Never Leave a Killing Overnight

"Tiger Form Three Styles: pounce, heave, shear."

"Pounce emphasizes momentum. You must seize a man's spirit and shake his soul. When a hungry tiger pounced on a sheep, even before it leaped, the ferocity in its eyes was enough to frighten down a whole flock."

"Though it looked like a simple word—pounce—it actually required training the eyes, the explosive force of the body, and the strength of the arms and palms."

"Lacking any one of them, it was not a true pounce."

Chou Hai shouted loudly, and a tiger's roar seemed to burst from his throat.

He sprang into the air, his sinews and bones cracking like thunder. As he threw a punch, the air exploded.

"Heave. When a tiger heaves its body, it heaves itself while also pushing away its enemy. Heaving emphasizes bodily coordination. Pouncing is hard; heaving is soft. When hardness and softness work as one, one man can face many!"

As Old Man Chou shouted, his body spun sharply. His outstretched palms became claws as he struck fiercely at the upper, middle, and lower lines.

"Shear. Strike when they least expect it. Tigers have tails; men have legs. Between kicks and sweeps, every step can claim a life."

Not a cloud stretched across the sky. Only a Great Sun, red as dripping blood, hung at its center.

After Old Man Chou demonstrated several times and saw the apprentices below practicing with a decent resemblance, he narrowed his eyes at the sun, waved his hand, and returned to his room for a midday rest.

"Phew, he's finally gone..."

The chubby boy beside Jiang Shu, who had performed the Tiger Form Three Styles three or four times, let out a long breath. Sweat soaked his body, and his cotton-padded clothes clung tightly to his skin.

"Practicing martial arts is too hard, Brother Jiang. How are you so amazing?"

The chubby boy's legs trembled as he looked at Jiang Shu with eyes full of admiration.

With his level of insight, he could naturally tell that, like him, Jiang Shu had yet to reach the realm of Qi and Blood Circulation.

Yet at the same realm, Jiang Shu, who had arrived later, was more enduring and more gifted than he was.

On the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance, Jiang Shu could hold one round longer than he could hold two!

When practicing the Tiger Form Three Styles, he looked far more convincing as well!

"Not really. Aren't you pretty impressive too?"

Jiang Shu finished his practice and steadied his breathing. He was not deliberately flattering him. The chubby boy looked no more than fourteen or fifteen.

Back on Xuanxing, that was only the age of someone just graduating middle school. Yet this chubby boy had already achieved Qi and Blood Sensing—enough to enter an undergraduate program directly.

Even at the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall, those who could circulate their Blood Qi were invariably youths of eighteen or nineteen, or even in their twenties.

To achieve Qi and Blood Sensing at fourteen or fifteen truly was not bad.

"No, no." The chubby boy waved his hands repeatedly, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I ate my way here. My dad said that if you wanted to practice martial arts, the first step was eating—eat more, eat fiercely, eat until you couldn't stuff down another bite. Then you stood in stance and digested it."

"I came here behind my dad's back this time. I heard the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall's stance training had miraculous effects. After practicing, your stomach would ache with hunger, just like a fierce tiger that had gone hungry for days. Then I could keep eating more, eating fiercely, eating all I could. That way, my Martial Dao would surely advance incredibly fast."

"Brother Jiang, my name is Zhou Yang. My dad runs several restaurants in the city. If you're short on meat, come to one of our restaurants. I'll give it to you at cost—just mention my name."

"Jiang Shu."

Jiang Shu only gave his name and said nothing more.

After three months in Pingling County, how could Jiang Shu not know how precious meat was?

What restaurant would sell meat at cost?

Most likely, the moment he stepped into the restaurant, he would be boarding the Zhou Family's ship.

Sure enough, even in a different world, human nature remained the same.

On Xuanxing, what fourteen- or fifteen-year-old child had such a calculating mind?

He traveled between two worlds. Meat, which Pingling County treated as precious, could be casually bought on Xuanxing until he could eat no more.

Why should he owe someone such a huge favor over such a small amount of resources?

Though this chubby boy had achieved Qi and Blood Sensing, it now seemed he had relied on nothing more than abundant wealth.

With such a calculating heart, he might not travel far on the path of Martial Dao.

The Martial Dao was like climbing a towering mountain, like wading through deep waters. Without great perseverance and great breadth of spirit, one could neither climb its heights nor cross its depths.

A truly timeless truth.

Jiang Shu closed his eyes, no longer caring what the chubby boy said. Recalling Old Man Chou's every movement from that day, he resumed his stance training—crouching like a tiger, breathing like a tiger.

The Tiger Form Three Styles were still a little too profound for him.

After practicing them several times, he discovered many of his own shortcomings.

His gaze was not fierce enough to shake a man's spirit. His explosive force when pouncing was insufficient, and the strength of his arms and palms needed further tempering.

When he heaved, he even used too much force and nearly twisted his waist.

Clearly, his bodily coordination was also lacking. He could not be hard, much less soft.

As for the final shear, his performance had been even worse.

Perhaps once he could circulate his Blood Qi, practicing the Tiger Form Three Styles again would allow him to grasp their deeper mysteries.

Seeing Jiang Shu truly close his eyes and stand in stance, the chubby Zhou Yang curled his lips and called out to another new apprentice nearby. "Practicing martial arts is too hard, Brother, how are you so amazing..."

The chubby boy's words did not stir the slightest ripple in Jiang Shu's heart.

He stood in stance, breathed, and punched.

Only after continuing for an hour did he stop. Returning to his padded coat, he closed his eyes and rested briefly.

He always remembered that this was Pingling County.

Not safe Xuanxing.

He had to ensure his Blood Qi remained full, that every punch and every kick could unleash his best condition at any moment.

Besides, he had something important to do tonight.

Old Man Chou did not emerge again until dusk, and the apprentices gradually left the courtyard one by one.

"Brother Jiang, make sure you visit the restaurant when you get the chance."

After calling out to Jiang Shu, the chubby Zhou Yang patted the hulking, simple-minded man surnamed Han. "Brother Han, come on. I'll take you to the restaurant today. Once you're familiar with it, you can go by yourself—just mention my name!"

"Young Master Zhou, I'd better not go. Even at cost, I might not be able to afford it..."

"Oh, Brother Han, so what if you can't afford the cost price? You can buy on credit. Think about it: you've already joined the martial hall. If you don't have enough meat to replenish yourself, wouldn't it take a long time to reach Qi and Blood Circulation? But if you go to our restaurant now and eat meat, you can reach the Qi and Blood Circulation threshold early. Once you can circulate your Blood Qi, then circulate it through your whole body step by step—when you truly become a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist, would you still care about the cost of a little meat?"

"That seems right..."

"Of course it is!"

The voices of the chubby boy and the hulking man grew more distant.

Jiang Shu closed his eyes, stood in stance, and breathed.

A panel slowly appeared.

Jiang Shu—

Horse Stance: Minor Accomplishment (565/1000)

Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance: Beginner (35/1000)

Hungry Tiger Breathing Method: Beginner (35/1000)

Tiger Form Three Styles: Beginner (12/1000)

Two Worlds Travel Countdown: 00:40

"There must be even more wondrous aspects to the Martial Dao of this world. Stance training and Breathing Techniques may only be the foundation."

With the Panel, he understood better than those apprentices what realm he had reached.

The Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance truly was more mysterious than the Horse Stance. Merely reaching Beginner allowed him to sense Blood Qi.

Judging by the proficiency progression, Beginner brought Qi and Blood Sensing, Minor Accomplishment brought Qi and Blood Circulation, Major Accomplishment brought Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation, and perfection happened to lead directly to the Skin Grinding Realm.

But how was one meant to cultivate the realms beyond the Skin Grinding Realm?

And just how wondrous were those higher realms?

Jiang Shu looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds blanketed the city, and the slanting sun sank beyond the hills.

The distant sky seemed veiled in mist, impossible to see clearly.

A cold wind swept past. He put on his padded coat, stored away the lime powder and Electric Baton, and walked out of the Inner City.

Outer City.

The hour of the Rooster.

The doors of the houses lining the streets were mostly shut. Within and beyond the alleys, only a few restaurants and gambling houses still shone with lamplight.

Beneath that faint glow, Jiang Shu removed his wig and stepped upon his own shadow. He headed toward Green Grass Lane, one step after another, slow yet resolute.

At this moment.

The moon was dark.

The wind was high.

A fitting night for murder.