Chapter 34: 33

The sky was dim.

In the area at the back of the Qinghe Palace disciple quarters, among the rooms belonging to the cultivation disciples.

Zhang Rongfang carefully lit the oil lamp with a fire starter.

The wick crackled slightly, as if it had touched a bit of water.

He lifted the oil lamp and placed it on the higher windowsill.

The lamp was a specially designed fuel-saving lamp.

It had a special design around the top, allowing water to be added, so the lamp oil would burn more slowly.

Looking at the dim glow of the oil lamp, Zhang Rongfang sighed inwardly.

’I used to hear people say that someone wasn’t an oil-saving lamp, but seeing such a lamp now… I really understand the helplessness of life.’

The cultivation disciples of Qinghe Palace received a fixed oil allowance each month, averaging out to about five wens a day.

According to Zhang Rongfang’s comparison over this period, the purchasing power was roughly equivalent to five Chinese cents from his previous life.

He smelled the tung oil odor wafting through the air and glanced at the ceiling directly above the oil lamp, where a small black patch was visible.

It was blackened by the oil lamp’s soot.

With just this bean-like bit of light, shining until nine-thirty in the evening, from seven at nightfall to nine-thirty, two and a half hours, it would burn through the daily five cents subsidy.

“The key issue is it’s straining on the eyes, using such dim light for long will definitely lead to nearsightedness… these conditions are a bit harsh.”

Zhang Rongfang sighed.

He brought a basin of water and washed himself with the cold water.

His hair hadn’t been washed in five days, and a rancid smell was detectable.

He was, after all, someone who trained intensively every day, sweating profusely.

Even Zhang Rongfang was somewhat disgusted, but he endured.

Tomorrow he could go to the county, and the money he’d snatched would be just right for use then.

Not to mention, it wouldn’t be a problem to improve his living conditions a bit.

His money now was all spent on buying medicine.

After washing his arms, Zhang Rongfang opened the window, and a cool breeze blew in.

The chill of the spring cold rushed in, making him shiver involuntarily.

After waiting for about ten minutes to change the air.

He closed the window and lay flat on a straw mat on the floor.

Since the last time adding points led to heavy sweating and drenched his bedding thoroughly, after days of hard life without bedding, Zhang Rongfang deeply remembered not to practice on the bed.

Lying flat, head up, he stared at the beams and the flat wooden roof.

Calming his mind and relaxing his whole body, he lifted his hand and focused his gaze on his hand.

Swish.

The attribute bar silently appeared at the bottom of his vision.

’Zhang Rongfang—Life 16-16.

Skills: Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual – Mountain-shaped Talisman (Limit-breaking) (Limit-Breaking Skill: Heavy Mountain),

Void Observation Skill (First Layer of Essence Qi).

Dragon and Snake Ascension Skill (Mastered)

Morning Energy Talisman (Beginner)

Available Attributes: 4.’

“Let’s begin.”

His gaze focused on the plus sign behind the Morning Energy Talisman.

Imagining pressing down forcefully.

Suddenly, the words “Beginner” in the brackets behind the Morning Energy Talisman rapidly blurred and disappeared.

In a flash, they transformed into “Mastered”.

Simultaneously, the attribute point automatically decreased by one.

Streams of warm current began to manifest out of thin air within Zhang Rongfang’s body, saturating it like a hot spring.

His skin started to crack slightly, revealing pinpoint blood spots and threads.

Muscles broke and reconnected, growing stronger.

The Morning Energy Talisman mainly cultivated the legs and hands. At this time, a significant portion of the warm currents surged into these parts.

Zhang Rongfang could clearly see his hands swelling, enlarging, and turning a slight shade of black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Abundant power, like blowing air, continually settled into his hands.

A wealth of memories from his arduous practices with the Morning Energy Talisman surged into his mind like a tidal wave.

The transformation lasted for about ten minutes before gradually slowing down.

By now, Zhang Rongfang’s whole body was as if he had fallen into a pool, his clothes soaked, hair and forehead covered in sweat.

His hands and legs had shed a layer of skin.

“Again!”

Without hesitation, Zhang Rongfang continued to focus his attention, imagining pressing down on the plus sign behind the Morning Energy Talisman once more.

Again, the word “Mastered” in the brackets blurred rapidly, and new writing appeared soon after.

This time, the characters were “Perfected”.

’As expected, every stage of Talismanic Skill is the same: Beginner, Mastered, Perfected, and there should be a Limit-breaking stage afterward.’

Zhang Rongfang understood in his heart.

Before he could further ponder, a new wave of intense pain erupted.

Streams of warm current far more abundant than before exploded within his chest and abdomen like bombs.

The previously mild warm current now became exceptionally violent, like an unstable bomb, ready to shatter at any moment.

This time, the skin on Zhang Rongfang’s hands and legs started to grow a thick layer of callus.

Especially in the sections frequently practiced in the Morning Energy Talisman, they were much thicker than the surrounding areas.

As if he had practiced the Morning Energy Talisman for many years.

Along with it came the three-year practice memories and insights of the Morning Energy Talisman.

Each insight, each understanding, each comprehension.

With these memories, Zhang Rongfang’s understanding of the Morning Energy Talisman grew deeper and more proficient.

Every flaw, every advantage, was mastered clearly.

It was unknown how long passed before Zhang Rongfang suddenly awakened from the insight.

In front of his eyes was darkness; the oil lamp was out, the oil burned away.

The faint moonlight penetrated through the window paper, casting a pale glow over the room.

He slowly crawled up from the floor.

The single garment on his body was no longer suitable, as it was stretched tight.

“I’ve gotten stronger again….”

Zhang Rongfang let out a long breath, touching his wrists, feeling that even the bones had become thicker.

He looked at his current attribute panel.

’Zhang Rongfang—Life 20-22.

Skill: Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual – Mountain-shaped Talisman (Limit-Breaking) (Limit-Breaking Skill: Heavy Mountain).

Void Observation Skill (First Layer Essence Orifice).

Dragon and Snake Ascension Skill (Mastered)

Morning Energy Talisman (Perfected)

Available Attributes: 2.’

’Life has directly increased from 16 points to a lower limit of 20 points. Impressive… No wonder my body has changed so much.’

Zhang Rongfang thought to himself.

He looked at the last two attribute points.

Clenching his fist, he felt that his strength had increased significantly once again.

Now, in terms of sheer strength, he was probably already on par with Senior Sister Zhao Dacong.

Previously, he needed to use Heavy Mountain to surpass Zhao Dacong, but now, his normal state was already much stronger than before.

“With the last two points, let’s directly break the limit. Second limit-breaking, let’s step into the Second Rank first!”

Although it seemed now that the Second Rank of the Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual wasn’t particularly impressive,

when he ambushed Chen Wuyou and fought Jiao Teng, he had already felt it.

But at this moment, he had no better choice.

He couldn’t possibly use the inferior Eagle Claw Skill and Dragon and Snake Ascension Skill, could he?

They weren’t part of the same system, and switching to practice other martial skills would mean starting to break the limit from the First Rank again. Very troublesome.

Now Zhang Rongfang vaguely understood that the so-called grades, the differences between grades entered through different martial skill limit-breakings, might be very significant.

“Let’s begin.”

Clearing his mind of distractions, he focused again, his gaze falling on the plus sign of the Morning Energy Talisman.

He gently clicked on the plus sign.

The two attribute points suddenly disappeared.

With a loud booming sound, a tingling sensation swept over Zhang Rongfang’s mind, and he collapsed back onto the floor.

This time, not only his arms and legs but even his shoulders and waist started to swell with muscle.

Yet when the swelling muscles reached a certain point, they stopped, instead flowing like water, crawling towards the rest of his body.

Under the moonlight, his body became increasingly solid and heavy.

The sound of mixing mud came faintly from his flesh and bones, as his blood, flesh, and internal organs continued to increase in density.

After about more than an hour.

Zhang Rongfang’s body moved slightly.

First his fingers, then his wrists, and legs.

He slowly sat up from the ground.

“It’s finally over….”

Looking at his current attribute panel, he felt a sense of indescribable feeling in his heart.

A large amount of insight from practicing the Morning Energy Talisman filled his memory, making him feel as if he had lived through nearly ten years in a very short time.

During these nearly ten years, he neither ate, drank, nor answered nature’s calls, practicing the Morning Energy Talisman tirelessly day and night.

Now, it was finally perfected.

’Zhang Rongfang—Life 24-25.

Skill: Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual – Mountain-shaped Talisman (Limit-Breaking) (Limit-Breaking Skill: Heavy Mountain).

Void Observation Skill (First Layer Essence Orifice).

Dragon and Snake Ascension Skill (Mastered)

Morning Energy Talisman (Limit-Breaking)

Available Attributes: 0.’

“Life has increased again, with a lower limit of 24 points. In the entire Qinghe Palace, only the Literary Cultivators and a few high-grade masters can compare with me.

But why is it that Senior Brother Zhang Xintai is also Second Rank, yet his life isn’t as high as mine?”

Zhang Xintai’s life was 21 to 21, both upper and lower limits were the same.

Similarly, in the Second Rank, Zhao Dacong only had 15 to 19.

Though he couldn’t understand this point for now, Zhang Rongfang was sure that life was definitely unrelated to strength or speed.

He rubbed lightly on his face and arms, instantly rubbing off a lot of dead skin.

After a thorough rubdown, Zhang Rongfang almost replaced all the skin on his body.

He used a broom to gather all the dead skin into a pile, then stood in the center of the room, slowly practicing the footwork and moves of the Morning Energy Talisman.

“Why doesn’t the Morning Energy Talisman have a limit-breaking skill when the Mountain-shaped Talisman does?”

“No, wait!”

Suddenly Zhang Rongfang’s steps paused. He spread his arms, assumed the Heavy Mountain posture, and struck forward abruptly.

Swish!

This time the momentum of the Heavy Mountain was significantly greater than before.

The most crucial point is…

After deployment, there was no previous feeling of fatigue in the arms and shoulders.

Feeling delighted, Zhang Rongfang continued to slash forward with his arms, using the Mist Smoke Step of the Morning Energy Talisman, constantly executing Heavy Mountain from different angles.

Twice, three times, four times, five times!

It wasn’t until the fifth time that he felt slightly out of breath and fatigued.

Only then did he slowly stop.

“Using Heavy Mountain five times with full strength, only then did I get tired…. It seems that the limit-breaking skill of the Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual is likely complementary and interdependent. After breaking the limit with the Morning Energy Talisman, it perfected and optimized the force exertion of Heavy Mountain.”

Understanding this point in his heart, he felt a bit excited.

At the Second Rank, reaching this level means he could already go to the Spirit Official Hall for a grade assessment.

Even if he was an alliance member, he could still be considered First Rank in an honorary position.

The only problem remaining was explaining how he went from not knowing any martial arts to breaking through to the Second Rank in just one year.

Though the Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual wasn’t a particularly powerful martial art, it wasn’t that easy to practice either.

Even for a genius, no one had ever heard of someone advancing so quickly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep