"The fifty taels of silver includes the medicinal soup for body tempering for a two-month period. The medicine is dispensed every five days. If you miss a dose, come find me. After two months, whether you succeed or not, the cost of the medicinal soup will be charged separately. One batch of the medicinal soup for tempering costs one tael of silver."
'One tael of silver... if an ordinary mountain-man doesn't find much, that's six or seven days of work. And that's just for tempering the body.'
As Su Yan listened to Gao Zheng's explanation, he lamented the high cost of martial arts. Without some financial backing, achieving success would be extremely difficult.
"Don't underestimate this medicinal soup." Gao Zheng seemed to misinterpret Su Yan's silence as discouragement and said, "Although some people never achieve anything great, this medicinal soup, combined with a few simple forms, ensures ordinary people won't be able to defeat them. This is how some rogues get their fighting skills. Your Root Bone is good, and you have the backing of the Hundred Herb Hall. Breaking through to Skin Refining shouldn't be too hard."
"Skin Refining?"
Su Yan looked at Gao Zheng with curiosity. Gao Zheng explained: "The first major realm of martial arts is the Body Forging Realm. Body Forging has four stages: Skin Refining, Tendon-Bone, Blood Circulation, and Vitality Nurturing. Each stage is a major hurdle. If you break through to the Tendon-Bone stage, you'll be a significant figure in Yun Cang Town."
There was a world of difference between entering the Body Forging Realm and not. Just the Skin Refining stage allows a practitioner to forge skin and flesh as tough as cowhide or rhinoceros hide, giving them the strength of hundreds or even thousands of jin. Ordinary knife or axe strikes would not be fatal. With this kind of ability, going into the deep mountains would be like a tiger or leopard in its domain, and the expected harvest would be immense. Furthermore, a person at the Skin Refining stage could easily find an excellent job in the city without having to trek in the mountains. For thousands of martial arts practitioners, the goal is simply to reach the initial rank and change their fate.
Su Yan's eyes lit up. He finally understood the martial arts realms. So, Skin Refining was the entry point of the martial path. Did this correspond to the ranking-up of the Dark Water Centipede? With this conjecture in mind, he could verify it later.
"Senior Brother Gao, I see your posture is like a tiger or wolf, and your aura is like a bear, subtly radiating pressure. Are you perhaps a master of the Vitality Nurturing stage?" Su Yan flattered Gao Zheng, knowing compliments go a long way.
Gao Zheng laughed heartily but shook his head: "You certainly know how to talk. I am not a master of the Vitality Nurturing stage. I've only reached Great Accomplishment in the Tendon-Bone stage."
Su Yan asked, "Senior Brother, I was once fortunate enough to see a prominent figure from the Small Mountain Association kill a huge tiger with a single finger, with a wolf phantom accompanying his body. What realm is that?"
Gao Zheng's expression turned serious upon hearing this: "That is Lin Tianlang, the Vice-Chief of the Small Mountain Association, a great figure in the True Intent Realm."
"The True Intent Realm?"
"Don't aim too high. Even in our academy, only Master Bai is a True Intent Realm martial artist."
Gao Zheng said no more. The two had arrived at an empty area.
"Junior Brother Su Yan, I will now teach you the Golden Ape Stance Skill and the Ape Fist."
Gao Zheng took a step, shrugged his shoulders, and moved his muscles and bones in unison, striking a stance that resembled a fierce ape.
"You follow me and practice."
Su Yan immediately adopted the posture, feeling his muscles tense up. It wasn't as easy as it looked.
"Inhale into your abdomen, move your body together, exhale like an ape. Integrate this tremor and breathing into your muscles and skin." Gao Zheng demonstrated while giving instructions.
Seeing Su Yan begin to imitate the stance, he straightened up and tapped Su Yan's back and shoulders.
"Your position is incorrect. Bend a little more. The muscles must exert force. The rhythm of your inhalation and exhalation must be different from normal, deep into your lungs. Feel the flow of your blood energy."
"The muscle tremor shouldn't just be localized here. The force must start from your back and extend throughout your body..."
After a full hour of Su Yan constantly adjusting his posture with Gao Zheng's guidance, his entire body began to tremble rhythmically, rising and falling like an ape, his breath exhaling like mist. A warm current of blood energy rose from his spine, traveling along his tendons and spreading throughout his body.
He couldn't help but let out a soft groan. Gao Zheng's eyes widened: "You found the feeling?"
Su Yan was exhausted and relaxed. Large drops of sweat rolled down his forehead. He nodded: "It feels like energy is surging through my tendons, spreading all over my body, and integrating itself."
"Excellent! Excellent!" Gao Zheng praised him: "To feel the surge of blood energy in such a short time, your Root Bone is indeed capable."
"Rest for half an hour. I'll go fetch your first batch of medicinal soup. You can try the effects after consuming the medicine."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Gao."
Gao Zheng strode away, and Su Yan sat down to rest.
[First-Order Bug Master: 5/100][Bug Realm: 1 cubic meter][Body Forging Realm: Skin Refining 1/100 (Initiate)][Golden Ape Stance Skill: 5/100 (Initiate)][Mountain-Trekking: 37/200 (Minor Accomplishment)][Basic Archery: 104/200 (Minor Accomplishment)][Herbology: 21/200 (Minor Accomplishment)][Dark Water Centipede: 63/200 (Growth Stage)]
[Dark Water Centipede: 63/200 (Growth Stage)]
The attribute panel had changed the moment he felt the blood energy, gaining a new division for the martial arts realm. Although he had only just achieved Skin Refining Initiate and hadn't yet undergone a qualitative change, he was indeed different.
'Muscle trembling, breathing, condensing, surging blood energy to strengthen the skin and flesh... Is this the method of the martial path? But the consumption is truly immense.'
The process of tempering constantly squeezed the body's energy, converting it into blood energy to strengthen the skin, tendons, and bones. The single session of stance training had completely consumed all the food he had eaten that day. He felt a profound emptiness in his stomach, and a faint feeling of depletion in his very bones. This blood energy was hard-won; without the supply of medicinal power, he might have refined himself to death.
"Mountain Treasure Plants, water Treasure Fish, and rare exotic beasts, along with the Hundred Herb Hall's medicine—every single one is immensely valuable. The few taels of silver I have left probably won't last many more sessions. 'Poor scholar, rich martial artist' is absolutely true."
As he regulated his breath, Gao Zheng returned with the medicinal soup. It was a bowl of dark, black liquid, and he could smell the bitter odor from a distance.
"Drink it. Although there are many supplements for martial arts, and the Hundred Herb Hall's Blood Energy Pills are effective, this soup is perfectly matched with the Golden Ape Stance Skill. Its effect is no less."
Su Yan swallowed the bowl of medicinal soup, the bitterness lingering on his palate. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he immediately adopted the Golden Ape Stance. As he stood, he consciously began to tremble his muscles and inhale and exhale like an ape. The medicinal soup in his abdomen seemed to heat up, rapidly being absorbed by his body and turning into the surging blood energy force that flowed throughout his body.
'To achieve the correct stance and the ape-like exhalation so accurately the second time...'
Gao Zheng was inwardly astonished. Anyone who practiced martial arts knew that mastering a martial art or a movement often took more than just one or two tries. Only through repeated practice could the learned feeling become second nature—that was the key. Beginners typically needed numerous adjustments to find the right feeling on their own.
But Su Yan was different. No wonder the people from the Hundred Herb Hall recommended him. Gao Zheng planned to befriend him, unaware that this stability came from the real-time feedback provided by the Ominous Bug Cauldron's interface. Although it wasn't a direct experience point boost, the ability to see his progress immediately let Su Yan know what was right and what was wrong, making his performance extremely stable. Now that he had initiated the skill, he wouldn't forget the posture, and if given the chance, he could continuously adjust to the minor details that best suited him. The more accurate his stance, the faster his experience would increase.
After half an hour, Su Yan's body turned red from the medicinal power and the stance training. Large drops of sweat drenched his clothes, but his tendons and bones felt increasingly taut and strong.
"Hoo—"
Su Yan let out a long breath, which faintly misted in the air.
[Body Forging Realm: Skin Refining 10/100 (Initiate)][Golden Ape Stance Skill: 20/100 (Initiate)]
'The medicinal soup provides such rapid progress! The boost feels no less than what I got from the Bamboo Jade Tooth Treasure Plant, and to be honest, I probably didn't fully utilize the effects of the Treasure Plant back then.'
Su Yan sensed the changes in his body, but his mind couldn't help but wonder: 'What would happen if I used the Bug Essence now?'
"Congratulations, Junior Brother! You've successfully initiated Skin Refining." Gao Zheng saw that the redness was fading from Su Yan's skin, which looked taut like leather. It took a moment for him to recover from his surprise. This level of breathing meant Su Yan had truly entered the Skin Refining stage. Although it was just the beginning, he was now a genuine martial arts practitioner. With a little more tempering, even just the two months of medicinal soup would make him vastly different from an ordinary person.
"It's all thanks to Senior Brother's guidance. I'll need your continued care and support."
"You're being too modest," Gao Zheng replied with a smile. "Your aptitude must be excellent. The outer-door status is only temporary. Practice diligently. If you can reach Minor Accomplishment (小成) by the end of the month and perform well in the assessment, you might catch Master Bai's eye and enter the inner door ahead of schedule."
"The end of the month?" Su Yan looked confused.
Gao Zheng explained: "The end of the month is when Master Bai teaches new martial techniques and assesses our skills. Don't worry about that for now. Let me teach you the Ape Fist first."
The Ape Fist, though named after the ape, combined agility with a touch of ferocity. Gao Zheng demonstrated the eight forms of the Ape Fist, and Su Yan diligently followed suit, practicing several sets until it was almost evening before he finally mastered the basics.
Since it was too late to return to the mountains, Su Yan decided to pay for a night's stay at the martial academy. A laborer was instructed to guide Su Yan after dinner to the outer-door disciples' quarters. The so-called quarters were the side rooms lining the middle courtyard. These were large rooms with shared sleeping platforms, each housing several outer-door disciples.
"Young Master Su, this room has fewer people and is quieter. Just give me a shout if you need anything. Our laborers' room is at the very end."
The laborers were slaves bought by the academy, with only a few having their freedom. They were instructed to address all disciples who had formally entered the gate as "Young Master."
"This room will do."
The laborer secured Su Yan's approval, knocked on the door, and entered. Inside the room were four or five young men, all between fifteen and nineteen, of similar age. They all looked at Su Yan as he entered. The laborer made up his bed, reminded him to call him if needed, and then excused himself.
The moment the laborer left, a young man from the bunk next to his spoke: "My name is Zhou Yong. Which village are you from? I haven't seen you in the front courtyard."