Watching the Tiger Roar Painting

"Ten strikes against a stone stele?"

Qin Shuang looked at the panel in his mind, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

This system really was simple.

After simplification, the conditions were all related to the martial arts. Fierce Tiger Fist required touching tiger hide, and Tablet Splitting Hand required striking a stone stele with the palm. Then what about Iron Crotch Skill... Wouldn't that mean he had to...?

1: [Simplified advancement conditions: 1. Hide his blood a thousand times; 2. Evade the scrutiny of a Bone Forging Realm expert with Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke.]

2: [Simplified advancement condition: Strike a stone stele with the palm ten times.]

3: [Simplified advancement conditions: 1. Kill a pig; 2. Eat ten bowls of pig's blood.]

4: [Simplified advancement conditions: 1. Step on grass one hundred thousand times; 2. Watch a dragonfly fly for five days.]

5: [Simplified breakthrough conditions: 1. Observe the Tiger Roar Painting for three hours; 2. Kill a Hanging-Eyed White-Forehead Tiger.]

"At night, I can only work on Step on Grass and hiding my blood."

"The rest will have to wait until tomorrow."

Qin Shuang looked at the simplified advancement conditions for the five martial arts on the panel and thought to himself.

"Wait, could I tie grass to the soles of my feet and sleep with my feet braced against the bed's footboard? Then I could step on grass even in my dreams."

Qin Shuang glanced at the bag of wilted grass beside the bed. An idea struck him, and he immediately found some cloth strips and tied two handfuls of grass to the soles of his feet. Then he lay down, pulled up the covers, and braced his grass-bound feet against the footboard.

At the same time, he held a White Porcelain Bottle containing some blood collected from Qi Yunfeng. He took a piece of cloth and covered the bottle, which held Qi Yunfeng's blood.

[Hiding blood +1 time!]

[Stepping on grass +1 time!]

[...]

System notifications rang continuously in Qin Shuang's mind.

"Not bad. I can step on grass while lying down!"

Satisfaction showed in Qin Shuang's eyes.

Third floor.

Nangong Wan'er, dressed in black, sat cross-legged in her room. She glanced toward a room in the inn's back courtyard, then closed her beautiful eyes and continued healing.

The next day.

At six in the morning, Qin Shuang finished washing up, then stir-fried four bowls' worth of pig's blood and chives and dug in.

Nangong Wan'er ate only a sesame flatbread she had bought. She glanced at the pig's blood and chives Qin Shuang had stir-fried, her beautiful eyes blinking as she said, "How about... you just buy something for lunch today?"

The stir-fry was a little burnt. Did he really love pig's blood and chives that much?

If she hadn't been busy healing, she would have cooked herself.

"Sure. I'll buy something for lunch."

Qin Shuang nodded. He did need to buy lunch, but he still had to eat pig's blood. He'd had three bowls the night before and four that morning, so three more at noon would fulfill Blood Rage Saber Art's requirement of ten bowls.

For the sake of becoming stronger, he'd eat even a hundred bowls!

"Miss Nangong, I'm heading out. I'll lock the door and bring back lunch."

Qin Shuang quickly finished three bowls of pig's blood, set down his chopsticks, and went up to the third floor. He spoke to Nangong Wan'er as she gnawed on her flatbread.

"Mm. Be careful not to leave a trail."

Nangong Wan'er replied, then closed her eyes to heal.

Qin Shuang locked the front door and headed for East Gate Slaughterhouse.

East Gate Slaughterhouse.

Already-cut cuts of pork lay on the chopping blocks at more than a dozen stalls.

Pig squeals, cleavers chopping meat, and customers haggling rose and fell all around.

At Stall Number One, a tall, burly butcher in his forties, with a big belly and a thick beard, looked at Qin Shuang curiously. "Little brother, you want to try your hand at slaughtering a pig? That'll be one tael of silver. As it happens, I've got a pig ready to be slaughtered."

"Deal!"

Qin Shuang nodded and took a tael of silver from his robe, counting it out to the butcher.

The butcher took the money and tucked it away. He left the meat counter in the care of an apprentice beside him, then said to Qin Shuang, "Come with me."

Qin Shuang followed the butcher to a courtyard behind the stall. Inside was a pen just over a meter high, containing a Short-Mouthed Black Pig weighing more than a hundred jin. Three young men who looked like apprentice butchers, all wearing aprons, stood nearby.

"Master Chen, we're all set!"

When the butcher arrived, one of the apprentices held a slaughtering knife in one hand and a large basin for catching the pig's blood in the other. He addressed him respectfully.

"Good. We'll hold the pig down. This young brother wants to try slaughtering one today." Butcher Chen spoke to the three apprentices, took the slaughtering knife, and handed it to Qin Shuang. "Little brother, just be quick, forceful, and precise."

With that, he gave Qin Shuang an apron as well.

Butcher Chen and the three apprentices held the black pig down as it struggled desperately. Qin Shuang gripped the slaughtering knife, stepped forward, found the vital spot, and struck with a single cut.

[Ding! Requirement to kill a pig fulfilled!]

Just then, a system notification rang in Qin Shuang's mind.

"Thank you, Master Chen!"

"If I need anything again, I'll come find you!"

Qin Shuang had fulfilled the requirement. He set down the slaughtering knife and didn't plan to stay. Next, he was going to Golden Tiger Martial Arts School to observe the Tiger Roar Painting.

"Sure thing! Take care!"

Butcher Chen was quite pleased. Naturally, he was happy to earn some silver.

Golden Tiger Martial Arts School.

At the entrance, Jin Yang, a lean man with a pipe in hand, looked over Qin Shuang's identity plaque and said, "Little brother, you've only come twice since you signed up. You need to work harder. If you don't master Fierce Tiger Fist within three months, you'll have to pay another ten taels of silver."

Since Qin Shuang had paid the fee but hadn't shown up to learn the fist, the school's disciples had spent the past two days asking whose rich family he belonged to. They all wanted to get acquainted with him.

"Thank you for the reminder, Martial Uncle. I know."

Qin Shuang clasped his hands to Jin Yang and walked into the school.

[Ding! Requirement to evade the scrutiny of a Bone Forging Realm expert fulfilled!]

[Your Blood Locking Art (Blood Refining Scroll) has advanced to the proficient stage!]

Suddenly, two system notifications rang in Qin Shuang's mind. A flood of information poured into him: insights and techniques for using the proficient-stage Blood Locking Art.

At that moment, Qin Shuang felt as though he had practiced the Blood Locking Art for three years already!

"Did Jin Yang just scrutinize me?"

Qin Shuang's eyes lit up at the system notification. Jin Yang had scrutinized him once, fulfilling one of Blood Locking Art's simplified conditions and advancing it to the proficient stage.

He'd come here to observe the Tiger Roar Painting, but this was an unexpected bonus!

He was also very pleased with his Blood Locking Art. After activating its proficient-stage form, Jin Yang couldn't detect his Qi and Blood, which was proof enough of how wondrous the art was.

At the same time.

[Blood Locking Art: Blood Refining Scroll (Proficient)]

[Simple requirements: 1. Hide his blood ten thousand times; 2. Evade the scrutiny of a Marrow Jade Realm expert. Meet the requirements to reach mastery.]

"Junior Brother Qin, you're finally here. Hurry and join the line to practice your fists. Try to master them as soon as possible!"

Liu Hao saw Qin Shuang come in and immediately urged him.

He had a strong impression of this junior brother, who had only joined a few days earlier. Even if his family had money, that didn't mean he should waste it like this.

"Thanks, Senior Brother. I know."

Qin Shuang nodded and went to the back of a line of disciples practicing their fists by the screen. His eyes, however, kept drifting toward the Tiger Roar Paintings on it. The school had specially commissioned an artist to paint them so the disciples could focus on practicing Fierce Tiger Fist. They were lifelike, vivid in every detail.

[Observed the Tiger Roar Painting +1 minute]

A minute later, a system notification rang in Qin Shuang's mind.

"Hmm? That works!"

Qin Shuang's eyes lit up at the notification. He was eager to find out what kind of fist technique Fierce Tiger Fist would become after breaking through its limits.

Since this Tiger Roar Painting worked, could he find the artist who had painted it and have him paint one for him? Then he could take it home and observe it more easily.

With that thought, Qin Shuang decided not to waste time. He was about to ask the senior brother who had painted the Tiger Roar Painting, but Liu Hao was nowhere to be seen. So Qin Shuang headed toward the entrance, intending to ask Jin Yang.

Just then, a tall, thin young man with a hooked nose, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, came over and said, "Junior Brother Qin, why aren't you practicing your fists?"