Chapter 3

 Enduring Is a Skill Too

The words that had appeared on the Ink Stone in front of the Scripture Repository remained for a long time.

【Ink Stone Assessment】

Realm: Body Tempering Realm, 5th Layer

Grade: Intermediate

Lu Fan took another look at the glowing words.

That very morning, he had still been at the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm. Even now, the fact that he had broken through two stages in a single day from the barrier that had stopped him for years still felt like a dream.

But there was no time to indulge in his happiness.

There was only one month left until the annual festival.

Simply increasing his cultivation realm didn’t mean he could win a fight. If he couldn’t properly utilize his strength, he could still be beaten one-sidedly by someone at the same realm.

Lu Fan withdrew his hand from the Ink Stone and pushed open the door of the Scripture Repository.

Creak.

Despite it being the middle of the night, the inside was still illuminated.

Right beside the entrance sat a white-haired old man reading a worn book.

He was Old Man Shim, the guardian of the Lu family’s Scripture Repository.

His back was bent, and one of his legs was even impaired, yet no one dared treat him carelessly. No one knew exactly how long he had been guarding this place.

“Greetings, Old Man Shim.”

The old man lifted his eyes from the book.

“It’s Lu Fan. What brings you here at this hour?”

Lu Fan was slightly surprised that the old man remembered his name.

He had visited the Scripture Repository once before. At the time, he had merely confirmed that there were no martial arts techniques he could cultivate and had left dejectedly.

“I’ve come to choose a martial art.”

Old Man Shim’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“You’ve reached the fourth layer of the Body Tempering Realm?”

“Yes.”

Lu Fan deliberately didn’t mention that he had reached the fifth layer. There was nothing to gain from letting people know that he had advanced two stages in a single day.

Old Man Shim didn’t ask any further questions either.

“The books on the left are saber techniques, followed by sword techniques, fist techniques, and movement techniques. The books on the far right are miscellaneous texts that haven’t been classified yet. Choose whatever you like and bring it to me.”

“Thank you.”

Lu Fan first headed toward the bookshelf containing movement techniques.

The Lu family was a clan that excelled in close combat. To cultivate the family’s signature technique, the Blazing Fire Golden Body, one needed a sturdy physique and a solid foundation in controlling one’s body.

Choosing either a movement technique or a fist technique was the safest option.

But the more Lu Fan looked through the shelves, the darker his expression became.

Most of them were basic evasion techniques or methods for strengthening physical endurance. He had even seen several of these techniques being used by Lu family members in the training grounds before. Their movements looked impressive, but they didn’t seem particularly useful in actual combat.

The fist techniques were much the same.

Rolling Stone Fist, Great Strength Fist, Savage Bull Force.

The titles sounded impressive enough, but the contents were ordinary.

If cultivated step by step, they would certainly be useful, but it would take at least half a year to achieve meaningful results.

Lu Fan didn’t have that much time.

If he failed to produce a decent result in the annual festival’s combat matches, he could be sent away even if he had reached the fifth layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

After searching through books for nearly an hour, he still hadn’t found anything worth choosing.

In the end, Lu Fan returned to Old Man Shim empty-handed.

“Couldn’t find anything you liked?”

“Old Man Shim, may I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Is there any martial art that I could see results from within a month?”

Old Man Shim closed the book he had been reading.

“I understand that you’re in a hurry, but it’s not a good habit to look for an easy path from the very beginning.”

His words were scolding, but Lu Fan didn’t back down.

“I know. But there is only one month left until the annual festival. If I can’t prove my strength within that time, I won’t be able to continue cultivating here.”

Old Man Shim silently looked into Lu Fan’s eyes.

There was impatience in them, but there was no hope of relying on luck.

Instead, there was a stubborn determination to endure even the most difficult path as long as it produced results.

After a moment, a strange smile appeared at the corner of the old man’s mouth.

“There is a martial art that can be learned quickly.”

Lu Fan’s eyes brightened.

“Really?”

“The problem is that no one wants to learn it.”

Old Man Shim rose from his seat and limped toward a pile of miscellaneous books in the corner.

After rummaging through the dusty books for a long while, he pulled out an old manual buried at the very bottom.

The faded cover bore powerful characters:

Mountain-Crushing Fist.

Lu Fan’s heart began pounding just from seeing the name.

He immediately opened the book, but after turning only a few pages, his expression stiffened.

The training method was simple.

Strike rocks with one’s arms and fists.

Eight shichen every day, striking with all one’s strength from every direction, whether head-on or from the side. If one endured that for a month, the manual claimed one could achieve Minor Accomplishment.

Calling it cultivation was generous.

It was closer to a method for breaking one’s perfectly healthy arms.

Old Man Shim asked with amusement,

“What? Isn’t the training method as impressive as the name?”

Lu Fan turned more pages.

The Mountain-Crushing Fist was a high-grade Human-level martial art.

Once properly mastered, it could concentrate simple physical strength into a single point and break through solid defenses.

In terms of destructive power alone, it was undoubtedly superior to the other fist techniques in the Scripture Repository.

The price for that power, however, was that Lu Fan would have to endure in one month the amount of pain that others would experience over half a year.

Lu Fan closed the manual.

“I’ll learn this.”

The smile disappeared from Old Man Shim’s face.

“Did you actually read the training method properly?”

“I did.”

“If you aren’t careful, you may lose the use of your arms before you even get to participate in the annual festival.”

Lu Fan looked down at his hands.

He was already several years behind everyone else.

There was no way to close that gap by slowly following an ordinary method. If he had started later than everyone else, then he had to be willing to endure hardships that others avoided.

“I know there is no easy path in martial cultivation.”

Lu Fan raised his head.

“I chose this path myself, so I’ll take responsibility for the results as well.”

Old Man Shim remained silent for a long time.

Eventually, he gave a low chuckle and waved his hand.

“Take it. No one ever asks for this book, so there’s no need to record it in the borrowing ledger.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Didn’t I say I’ll take responsibility?”

Lu Fan accepted the Mountain-Crushing Fist manual with both hands.

“Thank you.”

Just as he was about to turn around, the door of the Scripture Repository opened.

The person who entered was Zhang Yuehan.

Her expression stiffened awkwardly when her eyes met Lu Fan’s.

Lu Fan calmly looked away.

“Then I’ll be going.”

He walked past Zhang Yuehan and left the Scripture Repository without hesitation.

A voice came from behind him.

“You aren’t a member of the Lu family, are you? Outsiders aren’t allowed inside the Scripture Repository.”

“I came at Lu Ming’s request.”

“No matter whose request it is, the answer is no. Go back.”

Just before the door closed, Lu Fan heard Zhang Yuehan stomp her foot in annoyance.

But he didn’t look back.

That night, Lu Fan read the Mountain-Crushing Fist manual from beginning to end several times.

He couldn’t cultivate it simply by mindlessly striking rocks with his arms.

He needed Blazing Flame Grass to heal the muscles and bones damaged by the impact.

Without protecting his arms with the energy of Blazing Flame Grass during training, there was a high chance that his bones would be damaged before his martial art improved.

The next morning.

Lu Fan gathered every coin he had and headed toward the center of Jianglin City.

The snow-covered streets were already crowded with pedestrians despite the early hour. Merchants called out loudly to attract customers, while long rows of street stalls selling medicinal herbs, weapons, and miscellaneous goods lined the roadside.

The Lu family also sold medicinal herbs, but their prices were expensive. They didn’t even offer discounts to members of their own family, so for Lu Fan, who didn’t have much money, the street stalls were a better option.

After searching the streets for nearly half a day, he spotted a pile of red herbs beside a weapons shop.

Blazing Flame Grass.

Lu Fan concealed his excitement and slowly approached the stall.

“How much is this?”

“Five silver coins per root.”

It was enough money for an ordinary family of three to live on for an entire month.

Lu Fan put the herb down and turned around.

“Too expensive. I’ll look somewhere else.”

The merchant hurriedly called after him.

“Wait! If you buy several roots, I’ll lower it to four coins each. It won’t be easy to find goods like these elsewhere.”

Lu Fan reluctantly returned and pretended to inspect the pile.

Then he felt something different beneath his fingertips.

The root hidden beneath the red leaves was white.

Lu Fan’s heart pounded.

The quality of Blazing Flame Grass varied according to the color of its roots. Completely red roots were the most common, while blue roots were more valuable.

White roots were the highest quality.

They were more than ten times rarer than ordinary Blazing Flame Grass, and according to the manual, they could nearly double the speed at which one cultivated the Mountain-Crushing Fist.

There were several white-rooted Blazing Flame Grass plants mixed into the pile.

Without changing his expression, Lu Fan held up three fingers.

“Three silver coins per root. I’ll buy everything here.”

The merchant calculated for a long moment before reluctantly nodding.

“Fine. But don’t ask me to lower the price any further.”

Lu Fan immediately handed over the money and gathered the Blazing Flame Grass into his arms.

He had spent most of the money he possessed, but it wasn’t a loss.

Even if he sold only a few of the white-rooted plants separately, he could make far more than what he had paid.

The moment Lu Fan turned away from the stall, someone roughly slammed into his shoulder.

The Blazing Flame Grass in his arms shook.

“Well, well. Look who it is.”

A sturdy young man in a blue martial robe blocked his path.

He wore the uniform bearing the emblem of the Martial Dao Academy as though deliberately showing it off.

He was Mo Yunfei, the eldest son of the Mo family of Jianglin City.

“Did you get into some trouble with the Lu family? Why are you carrying such a large bundle of medicinal herbs first thing in the morning?”

The servants following him burst into laughter.

Without permission, Mo Yunfei reached out and picked up two roots of Blazing Flame Grass.

Lu Fan immediately snatched them back and tucked them into his arms.

“Young Master Mo, please continue on your way. I’ll take care of my own business.”

Mo Yunfei narrowed his eyes.

“Your tone has become quite arrogant in the few days since I last saw you.”

His servants blocked the road.

Mo Yunfei looked Lu Fan up and down before sneering.

“Even Lu Ming watches himself around me. What gives someone as far behind as you the confidence to act like this?”

“If you have something to say to Lu Ming, tell him yourself.”

“Don’t worry about that. When I get the chance, I’ll teach him a lesson personally.”

Mo Yunfei tapped the Blazing Flame Grass in Lu Fan’s arms with his finger.

“Then again, it seems the Lu family must be having a difficult time. They’re still wasting money on a hopeless brat like you.”

Lu Fan’s gaze turned cold.

As though he had been waiting for that reaction, Mo Yunfei laughed and swung his hand.

Slap!

The Blazing Flame Grass in Lu Fan’s arms scattered across the ground.

Several roots rolled beneath the feet of the surrounding people.

Strength gathered in Lu Fan’s fist.

He wanted nothing more than to smash his fist into Mo Yunfei’s face right then and there.

But he couldn’t win.

Mo Yunfei was at least at the eighth layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

If Lu Fan attacked now, he would collapse without even being able to vent his anger, and he could lose the precious Blazing Flame Grass he had worked so hard to obtain.

Lu Fan slowly bent down.

One by one, he picked up the Blazing Flame Grass from the ground.

“Serves him right.”

“No wonder even his own family looks down on him.”

Even the spectators nearby joined in the laughter.

No one offered to help.

It was obvious which side it was safer to take between the eldest son of the Mo family and a boy who had already been pushed aside by the Lu family.

Mo Yunfei watched with amusement alongside his servants.

After picking up the final root of Blazing Flame Grass, Lu Fan stood up.

“May I pass now?”

Mo Yunfei already looked bored.

“Go. There’s no fun in keeping you here any longer.”

The servants opened a path.

Lu Fan walked away with their laughter behind him.

After taking several steps, blood seeped from his tightly clenched palm.

He had endured it today.

Not because he was afraid.

Charging into a fight he couldn’t win wasn’t courage. It was foolishness.

What he needed now wasn’t to vent his anger.

He needed the strength to make sure he wouldn’t have to lower his head the next time.

Lu Fan hugged the Blazing Flame Grass in his arms even more tightly.

I’ll remember this, Mo Yunfei.

The next time we meet, I won’t lower my head like I did today.