Wanhua Tower.
As Shen Congyun was deep in thought, the sound of footsteps echoed on the wooden floor of the pavilion, reaching his ears.
Hearing the noise, he snapped out of his contemplation.
In the next moment, a woman in her early thirties appeared before Shen Congyun.
She wore a green robe, carried herself with grace, and exuded an air of nobility.
"Qingyi!" Shen Congyun greeted her with a smile.
Hearing this address, the woman in the green dress, who radiated elegance, smiled at Shen Congyun.
"Congyun, I heard you've been investigating someone frequently these past few days. Have you discovered a promising talent?"
Shen Congyun chuckled. "What? Are you interested too, Qingyi?"
The noblewoman replied, "I know your standards are always high. Anyone who catches your eye must be worth looking into."
Shen Congyun smiled. The deputy master, Qingyi, had suddenly visited and brought up this topic so directly. He naturally understood her intentions.
She had likely heard about his recent activities and, like him, wanted to extend a helping hand, to offer assistance in times of need.
In the next moment, he tossed the scroll containing all the information his subordinates had gathered about Jiang Ning over the past few days.
"Since you're curious, Qingyi, take a look for yourself!"
Facing the incoming scroll, Deputy Master Qingyi flicked her sleeve, and the scroll landed neatly in her hand.
She immediately opened it and began reading.
She had some understanding of Shen Congyun's recent actions.
Her purpose in visiting Shen Congyun today was simple: to probe his thoughts and see if he had discovered a martial prodigy worth investing in and befriending.
Having worked with Shen Congyun for many years, she prided herself on understanding his standards and character.
Shen Congyun had extremely high standards. In the years he had been in Luoshui County, not a single prodigy had met his expectations.
In contrast, over the same period, she had befriended and invested in two prodigies who met her standards. This showed just how high Shen Congyun's standards were.
Today, she had come out of curiosity about who could meet Shen Congyun's standards.
Another reason was to see if this person truly was a martial prodigy. If so, she wanted to try to get ahead of Shen Congyun and befriend the prodigy first.
If the prodigy achieved greatness in martial arts, she could then invite them to become a guest of Wanhua Tower, which would be a significant achievement for her.
With this in mind, Qingyi's eyes fell on the scroll containing information about Jiang Ning.
After a while, she thought to herself, "Is this it?"
She shook her head slightly, then looked up at Shen Congyun. "So, the young man named Jiang Ning is the martial prodigy you've taken an interest in?"
Seeing Qingyi's reaction, Shen Congyun smiled. "What do you think, Qingyi?"
Qingyi shook her head slightly. "I don't see anything special. According to the information, he seems like an ordinary young man."
Shen Congyun said, "I've met him. His vital energy has already reached the proficient level."
"That's decent," Qingyi nodded.
In her eyes, reaching the proficient level in vital energy after just over ten days of martial arts training was indeed decent.
But it was only decent not enough to earn higher praise from her.
For those with true power and resources, accumulating vital energy was trivial.
Wanhua Tower had potent medicines that, when combined with martial arts techniques, could significantly boost vital energy in just a few days.
If one was willing to spend enough resources, reaching the peak of vital energy in a month wasn't difficult.
However, few did this because such medicines were extremely expensive, often priced in gold. The cost was too high for most to bear.
Seeing Qingyi's reaction, Shen Congyun smiled but said nothing more.
Two days later, in the afternoon.
Jiang Ning was sweating profusely under the scorching sun as he practiced his fist techniques in the courtyard.
Despite the heat, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
He reveled in the process of his strength growing bit by bit and the steady increase in his skill experience points.
Seeing tangible progress fueled his motivation.
[Five Animals Fist Experience +2]
After completing one round of the fist techniques, Jiang Ning prepared to take a short break.
He moved to a slightly shaded area under the eaves, drank a large bowl of water, and then opened his panel to take a look.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 5.8
[Skills]:
Literacy (First Breakthrough 697/2000) (Trait: Photographic Memory)
Five Animals Fist (Proficient 252/500)
Firewood Chopping Sword Technique (First Breakthrough 2000/2000) (Trait: Cross-Application)
Internal Elixir Cultivation Technique (Beginner 58/1000)
Canglang Sword Technique (Proficient 0/200)
Looking at his panel, Jiang Ning nodded in satisfaction.
In just two days, with the help of wild ginseng, his progress had been remarkable.
His Source Energy had increased from 2.0 to 5.8, a growth of 3.8 points in two days. This rate of growth was a world apart from before and extremely noticeable.
However, this progress came at a high cost. Every day, he consumed one and a half wild ginseng roots half in the morning, half in the afternoon, and half at night.
This was necessary to support his intense training and prevent his body from breaking down.
The results of his hard work weren't just the rapid increase in Source Energy. The most significant change was the increase in the number of fist technique practices he could perform each day.
With the aid of wild ginseng, he could now practice his fist techniques over forty times a day.
Each practice session increased his Five Animals Fist experience by two points and condensed three strands of vital energy.
Aside from these two areas, his Literacy skill experience and Internal Elixir Cultivation Technique experience have also seen some growth.
The Firewood Chopping Sword Technique experience had once again reached its limit, allowing for a second breakthrough. However, even with the rapid accumulation of Source Energy, it was far from enough to achieve the second breakthrough.
Jiang Ning didn't know how much Source Energy would be required for the second breakthrough, but he knew it would be more than the first.
As for the Canglang Sword Technique, a mid-tier martial art listed at the bottom of his panel, he hadn't practiced it once in the past two days.
There was no need.
Further breakthroughs in the Canglang Sword Technique wouldn't significantly impact his strength.
The multiple layers of ninefold force would overwhelm his body before he could fully utilize them.
So continuing to practice this sword technique would only waste time.
His top priority now was to accumulate vital energy, strengthen his physique, and reach the ninth rank in martial arts as soon as possible.
In the next moment, he clenched his fist.
Boom
His vital energy surged, instantly connecting through both arms and most of his right leg.
Feeling the changes in his body, Jiang Ning felt a surge of excitement.
"At this rate, in a few more days, my vital energy will reach the proficient level, connecting through all four limbs! My physique will undoubtedly improve further!"
He then glanced at the skills section of his panel.
[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Proficient 252/500)
The experience points were already past the halfway mark!
"At my current rate, it will take at most four more days to break through to the advanced level in the Five Animals Fist."
"By then, my vital energy should also be close to reaching the proficient level."
He then picked up the cloth bag beside him, opened it, and saw several wild ginseng roots inside.
After a quick count, he muttered, "Only four and a half left!"
"Consuming one and a half every day is quite extravagant!!"
Jiang Ning clicked his tongue, feeling a pang of regret.
In terms of market value, the ten wild ginseng roots, worth over a hundred taels of silver, had been mostly consumed in just a few days.
"To train martial arts efficiently, you need to spend money!" he sighed softly, carefully storing the remaining ginseng roots.
Then he muttered to himself, "In a few days, I'll need to find a way to make more money! Without money and medicinal supplements, martial arts training is too inefficient!!"
After a short rest, he continued practicing his fist techniques.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Canglang Martial Arts School.
A carriage came to an abrupt stop.
Cheng Ran jumped out of the carriage and rushed into the school without looking back.
His face was filled with anxiety as he muttered to himself.
"Junior Brother Jiang is in trouble!"
"He must leave the county as soon as possible."
"Otherwise, if Cao Bin takes him away, it's all over!"
"I hope it's not too late!"
Thinking that Cao Bin had already set out by the time the information reached him, Cheng Ran silently prayed.
In the next moment, he moved like the wind, swiftly passing through the front courtyard of the martial arts school and heading straight for Jiang Ning's small courtyard.
At the entrance of the Canglang Martial Arts School.
There were tea stalls, noodle shops, and food stalls.
It was afternoon, and people sat in small groups at the tea stalls, drinking cool tea, eating fruits and snacks, and chatting.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed in shock.
"Look!!"
"What's got Brother Wang so shocked?" someone beside him laughed.
Then, following the shocked person's gaze, he too was instantly stunned. "That's... the county yamen constables."
At the end of the street, two teams of constables suddenly appeared. There were over twenty of them, each wearing deep black robes with long swords hanging at their waists, gleaming sharply.
Their eyes carried a fierce aura, and their steps were firm and powerful, clearly experienced fighters who had seen blood.
At the front of the group were two men whose uniforms differed from the others.
Their outfits were primarily black with red accents, made of finer, smoother fabric, clearly indicating a higher status than the regular constables.
"Where are these constables going to make an arrest? Such a large formation, with two constable captains and twenty constables!" someone with extensive knowledge of the county yamen said.
"Who knows?" someone else shook his head. "Let's follow and see! Such a large formation is rare!"
"Indeed!" another person nodded in agreement. "Two ninth-rank martial constable captains working together is indeed rare!"
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