After staying in the dormitory for a quarter of an hour and organizing his martial arts training plan at Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, Lin Chen changed into the training attire and headed to the Martial Arts Pavilion.
Today, the Martial Arts Pavilion was extremely lively.
Female disciples were coming and going at the entrance, but unsurprisingly, Lin Chen was still the most eye-catching.
"I can proudly say, in the entire Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, I'm the most handsome guy!"
Now Lin Chen understood those novels where beautiful women attract the attention of surrounding men, but despise it, yet become curious about the male lead because he doesn't pay them any attention.
He now knew what it felt like to receive the treatment of a beautiful woman in a novel.
He was calm about all this, like Monk Tang walking in the Women's Kingdom, always the center of attention wherever he went.
Since he would stay at Jingshui Martial Arts Hall for a long time, he had to get used to this urban novel female protagonist treatment.
Upon entering the Martial Arts Pavilion, Lin Chen saw two senior sisters standing at the counter and approached them to ask: "Excuse me, senior sister, are there any miscellaneous books related to martial arts in the Martial Arts Pavilion?"
The two female disciples were not surprised by the presence of a male disciple in the Martial Arts Pavilion, as they had already heard about it a quarter of an hour ago.
In terms of news transmission between students, no martial arts hall could compare to Jingshui Martial Arts Hall.
He does look good, just a bit darker, no wonder those girls keep discussing him.
"Miscellaneous books?"
The senior sister with her hair tied up pondered for a while: "What kind of miscellaneous books does junior brother mean?"
"Information on wild poultry to supplement Qi Blood, martial arts pills... any aspect is fine."
Lin Chen was acutely aware of his weaknesses, the biggest being his poverty, followed by his lack of understanding of the full picture of martial arts.
The booklet left by Instructor Yu contained more martial arts insights and very little information on accelerating Qi Blood growth.
Lin Chen speculated that Instructor Yu thought, given his circumstances, instead of focusing on expensive poultry meat and pills, he should concentrate wholeheartedly on the cultivation technique.
"I understand junior brother's intent, on the left side of the bookshelf on the second-floor Library Pavilion, there are books related to martial arts, and some insights left by previous senior sisters of the Hall. You can browse them, but you can't take them away."
After expressing his thanks, Lin Chen headed straight for the second floor and quickly found the books he wanted according to the senior sister's guidance.
"Insight on the Use of Poultry Meat in the Opening Acupoints Realm"
"The Best Cultivation Method for Opening Acupoints in Two Years and Refining the Viscera in Three Years"
Seeing this book, Lin Chen curiously picked it up and glanced at it, though it wasn't very long.
But just after skimming it, he silently put it down.
In those few words, he saw written between each line, "Not lacking money" plastered all over the book.
Just the opening sentence spoke of how to quickly open the third acupoint from the two acupoints.
This was a book by the rich, for the rich students to read, and he, only having opened one acupoint, was not worthy.
"A Complete Guide to Pills Needed in the Opening Acupoints Realm - Essential for Drug Use"
Picking up this book, although Lin Chen had mentally prepared himself, looking at the pills and prices, his mouth couldn't help twitching; yet another book by a wealthy senior sister.
The book listed six types of pills.
All of which were suitable for martial artists in the Opening Acupoints Realm, and the author had categorized them, indicating which pill was suitable for how many acupoints were opened.
This path was also not suitable for him, but Lin Chen memorized the names of these pills.
After flipping through several training notes from these rich senior sisters, Lin Chen finally found a book with a different style in a corner.
"Path for Ordinary Martial Arts Students"
Seeing the title, Lin Chen got interested and picked it up to find that the content on the first page confirmed he got the right book.
[This book is only for viewing by junior sisters from ordinary backgrounds. If the junior sister comes from a wealthy family and has already opened acupoints before entering the martial arts hall, please put down this book and pick up the one on the left written by the senior sister 'Essential for Drug Use' to view.]
Second page:
[Turning to this page indicates the junior sister comes from an ordinary family, and perhaps has not yet opened any acupoints. Given this, the senior sister suggests opening acupoints within three months of entering the martial arts hall. Failing to do so would result in being listed among the B-grade students, and henceforth, purchasing resources from the hall would never come with discounts again. Do not underestimate these small discounts, as they could save at least a hundred taels of silver over three years.]
[At this page, the junior sister must not be flipping randomly, and is likely eager to open acupoints within three months. Then let this senior sister pass on a real trick: The Iron Blood Martial Arts Hall next door is filled with male students from wealthy families, hang around their entrance often, sooner or later, a soft-hearted male student will appear. Seize the opportunity, and you might score a few meals...]
Reading this page left Lin Chen with complicated emotions...
How to put it, the content was rather miscellaneous, reminding him of the green tea behavior from his past life.
Being willing to set aside pride was indeed an effective method.
Unfortunately, he was a guy!
The whole book revolved around the green tea philosophy.
I mourn for the senior brothers at the Iron Blood Martial Arts Hall!
The yellowed pages indicated that senior sisters from past Jingshui Martial Arts Hall cohorts had read this quite often.
After that, Lin Chen continued to read a few books left by senior sisters of Jingshui Martial Arts Hall and ended up acquiring a lot of useful information.
Among them, one senior sister mentioned part-time jobs; after opening three acupoints, it was possible to find some jobs in the county.
Like escorting caravans or capturing fugitives...
But the former consumed time, while the latter was risky.
...
...
Half an hour later, Lin Chen returned downstairs, registered his identity, and spent thirty taels purchasing a bottle of Nourishing Acupoints Pill.
Leaving the Martial Arts Pavilion, Lin Chen headed to the hall's cafeteria.
He had free access to meals, and the hall's canteen offered a variety of foods, unlike the cafeteria which had only beef as a meat dish; the hall's canteen had over a dozen kinds of poultry. Lin Chen recognized the black deer meat he had eaten before.
Eight hundred cents per jin, and it wasn't even the most expensive.
Unfortunately, none of these poultry meats were free; they all needed to be purchased.
The meal entitlement allowed for two jin of free beef per meal, with unlimited vegetables and rice.
Five bowls of rice, two jin of beef.
Lin Chen found a spot in a corner and ate on his own.
"These junior sisters are really amazing, Senior Sister Sun, have you heard?"
"I've heard. It's said that one of the junior sisters has already opened four acupoints."
"Four acupoints is nothing; I've just received the latest news that one of the new junior sisters has opened five acupoints."
"Really?"
"The source is absolutely reliable, and it's said that three have opened four acupoints..."
Holding chopsticks, Lin Chen paused with his right hand but continued picking up dishes a moment later.
Even among students in the same cohort, there are differences. He had already heard this from Lu Yongfeng and the others, so he was somewhat mentally prepared.
But hearing the conversation between these two senior sisters next to him, he couldn't help but curse in his heart: This damn gap between the rich and the poor.
...
...
Dormitory.
After leaving the dining hall, Lin Chen returned to his dormitory.
He poured out a Nourishing Acupoints Pill from the medicine bottle. It was dark in color and had a fishy smell.
The Nourishing Acupoints Pill is typically taken one every three days, but it can also be taken daily. Taking more is ineffective.
Once the pill entered his stomach, a burning sensation arose in his abdomen.
Soon, the Essence Qi within his body became active again and continuously surged into the acupoint on his left shoulder.
This was the first acupoint he had opened!
Left shoulder, right arm!
The second acupoint was on his right arm.
Lin Chen could feel a slight itch coming from his right elbow, caused by the blockage of the Essence Qi flowing there.
During the Qi Cultivation Stage, the goal is to allow Qi Blood to flow unobstructed throughout the body.
Once the Qi Blood flows unobstructed, Essence Qi will condense, and the Opening Acupoints Realm ensures Essence Qi flows throughout the body.
Once the Essence Blood breaks through the acupoint, the itchiness will disappear.
In this month's home cultivation, he also experienced some itchiness in his right arm, but it was never this intense, which is the effect of the Nourishing Acupoints Pill.
The pill, costing three taels each, is truly worth every penny.
Clearing his mind, Lin Chen didn't waste any time and began practicing the Clear Wind Palm.
The Clear Wind Palm has its unique Qi-Running Technique, and during practice, the Essence Qi in the body will also naturally impact the acupoints. This is also why the martial arts hall only taught them Martial Arts Techniques.
One palm after another, the entire courtyard of the dormitory was filled with palm shadows like the wind.
As night fell, Lin Chen still did not stop.
The "All the Way Black" title began to take effect.
His Clear Wind Palm had already reached a proficient level, where he could strike at will, but this time he noticed some of his past shortcomings.
The positions and angles of the Clear Wind Palm could be adjusted further.
This move isn't just about speed.
Lin Chen fell into a certain realm of enlightenment, concentrating all his Essence, Qi, and Spirit on the palm technique, practicing over and over, adjusting the angles and force of his palms.
[Cultivation Technique: Clear Wind Palm (Proficiency: 2/100)]
[Cultivation Technique: Clear Wind Palm (Proficiency: 3/100)]
Lin Chen didn't focus on the proficiency panel; at this moment, his mind was clear of distractions.
In his eyes, there was only the Clear Wind Palm.
...
...
Bam!
It was unclear how much time passed when a sound suddenly came from Lin Chen's right arm.
It was like firecrackers exploding!
Yet, even so, Lin Chen did not stop. In the next moment, his eyes widened, and he struck a palm towards a camphor tree in the yard.
Smack!
The bark of the camphor tree peeled off, and a palm imprint was directly embedded into the smooth trunk. A moment later, countless camphor leaves fell rustling to the ground.
Lin Chen retracted his palm, standing in the courtyard amidst the fallen leaves, his eyes showing satisfaction.
With this insight into the Clear Wind Palm, combined with the Nourishing Acupoints Pill, he actually broke through to the Two Acupoint Realm.
The Clear Wind Palm is not a domineering palm technique, so it didn't snap the waist-thick camphor tree directly, but judging by how the palm imprint embedded into the wood, such a strike on a person would be enough to shatter the bones of an ordinary person.
After the excitement, Lin Chen analyzed the situation in his mind.
Being able to open the second acupoint today was not solely due to the Nourishing Acupoints Pill; it was more about his nearly a month of gradual accumulation, already nearing the bottleneck of Two Acupoints. The Nourishing Acupoints Pill was merely the final boost for the sprint.
Applying accumulated knowledge for future gains, the Nourishing Acupoints Pill merely provided the final push.
Though breaking through delighted Lin Chen, what excited him more was his newfound comprehensive understanding of comprehension improvement.
He previously thought that improving comprehension only deepened his understanding of the true meaning of Martial Arts Techniques, but now it seemed to provide more than that. Comprehension improvement came with an additional state.
A state of ultimate concentration, where the self and all things are forgotten!
Glancing at the stars, Lin Chen didn't continue practicing; adequate sleep is also essential for a Martial Artist.
That night, he fell asleep with joy.
...
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