Less than half an hour later.
A string of notifications suddenly surfaced in Su Xinghe's mind.
"Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."
"Golden Ape Fist, experience +1."
As the notification appeared in his mind, a warm current welled up within his body.
The martial realm field on the Fate Panel also began to change. But instead of a number, it became a progress bar.
He hurriedly focused his mind and looked.
"Su Xinghe: Great River Gang (Cannon Fodder Disciple)"
"Martial Arts: Apprentice Grade (Qi Circulation 1%)"
"Fate: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"
"Trait 1: Water-Tight, Unyielding"
"Trait 2: Many Grains Make a Tower, Success Follows Naturally"
"Golden Ape Fist (First Glimpse of the Path) 1/100"
"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"
"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"
"Martial Arts: Apprentice Grade (Qi Circulation 1%)"
That line stood out especially clearly.
It was here. It really was here.
At that moment, Su Xinghe was beside himself with excitement.
But he quickly calmed down again.
A journey of ten thousand miles had only just begun. Such a trifling achievement was not worth dwelling on.
He began to review it.
Not counting his time on Eight-Zhang Street during the day, he seemed to have only practiced four rounds after coming back.
Other than the first two rounds, when he had been unfamiliar and a little slow, each subsequent round had felt smoother. The tides of his Qi-Blood had also grown increasingly rhythmic.
He really was a genius. He had mastered this Ninth Rank true art after only four rounds. Unlike Fate traits, this depended solely on a person's talent for martial learning and their bodily coordination.
To verify his thoughts, he launched into the fist art again.
This time, Su Xinghe's movements were even more fluid, and the breathing driven by the chant flowed much more smoothly. Qi-Blood surged and ebbed within him like a tide, and before he knew it, he had completed another round.
The notification appeared in his mind once more.
"Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."
"Golden Ape Fist, experience +1."
The experience really had increased by one point.
That confirmed it beyond doubt. One round meant one point of experience.
Looking again at the martial realm progress bar, it had edged forward by a tiny fraction. It was still less than two percent, but it had indeed progressed.
Again!
One more!
"Grrr..."
Just as Su Xinghe was preparing to press on and fight to the bitter end, an intense wave of hunger struck him.
"Could this be the qi depletion and exhaustion mentioned on the True Art Scroll?"
It was his first time experiencing it, and only then did he belatedly remember.
Fortunately, more than half of the hen he had bought last night remained. He hurriedly rushed to the kitchen stove.
His mother coughed softly in the room next door, but he could not worry about that now. He could just pretend he was still growing. What was wrong with having a midnight snack at this hour?
A while later, he was full and satisfied.
Focusing his mind, he called up the Fate Panel in his head.
"Su Xinghe: Great River Gang (Cannon Fodder Disciple)"
"Martial Arts: Apprentice Grade (Qi Circulation 8%)"
"Fate: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"
"Trait 1: Water-Tight, Unyielding"
"Trait 2: Many Grains Make a Tower, Success Follows Naturally"
"Golden Ape Fist (First Glimpse of the Path) 25/100"
"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"
"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"
After signing that contract, his position had automatically updated from "Temporary Worker" to "Cannon Fodder Disciple."
In that short while, he had unknowingly practiced the Golden Ape Fist twenty-five times, bringing its experience directly to "First Glimpse of the Path 25/100."
After a few more rounds, he would be able to break through to Hall-Entering. By then, every round of the fist art would bring greater gains.
As for his martial realm, the Golden Ape Fist's proficiency was only at First Glimpse of the Path, dragging him down and leaving his progress at a mere eight percent.
Having finished reviewing and summarizing once more, Su Xinghe got up and cleaned the kitchen.
The achievement of practicing a hundred times a day was too ideal. The biggest problem was that his own Qi-Blood could not keep up with the true art's consumption.
Though that half a hen was already in his stomach, his Qi-Blood would probably need time to recover through digestion and absorption.
He should rest early.
Otherwise, his plan to go to the training ground tomorrow morning would go down the drain.
After feeding White Bat, Su Xinghe fell into a deep sleep.
The golden rooster announced the dawn, and morning light faintly broke through.
The alley outside the courtyard filled with the bustle of a new day.
The whole Tongzi Ward seemed to have come alive, endlessly swallowing and disgorging the vitality that had settled through the night.
The wonders brought by the true art had begun to show, leaving Su Xinghe's Qi-Blood flowing freely and his energy abundant.
Though he had slept only a few hours last night, he still rose early.
That was right—he was hungry again!
Though the Water-Tight trait allowed him to absorb food quickly, it also came with a slight side effect.
His stomach felt completely empty.
Seeing that it was still early, he first went to the morning market and ate three bowls of pulled noodles.
Remembering that he had eaten all the rice and flour at home last night, he bought several dozen jin to keep in reserve.
Passing a poultry stall, he also picked up an old hen.
Now that he had obtained a true art, the pressure in his heart had greatly eased. If he wanted to achieve Inner Tempering as soon as possible, his nutrition naturally had to keep up.
Fortunately, he had been saving money to buy a martial art manual before this. Adding up all the bits and pieces, he had a little over fifty taels. Even if he ate a chicken every meal, it would only cost a hundred copper coins a day.
Those fifty-odd taels would be enough to feed him for a year and a half.
With that much time, he would have become a martial artist long ago.
He put the cleaned hen on to stew in the heated kang stove, greeted his mother, and hurriedly left.
The back alley of Eight-Zhang Street.
He had come early today, and the place was quiet.
Apart from the sweat, sourness, and stench of alcohol filling the rooms, only Great River Gang disciples lay sprawled in all directions by the walls, still snoring away.
Some had been on night watch last night, while others had been too lazy to return home after drinking and gambling.
He passed through the pitch-black warehouse hall and pushed open the door to the Brokerage Guild's rear courtyard.
Dawn had only just broken, and wisps of moisture still lingered in the air. Just as he was about to turn toward the eastern side courtyard, someone called out to stop him.
"Eh?"
"Kid, what are you doing in here?"
A slightly lazy voice demanded.
Su Xinghe paused and turned to look at the speaker.
Under an old camphor tree on the western side of the rear courtyard sat a small elderly man. A wooden box rested on the stone table before him, and he was chewing something.
"Hello, I came here to practice martial arts."
The man might have been an old Brokerage Guild employee, so Su Xinghe cupped his hands and explained.
"Oh! A new apprentice?"
The little old man immediately perked up, looking him up and down.
Perhaps feeling that he could not see clearly enough, he rose from the stone stool, approached as he muttered to himself.
"Why did you come in through the back door? So early in the morning, I thought you were some little thief..."
"Right, are you one of the guard unit?"
The moment he heard that, Su Xinghe understood.
The Great River Gang had originally been the Brokerage Guild's guards. This man was indeed an old hand of the Brokerage Guild.
"Greetings, Senior. This disciple is indeed a newcomer to the Great River Gang. Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to receive instruction from the old gang leader. This is my first time here to practice."
The little old man revealed an expression of I knew it, and his scrutinizing gaze gradually turned into appreciation.
"To be selected by the guard unit, it seems your potential is quite good!"
As he spoke, his tone abruptly shifted.
"What a pity... you're a little too old."
"Your hopes of breaking through to martial artist are slim."
"Just don't die too quickly and waste the resources spent cultivating you..."
Shaking his head, he turned and walked back beneath the tree.
Clearly, he knew something.
Su Xinghe was displeased.
Who was this old man?
His perfectly good mood had been ruined.
A thought stirring in his heart, he called toward that retreating back in a deep voice:
"Senior, have you ever heard that great vessels take long to mature, and diligence makes up for dullness?"
Without waiting for the other man to respond, he turned directly into the side courtyard.
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