In the blink of an eye, nine days had passed.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 50.3
[Skills]:
Five Animals Fist (Proficient 957/1000)
Inner Alchemy Cultivation (Proficient 255/2000)
Indestructible Golden Body (Not Yet Initiated 98/100)
Woodchopping Saber Technique+ (Second Breakthrough 3000/3000) (Traits: Versatility, Swift as the Wind)
"It's time for another harvest!"
As soon as he woke up and saw his status panel, Jiang Ning's face broke into a pleased smile.
Today was his day of reaping rewards.
His Source Energy had reached a whopping 50 points, and a plus sign had appeared next to his Woodchopping Saber Technique.
The fact that 50 Source Energy points had caused a plus sign to appear next to his second breakthrough Woodchopping Saber Technique indicated that the third breakthrough of the Woodchopping Saber Technique required only 50 Source Energy points, provided the experience points were sufficient.
10 points, 20 points, 50 points.
This sequence corresponded to the experience points required for each previous breakthrough of the Woodchopping Saber Technique.
Thus, it wasn't hard to guess that the fourth breakthrough would require 100 Source Energy points.
Moreover, the experience points for the Indestructible Golden Body had reached 98. Just two more points and this technique would officially be initiated.
The moment it was initiated, he would have fully tempered his skin membrane, officially stepping into the ninth rank of martial arts.
At this moment, seeing the changes on his status panel, Jiang Ning no longer hesitated.
With a thought, his Source Energy points began to rapidly decrease.
In an instant, a stream of information flooded his mind.
Jiang Ning immediately closed his eyes.
In his mind, countless figures appeared, each one of them being himself, wielding a saber and chopping wood.
One strike after another, as if tireless, as if time had stopped.
Each strike was powerful and swift, like a thunderbolt.
After what felt like countless strikes, Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes.
In the next moment, he leaped several feet and landed under a large tree.
He then picked up the ebony longsword he had left there.
Clang
He drew the sword, the sound crisp and clean.
Then, gripping the sword with his right hand, he swung it.
Swish
The blade cut through the air, striking a tree about eight inches thick.
Crack
After the strike, the tree slowly tilted and fell. At the point where the blade had struck, a clean, smooth cut was visible as the tree fell.
After the strike, Jiang Ning sheathed his sword and nodded slightly.
"Not bad! This strike has increased my power by another 20-30%! Not only is the explosive force stronger, but the speed is also faster!"
He then clenched his fist, feeling the strength in his arm.
Jiang Ning muttered to himself, "And the strength in my arm has increased slightly! With my current strength, if I were to face Hong Chengtao again, I might be able to kill him with a single strike!"
Feeling the changes in himself, Jiang Ning was extremely satisfied.
Even without considering anything else, the increase in the power of this single strike made him feel that the 50 Source Energy points were well spent.
After all, Source Energy points were, strictly speaking, just an additional gain for him, requiring no extra effort on his part.
As long as he maintained his daily energy intake, his Source Energy points would continue to grow.
Especially with the intake of medicinal herbs, which contained vast amounts of energy, his Source Energy points grew even faster each day.
So, for Jiang Ning now, accumulating 50 Source Energy points wouldn't take too long about ten to twenty days. It wasn't difficult.
Next, Jiang Ning opened his status panel again. He wanted to see what new trait he had gained after the third breakthrough of his Woodchopping Saber Technique.
[Skill]: Woodchopping Saber Technique (Third Breakthrough 697/4000) (Traits: Versatility, Swift as the Wind, Divine Saber Wielding)
[Divine Saber Wielding]: Increases affinity with the saber and enhances talent in saber techniques.
"A support effect? Not bad!" Jiang Ning nodded slightly.
Looking at the traits on the panel, he fell into deep thought.
"It seems these three traits are roughly on the same level as if they belong to the same tier."
He then glanced at another section of the panel.
[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Proficient 957/1000)
"The Five Animals Fist will likely reach perfection tomorrow! Once it reaches perfection, I'll need to accumulate another 1,000 experience points to break through."
"In terms of grade, the Five Animals Fist is higher than the Woodchopping Saber Technique. I wonder if the traits gained from breaking through the Five Animals Fist will be stronger?"
"Logically, they should be stronger!"
Jiang Ning thought to himself.
He then closed the panel, went to the side, and quickly stripped off his clothes.
He then took out a box of skin-tempering sand.
[Skill]: Indestructible Golden Body (Not Yet Initiated 98/100)
He was just two experience points away from tempering his skin membrane and officially stepping into the ninth rank of martial arts.
At this point, Jiang Ning could no longer wait.
He endured the pain and rubbed the skin-tempering sand all over his body.
His skin turned red all over, with faint traces of blood seeping out.
Only then did he stop.
Next, he immediately assumed the first posture of the Indestructible Golden Body.
He circulated his strength, pushing his Qi and blood to temper his entire body.
In an instant, his Qi and blood surged, and his body heated up.
During this process, Jiang Ning closed his eyes slightly, his consciousness sinking into his body.
With the ability to inspect his body using his spiritual sense, he saw countless red threads connecting beneath his skin, weaving a net around every piece of flesh and blood in his body.
Moreover, the number of these threads continued to increase, overlapping and connecting, gradually forming a membrane a membrane that was about to cover his entire body.
After completing the first posture, Jiang Ning assumed the second posture.
Then the third.
When all three postures were completed:
[Indestructible Golden Body experience +5]
As soon as this notification appeared, a significant change occurred on the panel. The Indestructible Golden Body instantly jumped from "Not Yet Initiated" to "Initiated."
[Skill]: Indestructible Golden Body (Initiated 3/1000)
The moment the Indestructible Golden Body was initiated, Jiang Ning felt an intense itching and pain beneath his skin, as if thousands of ants were burrowing into his flesh.
At the same time, his body temperature rose sharply.
He gritted his teeth and focused his mind inward.
Using his spiritual sense to inspect his body, he saw the layer of membrane beneath his skin rapidly expanding, spreading, and merging.
Any weak spots in the membrane were quickly reinforced, and the membrane thickened.
In just a dozen breaths, this dramatic transformation was complete.
From Jiang Ning's internal perspective, he saw that a fully connected membrane had formed beneath his skin.
This membrane was connected to both his skin and his flesh, linking his entire body together.
After inspecting his body for a while, Jiang Ning opened his eyes.
He first clenched his fist.
He immediately felt that his strength had increased significantly, filling him with a sense of immense power.
At the same time, he felt an illusion that nothing could withstand his strength.
Huff
Huff
Jiang Ning took two deep breaths, suppressing his inflated confidence.
He knew that this was a result of the rapid improvement he had experienced in a short time, causing his mind to swell with pride.
In reality, his strength was still very weak compared to the true powerhouses of this world.
After calming down, Jiang Ning broke off a branch from a nearby tree.
The broken end of the branch was sharp, like a blade.
"Let's test the defensive capabilities of my skin now," Jiang Ning thought.
He then pressed the branch against his arm.
The skin on his arm dented slightly, but no blood seeped out.
"Not bad!" Jiang Ning nodded slightly, somewhat satisfied.
Before he had tempered his skin membrane, such a press would have broken his skin and caused blood to seep out.
Now, however, there was only a slight stinging sensation, and the surface of his skin remained unbroken, let alone the membrane beneath it.
This indicated that his resistance to blows had significantly improved.
Next, Jiang Ning dragged the branch down his arm.
The sharp branch scraped against his skin, causing a slight pain that made Jiang Ning frown slightly.
Then, looking at the white mark left on his arm, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"It is different now! Even such a sharp branch can't break the surface of my skin, let alone damage the membrane beneath!"
"Now, I can officially say I've stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts!"
Jiang Ning felt extremely elated!
The ninth rank of martial arts something he had longed for was finally achieved.
Now, he had officially qualified to join the Inspectorate.
However, according to Wang Jin, there were still about a month and a half left before the three-month period was up.
In this month and a half, he could still improve his strength further.
With that, passing the entrance exam would be a sure thing.
Thinking this, Jiang Ning felt as if a dark cloud had lifted, and his mood brightened considerably.
Next, Jiang Ning jumped into the pond.
In the cool water, he scrubbed his skin, washing away the scabs.
After getting out, he dried himself and reapplied the medicinal ointment for external injuries.
He then continued practicing his fist techniques in the forest.
The Five Animals Fist was just one step away from perfection.
At his current rate, he would officially break through to perfection tomorrow.
Therefore, Jiang Ning planned to return to the city tomorrow.
After all, he had been out for ten days.
In these ten days, he had almost finished the wild ginseng he had brought with him.
Now, he only had one piece left, and that was because he had been conserving his resources.
Once this last piece was consumed, to avoid affecting his growth rate, he would have no choice but to return to the city.
Only in the city would the over two thousand taels of silver he had to be of use.
Only there could he continue to consume medicinal herbs to aid his martial arts training and efficiently increase his Source Energy points.
These necessities were impossible to obtain in the wild mountains.
Moreover, now that he had stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts, Jiang Ning felt that his strength had reached a thousand jin.
Combined with his other techniques, no matter what choices Cao Bin made in response to the deaths of Xu Yunfeng and Hong Chengtao, Jiang Ning felt confident in facing them.
With this confidence, he was no longer afraid of any trouble he might encounter upon returning to Luoshui County!
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