhat thin body had become a little sturdier, Jiang Li returned home at ease.

Jiang Ning had not slackened in the slightest over these days, making almost the fullest use of every moment.

Aside from practicing boxing and doing physically demanding work like chopping wood, he spent his time reading.

The thick book he had brought from home had been completely finished the night before.

[Name]: Jiang Ning

[Source Energy]: 5.4

[Skill]: Literacy (First Limit Break 148/2000) (Trait: Photographic Memory)

Five Animals Fist (Beginner 88/100)

Wood-Chopping Saber Technique (Mastery 109/1000)

In a full three days, Jiang Ning's panel had undergone several changes.

Source Energy had increased by 0.5 each day, reaching 5.4 points.

His fist technique had also improved tremendously, with only the final twelve points of experience remaining before a breakthrough.

Among them, however, the greatest change was in the Wood-Chopping Saber Technique.

Over these past days, he had directly ground it all the way to Mastery.

After the Wood-Chopping Saber Technique reached Mastery, Jiang Ning could clearly feel that his saber had become faster and more precise.

He only needed to exert eighty percent of his previous strength to split a thick, heavy log cleanly down the middle with ease.

His explosive strength had risen by twenty to thirty percent, and his speed by another twenty to thirty percent. If this had been an art for killing enemies, it could have produced an effortlessly crushing effect.

This was the change brought by the Wood-Chopping Saber Technique breaking through from Minor Mastery to Mastery, granting him an all-around enhancement.

After experiencing the changes from Minor Mastery to Mastery in the Wood-Chopping Saber Technique, Jiang Ning was filled with even greater anticipation for the future breakthroughs of the Five Animals Fist.

Thanks to Lingka Luo'er for the 500 reward and monthly ticket, thanks to Li Cunshan for the reward and monthly ticket, and thanks to Dugu Lei for the two monthly tickets, as well as the monthly tickets from the numbered readers!

(End of Chapter)