Returning home, Zheng Jun chugged down two mouthfuls of cold water with a loud GLUG GLUG. Satisfied, he planned to go back to his room and lie down.
As soon as he entered, he saw a prepared meal placed on the table. The style of the bowls and chopsticks belonged to his sister and brother-in-law.
Seeing this, a warmth filled his heart. Though he wasn't hungry, he took a few bites anyway. After finishing, he sat on the bed and began to ponder silently.
"The beginning of Martial Arts starts with Blood Refining," Zheng Jun thought. "I have already refined my blood twice. It is said that exceptionally gifted individuals can achieve Body Tempering success after five rounds of Blood Refining, accumulating their first wisp of True Qi. However, I must prepare for the worst. Fortunately, I have these six Blood Nourishing Pills...
"The absorption efficacy of these Blood Nourishing Pills varies greatly. If I just lie motionless in bed after taking one, it won't increase my Qi and Blood by much.
"Based on my previous experience, taking a Blood Nourishing Pill and then practicing Martial Arts while regulating my breathing not only yields outstanding results but also greatly accelerates the repayment process of the Great Tao Martial Book...
"The repayment progress for the Wave-Treading Saber will likely be completed in just two or three days. What should I draw upon in advance next?"
He mulled it over in his mind, unable to make a firm decision. "Should I draw upon the Eagle-Hawk Force and push it to Minor Achievement? Or should I continue practicing the Wave-Treading Saber to deal with Vast Sea Sect disciples who might come seeking revenge?"
Zheng Jun knew very well that whether he drew upon a Minor Achievement in the Eagle-Hawk Force or a Great Success in the Wave-Treading Saber, neither could be repaid within ten days. During the repayment period, he would face a long window of downtime where he could only focus on paying off the debt.
After some thought, he decided that his best option was to quickly unlock the ability to draw upon two top-tier Martial Arts simultaneously.
Once that was achieved, he could use one slot to continuously draw upon the Eagle-Hawk Force. Since it was an Inner Martial Arts that unified the internal and external, daily Pile Skill practice was essential. Drawing upon it in advance would naturally boost his cultivation efficiency significantly. Even if he didn't choose the Eagle-Hawk Force, drawing upon any other Inner Martial Arts would also be excellent.
As for the second slot, he could select the most suitable option for practicing combat-oriented Martial Arts.
"I need to select some lower-difficulty Martial Arts that aren't so demanding..." he thought.
Martial Arts like the Cloak and Dagger would naturally be much faster to practice.
"It seems I'll have to visit the three Martial Arts Halls in the city and learn some Martial Arts for free!"
With that thought, Zheng Jun's spirit was instantly reinvigorated. He did a clean kip-up, leaping right off the bed, deciding to forgo sleep altogether!
A Martial Artist nourished their body with Heaven and Earth True Qi; sleeping for one or two two-hour periods a day was more than enough. He would have plenty of time to sleep when he was dead. For now, it was time to grind!
Although he could draw upon such Martial Arts in advance for his own use, if he merely rejoiced in this ability and only practiced the saber through meditation, he would be wasting the Tao Fruit within him. Only through unceasing daily practice and bitter cultivation could he achieve the Great Tao!
Having come to this Yanfu World, no one would willingly accept mediocrity!
With his mind set, Zheng Jun grabbed his saber and headed out to sweat!
By the time the sun rose high in the sky, it blazed like fire.
Zheng Jun's imposing figure, radiating heat like a Melting Furnace, cast a long shadow under the scorching sun. Sweat flew from him, his imposing aura extraordinary! Again and again, he practiced diligently!
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over these past few days, aside from speaking with his sister and brother-in-law and going out to buy meat, Zheng Jun spent every day diligently practicing his Saber Technique. At the same time, he was waiting for news regarding the Qingshui Gang's supposed rebellion to see if it was true.
However, there had been no updates whatsoever over the past three days. He didn't know if the matter was purely a baseless rumor or if they had other plans. But this no longer had anything to do with him. Instead, he felt somewhat fortunate that he hadn't accepted the Qingshui Gang's silver back then.
When it came to his Martial Arts practice, Zheng Jun also felt deeply affected.
As the saying went, "Diligent learning is like a spring seedling; though its growth is unseen, it lengthens every day. Ceasing to learn is like a whetstone; though its wear is unseen, it diminishes every day."
The path of Martial Arts was like sailing against the current; if you weren't moving forward, you were falling behind. Since he was currently at the crucial stage of Blood Refining, he naturally had to be more diligent and focused than ordinary people!
What he lacked in Innate talent, he would make up for with sheer effort. He needed to clear his mind of distractions and focus entirely on practicing his saber.
On this day, as Zheng Jun finished his routine practice of the Wave-Treading Saber, small ink-wash characters suddenly surfaced before his eyes.
[The Fruit of the Future for the "Wave-Treading Blade Technique (Minor Achievement)" has been repaid. The karma has returned to your body.]
The line of text vanished in a flash. Seeing this, Zheng Jun exhaled a breath of turbid air. The thick calluses covering his hands were the ultimate testament to his hard work!
With a stir of his Divine Thought, a few more lines of ink-wash text appeared before him.
[Currently available Martial Arts for advance draw: Eagle-Hawk Force (Minor Achievement), Wave-Treading Saber (Great Success).]
The former required five hundred sessions of Pile Skill practice. Without the aid of an External Force, it would take half a year.
The latter required tens of thousands of slashes. Judging by the results of his previous practice sessions, without a special trigger like "Fighting to the Death Together", it would also take the better part of a year.
"It seems today is the right time to visit the Martial Arts Hall," Zheng Jun thought silently. He then sheathed his Ceremonial Saber, pushed open his door, and headed toward the city's Martial Arts Halls.
Zheng Jun's first target was not the renowned Xu Family Martial Arts Hall within the city; instead, he headed straight for the Ma Family Fist.
On one hand, the Ma Family Fist charged the lowest fees—only two taels of silver a month. Although Zheng Jun had pocketed all of Zhao Da's remaining silver after Slashing him, Blood Refining required him to eat meat with every meal. He had to budget his silver carefully and couldn't afford to squander it.
On the other hand, the threshold for learning the Ma Family Fist was relatively low.
The Ma Family Fist was the ancestral Fist Technique of the Ma Family Martial Arts Hall. It was said that an Outer Gang Martial Artist had once emerged from their ancestors, and this Martial Artist had created the technique in his later years. Later, when the Ma Family fell into decline, his descendants made a living by teaching it.
In the Jianghu, the Ma Family Fist could only be considered a fourth- or fifth-rate skill at best. Therefore, Zheng Jun deduced that practicing it wouldn't take much time.
He only needed to draw upon Martial Arts in advance two more times to unlock the ability for simultaneous draws.
The journey was naturally uneventful. In fact, many patrolling constables and Quick Hands offered him a respectful Ritual salute in awe when they saw him, properly addressing him as "Squad Leader Zheng." Zheng Jun merely gave an indifferent nod in acknowledgment.
After Slashing Lou Wei, his reputation in Black Mountain County seemed to have grown significantly.
Lost in thought, Zheng Jun unknowingly left the county seat. After walking a bit further, he arrived at the Ma Family Martial Arts Hall.
The establishment wasn't actually located within the county seat itself, but in a large town about ten miles away. It spanned a wide area and wasn't too far of a commute. Because of this, gang disciples from the city or young men from surrounding towns harboring dreams of becoming Martial Artists would come here to train once they scraped together enough money. As a result, the Ma Family Martial Arts Hall enjoyed a booming business.
In front of the Martial Arts Hall's main entrance stood a long table, and sitting behind it was a short, lean, and muscular man. Zheng Jun took one look at him and judged that the man had tempered his body quite well and practiced Pile Skills, but was still some distance away from Blood Refining.
Seeing Zheng Jun approach, the man immediately jumped up from the long bench and said casually, "I am Du Ding, the eldest disciple of the Ma Family Martial Arts Hall. May I ask if the Lord Official is here to learn fist arts or to seek my master?"
Zheng Jun immediately cupped his hands in a Ritual salute and replied, "I am Zheng Jun. I wish to learn fist arts from Old Mr. Ma."
"So it is Lord Zheng. Does the Lord Official know the cost of practicing Martial Arts..."
Halfway through his sentence, the eldest disciple's words came to an abrupt halt. He then stared at Zheng Jun in disbelief, nearly jumping out of his skin as he exclaimed in shock, "You—you are Zheng Jun? Squad Leader Zheng of the Strong Shift?!"
"If there isn't a second Strong Shift Squad Leader in Black Mountain County who is also named Zheng Jun, then that should be me," Zheng Jun said unhurriedly, though he found Du Ding's reaction rather odd.
"Please wait a moment, Lord Zheng. I will go invite my master."
Du Ding gave Zheng Jun a deep look, cupped his hands in a Ritual salute, and hurriedly retreated into the Martial Arts Hall, shouting something as he ran.
Zheng Jun hadn't intended to eavesdrop, but after his second round of Blood Refining, his hearing had advanced by leaps and bounds. Thus, he could vaguely make out words along the lines of, "Master, Zheng Jun is here to challenge the hall!"
For a moment, Zheng Jun didn't even know what to say.
Who said showing up at the door meant he was here to challenge the hall?