Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound! Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force! (Please Add to Favorites)

The Great Jing Dynasty enforced household registration with extreme strictness.

Even within a single county, one needed household registration to settle down in the county seat.

Not to mention the larger commandery and prefectural cities.

"A small matter. No harm done."

Utterly unconcerned by such a triviality, Chou Hai waved a hand and rose from the bed. He circled Jiang Shu once, then slowly said, "If I remember correctly, Jiang lad, you've only been studying martial arts at my Hungry Tiger Martial Hall for three months, haven't you?"

"Exactly three months."

Jiang Shu raised his head and met Old Man Chou's gaze without the slightest evasion.

Quite a few apprentices in the martial hall, even with sufficient martial training resources, needed more than a full year to reach the Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation.

Yet he had taken merely three months to go from beginner to mastery after joining the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall.

And he had mastered all three methods.

What had he relied on?

Naturally, his outstanding talent!

He had understood this clearly from the very beginning. There were four essentials to cultivation: method, wealth, companions, and land.

The method was the most important.

Only methods were the true stairs of advancement in this world.

And to obtain methods, he had to fight for them. He had to be a genius.

That was true in Pingling County.

It was true on Xuanxing as well.

"Mm. Do you know why I only take someone in as a formal disciple after they have mastered the Tiger Form Three Styles as well?"

"I do not."

Jiang Shu stood honestly, ears pricked as he listened to Old Man Chou's instruction.

"Because the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance, Hungry Tiger Breathing Method, and Tiger Form Three Styles were themselves split from the martial hall's core technique, the 'Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force.' Mastering all three methods is the minimum threshold for cultivating this technique."

"Among all beasts, leopards train strength, while tigers train bones. The hungry tiger howls at the mountain, taking the intent of the tiger form, carrying killing aura, and tempering sinews and bones."

Outside, a fine rain drifted down.

Chou Hai's body was bent with age. Standing before Jiang Shu, he used the great spine along his back as the core, mobilizing every limb and bone. His movements were slow, while a low sound issued from within his bones as he spoke, like thunder among the mountains, humming and rumbling.

Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound!

"There are countless martial arts in Great Jing. Among the chapters on force, the 'Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force' truly ranks within the top hundred. Minor mastery allows one to step into Bone Forging and temper the sinews and bones throughout the body. Should you one day cultivate it to perfection, you too may become like this old man, with a body like a tiger's form and sinews and bones ringing in unison."

"Of course, that stage is still far too distant for you. I am displaying it now only to let you know that the Martial Dao is as vast as heaven and earth. Mastering the three methods does not even count as entering the gate. Do not think that having a bit of talent means you can look down on everything, believing martial arts are easy to learn. Can you read?"

"I can."

"If you had come a few months later, I would have had you cultivate the three methods to perfection first, nurturing force before learning this 'Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force.' The three methods came from the same lineage; learning them separately lowered the difficulty of getting started. But your talent is passable, so I will first teach you the Skin Polishing portion of the upper volume and guide you into the gate sooner."

"No copying it, and no passing it on. Read it here. You may leave whenever you have memorized it."

He took a blue-covered book of several hundred pages from beneath his pillow and tossed it to Jiang Shu. Pointing at a table and chair to the side, Chou Hai clasped his hands behind his back and left the room.

Jiang Shu sat properly and opened to the first page.

There was an illustration of the human body's meridians on that very first page. Beneath it, tiny yet exceptionally clear writing marked where force began to circulate and where it ended.

He gathered his thoughts and focused his mind, studying every part of the diagram with care.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

The patter of fine rain rang clearly in Jiang Shu's ears. He murmured softly, "I wonder whether this Panel isn't intelligent enough, or whether my talent for martial arts isn't sufficient."

The upper volume of the "Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force," concerning the Skin Grinding Realm, did not actually contain much. It was only the meridians that fell wholly within his blind spot of knowledge, and he had spent considerable time memorizing them completely. Yet even so, the Panel still had not recorded this martial art, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

"Looks like it isn't what I guessed. It isn't enough to obtain a technique and memorize it for the Panel to record it. The Panel is more like a talent where the Heavenly Dao rewards diligence. Only after truly entering the gate does one qualify to work hard and reap rewards."

"I'll give it three to five days. First, I'll see whether I can comprehend force on my own. If not, I'll honestly cultivate the three methods to perfection and nurture force first. Then I'll learn the 'Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force.' It will be somewhat more troublesome, but for someone with a Panel like me, this is actually the safest approach."

Closing the blue-covered book, Jiang Shu rose from his seat and stepped away from the table and chair. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. In his mind, the meridian diagram reappeared.

Rather than hurry outside, he stood in a tiger stance and breathed like a tiger, attempting to circulate his qi and blood according to the method by which force moved.

In the courtyard.

The sight of Jiang Shu entering Old Man Chou's room had long fallen into the eyes of more than ten apprentices.

Yet all the apprentices only discussed it in private. No one dared secretly ask the maidservants what had happened.

When Old Man Chou emerged from the room, the apprentices became even more rigidly proper. They were either exchanging punches, kicks, and grappling techniques, or standing in stances and breathing, hoping to make a good impression before Old Man Chou.

They hoped to become formal disciples soon.

At the very least, they hoped to be rewarded with one or two doses of Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine.

Only Luo Yongcheng's heart was in turmoil, rising and falling with unease. Though he stood in stance and breathed, his gaze kept flicking toward Old Man Chou's room.

Why had Jiang Shu still not come out?

If he had something to report, shouldn't he have come out together with Old Man Chou?

He was still inside now. Could it be that he had already become a formal disciple?

When they had exchanged punches, hadn't he been in the same realm as Luo Yongcheng? How had he broken through to the Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation after only a few days?

As Luo Yongcheng's thoughts ran wild, Jiang Shu emerged from the room and quietly said a few words to Old Man Chou. Old Man Chou nodded repeatedly, then said, "Since you have formally taken me as your master, you may call me Teacher Chou from now on."

Beneath the eaves, Chou Hai rose from his reclining chair and looked at the apprentices below. "Jiang Shu has been accepted by this old man as a formal disciple."

"Three days from now, this old man will hold a disciple acceptance ceremony at the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall. You few are responsible for notifying the other apprentices. Make sure every one of them is present."

Though he had already guessed as much.

Old Man Chou's solemn announcement was still like a great hammer striking Luo Yongcheng in the chest.

A hundred thoughts surged into his mind in an instant.

If he had not fallen out with Jiang Shu, then with Jiang Shu's status as a formal disciple, even if he could not bring his family pharmacy back from the brink of death—

At the very least, he would have had more time to catch his breath.

Moreover, given their relationship at the time, since Jiang Shu was a formal disciple, buying some Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine from him should not have been difficult.

How had things become like this?

Luo Yongcheng stood there, stunned.

The rain over Pingling County grew heavier still.

He watched Jiang Shu respectfully see Old Man Chou back into his room.

He watched Jiang Shu emerge again and quietly stand in stance, breathing.

They were only ten steps apart.

Yet it was as though thousands upon thousands of miles lay between them.