It was known that in the training camp there is a device made to detect the level of impurities in the body, young practitioners used to use said device very often.
Arriving at the training ground, right at the end in a secluded place that no one was paying attention to at the moment, a stone pillar the size of an adult person hovered dignifiedly above the ground.
The pillar contained the drawing of a palm tree and just above it, there is a transparent crystal sphere.
To activate the pillar, simply place your hand over the carved drawing and the crystal sphere will mark a number from one to one hundred, which would be the percentage of impurities in the body.
According to what I have heard from other practitioners, if one consumed an alchemy pill, the lowest quality one that was full of impurities would cause the body to be filled with 39% impurities and it would take approximately three days or a little longer for the impurities to disappear, as long as one diligently practiced the exercises in the practice manual, whether spiritual or bodily, otherwise the process might take much longer.
Going beyond 50 or 60 percent impurities could be detrimental to one's innate talent and future advancements, so it was essential not to overuse alchemy pills.
Placing my hand on the stone pillar carving, what looked like veins began to light up within the carving until they reached the crystal sphere.
A few seconds passed and a number began to appear inside the sphere.
—eight percent impurities — the percentage of impurities within a normal person would be fifteen percent, below that number someone is considered free of impurities.
Placing my hands on the cloth bag that still contained two alchemy pills, I couldn't help but think about the breathing manual; now I knew one of the benefits of practicing it.
If things continued like this, then advancing to the first stage of body refinement would be easy even with his poor talent for immortal arts.
With that in mind, I took one of the pills and began practicing the copper body in a corner of the training ground.
Recreating the first 16 exercises from the Copper Body manual, I could feel every part of my body burning with heat, however, at the end of each session, my body relaxed and was enveloped in warmth, leaving the horrible feeling behind.
Perhaps for this reason, people prefer to practice the formless Qi method even if it required more time and resources to practice.
The feeling of being burned alive was not pleasant at all, even if he couldn't feel the same level of pain as the others, he still felt uncomfortable every time he practiced the copper body with the effect of the alchemy pill active.
Still, he had to keep persevering, once he reached the first stage of body refinement, he could do what the weapons master advised him, go to the circus to earn some money.
Who knows, maybe with the help of the transparent window he could even scrape together enough money to cancel his servant contract.
Although the martial arts school had been kind and fair to everyone so far, the same could not be said if a war broke out between noble houses or a beast tide was unleashed on the outskirts of the city.
It wasn't unusual for this to happen, especially the first possibility, nor was I comfortable with the idea of someone having power over my life and my actions.
It is an unpleasant feeling that eats away at anyone.
. . . .
It's been a week and a half since I started practicing the copper body, at first I thought it would take me at least a month to reach the first stage of body refinement, but thanks to the fact that it only took me one night to get rid of the impurities and toxins from my body, surprisingly it has only taken me a week and a half.
My body began to boil, I could clearly feel the flow of my blood running throughout my body as if a storm had lodged inside my body.
I endured the pain that this entailed and after several minutes, the pain and the boiling heat in my body disappeared, an immeasurable force took over my body.
If I hit a stone wall, with my current strength I had the confidence to make a dent in it.
Although it was just a thought, I didn't get carried away by it, otherwise I would probably break my hand in the process.
A transparent window appeared with information on all my progress so far.
Strength level:
Body Refinement: Blood Refinement
Practice method:
Breathing (Beginner 27/10,000)
Copper Body/Physical (Beginner 22/50) (mortal)
Spiritual techniques:
None
Physical techniques:
Boxing Methods (Advanced 1/20)
Skill Points: 4
Aside from the information about his strength level, four skill points were also displayed. During this week and a half, I also managed to discover the value of each skill point. Of course, a single skill point is equivalent to ten mastery points in any skill, and to obtain one skill point, one needed to acquire ten mastery points in any immortal art.
With this I could master the bronze body in one stage or the boxing method, however, it would be best to wait to master them myself without tricks. I discovered that the more you advance in mastering a technique, the more difficult it becomes to progress in it. It would be best to take advantage of the initial stages to continue acquiring mastery points.
—That's all for today, I must inform the weapons master about my progress —
. . . . .
"It's a shame, a real shame." The weapons master examined me from head to toe. This was the second time I had spoken to him. I truly thought he was an interesting character.
—What's the point of having so much talent if your understanding of mastering such simple skills is so poor? — The weapons master kept saying compliments that then ended in disappointment and reprimand.
—It doesn't matter, here. —The weapons master took a metal plate from a wooden crate and threw it into my hands.
—With this badge you can go directly to the alchemy hall for four advanced rank copper body alchemy pills, if you manage to advance to the second stage of refining in one month, you will be given a combat technique of your choice for free and if by chance, you manage to advance to the third stage in two months, you will be able to be a candidate to work for Baron Andrés in addition to an improvement in the resources that the martial arts school assigns you —
The Weapons Master dismissed me after the explanation, inwardly I sighed in relief, coming here I was a little worried that he would ask questions about why I managed to advance in just a week and a half, but it seems that he didn't even pay attention to it other than just attributing it to my innate talent.
As for reaching the third stage of body refinement in two months, that remained to be seen. I wasn't too keen on joining Baron Andrew, either; I'd only heard bad things about him since I've been aware of this world.
It was not uncommon to hear stories of him discarding his own people at the slightest provocation, as well as getting rid of anyone who was no longer useful to him.
Whoever Baron Andrew was, he was definitely not a being of light worth swearing allegiance to.
The good thing about all this is that now I could participate in the city circus fights, however, since I became aware of this world, I have not fought with anyone, nor have I participated in sparring with others, usually the others only focus on practicing with the wooden or straw dummies.
The practitioners I've met so far tend to avoid getting into trouble because the martial arts school cares little or nothing about how you feel, what matters to them is that you do your job, even if you're dying.
Leaving aside his kindness, I instinctively looked to the side where a transparent window silently appeared, at this moment I had four skill points, Boxing techniques only require two points to advance to the intermediate level of mastery.
Although it wasn't a particularly good skill, it was still better than nothing.
With that in mind, spend two points on boxing techniques.
Boxing Methods (Intermediate 1/30)
A mysterious sensation was injected deep into my mind, accompanied by various movements and experiences.
It was as if I had been practicing the various boxing techniques for years, even practicing a little of these movements, I could feel the fluidity in each of my movements, along with my newly acquired strength, I was confident that I could surpass a practitioner of my same strength level.
Even so, this might still be insufficient, I decisively chose to spend my remaining skill points on boxing methods.
Boxing Methods (Intermediate 21/30)
New knowledge was injected into my mind just like before, but this was still not enough for me.
Looking at the metal plate in my pocket, I wondered if the copper body's efficiency would be even greater with advanced quality pickups.
If so, I was about to find out, and unless I took my boxing techniques to an expert level, I wouldn't be going to the circus. Not that I was afraid for my life, but my money was tight and I couldn't afford any kind of loss.