Like last time, Wang Anfeng had slept for several hours before waking up. It was only after drinking Wu Changqing's medicinal porridge that he returned to Great Liang Village.
Although he was no longer sleepy, he had been taught by Ci that "haste makes waste." Since it was not suitable to cultivate during this time, he simply started a fire. With nothing else to do, he closed his eyes slightly and reflected on today's battles, which could be called brutal, unwillingly trying to find a way to win.
What young person would enjoy being beaten all the time?
The pain in his body made him extremely clear about where he had made mistakes, and his youthful unwillingness continually made him reflect and question himself.
Back then, if that move had been executed a bit faster, would he not have been put in a passive position?
If he had retained some strength in his attack, could his defense have been sharper?
The more he thought about it, other things emerged in his mind. He suddenly realized that the moves that had defeated him could be completely integrated into his own tactics to break the moves of other opponents.
His heart suddenly enlightened, he felt a burst of elation, and he firmly bit his teeth mentally.
As if he had found a game full of challenges and fun, Wang Anfeng kept thinking in this sleepy village, imagining the movements in his mind.
Time passed quickly. The task was quite mentally taxing, and after the excitement, Wang Anfeng felt a bit tired. He simply got up, planning to take a short nap. His gaze fell on the brocade box still on the table, causing him a bit of a headache.
Since he had already accepted it, it naturally wouldn't be good to return it.
The gauntlets could be used directly, and if nothing else, the ginseng could be used to stew chicken, but he wondered what the use of the ointment in those three porcelain bottles was?
That day Qin Fei had intended to tell him in person about the uses of the First Rank Blood Jade Ointment, but at that moment, seeing Xuan Chengzi after a long time, filled with excitement, he naturally forgot, leading to Wang Anfeng now looking at the ointment and not knowing how to proceed. After some thought, he muttered to himself:
"Since it's medicine… well, my second Master is proficient in medicine, maybe next time I'll take it to him to see..."
Having made up his mind, he lay on the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, it was another extremely strict cultivation session. The insights from last night had an effect in actual combat, giving him a slight edge, but as soon as he gained a slight advantage, it seemed that his opponents guessed his intentions, and Wang Anfeng once again experienced a situation akin to being ruthlessly dominated.
Feeling somewhat annoyed and puzzled, he asked Ci during a healing session. The latter's reply was that those "Shaolin disciples" had all spent unimaginable amounts of time in combat, night and day, all just to seize a momentary opportunity in a flash.
Wang Anfeng scratched his head and said:
"Less than a moment's time?"
"To spend such a long time just for something that lasts less than a moment, isn't that quite uneconomical?"
Ci looked at him and laughed:
"Anfeng, do you think that's very short?"
The youth, curious, said:
"Isn't a moment's time short? What can be accomplished in that time?"
The monk's smile faded as he looked at him and said softly:
"It can decide victory or defeat, life or death."
"Alright, go back to your cultivation..."
Wang Anfeng opened his mouth, feeling slightly stirred inside. There seemed to be something in those eight characters that he could not fully comprehend. Not knowing whether it was due to his emotional changes, he felt his shoulders seemed heavier by a fraction, and a sense of self-reproach and guilt arose in his heart.
The chains on his body were still the same ones he had worn previously and had not been taken off.
But so much time had passed, and yet the oppressive force had not lessened at all. Feeling that weight, he had never heard of chains that could increase their weight on their own. He hadn't considered this possibility before, only assuming that his lack of progress in cultivation was due to his slackness.
He had fallen far short of what his master and senior fellow apprentices had achieved, according to what his Master had said.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Anfeng clenched his right fist and looked towards the tightly closed door.
This time, he must endure just one more breath.
At the end of the day, unbeknownst to Wang Anfeng whose chains had secretly increased from 600 jin to 700 jin, he, driven by a strong will, lasted 87 breaths against the Shaolin disciple ranked 3,400.
He took thirty-seven punches and seven elbows.
Because of his reflections from the previous day, he found a flaw as his opponent was retracting a move and instinctively executed the Spirit Snake Seeking Gap Whip Technique. The heavy chains roared like a giant python, striking the Shaolin disciple in the chest. Wang Anfeng had not yet seen the result when he fell into unconsciousness.
He also did not see the tall Shaolin disciple's figure slowly shatter, while on either side the red candles flickered silently, with only a grand and solemn voice echoing through Copper Man Lane:
"First round, the winner is Wang Anfeng."
"Wang Anfeng is unconscious."
"Anfeng, have you awakened?"
Master Ci's voice roused Wang Anfeng from his deep slumber. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the familiar face of Wu Changqing, saying,
The elder raised his hand to stop the youth from getting up, brought over a bowl of medicinal porridge, and said with a smile,
"Here, try this and see if it suits your taste today."
Wang Anfeng took the medicinal porridge and began to eat several mouthfuls, then gobbled it down, causing the elder beside him to smile at the wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, repeatedly saying,
"Eat slowly, eat slowly... Ah, no one is competing with you, there's no hurry, there's more in the pot if it's not enough."
"If it really comes to it, you can come here every day, and this old man will cook for you to help nourish your body..."
The youth's eyes lit up, and he raised his head with a clear longing and joy on his face, yet he hesitated and said,
"Is that possible? Mr. Ying didn't mention that I couldn't stay here too long..."
The old man laughed and said, "What does eating a meal cost you in terms of time?"
Wang Anfeng, encouraged by these words, looked around and asked,
"Then... where are Master and Mr. Ying?"
Wu Changqing furrowed his white brows and said,
"I really don't know about that; perhaps they have other matters."
Wang Anfeng slowly nodded, no longer pressing the issue as if he had remembered something else, and said, "Oh right, Second Master, did you see the medicine I brought today?"
The elder laughed and said, "I was just about to talk to you about that. You want to ask me how to use that medicine... I have already written the instructions on a piece of paper, just follow those directions. Also, there's another matter."
"If you have enough silver coins, buy a tael of each type of herbal material from the barefoot doctor in Great Liang Village."
"Second Master is somewhat interested."
Wang Anfeng nodded in agreement, but before he could speak, the scene before his eyes suddenly blurred. His head spun, and the next instant, he was back in a room in Great Liang Village, slightly stunned, with a blank expression.
Meanwhile, in Shaolin Temple, the door was pushed open, cold wind swept in with frost and snow, and a scholar in a green robe strode in, his handsome features looking even grimmer, and a faint bruise on the corner of his mouth appeared particularly jarring.
Wu Changqing was slightly taken aback, sensing the qi force and hesitantly said,
"... Shaolin Vajra Palm Force?"
Mr. Ying gave a cold laugh and said nothing. A serene voice came from outside,
"Indeed it's the Great Strength Vajra Palm."
The elder turned his head to see Circle Ci entering the room, his monk's robe frayed, and a sword cut on his arm, which, although not bleeding, was strikingly conspicuous. Mr. Ying snorted coldly, flung his robe, ignored Circle Ci, and turned to look at Wu Changqing and said,
"Old Dao, you want that lad to find medicine... what for?"
The elder stroked his beard and said,
"I was just about to discuss this with the two of you. The prescription Anfeng showed me today was very skillfully crafted, but the properties of the herbs differ from those in my homeland. His cultivation is deepening; it is time to start the medicinal baths to build a body impervious to all poisons. The old man must understand the properties of this world's medicines to begin."
"Furthermore, having more medicines can facilitate further variations in the medicinal baths. It's just that the Great Liang Village is quite remote, and there may not be many herbs available... frankly speaking, having seen that ointment today, I have grown quite interested in the medical recipes and pharmacopoeias of this world.
I thought I had mastered all there was to know about medicine, yet unexpectedly, this world offers something completely different. Interesting, very interesting."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Ying also looked solemn, thought for a moment, and nodded, saying,
"No issue; Jiang Shouyi's collection is not extensive, and I have almost finished reading it. It's the right time for the youngster to head into the city."
"If he is continually defeated without courage, he will never become the greatest in the world."
"Let him try out the techniques he learned in Copper Man Lane on others, so he doesn't have to doubt the usefulness of what he learned."
Thinking of the city's herbs, Wu Changqing said with a smile,
"That would be for the best."
Beside them, the monk closed his eyes and softly recited a Buddhist chant.