Just as he was pondering, Zhao Tianxing nudged him in the ribs with an elbow and asked, "How many bowls of Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup are you planning to buy?"
Chu Fan gave a wry smile. "My pockets are empty. I don't have any spare silver for Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup."
"Right, my mistake..." Zhao Tianxing said mockingly. "The scions of rich families go to those famous martial arts halls to learn their skills. Why would any of them come here to the Seven Stars Gang to be a common member?"
"That's not necessarily true," the youth who had spoken earlier cut in. "Ling Feng's family is quite wealthy... You really think he broke through the first stage of Martial Arts Foundation Establishment in just a month and a half on talent alone?"
"Two months ago, I saw it with my own eyes. He went to the dining hall's steward and ordered one hundred bowls of Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup in one go!"
"A hundred bowls?!" Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing gasped in unison, their eyes wide.
The youth continued, "One bowl of the soup costs one mace of silver, so a hundred bowls is ten taels of silver. But that amount of silver is nothing to Ling Feng."
"It's just that an ordinary person can only handle three bowls of the soup, which is brewed from Blood Nourishing Powder, in a single day. Any more is like pouring oil on a fire; the body simply can't take it."
"That's why he 'only' ordered that much at once."
'Only' that much... Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing looked at each other, speechless.
To them, ten taels of silver was an astronomical sum, enough for a common family to live comfortably for an entire year.
But to the son of a wealthy family, it might not even cover the cost of a single meal.
The two had long heard the saying "Poor in Literature, Rich in Martial Arts."
But they never imagined the gap could be so enormous.
They both fell silent for a moment.
...
"Well, without money for the medicine soup, we'll just have to buckle down and train the hard way... Chu Fan, how about we go practice our forms?"
Zhao Tianxing stretched his arms, his joints letting out a series of soft CRACKS. "I feel like I've got endless energy right now," he boomed. "I'm itching to run through the forms a few more times!"
"Would it kill you to not show off?" Chu Fan asked, lazily raising an eyebrow. His voice was tinged with resignation.
"My stamina is nowhere near yours. After finishing a set of the Twelve Forms Fist just now, I'll need to rest for at least an hour before I can even think about doing it again."
"You go on ahead. I'm going to the Library Pavilion to read the Boxing Manual."
Chu Fan waved a hand dismissively and turned, heading for the Library Pavilion.
After that one set, he was already staggering. His legs felt heavy as lead, and his entire body was limp, completely drained of strength. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his quarters and collapse into bed.
But his willpower was far stronger than that of an ordinary thirteen or fourteen-year-old.
He thought of the Map of Mountains and Rivers and its miraculous ability to permanently lock in his progress. Even though he was so exhausted his bones felt like they might fall apart, he forced himself to carry on to the Library Pavilion.
Once at the Library Pavilion, Chu Fan took out the Boxing Manual for the Twelve Forms Fist and began to carefully flip through it again.
[Literacy Experience Points +1]
This time, he read much more slowly than before.
Last time he was here, he had simply committed the manual's key principles and diagrams to memory without truly understanding them.
Now, however, he was cross-referencing the essence of the manual with Instructor Cao's lecture, mulling over every single word and phrase in his mind, determined to achieve a thorough understanding.
According to Cao Feng, the Twelve Forms Fist, the Blood Saber Sect's Nine Blood Soul Blades, and the Iron Armor Sect's Iron Armor Skills were all considered Lower Grade Martial Arts.
In terms of offense, the Twelve Forms Fist wasn't as vicious as the Nine Blood Soul Blades.
In terms of defense, it wasn't as resilient as the Iron Armor Skills.
It was top-tier in neither offense nor defense, but it was the best for increasing one's vitality, forging muscles, and tempering bones.
When its fist techniques were combined with Pile Skills and its unique Breathing Technique, the speed at which one could complete the Martial Arts Foundation Establishment was far beyond what the Nine Blood Soul Blades or Iron Armor Skills could offer.
Thus, Seven Stars Gang disciples who practiced the Twelve Forms Fist often gained control over their vitality much earlier than those who practiced the other two Cultivation Techniques.
And while fists of flesh and blood could hardly stand against a sharp blade, in a real fight, it wasn't difficult for the Twelve Forms Fist to defeat the Nine Blood Soul Blades.
The Tiger Form, at the Great Success Realm, grants formidable explosive power, enough to shatter a bluestone with a single punch.
The Swallow Form, at the Great Success Realm, bestows incredible agility, allowing one to weave through a volley of arrows with ease.
The Bear Form, at the Great Success Realm, grants the strength to move mountains; a mere shrug of the shoulders has the power to topple trees and shatter rocks.
The Eagle Form, at the Great Success Realm, allows one to see the smallest of objects, and grants sharp, powerful claws that are impossible to block...
As Chu Fan flipped through the Boxing Manual, he kept recalling the sight of Instructor Cao and the others demonstrating the Twelve Forms Fist at the Martial Arts Arena. His excitement for the Fist Technique grew, and he couldn't wait to make some real progress with it.
「An hour passed in a flash.」
[You have read a book. Total Literacy Experience Points gained: 38.]
Even though he'd spent less time reading the Boxing Manual than before, he had gained significantly more Experience Points.
He figured it was because Instructor Cao's lesson had deepened his understanding of the Twelve Forms Fist.
[Skill: Literacy (Entry-Level) (Trait: None)]
[Progress: (63/100)]
As his Literacy Experience Points increased, Chu Fan felt his mind grow clearer and his thoughts quicker, as if a thin fog was slowly lifting.
'Is it my imagination?'
He rubbed his temples and stood up to stretch. Most of his fatigue seemed to have vanished.
After returning the Boxing Manual, he found a quiet, secluded spot on the Martial Arts Arena and prepared to practice the forms again.
Instructor Cao Feng had once said that when practicing the Twelve Forms Fist, it was best to master one form to the Small Success Realm before moving on to the other eleven.
Master one form, and the rest will follow.
Struggle with one, and you'll struggle with them all.
But after several attempts, Chu Fan discovered that the Map of Mountains and Rivers didn't separate the Twelve Forms.
He only gained a single experience point after performing a complete set of all Twelve Forms.
'Then I'll just have to train all Twelve Forms at once...'
[Twelve Forms Fist Experience Points +1]
After finishing the set of the Twelve Forms Fist, Chu Fan collapsed onto the ground. Sweat poured off him like broken strings of pearls, and his vision swam with black spots.
Even though he had rested for an hour between the two sets, the cumulative toll on his body's core energy was immense. With his vitality utterly depleted, he felt as if every last drop of strength had been wrung from him.
After a long moment, a cold gust of wind swept over him. Chu Fan shivered, and his head cleared slightly.
"Chu Fan, it's time for dinner!"
Zhao Tianxing's voice called out from the distance.
Chu Fan turned his head and saw Zhao Tianxing approaching at a brisk pace, a longbow slung over his back, his steps as light as the wind.
The guy had just run through several sets of the Twelve Forms Fist in a row, yet he was still full of vigor, showing no sign of fatigue...
How could anyone not be jealous of such a natural-born talent!
...
"You really are in poor shape..."
Zhao Tianxing reached down and pulled Chu Fan to his feet with a single tug.
He raised an eyebrow. "You practiced the Twelve Forms Fist just twice in two hours, and you're already collapsed like a sack of mud?"
Chu Fan steadied himself and couldn't help but ask, "How many times did you practice the Twelve Forms Fist this afternoon, in total?"
"Four times," Zhao Tianxing said easily, holding up four fingers.
"Including the one Instructor Cao had me demonstrate, I've done the complete Twelve Forms Fist four times. As for the Monkey Form, I practiced that by itself five times."
"..." Chu Fan was so stunned he couldn't speak.
'The gap between people really is an unbridgeable chasm...'
He was starting to believe that Zhao Tianxing could actually go a few rounds with a bear.
The guy's vitality was so immense, he could probably go head-to-head with a Martial Artist who had already reached the Blood Nourishing Realm!
'If I had a constitution as strong as Zhao Tianxing's,' he thought, 'I could probably get the Twelve Forms Fist to the Entry-Level Realm in a single afternoon!'
But as things stood, even if he trained from morning till night, breaking it into three sessions, he could manage six sets at most.
At this rate, he probably wouldn't reach the Entry-Level with the Twelve Forms Fist until tomorrow night.
He had no idea if that was considered fast or slow.
The two of them walked side-by-side toward the dining hall.
Dusk had gradually settled, and the lanterns around the Martial Arts Arena were being lit one by one, their dim yellow halos swaying gently in the wind.
Dinner was stewed radishes and cornbread buns, as plain as it gets. But what caught Chu Fan's attention was the thumb-sized piece of meat nestled in everyone's bowl.
The piece of meat wasn't large, but it glistened with fat and looked delicious, obviously prepared with care.
The two wolfed down their dinner and went to collect their Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup.
The soup was pitch-black, murky, and thick. It had a strong, bitter herbal smell, mixed with a faint metallic tang.
Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing glanced at each other, both wrinkling their noses.
Just as they were about to drink, they saw Ling Feng striding over, flanked by a crowd of gang members. With an arrogant air, he swaggered up to the collection window and slapped a silver note on the counter.
Ling Feng said nonchalantly, "Steward Xu, please put in an order for one hundred Blood Refining Pills. I'll pick them up tomorrow morning."
"..." Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing's eyes went green with envy.
They had seen it clearly—it was a fifty-tael silver note!
'Is this how the rich do things? So outrageously extravagant?'
'Judging by the name alone, those Blood Refining Pills must be far superior to the soup in their hands.'
'The price was five times higher, too...'
'A bowl of Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup is only one mace of silver, but a single Blood Refining Pill costs five maces!'
Ling Feng turned, his gaze sweeping over Zhao Tianxing. "Zhao Tianxing," he asked coolly, "aren't you going to order some more Blood-Nourishing Medicine Soup?"
The two were strangers, but Ling Feng had taken note of Zhao Tianxing ever since Instructor Cao mentioned on the Martial Arts Arena that Zhao Tianxing might break through to the Blood Nourishing Realm much faster than him.
If Zhao Tianxing really did prove to be faster, Ling Feng's own title as the "genius" of the Seven Stars Gang would lose some of its luster.
Zhao Tianxing laughed awkwardly and scratched his head. "I don't have the spare silver for that..."
At that, the corner of Ling Feng's mouth curled into a smirk. He said nothing more, simply turning and leaving the dining hall with his entourage.
Chu Fan looked away, his gaze falling back to the soup in his bowl. He carefully took a small sip.
The taste was bitter, but bearable.
But that metallic tang was truly awful.
He narrowed his eyes, held his breath, tilted his head back, and GULP, GULP, GULP, chugged the entire bowl down.
Seeing this, Zhao Tianxing followed his lead and gulped down his own soup.
In just a few moments...
Chu Fan suddenly felt his entire body grow hot. A warm current rose slowly from his Dantian before surging through his limbs like boiling water.
The exhaustion from his training receded like a tide, replaced by an indescribable feeling of comfort that permeated his entire being!
'This soup is incredible!'
Chu Fan was shocked and delighted. He could feel the vitality within him stirring, becoming more active.
Just then...
The panel on the Map of Mountains and Rivers suddenly changed!
[Spiritual Essence: 1.3]
[Cultivation: First Realm of Foundation Establishment, Blood Nourishing 1%]
Drinking one bowl of the soup had increased his Spiritual Essence by 0.5!
On top of that, a "Cultivation Realm" entry had appeared on his panel.
'Can everything really be turned into a progress bar...'