Notebook of Fortune - Chapter 44

What Shen Zhe wanted to do most was to keep a low profile.

However, he could barely do that under such circumstances.

The news that Zhao Chen had been quickly improved by the herb liquid was already out. It would seem as if they were covering it up if they didn’t take part in the contest.

Instead of being suspected, might as well participate in the contest in the most daunting way.

As Zhao Fan said, it would be fine as long as they claimed that their achievements boiled down to hard work instead of the herb liquid.

Whoever wanted their herb liquid would have to reconsider if they were noticed by the academy after getting a good ranking.

It was also the best way to resolve the crisis for Wang Xiaofeng.

“Alright, I’m in!” Shen Zhe nodded his head.

“It’s settled then…”

Relieved, Zhao Chen said, “However, while body polishing is invincible in melee fights, it has to work with battle techniques. We might not be able to get a good ranking!”

“We have two days. We can practice it now…” Liu Pengyue waved his hand.

Wang Xiaofeng smiled bitterly. “You think there’s enough time?”

Every battle technique required a tremendous amount of time to be grasped. Even the simplest would take two or three years; they had only two days to work with.

It was definitely impossible.

“Besides, battle techniques have higher demands on calculation. You need to calculate the enemy’s position, moves, hardness and power in order to carry out your combat ability. It’s going to be hard for us!” Wang Xiaofeng shook his head.

“Performing battle techniques requires calculation, too?”

Shen Zhe was stunned.

From the books he read a few days prior, he knew that training battle techniques needed calculation. However, was it possible to calculate while fighting a constantly changing battle?

“The performance of a battle technique depends on the person who has grasped it!”

Wang Xiaofeng explained, “You need to calculate your and your enemy’s power when you practice, and conduct the pertaining exercises unless you reach the level of Familiar!”

Battle techniques were divided into five levels: Beginner, Mildly Fluent, Familiar, Greatly Fluent, and Perfect.

Only by reaching the Familiar level of proficiency would they be able to perfect battle techniques automatically without any calculation.

“So, is it unlikely to pick up a battle technique very quickly?”

He was disappointed.

As a bad student, he didn’t have enough calculation abilities. Secondly, the contest would be held two days later. There was little time for practice.

“Do you have any books of battle techniques?” Shen Zhe asked them after a brief hesitation.

“I brought one from my family. It’s designed for those in the Seven Star Stage!” Wang Xiaofeng took out a book.

Shen Zhe accepted the book and saw “Falling Leaves Palm” on it.

He opened it in a hurry.

The book had formulas, equations and detailed data to best carry out the battle technique…

He read it for a moment and felt dizzy.

“It’s not easy to learn, is it?” said Wang Xiaofeng, “When I read it, I had to focus my full attention, or I would fall asleep!”

“That’s right… Learning is too difficult!”

Zhao Chen and the rest of them nodded.

Seeing that they were just as bad at learning as himself, Shen Zhe shook his head helplessly.

Asking them to learn battle techniques was indeed too demanding.

Shen Zhe sighed and said, “Let me borrow your book…”

He had to study it more carefully to see if he could come up with a solution.

Wang Xiaofeng nodded.

It wasn’t an advanced technique and it did not cost much.

Zhao Chen and the rest of them discussed more about their team while Shen Zhe returned to his dormitory.

His top priority was to improve himself. As long as he became a Mage or a Martial Artist, all his problems would be solved.

“I haven’t found the Blood of the Blue Fox or the Gold and Silver Tobacco yet, so I can’t repair my veins and illuminate the stars. I have to pick up battle techniques to improve myself…”

Shen Zhe considered the situation on his way.

Until he reached the Seven Star Stage, his capabilities consisted of the power of the stars, his physical strength and battle techniques. He would be able to solve crises with less effort if he could learn a battle technique.

“Learning a battle technique through the regular approach requires years of hard work. I can’t do that…”

He read the book carefully after he returned to his dormitory and realized that practicing it also required calculation abilities.

It was impossible to learn it the normal way.

He had to find a way to cheat.

What was the point of living without being able to cheat?

“I want to grasp the Falling Leaves Palm!”

“Help me assimilate the Falling Leaves Palm!”

“I can grasp this battle technique…”

…

He wrote hundreds of lines with the pencil in the blink of an eye, but they all dispersed without leaving any trace behind.

“…”

His goldfinger wasn’t as reliable as he thought!

“The notebook changed the answer in the guidance book, allowed me to refine herbs with a griddle and enabled me to illuminate stars with electricity…”

He had already understood that his successful refining had to do with the notebook, and that griddles and crucibles were different.

Both of the two incidents were about redefining the phrases that everybody knew.

If he couldn’t learn it directly, could it work if he redefined the learning of battle techniques?

“Only by reaching the third step, the Familiar level, would they be able to perform battle techniques automatically without any calculations.”

However… how could he reach such a level?

“The key to Familiar is to know it well…”

An idea suddenly popped up in his head!

“I’ll try it…”

His eyes glittering, Shen Zhe placed the book in his pocket and left for the cafeteria.

Once again he went to see the person who had sold him the griddle.

Ten minutes later, after a long round of bargaining, Shen Zhe entered the refining room with an enormous pot. It was more than two meters in diameter and one meter deep, like a huge fish tank.

Few people were on the campus that day; they would’ve been shocked to see him carrying such a massive item.

Shen Zhe placed the pot on the fire and poured some water in it. The water started boiling soon after.

Shen Zhe beamed after taking a deep breath.

Since it was impossible for him to perform the battle technique right then, he would familiarize himself with it first!

It wasn’t an option to sleep with the battle technique, which would’ve taken too long. Besides, he didn’t know the sexual orientation of the battle technique just yet…

So… there was only one option…

He had decided to cook it!

Raw vegetables and meat would be edible after they were cooked 1…

Was it possible that a raw battle technique that he was incapable of learning would become cooked[familiar] after it was boiled?

It was very likely with the aid of his notebook. It may not be too hard for him to learn it!

He became excited once he thought about it!

Shen Zhe focused his attention on controlling the pencil.

Hum!

A line of text redefining the word was materialized on the blank page of the notebook.

Familiar: 1) to know something very well; 2) when a battle technique is cooked, you will completely grasp it.

Then, he took out the battle technique and tossed it into the pot.

Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!

The bubbles made the book stick to the surface of the boiling water, sending out creepy noises.

After the book boiled for a while, Shen Zhe took it out with a poker when it began to fall apart.

The many formulas and training methods that were written on the book had already been blurred after being soaked in water for so long.

“Not just the battle technique, I should be boiled, too! Otherwise the pot will be familiarized with it, not me!”

Greatly enlightened, Shen Zhe took his clothes off and jumped into the pot.

It was fortunate that his body was much stronger at the moment, or he would’ve been cooked into meat soup by the boiling water.

As he expected, Shen Zhe soon felt a numbness after he entered the pot and the cooked book was inculcated to his body.

He jumped out of the pot after a long time passed.

He moved as nimbly as a butterfly gliding amongst flowers, and his hand movement was as beautiful as falling leaves.

His eyes glowed.

He couldn’t even understand the battle technique previously, but he had become so proficient after being boiled with it for a dozen minutes…

He had indeed become familiarized with it!

Putting on his clothes and practicing some more, Shen Zhe realized that the battle technique had helped him improve by almost sixty percent.

No wonder battle techniques played such an important role in any fight. A sixty percent improvement couldn’t have been attained that fast with talent.

“Seems like I have to cook more techniques!”

The book that he borrowed had turned into waste paper after being boiled and couldn’t be returned.

Although he lost a book, he had learned an awesome battle technique and found a new way to practice battle techniques. It was definitely worth it.

He emptied the pot and carried it back to his dormitory.

That pot would be necessary for his training just like the griddle was. He couldn’t lose it.

Putting down the pot, Shen Zhe suddenly had an idea: “If I boil all the textbooks that I have, would I be able to grasp all the knowledge and become a genius immediately?”

Reading books was a challenging task for him, but boiling books was not a problem!

Who would want to be a bad student when they could be good?

He was going to find a book to try his theory when Zhao Chen returned with an excited mood.

“Shen Zhe, there are updates about the Blood of the Blue Fox…”

Footnotes:

Ch 44 Footnote 1

“Cooked” and “Familiar” are the same in Chinese. The author was aiming at wordplay here.