Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jiang Ning stood in his small courtyard, throwing punch after punch like a storm against a wooden post, venting the power within his body.
At this moment, Wang Jin, in the backyard of the martial hall, heard the sound of punches coming from Jiang Ning's direction. His eyes narrowed sharply.
"That direction... it's Jiang Ning's courtyard!"
"That sound... something's not right!"
He moved swiftly, leaping out of his backyard.
In a few breaths, he appeared outside Jiang Ning's courtyard.
Seeing the courtyard gate locked, he vaulted over the wall and landed on top of it.
From his vantage point, he could see the entire courtyard.
Jiang Ning, wearing a short jacket with his arms exposed, was throwing punches like a whirlwind, creating countless afterimages as he struck the leather-wrapped wooden post.
With each punch, the muscles in his arms bulged like coiled dragons, full of power and definition.
Just the visual impact was enough to show that each punch carried immense force.
Every time Jiang Ning's fist landed on the leather-wrapped post, it produced a thunderous, muffled sound.
Even though the post was deeply embedded in the ground, it shook violently under his relentless punches.
Hearing the sound of Jiang Ning's punches up close, Wang Jin's pupils contracted sharply.
How could this kid's punches be so fast and powerful?
The sound!
The impact!
Each punch must contain at least 1,500 jin of force!
This level of strength... it's not right!
It's not right!!
What level has his qi and blood reached?
Has he perfected his qi and blood, fully connecting his limbs? Or has he achieved complete qi and blood circulation throughout his body?
Thinking of the latter possibility, Wang Jin shook his head inwardly.
That... shouldn't be possible!
After a long time, Jiang Ning stopped punching and stood still, sweat dripping down his face.
"Refreshing!"
He clenched his fists, feeling the abundant qi and blood flowing through his limbs, continuously nourishing his body.
In this state, even as time passed, his physique wouldn't decline. Instead, it would improve further.
This was the profound mystery of qi and blood.
"My qi and blood have finally reached perfection, fully connecting my limbs!" he thought with satisfaction.
Just then, a light cough came from behind him.
"Master!"
Jiang Ning turned around and saw Wang Jin. He immediately bowed respectfully.
"Your punches... not bad!" Wang Jin nodded.
"Thank you for the praise, Master!" Jiang Ning said.
Wang Jin smiled, looking at Jiang Ning with a hesitant expression.
"Master, if you have something to say, please speak freely," Jiang Ning said.
Wang Jin then spoke. "Your punches just now were extremely fierce and powerful. I'm curious, what level has your qi and blood reached?"
"Perfected qi and blood, fully connecting my limbs!" Jiang Ning answered without hesitation.
"Perfected qi and blood?" Wang Jin's eyes narrowed again, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face. "You're not lying to me, are you?"
"Yes, it's perfected qi and blood!" Jiang Ning confirmed.
Seeing Jiang Ning's firm expression, Wang Jin's heart was no longer calm.
How long has this kid been practicing fist techniques? And he's already perfected his qi and blood?
This is too monstrous!
He's been practicing for less than a month, right?
To reach this level in such a short time... did Shen Congyun give him some kind of treasure medicine? Otherwise, how could his qi and blood grow so quickly?
It must be!
Otherwise, his talent would be too terrifying!
In all the years of Luoshui County, there's never been such a prodigy.
Wang Jin forced himself to remain calm and nodded.
"Not bad! Keep up this progress, and you'll have a chance to join the Inspection Bureau. Do you have any interest in that?"
Jiang Ning said, "I do, Master."
Wang Jin said, "Since you have this goal, you need to train even harder! As for everything you need for martial training, leave it to me!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ning was deeply moved.
He cupped his hands and bowed. "Thank you, Master! I will never forget your kindness!"
Wang Jin waved his hand, looking indifferent. "It's nothing! As your master, it's my responsibility to take care of you!"
Then Wang Jin added, "Enough of that. Keep practicing your fist techniques. I need to adjust my state and prepare to practice the Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique."
"Master, take care!" Jiang Ning escorted Wang Jin to the gate, then opened it.
Watching Wang Jin's retreating figure, Jiang Ning felt a deep sense of gratitude.
Then, he returned to his courtyard and continued practicing his fist techniques.
Although his qi and blood had reached perfection, and his strength had improved significantly, it still wasn't enough!
Not enough to let him act without fear in Luoshui County.
He still needed to keep a low profile and continue training!
Ten days later.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 34.8
[Skills]:
Literacy (First Breakthrough 1977/2000) (Trait: Photographic Memory)
Five Animals Fist (Mastery 529/1000)
Firewood Chopping Blade Technique (Second Breakthrough 3000/3000) (Traits: Versatility, Blade Like the Wind)
Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique (Initial Stage 758/1000)
Canglang Blade Technique (Proficient 1/200)
Looking at his status panel, Jiang Ning thought to himself.
"My source energy has surpassed 30 points, but there's no plus sign indicating a third breakthrough for the Firewood Chopping Blade Technique. It seems the third breakthrough requires more than 30 points."
Then, he looked at the literacy section.
"My literacy experience is almost maxed out! Accumulating experience for this skill is much harder than for the Firewood Chopping Blade Technique! I hope the second breakthrough will give me a good trait."
After that, Jiang Ning temporarily stopped practicing his fist techniques.
He picked up a book and began reading, waiting quietly for the sunrise.
[Literacy Experience +1]
[Literacy Experience +1]
[Literacy Experience +1]
[...]
As time passed, the experience for literacy skills continued to grow.
Before long, the sun began to rise.
[Literacy Experience +1]
When this notification appeared, Jiang Ning stopped reading.
[This reading session increased literacy experience by 18 points.]
[Skill]: Literacy (First Breakthrough 1995/2000) (Trait: Photographic Memory)
"Only 5 points left. There's no need to rush now."
"Absorbing the solar essence is more important!"
"After all, this is the only opportunity each day to increase my Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique experience!"
Then, Jiang Ning sat down facing the rising sun in the east, waiting quietly for the sunrise to end.
As the sun rose, Jiang Ning began absorbing the solar essence.
Even in this world, he noticed that as winter approached, the sunrise came earlier.
Now, in mid-August, the sunrise occurred around Maoshi (5-7 AM).
Compared to before, the earlier sunrise allowed him to practice the Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique for a longer time, gaining more experience.
He didn't know the reason for this, nor did he care to ponder such unfathomable matters.
All he knew was that it was a good thing, beneficial to him.
The longer he could absorb the solar essence, the faster his Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique would progress.
The sooner this technique reached the next level, the quicker his strength would improve.
After all, the Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique was a peerless skill, focusing on the internal refinement of the organs.
Every breakthrough in this technique would bring a qualitative change to his strength.
Especially in the later stages, each breakthrough would bring even more significant improvements.
Breaking through to the proficient level would not only greatly enhance his physical functions and stamina but also allow him to voluntarily unleash his body's potential, far surpassing ordinary strength.
Breaking through to the minor mastery level would allow him to condense internal energy, making it unstoppable and capable of killing enemies from a distance, even with fallen leaves or flying flowers.
Breaking through to the major mastery level would refine his internal organs to an extremely high state, with the typical characteristic being the ability to produce thunderous sounds from his organs.
The change in strength would be even more pronounced, with internal energy condensing into a blade-like force, possessing devastating power.
There were records of such experts, where a single burst of internal energy could cut through a thousand armored soldiers with one sword strike, like a god or demon descending to the mortal world.
Under the power of that sword strike, the battlefield would turn into a hellish scene, with flesh and blood flying everywhere, corpses strewn across the ground, and rivers of blood.
Beyond major mastery, the Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique had a perfection level.
Although Jiang Ning didn't fully understand the mysteries of the perfection level, he knew it would bring a qualitative change, representing the essence of this peerless skill.
Because all the transformations of this technique culminated in the final step of perfection.
"Swallow a golden elixir, and my fate is in my hands, not heaven's."
Taking this step would align with the true intent of the Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique.
The improvement in strength would be unparalleled.
Therefore, Jiang Ning placed great importance on breakthroughs in the Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique.
Although he didn't have the method to break through to perfection, with the help of his panel, as long as he maxed out the experience, he could instantly achieve perfection.
And now, this technique wasn't far from the next level.
[Skill]: Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique (Initial Stage 758/1000)
He glanced at the panel again.
The Internal Elixir Nourishment Technique was only 242 experience points away from the next level.
With his current efficiency, thanks to the follow-up method Shen Congyun had given him and the assistance of the Organ Protection Pills, he was three times faster than before.
In just one more week, this technique would break through to the next level.
Then, looking at the rising sun, Jiang Ning calculated the time.
"It's been about a month since Wang Jin announced the Inspection Bureau matter."
"Counting carefully, the establishment of the Luoshui County Inspection Bureau is about two months away."
"I need to hurry!"
He then sensed the qi and blood within his body.
After so many days of intense training, his qi and blood were now far beyond what they used to be.
Having perfected his qi and blood and fully connected his limbs, he was now taking a big step toward complete qi and blood circulation.
He could feel that he was only a few days away from achieving complete qi and blood circulation.
"Once my qi and blood are fully perfected, I'll need to focus on refining my skin. After that, I'll officially enter the ranks of ninth-rank martial artists. In Luoshui County, I'll have some basic self-preservation strength."
"Soon! It's soon!"
Jiang Ning thought to himself.
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