At night, after finishing his training, an exhausted Tang Wen lay on his bed and checked his Attributes:
[Name: Tang Wen]
[Age: 14 years, 11 months]
[Body: 2.10 → 2.11]
[Essence: 2.06 → 2.07]
[Skill: Farming, Master (719/1000)]
[Flying Locust Stone, Mastery (2891/3000)]
[Wind-breaking Blade, Master (913/1000)]
[Flying Knife Skill, Mastery (966/3000)]
[Eight Vajra Techniques, Master (2579/3000)]
[Health Maintenance Stance, Beginner (109/500)]
Through his training these past few days, his Constitution and Essence had once again increased by 0.01.
These two major Attributes were the foundation of all his Skills.
Even an increase of just 0.01 was something to be happy about.
In the morning, Tang Wen first performed the Eight Vajra Techniques three times, then held the Health Maintenance Stance for a quarter of an hour.
He discovered that combining this movement and stillness in his Cultivation yielded better results.
The Experience Points increased faster!
In the morning, he would have Sword Practice, first teaching Tangtang the moves.
The fastest way to master a Skill is to teach it to someone else while you are learning.
Sword Practice was the same. Without any mirrors around, it was difficult to correct his own movements.
But by watching someone else practice and correcting their details, he could reinforce his own understanding.
While teaching, Tang Wen's Sword Skill experience would occasionally increase by a point or two.
At noon, it was the Vajra Technique and the Health Maintenance Stance.
In the afternoon, after Tangtang finished the housework, the two of them continued their Sword Practice.
At night, the Vajra Technique and the Health Maintenance Stance.
So it went, day after day.
During his encounter with the Silver Wolf, there were two moments when Tang Wen truly thought he was going to die!
Now, a sense of urgency burned within him. He craved power, craved to become stronger.
SWOOSH!
He finished a set of his Sword Skill.
The long blade shattered the wooden post.
In the dead of winter, goose-feather snow drifted from the sky.
Yet Tang Wen wore only a single layer of clothing, his face flushed an unnatural red, and half a foot of hot steam rose from his head.
He couldn't afford to pay attention to changing his clothes. He hurriedly checked his Panel:
[Wind-breaking Blade, Master (1000/1000)]
'Still no breakthrough?'
Since yesterday—no, since the day before—his Experience Points had been stuck here. For the past two days, he had barely slept, training day and night.
This was the first time one of his Skills had hit a bottleneck since he got the Experience Panel.
His greatest advantage was having issues, leaving him feeling uncertain and even more frustrated.
'Train again!'
'I refuse to believe this!'
His eyes were bloodshot. With a loud THUD, he kicked away the training log, raised his blade, and started practicing again...
"Brother, rest for a bit! Please, rest! Look at the state you're in!"
"Huh?"
His sister's voice sounded strange. Tang Wen stopped and turned to look. Her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying.
"What's wrong?" Before he could finish, he felt his temples throb violently.
It was as if the blood vessels there were about to burst.
A pair of small hands grabbed his arm, pulling him into the house and over to the wooden basin used for washing faces.
The basin was filled with warm water, his reflection clear. 'Is this me?'
The person in the water had bloodshot eyes and a tightly furrowed brow, looking as if the whole world owed him a million bucks!
"Whew! Sis, I was too hasty. I'll wash my face and then go to sleep."
"Mhm," Tangtang's voice was choked with tears. "No, you have to eat first. Eat dinner, then sleep."
"Okay, fine." Only then did Tang Wen realize how starving he was.
He ate and drank his fill, then fell into a deep sleep.
He slept until the afternoon of the next day.
After waking up, he didn't get up, but instead lay lazily in bed, something he hadn't done in a long time.
'Hmm, if only I had a phone right now. I could play a few games before getting up.'
'My Flying Stone and Flying Blade practice have made my hand speed insane. I'd definitely make those guys call me daddy...'
'But speaking of which, why was there no bottleneck when my Flying Locust Stone and Flying Knife Skill went from Master to Mastery?'
'I didn't even do a lot of deliberate practice. I just used them every day while hunting, and they broke through naturally.'
'Is it because practice makes perfect? Is my Sword Skill still not proficient enough?'
'Or... is it because of my mentality?'
Tang Wen got dressed and out of bed.
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH.
The snow had stopped. Outside, his sister was sweeping the snow in the courtyard.
Tang Wen picked up his blade and observed it carefully.
He hadn't noticed before, but the thin edge of the blade was now covered in small nicks.
He took out the Sharpening Stone, sat on a small stool, and began to diligently sharpen the blade, stroke by stroke.
Under the effect of the water and the Sharpening Stone, the blade became as sharp as new.
Tang Wen stood up, stretched his limbs, and then, unhurriedly, began his moves.
A fierce forward chop, the Wind-breaking Blade. A low sweep to the waist, a new block made. Ride the wind's momentum, like leaves in a gale, Sweeping Thousand Armies, no foe can prevail...
A full set of the Sword Skill, performed with steadiness, smoothness, and incomparable fluidity.
Finishing the set felt like drinking a warm cup of herbal tea when thirsty.
[Wind-breaking Blade, Mastery (1/3000)]
It had broken through.
Looking again at the blade in his hand, it seemed to have a warmth to it, despite the freezing weather.
SLASH, SLASH, SLASH...
With several consecutive slashes, he cut the wooden post standing on the ground into several sections, yet the post merely swayed back and forth without falling over.
His speed and control over his power were now far beyond what they had been before.
Tangtang's Sword Skill had also become proficient, so she no longer needed much of his attention.
From then on, aside from his daily Sword Practice to consolidate his skill, Tang Wen dedicated more time to the Eight Vajra Techniques and the Health Maintenance Stance.
The Beginner Level Health Maintenance Stance was simple to level up.
It had already progressed to [Health Maintenance Stance, Beginner (438/500)].
'First, I'll level up the Pile Skill, then I'll go ask around when the city is recruiting Guards.'
Tang Wen set his goal, pulled the covers over his head, and prepared to sleep.
Suddenly, he threw back the covers and turned to look at his sister's small face. "Sis, I'll teach you the Pile Skill tomorrow."
"Huh? O-Okay." Tangtang was a little dazed.
As for whether Elder Li would mind, Tang Wen didn't think it would be a big deal. He already had the yellow goat at home ready for him; at worst, he'd just have to send an extra one.
After a few seconds of silence, Tangtang said, "Brother, you're not a kid anymore. Isn't it about time you found a wife?"
'Not a kid anymore?'
Tang Wen said, amused, "I'm not even fifteen yet."
"You'll be fifteen soon. It's the perfect time to get married. Everyone gets married at fourteen or fifteen..."
Tang Wen: "..."
'Who could possibly understand? In my past life, I was a twenty-eight-year-old leftover man, constantly pestered about getting married.'
'Now I've come to this world, I'm young, not a leftover man anymore, and I'm being pushed to get married before I'm even fifteen...'
Tangtang smiled and pulled up her covers to sleep.
Posture Stance.
Tang Wen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Exhale... inhale..."
His body followed the rhythm of his breath, sometimes relaxing, sometimes tensing.
Having overcome the bottleneck with his Sword Skill, his mindset became much more serene.
The moment he felt himself getting impatient for quick results and growing frustrated, he would immediately stop, no matter what he was practicing.
He would either take a walk to the blacksmith's shop, help his sister with the cooking, or tidy up the house...
A balance of tension and relaxation: the way of both the scholar and the warrior.
Not only did this not delay his training progress, but it actually made each of his practice sessions more focused and efficient.
[Health Maintenance Stance, Beginner → Master (0/1000)]
The Pile Skill had broken through.
Standing in the courtyard, Tang Wen's eyes shone with a brilliant light!
"Hooooo..."
A stream of white air shot from his mouth, coherent and undispersed, stretching over a foot long.
Raising his blade to chop, he could clearly feel many small, subtle muscles in his body engaging.
This was the effect of reaching a certain Realm in the Pile Skill. The Pile Skill itself aims for introspection, a deeper understanding of one's own body, and ultimately, control over it.
[Body: 2.11 → 2.41]
[Essence: 2.07 → 2.57]
It wasn't as much as the Eight Vajra Techniques; this breakthrough only increased his Constitution by 0.3, while his Essence actually rose by 0.5.
Tang Wen was slightly disappointed.
He turned to his sister, who was preparing to cook ribs, and stopped her. "That's enough, Sis. I'm not that hungry this time!"
"Oh? Okay!"
His sister blinked, then decisively put away the tray of deer ribs she had been about to cook. A look of relief washed over her face, as if their hundred-odd pounds of grain had just been saved.