Leaving Instructor Duan's separate courtyard, holding the thin martial arts manual pressed against his chest, Shen Xiu still felt a sense of unreality.
He had merely paid a visit to Instructor Duan, and now he was in possession of a saber technique approaching the Xuan grade?
Shen Xiu pinched the corner of the booklet in his arms, feeling that the manual carried a certain weight. Duàn Hóngfēi had simply told him to practice with peace of mind, and that when the right time came—when the right day arrived—he should pass this technique on to the next suitable person.
Back in his courtyard, Shen Xiu immediately opened the saber manual. Its full title appeared to be the Blood Battle Saber Technique.
True to its name, this saber technique manifested like a torrent of blood when unleashed, growing bolder and fiercer with every drop of blood spilled. It was truly ferocious in the extreme.
The manual recorded everything in meticulous detail—so detailed that every single movement, every variation, and the exact angles for exerting force were clearly marked out, making it quite effortless for Shen Xiu to practice.
Half an hour later, in the secluded courtyard.
Having practiced the techniques movement by movement, Shen Xiu finally managed to replicate the final variation of the saber technique in a passable manner.
Of course, lacking an actual saber, he was only holding a wooden training blade, which made it look somewhat lacking in lethality.
Following a familiar, pleasing tremor across the interface screen, a new line of text quietly appeared in the blank space under the martial arts section without any surprises.
[Martial Arts:]
[Blood Battle Saber Technique: 1st Layer, Initial Mastery 0.1%]
Shen Xiu had successfully added the skill.
Having become a full member of the martial arts hall and freed from the entanglement of various miscellaneous chores, Shen Xiu found his time more abundant than ever before.
After adding the saber technique skill, he spent the entire morning staying in his separate courtyard, stumbling and fumbling his way through the practice of the Blood Battle Saber Technique. Moving from unfamiliarity to familiarity, his proficiency climbed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
It was only when he had practiced to the point of complete exhaustion, drenched in sweat, that he finally stopped.
Realizing it was time for the midday meal, he rested for a moment before setting off for the dining hall reserved for full disciples.
Upon arriving at the dining hall, Shen Xiu gained an even deeper appreciation of the difference between full disciples and labor disciples.
The moment he stepped through the door, he was greeted by the pervasive aroma of fish and meat. A dazzling array of lavish dishes was set out in rows upon rows of basins on the back counter, freely available for the full disciples to take as they pleased.
Most of them were meat dishes, complete in appearance, color, and aroma, captivating the soul.
As for the Monster Tonic Soup that had previously cost him one coin per basin, here it was available in unlimited quantities to fill one's stomach.
Shen Xiu immediately scooped up a basin and found a corner to sit in, devouring it with absolute relish. After finishing, he went back for a second basin.
With two basins down, his hollow belly, fatigued from intense exercise, instantly bulged out. His whole body radiated heat, feeling warm and cozy.
Shen Xiu thought of his Golden Cicada, which had been starving for days, and asked if he could take some of this food away with him. The result was a flat refusal.
And understandably so; if people could really take the food outside, interested parties could easily profit from it. After all, the martial arts hall's ordinary medicinal soups still held a certain allure for outsiders.
With no other options, Shen Xiu could only head to the back kitchen to take a look.
Following the conclusion of the full disciple assessments, the rumors about medicinal dregs had gradually faded. After one labor disciple had eaten until he passed out, no one dared to consume the medicinal dregs anymore.
Such a period might last for a year or two, however, until a new batch of labor disciples was recruited, at which point the practice would likely resurface. After all, the world was nothing more than such a cycle.
The back kitchen had not yet reached its cleaning time, and there was still plenty of medicinal dreg left. He simply took an earthenware jar, filled it to the brim, and carried it away.
Steward Yú happened to be there, watching blankly as Shen Xiu walked in and took the medicinal dregs away. Faced with the Shen Xiu of today—who was no longer what he used to be—Steward Yú stood off to the side the entire time without daring to utter a single peep.
He could still discipline labor disciples, but full disciples were the backbone of the martial arts hall and candidates for true disciples; he no longer dared to put on airs in front of them.
Early in the morning, the sun climbed three poles high.
Shen Xiu, sleeping in warm bedding, suddenly bolted awake, only to realize he no longer needed to do rough labor.
Even so, Shen Xiu still got up to practice the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Skill once, feeling the daily growth in his physical body.
There was still a month before he formally had to fulfill his duties as a full disciple. During this month, he needed to improve everything he possibly could.
After all, he had no idea what kind of missions would be assigned when the time came, but an extra bit of strength meant an extra layer of safety.
Today, he planned to visit the medicine hall to collect a share of the Peiyuan Broth instructed by Instructor Duan and give it a try.
Following his memory, Shen Xiu arrived at the medicine hall.
Right then, he saw a thin, gaunt-faced elderly man standing inside the hall, directing numerous labor disciples in sorting herbs, refining medicine, and managing the fires.
As a large martial arts hall renowned both inside and outside Taixi City, hundreds of disciples practiced martial arts simultaneously every day, naturally resulting in massive consumption of medicinal broths and medicinal baths.
Consequently, the hall paid a high price to hire a pharmacist from Shanglin City in the prefectural capital to refine medicine here. This was truly a prominent figure whose daily work only required overseeing the key points; the rest of the time, he only needed to give verbal instructions.
The various physical and laborious tasks of handling things directly were naturally left to the other labor disciples.
Looking back, Shen Xiu had once been one of them, but coming here this time, his status had entirely changed.
"Disciple Shen Xiu has come to see Elder Yú to collect a portion of medicinal broth."
Walking up to the pharmacist, Shen Xiu bowed deeply and said.
Pharmacist Yú clearly did not recognize Shen Xiu, or perhaps even if he did, he didn't care much—after all, he had seen too many talented disciples.
"Take it yourself from the counter on the left."
Pharmacist Yú expressionlessly gave a slight nod, his eyes glancing toward the front.
Shen Xiu didn't mind. He walked over to the counter on the left, saw the neat rows of Peiyuan Broth, and picked up the bowl at the very front.
The Peiyuan Broth in the bowl gave off a fresh fragrance. As the extremely rich medicinal scent drilled into his nostrils, he immediately felt an indescribable wave of heat surging up within his body.
The scene felt terribly familiar.
He had experienced a similar sensation earlier when eating the Monster Tonic Soup in the dining hall. However, the difference was that the feeling from the Monster Tonic Soup was nothing compared to this—truly a case of a dwarf meeting a giant.
Still holding the jar of medicinal broth, Shen Xiu carried the Peiyuan Broth back to his small courtyard and decisively chugged it down in one breath.
Soon, Shen Xiu felt as though he had swallowed a giant fireball. From his stomach spreading outward to every corner of his body, a fierce and irresistible wave of heat erupted.
The Peiyuan Broth from the medicine hall was truly far too superior to the so-called Monster Tonic Soup.
Shen Xiu could only marvel that a pharmacist hailing from Shanglin City in the prefectural capital was indeed extraordinary.
Wasting no time, he refused to let the medicinal potency go to waste. Utilizing the heat coursing through his body right then and there in the secluded courtyard, he began practicing the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Skill, posture by posture.
Bolstered by the surging medicinal strength, Shen Xiu seemed completely immune to fatigue. He practiced it over and over again, and the proficiency on the light screen climbed upward at a speed he could never have imagined before.
Feeling the continuous strengthening of his physical body, he sensed he would soon be able to temper his physique a second time and step into the Body Tempering: Mid-Stage.