Once the state of intense spiritual concentration is reached, time seems to pass incredibly fast.
The two of them chatted until they didn't snap back to reality until the sun had set.
"Like this, young man, let's add each other on WeChat, and we can contact each other later."
Hua Kaming took out the latest model iPhone from his pocket and brought up his QR code while speaking.
Li Ang was also pleased to do so and quickly took out his phone to scan the code.
[Hua Yingxiong]
[Add to contacts]
"My name is Hua Tianming. The Hunyuan Martial Arts School in the city is mine. You can visit whenever you want; no admission fee for you."
"I definitely will when I get the chance."
Li Ang wasn't just making polite conversation. In the past, he didn't go to such places because he had no money, but now, having realized the value of exchanging ideas, he truly wanted to check it out.
After all, always practicing martial arts alone without a reference or someone to communicate with, he really couldn't feel how well he was doing.
After returning, when Li Ang routinely checked his attribute panel, he was genuinely taken aback.
[Tongbei Fist] 166/200 (Proficient)
(Traits: Response, Nerve Aggregation Ability increase by 10%)
He discovered that his proficiency in Tongbei Fist had inexplicably shot up to 166 points.
He knew that when he checked it this morning, it was only at 60 points.
He had practiced for just over four hours that afternoon. Even if he counted five hours, he could have at most increased his proficiency by 35 points.
But now, he had increased by 106 points, which meant an extra 71 points out of nowhere.
This was almost equivalent to the fruits of an entire day's hard practice.
Such a result could only come from one source: his conversation with the old gentleman that afternoon.
Usually, he would study martial arts on his own, but the proficiency increase wasn't significant. Its efficiency couldn't keep up with actual practice, so he hadn't relied on this to increase his proficiency.
It was only then that he truly recognized the importance of a good mentor.
Nevertheless, Li Ang didn't get his hopes up. After all, someone as old as Elder Hua Tianming would likely be retired and probably didn't have the energy to teach students.
Besides, the man ran a martial arts school, so he surely wasn't short of money.
Having him provide such guidance again probably wouldn't be easy.
For a moment, his mind was flooded with various random thoughts...
Snapping out of his daydream, Li Ang looked at the clock and realized more than twenty minutes had passed.
He had just been lost in thought for quite a while, doing nothing.
Li Ang suddenly came to his senses, wondering why he had so quickly become fixated on finding shortcuts?
If he practiced diligently, his proficiency would still grow steadily.
What if it took ten hours of hard practice? He wasn't even eighteen yet; he certainly wasn't short on time.
Besides, such an epiphany through exchange might not always yield such great results.
This time, it was mainly because he had accumulated many questions over a long period, and solving them all at once naturally led to significant progress.
Li Ang couldn't help but remember the hard journey of his previous life.
Back then, he had taken so many detours in his career.
Originally from a civil engineering background, he had graduated full of promise. Although he attended an ordinary university, while other graduates hesitated to enter factory work, he had already signed with a state-owned enterprise, starting far ahead of the rest.
When he first reported for duty, he stayed at star-rated hotels, dined on luxurious meals, and trained with classmates who all looked smart and professional.
The leaders said that with hard work, he could become a chief engineer in three years and a project manager in five.
He drove Cadillacs and went for massages at clubs.
He felt his life was already halfway to success.
Unfortunately, after the standard glorious start, the situation took a sharp downturn.
Once he started formal work, he was immediately sent to a godforsaken place where it was all drudgery and the workdays stretched endlessly.
```
Seize the sunny days, grab the overcast ones, treat a drizzle as fine weather; under the moonlight, let it be like daylight, a sunny day is worth two.
Work hard in a light rain, push through in a heavy rain, find a gap to work in a downpour, and work desperately when there's no rain.
The only consolation is that those top students from prestigious universities are doing the same work as him.
Before three hundred days had passed, everyone was running off with their buckets.
Li Ang had approached learning to program with the same dedication he'd shown during his college entrance exams, forcing himself into a career switch to computer science.
Of course, seen with his current perspective, it was just a leap from one pit into another.
As a result, he stayed up late and worked overtime until he suddenly died.
At that time, his efforts seemed to show no progress at all, and sometimes he didn't even know if his hard work was actually backfiring.
Now, without any extra gain, he felt like he was being shortchanged, a mindset he really shouldn't have.
Having realized this, Li Ang felt a new layer of resolve forming in his heart through the haze.
Without wasting any more time, he continued to practice his boxing routine in his room.
On the other hand, Hua Tianming, after returning to his countryside villa, felt listless no matter what he did.
"Am I being too reserved?"
"Such a promising young talent, and one of our own, too."
"But I announced I wouldn't take on any more disciples more than a decade ago."
"What if he's not willing?"
...
That night, Hua Tianming, who usually slept well, suffered from insomnia.
Meanwhile, Li Ang's [Spirit] unexpectedly increased by 0.2 late at night, having never slept so soundly before.
Before his morning workout the next day, Li Ang, looking at the progress bar for [Tongbei Fist] at 166/200, couldn't resist.
He had previously refrained from using [Breakthrough Points] to increase the proficiency of his skills primarily due to the poor cost-benefit ratio, and also because his other attributes needed more improvement.
But now, his various attributes, with the exception of [Strength], had mostly surpassed the level of an average person, making the urgency less significant.
As for [Strength], it was currently low, much lower than his [Constitution], presumably improving quickly should he undertake specialized strength training.
With just 0.07 Breakthrough Points, he increased the proficiency of Tongbei Fist by 35 points, allowing it to reach the next level.
Naturally, this progress wasn't made for free; the higher the skill level of [Tongbei Fist], the more effective his practice of it became.
Name: Li Ang
Strength: 8.45
Constitution: 11.70
Response: 10.38
Spirit: 15.21
Breakthrough Points: 0.54
Skills:
[Cycling] 840/1000 (Master)
(Trait: Lower limb strength and endurance increased by 40%)
(Trait: Cycling stamina consumption reduced by 10%)
[Running] 32/400 (Mastery)
(Trait: Lung capacity increased by 20%)
[Tongbei Fist] 1/400 (Mastery)
(Trait: Response and Nerve Aggregation Ability increased by 20%)
The sensation of forcibly breaking through to the next level in [Tongbei Fist] was incomparable to the experience of leveling up in [Cycling].
The amount of information the brain processed in a short amount of time wasn't even on the same level.
```