7: Chapter 7 Technique Fusion

After finishing his lunch, Lin Qing paid the bill and stood up to leave the bustling restaurant.

The afternoon sun was already a bit harsh, and the number of pedestrians on the street had thinned. He followed the same path back to his small courtyard and closed the gate, shutting out the outside clamor.

Unfortunately, there were no large trees near the courtyard, and the walls weren't high. Lin Qing could only continue refining the Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art by the base of the wall. Luckily, this technique didn't involve large, sweeping movements; otherwise, this small patch of shade wouldn't have been enough for him to practice.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Lin Qing followed a strict routine: eating, practicing, and sleeping.

Returning from the restaurant at noon on the first day, he practiced for four hours in the afternoon, increasing his progress by 16 points. After dinner, he practiced for another two hours, increasing it by 8 points.

On the second day, he practiced for a full ten hours, increasing his progress by 40 points. Today was the afternoon of the third day, and his progress had reached 99/100.

The sun gradually dipped toward the west, casting a warm yellow glow into the small courtyard. Lin Qing slowly pulled back his arms, exhaled his final breath, and steadily concluded his practice.

Suddenly, Lin Qing felt a subtle change in his body.

His entire body felt as if it were tightly wrapped in a forest breeze, the warmth of the fields, and the gentle ripples of a river. A continuous stream of fresh vitality seeped slowly through the texture of his skin, flowing into his limbs and bones, making every inch of his frame pulse with vigorous life.

With a thought, the pale blue panel lit up before his eyes. The text for 'Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art' in the Recorded Techniques column was slowly fading and reappearing in another position.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Mortal (Breakthrough Time: ∞)

Fused Cultivation Techniques: Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art (Expand)

Recorded Cultivation Techniques: Pure Harmony Nourishing Essence Technique (0/90), Meridian-Soothing Mind-Calming Technique (0/90), Spleen Strengthening Health Preservation Technique (0/90)

Seeing the changes on the panel, a flicker of joy flashed in Lin Qing's eyes.

At this moment, he finally understood what the 'Fused Cultivation Techniques' column meant. The Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art had merged into his body, becoming an instinct. It now circulated continuously within him at a rate of one cycle every fifteen minutes.

This was the true power of his System. From the information he had overheard at the restaurant that day, he had learned a bit about how Martial Artists Cultivate.

For example, the Stance Trainings used to advance to a Martial Artist didn't mean you could become one just by training it to Perfection. You also had to strengthen your body through continuous practice until it reached a certain level of intensity before you could seek a Breakthrough.

The proficiency of different Stance Trainings only affected the efficiency of strengthening the body. This was easy to understand using knowledge from his previous life.

If you knew how to do the most standard push-ups, it didn't mean you would immediately have perfect pectoral muscles. You still needed persistent practice to grow your chest muscles.

Stance Trainings in this world were a similar 'method of training.' Different techniques had a ceiling for the efficiency of tempering the body. When your mastery of a technique reached this ceiling, it meant you had reached Perfection in that technique.

Feeling his blood and Qi more abundant than before, and the increasingly sturdy sensation in his bones and muscles, he clenched his fist, clearly sensing a bit of strength coming from his palm.

However, he also knew that this health preservation technique alone was not enough to make him an official Martial Artist. The Breakthrough time on the panel said it all; even if the Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art circulated continuously twenty-four hours a day, he would never become a Martial Artist in this lifetime.

To truly become a Martial Artist, he had to learn more profound Cultivation Techniques. The Stance Trainings of the Four Major Martial Arts Halls were the best choice at the moment.

He glanced at the panel again, about to close it, when he suddenly noticed some other changes. Had the requirement for the number of times for those three health preservation techniques he had recorded but not yet practiced decreased?

If he remembered correctly, all four techniques were followed by 100 before, meaning that practicing them 100 times would bring them to Perfection. Now, the remaining three techniques were all followed by 90.

The change must have occurred after the Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art reached Perfection. After some careful thought, he had a few guesses.

The first possibility was that these health preservation techniques had commonalities. After reaching Perfection in the Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art, he could apply those principles to other similar techniques, speeding up his cultivation progress.

If it was the second possibility, the upper limit of his martial path would be infinitely raised. That was, as a Perfection-level technique merged into his body, his Aptitude had improved.

There was no point in overthinking it. Once he recorded a few more techniques, he would be able to test it out.

Now that his body was no longer weak and would continue to get healthier as the Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art integrated, it was time to consider the matter of the martial arts hall.

As he walked toward the small restaurant where he usually ate, he pondered.

The Panshi Martial Arts Hall had the most solid reputation and was the goal he had selected from the beginning.

As long as one was willing to endure hardship, the Hall Master would pass the Stance Training to them. Most of the apprentices in the martial arts hall were honest people from common backgrounds, making it unlikely for so-called class discrimination to occur, which would save him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Having made up his mind, Lin Qing decided to go to the Panshi Martial Arts Hall tomorrow to seek apprenticeship.

After dinner, Lin Qing did not slack off. Instead, he began cultivating another health preservation technique—the Pure Harmony Nourishing Essence Technique.

The Pure Harmony Nourishing Essence Technique wasn't much different from the Clear Mind Health Cultivation Art; a complete practice session also took about fifteen minutes.

After practicing for two hours, his progress increased by 8 points. After a quick wash, Lin Qing slowly fell asleep.

In the morning, he practiced the technique twice as usual and then had breakfast. After returning to the small courtyard, he took out his silver to count it.

The silver his father left behind amounted to over eleven taels, and the land deed had sold for three taels. Since coming to the county town, he had spent three taels on rent, two mace on books, and over two taels on daily necessities, clothes, and bedding. Over the past few days, he had spent over five hundred copper coins on food, mainly because he had spent a bit more at the large restaurant that noon. He had eight taels and two mace of silver left, along with two hundred copper coins.

After tidying his clothes, he pushed open the courtyard gate and walked toward the Panshi Martial Arts Hall.