Chapter 20: Blade Technique, Minor Proficiency!

Chapter 20: Blade Technique, Minor Proficiency!

In the courtyard.

Jiang Ning grabbed another thick, heavy round log and placed it on the wooden post.

He raised his hand and brought the firewood-splitting blade down.

Crack!

The blade sank into the wood, penetrating nine-tenths of the way.

Jiang Ning exerted more force with his arm, and the thick log finally split into two.

[Firewood Splitting Blade Technique Experience +1]



Jiang Ning kicked the scattered pieces of wood to the side and picked up another thick, heavy log.

"With this efficiency, I should be able to max out these two hundred experience points tonight, right? With a minor proficiency in the firewood-splitting blade technique, I should be able to split the firewood with a single strike, shouldn't I?"

With the goal so close, Jiang Ning felt even more motivated as he thought about it.

Compared to the Five Beasts Fist, the firewood-splitting blade technique was undoubtedly much simpler to gain experience points.

Although the firewood-splitting blade technique was also quite useless, its effect on improving his strength was far inferior to the Five Beasts Fist.

However, in the face of this rapid experience point gain, the flaws of the firewood-splitting blade technique could be completely accepted.

Regarding this blade technique, Jiang Ning held high expectations.

Previously, the Literacy and Text Comprehension technique's breaking limit had granted him a trait, photographic memory, and he also eagerly anticipated the firewood-splitting blade technique's breaking limit.

With such expectations, Jiang Ning held the firewood-splitting blade and repeatedly brought it down.

[Firewood Splitting Blade Technique Experience +1]



[Firewood Splitting Blade Technique Experience +1]



[...]



[Skills]: Firewood Splitting Blade Technique (Proficiency 86/200)



Jiang Ning glanced at his skill panel and took a short break.

During this rest, he picked up a book from the side, one he had brought with him when he left home earlier. Its purpose was to gain experience points for Literacy and Text Comprehension while recovering his strength.

This would not only increase his knowledge but also slowly strengthen his spirit, commonly known as mental energy.

Furthermore, he also eagerly anticipated the next breaking limit of Literacy and Text Comprehension.

Based on his speculation, each subsequent breaking limit would grant him a new trait.

[Literacy and Text Comprehension Experience +1]



[Literacy and Text Comprehension Experience +1]



[...]



[Skills]: Literacy and Text Comprehension (One Breaking Limit 93/2000) (Trait: Photographic Memory)



Jiang Ning glanced at his panel and nodded in satisfaction.

He could see his gradual progress, especially since the goal was visible and tangible, and every bit of effort brought him closer to his objective, which made him feel a little obsessed.

Ever since he learned that breaking limits after mastering a skill would grant traits, his expectations had grown even higher.

After his break, Jiang Ning continued the firewood-splitting task.

With each strike, as the wood split, he felt subtle changes.

His hands became steadier, his blade more precise, and his force more fluid.

When the full moon hung on the treetops, Jiang Ning glanced at his skill panel, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

[Skills]: Firewood Splitting Blade Technique (Proficiency 199/200)



"Just one more point of experience to go!"

He placed a thick, heavy log on the wooden post and straightened it.

Then, holding the firewood-splitting blade, he swung it down.

Whoosh!

The sound of the blade cutting through the air suddenly rang out.

Crack!

The heavy blade nearly split the entire log in one strike, leaving only a tiny connection, clearly indicating that his arm strength was slightly stronger than before.

Although the enhancement was not very noticeable, it was quite evident.

After all, at this moment, having split nearly two hundred pieces of firewood in a short time, his arms were already feeling fatigued, and his hands trembled and went numb, making it impossible to exert his full strength from his prime.

But even in this state, the blade's cut was deeper than before, almost reaching a depth of nine-tenths.

Then, as he exerted force with his arm, the entire log completely split in two.

[Firewood Splitting Blade Technique Experience +1]



At this moment, the prompt appeared, indicating a qualitative change, and the firewood-splitting blade technique on his panel changed from proficiency to minor proficiency.

[Skills]: Firewood Splitting Blade Technique (Minor Proficiency 0/500)



Jiang Ning's mind quickly flashed through the two hundred strikes he had just executed.

How to exert force with each strike, how to land each strike, his mind constantly corrected and refined.

Finally, countless images merged into one, a single image of a blade slicing through the air and landing on the log.

Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes, and a glint of blade light seemed to flash through his eyes.

The next moment, he gripped the firewood-splitting blade and brought it down on the log on the wooden post.

Whoosh!

The blade sliced through the air and landed precisely in the center of the log.

Crack!

With the sound of breaking, the log that had been difficult to cut before was cleanly split in two by his blade.

【Firewood Splitting Blade Technique Experience +1】

"It's truly different now!" Jiang Ning gripped the firewood cleaver in his hand and waved it casually a few times.

He then grabbed a round log and steadied it, aiming at a black line on the log.

Swish—

The cleaver descended once more.

It landed precisely on the black line.

Crack—

The log was cleanly split in two again by his skilled hands.

【Firewood Splitting Blade Technique Experience +1】

"The Minor Success level of the Firewood Splitting Blade Technique is indeed different! Not only is the force greater, but my eyes and hands are perfectly coordinated, without the slightest deviation. With this efficiency, my experience points for this skill will also increase faster."

Jiang Ning nodded in great satisfaction.

Afterwards, he glanced at the full moon hanging high above.

"It's getting late!" He muttered, "I can only practice two more rounds of the Five Beasts Fist before going to sleep!"

Under the bright moonlight, Jiang Ning decided to practice the Five Beasts Fist right there, finding a spacious area to begin his training.

With the threat of Xu Yunfeng, Cao Bin, and possibly even the Divine Worship Sect looming, Jiang Ning couldn't afford to relax.

His older brother had taken out loans to give him this opportunity to rise above his station.

【Five Beasts Fist Experience +1】

【Five Beasts Fist Experience +1】

After two rounds of practice, Jiang Ning's skin turned slightly red, and his sweat completely soaked his tight clothing. Steam rose from his head.

"The Five Beasts Fist truly consumes a lot of stamina!" Jiang Ning shook his head helplessly.

Despite already feeling somewhat fatigued, after practicing the Five Beasts Fist twice more, even with the large amount of energy he had consumed in the evening and some precious earth mushrooms, he still felt weak.

Clenching his fist, he could feel the vital energy force circulating within his body.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly, "I've condensed two more strands of vital energy force. The Five Beasts Fist, as a foundational martial technique, is indeed far superior to the Firewood Splitting Blade Technique. Although progress is challenging, the rewards are well worth the effort."

【Skills】: Five Beasts Fist (Beginner 24/100)



After checking the progress of the Five Beasts Fist, the skill panel disappeared from Jiang Ning's vision.

"I've made more than a quarter of the progress. With today's efficiency, I should be able to break through to proficiency in the Five Beasts Fist in about three days. By then, my vital energy will be even more abundant. But three days later, the medicinal ingredients will be a problem!"

Thinking of this issue, Jiang Ning frowned.

The reason for his efficient progress today was largely due to the ginseng.

The medicinal power of the ginseng allowed him to endure another round of Five Beasts Fist practice.

Without the support of the ginseng, Jiang Ning felt that his training frequency would have to be reduced by at least half, or even to only a third of today's efficiency.

This wasn't just speculation.

The strength, agility, and physical quality improvements brought about by practicing the Five Beasts Fist were far superior to ordinary exercise.

Moreover, it could even condense a unique power, the vital energy force.

Such an intense method of improvement would undoubtedly put a lot of strain on the body.

Without the support of restorative medicine, one could only control the frequency and slowly improve their physique like grinding a millstone. Only then could they avoid overtraining their bodies.

But in the current situation, Jiang Ning couldn't bear the slow progress.

Xu Yunfeng's threat loomed large in the short term.

Jiang Ning was well aware that Xu Yunfeng, in his ambition to climb the ladder of success, to make achievements, and to join the powerful Cao family, would gradually lose patience.

Especially after his older brother failed the year-end assessment and lost his official record, Xu Yunfeng's patience would wear even thinner.

Normally, his brother would lose his official record at the end of the year if he failed the assessment.

But with Cao Bin backing Xu Yunfeng, and the Cao family backing Cao Bin, the situation was different.

The Cao family controlled Luoshui County's mines, water transportation, and population registry. As one of the local powers in Luoshui County, their influence was unimaginable.

Once they took action, it wouldn't take long for his brother's official record to be revoked, and he might even be thrown into prison.

So Jiang Ning wasn't sure how much time he had left.

After living in this world for more than two months, he had already accepted his brother's sacrifices to give him this opportunity. His own safety was no longer a concern.

But he couldn't bear to watch his family in this life face such a crisis.

I must accelerate my progress. Only by mastering the Five Beasts Fist can I pass Wang Jin's assessment and become his direct disciple.

Only then can I protect my brother's family!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end