Parallel Cultivation

In the alley, the scruffy man frowned at Chen Fan.

"You still want to buy my martial arts manuals?"

Chen Fan nodded repeatedly.

The scruffy man raised a brow.

"Kid, let me remind you—sometimes, being unable to get started in martial arts... might not be a problem with the manual."

Chen Fan froze.

Then he gave a bitter smile and said nothing.

This man had pretended not to know him earlier. He must have thought Chen Fan could not get started and had come to return the manual!

"You don't look like you come from a wealthy family either."

The scruffy man glanced at Chen Fan.

"Let me make this clear. If you were willing to spend two taels of silver on a copy of Tiger Fist, your family should have a little spare money. Come to think of it, the money for ten manuals would be about enough for the Flying Tiger Sect's registration fee. If you joined the Flying Tiger Sect, strength-training martial arts would be free, and there would be famous masters to teach you..."

This man still had a bit of a conscience.

Chen Fan's lips twitched. How could he not know the benefits of joining a martial arts school? But Pi Liu was pressuring him, and for the time being, he could not save any money!

Besides, saving money took time. His ability was special; the sooner he got martial arts manuals, the better. As for teachers, they were dispensable to him.

Since he had already made up his mind to go against Pi Liu, naturally, he needed to become stronger as quickly as possible!

So he said bluntly, "Are you selling or not?"

The scruffy man narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm selling. But... I have to remind you once more: martial arts are not better simply because you know more of them. No matter how many techniques you learn without finding the proper gate, they cannot help you become stronger..."

Chen Fan still said nothing, merely watching him.

The scruffy man stopped wasting words and took out another manual.

This one was clearly a palm technique, called Soft Cloud Palm.

Chen Fan flipped through it once and asked, "This technique only has four forms. It seems simpler than Tiger Fist?"

The scruffy man replied, "Though they are both basic martial arts, there are differences. Tiger Fist is among the better basic martial arts in terms of power and effectiveness, while Soft Cloud Palm is quite ordinary. I have better manuals on hand, but selling them to you would be harming you."

Chen Fan understood at once. He knew that some better strength-training manuals were likely forbidden from being passed around. Then he asked, "You keep saying basic martial arts, basic martial arts. Does that mean there are more advanced techniques beyond them?"

The scruffy man nodded. "Since you're an old customer and you love martial arts, I'll chat with you a little more. Basic martial arts are also called foundational martial arts—strength-training manuals, usually centered on fist and palm techniques. Their main purpose is to nourish the body, temper the physique, strengthen oneself, and bolster one's blood and vitality."

Chen Fan understood.

No wonder his appetite had grown so quickly after getting started with Tiger Fist, and his body had gradually become sturdier!

The scruffy man continued.

"Of course, the deeper your understanding of basic martial arts, the better their strength-training effect. Once you comprehend inner breath, you can be considered to have truly stepped before the gates of martial arts and may be called a quasi-martial artist."

Chen Fan's heart stirred as he recalled the warm current that had once appeared within his body while practicing his fist technique after his "sudden enlightenment."

Could that have been inner breath?

Chen Fan could not be certain whether he had reached the threshold and comprehended inner breath.

But—

In less than a month, Chen Fan had already felt the drastic changes in his body each day.

Setting everything else aside, his strength alone had nearly doubled!

His body was growing ever more powerful.

For that alone, his strength-training manual had not been practiced in vain.

The scruffy man said, "For ordinary people, with a teacher's guidance and the right medicinal soups and diet, it takes one or two months to get started with a lower-grade basic martial art. It takes three to five years to fully master it and comprehend inner breath. Of course, that is for people with talent for martial arts. Without it—or with poor luck—even ten years or eight years would not be enough to step onto the path of martial arts."

Chen Fan's thoughts flickered.

Secretly, he clicked his tongue.

Cultivation was actually this difficult even for normal people with martial arts talent.

Even a basic strength-training technique took three to five years to master completely.

He was no fool. How could he fail to understand the mystery and power of his golden finger now?

Of course, Chen Fan would not become overly inflated. He also knew that what the scruffy man described was merely the standard level of ordinary martial artists.

There were naturally geniuses in martial arts who differed from ordinary people!

The scruffy man did not notice the change in Chen Fan's expression and continued.

"Comprehending inner breath is the most basic step, but also the hardest. Who knows how many disciples the Flying Tiger Sect has, yet fewer than one in ten can comprehend inner breath and truly become martial artists. And among those who do become martial artists, there are only two kinds of people. One kind has a sufficiently wealthy family and piles up money to get there. The other kind is talented. Of course, some inferior strength-training techniques can help one comprehend inner breath more quickly, but their foundational effects are terribly poor, and future achievements will be ordinary..."

The scruffy man did not continue.

At this point, he had already offered enough guidance.

Chen Fan understood the man's unspoken meaning, yet remained unmoved. Holding the copy of Soft Cloud Palm, he asked, "Since this manual is inferior to Tiger Fist, can you give me a discount?"

The scruffy man looked at Chen Fan's rough hemp clothes and his shining eyes. After pondering for a moment, he said, "At least... one tael of silver."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up. "Do you have any other manuals?"

He had taken an advance on a month's wages, and there was still some spare money at home. Naturally, he wanted to buy more.

The scruffy man was stunned, then said, "Unless your talent is exceptionally good, it is best to focus on a single basic martial art. However, different people suit different techniques, and the effects can be as far apart as heaven and earth. If you want to find a technique better suited to your cultivation, you should indeed try more..."

As he spoke, he flipped his hand again and brought out several manuals.

Chen Fan's eyes gleamed as he took all the manuals and skimmed through them.

By now, he had already completed the cultivation of three forms of Tiger Fist and had gained a slight understanding of these basic techniques. Based on his own judgment, he selected the three best manuals.

Unfortunately, none of these manuals seemed to be on the level of Tiger Fist.

Besides Soft Cloud Palm, there were Great Hand Seal and Duck-Walking Fist. The three taels of silver he had advanced were all spent!

Yet Chen Fan did not feel the slightest regret.

Once he became a powerful martial artist, would he still need to worry about making money?

As he was leaving, the scruffy man said again, "Let me give you a piece of advice. You should be able to sense whether a technique can be entered. If, within two years, you cannot get started with any one of these four basic martial arts, then give up on the path of martial arts..."

With that, he turned and drifted away.

Chen Fan watched the man's back, deep in thought.

The man claimed to have relatives in the Flying Tiger Sect. In Chen Fan's view, someone who knew so much about martial artists and the path of martial arts could not be an ordinary person. Perhaps he had long since become a martial artist.

He suppressed the curiosity in his heart.

He hurried back with the three manuals and immediately began trying to get started with them.

He first picked up Soft Cloud Palm.

This palm technique had three forms in total.

With his experience from Tiger Fist, he found it easy to perform the palm technique according to the manual.

And after he had practiced all three forms, another string of words indeed appeared before his eyes.

Soft Cloud Palm had also entered its idle cultivation state!

Then, suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Chen Fan picked up the second manual—

Great Hand Seal.

After practicing Great Hand Seal, it too entered the idle cultivation state without surprise!

But when it came to the third technique, Duck-Walking Fist, Chen Fan awkwardly discovered that he could no longer cultivate in parallel.

Chen Fan was deeply disappointed.

"So I can only cultivate three techniques in parallel..."

But on second thought, that made sense.

If he could cultivate techniques in parallel without limit—

Then Chen Fan would only need to practice enough techniques and eat enough food to become invincible outright.

"Three is not too few."

In truth, the golden finger worked this way, and Chen Fan had no control over it. He could only console himself.

Afterward, Chen Fan checked the efficiency again and found that Tiger Fist's cultivation efficiency had not decreased.

The three techniques operated independently, and only then did Chen Fan relax.

Moreover, the idle cultivation efficiency of Soft Cloud Palm and Great Hand Seal was actually no lower than that of the transformed Tiger Fist!

"These two techniques really are simpler!"

And these two basic martial arts also had fewer moves than Tiger Fist. They would probably both be completed in a little over a month.

Perhaps the martial arts were simple, or perhaps Chen Fan's body had grown much stronger over the past few days, making him more suited to cultivation!

Chen Fan could not help thinking, What a pity... If I'd known I could only cultivate three techniques in parallel, I would have practiced Duck-Walking Fist first...

His gaze turned toward the corner of the yard.

Quack, quack, quack. In the mud enclosed by wire, there were clearly two ducks!

These were the only poultry Chen Fan's family had.

Duck-Walking Fist would naturally be far easier than Soft Cloud Palm or Great Hand Seal when it came to meeting hidden special conditions.

However, even without any speed bonus, it would take only a month to master. Chen Fan did not care too much.

"Wait another month. Once all three of my techniques are mastered, my strength should take a leap forward... By then, I should also have figured out the background of Pi Liu and his gang..."

Chen Fan's eyes flickered.