The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

Xia Huai had witnessed everything that happened in the dilapidated temple, so Lu Jing didn't hide anything and spoke directly.

"I've been busy lately, uh... focusing on internal energy cultivation, and haven't had time to learn any techniques. My master is out and I don't know when he'll be back. I want to learn some moves to defend myself. Do you have any martial arts I can learn?"

However, Xia Huai, upon hearing this, revealed a rare look of difficulty.

"I know many sword techniques and would be happy to teach you, but there are rules in my sect that forbid the transmission of sword techniques from within the pavilion."

Lu Jing wasn't surprised by this answer. When Zhang Sanfeng accepted him, he had also made him swear a similar oath: unless he took on disciples in the future, he was not allowed to pass on the sect's martial arts. Even Little Vajra Strength had spread widely in the martial world, let alone the unique skills of those famous sects.

Lu Jing had only asked casually, not expecting much, but to his surprise, Xia Huai added, "Don't worry, there's no such rule for martial arts outside the pavilion. My eldest brother has been traveling the martial world for the past two years, and he must have other martial arts manuals with him. I'll ask him for you when I see him, but... I estimate they won't be as powerful as the ones in the pavilion."

"That's okay, having something is better than nothing."

Lu Jing's immediate priority was to find a way to use up the internal energy in his dantian on time, and then add an active attack skill to his panel, so he wouldn't have to AFK every time he encountered an enemy.

So he wasn't picky. As for those more powerful martial arts, he certainly wanted them too, but he had to take things one step at a time. First, he had to make sure he had something to use, and then reach for something better.

"Also, lightness skill, if possible, please ask for one for me too." Lu Jing added. He was also plagued by his short legs. To beat others, he had to be able to catch up at least. Moreover, a good lightness skill could greatly increase one's chances of survival when venturing out.

For example, his master, Zhang Sanfeng, was a good example.

"No problem," Xia Huai agreed readily.

If other martial artists heard their conversation, they would probably be dumbfounded. Martial arts manuals, even ordinary ones, were very precious. In fact, many Jianghu conflicts arose because of manuals, just like the Qingzhu Gang incident, which attracted many Jianghu people to Wujiang City, making it a martial arts event.

And even slightly inferior martial arts were difficult to learn unless you formally became a disciple. Lu Jing was new to the martial world and only had a vague idea about this.

He knew that martial arts were hard to come by, but he didn't know if it was as difficult for a disciple of a top sect like Xia Huai to obtain an outer sect martial art. As a result, he was somewhat misled by Xia Huai's easy agreement.

As for Xia Huai, although it was her first time down the mountain, and she did look down on most outer sect martial arts, she still knew the basic value of martial arts. However, Lu Jing had saved her once in that dilapidated temple, and then promptly brought her here to find a doctor when she was injured, so she wanted to do something to repay him.

It was rare that Lu Jing happened to need something, so she readily agreed.

Lu Jing felt more at ease and had something to look forward to after receiving Xia Huai's promise. However, anticipation was, after all, a future matter. Seeing that the day was about to pass and a new day was approaching, he had to empty his dantian before his internal energy increased again.

Lu Jing originally planned to spend a day doing some experiments, but the experiments were interrupted as soon as they started. However, there were gains and losses. Facing the Five Heroes in succession allowed him to consume... a quarter of the internal energy in his dantian.

Wait, wasn't this a scam?

At this point, Lu Jing also realized something was wrong. Wasn't his level just at the peak of the third-rate? How could he fight five third-rate masters in one go, and still have so much internal energy left after defeating four of them? This didn't make sense!

Then he remembered the "standoff" with Qin Xiaotou on the second floor of the teahouse, and the two punches he took from Fang Zijing. Only now did Lu Jing realize something.

Back then, he could repel two martial artists to the point of vomiting blood even before opening any acupoints. In that case, the amount of internal energy stored in his dantian couldn't be calculated using normal methods at all. Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Lu Jing's forehead, and he stood up from the chair with a snap.

Xia Huai, seeing this, asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"I, I need to practice."

Xia Huai's eyes immediately filled with admiration upon hearing this. "Young Master Lu's diligence is truly remarkable. No wonder he has cultivated such powerful internal energy at such a young age. Given time, he will surely enter the ranks of the Jianghu's first-class."

"No, I wouldn't dare," Lu Jing quickly waved his hand. "Things are pretty good as they are now."

After saying that, he ignored the puzzled look on Xia Huai's face and got up and went out of the house.

Coming to the front of the thatched cottage, Lu Jing looked around and saw a vat half a man's height, filled with a tank of salt water, and soaked with something he didn't know. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, Lu Jing walked over and picked up the big vat with both hands.

As his arms exerted force, a warm current also surged out of his dantian.

The originally heavy vat suddenly became much lighter. Lu Jing held the vat and sneaked to the back of the thatched cottage. First, he tried running around for a short distance, feeling the speed of internal energy consumption. Then, he tried holding the bottom of the vat with one hand, then removed one finger, feeling it, and then removed another finger. Three fingers were basically his current limit.

The big vat, along with the things inside, should have exceeded two hundred pounds. If he didn't have internal energy, Lu Jing's fingers would have fractured long ago, but now he could feel the muscles being torn at the edge, while the internal energy in his body was constantly repairing those three fingers.

This was also something that Lu Jing had researched at home during the previous ten days. He found that when his body reached the edge of its limit, the speed of internal energy consumption would be faster than usual. For example, now, holding the vat with three fingers consumed internal energy faster than holding it with both arms. Of course, compared to the amount of internal energy in his dantian, the speed was still not very optimistic.

But Lu Jing had no other choice now. Consuming a little was better than nothing.

In addition, he also found that the toughness and strength of the muscles in the repaired area seemed to be a bit stronger than before. This provided him with a new cultivation idea. Perhaps he could try some kind of external martial art in the future, and maybe it would have a miraculous effect on consuming internal energy.

Unfortunately, this matter was even more distant than the techniques and lightness skills he wanted.

While Lu Jing was holding the vat, switching fingers, he heard Old Man Jia's roar from the front of the thatched cottage, "Which bastard stole my pickles?!"