Chapter 106: Return to the Martial Arts Hall

After a while, Jiang Cheng finally recovered.

Sensing the Force is one thing, but drawing the Force into the body is another; those Force Light Points are highly resistant, and each second of absorbing them drains the mind immensely.

He wanted to see how much Force he could currently absorb, so after feeling the pressure he didn't stop.

Fortunately he got a result: after absorbing two hundred Force Light Points, the number absorbed corresponded to the same number that escaped.

"Looks like this is my limit."

Jiang Cheng felt the Force inside his body, absorbing it with his mind method; indeed it was far better than waiting for the Force to come on its own. Previously, during Entry of the Fist Technique, he unconsciously absorbed fewer than ten Force Light Points into his forearms.

Moreover, although the whole process lasted only a few dozen seconds, the Broken Jade Skill's Experience Value rose by 16 points.

Before he had Entry of the Broken Jade Fist, practicing the Broken Jade Skill and meditating for ten minutes only added 0.1 Experience Value; it seemed the Panel was giving him a small comfort for his effort.

But now, as long as he keeps continuously absorbing the Force, he gains 1 point per second.

By that calculation, a minute yields 60 points; the 5000‑point Experience Bar would take only 83 minutes, a little over an hour to fill.

The corresponding Broken Jade Fist, without Secret Medicine, requires 250 hours of training without food or drink; even with Secret Medicine it still took nearly three days.

But unfortunately this state is extremely draining to the mind.

After training the fist, resting a bit and eating restores quickly, but the Spiritual Power remains low; essentially five or six hours of rest are needed for full recovery.

With that calculation, being able to fully absorb the Force twice a day is already good; adding up half‑minute sessions, to reach a little over an hour would probably take more than half a year.

"No wonder Senior Brother Zhao said that without Secret Medicine assistance, Secret Martial Arts progress slowly. If one could continuously absorb the Force, cultivation speed would naturally be fast, but because Spiritual Power is limited, each person can only absorb a limited amount of Force per day. Using Secret Medicine removes that limit and can continuously strengthen the physique, allowing detection of the location of the first Acupoint."

Jiang Cheng massaged his head to ease the headache while thinking.

If only there were a Secret Martial Arts that could boost Spiritual Power.

Jiang Cheng gave a wry smile.

He had just obtained a Secret Martial Arts and was already hoping to get another that cultivates Spiritual Power; that was indeed a bit wishful.

He decided to take it easy and then refine those Force Light Points to strengthen his flesh.

Refining the Force also consumes the mind, but compared with constantly drawing Force from the outside, refining the Force already absorbed uses far less mental energy.

After a short rest, feeling better, Jiang Cheng closed his eyes and began refining the Force inside his body.

The whole process went fairly smoothly, but the speed of absorbing Force Light Points was very slow, even slower than the escape rate, and every ten minutes he had to pause and gently massage his temples.

In total he refined for half an hour; rather than saying the refinement was finished, about seventy percent of the Force Light Points escaped, and he refined less than thirty percent.

He felt he had become a little stronger.

Including after using Secret Medicine, Jiang Cheng also felt his physique overall improved—stamina, strength, and speed all increased.

If there were a professional testing device, it would be more intuitive.

The Experience Value also grew considerably.

While refining the Force, Experience Value increased by 0.1 point per second; after half an hour it rose by over 180 points, but in terms of per‑unit‑time gain it was certainly less than absorbing the Force.

Yet it wins in durability and is easy to maintain.

If he devoted most of his effort to refining the Force, at 0.1 point per second it would take 13 hours to reach 5000 Experience Value. Previously he had absorbed too much Force at once, wasting nearly seventy percent; after a couple of hours he recovered some Spiritual Power, then absorbed a bit of Force and refined it slowly.

Repeating this, within two or three days the Broken Jade Skill should reach Entry.

Once Entry is achieved, the rest is easy; having an Acupoint that automatically absorbs the Force raises the speed naturally, and although it's unknown how much Force the first Acupoint can hold, the more the better.

While the Secret Medicine effect lasts, the Broken Jade Fist must not be neglected.

He might as well learn the later ten‑plus forms; for the Broken Jade Fist to reach the Proficient Experience Bar, it needs to rise from 3000 to 10000 points; relying only on the first ten moves, even with Secret Medicine, would be much slower.

In the blink of an eye, night fell.

Jiang Cheng felt his Spiritual Power was about seventy‑plus percent recovered, and he absorbed nearly two hundred Force Light Points for refining.

During that time he didn't forget Double Staff practice; after all, in real combat he still has to rely on weapons.

To his surprise, Secret Medicine also gave a boost to Double Staff training, even a bit higher than for the Broken Jade Fist.

If he practiced a few more hours, he could reach Great Completion.

Additionally, by swinging the staffs, Jiang Cheng noticed his physique had improved; his arms swung a little faster.

One night passed.

Early the next morning, Jiang Cheng was eating breakfast when a horn sounded outside.

He could vaguely hear the words "Iron Fist Gang."

Jiang Cheng's expression changed slightly; he set down his bowl and chopsticks, went to the doorway, and indeed, twenty‑to‑thirty meters away, two people were walking down the alley while pulling a horn and shouting.

"Everyone, we are the Iron Fist Gang. From now on this area belongs to us. We'll charge a management fee of 1,500 per month; we'll come to collect it in two days, so please be prepared and don't be caught off guard, otherwise everyone will look bad."

The people standing on both sides were stunned like wooden chickens.

Although they had known the news for a while, they still clung to a sliver of hope that the Iron Fist Gang might be generous, charge a bit less, or wait until next month; after all, they had only just paid a few days ago.

Seeing the gang arrive to give formal notice, the last shred of hope vanished completely.

Jiang Cheng watched the two men's backs as they left.

The Iron Fist Gang members finally did come.

The Wild Wolf Gang members were probably all gone by now, and the matter of him killing Wei Bao had already turned a new page.

It's time, as agreed, to bring Grandma, Chen Sao and the others back from Outer City District.

Actually, whether for Grandma, Chen Sao, or for himself, living in Outer City District is the best.

Unfortunately, that's someone else's house; allowing them to stay there for a while out of the Martial Arts Hall's face is already generous.

If he were greedy and unsatisfied, it would only cause others to dislike him.

So, in a bit he'll go to the Martial Arts Hall, find Senior Sister Bai to discuss this, check the dates; today also happens to be the day she's instructing the crowd on the second floor.

(End of Chapter)