Moonlight scattered down.
"Where should I sleep tonight?" Jiang Ning felt somewhat dazed, momentarily lost in his thoughts.
Suddenly.
Tat tat tat—
Out of nowhere, a series of urgent footsteps sounded behind the wall.
A sturdy figure emerged from behind the courtyard.
"Sister Sun!" Jiang Ning called out.
Aunt Sun glanced at Jiang Ning and immediately noticed the steam rising from his head and the sweat-soaked clothing clinging to his body.
"Kid, you're really pushing yourself too hard! You're still practicing at this hour!" Her gaze softened.
Jiang Ning smiled, "Since I've chosen to practice martial arts, hardships are expected. Being born into an ordinary family, the opportunity to learn martial arts is precious and must be seized."
"No matter how hard you work, you still need to sleep! It's midnight. If you don't get a good night's rest to rejuvenate, how will you continue to practice tomorrow?" Aunt Sun said somewhat angrily.
"I do need to sleep!" Jiang Ning nodded.
Seeing Jiang Ning nod, Aunt Sun's expression softened.
"Then come with me! I've already made up a bed for you. I saw you were studying so earnestly just now, I didn't have the heart to disturb you," Aunt Sun said in a somewhat rambling manner.
Listening to Aunt Sun's words, a gentle smile appeared on Jiang Ning's face.
The two walked through the silent Martial Arts Hall, their feet treading on a path paved with blue bricks.
The moonlight, clear as water, cast their elongated shadows on the ground, while the constant chorus of insects filled their ears.
After crossing a courtyard and a few dozen meters of pathway, they came to another yard.
"There's plenty of vacant rooms in the Martial Arts Hall. This yard will be for you alone—I'm just next door!" Aunt Sun stopped in the center of the yard and said.
"Thank you so much, Sister Sun!" Jiang Ning pursed his lips and spoke earnestly.
Aunt Sun couldn't help but smile, "You're already calling me Sister Sun, no thanks needed!"
Then she added, "Right, I didn't get a chance to dry your quilt, so you'll have to make do for tonight. I will air it out for you every day."
"It's okay!" Jiang Ning's face broke into a smile. "As long as I have a bed to sleep in, I'm fine. I didn't come to the Martial Arts Hall to enjoy luxury!"
"You're such a sensible child," Aunt Sun said with a slight shake of her head, and then a hint of reminiscence shone in her eyes, "He was as sensible as you are when he was your age!"
"Sister Sun, who is he that you mentioned?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Sun abruptly came back to reality, steadied herself and shook her head without replying. Instead, she changed the subject, "It's very late, you should wash up and go to bed. I'm off to sleep as well!"
Under the moonlight, Jiang Ning watched Aunt Sun's figure slowly moving away.
"It seems Sister Sun also has her own story!" Jiang Ning sighed softly to himself, then walked towards his room.
Creak—
He pushed open the door.
The entire room was in view.
It wasn't large, only about forty to fifty square meters, and it was simply furnished with only the basic tables, chairs, and a big bed made of rosewood against the corner of the wall.
Yet, the dust-free furniture indicated that the person who cleaned the room did so with great care.
On the bed, the bedding, neatly folded on the cool mat, unconsciously reminded Jiang Ning of his previous life.
In his previous life, every time he returned from outside at the end of the year, his mother would have already made the bed, and the bedding would always carry the scent of sunshine.
Instinctively, he heaved a soft sigh.
Then he turned and left the room, retrieved two buckets of water from the front yard, gave himself a quick rinse, and wrung out his previously worn clothes, hanging them on the windowsill to dry.
By mid-July, Luoshui County had entered the hottest time of the year.
In this sweltering climate, any article of clothing could be dried by the warm night breeze in a single evening.
...
The next day.
The first thing he did upon waking was to open his panel.
[Source Energy]: 4.4
"This time, I've gained 0.5 Source Energy Points."
Jiang Ning stroked his chin thoughtfully, "It seems the increase in Source Energy is indeed related to my daily intake as I had predicted before. I ate Wild Ginseng twice yesterday, and both my lunch and dinner were more generous than usual, so the increase in Source Energy Points also broke the previous record, with a full 0.5 gain."
He continued to muse, "Given yesterday's efficiency, reaching ten Source Energy Points will take at least eleven more days. So, there's no rush to gain Experience Value in the Chopping Wood Blade Skill! Before reaching ten Source Energy Points, I just need enough Experience Value to fully cultivate it."
Afterward, he pushed open the door and stepped out of the room.
...
At this time, even during the hottest days of the year, the breeze that blew in the early morning still carried a hint of coolness.
The sky at dawn was tinged with streaks of red, clearly indicating that the fiery red sun would soon rise.
Jiang Ning took a deep breath of fresh air.
Sigh—
He then slowly exhaled the impure energy he had accumulated throughout the night.
After a few cycles, he felt immensely relaxed in body and mind.
"Such a morning is perfect for practicing boxing!" Jiang Ning smiled.
He then assumed his stance and, after adjusting his breathing rhythm, began practicing his boxing.
[Five Animals Fist Experience Value +2]
After practicing one set of the boxing form, nearly thirty minutes had passed.
The sky, which had just been faintly lit, now hosted a warm red sun peeking out.
At this moment, Jiang Ning's body was thoroughly heated up.
His skin was slightly reddened, steam rose from his head, and large beads of sweat began to drip down his cheeks.
But his mind and body were extremely delighted.
Practicing the boxing form once had added two experience points, equivalent to practicing twice.
Such efficiency was naturally a marvelous surprise.
After a short rest, he continued to practice his boxing.
[Five Animals Fist Experience Value +1]
[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Beginner 31/100)
Looking at his own panel.
Sigh—
Jiang Ning let out a long breath of impure energy from his belly.
One-third of the way there!
He was one step closer to a breakthrough in his boxing technique.
Jiang Ning nodded in satisfaction.
...
In the blink of an eye.
Another two days had passed.
During these days, Jiang Li personally visited the Martial Arts Hall again to bring Jiang Ning several changes of clothes.
Seeing that Jiang Ning's originally somewhat frail body had now become somewhat robust, Jiang Li left reassured.
Jiang Ning had not relaxed at all these past few days, using almost all his time to maximum effect.
Besides practicing boxing and chopping wood, which were physically demanding tasks, he read books.
The thick book he brought from home was completely finished by him the previous night.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 5.4
[Skill]: Reading and Writing (Break Limit 148/2000) (Trait: Unforgettable)
Five Animals Fist (Beginner 88/100)
Chopping Wood Blade Skill (Great Success 109/1000)
Three whole days had brought about some changes to Jiang Ning's panel.
His Source Energy Points had increased by 0.5 each day, reaching a tally of 5.4.
His boxing skill had also made significant progress, with only 12 more experience points needed for a breakthrough.
Among these, the most significant change was in his Chopping Wood Blade Skill.
These past few days, he had worked it up to Great Success level.
With the Chopping Wood Blade Skill at Great Success, Jiang Ning could clearly feel that his blade was faster and more accurate.
He only needed to exert eighty percent of his previous effort to easily split a thick log in two.
The burst of strength was twenty to thirty percent higher, the speed was a few notches faster; if this were a technique used against enemies, it could easily have an overwhelming effect.
This was the transformation from small success to Great Success in the Chopping Wood Blade Skill, providing Jiang Ning with an all-around enhancement.
Having experienced the change from small success to Great Success with the Chopping Wood Blade Skill, Jiang Ning was now even more eager for a breakthrough with the Five Animals Fist.