[Easy Mode Unlocked: Swing the saber fifty times to train the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique to minor mastery.]
After the top-up, the easy mode for the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique was activated. However, Su Chen didn’t begin practicing immediately. Instead, he focused his attention on the interface:
[Frenzy Wave Saber Technique: 0 times (5 taels of silver/time)]
Seeing the displayed cost, Su Chen finally felt relieved.
"It’s about the same as the Iron Wire Fist and Iron Sand Palm. There hasn’t been a change, so the next tier should be ten taels."
Fifteen minutes later, his Frenzy Wave Saber Technique reached minor mastery.
Su Chen topped up again. Just as he expected, unlocking the next easy mode for the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique cost ten taels. Without hesitation, he practiced, topped up, and grinded the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique straight to perfection. He didn’t stop until the interface displayed:
[Frenzy Wave Saber Technique: 0 times (10 taels of Gold/time)]
"This is way too fast, and way too simple!" Su Chen couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. He had to admit, the interface was incredibly effective when it came to cultivation.
A martial art like the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique would normally take years of accumulation to perfect, if one could even reach that level at all. Yet, he had managed to grind it to perfection in just two hours. He had transformed from a complete novice to a master of the saber in the blink of an eye, and his combat experience with the weapon had advanced by leaps and bounds.
"Activating the easy mode three times only cost sixteen taels in total. I still have one hundred and fifty-four taels left, which is more than enough. Let’s continue using Krypton Gold!"
He commanded the interface in his mind. To his surprise, however, it didn’t respond. Staring at the unchanging panel, he felt a wave of confusion before realization dawned on him. "Could it be that this top-up only accepts gold, rather than silver?"
The interface clearly demanded ten taels of gold instead of ten taels of silver. The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. To verify his theory, Su Chen made a trip to the Money Shop. He exchanged one hundred taels of silver for ten taels of gold, which cost him a one-tael processing fee. Returning home, he couldn’t wait to top up again. This time, the interface reacted.
[Easy Mode Unlocked: Swing the saber five hundred times to train the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique to the absolute limit.]
A smile spread across Su Chen’s face. It seemed his guess had been entirely correct.
He spent the next hour or so in the courtyard, swinging his saber five hundred times. As his final swing came to an end, his body jolted violently. A profound understanding of the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique flooded his mind, turning all eighteen stances into pure instinct.
"I bet even Liu Tong himself hasn’t trained the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique to its absolute limit!"
Executing a flurry of combo strikes left Su Chen drenched in sweat, but his expression was one of absolute delight. Having pushed the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique to its limit, Su Chen recalled his previous duel with Liu Tong and easily deduced the man’s realm of mastery. Compared to Su Chen’s current level, Liu Tong was likely lacking several years of diligent practice. Of course, that was assuming Liu Tong had talent; without talent, the gap would easily be over a decade.
"No wonder it needs to be supplemented with the Ape Arm Skill. Although the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique is powerful, it puts an immense strain on the arms. If one hasn’t specially tempered their arms, they’ll simply give out during combat."
Feeling the waves of tearing pain radiating from his arms, Su Chen grew thoughtful. He had assumed the interface would negate the technique’s drawbacks, but it turned out it only waived the toll during the actual training process. Now that he had mastered it, he would still need to learn the Ape Arm Skill if he wanted to wield the saber technique for extended periods.
"Fortunately, I still have over fifty taels of silver. That’s enough to train the Ape Arm Skill to perfection."
With this in mind, Su Chen looked at the interface. Just as he was preparing to use Krypton Gold on the Ape Arm Skill, his expression froze.
[...Frenzy Wave Saber Technique (Absolute Limit)]
[...Frenzy Wave Saber Technique: 0 times (Any complete saber technique/1 manual)]
His face then lit up with joy. "Does this mean that as long as I collect a complete saber technique, the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique can continue unlocking new easy modes?"
He was slightly stunned. He had thought the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique couldn’t be improved any further after hitting its absolute limit, yet the interface had given him a massive surprise. By simply acquiring another manual, he could trigger the easy mode all over again.
"Hold on, I shouldn’t celebrate too early. It only says it unlocks the easy mode; it doesn’t guarantee a direct upgrade."
Even so, Su Chen made up his mind to find an opportunity to obtain a new saber technique and test this out.
A moment later, Su Chen chanted inwardly, "Interface, directly activate the easy mode for the Ape Arm Skill three times."
After waiting for a bit, the interface offered no response. Su Chen smiled bitterly. "Alright, it seems the interface isn’t that smart after all. I’ll just have to do it step by step."
Practicing the Ape Arm Skill wasn’t difficult either. It merely involved swinging his arms, and the required number of repetitions for each stage was roughly the same as his saber swings.
Two hours later, Su Chen had trained the Ape Arm Skill to perfection. He rolled up his sleeves and inspected his arms. Although there were no visible changes on the surface, he could clearly feel that their defensive capabilities had increased by at least three times. Furthermore, his arm strength seemed to have surged significantly.
He picked up his steel saber and performed a set of the Frenzy Wave Saber Technique in the courtyard. This time, his arms felt perfectly fine afterward.
GRUMBLE.
Having trained for four hours straight, Su Chen’s stomach was completely empty.
"I only have a little over thirty taels of silver left!" Looking at his meager remaining funds, Su Chen let out a soft sigh. Relying on Krypton Gold was truly expensive! "Forget it, I’m having a good meal tonight!"
Without hesitation, Su Chen washed up, changed into clean clothes, and left his courtyard. He went straight to a restaurant known for its good food and didn’t head back home until he had eaten and drank his fill.
The sun set in the west, draping the entire city in a shimmering golden veil that washed away the exhaustion of everyone’s busy day.
"Li Mo?"
Before Su Chen even reached his front door, he spotted Li Mo walking toward him. Li Mo looked absolutely delighted to see him.
"Su Chen, you’re quite the busy man! I’ve waited several days, and only today did I finally manage to catch you."
However, that smile quickly faded. He stared at Su Chen, a hint of resentment lingering in his eyes. Only then did Su Chen remember that he seemed to have stood Li Mo up previously, prompting an awkward chuckle.
"Li Mo, did you come looking for me because of something urgent?" Su Chen asked.
Li Mo replied faintly, "If I didn’t come looking for you, would you just never go back to the Martial Arts Hall?"
"Uh..." Su Chen didn’t know how to respond.
Seeing his reaction, Li Mo let out a heavy sigh.
"Su Chen, if you have nothing else to do, you should really visit the Martial Arts Hall more often.
"Our Martial Arts Hall provides specific medicinal soups that can help you stabilize your bloodline much faster. The only reason Qin Hao was able to stabilize his bloodline in such a short time and earn our master’s favor was because he consumed extra doses of Qi Blood Medicine.
"Besides, you can’t just blindly grind away when practicing fist techniques. You also need to spar to improve your actual combat abilities. How about this? Starting tomorrow, come to the Martial Arts Hall, and I’ll spar with you."
Having said his piece, Li Mo looked at Su Chen. Seeing the reluctance on his face, he had no choice but to ask, "What is it? You don’t want to?"
Su Chen opened his mouth, sighing inwardly. Ever since they had shared a meal together, Li Mo had looked out for him immensely. But the truth was, he really didn’t need to go to the Martial Arts Hall anymore!
Facing the well-meaning Li Mo, Su Chen couldn’t simply reject him outright. Since things had come to this, he decided to stop hiding it and just lay his cards on the table.
With that, Su Chen held out his arm, rolled up his sleeve, and presented it to Li Mo. "Look at this!"