Three years later, Li Ming celebrated his twenty-first birthday.
Over these three years, Li Ming had grown taller, reaching an impressive height of 1.85 ters. His persistent training in martial skills had rendered his figure well-proportioned and his movents agile. Coupled with his extraordinary appearance, anyone who saw him would have to praise him as a tall and handso young man.
"It’s ti to head to the Capital City for the imperial examination," he said.
That night, Li Ming put down yet another book and looked up at the bright moon in the sky. A sudden urge to admire the moon arose in his heart, so he pushed open the door of his study, walked into the courtyard, took a step, and instantly leaped several ters into the air, landing on the rooftop.
Feeling the martial force within him, Li Ming shook his head again.
Once, when he had first been exposed to the mundane martial skills of this world, he thought that their power could rival the ancient martial arts of Earth.
But now, as his cultivation beca deeper every day, he realized that was not the case.
The power of the mundane martial skills of this world was indeed not bad, but it was at most comparable to the ancient martial arts before the apocalypse. Compared to the ancient martial arts that Li Ming and many others had continuously improved on, there was a significant gap.
"Capital City, an opportunity to co into contact with this world’s systems of Immortal Paths and Innate Martial Ways," he thought as he lay on the rooftop, resting his head on the tiles and looking up at the moon.
Day after day of reading, writing, and perusing reports, after three years and with the aid of his powerful ntal force, he had mastered all the knowledge available to him, including the dical arts of this world.
Although he was only at the beginner’s level, his mory was so good that he could recall all the herbal dicine and prescriptions he had learned, enabling him to treat minor illnesses and injuries.
In addition, three years of diligent practice had greatly advanced his martial cultivation, evident from the fact that he could leap onto the roof with a slight tap of his toes.
His talent had always been exceptional, and his early training in practices like "Fetal Breathing Technique" and "Original Energy Stance" from the authentic Taoist foundation-building thods had increased the pure yang energy in his body, enhancing his talent even further to the level of a prodigy.
Thus, he had trained in martial arts every day for three years and had already achieved great proficiency in "Green Pine Wishful Strength," a special martial skill. Likewise, he had reached a minor level of accomplishnt in "Mixed Elent Skill," a true technique of the Qingsong Sect.
And it didn’t stop there; he had also trained "Mixed Elent Palm," which was a part of the "Mixed Elent Skill," to a minor level of accomplishnt.
"Mixed Elent Palm," as a technique derived from "Mixed Elent Skill," was naturally an excellent palm thod, especially when its true energy was used in conjunction with "Mixed Elent Skill," it could unleash the maximum potential of the palm technique.
If ordinary true energy was used to execute "Mixed Elent Palm" in combat, it would count as an excellent palm thod, but when powered by "Mixed Elent Skill," it undeniably beca a nearly first-rate palm technique.
Now, Li Ming had achieved minor accomplishnt in both "Mixed Elent Skill" and "Mixed Elent Palm," especially with "Green Pine Wishful Strength," which allowed him to learn any martial skill more easily and also enhance the power of various martial skills. He had already gained considerable strength.
Unfortunately, he was still young. Even though his exceptional talent had allowed him to attain minor accomplishnt in "Mixed Elent Skill" within three years, it equated to the true energy accumulation of a normal person after twenty-five years of practice.
While having twenty-five years of true energy at his current age was enviable for many smaller sects, wandering warriors, or lone rangers, it wasn’t much on the whole Jianghu scene.
Especially now, on his way to the Capital City, the journey was long and unpredictable. Even though the Central Plains were under strong control of the Imperial Court, one could never know what might happen, and the Capital City itself was a den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. There were not just first-rate masters there, but several well-known supre masters.
These supre masters, if placed in the Jianghu, would each be akin to the leader of a major sect, and even Xu Jin, his master and the Transmission Daoist of the Qingsong Sect, suspected that within the Imperial Guard, there were Grandmasters stationed, quite possibly more than one.
Under such circumstances, how could he, an insignificant figure with only twenty-five years’ worth of true energy cultivation and martial skills not yet mastered to the point of graduation, feel secure?
"Forget it, let’s not entertain any more thoughts for now. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Pine View and earnestly discuss with my master about heading to the Capital City for the imperial examination. Given my current status in Pine View, I should at least be assigned a couple of seniors to protect along the way," he pondered with a flicker of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
He had grown up under the protection of Pine View, learning martial skills from Pine View since he was a child, and had beco inseparable from Pine View. Despite being a secular disciple, his status was no different from that of an inner sect disciple with true inheritance.
As his talent blossod, Pine View’s investnt in him also kept increasing. Now, at only twenty-one years old, by the common age of thirty-three for graduating in Jianghu, he still had twelve more years to fully master the sect’s martial skills and be permitted to venture out.
By then, as a newly graduated expert of Pine View, his na would surely resound throughout the Jianghu, marking the mont for Pine View to reap the rewards.
As he aged, his talent showed no signs of waning; it seed to be growing even more solid and stable, naturally garnering more attention from within the sect. Knowing that he had decided to go to the Capital City to take the imperial examination soon, they would undoubtedly accompany him all the way.
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