The Mountain Sea Scroll

The drying ground.

Lin Sheng mimicked Tian Hu's movements, bending his knees, stepping forward, and raising his fists to the sky, holding a strange and awkward posture.

It reminded him of what was called yoga in his previous life, but the movements and stances of the Raging Bull Fist seemed more tiring than those yoga poses.

He could only maintain this one pose for less than a minute before sweat beaded on his forehead. He forced himself to switch to the next movement.

In just two minutes, before even completing the few movements of the first stance, his coarse cloth clothes were soaked with sweat. He finally couldn't hold on any longer, dropped the pose, and gasped for breath.

He glanced at the others around him. Most were in a similar state. However, the strongest-looking skinner among them was still maintaining the pose, occasionally changing it.

Although his face was flushed red, he seemed to be able to continue.

After a full 5 minutes, and having completed the first stance, this person finally relaxed.

He was the one who lasted the longest among everyone.

Lin Sheng knew this person. After all, he had been in the skinning workshop for over two months. Even if they hadn't interacted much, he knew the man's name.

This man was named Wu Gang. He was an elder in the skinning workshop and one of the leaders among the older skinners. His monthly performance in the slaughterhouse was consistently among the top.

However, this was normal. Wu Gang was strong and robust, his physical condition was definitely the best among these people.

Still, Lin Sheng couldn't help but be surprised that he lasted a full five minutes.

Having experienced it himself, he understood how physically demanding practicing the Raging Bull Fist stances was.

It seemed Wu Gang was a bit of a genius, at least much stronger than himself.

Lin Sheng thought this, but soon immersed himself back in his practice.

They weren't given much time. A little over an hour later, Wang Dehai urged them to hurry back to work.

Even though they had expressed their desire to join the Beast Hunter Hall, their work in the slaughterhouse still had to be completed.

They hadn't truly joined the Beast Hunter Hall yet; they were still skinners belonging to the slaughterhouse.

The only difference was the two meals a day, which were better than before. The usual bland soup now had a hint of meat. Although it was just small pieces of rock sheep offal, it was undoubtedly more nutritious than the previous broth. They also received an extra coarse flour bun.

After all, practicing martial arts while completing their work quota consumed a great deal of physical energy.

Because practicing martial arts at noon had delayed him, it wasn't until the sky had completely darkened that Lin Sheng finished his quota for the day.

Returning home, he reported his safety and explained the reason to his parents.

While his parents were pleasantly surprised, they couldn't help but worry. They had heard about the dangers of the Beast Hunter Hall in Tremor Mountain Tower.

"Don't worry, Mom and Dad. I'm not a child anymore. I know what I'm doing, so you don't have to worry."

Lin Sheng comforted them for a few sentences, which finally put their minds at ease.

After his parents went to sleep, Lin Sheng didn't go to bed early as usual. Instead, he went to the courtyard to continue practicing the Raging Bull Fist.

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

The first stance of the Raging Bull Fist had five movements.

The movements were not complicated, but they were quite draining.

Lin Sheng knew his physical condition was too poor, so he only lasted a minute and a half each time, not pushing himself to his limit, but stopping to rest and allow himself to adapt fully.

After repeating this five times, his body felt sore and numb. He knew that even though he had deliberately slowed down, he had already reached his limit. If he continued practicing, his body might get injured. If he pulled a muscle, he might have trouble getting out of bed the next day.

He understood the principle of knowing when to stop, so he immediately ceased. He rinsed himself off haphazardly and hurried to sleep.

The next morning.

Lin Sheng opened his eyes and felt a slight soreness in his limbs. Fortunately, it wasn't intense. He got up nimbly and did some simple stretches, which greatly reduced the discomfort.

As he opened the door, he smelled an enticing aroma and saw a well-wrapped lotus leaf chicken placed on the stone roller outside.

"Ah Sheng, you're practicing martial arts now. Take the lotus leaf chicken on the stone roller to nourish your body."

Lin Hong's voice came from a room nearby.

"Okay."

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

He picked up the lotus leaf chicken and went out.

He was never one to be fussy, and his martial arts practice consumed a lot of energy. Even the improved meals at Tremor Mountain Tower weren't enough. This lotus leaf chicken was clearly something Xie Guilan or Lin Hong had bought early in the morning specifically for him.

By the time he reached the slaughterhouse, the entire lotus leaf chicken was already gone.

However, today, one-third of the people in the slaughterhouse were absent.

Even among those who came, many had pained expressions on their faces.

As soon as he entered, he heard Wang Dehai's angry scolding.

"A bunch of useless weaklings who've never seen the world! You get a bit of martial arts and lose all sense of proportion, not knowing the meaning of 'too much is as bad as too little'... No one is allowed any discount on today's workload. Those who are absent will have two days' wages deducted..."

Watching Wang Dehai leave while grumbling, Lin Sheng understood that these people had likely over-trained yesterday and were suffering the consequences today.

You can't achieve anything overnight. Martial arts are even more so; persistence is key.

Ignoring what others were doing, Lin Sheng went about processing his quota for the day.

In the afternoon, Tian Hu arrived as scheduled.

The skinners, who were supposed to be absent today, gritted their teeth and showed up despite their strained bodies. After all, no one wanted to miss the afternoon's instruction.

Tian Hu stood at the very front of the group, scanning everyone before letting out a cold snort.

"It seems you all cultivated diligently yesterday. Now, I will teach you the Qi Circulation Method for the Raging Bull Fist."

With that, he began explaining to everyone.

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

"Alright, today's teaching is complete. Do you have any questions?"

Tian Hu asked with his arms crossed, speaking indifferently.

His sharp gaze swept over the crowd, but not a single person responded.

After all, they had only just started practicing martial arts yesterday. How could they have any real questions? Even if there were minor issues, they would have figured them out amongst themselves. Moreover, although Tian Hu taught them without holding back, they could sense that he didn't seem to think much of them. Therefore, unless it was an insurmountable problem, no one was willing to speak up.

"Since there are no questions, then cultivate well. I will come over every three days from now on. It won't be too late to ask any questions then."

After speaking, Tian Hu turned and left.

With his eyesight, he had already seen from the beginning that there was no one noteworthy among this batch of skinners. Only a few individuals were barely passable, but even then, they were just so-so, not worth him doing anything extra for.

Watching Tian Hu leave, the group of skinners began to digest the Qi Circulation Method taught that day.

After personally trying it a few times and confirming he had grasped the knack, Lin Sheng didn't linger. He headed straight back to the slaughterhouse.

Since the daily quota for the slaughterhouse couldn't be reduced anyway, he might as well finish today's quota first before cultivating, saving himself from being disturbed.

Returning to the skinning room, he happened to run into Wang Dehai, who was just coming out of his room.

Seeing Lin Sheng return of his own accord, a look of surprise appeared on Wang Dehai's face.

"You're a good kid. You're a bit better than those idiots."

He patted Lin Sheng on the shoulder with his greasy hand and left without another word.

Lin Sheng paid no mind to this. He returned to his workstation and began processing the remaining rock sheep.

Not long after, amidst Wang Dehai's scolding, the group of skinners returned listlessly.

And so, three days passed quietly.

During these three days, besides his daily work, Lin Sheng also made as much time as possible to practice the Raging Bull Fist.

However, it was a pity that there weren't any significant changes. The duration he could maintain the first stance of the Raging Bull Fist only increased by about twenty seconds from the initial two minutes.

He had also indirectly inquired about the progress of other skinners, and their progress was generally similar to his.

Overall, his progress was in the middle tier among these skinners, clearly indicating that his predecessor's aptitude and bone structure were not particularly good.

Among the group, Wu Gang was the most outstanding. Not only could he maintain the first stance of the Raging Bull Fist for 5 minutes when he first started practicing, but now, after a few days, it was said that he could already hold it for eight minutes.

His progress was indeed much faster than Lin Sheng's.

As for the condition to reach the Initiation level for the Raging Bull Fist, Tian Hu had also mentioned that it was to be able to maintain the first stance of the Raging Bull Fist for the duration of an incense stick, and then successfully circulate Qi within the body using the Qi Circulation Method. That would be considered Initiation.

Judging by this progress, Wu Gang would definitely reach Initiation within a month. As for himself and most of the skinners, it would be a stretch, or rather, practically impossible.

Actually, Lin Sheng was still confident that he could reach Initiation within a month, but that was on the condition of being able to fully dedicate himself to training and having sufficient energy supply. Such a situation was clearly unrealistic.

However, he wasn't in a hurry, because his own opportunity would arrive soon.

One morning, Lin Sheng skillfully skinned and butchered the rock sheep in front of him.

The rock sheep sent to the slaughterhouse were generally knocked unconscious before being delivered. This was because if they were skinned after dying, the quality of the hide would decrease, and consequently, the selling price would be affected.

So, over these past few days, he had become accustomed to the bloodiness of the place.

The butchering knife in his hand pierced the rock sheep's neck with a thwack, and dark red blood gushed out.

As usual, he placed the prepared wooden bucket below to catch the thick blood.

Suddenly, he felt a burning sensation on his chest, as if a red-hot iron had branded him.

The intense pain almost made him drop the butchering knife.

However, he managed to endure it. If he accidentally ruined the rock sheep's hide, he would undoubtedly be scolded and have his wages docked.

He held back from releasing the knife, but the intense pain caused the veins on his hands to bulge, and his face contorted.

Fortunately, this strong burning sensation did not last long. In just a few breaths, the intense heat gradually subsided.

Huff… huff…

Lin Sheng gasped for air, pulling up the front of his tunic with one hand. He looked down and saw a circular mark on his chest, which had now turned completely blood-red, like a vivid crimson ring.

Upon closer inspection, the blood-red color on the ring seemed to be alive, slowly circulating.

"Has this circular mark finally finished accumulating!?"

Lin Sheng muttered to himself. The burning pain he had just felt originated from the circular mark.

"What exactly is the use of this circular mark?"

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he was astonished to find that the circular mark in the center of his chest had begun to show blood-colored lines, like strands of hair, spreading outwards from the circle.

The speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped his entire upper body, and even his whole body.

What shocked him even more was that the messy slaughterhouse before his eyes was rapidly changing. Dense blood plasma surged from the four walls of the slaughterhouse, instantly transforming the entire slaughterhouse into a sea of blood, and his vision was completely filled with crimson.

After an unknown amount of time, the blood-red color before his eyes suddenly dispersed, replaced by a void.

What greeted his eyes was a wisp of faint blood-colored mist, constantly twisting and swaying, like primordial chaos yet to be formed.