Cultivation Perfected, It's Time!

"Ah, if we'd known Old Qin was being bullied by Niu Shiyang, we should've stepped in and given him a hand instead of standing by with our arms folded."

"If there'd still been some neighborly affection between us, now that Old Qin has made it big, we could've gone to his door and asked for something to eat."

"At the very least... it would've been nice to ask for some firewood to get through the winter!"

"What's the use of saying all this now?"

The neighbors all felt somewhat disgruntled.

But in truth, even if time were turned back and these people were once again placed in that moment when Qin Dashan was being robbed of his money by Niu Shiyang, most of them would still choose to turtle up.

Because "sweep the snow from your own doorstep; never mind the frost on another's roof" was the most practical way of survival for these families of criminals struggling to stay alive at the bottom of society.

In the barren western part of the village, some were filled with envy at the Qin Family's recent changes, while others were green with jealousy.

A broad, fat middle-aged man with a narrow forehead, wide jowls, and a face like a squash said sourly, "Hmph, what's there to envy?

"At the rate Qin Yao is going, he probably won't even live to see the first snowfall before working himself to death in the mines!"

"Aunt Tian, rather than thinking about marrying your daughter to a short-lived ghost like Qin Yao, you might as well promise her to me, Di Dajin!"

"You? Hmph!"

The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes at him without the slightest courtesy. "Why don't you piss and take a good look at yourself? You've got the nerve to set your sights on my daughter?"

"Qin Yao is handsome and capable. And you? You're lazy, greedy, and love gambling. You just finished screwing over your parents, then turned around and screwed over your younger brothers and sisters; now you want to ruin my daughter too? Pah!"

Di Dajin wiped the spit from his face. "Heh, you old hag, how rude! Just listen to me..."

"Get lost, get lost, get lost!"

The conversation outside the courtyard gradually faded away.

Inside the house, Qin Yao took the roe deer meat his grandfather had fetched from the rice jar and ate until his mouth gleamed with grease!

"Ding! Eating skill proficiency +4"

"Ding! Eating skill proficiency +3"

"Ding! Eating..."

Watching her brother eat bag after bag, Qin Lan's little mouth fell open in shock and would not close for a long while.

When Old Master Qin's dantian had yet to be crippled, let alone Qin Lan, even Qin Yao had still been wrapped in swaddling clothes.

And Qin Yao's parents had already passed away before Qin Lan was old enough to understand things.

Thus, the girl had never before witnessed a martial artist's appetite from such close range.

"Th-this... this, this, this... that's got to be six or seven jin already, right? Brother's appetite is huge!"

"Naturally."

Old Master Qin merely looked unsurprised.

He tore off a piece of meat and put it into his mouth, speaking as he chewed. "A martial artist relies on 'four parts talent, three parts training, and the other three parts in the pot'!

"The higher a martial artist's realm, the greater their appetite.

"Once one breaks through the peak of the Body-Tempering Realm, some martial artists can eat an entire pig in a single day.

"Some at even higher realms can even finish off a whole cow in one day!"

Qin Lan grew even more astonished. "My heavens, how much money would that take just to keep them fed..."

Seeing his granddaughter's adorably dazed little face, Qin Dashan could not help but laugh. "Hahahaha! Once you truly reach that kind of realm, earning a hundred taels of silver a day is nothing remarkable. Naturally, you wouldn't lack for that little bit of food."

About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, Qin Yao, having polished off another two-plus jin of roe deer meat, let out a satisfied burp.

"Full and fed. Time to train!"

With that, he directly assumed the stance of the Tiger-Fighting Fist and began practicing.

"Girl, come sleep."

Grandfather urged her.

"No, I want to watch Brother practice."

Qin Lan leaned over the bedside, cupping her cheeks in both hands as she gazed dreamily at her brother.

Though the girl knew nothing of martial arts and could only watch the spectacle, she simply felt that every punch and kick, every shift and leap her brother made, was utterly magnificent.

"Watch for another quarter-hour, then come sleep."

Old Master Qin issued his final ultimatum in a stern tone. "Stay up late again, and you won't get any meat tomorrow!"

"Oh... got it."

Qin Lan finally pouted and yielded reluctantly.

As for Qin Yao—he remained deaf to all matters beyond the window, single-mindedly grinding away at the Tiger-Fighting Fist.

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +3"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +4"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist..."

Ever since this cultivation method advanced to the "Mastery Realm," the rate at which its proficiency grew had begun to slow.

Presumably, the bodily benefits brought by "Mining Skill Complete Mastery" were nearly exhausted.

"After all, I was born with defective meridians. Even with the Grind Emperor System, that fatal weakness in my body still exists."

Qin Yao pondered secretly.

"But... so what?"

The youth swiftly rekindled his fighting spirit. "Even if I have to grind it up point by point, one day I'll grind my way to the peak of the Body Tempering Realm!"

The Grind Emperor System ensured that every drop of sweat you shed became recorded growth, accumulating little by little until it showed its value!

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist: Mastery Realm (1479/5000)"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist: Mastery Realm (2780/5000)"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist..."

Qin Yao practiced until the latter half of the night. Exhausted and drowsy, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the bed.

Early the next morning, he continued working as a mine slave.

By the time the stars and moon were hazy overhead, the other mine slaves had long since fallen asleep.

After returning to his quarters, Qin Yao wolfed down a mouthful of meat, then continued practicing.

"Ding! Skill 'Eating' proficiency +3"

"Ding! Skill 'Eating' proficiency +4"

"Ding! Skill 'Eating'..."

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +4"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +3"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist..."

At a certain moment—"Skill 'Eating' proficiency +3. Current proficiency: 1002/1000"

"Ding! Skill 'Eating' has advanced to the Mastery Realm (3/5000)"

In an instant, Qin Yao felt his stomach and intestines grow even stronger.

Previously, he had needed to eat nearly ten jin of roe deer meat to feel full. Now, just four or five jin produced the same effect.

This undoubtedly saved Qin Yao quite a bit on food expenses.

However, it also brought a problem: if he continued eating roe deer meat, sometimes he could take several bites in a row without gaining even a single point of proficiency.

"Looks like I'll have to get my hands on some more nutritious food!"

Qin Yao thought to himself. "But right now, I don't have the means.

"For the time being, it's enough if I can fill my stomach. First, I need to grind Tiger-Fighting Fist to a higher realm. Increasing my strength is the true path!"

Thus, every night after returning home, Qin Yao cultivated with even greater diligence.

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +3"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist..."

At a certain moment—"Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist proficiency +4. Current proficiency: 5003/5000"

"Ding! Cultivation method Tiger-Fighting Fist has advanced to the Great Accomplishment Realm (3/20000)"

"Buzz!"

In that instant, Qin Yao felt a profound and mysterious current of qi arise within his body, flowing through every meridian.

His muscles, bones, and even his skin were strengthened.

"Huff..."

Qin Yao slowly expelled a heavy breath of turbid air.

Glancing at the sky, he saw that it was time to stop cultivating and sleep.

Yet there was little joy on the youth's face. Instead, he seemed somewhat dissatisfied. "Tsk. Even after cultivating Tiger-Fighting Fist to the Great Accomplishment Realm, my martial cultivation is still only at the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm?

"Strictly speaking, while it was at the 'Mastery Realm,' I had only just entered the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm. Now that the cultivation method has reached Great Accomplishment, my cultivation has entered the late stage of the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

"This isn't enough. I still need to work harder!"

If Thunder Tiger, the head instructor of Tiger Head Martial Hall, learned that their Tiger-Fighting Fist, passed down for generations and never cultivated by anyone to the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm...

Had been cultivated by a youth for merely three days before breaking through to the late stage of the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm—and that the youth even seemed dissatisfied with it—Thunder Tiger would be ashamed to death!

Over the following days, Qin Yao secretly surveyed the mineral veins during the day under the guise of mining.

At night, he ate meat and trained!

The meat he had brought back from the old hunter the first time had long since been finished.

Especially after Tiger-Fighting Fist reached the major mastery realm, his appetite had increased considerably again—so much that even the proficient "Eating" skill could no longer keep it down.

These days, Qin Yao had to go to the old hunter every few days to restock, spending two or three taels of silver each time.

The forty taels of silver he had gotten before had nearly run dry in less than half a month!

The young man, who had been grinding away with his head down, finally heard the heavenly sound he had been waiting for that night—"Cultivation Method Tiger-Fighting Fist Proficiency +5. Current Proficiency: 20001/20000."

"Ding! Cultivation Method Tiger-Fighting Fist has advanced to the Perfected Realm!"

Qin Yao's eyes snapped open, his gaze blazing bright. "It's time!"