Changes!

The next day, before dawn.

Mo Yun opened his eyes right on time, as though an extraordinarily precise biological clock had been installed inside him.

He slipped quietly out of bed without disturbing Xiao Liu and the others, who were still sleeping soundly, grabbed a change of clothes, and went outside to wash up.

The icy well water made him shudder as he splashed it onto his face, waking him instantly.

He glanced up at the sky. A sliver of fish-belly white had only just appeared in the east; there was still nearly two hours until the hour of the Rabbit.

"It's still early. I'll go practice at the Martial Training Ground first."

Mo Yun wiped his face dry, loosened up his muscles and joints, and strode toward the Servants' Court's Martial Training Ground.

The injuries from last night had not fully healed. His abdomen and knees still ached faintly, but after a night's rest, they no longer interfered with normal movement.

Besides, his constitution already far surpassed an ordinary person's. Another two or three days of recovery should heal these minor injuries completely, leaving no lingering effects.

When he reached the Martial Training Ground, it was deserted.

The morning breeze carried late autumn's chill, rustling the withered grass along the edges.

Mo Yun took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and felt the circulation of blood qi within him.

After a night's recovery, the thread of force energy in his dantian had condensed again, even growing a little thicker than yesterday.

"I'll practice the test fist technique first."

He opened his eyes and took his stance.

He had practiced this Nameless Fist Technique, which he had learned from Commander Li, for nearly two months. By now, he knew it by heart.

But the moment he threw his first punch today, he felt a difference.

First form, Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain!

He stepped into the center, sank his shoulders and elbows, drove power through his waist and abdomen, and blasted out his right fist!

The wind of his punch howled, and a muffled crack rang through the air.

Mo Yun's eyes lit up.

"It's a lot more powerful than yesterday!"

Without stopping, he continued through the remaining forms.

Second form, Black Bear Shakes the Tree!

Third form, Spirit Monkey Snatches!

Fourth form, Birds Dive into the Forest!

The fifth form...

Every movement flowed like drifting clouds and running water, completed in one unbroken sequence.

Mo Yun could clearly feel that his efficiency in practicing the test fist technique today was more than twice what it had been!

It felt as though someone had cleared away the silt clogging a riverbed, allowing the water to flow freely. Every punch, every form fell perfectly into place, without the slightest hitch.

"What's going on?"

He stopped and frowned in thought.

Soon, realization dawned on his face.

"It must be because reaching Minor Accomplishment in the Tiger-Crouching Fist deepened my understanding of this test fist technique."

The Village Master had extracted and simplified the test fist technique from the Tiger-Crouching Fist in the first place. They shared the same roots, so understanding one naturally shed light on the other.

Moreover, his mastery of the Tiger-Crouching Fist now surpassed that of the test fist technique. It made perfect sense for it to drive the latter's progress in turn.

"It's like learning advanced mathematics, then going back to elementary school problems. Wouldn't those be as easy as reaching out and grabbing them?"

He resumed his stance and continued practicing.

Once, twice, three times...

Sweat soon soaked his clothes, but he had no intention of stopping.

The panel made every attainment permanent.

What did permanent attainment mean?

It meant that as long as he practiced, he would never regress and would always gain something!

When ordinary martial artists trained, their condition fluctuated and their understanding could go astray. If they took the wrong path, they might not merely stagnate-they could even regress.

But he was different.

As long as he put in the effort, his proficiency would keep rising. There would be no regression, nor any so-called bottlenecks.

"In other words, as long as I'm willing to practice, I'll definitely break through!"

Mo Yun's expression firmed, and he put even more effort into his movements.

After several more rounds, he suddenly stopped, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the changes within his body.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, delight spreading across his face.

"At this rate, the test fist technique doesn't seem far from reaching the next level!"

He made a rough estimate.

At his previous pace, he would have needed at least another month or more to break through.

But now that his efficiency had doubled, he could reach the threshold of Integrated Mastery in ten days at most!

"Ten days!"

Mo Yun drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his excitement.

He raised his wrist and looked at the White Mark.

Light shimmered through its white portion, which had already passed the halfway point.

"I wonder how much energy the test fist technique's breakthrough will add to the White Mark..."

Looking at the white radiance that already filled more than half of it, Mo Yun could not help feeling expectant.

"It shouldn't provide any less energy than the Tiger-Crouching Fist's breakthrough."

He had already noticed that the test fist technique's previous breakthrough to Minor Accomplishment and yesterday's breakthrough to Minor Accomplishment in the Tiger-Crouching Fist had actually provided roughly the same amount of energy.

At first, he had found that puzzling. After all, the Tiger-Crouching Fist was clearly of higher quality, so a breakthrough at the same level should have yielded more energy.

But now, Mo Yun understood.

"The Village Master casually created the test fist technique based on the Tiger-Crouching Fist. It only has a few simple forms and no rank to speak of.

"That means someone practicing the test fist technique normally could only reach Initial Understanding, no matter how deeply they studied it, because that's its ceiling.

"But I have the panel, so I can keep improving. As long as I keep practicing, I'll keep gaining insights. After all this time, the test fist technique I practice is already completely different from the original..."

Although the forms remained the same, he had optimized their power-generation methods, breathing rhythms, and blood qi circulation routes far beyond the original version.

Mo Yun suspected that the test fist technique he practiced now might not be much less powerful than the Tiger-Crouching Fist.

Of course, the Tiger-Crouching Fist he currently practiced was incomplete as well. It contained only the first volume, which was suitable only for Bright Force martial artists.

For now, he knew nothing about what came afterward.

"But that's not the point. The point is that a breakthrough in the test fist technique won't yield any less energy than one in the Tiger-Crouching Fist!"

At that thought, he could not help breaking into a grin.

"The future looks promising!"

He glanced up at the sky. The fish-belly white in the east had turned into a faint golden rim, and the hour of the Rabbit was drawing near.

Mo Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead, planning to practice twice more before finishing.

Just then, however, he caught sight of a slight figure furtively peeking around the entrance to the Martial Training Ground.

"Mo! You're sneaking in extra practice again!"

Xiao Liu's voice rang out in the morning light, tinged with resentment.

He hurried over, looking thoroughly disgruntled. "You get up this early every single day. Are you trying to leave the rest of us no room to breathe?"

Mo Yun glanced at him and smiled. "You could get up early too, and work up a sweat with me beneath the rising sun!"

"I can't get up!" Xiao Liu declared with perfect confidence. "Besides, what's the point of getting up so early? Isn't a little more sleep nice? Even Commander Li said we should balance work and rest!"

Mo Yun: "..."

Mo Yun was momentarily speechless.

Xiao Liu scratched his head, leaned closer, and lowered his voice. "Mo, what exactly happened last night? You came back covered in blood. You scared me to death."

"It's fine. Nothing serious. Don't ask about it," Mo Yun said earnestly.

Xiao Liu paused, seemingly realizing something, then nodded without pressing further.

As the two spoke, Han Tang, Luo Shan, Zhang Qiang, Tie Zhu, and Tang Yin arrived one after another.

Although Commander Li no longer came to teach them, they had all continued practicing martial arts without slacking off.

After all, this was currently their only way forward.

Of course, aside from Mo Yun, who came every day, the others would occasionally indulge their laziness and fail to get out of bed.

They practiced until the hour of the Dragon, then headed to the Spirit Herb Garden together.