"Young master, I am merely a housekeeper..." There was a hint of embarrassment in Fang Xiao's eyes.
In other words, although the highest martial artist realm he knew was Refining the Internal Organs, whether he truly didn't know or thought there was no need to say more, was uncertain.
Upon hearing this, Chu Ming's face showed disappointment: "I'm tired."
Waving his hand, he held the "Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique" and was about to enter the house.
He was truly exhausted, having practiced martial arts techniques Slapping Wind Palm and Tiger and Python Strength since morning, with a short break to read some literature, he had hardly rested from beginning to end.
"The Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique is quite domineering, young master mustn't skip over the Tiger and Python Strength to practice the subsequent content. Tomorrow, I'll prepare some medicinal soups and teach you how to guide Qi and Blood..."
Seeing this, Fang Xiao appeared a bit worried.
The young master was exceptionally talented, but he was also prone to getting obsessed.
The Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique is the cultivation technique of the Tiger Armor Army; practicing the Tiger and Python Strength alone may not pose an issue, but the subsequent strength techniques require medicinal support, or the body will surely be overwhelmed.
He worried the young master might memorize the cultivation technique content and secretly train.
Chu Ming, with patience, listened to Housekeeper Fang's nagging for a while before he could enter the room.
In summary, the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique cannot be practiced blindly. It must be done progressively, under Fang Xiao's guidance, and with the aid of medicinal soups.
Fang Xiao watched Chu Ming's slender back with a complex look in his eyes.
"Time flies, decades pass by in a blink, I wonder how many of the old brothers are still alive."
"Blood Circulation, Strong Bone, Refining the Internal Organs..."
"Heh, young master, the path of a martial artist is much harder than you imagine."
"One Qi and Blood Power is just the beginning, not even enough for the qualification of battlefield combat."
"Three paths of Qi and Blood make one eligible for the Tiger Armor Army, six make a Squad Leader, more than ten make a Decurion."
"Only a martial artist in the Strong Bone Realm can become a Centurion or Chiliarch."
"..."
...
"Martial artist, Qi and blood, Body Refining Technique..."
Back in the room, Chu Ming did not rest, eagerly opening the first martial arts technique he obtained in this world.
The opening ten-odd pages of "Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique" contained the Tiger and Python Strength, which he was already very familiar with.
"Tiger and Python Strength, Tiger Roar Strength..."
Upon reading a little of the cultivation technique, a notification popped up on the panel.
[Reading (Great Success): Integration]
[Progress: 55/100]
56...57...58...
"Reading cultivation techniques can also increase reading progress!"
Chu Ming's eyes glittered, without pause, he continued to study.
When he finished reading the entire body refining technique, the reading progress reached '77'.
Simultaneously, the original Tiger and Python Strength was replaced by new text.
[Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique]
[Progress (entry-level): 17/100]
"The Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique consists of twelve strengths, each with ten styles, and each style consists of eight to ten movements, altogether forming almost one thousand two hundred movement combinations."
"The movements become more complex as they progress, no wonder Housekeeper Fang repeatedly warned me not to practice on my own."
"Without a robust physical foundation and support from Qi and Blood Power, forcibly training will only lead to disordered meridians and weaken the body."
"Even if trained according to order, the body might sustain various damages due to the high-load training method."
"Medicinal soups can provide energy and repair injuries, Housekeeper Fang's nagging is not without reason."
...
By nightfall.
Having practiced the Tiger and Python Strength several times, the progress of the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique was pushed to '23' before stopping.
He still wanted to continue practicing, but he also had the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" to read, with the time for the academy examination approaching.
[Reading (Great Success): Integration]
[Progress: 77/100]
78...79...80...
With the Tiger and Python Strength achieving Great Success, condensing the Qi and Blood Power not only made his body more robust but also greatly improved his spirit.
On usual days, after a day of training, he couldn't read for long after dark without dozing off, but today he felt particularly energetic.
"At this rate, I'll finish the 'Complete Book of Agricultural Administration' by tomorrow."
By late night, Chu Ming closed the book, with the reading progress remaining at '87'.
The next day repeated, he woke early, feeling refreshed.
After practicing the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique and Slapping Wind Palm, he continued reading the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration," with reading progress continually rising.
87...88...89...
Once the entire book of "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" was completed, new notifications appeared on the panel.
[Reading (Perfection): Inference]
"Reading is perfect, progress vanishes, apparently it's maxed out."
"What could be the role of this 'Inference'..."
Chu Ming closed his eyes, and the knowledge stored in his mind flickered rapidly.
'Integration' allowed him to comprehend the Inner Vision through the Sword Gourd Spirit from the travelogue of "Sword Gourd Journey," so would this 'Inference' provide even greater insights...
In his mind, contents from over twenty travelogues, along with three poetry books "General Theory of the Book of Songs," "Essence of Classics and History," "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration," and the cultivation technique "Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique" intertwined.
The "Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique" was like a lake, while the contents of the travelogues and the three poetry books flowed like streams into the lake, continuously circulating.
Especially the stream formed by the over twenty travelogues, which, under continuous momentum accumulation, seemed to evolve into a river.
After some time, Chu Ming suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze brighter than ever before.
His brows relaxed, revealing a faint smile.
"The Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique, besides the relatively gentle first strength Tiger and Python Strength, the subsequent eleven strengths are overbearingly vigorous; without the nourishment of medicinal soups, the body would get more injured with continuous practice."
"However..."
Chu Ming pushed aside the cultivation technique and poetry books on the table, taking up brush, ink, and paper.
He paused for a moment, organized his thoughts, dipped the ink, and began to write, calm and unhurried.
On the slightly yellowish paper, a series of graceful movements were drawn, accompanied by detailed textual explanations.
"The Tiger and Python Strength contains one hundred and twenty movements which, though seemingly profound, have half of the movements that are redundant, overly complex, and cause unnecessary strain on the body."
"With the aid of Inference, by combining everything I have read, the Tiger and Python Strength automatically simulated in my mind, sifting through the sands, distilling thirty essential movements, and further developing an additional thirty movements based on those fundamentals."
"Thus, the originally obscure Tiger and Python Strength's number of movements is cut in half, to only sixty; the interconnections between them are highly cohesive, making the movements much more fluid, and significantly less challenging to execute..."
Looking at the ink yet to dry on the paper, Chu Ming felt exceedingly joyful.
Even though he had just condensed one Qi and Blood Power as a martial artist and his body had not fully healed, he could already modify the cultivation technique...
A glance at the panel showed the progress of the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique, previously at '23,' had jumped directly to '67'.
Without dedicated practice, merely refining the technique led to a substantial surge in progress, which was the direct benefit brought by 'Inference'.
Moreover, he sensed that a second Qi and Blood Power had condensed within his meridians.
Chu Ming slightly closed his eyes, activating the Sword Gourd Spirit, and performed an inner vision on himself.
The once pin-needle-thin first Qi and Blood Power was now more robust, and although the second was slightly thinner, the difference was minor.
In terms of the Tiger and Python Strength's progress, it could be considered that he had pushed it to perfection purely through deduction and optimization.
Additionally, the Tiger and Python Body Refining Technique continued to evolve in his mind, attempting to refine the content of the second strength, the Tiger Roar Strength.
"This means that even without deliberate cultivation, solely relying on the deductions of Inference, the progress of the Body Refining Technique can rise swiftly!"
...