Fang Ping shut the door to his room tight after he returned home.

　　The study table was laden with several books: Basic Cultivation Methods (Mandatory), The Sixteen Styles of Pole-standing (Mandatory), Basic Boxing (Mandatory), Basic Leg Maneuvers (Mandatory), A Summary of Cold Weapons (Mandatory)…

　　…

　　Fang Ping did not hasten to dive into the rest. He picked up Basic Cultivation Methods first.

　　It was approximately the size of a normal textbook, and almost as thick too, completely different from the small, thin book he had imagined it to be.

　　When he flipped the book open, a small row of words appeared in front of him: To be a martial artist, you must be humane!

　　…

　　Fang Ping did not pay the short line any heed. He read on.

　　The first page of Basic Cultivation Methods displayed a detailed diagram of the human skeleton.

　　The average adult skeleton is made up of 206 bones, which is divided into three main categories: the skull, the torso, and the limbs.

　　The skull consists of 29 bones, the torso 51, and the limbs 126.

　　The skeleton is the backbone of the human body, while the blood and flesh, meridians, and internal organs are auxiliary building blocks that complete it.

　　The Vitality and resilience of the bone complement each other in martial arts.

　　If one’s Vitality is strong where his bones are weak, his body would definitely disintegrate after a battle.

　　It is also the case when it is reversed. If one’s bones were resilient where his Vitality was barren, he would not be able to persist for long in battle as he did not have the Vitality to sustain his moves.

　　If one aspired to become a martial artist, he would have to possess Vitality strong enough to hone his bone and flesh.

　　The average human body could only sustain a Vitality outburst of 150cal at most.

　　An outburst above 150cal would require physical resilience.

　　Under normal circumstances, when one’s Vitality had reached the threshold of 150cal, and his bones had been honed to withstand an outburst of that caliber, he could choose to breakthrough as a martial artist.

　　“A Vitality of 150cal, the rudimentary honing of the bone, breakthrough as a martial artist…”

　　Fang Ping nodded as he read.

　　Soon after, he saw someone’s handwriting between the lines.

　　Those materials belonged to Wang Jinyang. He had jotted down his own thoughts when he was at school.

　　“150cal is only the threshold known by common folk.

　　“Quasi-martial artists aim to transcend the limitations of the human body. Where is the limit?

　　“When one reaches a stage in which progress is null and supplements are futile when one’s Vitality does not ascend and instead shows signs of regression when one finds himself volatile and prone to instability… This, is the true limit! Choosing to breakthrough before the limit is reached is a waste of innate talent. One will find himself submerged in mediocrity, completely undistinguished among the sea of martial artists…”

　　Fang Ping did not know if this was Wang Jinyang’s opinion or his teacher’s.

　　According to Wang Jinyang, 150cal was the threshold of a breakthrough, but opting to do so at this point would mean a dive into mediocrity.

　　Fang Ping mulled it over for a while before deciding to ask Wang Jinyang about it later.

　　He did not want to become a martial artist that dwelled in the bottom rung of the food chain. He refused to lose his dignity over his peers overpowering him.

　　Other than Vitality, there existed the problem of bone-honing.

　　A quasi-martial artist did not need to temper their bones to the highest degree; a level on which the bones were strong enough to withstand an outburst of Vitality would suffice.

　　Only after he had broken through and reached Rank-1 would he need to start pursuing lethal strength.

　　Rank-1 and 2 martial artists will hone the bones in their limbs.

　　Rank-1 martial artists could choose to hone their upper or lower limbs. Both are viable; the direction is the only difference.

　　No matter which direction they chose, they would possess considerable strength after the honing process is complete.

　　Their bones would be as hard as steel and their Vitality ample as the waters in the sea. A burst would make their limbs as formidable as a cold weapon.

　　When a martial artist who has reached this stage goes against a civilian one-on-one, he could easily kill the latter with a punch or a kick.

　　If one chose to hone his upper limbs — consisting of 64 bones — first, he could utilize his arms in combat as if they were lethal scimitars.

　　After he completed the honing of his upper limbs and his Vitality has reached a certain threshold, he could choose to breakthrough into Rank-2 and start the process of honing the bones that made up his lower limbs.

　　It is the same when reversed. Those who chose to hone their lower limbs first would need to hone the bones in their upper limbs when they reached Rank-2.

　　The book had also advised against honing only one side of the body.

　　Some students had considered honing only one side of the body first, as there was no particular order to the honing of the limbs.

　　There were some who had done that. Some of them had stopped at Rank-1, unable to progress, and become nothing more than freaks after their Vitality had taken a hit.

　　The experiences of certain predecessors evidenced the necessity of focusing on either the upper limbs or the lower.

　　Peak Rank-2 martial artists, like Huang Bin once was, are those who had completed the honing of the four limbs.

　　If Huang Bin was not drugged by Fang Ping, his limbs would all be lethal weapons. He could have easily killed Fang Ping with a kick.

　　When Fang Ping had hit Huang Bin with a wooden rod, Huang Bin had shattered it into smithereens even when his limbs were limp.

　　Fang Ping could only stun Huang Bin because of the effects of the drug and the fact that his head and abdomen both had suffered serious blows.

　　His limbs had not broken even after taking numerous strikes.

　　After the limbs were honed, Rank-3 martial artists would focus on honing the torso.

　　Rank-3 martial artists could already withstand firearms directly if they protected their heads.

　　Although they would still be injured by gunfire, injuries are rarely fatal and did not completely impede their ability to fight.

　　Of course, that did not apply in the case of a headshot.

　　Those who were unlucky and suffered wounds to the internal organs with bullets that passed through the space between the ribs would also die.

　　Comparatively speaking, Rank-3 martial artists were better protected compared to Rank-2 martial artists, and the bases they covered were larger too.

　　Lower-ranked martial artists focused on honing the strength of the limbs and the torso.

　　Honing the skull was too dangerous and risky, to the extent that the book did not mention the time most suited to do so at all.

　　The book did not cover any cultivation methods beyond Rank-3 — Basic Cultivation Methods focused on cultivation for lower-ranked martial artists.

　　…

　　The book was not thin. Fang Ping did not manage to finish it even after spending a lot of time on it.

　　The latter part of the book introduced the honing of the limbs and torso, which was not relevant to Fang Ping at this moment.

　　Fang Ping only needed to understand the content discussed at the forefront of the book.

　　Increase his Vitality, hone his bones, and become a martial artist!

　　There was a chapter in Basic Cultivation Methods titled The Methods of Honing, written specifically for people like Fang Ping.

　　When one’s Vitality has reached 110cal, he could start cultivating his Vitality and bones, guided by The Methods of Honing.

　　Some would be hard-pressed to increase their Vitality because it was weak, occupying so much space in their veins that there was no space left for them to grow.

　　One of the benefits of the Methods of Honing was the compression of Vitality.

　　One’s Vitality, as bloated and flawed as a sponge, could be compressed so as to enlarge the capacity of the body.

　　As one’s Vitality was compressed, it washes over the exterior of the human bone, and the bone strengthens as it absorbs Vitality.

　　In-depth bone-honing was not necessary in this state.

　　Some thought themselves at their limit, their bones ready to withstand the tides of Vitality, but it was proved that they had not honed themselves to the maximum. When it came to breaking through, they either suffered from a lack of Vitality, the amount their bodies had supplied them proved insufficient to propel them to the peak; or their Vitality proved to be too much for their bones, which was more deadly between both options. Every year there were hopefuls who exploded in the process.

　　“The Methods of Honing, when combined with stance training, can hone the bones more effectively…”

　　When he read the text in The Methods of Honing, Fang Ping picked up another mandatory manual — The Sixteen Styles of Pole-standing.

　　This book was all about stance.

　　There are many styles of pole-standing. The book documents the sixteen ones that are the most common.

　　After years of experimentation, this list of sixteen was formed. They were not the most effective ones, maybe, but they were definitely the most stable and easiest to learn.

　　Some were effective but difficult to pick up.

　　The process may last three to five years minimum, and eight to ten years maximum.

　　They may be more effective than other styles, but their learners would still be amateurs in martial arts while others had advanced multiple ranks after ten years; learning it would be a waste.

　　Fang Ping did not read in detail. He scanned the names of the sixteen styles.

　　Limitless Stance, Round-smoothness Stance, Three-body Stance, Horse-riding Stance ¹ …

　　Every stance came with a detailed description and basic training methods which in turn were presented in diagrams and succinct paragraphs.

　　An aspiring martial artist could choose one from the sixteen. There was not that big a difference between them, only the fact that each of them focused on different areas of the body.

　　Some of them focused on the lower limbs, while some of them focused on the upper. Some honed both, but to less effect and would cost more time.

　　…

　　After going through the book briefly, Fang Ping stopped reading.

　　He shut his eyes and thought before saying in a low whisper, “The Methods of Honing plus pole-standing plus medicinal supplements. This is the combination that most amateurs and martial artists follow.

　　“Amateurs don’t need to consider the matter of practical combat.

　　“Combat styles will only be open to them after they become martial artists. They include boxing, leg maneuvers, cold weapons…

　　“I can choose any from these options.

　　“The Methods of Honing is mandatory. I can choose one pole-standing stance that caters to my future plans.

　　“I can hone either my upper limbs or lower limbs when I’m in Rank-1. The stance that I choose will affect my progress.

　　“My sole purpose is to hone my bones, as I don’t need to care about my Vitality.

　　“Bone-honing is all about expending Vitality to nourish the bones.

　　“Which means…”

　　Fang Ping’s eyes lit up. The average aspiring martial artist found it hard to produce results in a short time due to his lack of Vitality.

　　Taking pills could help nourish his Vitality, but the human body needed time to digest and utilize the nutrients in the pill.

　　The average person would need half a month to absorb a normal Vitality Pill completely.

　　The human body would even develop a resistance when pills were taken too frequently.

　　That only applied to the average person, though!

　　“When the system replenishes my Vitality, it merges with my initial reserve as if it has appeared from thin air.

　　“Does this mean that I don’t need to consider the problem of my Vitality reserve when I’m cultivating?

　　“I can just replenish my Vitality when I don’t have enough.

　　“Most people spend three months minimum and three to five years maximum on the first step.

　　“If I cultivate all day long without needing to worry about Vitality replenishment, could I complete the first step within a short time?

　　“My Vitality is not a problem, so I can speed up the bone-honing process. If my physical strength is enough…”

　　Fang Ping’s eyes were bright. Maybe his idea was feasible!

　　If that was so, he could become a martial artist within a very short time!

　　Lower-ranked martial artists focused on bone-honing. Did that mean that he could carry it out as he had planned?

　　Completing the honing of the limbs and torso with the fastest speed possible?

　　“Maybe I can give it a try!”

　　Fang Ping, whose Vitality had already reached 120cal, was capable of cultivating with the manual as a reference.

　　Fang Ping found himself thrumming with anticipation as those thoughts materialized in his mind.