Optimizing Cultivation Techniques!

"Dad, could you contact a butcher for me tomorrow? I want to butcher a pig myself and test my courage!"

When Lu Ze returned, he asked Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay!"

It's just a matter of spending some money, no big problem.

The next morning, as dawn broke, Lu Ze finished his meal and followed Lu Cheng to Butcher Li's house, where they found a large, fat pig already tied up, and a burly man holding a butcher knife, preparing to slaughter it.

"Master Li, wait a minute!"

Lu Cheng hurriedly called out.

Butcher Li looked at Lu Cheng and his son and smiled, "Blacksmith Lu, you've come so early, are you here to buy some good meat?"

Lu Cheng smiled and said, "We definitely need to buy the meat, but there's something else. It's like this, my son practices martial arts and wants to slaughter a pig to toughen him up."

Upon hearing this, Butcher Li hesitated for a moment.

Lu Cheng said, "Old Li, how about 20 copper coins?"

Upon hearing this, Butcher Li immediately replied, "Alright!"

Immediately after Lu Cheng paid the money, Butcher Li handed the butcher knife to Lu Ze.

Following Li the butcher's instructions, Lu Ze aimed at the vital point and delivered a fatal blow.

The fat pig squealed loudly, and fresh blood gushed from its wound.

Butcher Li was holding a basin to collect pig's blood.

Not long after, the big fat pig finally died, and Lu Ze finally gained 1 source point on his panel.

A satisfied smile appeared on Lu Ze's face.

If he could work as a part-time butcher, killing a big fat pig every morning to earn 1 Source Point.

His strength will soon improve by leaps and bounds!

Unfortunately, these days, a butcher's skill is a livelihood, and it's not easy to take on apprentices. Besides, he needs to practice martial arts, so he doesn't have much time to be a full-time butcher.

As for using money to buy the opportunity to slaughter a pig, that's unreasonable; the family doesn't have that much money.

The only way is to break through the first level of the Body Tempering Realm, achieve initial success in Tendon Refining, and become a formal disciple of the Black Tiger Martial Arts School.

Back then, with the help of the martial arts school's connections, it might have been possible to become a part-time butcher!

Not long after, Lu Ze and Lu Cheng left together, and Lu Ze went to the Black Tiger Martial Arts School alone.

He then followed Zhuo Yunfei to the canteen and received a bowl of body-strengthening soup.

At this time, some formal disciples of the Black Tiger Martial Arts School, dressed in standard black uniforms, were drinking a body-strengthening soup in the canteen.

When they made eye contact with Lu Ze, they would smile and nod, displaying a very friendly attitude.

Lu Ze held the body-strengthening soup but did not drink it immediately. Instead, he prepared to use 1 source point to enhance his body.

But then he thought about it. He could get the Body Strengthening Soup every morning, and even if the enhanced Body Strengthening Soup was ten times more effective, it would only be the effect of ten bowls.

Instead, use it to improve your cultivation techniques and increase the efficiency of body tempering!

Lu Ze stared at his attribute panel, where a "+" appeared after Black Tiger Body Tempering Fist.

"Currently available enhancement directions: 1. Improvement: Obtains the Nine Forms of Bone Forging from the Black Tiger Body Forging Fist; 2. Optimization: Enhances body forging efficiency. Please select an enhancement direction!"

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ze chose option 2 for optimization, which would improve the efficiency of body training.

The source points on the attribute panel suddenly became 0. At the same time, a message appeared in Lu Ze's mind: it was the optimized version of the Nine-Style Black Tiger Body Forging Fist. The moves had not changed, but the power exertion technique had become more refined, which could save energy and enhance training efficiency.

Not long after, Lu Ze drank the body-strengthening soup and returned to the outer courtyard's martial arts arena to begin practicing the optimized version of the Nine-Form Black Tiger Body-Forging Fist.

An hour later, he slowly withdrew his fist and checked his attribute panel: Black Tiger Body Forging Fist Nine Forms of Tendon Refining • Optimized Version (Proficiency 29%).

At this point, the proficiency level of the optimized version of Black Tiger Body Forging Fist has reached the original level.

Moreover, his body-strengthening efficiency has also improved significantly. He ate his fill in the morning and drank a body-strengthening soup, but after only one hour of training, he was already exhausted and felt hungry.

However, his muscles did not feel too tired, and he could continue cultivating after replenishing his energy and water.

This is also one of the effects of the optimized Body Tempering Boxing Technique!

Immediately afterwards, Lu Ze went out and ate seven or eight steamed buns, then came back and continued practicing.

At dusk, the setting sun was like blood.

Lu Ze withdrew his fist and checked the attribute panel. The Black Tiger Body Forging Fist Tendon Refining Nine Forms • Optimized Version (Proficiency 41%) had increased proficiency by 12%, not bad!

At this rate of efficiency, the proficiency in the technique can quickly be raised to the next level.

The efficiency of body training will also be further improved!

Lu Ze then greeted Zhuo Yunfei and left the Black Tiger Martial Arts School. On the way, he saw a group of demon-suppressing guards dressed in black Pixiu robes and carrying demon-repelling knives at their waists, who had already begun their patrol.

Recently, the frequency of ghostly attacks in Qinghe Town has increased, and the patrol time of the Demon Suppression Guards has also been brought forward.

Lu Ze pondered whether he should join the Demon Suppression Guard in the future to fight monsters and level up.

Shortly afterward, he returned home and began to eat.

However, while Lu Ze and Lu Xuan were already shoveling rice into their mouths at the octagonal table, their father Lu Cheng and mother Liu Yumei had not touched their chopsticks and their expressions were not very good.

Lu Ze couldn't help but ask, "Mother, what happened?"

Liu Yumei sighed and said, "Last night, the Green Snake Gang attacked the Flying Eagle Gang's territory and occupied several streets, including our Qingshui Lane! The Green Snake Gang is demanding that each member of our family pay one tael of silver as a head fee, which is four taels for four people. It must be paid in full by tomorrow night."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ze frowned.

The so-called "head money" is the protection fee that gangs collect per person in their territory. It's usually not a large amount; the focus is on a steady, long-term approach. For example, the Flying Eagle Gang collects 50 coins per person per month.

But the Green Snake Gang was clearly planning to make a fortune.

After all, the Flying Eagle Gang might very well come back, and Clear Water Alley might not be able to hold out. It's normal to make a quick buck first.

But for the impoverished people who came to Qingshui Lane, this was a natural disaster!

Lu Ze knew his family's situation very well. At this time, they definitely couldn't come up with four taels of silver, and their relatives and friends were also not well-off, unless they borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates.

But this is clearly a path of no return, like drinking poison to quench thirst!

If we don't borrow money at high interest rates, how can we deal with this crisis?

A surge of murderous intent rose in Lu Ze's heart.

Before he transmigrated, he faced setbacks everywhere and could only work as a laborer.

Even after transmigrating, he was still bullied. Wasn't his transmigration pointless?

The Green Snake Gang must be wiped out!

Unfortunately, his cheat ability wasn't very strong in the early stages, so he couldn't break through the impasse with force and carve out a smooth path for the time being!

Therefore, in a fit of anger, he made a mental note of this, regained his composure, and began to think about a way to break the deadlock.

Lu Ze thought of Zhuo Yunfei from the Black Tiger Martial Arts School.

At present, his only possible hope is Zhuo Yunfei, whether it's borrowing money or using connections within his sect.

If there's really no other way, we'll have to resort to high-interest loans to tide us over for a while.

Once his cultivation level breaks through and he becomes a formal disciple, he will naturally have a way to repay the debt.

Not long after, Lu Ze finished his meal, practiced body-strengthening boxing for an hour, took a shower, lay on the bed to rest, and thought about his recent cultivation plan.