Daily News: You promised yourself to be a fisherman, but you've become a martial arts god?

Looking at the claws, Li Nian nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself:

"The Deadly Frost Eagle Claw is indeed a martial art that I comprehended from the Sky Eagle Stance. It took so many years to reach perfection."

"I thought that mastering the Frost Eagle Claw to perfection would be enough, but I never expected that I would actually comprehend the Frost Eagle Claw, which is even more powerful than the Frost Eagle Claw."

"It's a pity that I couldn't comprehend the 'Unlimited Salvation and True Capture of the Heavens'.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Li Nian's eyes.

Then, it vanished completely.

Since we have already vaguely grasped the true essence of "The Explanation of the Boundless Crossing of Calamities and Capturing the True Essence of the Heavens" through "deduction", it is not impossible that we can comprehend its true essence through further "deduction".

While I was thinking, a blue box popped up in the system.

[Detected a martial art that can be deduced: Frost Eagle's Ferocious Claw. Continue deducing?]

【whether】

"no!"

Li Nian refused without hesitation.

The Frosthawk's Ferocious Claw has reached perfection and is more than enough.

Although continuing the deduction might lead to the understanding of the true essence of "The Immeasurable Explanation of Crossing Calamities and Capturing the True Truth in the Heavens", this method is too profound, and failing to comprehend it would be a waste of intelligence points.

Now is a time when intelligence points are scarce, and we cannot squander them recklessly.

Composing himself, Li Nian's heart stirred.

"Deducing the movement technique as elusive as a dragon!"

[The deduction of the movement technique is complete; proceed with the deduction.]

Space came to a standstill once again.

Golden light regeneration.

Time flies.

[In the third year, you devoted yourself to this martial art, practicing diligently day and night, wearing out a hundred pairs of straw sandals, and finally achieved a minor level of mastery. Your movements were light and silent, and you began to develop the elusive and graceful form of a dragon.]

[In the tenth year, you practiced diligently without success. One day, observing a chicken's foot bound with iron, you had a sudden inspiration and forged a pair of iron boots to hone your agility. Despite your legs aching and feeling like they were about to break, you never stopped. Hard work pays off, and your agility reached its peak. In an instant, you could move several meters, standing still like a deep pool or a towering mountain, and when in motion, your figure would vanish like a dragon in an instant. Ordinary sights and senses could hardly detect your movements.]

[In the twenty-first year, you realized that honing your agility with iron boots was no longer of much use, so you created a mud pit and spent your days honing your agility in it. One day, you walked on the mud without leaving a trace or sound, your agility perfected, your figure blending into the rhythm of heaven and earth, coming and going without a trace, moving and still at will, and no one of your level could predict your movements.]

[In your thirtieth year, you began to reflect, attempting to comprehend the true essence of the "True Body of the Giant Elephant of Sumeru" that you had touched upon when you were deducing the "Iron Shirt" technique. You did indeed glimpse a trace of its essence. Although you could not fully deduce it, you gained a wisp of inspiration from it. With this, you perfected the "Swimming Dragon Without a Trace," evolving this close-combat movement technique into a light-body skill that could be used for both close combat and retreating at will—the Prajna Swimming Dragon Great Art!]

Thirty years of arduous training in body techniques transformed into golden light that flowed into Li Nian's entire body and nine orifices.

"Lightness skill!"

Li Nian opened her eyes, and golden light flashed in them like a swimming dragon.

He felt light and agile, without the heaviness that came with bone training.

With a light step, the body grows as nimble as a feather in the wind.

This one step lifted him two and a half meters off the ground!

With a momentary landing, Li Nian gathered her energy and leaped forward. Her blood and qi flowed smoothly and without obstruction, her figure ethereal like a cloud or a shadow. There was no hesitation in her rise and fall, and she moved freely and at will, as if walking on flat ground on the lake.

"Cool!"

Li Nian landed on the lakeside and laughed loudly, looking up at the water.

No man can resist the power of light-footed kung fu.

That's right!

After a moment, he suppressed his joy, his eyes turning cold and distant.

"With this lightness skill in hand, we have nothing to fear from Liu Tanqi!"

"Even if Liu Tanqi is at the peak of Ming Jin, he can't stop me if I want to leave!"

"Besides, I now possess the offensive technique Frost Eagle Claw, the protective divine skill Iron Shirt, and the lightness skill Prajna Soaring Dragon Technique; killing him might not be impossible!"

"We'll keep the remaining 28 points of intelligence for now. If we encounter any good martial arts techniques, we'll use them for further analysis!"

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Li Nian's figure disappeared by the lake.

...

Yuan Fei went to the underworld to report on the thirty-first day.

The sky was beginning to brighten.

On the waters near Crescent Moon Island, a covered boat cuts through the morning mist and heads south.

A handsome man stood at the bow of the boat, letting the lake breeze make his clothes flutter.

This person was none other than Li Nian!

The person rowing the boat behind him was Zheng Changgong, who had been assigned the day before.

"Zheng Changgong, Ma Shoutian mentioned to me yesterday that you went to Zening Prefecture to pick up Miss Jie from the academy. I wonder what kind of sect the Miss belongs to, Zhaowu Academy?"

Li Nian asked curiously.

Qianhu County has many martial arts schools, but it is a small place and cannot compare with the schools in the prefecture.

It is reasonable for a large family to send its children to better places to learn martial arts for the sake of the future.

The reason he wanted to know about the martial arts school where Miss Yi was located was so that he could have a reference point when he left Qianhu County in the future.

After all, with such an incredible intelligence system at his disposal, he couldn't stay in Qianhu County forever.

A bigger world awaits him outside!

As Zheng Changgong rowed, he reported to Li Nian:

"Your Excellency, the Zhaowu Academy, where the two young ladies of the main family are enrolled, is a subordinate academy of the Lingxiao Sect."

"Lingxiao Sect?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. Lingxiao Sect is a major sect in Changzhou, with a total of eight subordinate academies, of which Zhaowu Academy is one."

"This Zhaowu Academy is overseen by an inner sect elder from the Lingxiao Sect, but the instructors are said to be outer sect disciples who have made little progress and are simply assigned here because they have nothing else to do."

"The tuition at Zhaowu Academy is extremely high, costing ten taels of silver per person per month, which adds up to one hundred and twenty taels per year!"

Li Nian's gaze darkened.

It's a lower academy, and it only teaches disciples who have difficulty making progress in the outer sect. The tuition is so expensive, yet it can attract the Yi family to send their children from afar to study there.

The Lingxiao Sect itself is truly terrifying.

"Within Ze Ning Prefecture, what power can rival the Lingxiao Sect?"

"There are four major powers in Ze Ning Prefecture: Lingxiao Sect, Jing'an Marquis's Mansion, Tianyan Sword Sect, and Chaoyuan Pavilion."

"These sects have profound foundations and numerous experts, and their rules are quite strict."

"For example, in the Lingxiao Sect, all disciples of the eight lower academies must knock on the Blood Gate and enter the Ming Jin realm before they are fifteen years old in order to join the main sect and obtain the status of an outer disciple."

"If you want to join the inner sect, you must unlock the hidden strength barrier before the age of twenty-five."

Li Nian wasn't too shocked.

In the path of martial arts, the fittest survive.

The larger the sect, the stricter the selection process!

After all, the quality of disciples reflects the reputation of the sect, so it cannot be taken lightly!

If such a threshold were placed in Qianhu County, it would be enough to deter 99% of the people!

Lost in thought, Zheng Changgong sighed and said:

"To be honest, Your Excellency, my grandfather, Zheng Cheng, was an outer disciple of the Lingxiao Sect in his early years."

"Unfortunately, his talent was limited. After many years of studying, he was unable to break through the hidden strength. Disheartened, he went to Qianhu County and started his own business there."

"If the old man had been able to break through to the Dark Force realm back then, even if he hadn't succeeded, he could have been sent down to a sect's lower academy as an instructor, and I could have gone in there to learn."

"However, if that's the case, the old man might find someone else, and I won't exist anymore..."

Li Nian looked up at the blazing sun overhead, feeling the damp lake breeze on her face.

His eyes were calm as an abyss.

"The number of martial arts practitioners in the world is as numerous as carp crossing a river, but very few truly reach the top level."

"Having been born into this world, how could I, Li Nian, wish to live a mediocre and ordinary life?"

"If Heaven had not given birth to Li Nian, the martial arts world would have remained in eternal darkness..."