Half a month

Whoosh, whoosh~

The long staff whistled through the air, its gusts making the laundry hanging in the courtyard flutter.

Lin Hao kept swinging his staff in the small side courtyard. Despite the cramped space and the laundry hanging there, he moved through it with exquisite precision, never straying an inch beyond its bounds.

Already panting beside him, Yi Feng said enviously,

"Somehow, it always looks better when you do it, Lin. Maybe staff techniques just aren't for me."

Lin Hao said nothing. Only after completing a full set of the Crouching Tiger Staff did he finish and exhale a plume of white vapor.

His muscles and bones ached all over, and he could even feel his muscles twitching.

A full set of [Great Achievement]-level Crouching Tiger Staff was an excellent workout for his current physique, every bit as effective as Master Wu guiding him with force back then!

"You're just too lazy. How are you going to survive in this godforsaken place if you won't put in the hard work?"

Lin Hao gave Yi Feng an amused look. The guy was far too lax. Even Zhao Xiaowen and Nie Yi were working hard, and they had found equipment to complement their archery and Twin-Dagger Force practice, respectively.

As women, however, they received direct instruction from Wu Xin in the rear courtyard, with occasional help from Madam Wu. She was quite fond of them and gave them medicinal herbs from time to time.

Yi Feng alone kept slacking off every other day.

Fortunately, with Lin Hao pushing him and the blue-quality staff helping him along, his progress was still reasonably fast.

In fact, all four of them had made outstanding progress over the past half month!

Even accounting for their extra daily servings of beast meat and liberal use of medicine, Wu Deshui had praised them several times.

Still, [Mastery]-level Crouching Tiger Staff was a little too exceptional, let alone Lin Hao's [Great Achievement] level, so they always practiced in the small courtyard.

"Hey, I'm just trying to save you some medicine money, Lin. Besides, I've been working pretty hard on my footwork."

Yi Feng raised his eyebrows. By footwork, he meant his ability to run away. He had been focusing on training his legs and footwork under Fifth Senior Brother Qin Sicheng. Qian Tao, who had recently been accepted as an inner disciple and become an Instructor, also got along well with Yi Feng and occasionally gave him private lessons.

"As long as you know what you're doing."

Lin Hao did not argue. Even studying was hard to endure, let alone martial arts training.

The [Training] affixes on Lin Hao's equipment gave him very noticeable feedback, so the more he practiced, the more interested he became. Yi Feng could use the blue staff too, but comparing his progress with Lin Hao's had probably discouraged him. If he had no interest, there was no forcing him.

Everyone had their strengths. At the very least, Yi Feng was excellent at gathering information, something Lin Hao himself could not hope to match.

At worst, he could simply protect Yi Feng. They could make up for each other's weaknesses.

"At this rate, you'll finish integrating your force before long, won't you, Lin? I can already hear your muscles and bones ringing together sometimes."

Yi Feng sidled up with a shameless grin, convinced he had chosen the right man to follow. Anyone who could reach this point in half a month was definitely a genius!

"I'm starting to get a feel for it, but it'll probably take a while before I can make them ring every time."

Lin Hao picked up a wooden box beside him, opened it, and scooped out a dollop of black ointment with his finger. He began applying it to his joints, rubbing it in.

This was Crouching Tiger Balm, which cost one tael of silver per box. At his training intensity, a box would last roughly seven or eight days. Once applied, warmth spread from his joints, protecting them against the wear of intense training.

With his savings to fall back on, Lin Hao used every medicine available to him.

By comparison, Zhao Xiaowen and Nie Yi trained somewhat less intensely because they were women, so the medicines Madam Wu gave them were usually enough.

As for Yi Feng, he had recently stopped using medicine almost entirely, constantly spouting nonsense about wanting to train naturally without drugs.

The Crouching Tiger Staff had been developed from the Crouching Tiger Fist, so it naturally enhanced the training method as well.

Lin Hao had been using [Great Achievement]-level Crouching Tiger Staff to train his entire body, making his progress astonishingly fast!

And just as he had expected, [Great Achievement]-level Crouching Tiger Staff simultaneously trained his sinews-the soft tissues such as ligaments and fascia.

He simply could not channel force to train his internal organs alongside them yet, since he had not mastered Hidden Force.

Training the internal organs is riskier. I'd better wait until I return with some items and exchange them for Wish Power before training intensively. If anything goes wrong, I can use Wish Power to recover at the Teleportation Point...

Lin Hao still had his own plans and considerations.

Only after actually practicing martial arts did he realize that the restoration function provided by the Earth Will, though seemingly unremarkable, was something every martial artist would dream of having!

"Lin, I've pretty much finished training for today. I'm going out for a stroll."

Seeing Lin Hao silently rubbing in the ointment, Yi Feng put on his cheeky grin again.

"Just don't go gambling."

"I know. Gambling and drugs are my sworn enemies!"

"Bring back some food, too."

"Will do!"

With that, Yi Feng ran toward the training grounds, calling out as he went,

"Senior Brother Qian! Senior Brother Qian! Take me to the Market to buy some food. I've been training hard lately, so I need extra meals."

"Ah, there's just no saying no to you."

Qian Tao's tone was equally theatrical and insincere. The two then slipped out of the Martial Arts School, off to who knew where.

Lin Hao shook his head. With a flick of his hand, the blue staff was replaced by a green one, which he set aside.

Now empty-handed, Lin Hao began a set of Stance Training on the spot. His bones creaked throughout his body, much as they had when Wu Deshui had guided him.

"Just as I thought!"

Lin Hao closed his eyes to sense the subtle changes for a moment, then opened them.

After half a month of hard training, aided by his Great Achievement-level staff technique and several [Training] affixes, his own Crouching Tiger Staff had now roughly reached [Proficiency], even without any equipment.

Normally, equipment held in his hands disregarded the proficiency he had already acquired himself, but his Equipment Slots worked differently!

At the moment, his left-hand Equipment Slot held the blue [Mastery] staff, while his right held the green [Proficiency] staff. Added to that was his own [Proficiency]-level training.

Stacked together, they once again gave him that familiar feeling of [Great Achievement]!

Now he could free up his hands to practice Stance Training!

After completing a set of Stance Training, Lin Hao could feel heat coursing through his body.

Whew. I really shouldn't overdo Great Achievement-level training. That's enough for now. I'll let the medicine soothe things and get some more nutrition first...

Once he had finished, Lin Hao went over to the two stone locks beside the small courtyard.

These were two old stone locks weighing about twenty kilograms each, their surfaces worn smooth. They had been

bought together earlier.

They had the effect [Strength training enhancement (green)].

What Lin Hao valued most, however, was their weight!

His equipment limit for a single hand had now reached twenty-seven kilograms, while his total equipment weight had surpassed eighty kilograms.

Most importantly, he had gained another equipment point just after completing that set of Crouching Tiger Staff.

This was the second one he had unlocked since beginning his martial arts training!

Without hesitation, Lin Hao had used it to unlock the Replacement Slot for two-handed weapons, then placed both stone locks directly into it and completed the switch!

With both hands on the staff, I can apply all of it. Forty kilograms added to each strike! With the staff's own two kilograms, that's a full eighty-four jin-two jin heavier than the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in the novel.

Lin Hao gripped the blue Crouching Tiger Staff in both hands and began swinging it.

The eight jin of weight added by the equipment penalty, combined with the staff's own weight, made it feel like more than ten jin as he swung it.

Half a month ago, he probably could not have kept wielding a staff weighing over ten jin as a weapon for very long, and his speed would likely have suffered too.

That was about the weight of a two-meter length of twenty-millimeter rebar!

But after half a month of training enhanced by [Great Achievement]-level staff technique, supplemented by daily beast meat and medicine, he found the staff's enchantment penalty weight much easier to bear.

It still affected him, but completing a full set with the blue staff's [Mastery]-level Crouching Tiger Staff felt manageable. His performance should barely reach the threshold of [Proficiency].

[Proficiency] is actually enough. This is my current combat setup at full strength. Forty kilograms behind each strike-I wonder if Master could take it...

Lin Hao mused to himself.

Still, his master had tossed him around like a rag doll before. A Transforming Force master could never be judged by ordinary standards, especially with the speed, agility, reflexes, and force-dispersal ability his physical prowess provided.

Why am I thinking something so disrespectful? Still, an ordinary Bright Force expert definitely wouldn't be a match for me at full strength. Even those gifted geniuses born with incredible strength couldn't have this kind of "divine strength," could they...