Chapter 36: Two Gains in One Move

The Short Staff memory begins to merge, and the Double Staff Experience Value increases by 50 points.

?

Jiang Cheng's movements pause.

It feels like being hit by a pie falling from the sky.

After practicing for almost an hour, his Double Staff Experience Value only rose to a little over one hundred points.

But just now, the Experience Value jumped by 50 points! Jiang Cheng was briefly puzzled, then quickly figured it out.

From a certain perspective, the single staff is the foundation of the Double Staff; since his Short Staff proficiency is already at Mastery, the progress of practicing Double Staff will naturally be much faster than for someone who hasn't trained it.

"If that's the case, it seems today's Double Staff Entry won't be a problem."

Jiang Cheng, full of vigor, continues to swing the staff forcefully.

In the room, crackling sounds of slicing through the air keep echoing.

Finally, after more than half an hour, Jiang Cheng's movements come to an abrupt halt, and a large segment of memory is etched into his mind and muscles.

A moment later, Jiang Cheng shows a look of sudden realization.

In detail, the Double Staff and Short Staff share many similarities.

For example, basic Short Staff Technique such as Staff Flourish, etc., are the same.

There are differences too; first, the preparatory stance.

Jiang Cheng holds a Short Staff in each hand, positioned at his sides—a style that suits showing off.

There are two common postures.

One is to hold a Short Staff upright with one hand in front, while the other hand tucks a Short Staff under the first hand's armpit, like the nunchaku in movies.

The hand holding the upright Short Staff attacks first, then rests on the opposite shoulder, allowing the staff tucked under the armpit to be deployed, cycling repeatedly.

The other is to grip both staffs in front, like a boxer.

"No wonder my practice feels awkward."

Jiang Cheng switched his stance this time, and indeed, the staff swings became smoother and faster.

The bad news is that each time only 0.3 points of Experience Value can be added.

Moreover, the Experience Value needed to reach Proficient level rose from 300 points to 1000 points.

"Looks like it's time to practice the newly unlocked Double Staff Combination Technique."

Jiang Cheng's eyes narrow slightly.

Since it's just Entry, the Double Staff technique combinations that appear in his mind are relatively simple.

Regarding those four downward chops, with the Double Staff in front, first the right hand performs a Straight Chop, placed on the hip; the left hand does a Straight Chop, placed on the shoulder, followed by the right hand opening with a Reverse Chop, then the left hand opening with a Reverse Chop.

Jiang Cheng completes the four moves in one breath, and the Double Staff's Experience Value instantly rises by one point.

But immediately, the Short Staff memory fusion adds an extra 10 points of Experience Value.

"Not bad, Short Stick Mastery can still be useful; I guess even when Double Staff reaches Proficient level, it can obtain memory fusion that adds extra Experience Value."

Jiang Cheng, brimming with motivation, continuously swings the Double Staff, and only one voice echoes in his mind.

One, two, three, four.

Once more.

The next day, Jiang Cheng wakes up, finishes breakfast, and practices Double Staff for over an hour again.

There is an unexpected joy, discovered unintentionally.

Because he practiced four downward chops, Jiang Cheng subconsciously rotates his body to increase the chop's power, just as he does with Short Staff.

As a result, the Double Staff's Experience Value multiplies, and the Short Staff's Experience Value also rises!

That means he spent the same amount of time training two skills.

Jiang Cheng instantly feels a bit annoyed.

Had he known this would happen, he should have started practicing Double Staff earlier.

In the blink of an eye, it's ten in the morning, time to set up the stall.

Jiang Cheng places the two Short Staffs behind him and pulls his clothing down to cover them.

"Grandma, I'm off."

Before departing, he greets as usual.

"Be careful on the road, and don't forget the thing Grandma told you about last night," the Old Man says solemnly.

"The thing from last night?" Jiang Cheng's face shows confusion.

"Xiao Yue!"

The Old Man quickly reminds, "Buy some things from the street tonight, bring them home, then deliver them to the person; remember to buy a bit more, okay? Spending a hundred or two hundred is fine."

The household savings have already exceeded one thousand.

At this rate, by the end of the month they'll surely have saved three thousand, and most likely over four thousand.

Spending some money on finding a wife, the Old Man wholeheartedly approves.

"Got it."

Jiang Cheng looks helpless.

"Bring some snacks; a girl as good as Xiao Yue is hard to find even with a lantern," the Old Man mutters.

When passing Chen Sao's house, Jiang Cheng also greets.

Chen Sao specially asks him to be extra careful when he returns at night.

Pushing his tricycle onto the street, he instantly feels the surrounding stall owners' expressions toward him change.

Especially the person who borrowed money yesterday, whose anger is almost written on his face.

Jiang Cheng shakes his head.

I increasingly feel that not borrowing money was the right decision.

When he arrived at the stall, he unexpectedly discovered that Lu Zicheng, who always opened the stall at noon, this time actually arrived before him.

"Morning."

Lu Zicheng smiled and greeted.

"Why are you here so early today?" Jiang Cheng also nodded at him, "I thought I was hallucinating."

"People who earn more than me set up stalls this early; I have no face to open so late," Lu Zicheng shrugged.

Previously Jiang Cheng's earnings were about the same as his; even if a bit more, it wasn't much, so he decisively gave up the morning and waited to set up when the afternoon crowd increased.

But now Jiang Cheng earns several times what he does each day; when he has a moment of leisure, his mind unconsciously thinks that others have already set up at this hour while he is still at home, and he can't help feeling guilty.

Also, Jiang Cheng's side has good business, and his side is the closest, so he can benefit a bit; therefore, after calculating, he came early.

"Alright."

Jiang Cheng was speechless.

"By the way, Jiang Cheng, before you left last night, Xu Hai came to see me and asked about you."

Lu Zicheng said, glancing toward where Xu Hai was.

"Oh? What did he ask?"

Jiang Cheng turned his head and gave him a glance.

"He asked me whether I knew why your Roasted Sweet Potato business has been so good lately. Is there some secret?"

"Then how did you answer?"

"I said, if I knew, would I tell them?"

"That's true."

Jiang Cheng smiled faintly.

He glanced that way.

"Jiang Cheng, I'm afraid that Xu Hai won't give up so easily; you should be more careful," Lu Zicheng warned.

He brought it up also to draw closer to Jiang Cheng.

"Hmm, I will."

Jiang Cheng nodded and withdrew his gaze.

Actually, he doesn't mind those people and isn't afraid of any petty moves they might make.

What truly makes him wary are those connected with the Wild Wolf Gang.

If he doesn't save two thousand yuan in a day, he doesn't dare be careless that day.

Time quickly reached noon, and Jiang Cheng's stall was once again crowded.

Bai Wei from the Martial Arts Hall also came, bringing a short‑haired woman also wearing the Hall's attire; she was shorter than Bai Wei but equally fierce.

(End of chapter)