Three days later.
Evening.
"Huff, huff!"
"Swordsmanship proficiency is at 399 points now, just one point shy."
Chen Li gasped heavily, glanced at the gaming panel, quickly turned it off, grabbed a towel to hastily wipe off his sweat, and then guzzled down a bellyful of salted boiled water.
At this moment, his body was fiery red, steaming with heat, muscles twitching wildly; sweat poured down like a spring onto the ground, turning the living room's dark clay floor sticky and slippery, almost like mud.
For an ordinary person, a slight carelessness could result in a fall.
However, for Chen Li, who had precise control over even the muscles in his feet, any kind of surface was as flat as a leveled ground to him, unaffected in the slightest.
The swordsmanship he was now practicing compared to the beginning, was entirely different. Aside from the superficial structure, which looked similar, the substance he filled it with had long since become extraordinary, meticulous to the finest point.
Even the original author, if they saw it, would probably be speechless, it was more like a super-evolved version.
Every practice session exhausted Chen Li's entire strength.
And the failure rate was extremely high.
Any slight mistake in muscle power, any oversight in details, any lapse in concentration, even if the swordsmanship was performed completely, wouldn't add a tiny bit to proficiency.
The further along he got with the swordsmanship, the harder it was to increase proficiency, and the more demanding the requirements. There was no room for even the slightest error.
Under normal circumstances, Chen Li practiced with his sword every morning and evening. If he was in a good state, he could improve by ten proficiency points in a day; if not, he might not even achieve five.
"I should be able to breakthrough today; I wonder what surprising changes will occur!" he skillfully massaged his muscles to ease the fatigue, thinking to himself.
With a faint sense of anticipation.
The greatest benefit of practicing swordsmanship had been attaining a strong and muscular body.
Powerful strength, rapid response speed, and the agility to flee when necessary.
As for using it to fight Cultivators, he hadn't considered it.
In a confrontation, his tactical priorities were set like this.
The highest priority was, unquestionably, "Spiritual Power Snap Finger".
Because it was almost instantaneous, with a very fast response time. Upon encountering an enemy, without thinking, he would fire it straight away.
Of course, if one shot wasn't enough, he could fire a few more, dozens more...
Next in line was the Magic Artifact.
If the "Spiritual Power Snap Finger" did nothing, then it was time for the Magic Artifact to take action.
However, if it was necessary to resort to a Magic Artifact, he was already in a dangerously precarious situation, hanging by a thread.
As for swordsmanship, that was a last-ditch struggle before death, and he'd likely die before it could even be of any use.
...
After resting for roughly fifteen minutes.
He picked up his sword and stood up:
"One more time, hopefully I'll succeed in one go."
Soon, the air whistled sharply, occasionally mixed with the piercing howl of a sword cutting through the air; currents in the room stirred slightly, causing the clay pot on the table to hum softly.
At that moment Chen Li seemed to break through a certain barrier, his spirit momentarily in a trance.
Faintly, the outlines of his muscles were projected into his mind.
At first, this projection was elusive and extremely vague, but soon it became crystal clear.
Each exertion of the body, every muscle movement, he could "see" it all perfectly clear.
Right then, he felt like an observer, calmly watching everything that happened, while his body continued the practices instinctively, his movements meticulous and becoming even smoother and more natural, as if his muscles were lubricated.
Only when his spirit began to wane did he suddenly awaken, breaking free from the marvelous state he was in. At the same time, the previous projection of his muscles faded in his mind, leaving behind just a faint hint of sensation.
"Ugh... Hiss!"
"That hurts!"
Chen Li felt an excruciating headache, as if his spirit had been completely drained.
No, not as if, it had indeed been drained.
He covered his head, and it took a full thirty seconds before he began to feel slightly better and his thoughts gradually returned.
"That feeling just now... was it internal vision?" Chen Li massaged his temples, enduring the headache, and thought to himself.
As a cultivator who practiced Longevity Skill every day, he naturally had the ability to perform internal vision.
However, this type of internal vision was very limited. He could only "see" the pathways where the cultivation technique circulated, and the areas surrounding them, but he had no ability to see other areas such as the muscles or internal organs.
Yet, this time he managed to achieve it while practicing swordsmanship.
He opened his attribute panel.
As expected!
The game panel's swordsmanship had changed from the original "Proficient: 399/400" to "Expert: 0/800".
"Hmm?"
At that moment, he noticed something surprising.
"My lifespan is now 41/99 years old, it has increased by one year?"
Chen Li blinked, and his heart began to pound fiercely.
"What's going on here?" His face was a mix of confusion and delight.
He practiced Longevity Skill every day without adding years to his life, yet practicing the sword had increased it.
"Can this type of swordsmanship still be called mundane swordsmanship?"
...
The next day, Chen Li enjoyed the rare luxury of a lie-in.
He got up almost late in the morning.
He decided to give himself a day off.
With a relaxed and joyful smile on his face, he carried a chair outside his front door, where he sat savoring the fresh morning air mixed with the pungent smell of urine in the green organic environment, delightfully sipping plain boiled water.
"Fellow Daoist, what a refined pleasure you have!"
Lin Gui, the neighbor who had just seen off a Loose Cultivator who came sneaking around for medicine, approached with heavy dark circles under his eyes and said.
These days his business had gradually picked up, and he now had returning customers.
"You were making elixirs all night again yesterday?" Chen Li asked with a smile.
When it came to diligence, Chen Li could only admit defeat and be left in the dust compared to Lin Gui.
Although diligent, he still made sure to get proper rest. Occasionally, he ventured into the wilderness for a refreshing yet moderately safe hunting excursion that was beneficial for both body and mind.
Lin Gui, on the other hand, seemed utterly reckless with his life.
During the days when Chen Li practiced cultivation, Lin Gui would be busy making pills. When it was time for sleep, Lin Gui was still making pills, and when Chen Li woke up the next day, Lin Gui was yet again making pills.
Chen Li couldn't understand such a desperate spirit; what was the need to earn so much money?
"Alas, as a newcomer, I must hurry to establish myself, which inevitably involves some hardships. It will get better soon. Fortunately, I have Ascension Elixir. When I'm tired, I just take one and my spirits are revived. I can go days and nights without any problem," Lin Gui proclaimed proudly, but as if he suddenly feared someone would covet his secret, he then began to lament his poverty:
"Ah, don't be fooled by the number of pills I've made these past days; I've been giving them away for free, making a losing business with hardly any regular customers to speak of."
Chen Li, somewhat speechless, couldn't help but give a well-intentioned word of advice: "Won't you harm your body by neither eating nor resting day and night?"
"Ah, you don't understand. My Ascension Elixir may seem like a miscellany, not belonging to any tier, but after years of repeated improvements and changes in the ingredients, it now effectively sustains one without food and enhances vitality. In addition to revitalizing the spirit, sleep and food are no longer necessities for me. Do I look like someone whose health is suffering?" Lin Gui stroked his beard, feigning smugness.
Chen Li opened his mouth: "..."
Dammit.
No point advising a stubborn fool.
Keep eating then, eventually, you will ascend.