inspire-indiana Chapter 2: The Book of Credit
Chapter 2: The Book of Credit
It was an unprecedented milky-white book with two short lines of text prominently displayed on the first page.
Wu He's pupils trembled slightly upon seeing this, and his heart was filled with even more turmoil.
He blinked hard, and only after confirming that the subtitles in front of him were not a hallucination did he feel a surge of joy.
A name came to mind.
【Borrowing Money Book】
Code!
The magic touch may be late, but it's finally here!
He forced down his excitement, and together with the other pimps, arranged the corpses and cleaned up the scene so that business in the main hall could continue. Only then did he have time to return to the stove room.
This place is similar to the boiler room of my previous life, where firewood and charcoal are burned to generate heat, which spreads through the fire wall of the main building of Yuxian Tower, making the interior warm as spring.
Although such expenses are substantial, they are necessary for a high-class establishment like Yuxianlou in Xiongzhou City.
Most of the visitors were high-ranking officials and nobles; how could we allow them to be left to seek pleasure in the cold?
This fire room is the warmest place. Usually, pimps would gather here in their spare time to warm up the leftover wine and eat the leftover food.
At this moment, Wang Er and others were drinking and playing dice, while Wu He squatted to one side and summoned the Book of Debt.
The milky white book appeared, radiant with light.
[The Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Cycle is forty-nine. Now, I grant a sliver of light; to borrow this falsehood, one must cultivate the true. First ascend, then replenish; then gain another chance, and so on in a cycle.]
【Wu He】
[Realm: None]
[Martial arts skills already prepaid: None]
[Martial Arts Skill Available for Advance Payment: Python Pattern Skill (Beginner Level)]
Its skin resembles python skin, yet is as tough as soft gold, capable of deflecting swords and spears.
"First register, then fill in later... Got it."
This is... practice, huh?
Wu He felt relieved.
Simply put, it's about sleeping together first, then getting the certificate later.
The martial arts skills are advanced in advance, and then the training process is completed later.
Without the slightest hesitation, Wu He immediately had an idea.
[Martial Arts Level Already Received: Python Pattern Skill (Beginner)]
[Current progress: 0//100]
In an instant, my head snapped back as if struck by lightning.
Large fragments of ideas were forcefully shoved into his little head and violently stirred up.
At the same time, a stream of heat gushed out like a waterfall, flowing over the entire body's skin.
Numbness, tearing, burning.
In a flash, it was as if his soul had left his body, and it wasn't until ten seconds later that Wu He's unfocused eyes regained their senses.
【Wu He】
[Realm: Early Stage of Skin Tempering]
[Martial Arts Skill Already Advance: Python Pattern Kung Fu Beginner (Progress Completed 0/100)]
[Number of uses of Python Pattern Kung Fu available for advance payment: 0]
[Next stage advance payment: "Python Pattern Strength" (Minor Completion)]
[With unwavering resilience, it can penetrate to the bone, like a python weighing a hundred pounds.]
[Note: You need to make up for the current progress to get the opportunity to continue to advance this martial arts skill]
"Hmm..."
He exhaled heavily, then his eyes flashed with wild joy.
In just ten seconds, Wu He suddenly felt his body relax, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, his blood was warm, and his whole body felt incredibly comfortable.
"So this is what they call... a martial artist?"
"Early stage of skin tempering".
Wu He looked at his arms and noticed that his skin, which had been dull and rough before, was now noticeably more radiant.
I reached out and squeezed it; it felt as tough as rubber.
If you stare closely and examine it closely, you can faintly see some extremely subtle lines on the surface of the skin.
Like snake and python patterns.
He couldn't help but grin widely.
He has indeed become a skin-tempered martial artist!
Through the fragments of the Python Pattern Kung Fu consciousness that had just appeared in his mind, Wu He gained a general understanding of the martial artists in this world.
The initial stage consists of four levels of body tempering: skin, flesh, bone, and blood, which are further subdivided into early, middle, and late stages.
Also known as the Four Realms of Horizontal Training, this stage focuses on martial arts that use physical training to forge the entire body.
Skin tempering is the first stage, and the Python Pattern Technique is a martial art developed during this stage.
Considering that the tattooed giant's punch earlier was made of python patterns on his skin, he was probably also at the early stage of Skin Tempering.
"Without external assistance, it generally takes one to two years to even begin to master the Python Pattern Technique."
"Today, it's all done in one go!"
Wu He immediately stood up, and a cracking sound came from his legs.
I reached out and touched the furnace wall. It took about five seconds to feel the scalding heat, and my skin's strength and resilience increased significantly.
He picked up the iron shovel again and shoveled some coal ash. Even when he was holding the furthest, most strenuous part of the shovel, he felt relaxed.
Their strength also seemed to have increased significantly.
Only then did he feel a little safer.
"As long as I continue to catch up on the progress and make advance payments, even if I can't become a peerless master in a short time, at least I will have the ability to protect myself in this chaotic world, and I will no longer be someone who can die at any time."
"Let's try out the Python Tattoo Technique."
Wu He murmured to himself, and taking advantage of the relatively quiet time, went to the backyard.
"The body becomes a python, the qi moves at will, and internal pressure arises spontaneously..."
He stood in the cold snow, first setting up a stable foundation.
Martial arts training begins with stance training. Normally, it takes more than six months of stance training to establish a firm foundation, but Wu He has already taken the extra time and is as stable as an old pine tree.
Then close your eyes tightly, stretch and twist your body, and assume the posture of a python crouching.
At the same time, contract your abdomen, inhale deeply, and hold your breath.
According to the technique, squeeze the airflow towards your left arm.
The next instant, he felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his left lung, causing Wu Hegang's just-steady posture to collapse instantly.
"Holy crap!!"
He exhaled sharply and gasped for breath.
"The practice of Python Pattern Kung Fu, to put it simply, involves squeezing airflow into the skin, and the lungs are the first organ to be injured."
"This process can be described as self-torture."
Only now did Wu He truly understand: the first step in martial arts training is to cultivate one's willpower; if one's willpower is not firm, even the best martial arts techniques will be useless.
Born in a chaotic world, if you want to survive, you have to suffer!
Wu He's eyes were resolute. He gritted his teeth and took another stance.
Having prepared himself mentally this time, he gritted his teeth and endured the excruciating pain for a few minutes and seconds before finally managing to breathe through his left arm.
[Progress completed 1/100]
Seeing the subtitles, he was greatly encouraged and, after catching his breath, continued!
Having experienced the initial success, they gradually became more familiar with it, twisting their bodies in the snow.
Snowflakes fluttered down, and the cold wind was like a knife.
He practiced with such concentration, as unyielding as a pine tree in the wind.
At this moment, in a side room in the courtyard, a figure moved on the orange paper window, then flipped up and was supported by a wooden brace, and a sharp gaze shot out.
Looking at the figure in the courtyard, whose body was strangely shrunken and whose breathing was rhythmic, Li Bo's only remaining eye gradually narrowed.
A hint of surprise suddenly appeared in Gu Bo's calm and profound expression.
"Python Pattern Kung Fu"
Li Bo murmured softly, his voice hoarse.
After staring intently for a moment, he lowered the window, the orange candlelight flickering before disappearing silently.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Yuxianlou closes for the day.
Apart from those who stayed overnight, the other guests left in twos and threes.
The pimps began cleaning and tidying up, then left two people to keep watch at night, firstly to guard against thieves, and secondly to serve the overnight guests.
Tonight it's Wu He and Wang Er's turn.
The door to the kitchen was open, and the two were lying on a bed propped up by a table.
"Tiegen, I can't hold on any longer, I'm going to take a nap. You keep an eye on the stove, okay?"
Wang Er looked very sleepy, mumbled something, and then lay down to sleep.
The firewood crackled as it burned, and his snoring gradually rose. The most noticeable sound in the silence was the moaning coming from the rooms upstairs.
[Progress completed: 9/100]
In the short span of two quarters of an hour, Wu He had already completed nine stages of the course. Now, with no sleepiness whatsoever, he simply continued practicing on the bed...
The next morning, Wu He woke up from two hours of sleep.
The first thing I did was check the panel.
[Progress completed: 30/100]
"At this rate, it should take about two more days to completely repair it."
"Stay calm, take it one step at a time!"
Wu He was full of confidence and was about to get up.
In an instant, an extremely intense sharp pain shot through his lungs, causing him to grimace as he slowly rose to his feet. It took him a long time to recover.
"The Python Pattern Kung Fu damages the lungs; if you continue practicing like this, you'll eventually develop hidden ailments."
"According to the method, it is best to take some nourishing medicine or medicinal food to moisturize the lungs."
"During the physical training phase, exercise accounts for 30% and diet for 70%. Without proper dietary support, problems will arise sooner or later."