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The clan's Martial Hall doesn't just contain books about the history of the clan or biographies of the previous clan assets. It also contained martial arts manuals, skills, and techniques; all were within Ren's reach.
But did he reach out to them?
Well, yes, but only for the simple ones. But he didn't do it because he wanted to practice them to learn them in secret.
He did it to test something.
Take the 'basic fighting technique,' for example. This was, universally, the basics of the basics. It's a manual that teaches a person how to properly throw punches and kicks without hurting themselves. It also teaches them the basics of martial arts theory and applications.
But even though these were the basics of the basics, this manual wasn't taught by the prep schools. The reason being that the children are too young to learn it, and they have to awaken their martial physiques first before trying it out.
This isn't to say that they absolutely can't practice it; they can so long as they are supervised by an expert. But expert supervision isn't always available, and kids will be kids; therefore, it wasn't commercialized.
The technique wasn't difficult to learn. Everybody's expected to know it by heart actually. It's where everybody begins.
Still, learning is learning; doing is another point entirely. To truly master this technique, or any other form of martial arts out there, practice was a must; that's non-negotiable.
The martial arts of this world were unlike the martial arts in most stories Ren read in his previous life, where they sit around to gather some invisible air that flows through unseen veins in the body to break through imaginary shackles.
Martial arts here is all about motion. Move or die. If you're not moving, you're not practicing martial arts.
Humans aren't born with the so-called 'meridian network' here. They also don't use Qi, spiritual energy, essence energy, or whatever.
What they used instead was Chakra, and it's produced by mixing one's own intent (mental energy), life force (physical energy), and motion (kinetic energy).
This means that humans don't rely on some invisible energy in the air to strengthen themselves. They produce their own.
The Basic Fighting Technique teaches exactly this, and it also contains the basic formula for converting all three energy registers into chakra.
Ren understood this all after reading the manual, and it practically happened in an instant.
He wasn't even halfway through reading the whole thing, yet he already understood the concept as a whole.
What does this mean? Well, it basically confirms what Ren thought of since yesterday.
I do have the unparalleled comprehension. However, so far, I think it only works strictly for martial arts.'
It's not like Ren made this conclusion after just two examples. No, he skimmed at least 10 beginner-friendly martial arts techniques near him before confirming this.
To him, all of those seemed so simple that they were just common sense. He already understood them before he even finished reading the whole thing. He could even tell the pros and cons of each, point out certain things that weren't included in the manuals, all the possible side effects and possible injuries that might appear after practicing them, and so on.
Hell, he could even make corrections and optimizations for each.
His mind was working way ahead of him; he didn't need to control his thoughts since they just kept feeding him ideas on their own.
It's incredible, really, and honestly a little scary.
And this was just from reading. From this point onwards, anybody who practices martial arts before Ren will completely expose themselves to him. Because even if he failed to learn the name of their technique, he would learn it, understand it at a level that even they couldn't reach, and possibly develop strategies to counter them.
Honestly, that's a little scary. Especially in a world like this.
Ren knew that he had to be very careful about this gift. And he most certainly had to keep it a secret for as long as possible.
However, this isn't to say that it's all powerful.
Comprehension was one thing. Mastery is a whole 'nother thing.
Just because he understands how to do it doesn't necessarily mean that he has completely mastered it. That's not how his unparalleled comprehension works.
Additionally, he can't make shit up out of thin air. He can't work with just vague ideas and let the cheat do the rest of the work; it doesn't work like that. He had to collect a solid basis for the idea he had in mind at least; only then will this cheat begin working its magic.
That said, he also couldn't be expected to begin churning out heaven-defying divine techniques just because he understood one thing. Even if he could, there's no way his puny body would be able to utilize any of those.
He had to take it one step at a time too.
Now that his 'cheat' was clear to him, it wouldn't be weird for Ren to start learning and compiling information, right? After all, he does have the clan leader's badge and had unrestricted access to everything in the martial hall.
Well, yes, indeed, he could've done that. But Ren didn't do so. He knows his limitation. He hasn't even begun his actual practice yet, so what business does he have with a higher form of martial arts?
So what if he knew them? Could he even use them? Sure, he could start thinking and creating new techniques, but again, even if he could, can he even use them?
No. Of course not. He's too weak and too unprepared for such a burden. Therefore, what's the use of rushing? The techniques won't run away. He could always return to them later.
Ren's priority right now is to enrich his knowledge about the clan's inheritance, especially because from what he had seen so far, it's very grim and promises a whole world of pain and misery.
The more he read, the more he understood, and the more solemn his face became.
If what he's seeing here were true, then it's no wonder why, despite the clan's rich history, they're still poor and looked down upon.
Alas, this isn't something that could be fixed overnight, even with his cheat-like ability.
Besides, Ren also needs to learn the clan's trade.
The Banished Arms Clan also provides healing services. Because of their curse, the members of the clan had a more intimate understanding of the human body, making them qualified for the role.
In fact, the clan has a section about healing arts in the martial hall, and it's one of the business avenues that allowed the clan to remain afloat.
Ren has a decent talent, there's no denying that. But with the inherent disadvantages of the clan's aberrant physique, his future looks a little bleak. Because of that, it's better to have some backup plans, just in case things don't work out well for him.
Ren concluded his reading for the day. He left the Martial Hall late in the afternoon and returned to his house.
One of the good things about this world is the existence of technology. Even in this world, phones, computers, gaming, and social media were a thing; therefore, Ren wouldn't be bored too much. They even cracked VR tech too, and it's pretty advanced here.
This doesn't mean that Ren's going to delve into the same routine he had in this previous life.
Even if he could, he wouldn't, or simply couldn't because the world he lived in wouldn't allow that.
Regardless of this world or the previous one, Ren held to a simple belief that nothing is free. If it is, then you can bet your ass that is the most expensive one.'
Ren doesn't believe the good things happen for no rhyme or reason. He doesn't believe, even for a second, that his transmigration to this world wasn't accompanied by expectations and responsibilities.
He so strongly believed in this, especially because he knew just what kind of world this is. He knew how this ends and what happens to those who fail to do their duties.
This world is exceptionally cruel and vile to the lazy and incompetent. Regardless of your excuse, you have to keep going; being stagnant means dying here.
Therefore, Ren can't live the same way as he did in his previous life in this world. Especially not with his current qualifications and the gifts he received.
If he falters, this world will punish him badly. It will make him miserable in every way it could think of, and there's no expecting mercy from it.
The moment he discovered his circumstances, even more so now that he confirmed that he has this incredible gift? The world was already watching him and is already expecting something out of him.
If he failed to meet its expectations, or if he refused to play along, he would die, miserably. That is not a threat; it's a certainty.
It's daunting, yes. But that's the reality he now lived in.
In other words, it's sink or swim. And Ren simply wasn't thinking of drowning this early into his journey.