It can be said that the books Cao Zhengchun brought were extremely helpful for Qin Yuesheng, giving him a better understanding of this aspect.
While reading, Qin Yuesheng took the small pieces of medicinal herbs that his servant had prepared in advance and chewed them.
On the super auxiliary device, the All-Purpose Essence increased at a rate of +1, +1. Previously, he thought this speed was acceptable, but after tasting the sweetness of Dragon Tiger Frost Jade Dew, Qin Yuesheng could no longer tolerate such a slow rate of increase.
"Cao Zhengchun, besides the West Qi Mountain Temple, where else in the Cyan Yang City area can you buy pills?"
"Young master, some medicine shops and treasure pavilions should have them for sale."
"Go to the accounting room and withdraw some money in my name. You decide the amount, and then secretly purchase pills in Cyan Yang City for me. It doesn't matter how much you buy; the key is not to let others know that these pills were bought by the Qin family. Can you do that?"
Cao Zhengchun felt a shiver in his heart but was pleased on his face. If previously he was just Qin Yuesheng's personal guard, this task was enough to prove that Qin Yuesheng now regarded him as a confidant.
When Qin Yuesheng becomes the patriarch of the Qin family in the future, he will truly rise to the top, second only to a few people, above all the other servants. His status is self-evident.
"Yes! I will do my utmost to ensure it is done well and no word leaks out."
Qin Yuesheng waved his hand, "Go, I want to see a batch before the golden crow sets in the west today."
"Yes!"
Currently, Qin Yuesheng has a lot of martial arts that need improvement. If he relies solely on diligent practice, even in ten or eight years, he won't be able to perfect even one martial art, let alone all of them.
Bear-Prowess Stance, Tiger Crane Double Form Fist, Sea One Slash, Vitality Cultivation Technique, Treading on Snow Without a Trace, Horse Stepping on Flying Swallows, Diamond Hand, Iron Body Armor, Flying Knife Skill.
He needs to elevate all these to a sufficient realm to ensure his strength.
Strength is not only to deal with those sinister and weird entities. Just for the Record of Heroes and the Hundred Weapons List, Qin Yuesheng must make himself become a master.
When others are too strong and you are too weak, it is an invisible hazard.
...
Before the sun set, Cao Zhengchun finally completed his mission and walked in from outside the room, carrying a large package.
Because they knew his identity, Qin Yuesheng's personal maids did not stop him.
"Young master, these are the pills I bought today, totaling twelve bottles and costing three hundred and fifty-six taels."
He placed the package on the table, pulled up the tightened cowhide strap, and immediately a variety of different-shaped bottles appeared before Qin Yuesheng's eyes.
"Well done," Qin Yuesheng praised.
With Cao Zhengchun's execution capability, he could be considered as a potential confidant.
"What kind of pills are these?"
"This is the Tiger Embryo Strength Pills, said to increase strength when consumed. This is the Flying Eagle Divine Pills, which have a brightening and eye-protecting effect. This is the Hundred Flowers Fragrant Ointment, which when ingested can make one's breath fresh, emitting a fragrant scent, sweet-talking as if coated with honey."
Qin Yuesheng first uncorked one of the porcelain bottles and then poured all the pills inside into his mouth.
Cao Zhengchun watched with secret amazement. Although it wasn't the first time he saw Qin Yuesheng popping pills like this, the visual impact remained significant.
Not many normal people would dare to take medicine so recklessly like Qin Yuesheng.
Previously, he ate raw herbs, but now he directly starts consuming pills. It's simply unbelievable.
Cao Zhengchun didn't know why Qin Yuesheng had to take medicine every day, but he didn't dare ask. As a servant, he must control his eyes, ears, and mouth well.
Don't listen to what you shouldn't, don't ask what you shouldn't, don't look at what you shouldn't.
All-Purpose Essence +7!
All-Purpose Essence +12!
All-Purpose Essence +4!
All-Purpose Essence +15!
...
After consuming all the pills Cao Zhengchun brought back in one go, Qin Yuesheng still felt unsatisfied. With his physique reaching 4.0, his body's tolerance for drugs and medicinal materials had greatly increased.
But Cao Zhengchun was already dumbfounded.
Three hundred plus taels of pills were consumed in one go?
Others spend money like dirt, but Qin Yuesheng takes medicine like drinking water.
Regardless of what Cao Zhengchun thought, Qin Yuesheng directly called up the super auxiliary device, ready to add points.
...
Strength: 2.0 (Far superior to ordinary people) (+)
Agility: 2.5 (Outstanding speed) (+)
Constitution: 4.0 (Able to gain foothold in the martial world) (+)
Spirit: 2.0 (Very rational) (+)
Charisma: 1.0 (Normal person) (+)
All-Purpose Essence: 125
...
Personal Skills:
Theft (3/20) Beginner
Flying Knife Skill (0/10) Novice
Common Text Recognition (0/160) Mastered
Tiger Crane Double Form Fist (0/40) Proficient
Bear-Prowess Stance (0/20) Beginner
Vitality Cultivation Technique (0/240) Minor Success
Plum Blossom Bagua Palm (0/20) Novice
Treading on Snow Without a Trace (0/20) Novice
Iron Cloth Shirt (0/40) Proficient
Sea One Slash (0/10) Novice
Horse Stepping on Flying Swallows (0/10) Novice
Mountain-Opening Blade Skill (0/10) Beginner
Vajra Hand (0/10) Beginner
Iron Body Armor (0/10) Beginner
...
Seeing this large pile of martial arts, Qin Yuesheng felt somewhat overwhelmed, just hoping to quickly gather a large amount of All-Purpose Essence and then fuse them one by one, not only to strengthen the martial arts but also to make them more concise.
After consuming all the pills bought by Cao Zhengchun and adding the herbs he previously digested, Qin Yuesheng currently had 125 points of All-Purpose Essence, which seemed quite a lot, but in reality, it was far from sufficient.
The usual rule, adding points to strength and agility as these two attributes can directly enhance Qin Yuesheng's power.
He allocated 20 points of All-Purpose Essence to strength and 15 points to agility, raising both attributes to 4.0, equal to his constitution. Qin Yuesheng immediately felt a surge of new power within himself, and his legs and feet became much lighter.
"Lightweight Skill is particularly important whether for escaping or chasing. Although my agility is quite high, when encountering those experts who are both strong and skilled in Lightweight Skill, I gain no advantage. I should improve one of my Lightweight Skills first." Qin Yuesheng thought to himself.
He currently mastered two Lightweight Skills, Traceless Snow Treading and Horse Galloping Swallow.
From one (0/10) and the other (0/20), it seems that Traceless Snow Treading of the Plum Blossom Snow Heroes is slightly more advanced.
However, Traceless Snow Treading is mainly focused on flexibility and lightness for scenes like climbing walls, jumping between rooftops, and crossing rivers; in terms of escaping and chasing ability, it doesn't compare to Horse Galloping Swallow.
Skills have specialization, and Lightweight Skills are divided into three types: small-range movement, light jumping, and long-distance trekking. One cannot simply learn one Lightweight Skill.
"Since the basic consumption of Horse Galloping Swallow is low, I'll learn this first. For me, Horse Galloping Swallow serves a greater purpose."
All-Purpose Essence -10
Horse Galloping Swallow (0/20) Entry Level
All-Purpose Essence -20
Horse Galloping Swallow (0/40) Proficient
All-Purpose Essence -40
Horse Galloping Swallow (0/80) Minor Success
A large amount of insight suddenly emerged in Qin Yuesheng's mind, all related to Horse Galloping Swallow, such as various application methods, usage techniques, and mastering experiences.
Others would take at least several years to train Horse Galloping Swallow to the Minor Success Realm. Even prodigies would need a year or two.
Qin Yuesheng saved a lot of time in this instant, avoiding many detours compared to others.
With 30 points of All-Purpose Essence remaining, Qin Yuesheng contemplated adding it to Flying Knife Skill.
To be honest, Flying Knife Skill might not be considered martial arts, as people relying on throwing knives to perform on streets are more commonplace.
But Qin Yuesheng lacked a long-range attack method. Compared to a bow and arrow, throwing knives are easier to carry, making it hard for others to detect, perfectly fitting his identity and personal needs.
...
Strength: 4.0 (600 pounds of force) (+)
Agility: 4.0 (as swift as a steed) (+)
Constitution: 4.0 (able to stand one's ground in Jianghu) (+)
Spirit: 2.0 (extremely rational) (+)
Charm: 1.0 (a normal person) (+)
All-Purpose Essence: 0
...
Horse Galloping Swallow (0/80) Minor Success
Passive①[Galloping Horse]: Speed +5%
Passive②[Returning Swallow]: Jumping +10%
Flying Knife Skill (0/40) Proficient
Passive①[Precision]: Accuracy +5%
"All-Purpose Essence is indeed great, but unfortunately, it's never enough." Qin Yuesheng sighed inwardly.
Just received over 100 points, didn't even have time to warm them up, and they're all gone.
Cao Zhengchun stood silently nearby. In his eyes, Qin Yuesheng, after taking the medicine, seemed possessed, with an abundance of micro-expressions, and Cao couldn't fathom what he was thinking.
"Cao Zhengchun, your job from now on is to go out and buy pills for me, as many as possible. If you persistently showcase your ability for some time, I'll promote you to be in charge of the Qin Mansion Hospital Guard. Naturally, you'll still work beside me." Qin Yuesheng suddenly spoke.
Cao Zhengchun promptly kneeled in gratitude, "Thank you, young master."
"You may go now."
"Yes."
After Cao Zhengchun left, Qin Yuesheng, feeling playful, planned to go out and test the power of his Horse Galloping Swallow.
Now that he reached the Minor Success Realm, the sensation of running wildly must be exhilarating.
Refusing the behavior of young maid servants wanting to follow, Qin Yuesheng went alone to a secluded corner of the courtyard, then exerted himself to leap towards the top of the nearby wall.
Swoosh!!!
In a split second, Qin Yuesheng's entire body seemed to defy gravity, exaggeratingly jumping over two meters, effortlessly standing atop the wall.
He could feel that this was not yet his limit in using Horse Galloping Swallow. Eyeing the nearby rooftop, Qin Yuesheng exerted himself again for another leap.
His entire body seemed like a feather, akin to a swallow threading through halls, arriving at the rooftop within mere heartbeats, causing the tiles to creak.
Qin Yuesheng shook his head, recognizing this was the flaw of Horse Galloping Swallow, lacking lightness and quietness, using this Lightweight Skill makes it impossible to infiltrate someone else's house silently, whereas Traceless Snow Treading is more adept in this aspect.
Standing on the rooftop, he gazed up at the sky.
This night sky, this bright moon, seemed within arm's reach.
If Qin Yuesheng found a higher vantage point, he could view the full scenery of Cyan Yang City.
"Interesting."
Qin Yuesheng chuckled, then searched for various footholds, quickly gliding step by step out of the Qin Mansion.
Bird leaving the cage, tiger returning to the mountain.