Hard Practice

Zhou You was able to enter the medicine refinement room and officially start learning how to refine medicine after becoming a disciple.

Originally, Zhou You thought apothecaries had a high status and that the process of making medicine would look very grand and cool.

In the end, he was greatly disappointed.

The process of refining medicine was not grand at all. Instead, it was very old-fashioned, like boiling soup on a daily basis.

First, add water to a medicinal pot or cauldron of water and heat it.

He placed the sliced herbs and medicinal powder into the vessel and boiled the ingredients in the order written on the prescription until it had turned to paste. Then, he let the paste cool naturally or quickly before rubbing it into balls with his hands.

The pills were completed.

Among them, he had to pay attention to the strength of the fire, the ratio of medicinal herbs, the time each medicinal herb could be placed in the pot, and the length of time they had to be boiled. Also, he had to look out for the state of the concoction before it was ready to move on to the next stage.

In just three days, Zhou You had mastered the basics and successfully brewed his first pot of bacon soup.

The bacon soup that had just been brewed was a jelly-like condensation that could be preserved for a long time. It could be consumed directly after adding boiling water.

In addition to bacon soup, Cheng Yiqing was also able to make Blood Strengthening Pills, Essence Energy Pills, Muscle and Bone Pills and Bone Strengthening Pills, and a few other pills needed for Bone Forging and Body Forging martial artists.

It was said that he could also refine Bone Forging Pills, but the success rate was too low and he did not pass the Apothecary Master Test for it.

After learning how to brew Blood Strengthening Pills, he could earn an additional bonus in addition to a fixed salary.

Originally, Zhou You could get a commission from Zhao Liuping and the others every month. Now that Lu Chuanfeng had provided all the pills needed for practicing martial arts, there was no need to buy any more.

After more than a month, Zhou You's wallet gradually filled up. He actually had some savings.

With the money, Zhou You redeemed the small courtyard that he had originally pawned and moved out from.

Practicing martial arts at the Flesh Tempering level would cause a greater commotion. If he still wanted to practice external martial arts like the Iron Skin Technique, he would definitely not be able to hide it from Master Cheng. After all, they would only be separated by a wall, if he stayed in the apothecary.

Master Cheng did not stop him.

As an apothecary's disciple and a preparatory apothecary, Zhou You could be considered a first-class figure with status. It was understandable for him to pursue a better quality of life.

Initially, Zhou You thought that his other master, Lu Chuanfeng, would stop him.

However, for some reason, Master Lu only reminded him to be careful and let him be. He had no intention of stopping him.

...

After breaking through to the middle stage of Body Forging, Zhou You felt energetic and his cultivation time was greatly extended.

However, he did not devote all his energy to practicing Ferocious Tiger Fist. Instead, he controlled it by practicing for an hour each morning and night to ensure that he could meet Master Lu's expectations.

He spent the rest of his energy cultivating the Gale Phantom Kick.

Now, he had basically confirmed his cultivation direction.

He mainly cultivated the Ferocious Tiger Fist to increase his realm and strength.

He focused on basic martial arts to obtain Martial Arts Points, and increase Affinity and Aptitude.

Affinity determined one's cultivation speed and was applicable to all martial arts.

The higher the Affinity, the faster the cultivation speed.

Aptitude determined the compatibility of each martial art. The compatibility of each martial art was different. After adding points, it could only increase the compatibility of a particular martial art.

From the looks of it, Aptitude was not as important as Affinity for the time being.

Zhou You planned to increase his Affinity to 10 first before testing the effect of the increase in Aptitude.

For the next period of time, Zhou You practiced the Gale Phantom Kick for two hours every day.

In just seven days, he had perfected the Gale Phantom Kick.

Gale Phantom Kick (Perfection)

Aptitude: Gale Phantom Kick (52%)

When he cultivated the Green Snake Fist to Perfection, his Aptitude increased by 5%.

The Gale Phantom Kick had been cultivated to Perfection, and his Aptitude had also increased, but it was as high as 12%.

Zhou You guessed that as his martial arts cultivation advanced, his Aptitude would continue to increase.

However, there were too few cases for him to study, so he did not know how far it could increase.

Zhou You was more concerned about another problem. He had made a breakthrough with the Ferocious Tiger Fist, but his Aptitude had not increased.

Perhaps breaking into a small realm was not enough to increase one's Aptitude.

It was the same as not being able to obtain Martial Arts Points.

Perhaps advancement into a major realm would allow him to obtain Martial Arts Points at the same time and increase his Aptitude.

It was useless to fantasize. Zhou You looked at the bottom of the interface.

As expected, 1 Martial Arts Point appeared.

Without any hesitation, Zhou You added Martial Arts Points to his Affinity.

Affinity +1!

Next, Zhou You's gaze landed on the two martial arts recorded on the interface that had yet to be initiated.

Iron Skin Technique.

Iron Arm Fist.

Two external martial arts techniques.

One of them was an external martial arts technique intended for his body, while the other focused on his hands.

When practicing these techniques, the methods were extremely brutal. They used intense external stimulation to make their skin muscles hard.

This was also to prevent the loss of Qi and blood.

Compared to internal martial arts practitioners, external martial arts practitioners had stronger defense and strength.

However, the practitioners were often only good at external martial arts.

On the other hand, internal martial artists were more all-rounded. They would only know who would win and who would lose after fighting.

After comprehending the principles of external martial arts, Zhou You made a revelation. He had finished refining his skin, and he could actually start cultivating external cultivation and complete the basic stage of strengthening his skin.

However, the intensity of his cultivation had to be reduced appropriately.

The internal force stimulated the membrane from the inside out, and the external hammering method stimulated the membrane. The final effect was similar.

He recalled the cultivation methods of the Iron Skin Technique and the Iron Arm Fist.

Zhou You decided to cultivate the less difficult Iron Arm Fist first.

He parted his feet as wide as his shoulders. He exerted strength under his feet and his strength rose from the ground. The muscles in his entire body bulged as internal force gathered on his arms.

At the same time, he used the technique mentioned in the secret manual to harness his energy.

Pah pah pah pah!

With a unique rhythm, his two hands formed palms and slapped the other forearm. Then, he clenched them into fists and hit the back of the other hand until they were red and swollen.

He would use internal force to invigorate blood circulation and reduce the swelling.

With that, he completed one cultivation session.

Iron Arm Fist (Master) (0/7)

He successfully mastered the Iron Arm Fist. In addition, what surprised Zhou You was the compatibility of the Iron Arm Fist.

Aptitude: Iron Arm Fist (50%)

Apart from the Ferocious Tiger Fist, Zhou You had cultivated three basic martial arts. The compatibility was from high to low.

Green Snake Fist (55%)

Iron Arm Fist (50%)

Gale Phantom Kick (40%)

This sequence was exactly the same as the proficiency required to cultivate each martial art!

Green Snake Fist (Master) (0/5)

Iron Arm Fist (Master) (0/7)

Gale Phantom Kick (Master) (0/8)

The difficulty of cultivation and the power of martial arts increased one after another.

Zhou You came to a conclusion about this discovery for now.

The stronger the martial arts, the lower the compatibility with one's body, and the more proficiency needed to cultivate.

This also indirectly meant that the stronger the martial arts technique, the longer it would take to cultivate.

This was an undeniably correct conclusion.

In the days that followed, he was very disciplined. Every day was extremely fulfilling.

He woke up early to cultivate the Ferocious Tiger Fist at home for an hour.

In the morning, he studied theoretical knowledge in the apothecary.

In the afternoon, he concocted pills in the medicine refinement room and sent them to the inner courtyard to receive Master Lu's guidance.

At night, he went home to cultivate the Ferocious Tiger Fist for an hour.

Then, he would cultivate the Iron Arm Fist for two hours.

He used internal force to massage and invigorate blood circulation. Also, he used medicine he had brewed to apply as a heat compress to clear the heat and reduce the swelling.

Now, every time he finished practicing the Iron Arm Fist, he only needed to rest for about ten minutes to return to normal.

Two hours was enough to practice it ten times.