Chapter 32 - 31: Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound! Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength! (Please Bookmark)

Chapter 32: Chapter 31: Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound! Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength! (Please Bookmark)The Da Jing Dynasty administered household registration with extreme strictness. Even within a single county, settling in the county town required possessing household registration. This was even more true for larger district and provincial cities. "A trifle, no matter." Completely unconcerned with such trivialities, Chou Hai waved his hand, rose from the bed, and circled Jiang Shu. "I recall, Jiang lad," he said slowly, "you came to my Famished Tiger Martial Club to study Martial Arts just three months ago, correct?" "Exactly three months." Jiang Shu held his head high, meeting Master Chou’s gaze without any avoidance. Many apprentices in the martial club, even with sufficient Martial Arts resources, took over a year to achieve the full circulation of Qi and Blood throughout their bodies. Yet he, after joining the Famished Tiger Martial Club, had progressed from novice to Great Success in merely three months. And it was Great Success in all three foundational techniques. What was the reason? Naturally, it was his outstanding Talent! From the very beginning, he had understood it clearly. The four essentials of Cultivation were method, wealth, companionship, and location, with method being paramount. Method was truly the ladder to advancement in this world. And to obtain a superior method, one had to strive, had to be a genius. This was true in Pingling County, and it was also true on Xuanxing. "Hmm. Do you know why I only accept someone as an official Disciple after they’ve achieved Great Success in the Three Tiger Forms as well?" "I do not." Jiang Shu stood respectfully, his ears perked, listening to Master Chou’s teachings. "Because the Sitting Tiger Stake, the Famished Tiger Breathing Technique, and the Three Tiger Forms are all fundamentally derived from our martial club’s core Cultivation Technique, ’Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength’. Achieving Great Success in these three techniques is the minimum threshold for cultivating this core Cultivation Technique." "Among the Ten Thousand Beasts, leopards train strength, tigers train bones. The Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength draws from the spirit of the tiger, contains a killing aura, and trains the sinews and bones." Outside the room, a light rain was falling. Chou Hai, his figure hunched, stood before Jiang Shu. Using his great spinal ridge as the core, he mobilized his limbs and entire skeleton. His movements were slow, and as he spoke, a deep voice issued from his very bones, resonating like thunder in the mountains, producing a powerful, reverberating hum. TIGER AND LEOPARD THUNDER SOUND! "Countless Martial Arts exist in the Da Jing Dynasty. Among those focused on ’Jin’ (Force), ’Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength’ truly ranks among the top hundred. Minor mastery alone allows one to step into the Bone Forging Realm, tempering all the body’s sinews and bones. If one day you train it to Perfection, you can be like this old man, your body like a tiger’s form, your sinews and bones ringing in unison." "Of course, this step is still too far for you. I am demonstrating this now so you understand that the Martial Path is as vast as heaven and earth. Achieving Great Success in those three techniques is not even truly entry-level. Don’t think that just because you have some Talent, you can look down on everything and consider martial training a trivial matter. Can you read?" "I can." "If you had come a few months later, I would have had you first master those three techniques to Perfection, nurturing your Force, and only then study ’Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength’. The three techniques stem from one lineage; practicing them separately lowers the difficulty of entry-level understanding. But since your Talent is acceptable, I will first transmit the Upper Volume, which covers Skin Grinding, to you, guiding you to an earlier entry-level understanding." "Do not copy it, and do not transmit it to others. Just read it here. When you have memorized it, then you may leave." Taking a blue-covered notebook, roughly several hundred pages thick, from under his pillow, he tossed it to Jiang Shu. Pointing to a nearby table and chair, Chou Hai then walked out of the room, hands clasped behind his back. Jiang Shu sat upright and turned a page. The first page displayed a human meridian chart. Beneath it, tiny, exceptionally clear characters annotated where the Force was meant to circulate from and to where it should end. Focusing his mind, he meticulously scrutinized every part of the diagram. An hour passed in the blink of an eye. The sound of the light rain was crystal clear in Jiang Shu’s ears as he murmured softly, I don’t know if this panel isn’t smart enough, or if my own Martial Arts Talent is insufficient. The content of the Skin Grinding Realm in the Upper Volume of ’Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength’ wasn’t extensive. However, the section on meridians was completely outside his current knowledge, and it took him a considerable amount of time to memorize it fully. Yet, even so, the panel had still not recorded this Martial Art, which he couldn’t help but find disappointing. It seems my earlier guess was wrong. It’s not enough to simply memorize a Cultivation Technique for the panel to record it. The panel seems more like a reward from the Heavenly Dao for diligence; only by truly achieving an entry-level understanding does one earn the qualification to strive and reap rewards. I’ll set aside three to five days. First, I’ll try to see if I can comprehend Force on my own. If not, I’ll just diligently practice the three techniques to Perfection and nurture Force that way. Then I’ll return to ’Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength’. It’s a bit more troublesome, but for someone like me with the panel, this method is actually the most prudent. He closed the blue-covered notebook, stood up from the table, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, visualizing the meridian diagram in his mind. Not in a hurry to leave, he stood like a tiger and breathed like a tiger, attempting to initiate Qi Blood Transport according to the way Force was meant to move. ... 「In the courtyard.」 The sight of Jiang Shu entering Master Chou’s room had already been noted by more than a dozen apprentices. But all the apprentices only exchanged words privately; no one dared to secretly ask the Maid about the specifics of the situation. When Master Chou emerged from the room, the apprentices averted their gazes even more, either engaging in sparring and grappling drills or practicing their stances and breathing, all hoping to make a good impression on Master Chou. They hoped to become formal Disciples soon. Failing that, they hoped to be rewarded with a dose or two of the Famished Tiger Secret Medicine. Only Luo Yongcheng was utterly restless. While he practiced his stance and breathing, his gaze darted towards Master Chou’s room intermittently. Jiang Shu, why hasn’t he come out yet? If he merely had something to report, he should have come out with Master Chou. Still inside... could it be that he has already become a formal Disciple? When we sparred, wasn’t he at the same Realm as me? How could he have broken through to the great circulation of Qi and Blood throughout the body in just a few days? While Luo Yongcheng’s thoughts ran wild, Jiang Shu emerged from the room. He whispered a few words to Master Chou, who nodded repeatedly and then said to Jiang Shu, "Since you have formally become my Disciple, you may call me Master Chou from now on." Under the eaves, Chou Hai stood up from his recliner, looked down at the apprentices, and announced, "Jiang Shu has been accepted by me as a formal Disciple." "Three days from now, I will hold a Disciple acceptance ceremony at the Famished Tiger Martial Club. You few, be responsible for notifying the other apprentices. All must attend." Although Luo Yongcheng had already guessed it, Master Chou’s solemn announcement struck his chest like a colossal hammer. A torrent of thoughts instantly flooded his mind. If my relationship with Jiang Shu hadn’t deteriorated, then now, with Jiang Shu’s status as a formal Disciple, not to mention revitalizing my family’s pharmacy... at the very least, I would have more breathing room. Moreover, given our relationship at the time, as a formal Disciple, it shouldn’t have been difficult for me to purchase some of the Famished Tiger Secret Medicine from him. How did things end up like this? Luo Yongcheng stood there, stunned. The rain in Pingling County grew heavier. He watched Jiang Shu respectfully escort Master Chou back to his room. He then watched Jiang Shu emerge again, quietly practicing his stance and breathing. They were only ten steps apart, yet it felt as though countless miles lay between them.