You promised yourself to be a caged bird, but you became the supreme young master?

"My proficiency in the Basic Body Refinement Technique remains unchanged..."

I opened the panel and confirmed my guess.

Lu Heng then abandoned his idea of ​​seeking guidance from cultivators at higher levels.

Even so, the guidance from Lu Qingyan, the second steward's eldest daughter, was still of some help to him.

Even though it didn't help with proficiency, Lu Heng still learned one or two tricks that could reduce his training time.

The secrets of spiritual practice are always difficult for those who don't know them, but easy for those who do.

With guidance, most people, unless they have very poor talent, can quickly master the skills.

The reason why Lu Heng did not grasp these tricks is that these are not included in the scope of the optimization of the cultivation method.

This doesn't mean these tips were of no help to him.

He recalled the scene where Lu Qingyan had just given him guidance.

There was no arrogance whatsoever; it remained remarkably calm from beginning to end.

As one of the top young ladies in the outer courtyard.

Their attitude was even better than that of the arrogant and domineering young members of the branch family during the previous martial arts training ground.

Perhaps because they were both from different families, or even because of their upbringing, Lu Qingyan, despite her extremely high status, was able to achieve her goals.

Unlike the other members of the main family in the outer courtyard, they wouldn't always have an undisguised contempt and disdain in their eyes when facing these branch family youths.

At least Lu Heng was certain that if it were the main family members of those outer courtyards, even if they were dealing with their own followers, they would not be likely to personally instruct them.

This is far too much of a "condescension" for them.

Recalling what Lu Qingyan said, if she could follow her before the first evaluation, which was three months in advance...

Lu Heng was deep in thought, his expression inscrutable.

Just as Lu Jinnian said, he was merely a sparring partner and not actually considered a follower, nor was he regarded as part of Lu Qingyan's future team.

The question he was pondering was…

Should I reveal some of my extraordinary talent to this young lady?

Of course, I don't really want to be the other party's follower; that would be no different from being a dog.

Even though Lu Qingyan is unlikely to act like the other members of the main family, Lu Heng is still unwilling.

From the very beginning, Lu Heng was prepared not to bow down to the outer courtyard.

That was not unwise, but a necessary insistence.

Faced with the enormous Lu family, he was indeed like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; he was under their roof and had no choice but to bow his head.

Lu Heng was able to tell himself that everything he was doing now was preparing for the future.

But in a mere outer courtyard…

Lu Heng did not want to back down.

He had already prepared himself for the possibility of being suppressed by the Lord's family during his time in the outer court.

Lu Qingyan's presence, however, added a bit more uncertainty to the matter.

But should I reveal some of my talents?

Lu Heng was still somewhat hesitant.

The reason he showed so much of his talent to Lu Jinnian was due to an accident and his recognition of Lu Jinnian's character.

At the time, he was unaware of the existence of comprehension talent; he had only intended to showcase his talent slightly.

But I didn't expect that one time would seem like too much.

Lu Jinnian was someone who was willing to lend money to him, even though his apparent talent was only mediocre at the time.

Therefore, he even made a special trip back to the training ground, having arrived at the outer courtyard early.

The reason Lu Heng was able to secure a loan and meet his short-term resource needs was also due to his help.

Compared to Lu Jinnian, who only revealed his talent after getting to know her better, Lu Heng knew practically nothing about Lu Qingyan.

Revealing one's talent rashly is definitely not a good thing.

No matter how much Versailles she tries to impress Lu Jinnian, at most she'll only get a curt "Aheng, you deserve to die!"

In front of Lu Qingyan, she was like Versailles; she truly possessed the ability to control herself.

After hesitating for a while, Lu Heng finally decided to stop thinking about it.

His final decision was to take it one step at a time and see how things go.

Plans can never keep up with changes.

Since things have come to this, let's focus on self-cultivation first.

No matter what, cultivation is always the top priority in this world.

Even if he wanted to become Lu Qingyan's follower, he would need to raise the "Basic Body Refining Method" to the proficient level before the first evaluation.

If you can't do that, then everything you think about now is just wishful thinking.

………………

Time flies, and five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

It was evening again.

The last rays of the setting sun streamed through the window, spreading a warm, golden-red hue across the blue brick floor.

As Lu Heng was about to finish his day of cultivation, he slowly let out a long breath. The breath was long and thin, carrying a faint white mist that dissipated in the cool twilight.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, his back straight as a pine tree, drawing a wisp of qi and blood from his dantian, which flowed like a trickle through his limbs and bones.

Wherever the Qi and blood flow, the skin and flesh feel as if ants are crawling, and the bones emit a dull hum. These are the traces of the Qi and blood washing over the meridians and tempering the muscles and bones.

He held his breath and focused his mind, repeatedly urging his qi and blood to stimulate the sluggish areas at the extremities.

Each flow feels like fine sandpaper polishing your muscles and bones, a mix of soreness and burning, yet a sense of clarity and comfort arises as your blood and energy return.

After an unknown amount of time, just as the last wisp of qi and blood returned to its proper place and flowed into the dantian, a soft sound burst forth from within the body, like a clear spring breaking through ice.

[Basic Body Refinement Method: Beginner 299/300 → Beginner 300/300]

Lu Heng's eyelids twitched slightly, his gaze somewhat unfocused, as if he was still immersed in the clear and refreshing feeling of his qi and blood being in perfect harmony, with only the soft sound of the evening breeze brushing against the windowpane remaining in his ears.

Lu Heng slowly let out a long breath after finishing his day of cultivation.

[Basic Body Refinement Method: Proficiency 1/1000]

Lu Heng

[12 years old]

Life Rank: None

[Cultivation Level: Body Refinement Level 1 (Mild Pill Poisoning)]

[Talent: Void Bloodline (Unawakened)]

[Technique: Basic Body Refinement Method (Proficiency 0/1000)]

Basic Swordsmanship (Beginner 75/300)

Evolution Points: 26/100 (After reaching the maximum value, it cannot be accumulated, but can unlock one life leap)

(Evolution points can only be accumulated through daily settlements)

Without a sound, he, who had spent a full twenty-six days to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, only took 15 days to advance the beginner-level "Basic Body Refining Method" to the proficient level.

If anyone else knew about this, even Lu Jinnian would find it unbelievable!

This is beyond outrageous.

This pace of spiritual practice is utterly counterintuitive!

There were no earth-shattering changes, such as the legendary reversal of one's innate nature as described in the books Lu Heng had read.

The practice has not only not become slower, but has become faster and faster. Isn't that counterintuitive?

This is a miracle created by the extreme optimization of proficiency and the dual boost of ignoring bottlenecks in the panel!

Lu Heng closed his eyes. After reaching the proficiency level in the Basic Body Refining Method, his control over himself reached a new level.

For example, to determine how much proficiency one can gain in a single practice session.

only…

The result was unexpected: neither increase nor decrease!

"The diminishing returns of talent?"

Lu Heng murmured calmly to himself.

The answer is simple.

His talent doesn't allow him to maintain 100% progress in cultivation after mastering the "Basic Body Refining Method"!