Heaven Rewards Diligence

Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall provided lodging specifically for its apprentices.

But the conditions were atrocious. A communal sleeping platform meant for thirty people housed fifty, freezing in winter and sweltering in summer, reeking to high heaven as bodies were packed shoulder to shoulder.

Still, despite its many drawbacks, it was already quite a decent place to stay for most apprentices. Many could not even stay somewhere like that—for example, Jiang Feng.

Ever since the previous owner of this body had offended Wu Han, he had been assigned to the small room beside the communal sleeping platform.

The little room had been converted from an old doghouse. It was cramped and foul-smelling, without a single usable piece of furniture—only two straw mats, one for a bed and one for a blanket.

Most importantly, it was damaged all over, unable to keep out either wind or rain.

To others, this place was simply uninhabitable. Yet Jiang Feng was quite satisfied, because he had a secret that could not see the light of day and desperately needed a private space of his own.

"Open the panel."

At a thought, a translucent panel instantly appeared before him.

[Name: Jiang Feng]

[Realm: Blood-Moving Realm, Sixth Layer (11/100)]

[Technique: Iron Stake Technique (Minor Mastery 175/200)]

[Skills:

Herb Identification Art (Major Mastery 122/300)

Bedchamber Arts (Beginner 5/100)]

[Yesterday's Evaluation: Superior!]

[Rewards: Iron Stake Technique Proficiency +15, Herb Identification Art Proficiency +16, Bedchamber Arts Proficiency +5, Attribute Point +1]

This was the Heaven Rewards Diligence panel that had crossed over with Jiang Feng, and the foundation of his belief that he could turn his life around from a salted fish into a dragon.

This was also why, in just over half a month since crossing over, he had reached the sixth layer of the Blood-Moving Realm.

Every bit of effort he made and every drop of sweat he shed would be reflected on the system. There would be a reward for every effort.

Moreover, the system would conduct a comprehensive evaluation based on his efforts each day and grant certain rewards.

There was experience that could raise proficiency, aura abilities that could accelerate cultivation, and these exceptionally special enhancement points.

The use of enhancement points was simple and brutal. They could be used to break through crucial bottlenecks in one's realm, or directly raise a technique's proficiency to the next stage.

However, obtaining them depended heavily on luck. This was Jiang Feng's first time receiving one.

"After reaching the sixth layer of the Blood-Moving Realm, the progress bar really has been filling more and more slowly.

"But the Iron Stake Technique's proficiency has increased considerably. In another three to five days, I should be able to break through to Major Mastery. By then, perhaps my realm will improve faster as well."

With that thought in mind, Jiang Feng shifted his gaze to the skills section.

"These days of intensely sorting medicinal herbs have produced quite remarkable results. The Herb Identification Art actually rose directly to Major Mastery.

"Sadly, all the herbs have already been sorted. If I keep hanging around the Pharmacy, it will definitely arouse the proprietor's displeasure."

As he looked, Jiang Feng suddenly froze.

"Why is there an extra Bedchamber Arts skill in the skills section? I don't remember having this skill before."

But he quickly figured it out.

This was probably the gain from his wild night with Li Muxue.

"I never expected doing that kind of thing to count as a skill, and for it to gain proficiency too.

"But isn't this proficiency gain a little off? I clearly remember doing it six times, so why did it only increase by five points?"

Jiang Feng could not make heads or tails of it.

"Looks like I'm still not proficient enough. I'll have to find more chances to hone it in the future."

Having been a corporate beast in his previous life, Jiang Feng knew full well the importance of having many skills. Though these Bedchamber Arts seemed useless now, who could say that someday he would not be able to live off a rich woman through this skill?

Of course, even if it remained useless forever, he was willing to practice it. After all, the blissful sensation from last night had left a profound impression on him.

Jiang Feng put away the panel, then took out last night's spoils from his clothes.

There were not many things, only three in total.

Several pieces of broken silver, a small porcelain bottle filled with pills, and a small booklet wrapped in silk.

There was no need to mention the silver. It was the circulating currency of the Great Yin Dynasty, and there was not much of it—roughly one month's wages for him, better than nothing.

He then opened the small porcelain bottle and gently fanned the mouth of the bottle with his palm.

"Mm, judging by the smell, these seem to be Blood-Qi Pills. But I don't know whether they're genuine Blood-Qi Pills."

As the name implied, Blood-Qi Pills were medicinal pills that replenished one's qi and blood. They were the most common and basic pills throughout the Great Yin Dynasty.

Practicing martial arts consumed a considerable amount of qi and blood. If it was not replenished in time, one would progress slowly and grow physically weak at best; at worst, it could even cause internal injuries.

Therefore, if one wished to rapidly improve one's strength, a steady supply of Blood-Qi Pills was indispensable.

There were ten pills in this bottle. At the current market price in Ping'an County, this bottle alone was worth twenty taels of silver!

Even then, they were a case of the quick getting them while the slow went without; demand far exceeded supply.

In the Great Yin Dynasty, one tael of silver was enough to cover a normal family of four's living expenses for a month. This one bottle of pills could pay for an entire family's food and drink for two years.

"If these truly are genuine Blood-Qi Pills, then I've really struck it rich. I'm even confident that I can train the Iron Stake Technique to Major Mastery today!"

Although he often came into contact with Blood-Qi Pills in the Medicine Hall, he could not afford such pills either.

Jiang Feng's face lit up with joy. This was quite a windfall. He immediately turned his expectant gaze toward the small booklet wrapped in silk.

"Even the packaging is this extraordinary. What's inside is probably even more important than those pills."

Brimming with anticipation, he lifted the silk away, revealing the item's true form at last.

It was an exceptionally ancient-looking little booklet. Several bold, sweeping characters were written across its cover—Exquisite Breathing Method.

"This seems to be... an internal art?"

The Great Yin Dynasty's techniques were divided into two categories: martial skills and internal arts.

Internal arts were the foundation of cultivation and could directly affect the advancement of one's cultivation, while martial skills were the means of bringing one's strength to its fullest extent.

They were divided into nine grades. First grade was the lowest, ninth grade the highest, and each grade was further divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers.

The Iron Stake Technique cultivated by Jiang Feng and the other apprentices was the most common and lowest-ranked first-grade lower-tier internal art. Even at perfection, it could not surpass the Blood-Moving Realm. The limit of one's life could be seen at a glance.

"I wonder what grade this Exquisite Breathing Method is. I heard that even the best martial academy in all of Black Water Town only has a second-grade middle-tier internal art as its academy-defending technique. If this Breathing Method is second-grade, then last night's haul is truly absurdly enormous."

Internal arts differed from martial skills. Martial skills were branches growing from a great tree, whereas internal arts were an entirely separate circulation system—the absolute foundation. Their value was far beyond comparison with martial skills.

With a second-grade internal art, one could establish a personal faction even in a small place like Black Water Town.

Holding this newly acquired internal art, Jiang Feng did not feel much joy. Instead, it felt scalding in his hands.

He felt that this matter was probably serious.

Wu Han had lost something so important. The Medicine Hall would likely soon face an unprecedented search.

And the search would come far faster than anyone could imagine!

"What do I do? I'm certain Wu Han didn't see my face, but what about these things?"

If these items were found on him, then it would be a case of man and stolen goods caught together. His fate was easy to imagine—he would surely suffer a miserable end.

Destroying these things on the spot was undoubtedly the safest choice for now, but he truly could not bear to do it.

After all, who would be willing to spit out a piece of fat meat already in their mouth?

Jiang Feng quickly ran to the door and peered through the crack at the sky outside. He immediately clenched his teeth.

"Time is tight. Before the search begins, I must learn this internal art!"

Having made up his mind, Jiang Feng opened the booklet and began reading with his whole heart.

The Exquisite Breathing Method's contents were not particularly complicated, and its cultivation method was not difficult either. One merely adjusted one's breathing rhythm and supplemented it with special postures.

But when the two were combined, the difficulty became immense. The Iron Stake Technique he had cultivated before could not even be compared with this method—they were as far apart as heaven and earth.

Had the Iron Stake Technique not laid a foundation and improved his physical condition, even trying to imitate this technique like a cat copying a tiger would have been nothing but a fool's dream.