Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art

The information on the light screen had changed somewhat. There was an additional talent; the untransformed state had become First Transformation, and his satiety had already dropped to zero.

Shen Xiu could feel that his body seemed to have undergone some change he did not understand. His frame had become lighter.

More importantly, after the transformation, the talent Heaven Rewards Diligence had been added.

This talent allowed everything he learned and practiced to be quantified. For every measure of effort he put in, he gained a measure of progress. There would be no negative changes such as forgetting or regression—only a path ever upward, without bottlenecks.

In other words, no matter how poor his comprehension of martial arts manuals was, no matter how difficult a technique was to cultivate, he could grind it up through time.

This meant that even if his aptitude was lacking, as long as he kept practicing, he could raise his cultivation and increase his strength.

It meant there was no longer any martial art in this world that he could not begin learning, nor any bottleneck he could not break through.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was the day when the martial hall instructors would teach martial arts.

To leave the Labor Disciples enough time to learn the techniques, the martial hall had even rarely granted them the entire afternoon.

That afternoon, before the appointed time had even arrived, numerous excited Labor Disciples had already hurried to the training grounds.

At this time, the four corners of the training grounds were divided into three areas, corresponding to the three instructors teaching the martial hall's three techniques. Shen Xiu found the place where the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art was being taught and ran over.

Before long, a stern and brawny middle-aged man in a black fitted martial robe walked into the field. He swept his gaze over the surroundings and said solemnly,

"I am Duan Hongfei, an instructor of the hall. You may call me Instructor Duan. I believe that after a year, you all already know me."

"There is no need for me to say more about the strength of our martial hall. Teaching you martial arts is giving you an opportunity—an opportunity to become a High Person. I hope you can seize it yourselves."

"Enough. The technique I will teach you today is the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art. This technique has a total of Thirteen Stances and chiefly tempers the physique. When cultivated to the utmost, it grants the strength to subdue dragons and tame tigers. Next, I will demonstrate it several times. Memorize it well."

After speaking, Duan Hongfei looked at the Labor Disciples, whose excitement was practically impossible to contain. He gave a slight nod and began his demonstration.

Duan Hongfei moved with agility. As he performed the Thirteen Stances, stillness and motion flowed together like water. At times he was fierce and overbearing; at others, his force lay hidden beneath the surface.

The faint yet savage aura around him also spread outward with the movements of the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art.

Even the disciples near the front, though not standing directly before him, still felt the chilling sensation of being watched by a ferocious beast.

Under such pressure, none of the surrounding Labor Disciples left. All of them stared unblinkingly at Instructor Duan's movements. After all, opportunities like this were hard to come by.

After completing the demonstration three times, Duan Hongfei slowly withdrew his fists and stood upright. The breath leaving his mouth stretched into a white line nearly three feet long.

Seeing the Labor Disciples still savoring the movements in their minds, he did not disturb them. He waited for a while before having them begin practicing on their own.

Meanwhile, he watched from the side, guiding them on the key points of each movement and, incidentally, looking for any promising seedlings worth nurturing.

Shen Xiu, standing toward the back, was no different from the other Labor Disciples. Recalling Instructor Duan's earlier movements, he reconstructed the movements of the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Thirteen Stances one by one.

Though his reconstruction was stumbling and chaotic, and though he sometimes had to pause to recall, stopping and starting without continuity, he did not give up.

When he had practiced like this until he finally completed an entire set, the words in the martial arts section of the panel light screen finally flickered.

[Martial Arts:]

[Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art: First Level, Beginner's First Practice 0.1%]

As expected.

The talent Heaven Rewards Diligence was already taking effect.

He practiced again, still stumbling through the Thirteen Stances with movements that were far from standard.

But as he continued practicing, he watched the growth of his proficiency at the more obvious problem areas. Understanding dawned in his heart, and he began consciously correcting his movements.

The proficiency of the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art also rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By the time the experience value of this technique reached 2%, he had already practiced it seven times. There were now few major mistakes in his posture or movements.

"Eh, someone can perform the entire set."

Duan Hongfei's gaze swept across the group of Labor Disciples before him before stopping on Shen Xiu.

There was no other reason—Shen Xiu's state was simply too conspicuous.

Everyone else was still pausing and halting, recalling the movements before performing them. Most gave up halfway and could not complete the set, yet this disciple could already perform a full sequence of stances.

It was just terribly clumsy.

But the tallest among dwarfs still stood out. With his fellow disciples serving as contrast, he still appeared a cut above the disciples beside him.

Though this was nothing much in Duan Hongfei's eyes—there were plenty of Formal Disciples with such comprehension—it was somewhat rare among Labor Disciples.

After these Labor Disciples had practiced for a while, Duan Hongfei stepped forward again and performed the Thirteen Stances of the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art once more. Then he waited until nearly the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

Only then did Duan Hongfei slowly speak. "Today's practice ends here. Tomorrow at noon, I will demonstrate the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art here once again. As for the rest, you must rely on your own practice. If there is anything you do not understand, you may come find me again, or seek guidance from your Senior Brothers."

After speaking, Duan Hongfei turned and left with vigorous strides. The Labor Disciples at the scene were still not satisfied, and while they still had some spare time, they immediately continued practicing without stopping.

The work left unfinished that afternoon was moved to midnight. By the time Shen Xiu finished those miscellaneous chores and returned to the dormitory courtyard, it was already late at night.

Yet even at this hour, quite a few disciples were still standing in the courtyard outside, practicing the martial arts they had learned that afternoon. They seemed extraordinarily excited.

As long as they learned martial arts, they would have a chance to become Formal Disciples who need not worry about food or drink and did not have to spend every day toiling over miscellaneous chores. The temptation was immense.

By the next day, fewer Labor Disciples had come than yesterday. Clearly, they were entertaining thoughts of switching to another school, but their wishes would likely not be fulfilled.

Duan Hongfei did not care in the slightest. His gaze merely lingered for a while on several Labor Disciples with comparatively strong comprehension.

Still, he said nothing, merely offering them a few more pointers whenever their movements were wrong.

After all, this was only the beginning. Whether they would achieve anything would have to wait until the assessment.

After learning again on the second day, Shen Xiu spent all his spare time, apart from fetching water and moving training equipment each day, practicing the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art.

This was the only technique he was currently cultivating.

Whether he could pass the assessment half a year later and escape the status of a Labor Disciple depended entirely on this.

Only then would he have more time to devote to cultivating martial arts, no longer needing to concern himself with these tedious, entangling chores.

Many Labor Disciples shared the same thoughts as him. These days, whether in the dormitory courtyards or the square, Labor Disciples practicing martial arts could be seen everywhere.

Most practiced the White Tiger Fist, followed by the Vajra Palm. The fewest practiced the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art—yet they were truly diligent beyond measure.