Chapter 85: The Upgraded Experience Panel
Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Upgraded Experience Panel
The Black Rock Sheep were much larger than ordinary goats or sheep, so they naturally yielded more meat.
After his older sister Tangtang’s strict weigh-in, the two Black Rock Sheep had contributed a total of one hundred and forty-five pounds of meat.
It sounded like a lot, but when laid out, it took up very little space, only occupying an area the size of a few blocks of ice.
The underground ice cellar was still empty.
Looking at his sister’s big, blinking eyes, Tang Wen nodded. "I get it. I’ll fill this place up as soon as I can."
Tangtang nodded in relief. Her little brother was finally getting sensible.
He could collect a salary from the Royal Palace without having to work, and he could also hunt outside continuously to accumulate meat and supplement the family’s income.
Not bad at all.
SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH
The three women took turns adding water to the bathtub.
Their lovely, flower-like faces, steamed by the vapor, were like tender blossoms in the cold dew, exquisitely beautiful and alluring.
The way they looked at Tang Wen was filled with affection and shyness.
’Women. They can’t possibly shake my devotion to the Martial Arts!’
Tang Wen smiled confidently.
A splash of water flew up, soaking the front of Cui Lian’s dress.
’Women, they can’t possibly... So fair...’
"Ahem! The water’s full. You can go now!"
He refused the three women’s offer to attend to him and bathed alone.
A little over ten minutes later, the Experience Panel, which had been quiet all day, finished its upgrade.
Soaking in the pleasant hot water, Tang Wen had a thought, and a light gray, semi-transparent Panel popped up.
It was much more concise than before.
[Name: Tang Wen (15 years old)]
[Body: 8.75, Essence: 9.3]
[Martial Arts Realm: Second-class Martial Artist]
[Visualization Martial Arts: Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Master (2911/3000)]
[Flying Locust Stone, Grandmaster (191/18000)]
Tang Wen frowned. His Flying Knife Skill was gone.
Then he discovered that Farming, Riding Skill, Tracking, Hunting Traps, Archery, and so on were also gone.
His gaze shifted downward.
[Skill: General, Master (31/3000)]
’General?’
Tang Wen focused his attention on this entry.
General was a composite skill. All the low-level, non-distinct abilities that had disappeared were now here.
Flying Knife Skill, Farming, Riding Skill, and so on.
He thought for a moment and had to admit that the word "General" was a very fitting description.
These skills really did have one thing in common: they were easy to learn.
There was basically no difficulty to them.
Although Flying Locust Stone was similar, Tang Wen had invested a great deal of time into it. Now that it had its own specific Contemplation Method, it had been completely elevated.
Naturally, it wasn’t included in this category.
[Earth Fire Mixed Element Stance, Master (1700/3000)]
This was a fusion of several Cultivation Techniques: Earth Fire Stance (Meditation), Mixed Element Stance, and the Breathing Technique.
They were Basic Techniques for enhancing his Attributes.
After the fusion, it boosted even more Attributes.
Tang Wen had come out ahead.
[Eight Vajra Techniques, Expert (7011/18000)]
To his surprise, the Eight Vajra Techniques hadn’t been merged, either because it was special enough or its Level was too high.
[Wind-breaking Blade, Expert (3001/6000)]
[Traceless Step, Mastery (1719/3000)]
[Hard Qigong, Mastery (18/3000)]
[Beast Taming Skill, Beginner (351/1000)]
SPLASH!
Tang Wen stood up from the water, droplets trickling down to reveal a physique that would make men scream and women feel inadequate.
He hastily dried himself, changed into his training clothes, and went into the courtyard to practice the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist.
The sound of cracking air echoed through the courtyard.
After a short while, a voice called out, "Are you tearing the house down? Tearing the house down?"
His older sister, wearing a nightgown, poked her head through the doorway, pouting at her younger brother.
"Uh, I’ll go practice at the battalion."
The Experience Panel had upgraded, and his Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist was also about to break through.
Tang Wen couldn’t wait to test it out.
He changed his clothes again and went to the Guard Battalion that very night, entering the courtyard assigned to him and Zhou Bing for training.
He started practicing on the Iron Man Target.
The sound of BOOM BOOM BOOM rang out.
Commander Li, who was on night duty, hurried over to investigate.
Arriving at the courtyard gate, he saw Tang Wen continuously erupting with Power, striking the Iron Man Target used for training.
’So it’s just that guy Tang Wen, training!’
’Nothing to worry about then.’
’Wait, no!’
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Commander Li counted silently. ’Based on the sound, that was five bursts just now, and now it’s six, seven, eight, nine, ten... fifteen!’
’Is this kid even human?’
After fifteen bursts, his experience rose by a point, and Tang Wen stopped.
[Visualization Martial Arts: Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Master (2911→2912/3000)]
"Is something the matter, Commander Li?" Tang Wen looked toward the gate.
"Fifteen bursts! Fifteen bursts!"
He was so young, yet he could unleash fifteen bursts in one go.
Commander Li muttered to himself outside the gate.
Tang Wen secretly shook his head, reminding himself to be low-key. "That was it for me. I was just about at my limit, just about."
"Almost at your limit? I couldn’t throw that many punches even if I pushed past my limit!" Commander Li’s eyes were full of envy.
Tang Wen had no time for small talk with him. After a few perfunctory words, he turned and went to the Royal Palace.
The Royal Palace had private little training courtyards with underground secret rooms. The walls of these rooms were cast from steel.
Definitely durable!
"Tang Wen?"
The Forbidden Guard Commander, Qian Dong, was a little surprised to see him.
"Didn’t you go out into the wilds to cultivate?"
It was an enviable situation. Tang Wen didn’t have to work, only collected a salary, and could go wherever he wanted.
"I came to the Royal Palace to find a secret room."
Qian Dong led him inside, joking, "You just treat the Royal Palace like your own home, don’t you?"
Tang Wen chuckled as well. "Is it possible that my current position as Commander is officially registered to the Royal Palace?"
"Damn!"
Qian Dong laughed and cursed, pointing to a courtyard in the corner. "Nobody ever comes here. It’s the most remote one. You can train for as long as you want."
"Thanks!"
"What’s there to thank? How about you share one of your maids with me?" The thick-browed, big-eyed Qian Dong had a lewd look on his face.
"Heh."
BANG!
Tang Wen walked into the courtyard and slammed the gate shut.
Qian Dong made an obscene gesture before returning to his post at the entrance.
The other commanders were all very envious of Tang Wen’s special treatment.
But it was all just talk. Deep down, they knew the score. When it came to talent or merit, none of them could compare to Tang Wen.
On what grounds could they compare their treatment to his?
The Training Halls in the Royal Palace were equipped with fresh water, dried meat, towels, and beds.
They were cleaned regularly and were very tidy.
He moved the Iron Man Target, which was two meters tall and weighed several hundred pounds, from the courtyard into the secret room.
This was also Tang Wen’s first time here.
Only after going down did he realize that the secret room was quite spacious, about the size of half a basketball court.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
He set down the Iron Man Target, and the rhythmic sounds of power bursts began.
Another round of bursts.
Fifteen consecutive bursts.
Experience +1.
Huu!
Tang Wen leaned against the cold iron wall, panting slightly.
He regulated his breathing with the Breathing Technique.
After a little over ten minutes, his formidable Constitution had already replenished his expended stamina.
Next up were bursts from his feet.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
His feet left shallow footprints on the floor of the secret room.
Tang Wen’s figure was like a phantom, appearing in various corners of the secret room as if by Instant Teleportation.
Such a scene in the dead of night...
If an ordinary person were to see it, they would surely be scared half to death.
Eleven bursts.
Experience +1.
’Looks like training my legs is more efficient than training my fists.’
Tang Wen subconsciously began to calculate his gains.
He practiced the Breathing Technique for a while, as usual.
He continued his training, combining fists and feet.
BANG!
The Iron Man Target took a punch and was sent flying into the air.
CRACK! Tang Wen executed a burst with his feet and caught up to it.
BANG! Another punch.
The Iron Man Target, weighing several hundred pounds, bent at the waist.
BOOM!
A sweeping kick.
The Iron Man Target’s legs also bent.
Seven bursts of kicks and punches, Experience +1.
"As expected, training with combos is more effective."
BAM BAM, BOOM BOOM BOOM...
As the morning star rose and the sky was just beginning to brighten...
Tang Wen walked out of the secret room.
He was dragging a... well, an irregularly shaped lump of iron.
It was the Iron Man Target.
Its height was now only half a meter; its arms, legs, head, and torso were all twisted and mangled from the horrific violence.
It could no longer be called an Iron Man Target. At best, it was a mangled man target.
"How thoughtful. There’s a spare."
A weary smile appeared on Tang Wen’s face as he reached out, grabbed the new Iron Man Target, and dragged it into the secret room.
However, he didn’t continue training. After setting up the Iron Man Target, he returned to the small building in the courtyard, wiped himself down, ate some dried meat, and fell into bed.
Training with the Contemplation Method consumed physical stamina, but it consumed even more mental energy.
Even a freak like Tang Wen couldn’t keep training from morning till night.
「Four days later.」
A loud bang echoed out.
The fourth Iron Man Target was smashed into the wall.
Experience +1.
Tang Wen let out a long breath.
[Visualization Martial Arts: Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Master (2999→3000/3000)]
"I’ve finally reached the critical point."
His expression was solemn. In the past, whenever a skill reached its threshold, Tang Wen had always had to figure out a way to break through on his own.
This time, the Panel had upgraded, and he wanted to see if he could just "grind" his way through.