Inside the room.
Jiang Ning sat by the stove, his brush gliding effortlessly across the paper as if a blade was dancing. Each character he wrote carried a sharp, powerful presence.
Swish, swish, swish
Beside him, Lü Yi quietly ground ink, producing a soft, delicate sound.
The black ink gradually spread, deepening in color.
Once the ink was properly ground, she walked over to a small ceramic stove and added a few small pieces of firewood.
Steam rose from the kettle, bubbling and gurgling.
Moments later
The water inside the kettle reached a boil.
Hearing the bubbling sounds, Lü Yi set aside her inkstone and moved toward the tea table. She used a teaspoon to take out some tea leaves, placing them into a tea bowl before covering it with the lid at a slight angle.
Then, she lifted the kettle. The melted snow inside had now turned into boiling water.
The tea leaves she used were aged tea, which required boiling water to fully release its rich aroma.
In the next moment, she carefully poured the hot water along the edge of the bowl, allowing the tea leaves to swirl under the water's impact, ensuring an even extraction of flavor.
The brewing technique she used was known as "Phoenix Three Nods."
This method involved lifting the kettle high so that the water cascaded down forcefully. Then, with a controlled wrist motion, she moved the kettle up and down three times, allowing the tea leaves to roll and steep evenly in the water.
This simple action revealed the refined training she had received at Wanhua Pavilion.
She had studied tea-making in depth.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ning remained fully focused, his brush never pausing.
From time to time, small prompts flashed before his eyes:
[Literacy Skill +2]
[Literacy Skill +1]
[Literacy Skill +2]
[…]
Since he began writing the improved version of the Five-Animal Fist Manual, these notifications have been appearing.
Seeing this, his motivation grew even stronger.
Writing down his modified Five-Animal Fist techniques could increase his literacy skills this was an unexpected bonus.
It meant that rather than wasting time, he was accelerating his skill progression.
He observed for a while and quickly realized that the experience gained from this method was much higher than simply reading books.
And literacy wasn't just an ordinary skill it boosted his mental strength and even granted him new traits.
He still remembered clearly that the last time this skill broke through, he gained a trait that enhanced his comprehension ability.
That single boost had drastically increased his learning efficiency for all martial arts.
It even transformed his mental field, extending his spiritual awareness from a mere three feet to a full hundred meters!
The improvement was staggering.
Not only that, but his enhanced mental power had significantly increased the efficiency of his bone forging.
Now, he could temper thirteen bones at once thirteen times the speed of an ordinary sixth-rank martial artist.
This showed just how invaluable literacy breakthroughs could be.
As the saying goes, "Sharpening the axe won't slow down the work."
Jiang Ning had already forged his Iron Bones, meaning he was only one step away from refining his Jade Bones.
If he could push his literacy skill to another breakthrough, his mental power would surge once more dramatically increasing his efficiency in forging Jade Bones.
With this in mind, he felt no need to rush.
He decided to fully dedicate himself to finishing the Five-Animal Fist Manual.
After completing another full-page
Whoosh
Jiang Ning exhaled a deep breath of impurities from his abdomen.
Setting down his brush, he rotated his wrist a full 360 degrees, loosening it up.
Then, he pulled up his status panel for a quick look.
[Skill]: Literacy (Four-Time Limit Breakthrough - 2637/5000)
(Traits: Photographic Memory, Enhanced Senses, Quick Thinking, Exceptional Comprehension)
His literacy skill had already passed the halfway mark towards its next breakthrough.
It wouldn't be long now.
Breaking through for the fifth time would only cost 200 Source Points, and he already had enough saved up.
[Source Points]: 313.77
"Young Master, the tea is ready."
Seeing Jiang Ning pause his writing, Lü Yi carefully brought over the prepared tea.
Jiang Ning accepted it, lifting the lid slightly and blowing away a few floating tea leaves.
Taking a sip
"Not bad!" he nodded in approval. "The aroma is much richer than when I brewed it myself."
Hearing this, Lü Yi gave a gentle, contented smile.
"Young Master, I studied tea-making for six months. From now on, allow me to handle your tea preparations."
"Alright," Jiang Ning nodded. "I'll leave it to you."
Taking a few more sips, he then set down the tea bowl.
He glanced outside.
Snow still fell steadily, but the wind had greatly weakened.
The earlier howling gales were gone, and he could no longer hear the rustling of tree branches swaying violently.
"This weather," Jiang Ning sighed, "is perfect for staying indoors and watching the snowfall."
Lü Yi chuckled softly.
"Who could disagree? Listening to the sound of snow falling has a unique charm of its own."
Jiang Ning also smiled along.
Then, he picked up the brush again and continued writing the Five Animal Fist manual.
[Literacy experience +2]
[Literacy experience +2]
[Literacy experience +1]
[...]
As his brush danced across the paper like a blade in motion, each character took form with sharp precision.
Moments later, he began sketching a few diagrams onto the paper.
Two Days Later
Now, only six days remain until the New Year.
The snowfall outside had ceased the day before.
However, the sky remained shrouded in thick clouds, completely blocking out the sun.
For the past two days, Jiang Ning hadn't had the chance to absorb the Great Sun's essence, which was essential for increasing his Inner Alchemy Nourishing Technique experience.
This left him feeling quite irritated.
According to Prince Ji Minghao, the Eighth Prince, the natural disasters over the past year or two were not purely acts of nature figures working behind the scenes.
Jiang Ning didn't care about the power struggles between great factions.
But the fact that it was interfering with his martial cultivation truly annoyed him.
His Inner Alchemy Nourishing Technique was already close to completion.
At his current rate, it would take just over a month to reach the perfected stage.
Once perfected, his inner breath would be refined to the level of condensed qi, elevating his strength significantly.
Yet now, the weather was delaying this progress indefinitely.
Every day the sun remained hidden meant an extra day of waiting to perfect his technique.
And this winter had been relentless either snowing or blanketed in thick clouds.
Not only did it dampen his mood, but it also robbed him of the opportunity to absorb the Great Sun's essence and grow stronger.
Jiang Ning glanced at the overcast sky outside and shook his head.
Then, he opened his personal status panel.
[Skill]: Literacy (Fourth Limit Break – 4,589/5,000) (Traits: Photographic Memory, Enhanced Senses, Quick Thinking, Exceptional Comprehension)
"I only need about 400 more experience points to reach the fifth limit break not much left!"
Jiang Ning thought to himself.
He took a few sips of hot tea and rested for a brief moment.
Then, he wrote six bold characters on a fresh sheet of paper.
"Five Animal Fist – Third Stage."
He divided the technique into stages based on its breakthroughs.
Upon reaching completion, a practitioner would enter Stage One.
Stage Three was where one could finally master the concept of fist momentum.
[Literacy experience +2]
[Literacy experience +1]
[Literacy experience +2]
[...]
As he wrote, he furrowed his brows slightly, meticulously recording the insights and realizations he had gained during his limit breaks.
Each time a skill underwent a limit break, his mind would be flooded with countless flashes of inspiration.
It felt as if he had gone through an immeasurably long period of cultivation.
Centuries of training condensed into a single moment, allowing him to attain new understanding, new realizations, and new enlightenment.
This was what allowed him to break through the limits of his techniques.
Now, he was putting all of these thoughts, insights, and realizations into writing.
If others were to read his notes, they might find them somewhat chaotic and unstructured.
But Jiang Ning didn't care.
For him, this was an experiment.
He wasn't even certain if it would work.
The fact that writing this manual also boosted his literacy experience was simply an unexpected bonus.
A win-win situation that only made him more motivated.
Several Hours Later
He finally finished writing.
Reading through everything from beginning to end, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad!"
"Now, onto the five illustrations."
He set the freshly written pages aside to dry, then glanced at his status panel again.
[Skill]: Literacy (Fourth Limit Break – 4,793/5,000) (Traits: Photographic Memory, Enhanced Senses, Quick Thinking, Exceptional Comprehension)
Writing the Five Animal Fist – Third Stage manual had increased his literacy skill by over 200 points, bringing him much closer to the 5,000 points required for the next limit break.
He closed his status panel.
Then, he reached for a blank scroll of white paper.
"Make the ink thicker," Jiang Ning instructed.
Hearing this, Lü Yi immediately nodded.
"Yes, Young Master!"
She elegantly lifted her right sleeve with her left hand, revealing a glimpse of her snow-white wrist.
Then, using her thumb, index, and middle fingers, she delicately picked up the ink block, keeping her ring finger and pinky raised in an elegant "orchid gesture" as she slowly ground the ink.
Sha... sha... sha...
Sha... sha... sha...
The rhythmic grinding of ink filled the air, its sound smooth and steady, without a single irregularity.
Outside, everything was eerily quiet.
The weather was still overcast, but there was no wind and no snow.
And with the lake frozen solid, even the gentle lapping of waves had disappeared.
At this moment, Jiang Ning closed his eyes.
In his mind, the first image to emerge was a tiger formed entirely of raging flames.
The tiger's eyes burned with towering fury.
As the king of beasts, ruler of the mountain forests, it now found itself trapped in a small cage stripped of its freedom.
How could a king not be enraged?
Its anger accumulated, waiting for the day it would shatter the cage and break free.
That day would mark the return of the king.
This Tiger Momentum was the first stance of the Five Animal Fist.
Jiang Ning continuously meditated on the image of the Trapped Fire Tiger, reinforcing its presence in his mind.
One Incense Stick's Time Later
"Is the ink ready?" Jiang Ning suddenly asked.
Beside him, Lü Yi softly replied, "Young Master, it is ready."
Hearing this, Jiang Ning still did not open his eyes.
Through relentless visualization, the Trapped Fire Tiger in his mind had never been clearer.
No moment could be sharper than now.
He reached for the brush, dipped it into the ink, and began painting on the blank scroll.
The core of the third stage of the Five Animal Fist, as he had defined it, was rooted in the five spiritual manifestations of the Five Organs Gods that had already taken form in his mind.
This was his artistic intent, and it was also the fundamental concept behind developing fist momentum.
His goal now was to capture the five spiritual entities from his mind and transfer them onto the canvas.
In his past life, he had studied traditional Chinese painting for a few months, though he was far from an expert at best, a beginner.
But he understood that Chinese painting values spirit over form.
Whether the painting looked aesthetically pleasing was not the priority what mattered was whether it conveyed the essence of the subject.
Thus, as he painted the Trapped Fire Tiger, he focused not on shape, but on spirit.
Not on style, but on meaning.
Shortly After
Still keeping his eyes closed, Jiang Ning swiftly completed the painting.
A caged tiger, fierce and unyielding, emerged on the scroll.
Beside him, Lü Yi watched intently.
Then, she saw Jiang Ning dip his brush into the thick ink once more.
With a flick of his wrist, two drops of ink flew from the tip of his brush, landing precisely in the tiger's eyes.
The ink spread blossoming into two blazing flames.
In That Moment
Lü Yi felt something shift.
She saw a vivid vision before her
A tiger bathed in flames, imprisoned in a tiny cage.
She saw the king of beasts, once the ruler of the mountains, throw its head back and roar toward the heavens.
Its voice carrying boundless rage, its eyes burning with unyielding defiance.
She instinctively took a step back, startled.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ning, still with his eyes closed, suddenly saw a notification appear before him.
[New skill acquired: The Way of Painting]
[Skill]: The Way of Painting (Beginner 1/100)
"The Way of Painting?"
"To enter the Dao through painting?"
Jiang Ning murmured inwardly.
The emergence of this new skill did not surprise him at all.
Painting, being recognized as a skill on his status panel, was only natural.
There were many other skills he suspected could be acknowledged as well.
But having too many skills was pointless to him.
After all, time was limited a day had only twenty-four hours.
Finally, he slowly opened his eyes.
This painting had taken his full effort.
But whether it was truly well executed, he wasn't sure.
As he looked at it
"Not bad."
He nodded slightly.
With his martial arts mastery, his control over his body had significantly improved.
This, in turn, elevated his painting abilities.
It was well known that fundamentals were crucial.
In his previous life, there had been a great artist who practiced basic skills by painting eggs day and night.
That artist's dedication was solely to build a solid foundation.
The first step in painting was always mastering the fundamentals.
Now, due to his martial achievements, Jiang Ning lacked a formal foundation, yet he had flawless control over his brush.
Thus, even without practice, his painting skills had improved.
After Resting Briefly
He picked up the brush once more and continued painting.
[The Way of Painting experience +1]
[The Way of Painting experience +1]
[The Way of Painting experience +1]
[...]
As he painted, his experience in The Way of Painting steadily grew.
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