A Thousand Insights in One Night

That night, Duan Rong seemed to have remained in a dream the entire time...

He "saw" a figure, broad and powerfully built, practicing saber techniques with his back to him.

At first, the moves were stiff and awkward, often failing to connect smoothly, but little by little they became familiar, flowing faster and more fluidly.

Duan Rong could not only see his movements—gradually, as if looking inward at himself, he could "see" the circulation of his inner breath.

Moreover, the inner breath circulated in two entirely different ways when the figure held a stance and when he practiced the saber...

"This is... the Inner Power Cultivation Method of the Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber!"

Duan Rong suddenly woke. Snores rose and fell all around him, while moonlight streamed through holes in the paper window, casting a patch of silvery white beside him.

His mind was crystal clear, and he immediately rolled out of bed.

He walked into the courtyard, picked up a branch from the corner, and, as naturally as breathing, assumed an opening stance.

Starting from that opening stance, he actually performed the Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber move by move—and grew faster with every move!

Duan Rong's excitement swelled. At this moment, he was as familiar with this saber technique as though he had practiced it for years!

After finishing one set, Duan Rong did not stop. He immediately began a second, and the more he practiced, the clearer his mind became, as if he were drawing forth and reenacting the saber technique etched into his mind.

"The saber is the imprint of the heart; A Thousand Insights in One Night..."

Just as Duan Rong was growing more exhilarated, the thumb-thick branch in his hand suddenly snapped with a crack.

Duan Rong came to an abrupt halt, then discovered that the muscles in his right arm ached faintly!

Fortunately, the branch in his hand had been unable to withstand the force and broken. Had he continued, he would surely have strained the muscles in his right arm.

After giving it some thought, Duan Rong understood the reason.

Though he had used Devour Artifact Spirit to gain A Thousand Insights in One Night and directly acquired beginner-level experience with the Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber, his physical condition had not changed. He was still weak as a chick.

With his current frail body, he simply could not sustain the attack intensity of the beginner-level Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber.

But tempering the body was a slow grind, like water wearing away stone. It had to be done bit by bit; rushing would do no good.

What Duan Rong was considering now was another matter: the Inner Power Cultivation Method of the Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber—or, to put it more plainly, the two entirely different ways inner breath circulated while holding a stance and practicing the saber.

In his dream, Duan Rong had felt the circulation of inner breath with such clarity. Yet now that he wanted to try, he had no idea where to begin.

"Inner breath?"

After pondering for a while, Duan Rong began practicing the Hun Yuan Stance.

If Zhao Mu had been here at that moment, he would certainly have been greatly surprised, because Duan Rong's stance was almost as standard as his own.

Zhao Mu had practiced this Perfectly Round Stance for a full three years, while Duan Rong had only been at the escort agency for a little over a month.

The reason Duan Rong chose to try cultivating inner breath through stance practice was that the circulation of inner breath changed far less while holding a stance than while practicing martial arts.

The method by which inner breath circulated during stance practice was as clear in his mind as if it lay right before his eyes. As long as he could find a way to begin, he would surely be able to set it in motion.

But he simply could not grasp the inner breath.

After standing for a while, heat was already rising from Duan Rong's entire body. He could clearly feel his qi channels surging like rushing rivers, yet his consciousness could not intervene.

"What... is going on? I can't find the way in at all..."

Duan Rong abruptly stopped his stance practice and began pacing through the courtyard in thought.

He pondered for a time, then whenever he had an idea, he would resume his stance and try again. When the attempt failed, he would stop and think once more. Back and forth he went, until a streak of Fish Belly White appeared in the eastern sky.

At that moment, three figures emerged from the menial disciples' dormitory, yawning.

Without even turning his head, Duan Rong knew who had come.

It was Kong Bin, Li Chong, and Zhang Zheng. The three had long since formed their own little clique.

Of the three, Kong Bin was tall and burly, with a deep and reserved nature. Li Chong was lean and tall, but frivolous. Zhang Zheng was somewhat shorter than the other two, yet he was the most nimble-minded and alert.

Ever since entering the escort agency, the three had risen an hour early every day to practice martial arts.

Menial disciples had plenty of chores to do besides their evening practice sessions, and by the end of the day, their entire bodies often ached.

Muscles needed time to recover as well, and sufficient sleep was indispensable.

To rise an hour early every day required perseverance. It was no easy feat.

At the very least, Duan Rong's former self had been unable to do it.

Generally speaking, those more talented than you would also work harder than you.

Everything they gained was positive feedback—they could see the results within reach. How could they not work hard?

You, on the other hand, usually suffered setback after setback, until you either gave up or emerged transformed!

When the three saw that Duan Rong had risen even earlier than they had and had already begun stance practice, they were all slightly taken aback.

Li Chong sneered, stepped forward, and said, "Well, if it isn't Duan Rong?"

There was mockery in Li Chong's tone. Duan Rong naturally heard it, but did not acknowledge him at all.

Seeing that Duan Rong ignored him, the muscles in Li Chong's face twitched. He sneered, "What? The assessment is almost here, and only now you're trying to clasp Buddha's feet at the last minute? What good will that do? A toad dreaming of swan meat—do you really think you can be chosen as an apprentice?"

Though Li Chong was a man, he wore a silver ring in his right ear. His parents had feared he would not survive to adulthood, so they had raised him as a girl.

His family had once been quite well-off, and he had been pampered from childhood. Only after the family fell into decline had they sent him to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency to become a Menial Disciple.

Duan Rong had clawed his way through the working-stiff world for many years in his previous life. He had never been bothered to deal with dumbasses who had no guile at all.

Seeing that after all his mockery, Duan Rong still stood there in the Perfectly Round Stance as if he had heard nothing, Li Chong's anger flared. "Duan Rong, I'm talking to you! Did you hear me? A talentless nobody like you deserves to be a menial disciple for the rest of your life. Who are you putting on airs for?"

When Duan Rong still ignored him, Li Chong could no longer suppress his anger. Just as he was about to make a move, Kong Bin suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"Little brother, let him practice while we practice. Why lower yourself to his level? If you really start fighting and someone gets hurt, we'll be punished!"

"Bin-ge, look at him. I greeted him, and he acted like he couldn't hear me."

Kong Bin glanced at Duan Rong. Seeing steam rising from the top of Duan Rong's head and his Perfectly Round Stance looking quite standard, he was faintly surprised. "The assessment is coming up. Don't cause trouble!"

After speaking, Kong Bin went to a secluded corner of the courtyard and began his stance practice.

Zhang Zheng also patted Li Chong on the shoulder and said, "Our goal is to advance to apprentices. Everything else is unimportant!"

After saying that, Zhang Zheng stood not far from Kong Bin and began practicing.

Li Chong glared at Duan Rong's back, spat on the ground, and could only begin his own stance practice.

Though he acted arrogant and overbearing in front of Duan Rong, he actually had the least say among the three.

Kong Bin was ruthless and sparing with words, the steadiest of them all, and the most talented as well. He was the core of the trio. Zhang Zheng had a quick mind and the most tricks up his sleeve.

Li Chong was usually the one who followed orders. If he did not have some talent for martial arts, Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng would not even want him tagging along.