The Martial Artist focuses on the four words "eat, nourish, train, soak". Although Li Xian came from a humble background, with his own strength and opportunity, he has already dabbled in "eat," "train," and "nourish".

Only the word "soak" he has heard of but never seen.

The word "soak" can also be called "bathe", which means to temper the body with a medicated bath.

Uncle Xiang doesn't know the specifics of the medicated bath either. After collecting his reward money, Li Xian left the accountant's office.

"The silver is heavy."

Li Xian weighed it in his hand, feeling the wrist bend slightly, it was the first time he felt money so heavy.

Practicing as a Martial Artist requires a lot of money. A dozen taels of silver may not make a splash, but for the ordinary person, they would never save ten taels of silver in a lifetime.

"Even if I go indulge for a moment, it's more than enough."

"But this money, getting it by luck, should be saved first for unforeseen needs in the future."

After placing the silver in his pocket, knowing the money wasn't much, he naturally had to be more calculating.

Returning to the Guardian Mansion, there was already no one around, as most of the nursing home staff were scheduled for patrol shifts.

Since Li Xian had just been promoted, he temporarily had no shifts scheduled in recent days, leaving him with a lot of free time.

He found a secluded spot, surrounded by grass and trees for cover. It was a place he often went to practice martial arts, seldom disturbed.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he emptied his mind, sank his breath, and adjusted to the state for practicing martial arts.

"Seize the opportunity, never slacken."

"Terms like A, B, C, D, ultimately, are just imaginary ranks; only strength is truly yours."

Immediately, he condensed Qi into silk, starting from the Dantian, then traveling through the various acupoints.

When the silk of Qi passed through the 204th acupoint, the Dantian was empty, and the silk of Qi could no longer maintain its shape, dispersing into the flesh and blood.

Progressed again.

During three days in Bear Tiger Mountain, Li Xian had no time to practice martial arts. However, the increase in inner Qi was not slow, all because by eating tiger and bear, the energy was greatly replenished, making up for the inner Qi that should have been condensed but couldn't grow due to poor diet.

"The offspring of aristocratic families, with superior conditions for eating, nourishing, training, soaking, can accumulate sufficient inner Qi with very little hard work."

"They can circulate Qi throughout their body early on, locking in Qi-blood, delaying the decline of Qi-blood, and can travel the martial arts path longer."

"Though I don't have such superior conditions, taking steady steps forward, I don't have to give up, nor do I need envy or feel inferior."

With a swipe of his right hand across his chest pocket, he brought out three elixirs: Deer Blood Pill, Tiger Blood Pill, Bear Gall Pill...

"The Deer Blood Pill is a nourishing pill that strengthens Qi-blood, with a relatively gentle medicine effect. I'll take this pill first!"

He swallowed the Deer Blood Pill in one gulp. The elixir granted by the lady and those purchased from the Leisure Pill Pavilion had a completely different effect.

The difference lies in the quality of the pill.

As the elixir entered the stomach, a warm rush burst upwards, as if deer were galloping through a forest of flesh and blood. The muscles trembled slightly.

[You took the Deer Blood Pill, Food Skill Level +12]

Li Xian rode on the medicine's effect to advance in martial arts.

[Four Directions Fist]

[Skill Level: 4618/5000 Great Success]

[Skill Level +1]

Two hours later, the effect of the Deer Blood Pill passed.

The inner Qi was more refined.

"The combination of eating and training completes martial arts cultivation."

However, Li Xian did not immediately consume the Tiger Blood Pill. Because even though the medicine effect of the Deer Blood Pill had passed, the momentum in Qi-blood it stirred up hadn't subsided.

The Martial Artist's body is like a lake.

Every time the Martial Artist practices martial arts, the Qi-blood is mobilized throughout the body, moving the entire body's bones, muscles, and tendons, and the lake would ripple.

Continually punching, ripples expand circle by circle, when the body feels fatigued, that's when the lake has raised some waves.

Creating waves, causing them to wash around the surrounding soil, would expand the lake, this is when a Martial Artist truly progresses.

And taking elixirs, with their effects spreading inside the body, is equivalent to directly dipping one's hand into a calm "lake," stirring up layers of waves.

It's during this time that one should take advantage of the momentum to practice martial arts, pushing the wave forward.

Progress is faster than usual!

[Your Qi-blood surges, punching like a dragon, Skill Level +4]

[Your body lake surges, pushing the wave, Skill Level +7]

In martial arts cultivation, progressing or regressing, if the body lake doesn't create waves, it's equivalent to a pool of stagnant water, destined to dry up someday.

Lazy people, even if they persist daily in martial arts practice, once the body lake stirs up slightly, they conclude practice.

Thus, even after years of practicing martial arts, they haven't made the slightest progress.

Sweat poured like rain.

Li Xian, unperturbed by patrol shifts, seized every minute and second, not wanting to waste even a moment.

When his hands became too numb to punch, he switched to practicing the Clear Wind Leg.

Although both martial arts are very basic, the more basic the martial arts, the wider its applications.

The hard work invested will never be wasted!

...

Two days quickly slipped by. Li Xian consumed one pill each day, having taken the Tiger Blood Pill and Bear Gall Pill consecutively.

The Tiger Blood Pill was consumed for the second time, and since [Food] was already at mastery, its effect was slightly better than the last time.

His tendons and bones strengthened, his strength increased significantly, although he hadn't tested how much he could lift. But within the nursing home, he considered himself an outstanding member.

The Bear Gall Pill was extraordinary.

This pill had a very fishy and bitter taste, akin to chewing on a gall bladder. That bitterness was hard to avoid and lingered for a long time.

But once swallowed, it immediately transformed into a refreshing stream, rushing up to the back of the head, to the fontanelle, to the center of the brow.

White Qi wisps emanated from the three points.

The greatest change was in his eyes. His pupils became distinctly black and white with an added vigor, and his vision significantly improved.

With the power of the elixir, Li Xian's martial arts progress over these two days was swift.

[Four Directions Fist]

[Skill Level: 61/10000 Perfection]

[Description: You have practiced the fist technique diligently, finally reaching perfection, with a vigorous fist intent, your punches flow naturally, transcending the constraints of techniques, adapting as you wish.]

A casual punch exuded a grandmaster's style, possessing his own unique charm.

Just the accomplishment in the Four Directions Fist was far beyond what Pang Long could achieve.

Upon breaking through in the Four Directions Fist, the body lake surged again, inner Qi grew, filling it by more than half!

Qi circulation around the body was no longer distant for him.

After reaching perfection in the Four Directions Fist, Li Xian stopped its practice.

Show what should be shown, hide what should be hidden. When venturing outside, possessing an unexpected trump card gives more confidence.

He shifted his focus to the Clear Wind Leg.

[Clear Wind Leg]

[Skill Level: 139/1500 Minor Achievement]

[Description: Your leg technique is elegant, like the breeze brushing a willow, and your Clear Wind Leg has reached a minor achievement. Leg strength has increased, complementing the 'Running' skill, realizing the 'Riding the Wind' trait, increasing speed.]

The so-called "Riding the Wind" refers to utilizing the force of the wind to increase speed.

Even an ordinary person runs faster with the wind at their back. But mastering the "Riding the Wind" trait is akin to stepping on the wind, faster and nimbler.

"Huff!"

Li Xian let out a breath of turbid air, clenched his fists, feeling his ever-growing strength, and the increasingly abundant inner Qi. His heart felt infinitely calm.

Perfected fist techniques!

He had inquired; among the hundreds of nursing home staff, no one had practiced basic martial arts to perfection.

Because it consumes too much time.

Basic martial arts have a very low difficulty, almost no threshold. Yet even so, to progress from beginner to minor achievement, it might take someone with talent two years of hard practice.

The time from minor achievement to great success varies, ranging from one year to even five or six years.

But from great success to perfection, it seemed endless, reliant on talent, luck, opportunity, or guidance from a master.

Most Martial Artists once intended to practice basic martial arts to perfection but ultimately gave up.

Because upon reaching a certain realm, they gradually couldn't feel their progress.

This struggle wears out the mind, drains willpower.

"The leg technique has also reached minor achievement. My strength… I'm not sure amongst the B-class nursing home staff how I stand."

"I can temporarily put down the Four Directions Fist, it's time to find an opportunity to go to the Leisure Martial Pavilion and select an entry-level martial arts book!"

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