In the evening, Fang Han returned to his family's courtyard, carrying his substantial rewards.
"How was the Inner Hall?"
Seeing Fang Han return, Fang Zheng and Lin Wan quickly asked.
"It's not that different from the training grounds, but the benefits are much better. Not only was I rewarded with thirty taels of silver, but I also get five taels of silver and ten Qi Blood Pills every month."
Fang Han explained openly.
"They gave you thirty taels of silver right away? And you'll also get five taels of silver and ten Qi Blood Pills every month?"
"I'd long heard that the benefits in the Inner Hall were excellent, but I never expected them to be this good."
Hearing about the Inner Hall's benefits from Fang Han, Fang Zheng and Lin Wan's faces lit up with joy.
Leaving aside the initial reward, Qi Blood Pills sold for one tael of silver each. The monthly stipend of five taels of silver and ten Qi Blood Pills was worth a total of fifteen taels of silver.
What did fifteen taels of silver a month mean?
It was already more than Fang Zheng's monthly salary.
And as a member of the Fang Clan, Fang Zheng's salary was considered upper-middle class in Liangshui City.
After dinner, Fang Han returned to his room.
After bolting the door, he carefully took out a slender-necked, blue-and-white porcelain bottle from his robes.
He pulled out the cork stopper, and a unique, refreshing medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air. It was so rich it was almost tangible, as if it were the concentrated essence of herbs.
Tilting the bottle slightly, several longan-sized, jet-black pills with a faint sheen rolled into his palm.
They were warm to the touch—the ten Qi Blood Pills issued by the Inner Hall.
He carefully placed them back into the porcelain bottle and tightly sealed the stopper.
Next, he poured the thirty-five taels in silver ingots he had received today onto the table, along with the two taels of loose silver he had left in his small wooden box.
The silver ingots gleamed softly under the oil lamp, while the loose silver was somewhat tarnished, bearing the marks of daily life.
A total of thirty-seven taels—a sum that was a massive fortune to him.
'Level 2 Root Bone Talent Amplification requires a hundred taels of silver. I'm still far from that, and it's not something I can gather in a short time. I should use this to unlock the Swordsmanship Talent Amplification first!'
Fang Han made his decision.
Although Swordsmanship Talent couldn't increase his Pile Skill cultivation speed like Root Bone Talent, it was nearly as important.
This was because Swordsmanship Talent determined the strength of one's combat techniques, and the strength of one's combat techniques determined how much of their true power they could unleash.
Someone unskilled in combat could only unleash twenty to thirty percent of their full power.
But someone with superb combat techniques could not only unleash their full power but could even surpass it through the amplification of their skills.
One could imagine the importance of a combat-related talent like Swordsmanship Talent.
"Panel."
Fang Han called out for the system panel, and it appeared in his vision.
[Host: Fang Han]
[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 2x (Level 2 Amplification requires 100 silver)]
[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 0x (Level 1 Amplification requires 10 silver)]
[Wealth: 0]
"Deposit ten taels."
Fang Han picked up two five-tael silver ingots. With a thought, the two ingots vanished without a sound.
[Wealth: 10 silver]
At the same time, the "Wealth" entry on the panel changed.
"Amplify Swordsmanship Talent!"
Fang Han looked at the [Swordsmanship Talent Amplification] option and chose to upgrade it.
The panel rippled like water and changed again.
[Host: Fang Han]
[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 2x (Level 2 Amplification requires 100 silver)]
[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 2x (Level 2 Amplification requires 100 silver)]
[Wealth: 0]
'A two-times amplification!'
Fang Han's eyes burned with fervor. Just like his Root Bone Talent, his Swordsmanship Talent had also received a two-times amplification.
He didn't feel any physical change, but having gone through this once before, he knew he would naturally feel the difference when he started practicing his swordsmanship.
「The next day, in the Inner Hall's training grounds.」
'Almost there!'
After completing his Crane Form cultivation, Fang Han could clearly feel his strength increase by another fraction.
With his two-times Root Bone Talent, his daily improvement was still visible to the naked eye, even in the Flesh Refining Realm.
He felt that if he continued like this, he would soon break through from the Early Stage of Flesh Refining to the Middle Stage of Flesh Refining.
Walking over to the weapon rack, he took down a Fine Iron Longsword.
The sword felt no different in his hand.
However, when he slowly executed a thrust—the opening move of Qingfeng Swordsmanship, "Gentle Breeze Brushing the Willows"—an unprecedented feeling of clarity washed over him.
In his mind, all his understanding of the sword techniques, the subtle skills of exerting force, and the intricacies of changing angles suddenly became crystal clear, like a pearl wiped clean of dust.
The areas that had felt sluggish and confusing during his past practice were now completely illuminated.
The sound of the blade cutting through the air was no longer heavy and sluggish, but instead carried a faint, graceful rhythm.
'So that's how it is!'
Fang Han was overjoyed.
'For "Gentle Breeze Brushing the Willows," the weight shift is supposed to happen the moment my wrist turns, not be led by the force from my arm like I thought before.'
With this newfound clarity, the sword technique in his hand immediately transformed.
With a deft flick of his wrist, the tip of the sword drew an arc that was smoother and swifter than ever before. It truly possessed some of the flexible grace of a willow branch brushing against the wind!
Over the next few days, Fang Han immersed himself in his swordsmanship cultivation, fully experiencing the terrifying effects of the 2x Swordsmanship Talent Amplification.
With every practice session, new insights emerged.
Every swing of the sword was more precise and fluid than the last.
His understanding of the sword techniques was no longer superficial. It delved deep into their very essence, as if he had forged a subtle connection with the sword in his hand.
「Several days later.」
Fang Han stood in a corner of the training grounds, blocking out all surrounding noise, his mind completely immersed in the sword.
He was still practicing the same Qingfeng Swordsmanship, but it was vastly different from before.
The sword techniques were simple and unadorned, yet they carried a fluid, flowing rhythm.
To an untrained eye, it would probably seem as if the swordsmanship he was performing now was a completely different style from the one he used before.
SWISH!
He thrust out with "Gentle Breeze Through the Forest," the glint of his sword like a flash of lightning.
At the very instant the sword tip reached its maximum extension, the power throughout his body flowed naturally. The force from his Skin and Flesh Integration, the momentum from the twist of his hips and waist, and the deft flick of his wrist—all three merged perfectly, converging at the very tip of the blade.
HUMMM—!
The Fine Iron Longsword let out an unprecedentedly crisp and long-lasting hum.
A condensed gust of sword wind erupted, violently kicking up the fine dust on the ground several feet away.
'My swordsmanship has reached Minor Achievement!'
A dazzling light erupted in Fang Han's eyes.
His swordsmanship had reached a natural breakthrough, advancing from Entry Level to Minor Achievement without any hindrance.
He had been stuck at the Entry Level for a long time, but with the boost from his 2x Swordsmanship Talent, he broke through in just a few short days.
It made him marvel once again at the absurdity of the two-times talent amplification.
'If I went to test myself at the Martial Arts Stele right now, my rank should go up by one or two spots!'
Fang Han could feel that the power, speed, and piercing force of his swordsmanship were now a cut above what they were before.
With his stronger swordsmanship, his rank on the Martial Arts Stele would surely improve.
'Only the top ten get rewards... There's no real difference between rank fifty-seven and fifty-nine.'
Fang Han felt no impulse to go verify his rank at the Martial Arts Stele.
According to the Inner Hall's rules, only disciples ranked in the top ten on the Martial Arts Stele could receive extra monthly rewards.
Ranks below that did not receive such benefits.
Retesting his combat power would only draw a little more attention to himself without providing any extra benefits.
'Back to practicing!'
Suppressing his thoughts, Fang Han threw himself back into his swordsmanship cultivation.
Minor Achievement was only the second level in Martial Technique cultivation. Above it were Mastery, Great Success, and Perfection.
His swordsmanship still had huge room for improvement, and he needed to keep working hard.
However, not long after he resumed his practice, a voice filled with surprise and shock suddenly rang out.
"Your swordsmanship broke through… to Minor Achievement?"