Insight: Consuming an appropriate amount of Original Energy increases comprehension by a corresponding amount of points for one hour. Skill cooldown time: 24 hours. Current Insight: 8 points.
Shen Xingyan, while practicing the Dragon and Elephant Fist technique, carefully monitored the Insight skill in his attribute panel, mentally counting down the time until the cooldown ended. As soon as the countdown finished, he mentally activated the skill.
Instantly, the Original Energy in his body began to gather in the region of his brain. During the concentration process, the Insight skill mysteriously guided the energy, as if separating and reassembling it, before it slowly penetrated his mind. Although Shen Xingyan didn't fully understand the principle of this process, his sensation of the Original Energy became much clearer.
When all the energy was concentrated in his brain, Shen Xingyan once again experienced that feeling of enlightenment, that elusive sensation that had visited him before. The transparent little man that had appeared in his consciousness yesterday re-emerged and began to demonstrate the Dragon and Elephant Fist technique, following Shen Xingyan's thoughts and movements.
The transparent little man's movements were so fluid and graceful that even Shen Xingyan, observing from the outside, took pleasure in them. In comparison, the movements of his actual body seemed much more restricted.
However, Shen Xingyan wasn't discouraged by this and began to habitually correct his movements, focusing on the example the little man was demonstrating. The speed of force application, the movement of his body—all of it gradually changed as the training continued.
If a martial arts expert were present at this moment, they would notice Shen Xingyan's evident progress. It seemed that every repetition was slightly better than the last, and such progress would usually require many months of training!
Shen Xingyan was immersed in this almost cheating method of training, noticing nothing unusual, only feeling that his movements were increasingly resembling those of the transparent little man. However, to his disappointment, every time he felt he was about to reach the little man's level, the latter, as if aware of it, whimsically increased his level of mastery, creating the feeling that the goal was close but unattainable.
"This feeling of endless learning is really irritating!" Shen Xingyan thought.
In this mode of chasing perfection, Shen Xingyan continued to train for about twenty minutes.
Suddenly, he felt that some changes had occurred in his body. Continuing his training, he mentally summoned his Star Map to check his status.
Examining the attribute panel, he noticed that the four main attributes remained the same, but his Defense had increased by one point. Continuing his review, he reached the Dragon and Elephant Fist technique and realized the reason for the change:
Dragon and Elephant Fist (Basic Stage): When the technique is activated, it consumes an appropriate amount of Stamina, temporarily increasing Strength +1, Agility +1, Defense +1. Current Progress: 50%
Seeing that upon reaching 50% progress, the Dragon and Elephant Fist technique added a +1 Defense bonus, Shen Xingyan was pleasantly surprised. He had previously assumed that the technique would gradually affect his Physique, but he hadn't expected it to directly increase his Defense stat at a specific progress milestone.
In his elation, Shen Xingyan even struck his chest with his fist. With the additional Defense from the Dragon and Elephant Fist, future battles would become much easier for him.
Encouraged by the technique's attribute improvement, Shen Xingyan continued his training with even greater enthusiasm, accelerating his attempts to catch up to the transparent little man.
However, during the training, without even noticing it, Shen Xingyan, under the guidance of the transparent little man, achieved such fluidity and natural movements that he resembled a master with many years of experience. To reach such a level would typically take an ordinary person years, and even a genius at least a month or two. But Shen Xingyan had gone from novice to this level in just over an hour—a fact that would cause a genuine sensation in the martial arts world.
Of course, even if Shen Xingyan realized this, he would hardly become arrogant. After all, the world is vast and full of wonders. Scions of great clans, with their special methods, could likely achieve similar results, though perhaps not as easily as he could.
After thirty-plus minutes, as the hour of the Insight skill's duration was coming to an end and Shen Xingyan was completing his final repetition, he suddenly felt an invisible field forming around his body, accompanied by a strange sound. It seemed his physical attributes had increased slightly, and the Dragon and Elephant Fist technique had shifted to a new level, almost equaling what the transparent little man was demonstrating!
Sensing the changes in the technique and in his body, Shen Xingyan suddenly realized: it seems his Dragon and Elephant Fist had reached a new level of mastery!
With this thought, he completed the final repetition of the technique. The duration of the Insight skill expired, and the transparent little man slowly vanished from his consciousness.
Finishing the movement, Shen Xingyan paused for a moment to feel the new sensation of the technique, and then hurried to check his attribute panel:
Dragon and Elephant Fist (Advanced Stage): When the technique is activated, it consumes an appropriate amount of Stamina, temporarily increases Strength +2, Agility +2, Defense +2. 10% chance to form the embryonic Dragon and Elephant Soul Form around the body, adding Strength +4, Agility +4, Defense +4. Current Progress: 1%
As he had anticipated, the Dragon and Elephant Fist technique had indeed crossed a significant threshold, reaching the Advanced Stage.
"This is simply incredible! The Insight skill is truly terrifyingly effective! I've only practiced the Dragon and Elephant Fist for about two hours, and I've already reached the Advanced Stage!"
Shen Xingyan's eyes narrowed into crescents, and the joyful expression on his face was impossible to hide.
He couldn't have even dreamed of this before. Although progress in martial techniques is usually faster in the initial stages than in the later ones, and his high comprehension accelerated the process, he never expected the advancement to be this swift!