Chu Fan slowly performed each of the Twelve Forms Fist techniques. When he was done, he sat panting on a stone slab.
"What in the hell…"
Cao Feng, watching everything from the pavilion, blinked.
During Chu Fan's earlier practice, he hadn't seen the Dragon Form or the Bird Platform Form.
But as for the other ten forms, he had reached the Entry-Level in all of them!
How was this possible!
'This kid... Don't tell me he's already reached the Entry-Level in all Twelve Forms?'
Cao Feng's heart skipped a beat as a possibility occurred to him.
Reaching the Entry-Level for the Twelve Forms Fist wasn't actually that difficult.
It was the later stages, from Small Success to Great Success and from Great Success to Perfection, where the difficulty would multiply.
But to reach the Entry-Level in all twelve forms in a single day...
The Seven Stars Gang had never seen such a monstrous talent!
His eyes filled with disbelief as he rose and walked out of the pavilion.
...
[Skill: Twelve Forms Fist (Entry-Level) (Trait: None)]
[Progress: (7/100)]
[Twelve Forms Fist Experience Points +4]
Chu Fan stared at the panel, deep in thought.
When he first broke through to the Entry-Level with the Twelve Forms Fist, one practice session had yielded four experience points.
Practicing once after lunch had only given him three points.
And this training session had given him four points again!
'It seems that as my understanding of the Fist Technique deepens and the coordination between my moves and footwork becomes more perfect, the Experience Points I gain also increase.'
'The minimum gain is one point, but the maximum isn't necessarily just four.'
'If I practice five or six times a day, it'll only take five days to bring the Twelve Forms Fist to Small Success!'
After catching his breath, Chu Fan stood up, ready to head to the dining hall for a meal.
"Chu Fan!"
He had just taken a step when Cao Feng's voice came from behind him.
Chu Fan stopped and turned, offering a respectful bow. "What can I do for you, Instructor?"
Cao Feng walked over.
He gave Chu Fan's shoulder a light squeeze and nodded. "Only one day, and your qi and blood have already strengthened so much…"
"I saw you practicing the Twelve Forms Fist just now. Have you reached the Entry-Level for all twelve forms?"
Knowing he couldn't hide it, Chu Fan answered honestly, "Yes."
'So he really has reached the Entry-Level for all twelve forms...'
A flash of disbelief crossed Cao Feng's eyes.
After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Both Bone Touchings said your aptitude was ordinary…"
"It seems I really misjudged you!"
"You can buy the Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup from the dining hall. The most you can drink in a day is three bowls."
"Did you know that?"
"I've heard people mention it," Chu Fan nodded.
Cao Feng nodded as well. "The Twelve Forms Fist is the most suitable for Martial Arts Foundation Establishment."
"Practicing this Fist Technique will continuously improve your qi and blood, physique, and even your five senses."
"That's why you can use it to help you break through the Five Gates of Martial Arts Foundation Establishment."
"But if you want to break through faster, relying on the Twelve Forms Fist alone is ultimately too slow… especially for the last two gates. Without external aids, many people might never break through in their entire lifetime."
"So, to get stronger and break through faster, you need to eat more beast meat and supplement your Twelve Forms Fist training with the Seven Stars Gang's Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup."
"You should buy some and drink more every day…"
Seeing the strange look in Chu Fan's eyes, Cao Feng stopped mid-sentence.
"No silver?"
Cao Feng broke into a grin.
He'd forgotten about that.
Although Chu Fan was a local, his life was hardly any better than that of the refugees.
Where would he get the silver to buy the soup?
Just as he was thinking this, his eyes met Chu Fan's.
As their eyes met, Cao Feng felt an inexplicable chill. "What are you trying to do?"
Chu Fan put on a shameless smile. "Instructor, how about you lend me a little silver?"
"You want to borrow silver from me?" Cao Feng let out a laugh of disbelief.
In the Seven Stars Gang, he, Cao Feng, was the only one who borrowed silver from others. No one had ever dared to ask him for a loan!
Besides, the kid had only arrived yesterday!
'Are we that close?'
'And you dare ask to borrow silver?'
Cao Feng sneered. "How much do you want to borrow?"
He grabbed his wine gourd, took two big gulps of strong liquor, and then looked at Chu Fan with a smirk, wanting to see just how shameless this kid could be.
Chu Fan said, "Instructor, could you lend me twenty taels of silver?"
"Once I break through to the Blood Nourishing Realm and become an official disciple of the Seven Stars Gang, I'll be able to take on missions and earn silver."
"I'll pay you back then, with interest…"
"PFFT!" The liquor Cao Feng had just sipped sprayed out of his mouth.
This kid's talent was extraordinary.
But his level of shamelessness was even further beyond his imagination!
New recruits came to the Seven Stars Gang batch after batch, but how many would dare stand before him and speak this way?
And how many would dare ask him for a loan?
And to ask for twenty taels right off the bat!
Cao Feng gripped his wine gourd, fighting the urge to smack the kid.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the other side of the Martial Arts Arena, where a woman was leading a large, imposing retinue.
At the sight of the woman, Cao Feng's expression instantly turned cold.
Noticing the change in his expression, Chu Fan asked cautiously, "Who is that, my lord? She seems incredibly powerful and imposing!"
Cao Feng snorted. "The Hall Master of the Punishment Hall, Lin Luoxue."
Chu Fan could tell there was some history between Cao Feng and Lin Luoxue, but he was tactful enough not to press the issue.
He watched as Cao Feng stared in the direction Lin Luoxue had gone, seemingly lost in a trance.
Those eyes, which normally no one dared to meet directly, were now clouded over, as if shrouded in an impenetrable mist. Chu Fan, watching from the side, saw it clearly. He felt that deep within that gaze were tangled a decade of old dreams and years of love and hate, gratitude and grudges all intertwined—it was incredibly complex.
Cao Feng let out a heavy breath. "Starting tomorrow, you and Zhao Tianxing can each collect one bowl of Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. This will continue until you break through to the Blood Nourishing Realm."
A look of delight appeared in Chu Fan's eyes as he bowed deeply. "Thank you, Instructor!"
Cao Feng nodded slightly. "Train hard. Don't disappoint me."
'These two kids might just surprise me…'
Cao Feng glanced at Chu Fan, then swayed as he walked back toward the pavilion.
His once desolate and world-weary figure now seemed to have a newfound spark of life.
Bathed in the light of the setting sun, it seemed to radiate a peculiar brilliance.
But just then, Chu Fan's voice called out again, "Instructor, I don't have to pay you back for this, right?"
"…" Cao Feng staggered, nearly tripping and falling!
By the time he spun around, furious, Chu Fan had already made a run for it!
"That little brat!"
Cao Feng gritted his teeth.
He had his own selfish reasons for helping Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing. He wanted to cultivate their talents and didn't really care about the small amount of silver.
But still, why did the kid's words fill him with such an overwhelming urge to punch someone?
...
'It seems Instructor Cao saw that I reached the Entry-Level in the Twelve Forms Fist in a single day and now wants to properly train both me and Zhao Tianxing...'
A glint of delight flashed in Chu Fan's eyes.
In a place like the Seven Stars Gang, winning Instructor Cao's favor was a golden opportunity, a chance to walk a smooth path in his cultivation.
Ordinary disciples could forget about receiving his personal instruction; it was a rare event for them to even exchange a few words with him.
A single pointer from him on the vital points of qi and blood circulation in the Martial Dao, or the essence of deconstructing techniques, could save a person years of missteps.
In the future, when moving about the gang, others would have to treat him with a great deal of respect, and he would have more opportunities to access cultivation resources that ordinary people could never see.
As for the Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup, not only could it increase his qi and blood and accelerate the recovery of his fundamental vitality, but it also provided a significant amount of Spiritual Essence.
Drinking two extra bowls a day would definitely speed up his training progress by a huge margin!
Then, the silver he got from selling his ancestral home could be saved for the medicines needed for later realms.
...
「In the blink of an eye, four more days had passed.」
"HUFF!"
As he threw a punch, a gust of wind swept out…
[Twelve Forms Fist Experience Points +4]
'Finally... Small Success...'
Chu Fan sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
The instant his Twelve Forms Fist broke through from Entry-Level to Small Success.
Countless images of light and shadow flashed through his mind once more.
It had only taken him four days to go from Entry-Level to Small Success.
Now, every punch he had thrown, every step he had taken, and every breath he had cycled over those four days reappeared in his mind as if time were flowing in reverse.
Then, move by move, they were continuously corrected.
One by one, his flaws were gradually filled in…
In the space of just a few breaths.
Chu Fan's understanding and mastery of the Twelve Forms Fist had jumped an entire level!
'Just as expected. Every realm breakthrough is a qualitative leap!'
Practicing the fist forms was exhausting, but he reveled in it.
The ability to see himself progressing, bit by bit, was an intoxicating feeling from which he couldn't break free.
'With the Map of Mountains and Rivers, the Heavenly Dao rewards diligence. This is a path straight to the top!'
...
[Spiritual Essence: 9.7]
[Pollution Level: 0/100]
[Cultivation: First Realm of Foundation Establishment, Blood Nourishing 42%]
[Skill: Firewood Splitting Saber Technique (Perfection)+ (Trait: None)]
[Progress: (1000/1000)]
[Skill: Literacy (Small Success) (Trait: None)]
[Progress: (169/200)]
[Skill: Twelve Forms Fist (Small Success) (Trait: None)]
[Progress: (2/300)]
Looking at the data on the panel.
Chu Fan felt a heroic pride swell in his chest, making him want to roar at the heavens.
It had only been four days since he'd reached the Entry-Level in the Twelve Forms Fist.
Yet his progress in both his qi and blood and his Fist Technique was advancing by leaps and bounds!
Even his physique had grown much stronger.
Although the first gate of Martial Arts Foundation Establishment, "Blood Nourishing," was mainly about achieving Blood Nourishing Like Mercury and condensing Qi Blood Power...
...in reality, the entire body of a Cultivator was being refined.
Blood Nourishing Like Mercury, skin as hard as Stone;
Five senses enhanced, bones like steel!
Chu Fan opened his eyes and looked down at his own scrawny body.
Yet, the surging power within him was already clearly perceptible.
At 42% in "Blood Nourishing," he still couldn't condense his first wisp of Qi Blood Power.
But now that his qi and blood had been generated, he had already far surpassed an ordinary person!
Chu Fan rose, walked over to a stone slab taller than a man, and naturally fell into the opening stance of the Twelve Forms Fist, sinking his waist into a low stance.
Immediately, he executed the Bear Form Splitting Fist, blasting a punch toward the stone slab!
In that instant, just as it did when he practiced…
…a warm current spread throughout his body before rapidly converging on his right fist!
"BOOM!"
Amid the muffled explosion, the surface of the stone slab...
...was covered in a web of fine cracks!
He hadn't used his full strength, yet the punch was powerful enough to shatter stone.
Chu Fan rubbed his slightly aching fist.
'The time I've spent training is still too short...'
'My body has gotten tougher, but it's still not a match for the explosive growth of my qi and blood.'
The Blood Nourishing Realm, Blood Refining Realm, Bone Marrow Forging Realm, Bone Tempering Realm, and the Entering the Realm of Strength…
These were the Five Gates of Martial Arts Foundation Establishment.
They were also the Martial Arts Foundation Establishment Five Realms.
One could not be considered a true Martial Artist without breaking through these five gates.
To develop "Steel Bones and Iron Flesh," one had to rely on the Bone Marrow Forging Realm and the Bone Tempering Realm.
And those two gates required far more time than the Blood Nourishing Realm!
Chu Fan bent down, grabbed a stone lock, and with a slight exertion of his arm, lifted the hundred-pound weight over his head.
Then, he bent his arm and launched the stone lock upward like a coiled spring!
The stone lock flew five meters into the air before falling rapidly, only to be caught securely in his hand.
An ordinary strongman might be able to lift a hundred-pound stone lock with one hand.
But to throw it straight up five meters would be nigh impossible for them!
Chu Fan set down the stone lock and nodded slightly.
Although he had yet to condense his Qi Blood Power, he could already sense its might.
All of this—aside from his own hard work and the Map of Mountains and Rivers—was thanks to the two extra bowls of Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup that Instructor Cao Feng had granted him.
For four consecutive days, three daily bowls of Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup combined with his Twelve Forms Fist training had caused Chu Fan's qi and blood to skyrocket.
Chu Fan guessed that his current qi and blood, even if it wasn't quite at the level of Liu Da and those other thugs, couldn't be far off…
The most significant change from his enhanced qi and blood was the number of times he could practice his fist forms.
Before, practicing the Twelve Forms Fist just once in the morning required him to rest for at least an hour before he could go again.
But this morning, he had practiced three times in a row, and he felt less fatigued than he used to after just one session!
His frame was still gaunt, but his qi and blood were incredibly vigorous—ten times stronger than when he had first joined the Seven Stars Gang!
When he performed the Twelve Forms Fist, he could faintly sense his qi and blood roaring like the tide.
In a few more days, once he condensed his first wisp of Qi Blood Power, killing thugs like Liu Da would be a simple matter!
Aside from the improvements to his Twelve Forms Fist and qi and blood, his Literacy skill had also broken through to Small Success.
If he spent a little more time on it at noon today, he might be able to get his Literacy skill to the Great Success level.
As for the "Blood Nourishing Realm"…
At this rate, he could reach 100% in another eight days!
Only then would he truly be considered a Blood Nourishing Realm Martial Artist!
Chu Fan dusted the dirt from his palms and headed for the dining hall.
'My Spiritual Essence is already at 9.7…'
'One more bowl of Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup, and it'll break 10.'
'The Firewood Splitting Saber Technique... I can finally break its limit...'