Two quarters of an hour passed in a flash.
Jiang Ping and the others stood quietly in the Martial Training Ground, each with a straight posture and full of energy and spirit.
Chief Escort Liang stood before them and said:
"Our escort agency's Nourishing Life Art consists of a total of eighty-one movements. When practicing, you must coordinate with the breathing techniques, characterized by being slow rather than fast. However, it consumes a lot of energy, so practicing after meals is more suitable, allowing you to absorb the essence of beef and rice to the fullest."
"So after practicing, you must eat meat, preferably beef, otherwise, if your eating can't keep up with your training, it will only be counterproductive."
"Now, I'll demonstrate this set of Nourishing Life Art for everyone, watch carefully and learn well!"
With that, the Chief Escort began his demonstration.
His movements were slow, yet they flowed like water.
Meanwhile, during the demonstration, Liang Sheng also imparted the breathing techniques.
The trainee escorts naturally widened their eyes, watching intently, desperately memorizing, even unconsciously slowing their breathing.
A full quarter of an hour passed before Liang Sheng stopped his movements and looked at everyone, "Remembered it? Who will come forward and practice it once?"
Silence.
This set of Nourishing Life Art consists of eighty-one movements, and it must be coordinated with breathing techniques. Unless one has an extraordinary talent and photographic memory, how could they remember it all in one go?
Just as everyone hesitated, afraid of making a fool of themselves, a voice rang out, "I'll do it!"
Jiang Ping looked over, and it was Qian Dele from the same dormitory.
With a serious expression, he stepped forward and began to practice.
"Did he remember it all?" Luo Tiegen looked surprised.
"Probably not," Jiang Ping shook his head.
Luo Tiegen breathed a sigh of relief, then looked puzzled, "Then why did Brother Qian dare to demonstrate?"
"He probably wants to use the practice to have the Chief Escort correct his mistakes, which is actually an opportunity for individual guidance."
As soon as Jiang Ping spoke, he saw the Chief Escort scolding while correcting Qian Dele's movements.
After Liang Sheng's guidance, everyone realized that the movements of this top-five performer in the Fist Strength Test were indeed on point.
"If I had known, I would have gone too," Luo Tiegen, who couldn't remember the movements, felt somewhat regretful.
Coming back to his senses, he couldn't help but ask Jiang Ping softly, "Brother Jiang, since you knew there would be guidance, why didn't you go up?"
"Because I've already got it down."
This was something Jiang Ping absolutely couldn't say out loud.
Though his face showed little expression, his heart was already filled with uncontrollable excitement.
Just after the Chief Escort finished demonstrating the Nourishing Life Art, a golden light flashed in Jiang Ping's mind.
A golden seal with the inscription 'Late Bloomer' suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Fate: Late Bloomer]
[Attribute: Perseverance, bound to achieve something]
This fate might not allow Jiang Ping to break through quickly like a genius, but its ability foretold that his destiny would be rewritten from now on!
'Perseverance, bound to achieve something!' This indicated that as long as Jiang Ping continued to practice diligently, he could definitely master the Nourishing Life Art and become a martial artist.
Similarly, with the blessing of the fate, he had already memorized the key movements of the Nourishing Life Art by heart.
Next, he just needed to accumulate through sweat, and his Blood Qi would naturally grow!
Therefore, he gave up the opportunity for the Chief Escort's guidance.
......
In the Martial Training Ground.
As time passed, everyone noticed that Qian Dele's movements became increasingly standard, and many people realized.
This was clearly a great opportunity for individual guidance, but unfortunately, they missed it.
When Qian Dele finished a set of movements, everyone eagerly hoped the Chief Escort would choose another person to practice.
But Liang Sheng didn't give another chance, directly saying:
"I'll practice it again, and you all follow my movements."
Hearing this, everyone sighed in disappointment, except for Qian Dele, who walked back to the crowd with a smug look.
Though it was just one set of movements, he had learned it first, and that was the beginning of the gap.
"Brother Qian is really smart!" His old friend Sun Zheng gave a thumbs up, proud of his friend.
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As long as Qian Dele excelled, he, as a friend, could also benefit, perhaps even get some private tutoring.
Buzz!
As everyone began practicing the Nourishing Life Art, a line of text appeared on Jiang Ping's Violet-Gold Fate Mandate, as if engraved on it.
[Nourishing Life Art 1st Layer (0/100): Practice ten times a day, and it will be achieved in ten days.]
"The fate is starting to take effect!"
Jiang Ping was delighted.
Then, he focused his mind, practicing the art while recalling the key points the Chief Escort had explained.
But as he practiced, Jiang Ping noticed something was off.
[Nourishing Life Art 1st Layer (1/100)]
[Nourishing Life Art 1st Layer (2/100)]
[...]
He noticed the numbers were continuously increasing, vastly different from the described effect.
More precisely, the growth rate was absurdly fast.
When he finished a set of movements, the proficiency went from 0 to 9.
Something was wrong, really wrong!
According to the fate's description, he needed to practice ten times a day to achieve it in ten days.
Breaking it down, that meant each practice should increase proficiency by one point.
But after just one round, how did it increase to 9?
At this moment, the Chief Escort stopped and let everyone practice the second round on their own.
Jiang Ping immediately threw himself into it.
He wanted to see whether it was the fate that was off or himself.
[Nourishing Life Art 1st Layer (10/100)]
[Nourishing Life Art 1st Layer (11/100)]
[...]
......
"Useless! I've explained it three times, yet you made four mistakes in the first ten movements?"
In the Martial Training Ground, as everyone practiced the second round of the Nourishing Life Art, the Chief Escort's scolding voice rang out.
He pointed at a young man and shouted angrily, feeling a sense of disappointment.
While scolding, the Chief Escort lightly pressed on the man's shoulder, causing him to lose his balance, stumble, and nearly fall, which elicited a burst of laughter.
"Is it funny?"
Chief Escort Liang stared at everyone coldly and said:
"Do you think your movements are standard and effective?"
"You are all fools, no different from him, making mistakes without realizing it, yet you have the leisure to laugh at others."
"Go ahead, laugh, laugh all you want."
"When the six-month period is over, and you haven't met the escort agency's requirements and are eliminated, let's see who will still be laughing."
Hearing this, everyone stopped laughing and earnestly practiced the art.
But the Chief Escort's mouth didn't stop:
"However, you don't need to worry. Many will be eliminated, but some will join our escort agency, becoming Escort Masters and earning a lot of silver."
"Because after just a few rounds, some have already memorized everything, and their movements are very standard."
As he spoke, Liang Sheng's gaze lingered on Qian Dele and another top-five performer in the Fist Strength Test, Liu Wensheng, among others.
He continued, "These people are very focused, never distracted, and that's the gap, a gap that has emerged in just a few moments."
"In the future, when you see them building high towers and hosting banquets, while your own towers collapse, you'll regret it."
The Martial Training Ground fell silent, and everyone felt the pressure, even a sense of urgency.
Because most of them still needed the Chief Escort to correct their mistakes, while some had already fully grasped the key movements.
A slow step leads to a slow journey; that's how gaps are created.
Under the Chief Escort's scolding and guidance, everyone finally completed the second round of practice.
However, many looked somewhat embarrassed, as they still hadn't memorized all the movements. Some were even pointed out by the Chief Escort for making mistakes in half of the eighty-one movements, looking quite displeased.
At this moment, Qian Dele, regarded as one of the outstanding ones, suddenly asked:
"Master Liang, how do we know when we've reached the Entry Level, the 1st Layer?"
Look at him, not only speaking nicely but also showing respect for the teacher, no longer calling him Chief Escort.
Moreover, his focus was no longer on the movements but on the effects after mastering them.
Jiang Ping, who was pondering his situation, couldn't help but perk up his ears to listen.
Chief Escort Liang replied, "When your fist strength increases by twenty pounds, you've mastered the 1st Layer. Another forty pounds increase means the 2nd Layer. Once you comprehend the 4th Layer, your fist strength can increase by a hundred pounds, making you extraordinary, undefeatable even by several ordinary people."
"How do we know if we've mastered the 1st Layer?" Qian Dele asked again.
"Once you can sense the flow of Blood Qi within your body, you've reached the 1st Layer. As the Nourishing Life Art deepens, the Blood Qi will gradually strengthen. When it reaches a critical point and suddenly surges, it can be considered a breakthrough to another layer, repeating until a qualitative change occurs at the 7th Layer."
"But since Blood Qi changes within the body, it's hard for outsiders to detect. That's why I need to record your fist strength periodically to prevent anyone from falsely reporting their progress."
"Thank you, Master Liang, for clearing up the confusion." Qian Dele cupped his fists and bowed.
Chief Escort Liang nodded, then stared at everyone, "See, this is the difference between people. While you're still correcting your movements..."
With this motivational speech from the Chief Escort, everyone started the third round of practice.
Not long into the practice, Jiang Ping observed another change in the Nourishing Life Art:
[Nourishing Life Art 1st Layer (17→18/100)]
After completing the second round, the proficiency increased from 9 to 17, and as the third round began, the numbers started to rise absurdly again.
At this point, he roughly understood his situation.
It seemed he was a genius?!
At the same time, it indirectly confirmed one thing: the initial photographic memory of the Chief Escort's movements wasn't due to the fate, but because he truly had extraordinary talent!
But!
But he already had extraordinary talent, so what was the point of awakening the 'Late Bloomer' fate?