Tiger-Fighting Fist, Doubting Life

Seeing his grandson throw himself into a stance without a care for anything else, Qin Dashan could not help frowning. "Yao, Grandpa knows you've just acquired a new martial art and are itching to try it.

"But you shouldn't be so impetuous.

"As the saying goes, 'Hot tofu can't be eaten in a hurry'..."

Just as Qin Dashan was droning on with the experience of an old hand, lecturing without end, the system notification sounded by Qin Yao's ear once more—"Ding! The host was born with crippled meridians. Unless you cleanse your sinews and purge your marrow, your path in martial arts is destined to yield twice the effort for half the result, and you will never break through the limits of the 'Body Tempering Realm' in your lifetime."

"Uh... it's that bad?!"

Qin Yao could not help feeling a little dejected.

As far as he knew, the Body Tempering Realm was merely the first step into the vast sea of martial arts.

He was in the prime of his life, and he even possessed the Proficiency System.

If no matter how hard he worked, he was fated to remain trapped in the "Body Tempering Realm" for the rest of his life, that would be far too bleak...

"Wait, did the system just mention 'cleansing the sinews and purging the marrow'?"

Qin Yao suddenly raised his head, the disappointment on his face vanishing without a trace!

"In other words, as long as I 'cleanse my sinews and purge my marrow,' I can break free from the shackles of my 'crippled meridians' and practice martial arts normally?!"

Although Qin Yao still had no idea what "cleansing the sinews and purging the marrow" meant, that did not stop him from determining the direction of his future efforts.

"Sadly, this martial hall's fist manual only drew the beginning.

"To learn the whole thing, I'll have to go to Tiger Head Martial Hall in person, pay the tea fee, and formally take a master.

"I'm not short on money for apprenticeship anymore.

"But as a 'mining slave,' I dig in the mining district from dawn till dusk. There's no way I can go to a martial hall..."

"Ding! A fragmentary, unranked ordinary-tier martial art has been discovered: Tiger-Fighting Fist. The host may use 'System Vouchers' to complete it."

"Completing this martial art requires 1 voucher. Would you like to complete it?"

"Ha, something this good exists?!"

Qin Yao was overjoyed.

He had never expected the "Voucher Error Correction" function unlocked when his "Mining" skill reached perfection could actually be used on martial arts manuals too.

"Then what are we waiting for? Of course I'm completing it!"

Qin Yao excitedly licked his lips.

With a thought—"Ding! System Vouchers -1. Remaining: 20."

"The complete version of the martial art Tiger-Fighting Fist has been restored."

The next moment, the illustrated manual for the complete Tiger-Fighting Fist had fully appeared in his mind.

Tiger-Fighting Fist consisted of three forms.

The first form, Tiger Pounce, emphasized building momentum before striking, with force like a rhinoceros's horn.

The second form, Tiger Whirl, turned the leg into a tiger's tail, whipping and kicking at the flank, its strength lying in catching the enemy unawares.

The third form, Tiger Leap, retained a fierce forward charge amid shifts and changes of direction, allowing one to turn defense into offense within a space no larger than a palm.

Qin Yao recognized every word in the description on the martial art manual.

But paired with those crude sketches that rivaled "abstract paintings," if he had to study and comprehend them on his own, who knew what year or month it would take before he could put them into practice.

Fortunately, the system directly helped him skip the stage of "comprehending it himself"!

He only needed to imitate the movements of those "abstract stick figures" in the martial art manual within his mind to gain proficiency.

"Ding! Martial art Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +7."

"Ding! Martial art Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +8."

"Ding! Martial art Tiger-Fighting Fist..."

The wildly surging proficiency that had begun the moment he was "just getting started" delighted Qin Yao.

"It must be because perfecting the 'Mining' skill laid down an excellent physical foundation for me. Cultivating now gives twice the result with half the effort."

In his excitement, Qin Yao became even more absorbed.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't practice recklessly—stop at once!"

Qin Dashan suddenly spoke up.

In his eyes, Qin Yao, who knew nothing of martial arts, was simply messing around from the very start.

If he kept practicing without knowing his own limits, not only would he make no progress, he might even injure himself!

Thus, Qin Dashan said earnestly, "Child, you're still too young, and you've never practiced martial arts before.

"There are many crucial intricacies in martial arts manuals that you simply can't grasp.

"You should first listen to this old man explain to you..."

"Ding! Martial art Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +7. Current proficiency: 103/100."

" Ding! Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist has advanced to Beginner Realm (3/300)."

Before the old man could finish speaking, Qin Yao's movements suddenly changed from their initial obscure stiffness into smooth, flowing motions!

"Eh?!"

Qin Dashan froze.

His grandson had been stumbling and fumbling through it just moments ago, looking awkward no matter how he moved.

How had he suddenly become so convincing in the blink of an eye?

He did not even look like an outsider touching a martial arts technique for the first time!

In the mere span of a dozen breaths, Tiger-Fighting Fist had advanced from the "Novice Realm" to the "Beginner Realm," so naturally, Qin Yao's movements became smoother and smoother.

But Old Master Qin did not know that!

He only found the scene before him utterly inconceivable.

At that moment, Qin Yao was completely immersed in the thrill of "grinding attributes," and failed to notice the change in his grandfather's expression.

He continued training on his own—"Ding! Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +15."

"Ding! Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +16."

"Ding! Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist..."

About the time it took to burn a stick of incense later, Old Master Qin finally steadied himself.

There was a trace of gratification in the way he looked at his grandson, but he did not abandon the idea of offering guidance based on his own understanding of martial arts.

"Yao'er, up to this point, your overall form has been quite decent.

"But the opening movement for the lunging punch is still not sharp enough, and also..."

"Whoosh!"

Before he could finish, Qin Yao's next lunging punch suddenly became far fiercer!

With one lunge and one punch, it already carried something of the wind-whistling force of a tiger!

That was because half a breath earlier, Tiger-Fighting Fist had advanced another level, reaching the "Minor Mastery Realm."

"???"

Qin Dashan was stunned again.

His half-open mouth simply would not close.

"Wow~ Big Brother is amazing!"

His younger sister Qin Lan watched with great excitement, hopping about and clapping her hands.

"Shh, shh, shh!"

Qin Dashan glared. "I told you not to make such a fuss. The greatest taboo in martial practice is distraction."

"Oh..."

Lan'er pouted.

As for Qin Yao, he remained oblivious to everything beyond his ears, wholeheartedly grinding proficiency.

"Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist: Minor Mastery Realm (379/1000)."

"Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist: Minor Mastery Realm (526/1000)."

"Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist..."

Qin Dashan watched Qin Yao practice while comparing his movements against the technique manual's illustrations.

After quite a while, the old man's eyes finally lit up. At last, he had picked out a few flaws.

Then, harboring the little thought of "This old man can finally recover a little face before his grandson," he cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Yao'er, in the end, you still lack some of the savage ferocity of a 'tiger descending the mountain.'

"So you need to..."

"Ding! Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +28. Current proficiency: 1007/1000."

"Ding! Skill Tiger-Fighting Fist has advanced to Proficient Realm (7/1000)."

As the system prompt sounded, the force behind Qin Yao's fists and kicks underwent a startling transformation!

If the previous strike had been like "a toddler learning to walk," then the next move was already "striding as if flying"!

That was the gap between the "Minor Mastery Realm" and the "Proficient Realm."

"???"

The sight before him once again made Old Master Qin's jaw drop.

His expression was full of the bewilderment of someone questioning his entire life...