Chapter 39: Breaking Through to the Second Layer

The consumption of 20 Experience Value is truly substantial; after all, the experience requirement for Entry level is several times that of Basic Martial Arts.

However, from the perspective of cost-effectiveness, this is simply unimaginably worthwhile.

Take the Taiji Style, for instance: upgrading from level 2 to level 3 requires 16 Experience Value, yet it only increases Constitution by 2 points and Strength by 1 point, for a total of only 3 attribute points. Calculated out, raising one attribute point costs nearly 5 experience points.

Conversely, for Taiji Fist, 20 Experience Value can be exchanged for an 11-point increase in attributes, meaning the consumption per attribute point is less than 2 experience points; the difference in cost-effectiveness is clear at a glance.

"Looking at it this way, the upper limit of Basic Martial Arts is not just a little bit inferior to these Advanced Martial Arts." Lu Yu pondered to himself, tentatively calling this type of martial art Advanced Martial Arts, even though he was unclear about the specific terminology used by Martial Artists in the outside world.

Immediately following this, he glanced at the remaining 16 Experience Value.

At this moment, he felt some regret; he really shouldn't have upgraded Taiji Style to level 3 back then. If only he had used those experience points on Taiji Fist, how great that would have been! It was just a pity that the situation at the time did not allow him to choose.

Lu Yu shook his head helplessly, his gaze focusing once again on Taiji Fist.

Although he understood in his heart that with just these remaining 16 experience points, it was absolutely impossible to raise Taiji Fist to the next level.

But he still could not suppress the impulse in his heart to try it out; at the very least, he had to figure out exactly how much Experience Value was needed to reach the next level.

Thus, he carefully added one experience point. Sure enough, the proficiency of Taiji Fist jumped upward quite reluctantly, and then it remained motionless.

"2%." Seeing this number, Lu Yu let out a sigh of relief. Calculating it this way, 50 Experience Value would be enough to achieve a breakthrough, which meant he was still 34 points short.

Fortunately, two or three more hunts should be enough to gather them; if he was lucky, perhaps he could reach the goal in a single hunt.

Let today's Taiji Fist practice end here; Lu Yu looked at the attribute panel with full anticipation.

If his guess was correct, now that his Constitution had already exceeded 30 points, his Realm was highly likely to improve once again.

Realm: Body Tempering First Layer

Level: 5 (0/16)

Constitution: 34.26

Strength: 23.36

Agility: 15.59

Spirit: 8.05

Potential Point: 20 (3 points/1 day)

Experience Value: 16

Sure enough, a plus sign appeared after Body Tempering First Layer.

"Break through? Success probability 100%."

"Still one hundred percent." Lu Yu's breathing became rapid in an instant.

In fact, he had been somewhat worried before, fearing that other attributes would not keep up, causing the breakthrough probability to fail to reach one hundred percent.

He had not expected that as long as the Constitution attribute reached the threshold, it would be enough.

Then what was there to hesitate about? Break through first! Lu Yu clicked confirm decisively.

In an instant, a sound similar to glass shattering came from his mind again, and a majestic wave of heat surged through his limbs and bones like a rushing tide, causing his entire skeleton to emit slight creaking sounds.

Not only that, his five senses also became increasingly sharp and clear.

"It must be the effect brought about by the increase in Mental Attribute." Lu Yu speculated to himself, clearly feeling that his concentration was more focused.

After a few breaths, everything returned to calm.

Realm: Body Tempering Second Layer

Level: 5 (0/16)

Constitution: 37.68

Strength: 25.69

Agility: 17.14

Spirit: 8.85

Potential Point: 20 (5 points/1 day)

Experience Value: 16

Lu Yu looked at his own attribute panel, the corners of his mouth lifting involuntarily.

Especially the Constitution attribute, nearly 38 points, only 3 points away from the threshold for the next breakthrough.

However... his gaze landed on the Strength attribute; by comparison, the Strength value appeared somewhat low.

How did the gap between Constitution and Strength attributes suddenly become so large?

Fortunately, the Strength attribute was also at 25 points; one had to know that 20 points of Strength was enough to use a bow with 100 catties of draw weight, so with 25 points, wouldn't handling it be a piece of cake?

Thus, a few minutes later.

"What?" Wang Liang suddenly exclaimed.

Li Yang and the others, who were concentrating on practicing their spears, were startled by this sudden shout and looked over in this direction with blank faces.

"None of your business, keep practicing your spears."

The crowd looked at each other, having no choice but to retract their heads and continue practicing.

"Kid, is what you just said true?" Wang Liang's tone was trembling with excitement, and even his arms were shaking slightly.

"Are you sure you heard a sound similar to glass shattering in your mind just now?"

"Yes." Lu Yu recalled for a moment and nodded heavily, "Uncle Wang, I am very sure. Not only that, I also clearly felt that my body has become much stronger. Uncle Wang, what exactly is going on?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Liang's pupils gradually returned to normal, and he let out a light breath, saying, "You kid, this is a breakthrough!"

"A breakthrough!" Lu Yu's voice also began to tremble, "Uncle Wang, do you mean that I... I have become a Martial Artist?"

"What? A Martial Artist!"

"Brother Lu Yu has become a Martial Artist?"

"Is it a Body Tempering Second Layer Martial Artist? Just like Uncle Zhao and the others?" Li Yang, Liu Kai, and the others could no longer remain calm upon hearing this conversation.

If he had reached Body Tempering Second Layer, wouldn't he be able to draw a bow with 100 catties of draw weight? And it had only been a few days!

From forty jin to?

"That's right." Wang Liang nodded, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

Indeed, for someone who could practice Taiji Fist to Entry level in just two or three days, how could their Realm improvement possibly be slow, provided there was sufficient food?

Although this speed of improvement was somewhat absurd, a martial arts prodigy could never be measured by conventional logic.

Lu Yu was also stunned, seemingly dazed by this sudden, massive piece of good news.

After a long while, he tentatively asked, "Wang Shu, since I am now a Body Tempering Second Layer Martial Artist just like Zhao Shu and the others, does that mean I can also draw that bow with a 100-jin draw weight?"

"Mm, come with me." After saying this, Wang Liang turned and walked toward the Warehouse.

For some reason, he had a vague premonition that it probably wouldn't be long before those two bows with 200-jin and 300-jin draw weights would also be drawn by Lu Yu.

"If he really can draw them, that would be for the best," Wang Liang pondered to himself.

In this world, crises lurk everywhere; one careless move could cost a life. Every bit of strength gained adds another bit of hope for survival.

"Here."

Lu Yu took the bow and felt it was significantly heavier than the 80-jin draw weight bow; the bowstring was taut, and when he plucked it lightly with his hand, it immediately emitted a violent vibrating sound.

Wang Liang handed over a quiver, "Don't use the arrows you used before; these arrows each weigh two liang, and they are perfectly suited for the bow in your hand."

"Two liang..." Lu Yu looked closely and saw that the arrows in the quiver were about 90 centimeters long, the shafts were about as thick as a little finger, and the arrowheads were nearly 5 centimeters long and 2 centimeters wide, shimmering with a cold light.

It was easy to imagine how astonishing the power would be when such an arrow was shot from a bow with a 100-jin draw weight.

"Wang Shu, I'm going to go try it out now," Lu Yu said impatiently.

"Even though you are now a Martial Artist, you have only just broken through, so make sure not to push yourself too hard," Wang Liang cautioned, still somewhat uneasy.

"Mm, Wang Shu, I know my limits," Lu Yu said with a nod and a smile.

With this bow, he could shoot and kill a Fierce Beast from over 200 meters away, and even if he encountered an Intermediate Fierce Beast like an Iron-Backed Black Bull, he would have the strength to fight.

Of course, this would also allow him to raise his Basic Archery to level 6 faster; if he could really succeed, he wondered what kind of novel traits would be unlocked this time.