Ever since Li Ming began his serious daily training regimen, sleeping had become sweeter than ever.
He would wake up early, cheerfully start his day with washing up and eating breakfast.
With a little digestion after the meal, he would instantly pick up his sword to train.
He was still at the simplest thrusting sword technique, constantly practicing in his room, with his level of mastery increasing along with his diligence.
With each thrust, the stance of his legs, the angle of the sword, the bend and angle of his arm — everything was constantly changing.
Striving for perfection!
And just like that, he spent the entire morning practicing.
As one break ended, Li Ming, in mid-exercise, came to a halt.
[Lunge Thrust (Proficiency 0%)]
An information prompt floated in front of his eyes, and Li Ming instantaneously experienced a surge of insight regarding sword thrusts.
This new understanding was about…"how to execute a sword thrust without lunging…"
Contemplating this information, Li Ming quietly moved out of the lunge stance into a normal standing one and tried to execute the thrust with a turn of his body.
The sword moved with his right arm's thrusting action, but it didn't trigger a proficiency response.
"That's not right, perhaps I need to widen my stance a bit."
Li Ming shook his head in frustration. That thrust had been utterly feeble. So, after thinking it over, he slightly parted his legs and attempted another thrust.
"Whoosh..."
The sword pierced the air. The thrust was forceful, but still, it didn't trigger the proficiency response.
"Huff, never mind, I'll eat something, rest a bit, then continue."
Letting out a long sigh, Li Ming acknowledged that his fatigued body wouldn't allow for much improvement. He decided to sheath his sword and head to the kitchen to prepare some food.
"Whoosh~"
When he lit up the stove, he ensured a balanced meal of meat and vegetables. The amount of meat Li Ming bought was enough to last him a whole week. Since he was training to increase his strength, he made sure not to hold back on his portions.
Upon finishing cooking, as usual, he carried his food to his room and began eating.
After eating, he rested, slept until the afternoon, woke up & continued pondering and practicing the proficiently understood layer of sword thrusting.
Firstly, he spread his legs wide enough to apply his full strength as he thrust. From there, he gradually narrowed the distance, constantly recycling that process.
Ultimately, at five in the afternoon, he saw signs of progress!
Li Ming's legs stood almost side by side, just a fist-width apart. Slightly bent, he twisted his waist and thrust his sword.
"Whoosh..."
As he thrust his sword, his clothes made a fluttering noise.
[Lunge Thrust proficiency +1]
Another information prompt floated by. Finally, Li Ming's sword thrusting mastery had increased once again!
His eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he immediately resumed his rigorous practice.
One thrust, two thrusts...
Still no informational prompt, Li Ming furrowed his brows, persisting in his training.
Just like that, after ten consecutive thrusts, another informational prompt floated by.
[Lunge Thrust proficiency +1]
Giving a sigh of relief, Li Ming knew he still had room for improvement. But constant thrusting was tiring him out. He chose not to continue, instead retreating to his chair, sipping some saltwater, and quietly resting.
Half an hour later, he stood up and resumed his training. Forty consecutive thrusts this time, gaining four proficiency points.
Nodding in satisfaction, Li Ming rested for another half hour, then got up to continue his training.
Thus, he went on training till 9:30 at night, before slowly wrapping up his session.
[Lunge Thrust (Proficiency 32%)]
"Phew, time to eat."
He stretched out on the spot, gritting his teeth. Having understood that stretching was the key to prevent muscle soreness, Li Ming didn't dare neglect it. After a full session of stretching, he headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner, heaving a sigh of relief.
He looked at Peng Zhi and his wife's room briefly- they had already gone to bed early. Li Ming didn't mind, and went on to cook and eat his dinner, washed up the dishes afterward, took a bath, and drank some milk powder.
Before going to sleep, he felt invigorated.
Li Ming felt a sudden, irresistible urge to think about Zhang Yuan's buttocks, Zhang Yuan's legs...
"Phew, I'm tired, time to rest."
Li Ming took a deep breath, realizing that his desire had surged due to several days of abstinence. Quickly dispelling these thoughts, he drifted into a deep sleep.
The fourth day of the apocalypse ended.
......
......
......
Every day of summer was kissed with resplendent sunshine.
Peng Zhi sat on the edge of his bed, having finally completed a single-player game. Letting out a sigh of relief, he absent-mindedly tossed his phone aside with the intention to uninstall the game. However, he abruptly remembered that there was no longer any internet, and uninstalling the game would mean he would have nothing to play.
He rushed to loosen his grip on the phone, gave a sigh and decided to clear the data to continue playing.
Meanwhile, his wife Zhang Yuan was listlessly daydreaming, only leaving their room when she felt the pangs of hunger, heading out to prepare a meal.
As she passed Li Ming's house, he seemed to have finished his afternoon nap. His door was open and he was practicing fencing, sweating profusely. The power in his sword strokes alarmed her somewhat.
Only then did Zhang Yuan realize it was already three in the afternoon and she was just about to have her first meal of the day.
"My sleep schedule has been completely turned upside down these past few days."
She shook her head, feeling envious of Li Ming who always had something to do, unlike her who was bored stiff all day. She shook her head again, scooped out half a bowl of rice and went to cook.
While cooking, Zhang Yuan frowned at the sight of the only four potatoes left. She decided to add some more rice, but found that there was only a little rice left.
"There's enough rice to last till the day after tomorrow, but what about vegetables…"
Zhang Yuan pursed her lips and took two potatoes to wash, planning to discuss things with her husband during dinner.
As it turned out, two sliced potatoes could make a dish. After dinner, Zhang Yuan took the food and passed by Li Ming's house where he was still silently practicing his swordsmanship, sweat drenching his body. She couldn't help but admire him and hurriedly quickened her pace to return home.
"We only have two potatoes left and about three small bowls of rice."
Peng Zhi sat down at the table, lured by the fragrance of the food. Zhang Yuan handed him chopsticks and reminded him.
"We've finished it already?"
Caught off guard, Peng Zhi was a little displeased and began to question Zhang why she didn't ration the food properly. But then he quickly remembered it was him who's been asking for more food. He instantly zipped his mouth and after thinking he said, "After we finish our food, we'll ask Li Ming to lend us some. I think that guy would be willing to help."
Zhang Yuan refrained from saying anything, silently setting aside half of the shredded potato for dinner.
Luckily, they didn't use much energy staying at home all day and, with a deliberate attempt to conserve, they only ended up eating half of the potato dish.
Night fell in the blink of an eye. Zhang Yuan heated up the half dish of potato and rice and they managed to have dinner. Before she fell asleep, she couldn't help but worry about how to break it to Li Ming that they would need to borrow food, as they were only left with enough potatoes to last one more day. Lost in thought, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
......
"Phew~"
Li Ming walked out of the bathroom and comfortably lay down on his bed. Opening the panel, he was satisfied with what he saw.
[Footwork and Fencing (Expertise and Thorough Knowledge 74%)]
After a full day of rigorous training, his expertise in Footwork and Fencing had improved by 74%. If he kept at this pace, he could upgrade his skills again by the end of tomorrow morning.
The skills he gained from this level of fencing were very convenient and Li Ming believed the next level in Fencing would not disappoint.
With expectations twinkling in his heart, Li Ming slowly fell asleep.
The fifth day of the apocalypse ended while he slept.
In the blink of an eye, the sun rose. The sixth day had arrived.
Li Ming woke up early in the morning just as the sun was rising. He cooked three eggs and savored each one. Then he drank a bowl of milk powder and finally had a bowl of porridge with stir-fried vegetables.
After washing the dishes, he immediately plunged back into training in Footwork and Fencing. Amidst the sweat, he was striving to enhance his expertise level in "Footwork and Fencing".
Footwork and Fencing (Expertise and Thorough Knowledge 78%)
...
Footwork and Fencing (Expertise and Thorough Knowledge 84%)
...
Footwork and Fencing (Expertise and Thorough Knowledge 95%)
In the blink of an eye, the morning had passed. Li Ming was down to the last five percent of his skill progression. Feeling exhausted, he decided against pushing himself. Instead, he stretched his muscles and went to make lunch, planning to continue training after a noon rest.
When he left his room and stepped into the living room, he noticed Peng Zhi's door suddenly closed and wondered what they were up to. But he didn't bother and went into the kitchen to take care of his own things.
.........
"Quickly. He's going to make lunch now, go and ask."
Seeing Li Ming going to the kitchen through the crack in the door, Peng Zhi closed the door and urged his wife who was cleaning in the bathroom.