Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World-Chapter 100 - 99: Surging Proficiency
The results were far beyond Cheng Zongyang’s expectations.
He had anticipated the concentrated medicinal meal would be effective, but he never imagined it would be *this* good. It was so potent it shocked him to the core.
A surging tide of Energy coursed through his body. But he was in the middle of his medicinal bath and couldn’t get out; all he could do was grit his teeth and endure.
The fiery sensation from the bath stimulated and tempered his muscles, while the Energy within him continuously refined his vitality.
These medicinal meals were meant to replenish one’s vitality.
Body Forging didn’t just temper the physical body; it also consumed vitality while simultaneously refining it.
With one process consuming and the other replenishing, the two complemented each other perfectly, greatly accelerating his Body Forging. It was no longer just tempering his muscles and sinews as before.
However, the sensation of being overstuffed to the point of bursting was incredibly uncomfortable. He had no choice but to bear it.
At the same time, he summoned his virtual panel. Since he couldn’t see it, he switched to voice prompts.
The moment it activated, a voice announced, "Body Refining Skill, proficiency +1."
He immediately began counting.
He discovered that it increased by one point every thirty seconds.
He was thrilled by this rate of progress.
Two points a minute, one hundred and twenty an hour.
This was more than ten times faster than his previous rate of progress!
’I was right not to sell the Exotic Beast Flesh! The effect is incredible when combined with the Centennial Ginseng Root!’ Cheng Zongyang was ecstatic.
Time ticked by.
An hour later, as the medicinal broth cooled and the liquid cleared, the bath was over.
When Cheng Zongyang got to his feet, he found the Energy was still surging endlessly within him.
He wiped the water from his face and summoned the interface to check.
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...
Martial Arts:
Body Refining Skill (335/1000, Beginner’s Practice)
Basic Saber Technique (300/1000, Beginner’s Practice)
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A sharp glint appeared in Cheng Zongyang’s eyes as he looked at the massive jump in proficiency from the past hour.
He didn’t hesitate. After stepping out of the tub, he stood before a tree and began pounding his body. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
As his training progressed, the internal Energy rapidly replenished the vitality he expended while conditioning his body.
Now, the proficiency notifications had slowed to about one point per minute.
Even so, this was still a considerable improvement over his previous rate.
The tree trunk trembled, and a series of impact sounds echoed through the woods.
This continued for half an hour, and Cheng Zongyang only stopped his pounding once the warm current inside him subsided.
Seeing his progress increase by another thirty points, Cheng Zongyang let out a soft breath.
’This Exotic Beast Flesh is extraordinary. If I come across more in the future, it’s best to save it to speed up my training.’
He looked at his reddened limbs. They didn’t have the usual throbbing ache, which meant the strength of his Physique had improved.
’It’s a shame I don’t have much ginseng left. It’ll probably be gone after two more uses.’ Cheng Zongyang felt a pang of regret. But then a thought struck him. ’With two more sessions like this, I estimate I can break through to the Eighth Grade Muscle Strengthening Realm!’
At the Eighth Grade, he would finally have some real standing within Jade Peak County.
Of course, his shortcoming was still his fighting style. He still needed to train his Saber Technique and Body Technique a lot more.
Now that he had fish as a source for farming Points, he felt less pressure for the time being.
After his body calmed down, Cheng Zongyang began to organize the Medicinal Materials he had gathered.
He decided not to spend Points to identify these Medicinal Materials for now. Instead, he would take them out and let his second uncle take a look.
He could do his regular training out in the open from now on; it wouldn’t matter if his family saw him. In fact, it might even serve as a good example for the elders and his brothers in the family.
Due to the lingering effects of the medicinal meal, he still felt full. He went outside and began to organize all his items.
Here were most of the supplies from his second uncle’s house: daily necessities like rice and flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, bolts of cloth, books, Medicinal Materials, tools, and utensils.
He needed to move all of these things outside at once. That was why he had told his family he would need so much time.
As the wall clock struck 11 PM, Cheng Zongyang had finally finished organizing everything.
In the remaining time, he started working on building the wooden house.
The night passed peacefully.
The next morning, Cheng Zongyang looked at the frame of the second wooden house next to the first warehouse and nodded in satisfaction.
Overnight, he had already erected the main roof frame for this wooden house of over one hundred square meters. But he hadn’t laid the bamboo tiles yet.
Last night, he had spent some time shaving a pile of long bamboo stalks, splitting them evenly in half, and removing the inner nodes, preparing them for the roof. They would provide decent waterproofing.
Checking the time, Cheng Zongyang put down the Firewood Knife in his hand and walked towards the small cabin to see what items had refreshed for the day.
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[Tiger Bone Wine]
Description: A medicinal wine made by soaking Tiger Bone and seventeen types of Medicinal Materials in high-proof liquor for two years. It can strengthen muscles and bones and enhance vitality.
Quantity: 5 (pounds)
Points: 50
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[Universal Three-Fold Coupon]
Description: A special and rare discount coupon. Allows the purchase of a target item at three-tenths of its original price.
Quantity: 1
Points: 300
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[Beast Trap]
Description: A large Beast Trap made from special metal materials, featuring high concealment and high lethality.
Quantity: 1
Points: 10
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Looking at these three newly refreshed items, Cheng Zongyang’s gaze was fixed squarely on the discount coupon.
’Three-tenths the price?’
An item worth five hundred Points could be bought for just one hundred and fifty!
’What a great item!’
Without a second thought, Cheng Zongyang bought it.
’It’s not worth using on low-cost items, but for something with a high Point cost, it’s perfect!’
’If a high-Point item shows up one day, this will be a huge windfall.’
As for the Tiger Bone Wine, he bought it after a moment’s thought.
Fifty Points.
He still had sixty Points left, which was enough.
’Is the Stone Ring deliberately targeting my Point balance?’
’It seems determined to drain my Points every single time!’
He’d thought having three hundred and sixty Points would give him some breathing room. But as it turned out, the newly refreshed items were priced just right to wipe him out, giving him no chance to save up.
’And this Beast Trap... why is it so expensive?’
In the end, looking at the "high concealment" and "high lethality" in the description, he gave in to his curiosity and spent his remaining ten Points on the Beast Trap.
’Well, it’s a refreshed item. I might have a use for it later.’
But when he saw the Beast Trap’s size and the accompanying diagram, his expression twitched.
It was a thing one meter in diameter and two meters long... no, it was a flower. A flower with eight petals.
At its base was a long metal rod, meant to be driven into the ground to anchor it.
The terrifying part was that the eight petals were covered in needle-like spikes. Though they were only about a centimeter long, they were densely packed on each petal, like the spines on a cactus.
’This is a Beast Trap??’
After reading the description and instructions on the diagram, Cheng Zongyang wore a very strange expression.
’Has my idea of a ’beast trap’ become outdated?’
The operation was simple enough—press the base to open it. However, if something were to be caught by those eight petals...
The mere thought of what would happen if those countless needles pierced one’s entire body... sent a shiver down Cheng Zongyang’s spine.
Most importantly, the device was highly concealable.
It used a form of optical camouflage; when laid on the ground, it would refract the surrounding light, effectively becoming invisible.
Stepping on just one of the petals would trigger the mechanism, causing it to snap shut.
’This thing... even a tiger would be pinned down and killed by it, right? And even if it escaped the Beast Trap with brute force, it would probably have to leave its skin behind!’
Suddenly, he felt that ten Points for this Beast Trap might have been a little too cheap.
