Chapter 275: New Traits, Writing the Fist Manual!

Chapter 275: New Traits, Writing the Fist Manual!



Inside the room, Jiang Ning sat by the fireplace, his brush dancing in his hand with ease, each stroke as sharp as a sword's edge, creating characters filled with vigor on the paper.

Rustling sounds filled the air as Lu Yi quietly ground the ink beside him.

The black ink gradually spread and soaked into the paper.

After grinding the ink for a while, she added small pieces of wood to the nearby ceramic stove.

Steam rose from the stove, making gurgling sounds.

A moment later, the water in the kettle began to boil.

Hearing the sound, Lu Yi momentarily paused her ink grinding.

She took some tea leaves from the tea table using a spoon and placed them into a tea bowl, covering it with the lid slightly askew.

Then, she picked up the kettle, and the snow-like water inside had reached a rolling boil.

The tea in the bowl was aged tea, which required boiling water to unlock its rich aroma.

Lu Yi poured the boiling water from the kettle along the edge of the bowl, causing the tea leaves to swirl and release their essence.

The tea-making technique she was using was known as "Phoenix Three Nods."

The Phoenix Three Nods technique involved lifting the kettle high and pouring the water straight down, then using wrist strength to repeatedly lift and pour the water three times, making the tea leaves dance in the water, ensuring even heating.

This demonstrated that Lu Yi had received extensive training at the Ten Thousand Flowers Tower.

She was also quite skilled in the art of tea-making.

Jiang Ning, focused on his task, continued writing with his brush, occasionally seeing prompts appear before him.

[Scholarly Insight Experience +2]



[Scholarly Insight Experience +1]



[Scholarly Insight Experience +2]



[.]



Since he started writing the revised Five Animal Fist manual, these prompts had been appearing from time to time.

After seeing these prompts, his motivation soared.

Writing the improved Five Animal Fist manual not only didn't waste time but also provided an unexpected joy—earning Scholarly Insight experience.

This way, he could improve his skills faster instead of wasting time.

After briefly paying attention, he realized that this method of practicing Scholarly Insight was far more efficient than his usual reading.

The improvement in Scholarly Insight would enhance his psychical power and unlock new traits.

He vividly remembered the last time he broke through in this skill; the trait he gained increased his comprehension.

With this comprehension-boosting trait, his efficiency in practicing other martial arts skyrocketed.

It also transformed his psychical power, expanding its range from three feet away from his body to a hundred meters in radius.

This was indeed a significant improvement.

The growth in psychical power further increased his bone tempering efficiency, allowing him to forge thirteen bones simultaneously.

This alone was thirteen times more efficient than an ordinary Sixth Rank Warrior.

It was evident that breaking through Scholarly Insight brought immense benefits.

As the saying goes, sharpening the axe won't delay the task of chopping wood.

With his iron bones already forged, he was at the Sixth Rank of the Martial Dao, only a step away from casting jade bones.

If he could break through Scholarly Insight once more, his psychical power would surge, and the efficiency of casting jade bones would skyrocket.

With these thoughts in mind, he was in no rush.

He prepared to wholeheartedly complete the Five Animal Fist manual.

After writing another full page.

Huff!

Jiang Ning exhaled a mouthful of stale breath.

He put down his brush and rotated his wrist 360 degrees to stretch it.

At the same time, he opened his panel to check his stats.

[Skills]: Scholarly Insight (Four Times Breaking Limits 2637/5000) (Traits: Photographic Memory, Extraordinary Senses, Sharp Mind, Exceptional Comprehension)



Scholarly Insight's experience was already over halfway to the next level.

Not far from the fifth time breaking limits.

The required Origin Points for the fifth time breaking limits were not many, only 200 Origin Points, and his current Origin Points exceeded 200.

[Origin Points]: 313.77

"Young Master, the tea water is ready!" Lu Yi noticed Jiang Ning's pause and promptly brought the tea bowl she had set aside to him.

Jiang Ning took the tea bowl from Lu Yi.

He opened the lid and gently blew away the floating tea leaves.

Then, he took a small sip.

"Excellent!" Jiang Ning nodded in satisfaction. "Much more fragrant and rich than the tea I brewed before."

Lu Yi smiled serenely at his words.

"Young Master, I've studied tea-making for half a year. From now on, leave the tea-making to me!"

"Good!" Jiang Ning nodded. "I'll leave it to you."

"He took a few more sips, gently setting down the teacup.

Lifting his head, he glanced out the window once more.

The snow was still falling, but the wind had calmed significantly, no longer howling like ghosts and wolves. The rustling of tree branches outside was also inaudible.

'This weather is perfect for staying indoors and enjoying the snow!' Jiang Ning suddenly exclaimed.

Lu Yi chuckled softly, 'Who can argue with that? The sound of snow falling has its own unique charm.'

Jiang Ning smiled in response.

Then, he picked up his brush and continued writing the Five Animal Fist boxing manual.

[Scholarly Insight +2]



[Scholarly Insight +2]



[Scholarly Insight +1]



[.]



As he wielded the brush, the tip danced on the paper like a sword's edge, forming characters one by one.

Moments later, he began drawing patterns on the paper.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

There were only six days left until the New Year.

The snow outside had stopped the day before.

However, the sky remained overcast, with clouds blocking the sunlight completely.

During these two days, Jiang Ning had been unable to absorb the essence of the sun, hindering his progress in the Inner Essence Nourishing Art, an inner strength cultivation technique.

Jiang Ning was quite annoyed by this.

According to Ji Minghao, the eighth prince, the natural disasters of the past two years had been influenced by certain individuals.

He didn't care about the conflicts between the major powers.

But having his cultivation affected was something he found very displeasing.

His Inner Essence Nourishing Art was not far from reaching the state of mastery.

With his current efficiency, he would only need a little over a month to achieve this state.

Once mastered, the Inner Essence Nourishing Art would enable him to refine his inner breath to the level of the heavenly male aura.

At that time, his strength would greatly increase.

Yet, this weather was delaying the day he would achieve mastery.

For every day the sun didn't appear, his progress towards mastery was postponed by one day.

Whether it was snowing or the sky was overcast, it not only affected his mood but also prevented him from absorbing the essence of the sun, hindering his progress in the Inner Essence Nourishing Art.

Jiang Ning shook his head as he glanced at the overcast sky outside.

Then, he opened his panel to check his skills.

[Skills]: Scholarly Insight (4x Breaking Limits 4589/5000) (Characteristics: Photographic Memory, Heightened Senses, Quick Understanding)



'Only about four hundred points away from the experience required for the fifth limit break, not much left!'

Jiang Ning thought to himself.

He took a few sips of hot tea and rested for a moment.

Then, he wrote six large characters on the white paper.

The third level of the Five Animal Fist.

According to his limit breaks, he categorized the boxing techniques into levels.

After reaching perfection, he would take another step forward, entering the first level.

The third level was also where he could cultivate the fist formations.

[Scholarly Insight +2]



[Scholarly Insight +1]



[Scholarly Insight +1]



[.]



As he pondered, a slight frown appeared on his face. He wrote down his insights and realizations from his limit breaks, and as he did so, he felt as if countless flashes of inspiration were appearing in his mind.

He felt as if he had undergone a much longer cultivation journey than before.

The countless years of cultivation gave him new insights, understandings, and realizations about cultivation techniques.

This led to a qualitative leap from quantitative change.

At this moment, he was writing down all his insights, understandings, and realizations, allowing his thoughts to flow freely.

If others were to read this, they might find it somewhat chaotic and unstructured.

But Jiang Ning didn't mind.

He was doing this over the past few days as an experiment.

He wasn't entirely sure if it would work.

The unexpected increase in experience for his Scholarly Insight skill was a pleasant surprise.

It motivated him even more.

Several hours later, he finished writing.

He read through it from start to finish and nodded in satisfaction.

'Not bad!'

'Next, it's time for those five paintings!'

He set aside the boxing manual he had just written to dry and checked his panel again.

[Skills]: Scholarly Insight (4x Breaking Limits 4589/5000) (Characteristics: Photographic Memory, Heightened Senses, Quick Understanding)



Writing the third level of the Five Animal Fist boxing manual had increased his Scholarly Insight skill by another two hundred points.

He then took out a blank white scroll.

'Thicker ink!' Jiang Ning instructed.

Hearing this, Lu Yi nodded."

"Yes, Young Master!"

She then lifted her left hand, raising the wide sleeve of her right arm, and with it, the white undergarment that clung to her wrist.

Exposing a section of her frosty-white forearm, she held the ink stick with her right thumb, index, and middle fingers, gently lifting her ring finger to slowly grind the ink.

Scratch, scratch, scratch—

The rhythmic sound of grinding filled the air, without a hint of disorder.

Outside the window, an unusual tranquility prevailed.

Although the weather was gloomy, there was no wind or snow.

Moreover, the lake's surface was completely frozen, devoid of any sound of waves.

At this moment, Jiang Ning closed his eyes.

The first image that appeared in his mind was that of a tiger formed from raging flames.

In the tiger's pupils, a boundless rage burned.

As the king of beasts, a majestic roar echoing through the mountains, it was now trapped within a tiny cage.

Its freedom had been utterly taken away.

How could a king not be enraged by such a plight?

As anger accumulated, one day, it would break free from its confinement.

That day would mark the return of the king.

The Tiger Form was the first of the Five Animal Fists.

Jiang Ning continued to meditate on this trapped fire tiger, his mind's eye becoming increasingly clear.

There had never been a moment when it was more vivid.

He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to paint on the blank scroll.

The third level of the Five Animal Fists he had defined was the most crucial part—the fundamental diagram of the five viscera gods that had already formed in his mind.

Although he had studied traditional painting for a few months in his previous life, his skills were not exceptional, and he could only be considered a beginner.

However, he knew that traditional painting emphasized the spirit rather than the form.

The aesthetics of the painting were not as important as capturing the spirit within.

The trapped fire tiger he was painting was no exception, focusing on spirit and intent rather than form and style.

After a while, with his eyes still closed, Jiang Ning quickly completed a painting on the blank scroll.

It depicted a fierce tiger trapped within a cage.

At the same time, Green Ripple on his side watched this scene intently.

Then, she saw Jiang Ning dip his brush into the thick ink once more.

As Jiang Ning flicked his wrist, two drops of ink flew from the brush tip, precisely landing in the trapped tiger's pupils.

The ink spread, transforming into two blazing flames.

At that moment, Green Ripple saw a vivid image.

A ferocious tiger, its body engulfed in raging flames, was trapped within a tiny cage.

The king of beasts, once a majestic roar in the mountains, now raised its head and let out a roar filled with anger and defiance, its eyes reflecting an unyielding spirit.

Green Ripple couldn't help but take a step back in surprise.

Meanwhile, with his eyes still closed, Jiang Ning saw a prompt appear before him.

[Obtained new skill: Dao of Painting]



[Skill]: Dao of Painting (Beginner 1/100)



"Dao of Painting?"

"Is it the path of entering the Dao through painting?"

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

The appearance of the Dao of Painting skill didn't surprise him at all.

It wasn't unusual for painting to be recognized as a skill by the system.

Apart from this skill, he had numerous other skill guesses in mind.

However, having too many skills was meaningless to him.

After all, time was limited; there were only twenty-four hours in a day.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

This painting had consumed his heart and soul.

But he didn't know how well it had turned out.

After opening his eyes—

"Not bad!"

He nodded slightly.

With his mastery of martial arts, his control over his body had significantly improved.

As a result, his painting skills had also advanced.

It was common knowledge that fundamental skills were of utmost importance.

In his previous life, a great artist had dedicated day and night to practicing these fundamentals, tirelessly painting eggs to hone his skills.

The artist's efforts were all for the sake of mastering these basics.

Painting was the first fundamental skill.

However, because Jiang Ning had already achieved mastery in martial arts, his fundamentals were naturally not as solid, and his control over the brush was instinctive.

So, even without any practice, his painting skills had improved.

After a brief rest, he continued painting.

[Dao of Painting]



[Dao of Painting]



[Dao of Painting]



With each stroke of the brush, the experience points for the Dao of Painting skill kept increasing.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end