First, he drank some congee to warm his stomach, then slowly and meticulously chewed and finished the steamed buns and meat. Finally, he used pieces of bun to wipe up every last drop of meat broth, eating his fill.
The grain and meat transformed into energy, warming Chen Yi down to his very bones.
Especially after practicing his Stance Skill,
Chen Yi finally felt the long-absent sensation of Qi and Blood flowing.
Returning to rest for half an hour, Chen Yi resumed his Stance Skill practice once more.
This time, divided intermittently into three sessions, combined with the heavy meat meal at noon, Chen Yi practiced the Stance Skill for a total of three quarters of an hour throughout the day, completing 30 movements.
He was not far now from completing a full session of the Stance Skill every day.
His training efficiency had improved by about 50 percent compared to when he first started!
Under the effect of his Purple-Gold Fate and Heaven Rewards Diligence, Chen Yi's future training progress would only accelerate.
This was something no talent could ever compare to.
Over the next few days, he rose early every morning to accompany the young master in practicing the Stance Skill for half an hour, then joined the young master in copying and studying medical books.
By now, Chen Yi no longer had to do miscellaneous chores like cleaning toilets and fetching water in the third courtyard.
On the night he was dragged away for interrogation in the middle of the night, his roommates had all gloated with schadenfreude. But unexpectedly, when Chen Yi returned, not only was he unpunished, he was even rewarded with a move to the high-grade heated brick bed room where the guards lived, and from then on, he had meat with every single meal.
Ever since then, the servants in the third courtyard stood straight and bowed respectfully whenever they saw Chen Yi, proactively snatching up the chores that were supposed to be his,
all just to ensure Chen Yi bore no grudges.
Chen Yi was not a particularly magnanimous person, but towards such low-level mockery, as long as it didn't touch upon his interests, he couldn't be bothered to actively take revenge. Of course, if an opportunity arose, he wouldn't lift a finger to help such people either.
Keeping a low profile, building up his strength step by step, hardening his body at this stage, and mastering martial arts were Chen Yi's top priorities.
Therefore, aside from accompanying the young master for two hours every morning, Chen Yi spent most of his remaining time practicing the Stance Skill.
Ten days later,
the flesh on Chen Yi's body had gradually filled out a circle. Coupled with the fact that every day he practiced the Stance Skill until he was completely exhausted before sleeping,
at fifteen years old, a young man was in the prime of his vitality and possessed the strongest physical recovery ability.
In just half a month, Chen Yi's transformation was extremely noticeable. Although he was still relatively thin, the arms and calves occasionally exposed now clearly showed muscle lines, and a layer of muscle had also appeared on his chest and abdomen, covering up his original "ribcage."
A flush of healthy color had also appeared on his emaciated, sallow face. Thin as he was, he was no longer weak.
This improvement was a tremendous help to Chen Yi's Stance Skill practice.
He could now manage nearly a quarter of an hour per stance session, which was no longer that far behind Gong Qingyun of half a month ago.
Moreover, supported by his physical stamina, Chen Yi could complete three to four Stance Skill practice sessions daily, totaling well over half an hour,
surpassing the benchmark of completing one full Stance Skill practice session every day with a bit to spare.
By now, compared to twenty-some days ago when he had first learned the Stance Skill and could only complete one session every two days, Chen Yi had progressed to completing one session every day.
With each increase in his practice proficiency, Chen Yi's comprehension of the Stance Skill improved slightly,
which in turn drove the Qi and Blood in his body to grow stronger bit by bit. The duration he could sustain each stance session was also increasing by incremental drops.
Now, if he poured his utmost strength into his Qi and Blood to maintain the Stance Skill for the longest possible duration, he could barely keep pace with Gong Qingyun, who had been practicing for the exact same amount of time.
However, Gong Qingyun had been raised on medicinal soups since childhood and possessed an extremely robust physique, with a foundation of Qi and Blood far surpassing Chen Yi's. If the two of them truly compared, Chen Yi might still lose on account of his physical foundation.
As for the early morning stance practice, to avoid making his talent too shockingly monstrous, Chen Yi generally stopped after practicing to only half or slightly more than half of his maximum strength.
Even so,
the daily incremental progress Chen Yi displayed made Li An look at him in a completely new light,
bluntly stating: "Your talent is excellent, but your foundation is too poor and you started martial arts far too late. What a terrible waste of a fine seed!"
Hearing this, Chen Yi's thoughts drifted to the Gong Family's specially formulated Bone-Strengthening Broth. He currently had four taels of silver in his possession.
The martial arts disciples of the Gong Family could receive a bowl of this Bone-Strengthening Broth for free every month. If they wanted to drink more, each additional bowl cost one tael of silver.
As for the young master Gong Qingyun, he could drink it every day, and the age of the medicinal herbs used inside was completely different from the communal cauldrons of broth given to the disciples.
Legend had it that the Bone-Strengthening Broth could significantly enhance human Qi and Blood, while also slightly treating the physical burdens and internal injuries caused by martial arts training.
It was fine during the early stages of stance training, but once they advanced to practicing fist techniques, without the support of this medicinal broth, long-term accumulation of internal injuries would severely shorten a martial artist's lifespan.
The Gong Family passed down both medicine and martial arts. While their martial arts were not particularly profound, the reason they continued to thrive and grow lay precisely in the medical and health-preservation principles within them.
Chen Yi had been copying medical books for over half a month, and coupled with the mutual teaching and learning with Gong Qingyun, his involvement in the Gong Family's medical theories was already quite deep. He deeply understood the role of medicine in improving, stimulating, and empowering the human body's treasures.
However, wanting to purchase the Bone-Strengthening Broth required the status of an official martial arts apprentice of the Gong Family. Chen Yi had only just received a reward half a month ago, and if he went to ask the Gong Family again, there was a high probability he would be refused.
This matter still required finding another opportunity to pursue.
...
A few days later, early one morning, Chen Yi routinely rose with the crowing of the rooster. It was still dark, and he was just preparing to go to Gong Qingyun's room to wake him up
when he unexpectedly saw the maid Zhuiyue attending to Gong Qingyun as he dressed, and he was wearing formal cotton robes and a long gown rather than his martial arts training uniform.
Seeing Chen Yi lingering in the doorway, Gong Qingyun hurriedly beckoned him inside:
"Chen Yi, you've come at just the right time. Help me check—is my sash straight?
Right, hold my medical book and pick out some questions from the half I've read to test me. Quickly see what I still don't know!"
"Huh? Young master, what are you doing? Not practicing martial arts this morning?"
Dazed, Chen Yi walked into the young master's room. A wave of warmth immediately washed over him; the young master's brick bed was heated far too well, making it immeasurably warmer than his own room, where water could freeze into ice.
"Practice my ass! My older sister is back, and she's going to quiz me on my medical books in a moment!"
"But the master has questioned you before, and you've never been like this?"
"What do you know? With my dad, if I can't answer, I just admit my mistake and get it over with. At worst, you take the beating for me.
If it's my sister—*hiss*—she's actually willing to beat me!"
Chen Yi was speechless. So you actually knew every time something went wrong that your dad couldn't bear to hit you and would take his anger out on me instead? Today, your sister should give you a good lesson!
"What are you looking at? Do you think if I get beaten, your fate will be any better? Let me tell you, I don't know which bastard spilled the beans to my sister about Caiyun and me.
The moment my sister came back last night, the very first thing she did was slap Caiyun twice. If I don't get past this hurdle this morning, I reckon I'll be in pain for ten days to half a month, but you, kid, will be stuck in bed for at least three months!"
Why the hell didn't you say so earlier!
"Why are the Dazhui, Baihui, Shenque, and Mingmen meridians connected, how many meridians do they cross in total, and how many acupoints are nearby? Recite them in order from first to last right now!"
Without a second word, Chen Yi picked up the book and began the quiz.
If he had known earlier, even if he had to stay up all night without sleeping, he would have dragged this kid through a last-minute cram session!
Moreover, while helping Gong Qingyun review, Chen Yi cast a thoughtful glance at Zhuiyue, the maid who had been helping him dress.
This girl ratting out Caiyun the first time might have stemmed from jealousy,
but Gong Quanhui was far too shrewd an old man; he surely noticed Zhuiyue's little schemes last time, yet afterward he neither punished her nor brought it up.
And now, the eldest miss had just returned, and someone ratted them out once again. Generally speaking, when matters involving the young master of the household were concerned, servants rarely wagged their tongues unless it had been arranged long beforehand.
That left a very strong possibility: Zhuiyue was the eldest miss's person, planted by the young master's side specifically to keep tabs on him. Explained this way, everything made sense.
Of course, this matter still needed to be verified.