A Once-in-a-Million Martial Arts Prodigy?

After mastering the Tiger-Fighting Fist, Qin Yao's every movement carried the force to wrestle lions and battle tigers.

"Whoosh!"

With a simple tiger pounce, he bent at the waist and knees to gather strength, then threw out his extended arm and fist like a rhinoceros driving its horn forward—fierce, brutal, heavy with power!

Even the wind stirred up by his fist made his grandfather's beard and hair flutter from three steps away...

Immediately after, Qin Yao boldly raised his leg, whipping it out like a tiger's tail.

"Whoosh!"

Another gust of fierce wind rose. This kick truly made his leg like a steel whip—utterly tyrannical.

This was the second stance of the Tiger-Fighting Fist: Tiger Whirl.

"???"

Old Master Qin was profoundly shocked. "Was there... such a move in the martial manual I bought?"

Holding the illustrated martial manual, he leaned close to the candlelight and flipped through it again and again, yet never found any record of that kick.

Just then, Qin Yao changed his move once more.

Having already raised his leg and stepped toward the doorway, he suddenly turned and leaped.

In the blink of an eye, he shifted from the door to the bedside!

Borrowing the momentum of his forward charge, he dropped into a bow stance and drove out his elbow.

"Good!"

Old Master Qin's eyes lit up. "This final move retains its fierce sharpness as it shifts position and direction, turning defense into offense."

"The key is that from the opening punch, to the later whip kick, to the final shifting knee strike, it all flows as one seamless whole, completely natural."

"It is as though the Tiger-Fighting Fist was born to be fought this way!"

"The problem is, none of these moves appeared in the Tiger-Fighting Fist's illustrated manual..."

"Wait, could these be moves Yao'er deduced on his own from the severely castrated 'first stance' in the manual?!"

At the thought of this possibility, Old Master Qin immediately grew excited.

What kind of astonishing talent would it take to extrapolate an entire martial art from a crippled version of a technique one had only glanced over twice—a martial art with its logic, compatibility, and practical application all maxed out?!

Qin Dashan's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Th-this is still my good grandson, born with crippled martial veins and barred from the path of martial arts for over a decade?"

It was no wonder he was so stunned.

One had to know that even Qin Dashan himself, who had practiced martial arts diligently in his youth and made something of a name for himself, could never have brought a severely "castrated" martial art to such a level in so short a time!

How did the boy before him look like a novice practicing martial arts for the first time?

He was clearly an old master who had steeped himself in this fist art for twenty or thirty years!

"Could it be... that Yao'er is a peerless martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand?!"

Qin Dashan was just thinking of questioning his grandson properly once he emerged from his immersion.

Who would have thought that, the very next moment, Qin Yao abruptly stopped midway through his moves, clutched his stomach in pain, and squatted down.

"Yao'er?!"

Old Master Qin jumped in fright and rushed forward in a single stride.

His younger sister Qin Lan, who had been so engrossed in watching him practice that she had forgotten herself, also sprang up as if struck by lightning. "Brother! What's wrong, Brother?!"

The boy clutched his stomach, baring his teeth. "Don't worry. I'm just too hungry. My stomach's cramping!"

"..."

His grandfather and sister both rolled their eyes speechlessly.

"Brother, there are flatbreads right here. Hurry and eat."

"No. Yao'er's condition is a case of 'depleted qi and blood' caused by martial practice."

Old Master Qin said solemnly, "With coarse flatbreads like these that contain no oil or nourishment, no matter how much he eats, he will only feel bloated. They cannot be transformed into vital essence to nourish the body.

"And at the rate a martial artist's body consumes energy, if he goes too long without nutritional supplements, his cultivation will decline!

"But the problem is, this only happens to martial artists!"

"Yao'er, could you..."

Old Master Qin grabbed Qin Yao's arm and checked his pulse.

Soon, he frowned. "Hiss, that's not right. You show no signs of martial veins!"

At the same time, Qin Yao opened his own status panel—"Host: Qin Yao"

"Realm: Third Layer of the Body-Refining Realm.

However, the host's current realm is the result of using fist-art proficiency to nourish the body in return, rather than following the conventional path of martial cultivation.

The host's martial veins remain in a crippled state. The realm limit is 'Peak Body-Refining Realm.'"

"Martial Art: Tiger-Fighting Fist (Unranked), Mastery Realm (7/5000)"

"Skills: Mining, Mastery; Eating, Minor Accomplishment (416/1000); Acting, Minor Accomplishment (405/2000); Lockpicking, Minor Accomplishment (6/2000); Disguise, Minor Accomplishment (7/2000)"

"Available Tokens: 23"

"Currently unlocked token function: Filling in the Gaps"

"In other words, my martial cultivation realm is now even stronger than that head instructor at Tiger Head Martial Hall?"

Though secretly delighted, Qin Yao also understood that it was all thanks to the physical foundation granted by "Mining Skill Mastery."

Before practicing Tiger-Fighting Fist, physical qualities comparable to those of a "Body Tempering Realm Level Two" martial artist had already been his limit.

But once he truly began cultivating a martial arts technique, that limit had been stretched all the way to the "peak of the Body Tempering Realm"!

"Grrrrumble..."

Qin Yao's stomach growled again. The gnawing hunger clawed at his heart and guts, making him want to snap off the table leg and chew on it!

"I need to find something rich and filling to stuff into my stomach right now, or my body's going to collapse."

With that, Qin Yao dug out the disguise materials he had left over from before and hurriedly got to work.

Old Master Qin nodded. "That works. Put on a disguise and take a look around the east side of the village. At this hour, that game-food workshop run by the old hunter should still be open."

"Brother, I'm afraid you don't have enough money to buy meat, do you?"

His younger sister Qin Lan held out a silk handkerchief embroidered with a little white rabbit and the character "Lan." Pressing her lips together, she said, "Grandpa said this handkerchief is silk, so it should be worth some money!

"Take it and pawn it, Brother. Trade it for lots of meat to eat~"

At her words, the warm current that suddenly surged in Qin Yao's heart nearly shot out through his eyes!

Because in his memories, this handkerchief had been given to Qin Lan by their mother in the year she passed away.

It had always been the thing his little sister treasured most.

To put it in the popular terms of his past life, this silk handkerchief was his sister's "Abei"...

Qin Yao pushed the handkerchief back and fondly rubbed his sister's head. "No need. Your brother has money!"

"Oh, come on, Brother. Lanlan knows you're just reluctant to part with it."

With her hands behind her back and her little face tilted upward, Qin Lan put on the air of a tiny grown-up and wagged her head as she said, "Look at you—you've learned boxing now, and you're already this, this amazing! You'll definitely earn even more money in the future!

"By then, can't you just redeem the handkerchief?

"Go on, Brother. If you keep dragging this out, you'll starve yourself sick..."

Qin Yao did not argue with his sister. Instead, he took out the broken silver he had hidden earlier.

"Wow!!"

The little girl let out a cry of surprise, her eyes going wide and fixed.

"Shh, shh, shh! I told you not to make such a fuss!"

Old Master Qin poked her forehead irritably.

Qin Lan rubbed her forehead and pouted. "But it's been such a long time since I've seen this much silver~"

Then, with a swoosh, she snatched her handkerchief back.

Sticking out her tongue mischievously, she said, "Hehe, Brother, you're not getting this handkerchief after all. I should sleep too, so hurry and go buy yourself some meat~"

Before she had even finished speaking, she had already hugged her beloved Abei and hopped onto the kang bed.

One blanket over her head, and she loved no one anymore...

Watching his sister so decisively "withdraw her affection," Qin Yao could neither laugh nor cry. He turned to Old Master Qin and said, "Grandpa, you should rest early too."

"Alright, alright."

The old man's eyes brimmed with gratification.

After all, his precious, obedient grandson was a martial arts prodigy chosen one in ten thousand!