Standing in front of a 150-pound stone lock, Jiang Ning exhaled lightly and adjusted his state.
Jiang Ning's palm firmly gripped the handle of the stone lock, and as he exerted force, the muscles in his right arm bulged conspicuously, their sinews becoming distinctly visible.
The stone lock also lifted off the ground abruptly with the explosive release of his strength.
Seeing this, Cheng Ran's eyes flashed with an unusual expression.
"I remember Brother Jiang has only been practicing martial arts for four days, right? His physique has actually enhanced to this degree already, he can lift a 150-pound stone lock, that's remarkable!"
Jiang Ning slowly set the stone lock down before he spoke, "Brother Cheng is too kind with his words! Even a common farmer could lift a 200-pound stone lock, what I'm doing is nothing special!"
"This is different!" Cheng Ran said quite seriously, shaking his head, "Brother Jiang is lean and fragile, clearly someone unaccustomed to hard labor, and now, at most having practiced martial arts for four days, his physique and strength have increased so much that he can lift a 150-pound stone lock, which shows that Brother Jiang's martial arts talent is truly outstanding!"
Cheng Ran continued to speak, shaking his head and wearing a reflective expression.
Then, he asked, "Brother Jiang, you must have mastered the basics of the Five Animals Fist a few days ago, right?"
Jiang Ning nodded, not denying it, "Brother Cheng is indeed perceptive!"
Cheng Ran smiled, "Of course! But this is also easy to see! Since Brother Jiang can lift a 150-pound stone lock, his Qi-Blood must have already been condensed. Once one can condense Qi-Blood, mastering boxing is only natural!"
At this point, Cheng Ran's face showed a look of regret.
"Brother Jiang has just begun and in a few days, you've already managed to practice all five stances of the Five Animals Fist, reaching a level that others would achieve over a much longer period. Speaking of it, Brother Jiang's martial arts talent is truly exceptional, surpassing even me and Xiao Peng."
"What a pity you started learning martial arts so late! If Brother Jiang had started practicing one or two years earlier, by now, you might already have become a True Disciple of our teacher and have reached Martial Arts Entry, naturally joining the Inspection Office, completing the leap from fish to dragon. Then, Xiao Peng wouldn't have the chance to be so arrogant, would he?"
As he spoke, Cheng Ran shook his head even more.
Jiang Ning smiled and said nothing.
The 150-pound stone lock in his hand was also set down.
After this test with the stone lock, he had a rough idea of his current strength.
Probably around one hundred seventy to eighty pounds.
Lifting a 150-pound stone lock did not place much of a burden on him. He felt he still had some force left, not much, but an additional thirty pounds wouldn't be difficult to exert if he forced himself!
"Practicing boxing for a few days has greatly enhanced my physique. The martial arts of this world are indeed miraculous!" Jiang Ning was very satisfied in his heart, "Now that I've mastered the Five Animals Fist to a high level, practicing the boxing once can condense two strands of Qi-Blood, doubling the efficiency compared to before!"
"The speed of body tempering will also greatly increase! With three more months to go, perhaps there's enough time. After all, if my boxing makes another breakthrough, reaching the state of small success, my efficiency in condensing Qi-Blood will be further improved."
At this moment, Cheng Ran was as if invigorated.
"Brother Jiang, I cannot waste away here, I must achieve great success in boxing, I want to become a Direct Disciple of Teacher Wang Jin, I want to defeat Xiao Peng and become a member of the Inspection Office. If I can't do it, I'll only have to go back and inherit the family's thousand acres of fertile land!"
Inherit a thousand acres of fertile land!
Jiang Ning: "..."
Rich landowner!!
Just a thousand acres of fertile land alone is worth more than ten thousand taels of silver!!
And the 'thousand' he mentioned might not even be merely a thousand acres.
Rich landlord!!
Jiang Ning mentally scoffed.
…
After lunch.
Jiang Ning practiced the Five Animals Fist once more, then ate the last of the wild ginseng. Afterward, he didn't waste any more time and focused entirely on practicing his boxing.
[Five Animals Fist Experience Value +1]
[Five Animals Fist Experience Value +1]
[Five Animals Fist Experience Value +2]
[...]
An entire afternoon had passed, and he had practiced the boxing technique ten times, with each session condensing two strands of Qi Blood Power within his body.
During these ten sessions of boxing, there were two instances where the prompt for an increase of two in Five Animals Fist Experience Value appeared.
[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Master 13/200)
Everyone had already left to collect their medicinal soup, and Jiang Ning was also breathing heavily.
After closing the panel, he clenched his fists again, feeling the surge of vitality and Qi Blood Power coursing directly into his right arm.
The next moment.
"Qi Blood Power can now flow through half of my right arm. At his prime, my brother's Qi Blood strength could flow through all four limbs, which means that my current Qi Blood strength is roughly one-eighth of my brother's at his peak."
Feeling the changes within his body, Jiang Ning nodded contentedly.
"With the rate of growth like this, it won't take many days for my strength to catch up with my brother! This panel is truly miraculous! If I could break through to the next level of Five Animals Fist, reaching the small success threshold, the total amount of Qi Blood Power condensed with each practice would inevitably increase."
"Unfortunately!" Jiang Ning shook his head slightly, letting out a soft sigh.
"Now that the wild ginseng is completely used up, without such medicinal help in the future, even with the substantial meals provided by the Martial Arts Hall to supplement nutrition, I'll have to halve the frequency of practicing Five Animals Fist."
With that thought, Jiang Ning furrowed his brows.
A wild ginseng is worth a dozen or twenty taels of silver. How could he, currently in the Martial Arts Hall, come up with so much silver?
Ten taels of silver, that's equivalent to the living expenses of an ordinary family for three to four months.
Its purchasing power is roughly equivalent to about ten thousand yuan in my previous life.
Yet I could absorb a wild ginseng in just three or four days.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning immediately felt a headache coming on.
He patted his head, let's forget about these worries for now, especially since I can't carelessly go out without self-protection!
Even if I did go out, I don't have a way to make money, and I might run into Xu Yunfeng.
An accidental injury could delay my boxing practice progress.
It's better to lay low for now, to improve my strength a bit more. There's no immediate danger to my brother, so no need to take any risks. I'll just take my time!
After clearing his thoughts, Jiang Ning headed straight toward the back kitchen.
The daily bowl of medicinal soup provided by the Martial Arts Hall has had a decent effect after my few days of experiments!
It allows me to practice the boxing techniques once or twice more without putting too much strain on my body.
Why not continue to show my skills to Wang Jin and see if I can get even more benefits?
As Jiang Ning walked toward the back kitchen, he fell into deep thought.
...
The Martial Arts Hall at night was silent and desolate.
The cold moonlight poured down from above, making the patterns on the ground distinctly visible in the bright light.
"Master!" Jiang Ning bowed respectfully.
Wang Jin nodded, "You said you wanted to ask me about the insights into boxing techniques?"
"Yes!" Jiang Ning bowed, then continued, "Disciple wishes to understand what Tiger Form Boxing means by 'strength within softness, softness within strength.' What Bear-shaped Fist means by 'stability with nimbleness within.' What Monkey Fist means by 'swift, agile, and unpredictable movements.' What Deer Fist means by 'combining motion and stillness, with stillness in motion and motion in stillness.' What Crane Form Boxing means by 'soaring into the clouds, where movements follow the heart's desire.'"
Wang Jin looked at Jiang Ning with a somewhat surprised expression.
"What you're asking about is something that can be achieved with a small success in Five Animals Fist. For you, that's too far ahead. Wait until the day when your Five Animals Fist reaches the master level, when boxing techniques and breathing have become instinctual for the body, then come and ask me!"