The more Jiang Ning understood the extraordinary nature of a ranked martial artist, the less confident he felt.
Achieving major mastery in skin refinement was like donning a suit of bronze armor. Against an unranked martial artist, the difference in defensive capability alone was like that between an adult and a child.
Not to mention the gap in strength and qi the difference between the two was a qualitative leap.
Therefore, the path from full qi and blood circulation to becoming a ranked martial artist was not a simple one.
It required time, secret techniques, and resources.
And right now, Jiang Ning knew neither the secret techniques for skin refinement nor the external aids needed.
Such information about martial inheritance wasn't something he could easily access at his current level.
For any faction, these secret techniques, which concerned the fundamental aspects of the human body, were not lightly shared even if they were just the skin-refining methods of the ninth rank.
Thus, Jiang Ning felt uncertain.
Of course, with enough money, it wouldn't be difficult to acquire such information and secret techniques.
After all, these weren't forbidden secrets.
But Jiang Ning also knew that he didn't need to go down that path to obtain the skin-refining techniques.
As long as he met Wang Jin's assessment requirements mastering any one of the Five Animals Fist techniques within six months of joining the martial arts school he could become Wang Jin's true disciple.
True disciples were the real students of the martial arts school, the ones who truly had the right to call Wang Jin their master.
At that point, he would naturally gain access to Wang Jin's inheritance, including the skin-refining techniques.
As he was now, he was at best an outer disciple, or perhaps a nominal disciple.
If he failed to meet the requirements within six months, he would have to pack up and leave.
At this moment, seeing Jiang Ning accept the silver note he had offered, Cheng Ran smiled and patted Jiang Ning's shoulder.
"Junior Brother Jiang, now that's what I call straightforward!"
Then, "Cough" His laughter agitated his internal organs, causing him to cough repeatedly, with faint traces of blood appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"Senior Brother Cheng, are you alright?" Jiang Ning quickly supported his unsteady figure.
After a few moments, Cheng Ran suppressed the urge to cough and waved his hand. "Junior Brother Jiang, help me to rest for a bit. I need to recover."
On the other side, Xiao Peng watched as Jiang Ning helped Cheng Ran away, shaking his head slightly.
What a pity!
If that kid hadn't intervened, Cheng Ran would have crashed into the wall after my strike. With injuries to his tendons and bones and his internal organs displaced, he would have been out of commission for more than a day or two.
That would have significantly reduced the threat Cheng Ran posed to me.
What a shame, truly a shame!
Xiao Peng slowly withdrew his gaze.
Amid the flattery of the onlookers, the corners of his mouth curled upward, unable to suppress his inner delight.
Jiang Ning's Courtyard
Cheng Ran slowly sat down on a small wooden stool.
"Pah" He spat out the blood in his mouth. "That bastard Xiao Peng went all out."
Jiang Ning sat down beside him. "Senior Brother Cheng, how are you feeling now?"
"Much better," Cheng Ran nodded. "Fortunately, my skin refinement has made some progress. Right now, it's just my internal organs that are a bit shaken. The injuries aren't too severe. I'll probably recover in two or three days. If I have some good healing medicine, it'll be even faster."
After saying this, Cheng Ran looked at Jiang Ning. "Junior Brother Jiang, your strength has already surpassed 200 jin, hasn't it?"
"Senior Brother's test was quite unexpected," Jiang Ning smiled.
"Junior Brother Jiang, don't take it the wrong way. I was just too shocked and found it hard to believe, so I tested you," Cheng Ran said apologetically.
"It's fine. But please, Senior Brother, don't spread this around," Jiang Ning said.
Cheng Ran nodded. "Of course! With Xiao Peng's tendency to resort to underhanded tactics, if he knew you've progressed so quickly, he might try something."
"Speaking of Xiao Peng, I'm still furious!" Cheng Ran's face showed anger.
"Senior Brother, you're just lacking in combat experience. In terms of actual strength, you're superior to Xiao Peng."
Cheng Ran nodded in agreement. "That's true! I do need to improve in that area. If I don't get back at him for today, I won't be able to let this go!"
Then he looked at Jiang Ning. "Junior Brother Jiang, how about we spar regularly from now on to improve our combat experience?"
Jiang Ning thought for a moment, then nodded. "That sounds good. I've never fought with anyone before, so I'm also lacking in practical experience."
"Great!" Cheng Ran nodded repeatedly. "As Master Wang said, martial arts are meant for combat. Just practicing alone won't get you to the peak. Although we can't fight to the death, sparring will still improve our combat experience. If we get the chance to join the Inspection Bureau, combat experience will be even more important."
Jiang Ning also nodded in agreement. "Then once Senior Brother has recovered, we'll start sparring."
"Deal!" Cheng Ran extended his right hand.
Jiang Ning understood and extended his right hand to meet Cheng Ran in a firm handshake.
After resting for a few hours, once his breathing had stabilized, Jiang Ning escorted Cheng Ran to the gate of the martial arts school.
"Junior Brother Jiang, don't worry. I'll do my best to investigate the matter you asked about within the next couple of days," Cheng Ran said.
"Then I'll leave it to Senior Brother," Jiang Ning said, cupping his hands in farewell.
As he watched Cheng Ran leave, Jiang Ning's gaze swept over the stalls near the school gate, but he didn't notice anything unusual.
The Next Morning
Sitting cross-legged in his small courtyard, Jiang Ning felt the gentle morning breeze as he waited for the rising sun in the distance.
[Skill]: Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique (Not Yet Mastered: 91/100)
He was now only nine experience points away from mastering the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique.
Jiang Ning was filled with anticipation for this breakthrough.
The fact that it required 100 experience points just to master the basics indicated that the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique was no ordinary skill.
As far as he knew, martial arts techniques were divided into lower, middle, and upper grades.
Above upper-grade techniques, there were even higher levels of martial arts.
Based on the experience point requirements, Jiang Ning had two theories.
The first was that the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique was a middle-grade technique, one level above the lower-grade Five Animals Fist, which only required ten experience points to master.
The second theory was that the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique was a mysterious technique above the upper-grade level.
The qualitative difference would explain why the experience point requirement for mastering it was also a qualitative leap.
This theory wasn't just based on the fact that the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique required ten times the experience points of the Five Animals Fist to master.
The bigger reason was the technique's method and philosophy.
The Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique was an internal strengthening method, focusing on nourishing the internal organs a path typically taken by fifth-rank martial artists.
Such internal refinement techniques were undoubtedly rare and likely of a high grade.
Moreover, the philosophy behind the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique left Jiang Ning in awe. It didn't feel like a martial arts technique but rather like the immortal cultivation methods from the myths of his previous life.
It spoke of absorbing the essence of the sun to strengthen the internal organs, and at the peak of mastery, drawing the midday sun's fire into the body, refining a golden pill within.
"A golden pill swallowed, my fate is my own!"
Such a lofty philosophy surely placed it above upper-grade martial arts techniques.
Of course, this was just his speculation.
Aside from these factors, there was another important reason for Jiang Ning's anticipation.
The fragment he had obtained only contained the introductory methods of the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique, with no follow-up techniques.
The mention of the technique's peak was only briefly touched upon.
In other words, under normal circumstances, with just that fragment, he could at most master the basics of the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique.
He would never be able to reach the peak described in the technique the state of "a golden pill swallowed, my fate is my own."
But Jiang Ning's hope lay in the miraculous nature of his system. Even with just a fragment, he believed he could gradually master the Inner Alchemy Nourishment Technique through relentless effort.
To achieve the state of "a golden pill swallowed, my fate is my own."
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