In the corner of the martial arts training ground, a skinny young boy was practicing the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Thirteen Forms, executing the movements with formidable vigor and proper form.
Having finished a full set, Jian Shuhao cast an expectant look at Shen Xiu, who was observing from the side, and asked with a smile, "Brother Shen, how did I do this time?"
"Practice it a few more times, and you should have no major issues."
"Great, then I'll come again tomorrow."
"Aren't you afraid your old man will come dragging you back tomorrow?" Shen Xiu asked with a smile, calculating the time and realizing tomorrow was about the day his father would drag him back to study.
"It's fine, I'll be back in a couple of days," Jian Shuhao shook his head, looking completely unconcerned.
Shen Xiu merely smiled and said nothing.
Shen Xiu had met Jian Shuhao's father a few times. He knew that the plump, copper-scented middle-aged man was also a mild-tempered person. Whenever the man came to drag his son back, he never put on a sour face or scolded Shen Xiu, who was tutoring and guiding his boy; instead, each time, he apologized for disturbing Shen Xiu. For a merchant who ran a few rice shops and possessed modest wealth to have such grace and composure in the face of a miscellaneous chore disciple was truly rare.
"Brother Shen, here is a coin of silver." Jian Shuhao pulled a piece of fragmented silver from his money pouch and handed it to Shen Xiu.
Shen Xiu reached out and took the silver, instantly feeling several pairs of piercing gazes land on him. The owners of these gazes were mostly other miscellaneous chore disciples, all wearing looks of envy. After all, who wouldn't want to make a coin of silver in two days just by casually moving their hands? Yet, thinking of their own progress in martial arts practice, they quickly dismissed those extravagant hopes.
After instructing Jian Shuhao, Shen Xiu headed straight for the martial arts hall's dining hall. By the time he arrived, it was packed almost to capacity. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, he finally made it to the front of the line.
"Well... black steamed buns or vegetable rice?"
The cafeteria attendant instinctively reached for a buns, but then glanced up and realized the newcomer was Shen Xiu. He cracked a wide smile instead, "How about a bowl of chunky meat soup?"
The meals for ordinary miscellaneous chore disciples were very basic—usually just the martial arts hall's allotted black steamed buns and salted pickles. Dreams of eating fish and meat every day were out of the question; that was treatment reserved for formal disciples. It wasn't that miscellaneous chore disciples couldn't eat those things, but doing so required paying extra—dozens of cash per meal—and not many miscellaneous chore disciples could afford that.
Shen Xiu, however, didn't feel the pinch when spending money. Now that his martial arts training caused his physical consumption to increase, he couldn't afford to be stingy either. Every few days, he would pull out his previously saved silver to treat himself a few times. Recently, having gained an additional source of income, he ate even more frequently.
Coming as often as he did, even the cafeteria attendant had come to know this regular customer hidden among the miscellaneous chore disciples.
Yet upon hearing this, Shen Xiu shook his head with a smile, "Let's change it up today, Grandpa, give me a bowl of Monster Tonic Soup!"
The mediocre diet of miscellaneous chore disciples was due to financial constraints, but among the registered disciples, there were naturally those from well-to-do families, so their meals were naturally not so simple. Thus, the Monster Tonic Soup came into being.
Despite the name "monster," it was actually just made from ordinary wild wolves and other beasts, boiled down with some added medicinal herbs. It had a significant effect on replenishing physical strength and vital energy, far superior to ordinary meat dishes, and was very popular among registered disciples and some formal disciples.
It was just not cheap at all, costing one silver coin per portion. Ordinary miscellaneous chore disciples rarely even got to eat meat, let alone Monster Tonic Soup, which cost half a month's stipend for a single serving. They simply couldn't afford it.
Now possessing a little bit of silver, Shen Xiu intended to try a bowl of it himself.
"Well, well, little Shen is feeling generous today!" the attendant teased upon hearing this. Without missing a beat, he took the silver coin Shen Xiu handed over, tossed it casually into the drawer, and soon emerged from the back carrying an earthen jar brimming with meat.
A rich aroma of meat washed over him; just smelling the scent made him feel a slight tremor within his body.
Carrying it over, he found a seat and sat down, quickly digging in with gusto.
A quarter of an hour later, the large earthen bowl was soon scraped empty, and even the meat soup at the bottom was drunk clean. After finishing, he found it was indeed very different from ordinary meat dishes. He could only feel his whole body surging with heat, feeling inside and out as if he had just taken a refreshing hot bath.
The cafeteria attendant had once warned him that the hour following the consumption of the tonic soup was the prime time for martial arts training and exercise. Knowing this was the effect of the medicinal power at work, Shen Xiu hurried back to his courtyard to seize the opportunity to practice. Under the sustained influence of the medicine, the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Thirteen Forms he executed were even more forceful and well-defined than before.
The set of movements flowed smoothly in one go, with almost no pauses. The proficiency of the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Skill on his skin's light screen also rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As he practiced the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Thirteen Forms over and over again, his body grew increasingly proficient, and his internal vital energy surged wildly with the movements, coursing through his entire body. Before long, Shen Xiu was drenched in hot sweat.
Although he felt somewhat tired, he was exceptionally exhilarated. With the medicinal power not yet exhausted, he continued throwing punches as usual, and the next moment, the vital energy within him suddenly surged violently.
Shen Xiu instantly understood—that was the sign of a breakthrough.
Thus, he kept his movements going without stopping.
The vital energy rushed toward his limbs and bones like churning river water, running rampant and wild among his body's muscles. At the same time, he felt a stabbing pain erupt from all the muscles in his body. It felt as though countless hammers were pounding his entire body of muscles as if they were an iron ingot, continuously striking, ceaselessly expanding and then tightening, squeezing out every last ounce of strength from the muscles.
The entire process lasted for the space of half an incense stick before gradually subsiding.
Regaining his strength, Shen Xiu discovered that he was drenched in sweat and on the verge of collapse, while his physical appearance had undergone some subtle changes. Prior to this, thanks to the Golden Cicada feeding him medicine dregs for nearly a year, he had bid farewell to his frail constitution, and after several months of tempering his physique through the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Skill, he could only be considered robust.
Now, the muscles across his limbs and torso had clearly become fuller, rounder, firmer, and more fluid, exuding a faint aura of seasoned ruggedness all over.
Without a doubt.
This was the first realm of martial arts cultivation: Body Tempering.
First Realm: Body Tempering. As the name implied, it was the preliminary tempering of skin and flesh, refining the body three times to make the physique robust, vital energy flourishing, and reaching the limits of an ordinary person.
Judging by his current sensations in the Early Stage of Body Tempering, his strength had at least doubled, if not more. At this moment, he found it hard to imagine that if a mere preliminary realm brought about such massive changes, what kind of spectacle would lie in the subsequent Tendon Refining, Bone Cleansing, and the even higher Guicang Realm?
However, after careful analysis, he realized that with his current strength, he still couldn't do what Senior Brother Lin Yuan could—directly smash a water buffalo flying with a single punch and kill it with the shockwave. But beating up a few adult men who knew no martial arts should be no problem at all.
Right now, he had an intense urge to find a place to test it out.
So Shen Xiu opened the back door, left the martial arts hall, and came to the riverside just a few dozen meters away. He paused as he passed the riverbank.
This river was about two zhang wide. Because it was not the rainy season, the water volume was sparse, and in the wide riverbed, only a thin stream remained in the center, exposing the flat river flats. At the edge of the river bank, a yellow ox was walking with leisurely, minced steps, its eyes half-closed as it lazily grazed on grass.
It was a scene of leisurely blue skies and carefree tranquility.