The oddly shaped bone claws swiftly and precisely hooked iron bead after iron bead. The repetitive clicking sound echoed in the small room.
Perhaps because she’d taken a break to clear her head, Ivy’s mental state was more stable. She was less affected by failures; her movements became smoother and more consistent, each attempt a near-perfect replication of the last.
Despite the fatigue and repeated failures, she persevered until, finally, her finger stopped mid-air.
Ding—
The repetitive clicks were replaced by a clear notification.
[Detected 100 consecutive successful attempts. Requirements for basic Crane Claw Technique mastery met.]
[Crane Claw Technique]• Beginner (1/300)
A new skill icon appeared on her retina.
Ivy was elated. “Finally! Cheating isn’t easy,” she thought.
Her fingertips warmed slightly. Ivy retracted the bone claws, noting that the color of her fingertips had deepened considerably.
Touching her fingers, she felt the thick calluses and the hardened fingernails.
Ivy extended her hand, her fingertip extending, swiftly hooking an iron bead from the bowl without disturbing the others.
“I can do it effortlessly even with just my fingertips,” Ivy said, tossing the bead back.
She then extended a bony claw from her fingertip and hooked another bead.
Click!
The movement was identical to before, except the bone claw slightly cracked the bead’s surface.
Ivy formulated a plan: “I can use two versions of the [Crane Claw Technique]: a normal, flesh-and-blood version, and a mutated bone version. The latter should be about three times stronger.”
“I’ll use the normal version for regular use, and the mutated bone version for surprise attacks. It suits me perfectly.”
Of course, this was far from enough; she needed to continue training and improving.
Ivy: “Destiny, allocate points!”
Ivy, having a clear understanding of her constitution, was less inclined to rely on tedious experimentation and trusted her ability to cheat.
She would cheat whenever possible; if she couldn’t cheat a skill, she’d cheat her way into getting it. This was Ivy’s skill development strategy.
Upgrading Crane Claw Technique from beginner to intermediate required 300 points, three times that of basic punching. Ivy felt a pang of regret, but her anticipation far outweighed it.
Higher rank meant greater power, and that was all that mattered.
This was her first second-rank martial art, achieved through her intelligence and hard work.
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[Crane Claw Technique]• Intermediate (1/1500)
A surge of warmth flowed through her fingertips, and a torrent of training images and techniques flooded her mind.
Ivy grinned, “Not enough. Destiny, give me more points.”
The intermediate [Crane Claw Technique], which had only been activated moments ago, blurred and shifted.
[Crane Claw Technique]• Advanced (1/3000)
She allocated more points.
[Crane Claw Technique]• Mastered
No further allocation possible.
The three consecutive upgrades had overwhelmed Ivy. She felt a sense of intense pressure, as if she’d eaten too much too quickly.
Her ten fingertips glowed red, as if about to melt. Only the coolness of her bones prevented her flesh from dissolving.
Her brain felt like it was overheating. Memories of ten years of uninterrupted Crane Claw Technique training flooded her mind.
[Crane Claw Technique] Thirteen Forms.
Day and night training. With eyes open, with eyes closed. Every day, every month, every year. It felt like she’d train until she vomited.
Ivy felt nauseous, and the flood of memories seemed to cause a bottleneck.
The data from the three upgrades was vying for space in her mind, causing a traffic jam.
Then, Ivy felt a searing pain, as if the data transmission cables had been ripped from her brain, forcing the entire hard drive into her head.
Visible black smoke emanated from her head. Only the coolness of her skull prevented her brain from turning into mush.
Three minutes later.
Ivy sat on the bed, exhausted, her eyes still slightly dazed.
Her fingertips were still warm, the color deepening from crimson to dark red. With a slight squeeze, a faint purple hue appeared.
Her fingernails were as hard as iron, impossible to cut with a nail clipper. A strong pull only resulted in the clipper breaking.
She pressed a fingertip against the table. It pierced the wood like it were soft tofu, creating a hole the size of her fingertip.
Ivy estimated, “The strength of the normal version has surpassed the previous bone version. Then the power of the current bone version is…”
Unconsciously, Ivy extended a bone claw, executing the first form of the Crane Claw Technique, aiming for the bowl of iron beads.
The bowl cracked, the iron beads scattering like a collapsing dam.
It wasn’t just scattering; they were pulverized into fine, rust-colored dust.
Ivy was shocked. “Is the power five times or ten times stronger?”
The destructive power was so immense that she found it difficult to assess accurately. But the bone version of the Crane Claw Technique clearly surpassed the maximum power level of second-rank martial arts.
It might even be among the top techniques of Rank Three, perhaps nearing the power of a Rank Four technique?
A strange thought crossed her mind. She wanted to find someone to test her new skill on, to feel the thrill of tearing someone apart.
“No wonder they say those who carry a knife have murderous intent.”
“Martial arts is the courage of a villain!”
Ivy suppressed her urge, wiping the lubricant from her hands.
“Next time I upgrade, I won't be so reckless,” Ivy thought.
As she thought this, Ivy grabbed an iron bead, crushing it into powder with her hand, swallowing it along with her saliva.
Three upgrades had emptied her stomach.
She swallowed several more beads and drank some water before stopping. “Crushing them into powder should improve absorption and further increase the absorption rate.”
Having made her plan, Ivy looked at her skill panel with a pained expression.
[Crane Claw Technique]• Mastered
Basic Boxing (Intermediate) [1/500]
Basic Kicking (Intermediate) [1/500]
Physical Training (Not Acquired)
[Remaining Universal Skill Proficiency: 5080]
Ivy closed the panel, muttering, “With the remaining points, I can fully master another second-rank martial art.”
It was still early.
Since she’d cheated her way through Crane Claw Technique, she could dedicate the rest of the night to physical training.
No time to waste.
Before training, she drew two vials of blood.
Feeling the blood leaving her body, Ivy’s face paled slightly. A manic smile curved her lips. “Blissful.”