Level Up in Martial World

Lu Zhen swung his sword in a very simple manner as he continued to train with the sword.

However, his swings had evolved into something more; they were now precise and perfectly synchronized with his every breath, making it appear as if the sword were an extension of his own body.

Lu Nan's eyes widened when she saw this.

"Wasn't he a total beginner with the sword? How did he become so skilled in just moments?" she thought, feeling her worldview shattering as she observed him.

Lu Zhen's connection with the sword deepened with each passing moment, his swings growing faster and more fluid, as if the sword had become a natural part of him.

"This should be enough for now," Lu Zhen thought as he extended his hands. The moment he did, Lu Nan appeared from the shadows and handed him a towel.

Lu Zhen wiped his sweat-filled body with the towel as he summoned his system with a thought.

[Log]

He imagined pressing the log button, and the system prompt filled his vision.

[You have practiced with the sword.]

[Your sword mastery has leveled up from level 1 to level 2.]

"Hmm, it might take me a long time if I want to level up my skill. It should be better for me to acquire the other weapon mastery and then I should cultivate," Lu Zhen thought as he remembered his mother had asked him to come to her after two weeks.

Although Lu Zhen was quite confused about why she asked this of him, she must have her reasons.

"Forget it. It is better to train than to dwell on these unnecessary things without meaning," Lu Zhen thought as he looked at all the weapons he had to practise with, sighing.

[You have practised with the staff.]

[You have acquired staff mastery.]

[You have practised with the qian.]

[You have acquired qian mastery.]

[You have practised with the chain.]

[You have acquired chain mastery.]

"Hmm, these should be enough," Lu Zhen thought as he looked at the rows of notifications indicating his acquisition of weapon mastery.

"I quite like this chain; I will keep it," he thought as he tossed the chain and bound it to the tree.

With a tug of force, Lu Zhen pulled the chain. There was a "Crack" sound, and the tree appeared as if it had been uprooted from the ground. However, Lu Zhen didn't exert more force to pull it. Instead, he sent a small vibration through the chain, creating ripples that caused it to unhinge itself from the tree. Lu Zhen deftly caught the chain as it returned to him.

"Not bad. With enough refining, it will be quite useful in the future," Lu Zhen nodded with satisfaction on his face.

"You can return these weapons except for the chains," Lu Zhen said aloud.

"Yes, young master."

"Sigh, a week has passed just like this," Lu Zhen thought as he sat down on the ground, and Li Nan disappeared as he carried the weapon.

"Let me meditate now," Lu Zhen whispered softly as he slowly closed his crimson eyes, entering a state of deep concentration. In his mind's eye, he visualized the tree.

Since reaching the third-stage martial realm, Lu Zhen's visualization of the tree had become remarkably clearer and more vivid. As the blurry image sharpened, he was taken aback to see a strange mangrove tree in his mental landscape.

This mangrove tree was massive, emitting an aura that closely resembled Lu Zhen's own. As he studied the tree more closely, he noticed that some of its branches had peculiar shapes.

"Saber, sword, staff, chain," Lu Zhen murmured as he observed branches that mirrored the forms of the weapons he had acquired mastery skills for.

"The tree is quite similar to me, huh?" A small smile graced Lu Zhen's face as he began to draw in the attributeless qi from the air and convert it into wood qi through his visualization.

His qi refining speed accelerated, surpassing his previous efforts by a considerable margin. Unlike before, Lu Zhen's cultivation proceeded smoothly, his focus reached an all-time high.

Time passed as Lu Zhen became fully absorbed in his meditation. Unbeknownst to him, he inadvertently released green lights, which flickered like lightning, enveloping the meditating figure of Lu Zhen.

He took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes, revealing a satisfied expression.

He tightened his fist as he could feel his body filling with qi.

"Hmm, I have finally reached the full capacity of my body to store qi. Now, I can condense qi to the limits." Although Lu Zhen had already reached the third stage of the martial realm even in qi, he could still store some extra qi in his body.

Lu Zhen didn't want to leave that extra space wasted, which is why he hasn't started to condense the qi. Now that he has fully stored the qi in his body to the limit it was time to condense it.

"Not bad," Lu Zhen remarked as he awakened from his meditation, although he instantly felt stiffness in his body.

Hup!

He managed to rise from the ground with some effort, experiencing muscle soreness, as he moved. Lu Zhen stretched his body. He felt the stiffness dissipate.

"Li Nan."

"Yes, young master."

"How many days has it been?"

"It's been three days, young master."

Lu Zhen's eyes widened in astonishment. "I've only been meditating for such a short time?" he thought, recalling the sensation of a decade passing during his meditation.

"Novels are a lie. Didn't they say meditation is addictive, and people can stay in meditation for a long time?" Lu Zhen muttered, feeling the soreness in his muscles.

"Let's find something else to do," he decided, no longer interested in meditation due to his boredom.

"Young master, food," at that moment, Little Lily approached happily, bringing food with her.

"Oh, food," Lu Zhen's eyes lit up with hunger.

"Speaking of food, I forgot about Huang Li," he realised as he devoured the meat prepared by Little Lily. Since he started training, meat had become the mainstay of his diet, as it was the only thing that could satisfy his appetite now.

"So, how are those two girls doing now, Little Lily?" Lu Zhen inquired casually after finishing his meal.

"The girl in the purple dress seems quite disturbed; sometimes she stares at the wall and appears vacant. Once, she even ran away, but she returned after about ten minutes," Little Lily reported.

"As for the girl in the black dress, she's become my friend. She chats with me all day," she added with a smile.

"It's good that you two have become friends," Lu Zhen said, patting Little Lily affectionately.