Mountain Sea Scroll

Drying yard.

Lin Sheng copied Tian Hu's movements, bending his knees into a bow stance, raising both clenched fists toward the sky, his entire body held in a strange and extremely awkward posture.

It reminded him of the so-called yoga from his previous life, except the movements and forms of the Raging Bull Fist seemed even more exhausting than those yoga poses.

He held that single pose for less than a minute before sweat beaded across his forehead. He forced himself to shift into the next movement.

Yet in barely two minutes, before he had even completed the several movements of the first fist frame, his coarse linen clothes were already soaked through with sweat. At last, unable to endure any longer, he released the pose and panted heavily.

He turned to look at the others around him. Most of them were in much the same state as he was. Only the strongest-built skinner among the group was still holding his pose, changing movements from time to time.

His face was flushed red, but he seemed able to keep going.

Only after holding on for a full five minutes and completing the first fist frame did the man finally relax.

He had also lasted the longest out of everyone.

Lin Sheng knew this man. After more than two months in the skinning workshop, even if they had barely interacted, he still knew the man's name.

His name was Wu Gang. He was one of the old hands in the skinning workshop and something of a leader among the older skinners. His monthly performance in the slaughterhouse was generally among the very best.

That was only natural. Wu Gang was broad and powerful, and his physical condition was undoubtedly the best among them.

Still, Lin Sheng could not help being surprised that he had held out for a full five minutes.

Having experienced it himself, he knew very well just how physically taxing the Raging Bull Fist's forms were.

It seemed Wu Gang counted as a minor genius too, at least far better than himself.

Lin Sheng pondered this, but quickly immersed himself in training once more.

They were not given much time. A little over an hour later, Wang Dehai was already urging them to hurry back and continue working.

Even though they had declared their intention to join the Beast Hunter Hall, they still had to finish their work in the slaughterhouse.

After all, they had not yet truly joined the Beast Hunter Hall. They were still skinners belonging to the slaughterhouse.

The only difference was that their two daily meals were somewhat better than before. The usual thin, flavorless soup now contained a trace of meat. Though it was only minced rock goat offal, it was undoubtedly far more nutritious than their former vegetable soup, and they were given one extra coarse flour bun as well.

After all, practicing martial arts while completing their workload consumed a tremendous amount of energy.

Because martial arts practice at noon had delayed him, it was not until the sky had completely darkened that Lin Sheng finally finished his quota for the day.

After returning home, he reassured his parents and explained the reason.

The two elders were delighted, but they could not help worrying as well. Even they had heard of the dangers of Tremor Mountain Tower's Beast Hunter Hall.

"Don't worry, Father, Mother. I'm not a child anymore. I have it under control. You don't need to worry."

Lin Sheng comforted them for a few moments before their minds finally settled somewhat.

Once his parents had gone to sleep, Lin Sheng did not turn in early as usual. Instead, he went into the courtyard and continued practicing the Raging Bull Fist.

He understood that the Raging Bull Fist was currently his only chance to change his fate. So even though he was already exhausted, he still had to persist and practice.

The first form of the Raging Bull Fist contained five movements and stances.

The movements were not complicated, but they consumed a great deal of stamina.

Lin Sheng knew that his physical condition was too poor. Thus, each time he only held on for a minute and a half rather than directly challenging his physical limits, then stopped to rest for a while and let his body adapt fully.

After repeating this five times, his entire body felt sore and numb. He knew that even though he had deliberately slowed down, he had reached his limit. If he continued practicing, his body would likely suffer damage. If he strained a muscle or something, getting out of bed the next day might become a problem.

He clearly understood the principle of stopping when enough was enough. So he immediately stopped, carelessly rinsed himself off, and hurried to bed.

Early the next morning.

Lin Sheng opened his eyes and felt a faint ache in his limbs. Fortunately, it was not severe. He nimbly got up and moved around a little, and the discomfort faded considerably.

When he pushed open the door, he caught a tempting fragrance. On the stone mill outside sat a tightly wrapped lotus-leaf chicken.

"Ah Sheng, you're practicing martial arts now. Take the lotus-leaf chicken on the stone mill and nourish yourself."

Lin Hong's voice came from a room nearby.

"Mm."

Hearing this, Lin Sheng fell silent for a moment before nodding heavily.

He picked up the lotus-leaf chicken and headed out.

He had never been one to stand on ceremony. Besides, martial arts practice truly consumed enormous amounts of energy now. Even with Tremor Mountain Tower's improved meals, it was still not enough. This lotus-leaf chicken had clearly been specially bought early in the morning by Xie Guilan or Lin Hong.

By the time he reached the slaughterhouse, he had already eaten the entire lotus-leaf chicken.

But today, one-third of the people in the slaughterhouse had not come.

Even among those who had shown up, many wore pained expressions.

The moment he entered, he heard Wang Dehai's angry curses.

"A bunch of worthless fools who have never seen the world! You get a bit of martial arts and suddenly you don't know your limits! Don't you know that going too far is as bad as not going far enough? ... No one gets even the slightest reduction in today's workload! Anyone absent gets two days' wages docked..."

Watching Wang Dehai stomp away while cursing, Lin Sheng understood that these people had likely overtrained yesterday and were now suffering for it.

Many things could not make a fat man in one bite, and martial arts were even more so. Perseverance was the key.

Ignoring what others did, Lin Sheng went about handling his own quota for the day.

In the afternoon, Tian Hu arrived as promised.

The skinners who had been absent today also forced their strained bodies over. After all, no one wanted to miss the afternoon's instruction.

Tian Hu stood at the front of the group and swept his gaze over everyone before letting out a cold snort.

"Looks like you practiced diligently yesterday. Now I'll teach you the Qi Circulation Method for the Raging Bull Fist."

With that, he began explaining it to them.

The Qi Circulation Method was not complicated either. In less than half an hour, Tian Hu had finished explaining it to everyone.

"All right, today's instruction is complete. Do any of you have questions?"

Tian Hu spoke blandly, his arms folded across his chest.

His sharp gaze swept over the group, yet not a single person spoke.

They had only been exposed to martial arts cultivation for one day. What real questions could they possibly have? Even if they had a few minor questions, they had already discussed and puzzled over them among themselves. Moreover, although Tian Hu had not held anything back while teaching them, they could sense that he did not seem to think much of them. Unless it was a confusion they truly could not resolve, no one wished to speak up.

"Since there are no questions, cultivate properly. I'll come by once every three days from now on. If you have questions then, it won't be too late to ask."

With that, Tian Hu turned and left.

With his discerning eye, he had seen from the start that there was nothing worth noticing among this batch of skinners. Only a scant few were barely passable, but even they were merely so-so—not worth him doing anything extra for.

As they watched Tian Hu depart, the skinners began digesting the Qi Circulation Method they had learned that day.

After personally trying it several times and confirming that he had grasped the trick, Lin Sheng did not linger. He headed straight back to the slaughterhouse.

Since their daily quota at the slaughterhouse could not be reduced anyway, he might as well finish today's quota first and train afterward, saving himself from being disturbed.

When he returned to the skinning workshop, he happened to run into Wang Dehai, who had just come out from inside.

Seeing Lin Sheng voluntarily return, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"You're not bad, kid. Better than those idiots, at least."

He stretched out a greasy hand and patted Lin Sheng on the shoulder. Without saying anything else, he left directly.

Lin Sheng did not pay it any mind. Returning to his station, he began processing the remaining rock goat.

Not long afterward, amid Wang Dehai's shouts and curses, the skinners all returned in low spirits.

And so, three days swiftly slipped by.

Over those three days, aside from working each day, Lin Sheng drew out as much time as possible to practice the Raging Bull Fist.

Unfortunately, there was not much change. The time he could hold the first Raging Bull Fist form had only increased by a little over twenty seconds from the initial two minutes.

He had also indirectly asked about the progress of the other skinners, and they were mostly much the same as him.

Overall, his progress ranked around the middle among this batch of skinners. Clearly, his former body's aptitude and natural constitution were not particularly good.

Among them, Wu Gang stood out the most. Not only had he been able to hold the first Raging Bull Fist form for a full five minutes when he began training, but after several days, it was said he could now hold on for eight minutes.

That pace of progress was indeed far faster than Lin Sheng's.

Tian Hu had also explained the requirement for the Raging Bull Fist to reach the entry level: one had to hold the first Raging Bull Fist frame for more than the time it took a stick of incense to burn, then successfully use the Qi Circulation Method to stir the qi and blood within one's body. That counted as entry.

At this pace, Wu Gang would definitely reach entry within a month. Lin Sheng and most of the other skinners, however, would find it rather difficult—or rather, it was basically impossible.

In truth, Lin Sheng was still confident that he could reach entry within a month, but only if he completely stopped working and had sufficient energy supplies. Such circumstances were clearly unrealistic.

But he was not in a hurry, because the opportunity meant for him would soon arrive.

One morning, Lin Sheng skillfully skinned and cut apart the rock goat before him.

These rock goats sent to the slaughterhouse had basically been stunned to death before delivery. After all, if they waited until the rock goats died before skinning them, the quality of the fur would decline, and the price they could fetch would be affected accordingly.

Thus, after all these days, he had long grown accustomed to the bloodiness here.

With a wet Pfft, the slaughtering knife in his hand plunged into the rock goat's neck, and dark-red blood gushed out.

As usual, he placed the wooden bucket he had prepared beforehand beneath it to catch the thick blood.

But suddenly, he felt a burning heat in his chest, as though a red-hot branding iron had been viciously pressed against him.

The intense pain nearly made him throw away the slaughtering knife in his hand.

Yet he endured it in the end. If he accidentally ruined this rock goat hide, he would inevitably receive a scolding and have some of his wages deducted.

He forcibly kept his grip on the knife, but the fierce pain made veins bulge on his hands and twisted his face.

Fortunately, the intense burning sensation did not last long. After merely a few breaths, the blazing heat gradually subsided.

Huff... huff...

Lin Sheng panted heavily. With one hand, he pulled open the front of his shirt and looked down. The circular mark on his chest had now turned completely blood-red, like a vivid crimson ring.

Looking more closely, the blood-red color on the ring seemed alive as it slowly flowed and circulated.

"Has this ring mark finally accumulated enough!?"

Lin Sheng muttered. The scorching pain just now had come from the ring.

"What exactly is this ring mark for?"

The instant that thought flashed through his mind, he discovered in shock that fine blood-red lines, like strands of hair, had appeared on the ring mark in the center of his chest. With the ring as their center, they spread outward in all directions.

They moved with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, they enveloped his entire upper body, then his entire body.

What shocked him even more was that the cluttered slaughterhouse before his eyes was changing rapidly as well. Dense blood plasma surged from all four walls of the slaughterhouse, turning the entire place into a sea of blood in an instant, while his vision was completely filled with crimson.

He did not know how much time had passed before the blood-red color before him suddenly dispersed, replaced by a space of utter nothingness.

What met his eyes was a thin cloud of blood-colored mist, constantly twisting and swaying, like the primordial chaos before heaven and earth had opened.