Chapter 20: Achievement

In other words, they must have some worry in their hearts, unwilling to explain the “origin” of the items.

When he thought about it carefully, why would a normal person care so deeply about an ordinary object?

The wooden Buddha statue was a valuable collectible, but only in the eyes of collectors. To ordinary people, it would just be a piece of junk. And Uncle Yuasa had even burned one of them, which showed he didn’t know its value. Or if he did know, he was still trying to cover something up.

“It couldn’t be stolen goods. Putting aside everything else, an established antique shop like Kyogado wouldn’t accept such clearly problematic stolen items… That leaves only one possibility…”

Most likely, these items carried some sort of inauspicious element, associated with things ordinary people considered taboo.

Yes, that seemed very likely.

For some reason, he felt this guess was absolutely right.

Since he couldn’t get any clear information, Fang Jing checked the time and decided to leave. He also handed the wooden Buddha statue over to Hatakena Gensai. The older man smiled, took out his business card, and offered it to the young man, politely asking for his phone number in return.

“Well then, Nishizuka-kun, I’ll call you if I have news. Of course, if you have other questions or want the item back, just let me know in advance.”

Fang Jing smiled and nodded. After he left, the time drew near for Kyogado Antique Shop to close for the day.

For Hatakena Gensai, this day was just as ordinary and uneventful as any other in the past.

For Fang Jing, however, this day marked a small harvest.

He took the train home. Once inside his room, he sat on his bed and began his preparations.

“Considering that the side effects after enhancement resemble the condition from extreme physical exertion like long-distance running—sort of like ‘hitting the wall’—similar to continuous, strenuous exercise. Of course, my understanding might not be entirely correct, but since it seems similar, using strategies for ‘hitting the wall’ probably isn’t wrong either…”

For this reason, he prepared energy drinks, protein bars, compressed biscuits, bread, chocolate, electrolyte capsules, and salt pills – supplies commonly used during sports and physical exertion.

During the previous sessions, Fang Jing had noticed varying degrees of dizziness during the enhancement process. Thinking quickly, he came up with a simple contingency plan.

Today, after absorbing the Yin Energy from the doll, he gained 11 units of Growth Value. This allowed him to proceed with another enhancement without reservation. Recently, despite lacking extra Growth Value to upgrade his skills directly, he had visited all the combat-oriented clubs within the school. Over time, he had picked up several basic, introductory fighting techniques.

He first glanced at his skill interface, clearly visible in the red zone listing his current martial skills.

—(Gōjū-ryū Kenpō, Intermediate Level, Progress 0%)

—(Competitive Kendo, Intermediate Level, Progress 0%)

—(Judo, Elementary Level, Progress 0%)

—(Boxing, Beginner Level, Progress 0%)

—(Aikidō, Beginner Level, Progress 0%)

—(Wrestling, Beginner Level, Progress 0%)

The skills listed after these remained dull and inactive, indicating they hadn’t reached the basic level. They required continuous practice and mastery of fundamental moves before any progress could occur.

Thanks to this training period, Fang Jing also discovered he possessed some talent for learning combat skills. His memory had improved due to intellectual skills; this was likely linked to his enhanced “Mind” attribute. With better recall, memorizing complex sequences of moves became considerably easier.

Memory was always crucial for learning, even physical skills. However, sports emphasized muscle memory more, so a strong Mind attribute was a definite advantage, though not the sole determinative factor.

“I wasn’t particularly fond of combat sports like this in my previous life. Who would have thought inheriting this new body would reveal a talent for fighting techniques?”

He seriously considered his current skills eligible for upgrade and strengthening.

“Boxing, Aikidō, and Wrestling are the beginner techniques I learned recently. While improving these has value, it ultimately can’t compare to investing Growth Value into Gōjū-ryū Kenpō and Competitive Kendo. Both have reached the Intermediate Level already. The next step beyond that is Advanced Level. I don’t even know what reaching Advanced Level would truly entail…”

Fang Jing couldn’t precisely gauge the extent of his enhanced martial abilities. Taking Gōjū-ryū Kenpō as an example, Karate itself had belt rankings, but these were primarily formal grading standards.

In real Karate sparring and contests, it wasn’t unheard of for a brown belt to defeat a black belt.

Nevertheless, the ranking system served its purpose in providing standards. A Karate practitioner who earned their black belt through rigorous training deserved respect for their proven skill.

But in actual combat, the situation could be completely different.

“Competitive Kendo is similar. One’s actual combat ability can’t be fully measured by Dan ranks. Skill enhancement also strengthens the physique, involving factors that aren’t entirely explainable.”

Precisely because of these immeasurable “factors,” Fang Jing couldn’t definitively judge his exact combat strength. The one undeniable fact he could confirm was this: his fighting prowess was indeed escalating at an utterly abnormal speed.

“Never mind that. Prioritize strengthening both this Karate and Kendo to Advanced Level right now. At this stage, improving several beginner skills can’t compete with mastering two.”

Gōjū-ryū Kenpō excelled in close-quarters combat, while Competitive Kendo represented ancient sword arts adapted for the modern era. Mastering both meant he’d be well-equipped, bare-handed or armed.

His eyes settled on the “Gōjū-ryū Kenpō” listing. Four units of Growth Value stored within the “Yin Devourer” shards ignited like grey flames. Simultaneously, the progress bar for the Gōjū-ryū skill continually rose.

After a few seconds, the skill information blurred. A strange vibration resonated deep within his body. When his vision cleared, he noticed the text had changed.

(Gōjū-ryū Kenpō, Advanced Level, Achievement Attained)

In that split second, his sight swam, and even the skill interface seemed to tremble.

It took Fang Jing quite some time to catch his breath. His organs felt like they were on fire. His mouth was parched. Grabbing his homemade sports drink, he gulped it down greedily.

After resting for a considerable while to regain his strength, Fang Jing examined his enhanced Gōjū-ryū Kenpō skill. He came to a conclusion: regarding further strengthening this particular skill… he had likely reached the peak.

“In other words, this Karate style seems to max out at Advanced Level.”

He rubbed his temples, feeling his mind teeming with newfound knowledge – countless Gōjū-ryū Kenpō techniques and insights. It was as if a torrent of relevant information had spontaneously flooded his brain.

This gave Fang Jing a much more profound and immediate understanding of this particular Karate art.

He paused to rest, resisting the urge to strengthen another skill immediately. Approximately an hour passed in this quiet state.

Convinced his body had recovered significantly, Fang Jing took a deep breath and prepared for the second wave of enhancement.