’Twenty Tribulation Points for Beginner level!’
Fang Rui murmured, picking up the broadsword in front of him. After using Tribulation Points to reach the Beginner level, he felt as if he had instinctively grasped some techniques and learned how to use this broadsword.
He was no longer just relying on his physical attributes and brute force like before.
’Continue!’
The ’+’ next to the Life-taking Saber Technique hadn’t dimmed. He focused his mind on it and tapped it again.
Tribulation Points -50. Life-taking Saber Technique: Skilled!
...
’Continue!’
Tribulation Points -100. Life-taking Saber Technique: Mastery!
...
’Again!’
Tribulation Points -200. Life-taking Saber Technique: Minor Achievement!
...
SHWISH!
Fang Rui opened his eyes and looked at his panel.
[Name: Fang Rui]
[Tribulation: 221]
[Cultivation Technique: Nourishing Body Skill (Peak of Perfection)]
[Realm: Fifth Grade (Marrow Cleansing)]
[Skills: Fang’s Medical Skill (Mastery) (+), Beast Taming Technique (Uninitiated) (+), Feng Shui Skill (Uninitiated) (+), Life-taking Saber Technique (Minor Achievement)]
[Divine Techniques: Immortality (Gray)]
...
The ’+’ after the Life-taking Saber Technique in the skills section had vanished, but it was still present for the other three skills.
Clearly, he had enough Tribulation Points left to deal with any unexpected situations.
’My first skill at the Minor Achievement level!’
Fang Rui closed the panel and gripped the broadsword. It was different from before. This time, the weapon felt like an extension of his own arm.
The broadsword felt like a part of him—an extension of his body. Holding it, he instinctively knew how to attack and defend with it...
It had even formed a kind of muscle memory, allowing him to use his strength to deliver a lethal blow in the shortest possible time.
Don’t think this is an exaggeration.
What did Minor Achievement mean? It meant you had achieved something, however small!
In this era, not just any random person could claim to have "achieved" something. Minor Achievement was still a genuine accomplishment.
If the Mastery level was considered an expert among amateurs, then Minor Achievement was the entry into the professional domain.
Fierce bandits who lived on the edge of their blades and skilled assassins were generally at this level of swordsmanship!
And Great Success?
That was a step above Professional Level, reaching the Master Level. It was impossible to attain without top-tier talent, comprehension, and effort.
’Of course, this is just one saber technique. I shouldn’t think it’s some magical panacea. At the end of the day, it’s just a skill. I can use it, but I can’t rely on it too much!’
Just as Fang Rui expected, while Martial Arts were indeed an amplifier of one’s strength, it was nearly impossible for them to bridge the gap between realms.
It was like an ant. No matter how skillfully it wielded a blade of grass—whether it made heavy things seem light or light things seem heavy—if a child came along and pressed down with a finger, wouldn’t it be crushed just the same?
No matter how well an ordinary person could wield a saber, their reaction speed would be too slow to land a hit. If someone threw a boulder weighing hundreds of pounds at them, they’d be dead as a doornail!
As for an ordinary person training their swordsmanship to Great Success, Perfection, or even Mastery, and being able to unleash Sword Intent or Sword Qi?
In their dreams!
’I’ve scoured the history of my past life, and there were countless brilliant talents, but I’ve never heard of anyone who could produce Sword Intent or Sword Qi...’
Fang Rui knew one thing for certain: to show off your power, you needed the actual strength to back it up!
So, it wasn’t that Martial Arts were useless. Between opponents in the same weight class, they were extremely useful.
But trying to overcome a gap of a single grade was like trying to bridge two completely different weight classes—especially after reaching the Middle Grades, where this disparity became even more pronounced!
Defeating a superior opponent?
It wasn’t entirely impossible, but to truly cross a full grade, one would need to reach the Perfection level at the very least, and even then, it was just a possibility... Moreover, it wouldn’t work for qualitative leaps like from the Seventh to the Sixth Grade, or the Fourth to the Third Grade!
’This Life-taking Saber Technique may be a shoddy Martial Art, but at Minor Achievement, it’s reached the Professional Level. Even if it’s only lower-mid tier among professionals, it should be easy enough to crush other saber techniques at the Mastery level.’
In a small place like Changshan City, forget about the Master Level of Great Success; you could probably count the number of people who had trained a martial art to Minor Achievement on one hand.
As for the five or six Fifth Grade Martial Artists from the Lin and Xia Families, they were pampered and rarely engaged in life-or-death battles. For them, the Mastery level was likely their limit.
’So, with my Fifth Grade strength and the Minor Achievement Life-taking Saber Technique, my overall power in Changshan City is probably second only to those two Fourth Grade Martial Artists.’
’And since I don’t plan on going deep inside—I’ll just stick to the periphery, launch some sneak attacks, and settle my grudges—my safety should be well-guaranteed.’
Fang Rui murmured to himself, then rose and stood by the window with his hands behind his back. His gaze pierced the deep, endless night, as if he could see all the way to the Lin Family estate. "All that’s missing is the east wind."
Just then, a sudden gust of wind rose outside, causing the trees and grass to sway violently with a loud RUSTLE.
...
Night fell. The moon climbed above the treetops, and the lights of countless homes began to twinkle.
Following Fang Rui’s specific instructions, the Fang Family had dinner a little earlier than usual today.
Tonight’s dinner consisted of stir-fried bean sprouts, steamed egg custard, stir-fried cured meat, a large basin of white-flour steamed buns, and white-flour noodles.
In the afternoon, Jiang Ping’an had come over to deliver the broadsword and had also brought a batch of purchased supplies: five pounds of eggs, ten pounds of cured meat, ten pounds of soybeans, a large bag of dried mushrooms...
It was true that valuable goods like eggs, oil, and meat were quite scarce on the market these days, but that was mainly an issue for Martial Artists trying to purchase them in large quantities. For a family like the Fangs, who had money and connections, it wasn’t difficult to buy enough of these scarce supplies to support a few ordinary people.
Conveniently, because he had obtained Old Medicine and Great Medicine to make medicinal meals, Fang Rui’s need for regular food had decreased significantly. Consequently, the others—Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, Third Lady, and the two little ones—could eat more of what Mrs. Xue called the "good stuff."
It could be said that the Fang family’s current quality of life was not that different from the treatment received by the scions of the lesser prominent families in Changshan City.
"Mother, Third Sister, Ling’er, Nannan, come sit down and eat!" Fang Rui called out.
"Brother Rui, our family’s life now... it’s like a dream..."
Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family felt it was all so surreal. "A meal like this... in years past, we could only eat this well during the New Year!"
"Yes, it’s all because Brother Rui is so capable," Third Lady said, her gaze full of admiration for Fang Rui.
"Heh, this is nothing! The best days are still to come!"
Fang Rui served food to everyone, putting an especially large helping of cured meat on the two little girls’ plates. "Ling’er, Nannan, you’re both at a growing age. Eat up!"
These past few days, with the improved nutrition, the two little girls, Fang Ling and Nannan, had developed rosy complexions and looked more vibrant. Their hair was no longer yellowish with split ends like before.
"Wow, thank you, Big Brother!"
"Thank you, Brother Ah Rui!"
Feeling the happiness from the two little ones, as well as from Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family and Third Lady, Fang Rui’s heart filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment.
’Isn’t this why I’ve been improving my strength? To protect the people right in front of me and let my family live a good life?’
The dinner concluded in this lighthearted atmosphere.
...
After dinner, just like the day before, he had Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, Third Lady, Fang Ling, and Nannan go into the cellar.
Fang Rui became Gebu Masked, picked up his broadsword, and headed straight out the door. He moved swiftly, making a beeline for the Lin Family estate.
When he was still about a mile away—
The sound of fierce battle cries suddenly erupted from the direction of the Lin Family estate.
...