Nine Flood Dragon Palms: Entry

In a clearing in the mountains, Fang Han sat quietly on a stone, looking from afar as though he were daydreaming.

Yet in his mind, that Martial Soul figure tirelessly practiced the Nine Flood Dragon Palms over and over again.

Who knew how much time passed before Fang Han slowly opened his eyes.

His bright gaze fixed on the Panel before him:

[Forged to Excel]

[Name: Fang Han]

[Age: Twenty-Three]

[Physique: Inferior (Can Cultivate)]

[Comprehension: 100]

[Realm: None]

[Martial Art: Gale-Breaking Fist (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 233/500, Entry]

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 1/500, Entry]

[Talents: Unyielding Practice (Never Regresses), Rising Talent (Comprehension Enhancement)]

The Nine Flood Dragon Palms had directly reached Entry on the Panel, making his pupils contract slightly.

"After only half an hour, the Martial Soul actually practiced this palm technique all the way to Entry!"

"This Martial Soul's effect is way too outrageous!"

Fang Han muttered to himself, unable to put the shock in his heart into words.

But on further thought, it was only natural that the Martial Soul could achieve such a thing.

After all, the speed at which the Martial Soul practiced palm techniques in his mind was more than ten times faster than training with his physical body!

Half an hour was enough for the Martial Soul to practice the palm technique hundreds of times!

If word of this got out, every Martial Artist in Azure Cloud City would likely be shocked.

Fang Han took a deep breath, suppressed the turbulence in his heart, and began carefully comprehending the intricacies of the Nine Flood Dragon Palms.

The Entry-level palm technique had already formed complete moves and force-generating techniques in his mind.

He rose to his feet and swung his palms as he reflected on it. His two hands danced like flood dragons emerging from the water, their force fierce and domineering.

After completing one set of palm techniques, a prompt appeared on the Panel:

Nine Flood Dragon Palms Proficiency +1

"Now that I have the Martial Soul, I can try training my body in fist techniques while practicing palm techniques in my mind..."

A sharp glint flashed in Fang Han's eyes. "From now on, I can train two martial arts at once, or even several. My training efficiency will increase severalfold, even dozens of times over."

This was the true terrifying aspect of the Martial Soul!

He walked down toward the foot of the mountain. By the time he returned to Mud Bay Alley, quite a few people had gathered at the entrance.

Fang Han slowed his pace and passed through the crowd.

"I heard Zhou Dabao was killed by the Black Tiger Gang?"

"Yeah. The Dragon King Gang and the Black Tiger Gang have been fighting for two or three years. It's perfectly normal for Zhou Dabao to die at the Black Tiger Gang's hands."

"If you ask me, Zhou Dabao had it coming! He relied on the Dragon King Gang to throw his weight around in our Mud Bay Alley, collecting River God offerings with such an ugly appetite. Good riddance!"

"Shh, are you trying to get yourself killed, talking so loudly? The Dragon King Gang has sent more people over. Watch that big mouth of yours, or they'll hear you and haul you off to offer river lanterns!"

Fang Han kept walking, his expression unchanged as he passed through the discussion.

With the Black Tiger Gang taking the blame and drawing attention, no one would suspect him now.

However... Fang Han frowned slightly.

The death of one Zhou Dabao was utterly insignificant to the Dragon King Gang. They could send someone else to replace him in no time.

For the impoverished people living in Mud Bay Alley, without Zhou Dabao, there would be a Li Dabao or a Wang Dabao.

The moment Fang Han returned to his doorstep, he saw someone standing in his small courtyard.

The man was in his thirties, ordinary-looking, with a faint smile on his face as he spoke with his mother, Chen Cui.

Seeing the Dragon King Gang insignia on the man's left sleeve, Fang Han immediately guessed that he was likely Zhou Dabao's replacement.

"The Fang Household still owes five taels in River God offerings. Will you pay now, or wait a few more days?" the man asked with a smile.

This time, Fang Han did not hesitate. Pretending to be in great pain, he reluctantly took out five taels of silver and handed them to the Dragon King Gang member.

Zhou Dabao had just died. If his family refused to pay the River God offering now, it would be strange if the Dragon King Gang did not grow suspicious.

Still, losing five taels of silver for nothing truly hurt.

If he used five taels to buy Blood-Qi Pills from Wei Zixiong, he could get fifteen pills.

Fifteen Blood-Qi Pills would be roughly enough to train the Gale-Breaking Fist to Major Accomplishment.

Things remained peaceful until three days later.

Flood Peak Martial Arts Academy.

More than forty Outer Court apprentices stood quietly in the Outer Court training grounds.

Today was the Ten-Day Minor Examination, and it was also Fang Han's first time taking the Ten-Day Minor Examination since joining the academy.

"Fang Han, are you nervous?"

Li Daniu stood beside Fang Han and asked in a lowered voice.

"Not really."

Fang Han answered softly, though all his thoughts were focused on the Panel before him:

[Forged to Excel]

[Name: Fang Han]

[Age: Twenty-Three]

[Physique: Inferior (Can Cultivate)]

[Comprehension: 103]

[Realm: None]

[Martial Art: Gale-Breaking Fist (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 76/1000, Minor Accomplishment]

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 360/500, Entry]

[Talents: Unyielding Practice (Never Regresses), Rising Talent (Comprehension Enhancement)]

Over the past three days, he had trained relentlessly and pushed the Gale-Breaking Fist's proficiency straight to Minor Accomplishment.

At the same time, he had trained his fists a hundred times on three occasions, triggering [Rising Talent] and increasing his comprehension by three points.

His gaze fell on the Nine Flood Dragon Palms' proficiency. Fang Han could not help shaking his head inwardly as he thought in silence:

"I've only just realized that the Martial Soul isn't invincible either. Once the Nine Flood Dragon Palms reached Entry, the Martial Soul could only practice it around a hundred times a day.

"After a hundred times, my brain would grow groggy and sleepy. No matter what, I couldn't gather my focus.

"It seems that while the Martial Soul's ability is incredible, it consumes my mental strength. If my mental strength could remain abundant, the Martial Soul could practice martial arts without stopping until it reached Perfection.

"But the greatest pity is that the Martial Soul's palm practice can't count as training my fists a hundred times, so it can't trigger [Rising Talent] and increase my comprehension points.

"If the Martial Soul could also trigger [Rising Talent] and grant additional comprehension points, my martial arts training efficiency would become even more terrifying!"

"Fang Han, and you said you weren't nervous? You've been spacing out this whole time."

"Come on, stop daydreaming. Let me tell you who ranked near the top in the previous Minor Exams."

Li Daniu lightly nudged Fang Han with his elbow, then pursed his lips toward the front of the crowd.

"See that tallest guy? His name is Cao Xuan. He was born with brute strength, and his Gale-Breaking Fist has already reached Minor Accomplishment.

"The short-haired one beside him is Sun Ping. He's very nimble and has solid fist techniques too.

"And that dark-skinned fellow is called..."

Fang Han followed Li Daniu's gaze and memorized each name and face.

The top ten Outer Court apprentices in the Ten-Day Minor Examination would all receive Blood-Qi Soup rewards from the academy.

The higher the ranking, the greater the Blood-Qi Soup reward, with a maximum of five bowls.

A trace of interest flashed through Fang Han's eyes.

What he lacked most right now were resources that could improve his martial arts training efficiency.

Blood-Qi Pills were too expensive. He could consider them when he had money to spare, but he could not possibly consume one Blood-Qi Pill a day in his usual training.

If he could obtain Blood-Qi Soup through the Minor Exam, it would be free. He would not have to spend a single coin.

Fang Han considered it silently. With his current Minor Accomplishment in the Gale-Breaking Fist, securing a spot in the top ten of the Minor Exam should not be difficult.

But his ranking could not be too high. Ranking too high would draw attention, making it easy for people to keep an eye on him and attract unnecessary hostility.

"Fourth or fifth place should be about right. I'll reveal a little of my strength first, then improve slowly afterward."

With that, Fang Han had formed a plan in his heart.