Realm-Hopping Martial Master

Jiang Shu—

Da Jing Dynasty Language/Text, small success (300/1000)

Horse Stance, perfection (10/1000)

Famished Tiger Sitting Cave Stance, great success (600/1000)

Famished Tiger Breathing Method, great success (600/1000)

Tiger Form Three Styles, perfection (10/1000)

With Qi Yuan sparring with him and the boost from fox bear meat, Jiang Shu's progress in practice, nurturing, and fighting was shooting up at a tremendous pace, and today, the Tiger Form Three Styles even reached perfection.

The slanted moonlight shone into the small courtyard.

Jiang Shu moved like a tiger, and behind him, the aroma from the grilled fox bear meat on the barbecue rack filled the air.

Qi Yuan wasn't sitting in his chair. Having already perfected the Famished Tiger Sitting Cave Stance, he crouched like a tiger and picked up a skewer of meat, the smell intoxicating.

He hadn't expected that his younger junior brother's barbecue could be this delicious either.

A brush of sesame oil, a sprinkle of several spices on the meat, and the fox bear meat that used to be hard to swallow,

after this series of moves, *just straight-up transformed into an utterly top-notch delicacy*

*What kind of miserable days had I lived before this?*

*Good thing I have my junior brother.*

It was just a shame that even for him alone, this fox bear meat wasn't really enough.

With Jiang Shu joining in, the daily consumption grew even bigger.

In just five days, the fox bear meat he bought on the black market was already half-eaten by the two of them.

"Junior brother, your Tiger Form Three Styles have reached perfection, but your vicious energy still isn't heavy enough!"

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes and leaped up. After quitting drinking for five days, he spent almost an extra hour a day practicing Martial Arts, more than ever before.

His whole body's strength circulated, and he launched a punch with full force.

"The Martial Arts from the martial arts halls here in Pingling County are basically all about visualizing birds and beasts. The Mystic Turtle Martial Arts Hall trains for a steady mind. The Antelope Martial Arts Hall values alertness of mind."

"So the calm-minded go to the Mystic Turtle Hall. Those from humble backgrounds who are cautious tend to practice at the Antelope Hall. Martial Arts align with temperament—that's the only way you make rapid progress."

"But here at the Famished Tiger Hall, it's all about the kill. The Famished Tiger Sitting Cave stance is about brewing killing intent. Not enough viciousness, not enough deadly aura—if you train 'Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength,' you'll always be a bit weaker by nature."

Qi Yuan kept throwing punches and giving Jiang Shu tips. Every punch was charged with murderous energy. Ever since he'd spent all night talking with Jiang Shu, *it felt like some invisible shackle around him had slowly broken off.*

He truly was a Pingling County native.

After living in Pingling County for twenty years, he knew the place even better than Jiang Shu!

The big families.

The county bureaucracy.

They were more like a barrier right in front of him, in his heart, than that big mountain in the distance.

In times like these, in a county town like this,

*Act calm and steady like a turtle?*

*Be as timid and cautious as an antelope?*

*What's the point!*

If you're going to practice Martial Arts,

then do it like a tiger breaking out of its den!

Qi Yuan was getting more and more into his rhythm, letting out a loud, drawn-out roar from time to time, channeling his energy all over his body. Suddenly, *it was as if his strength broke through some barrier, and one punch he threw out could no longer be pulled back—it landed straight onto one of the stone stakes in the yard.*

"Bang!"

The stone stake flew up in the air.

Under the moonlight, Jiang Shu looked up and clearly saw at the point where Qi Yuan's fist struck the stone stake, there was a distinct fist seal!

Skin Grinding Realm.

Stone Skin!

...

*Your background decided your future.*

*But the times can make heroes!*

If Qi Yuan were on Xuanxing, with his outstanding Martial Arts talent and had entered an academy,

enjoying sufficient exotic beast meat resources, by now, there was no way he'd just be at the Stone Skin Realm.

Too bad…

Back on Xuanxing, Jiang Shu woke up from a deep sleep.

Sunlight was already streaming through the gap in the curtains onto his bed. He got up and yanked open the curtains. Outside, the sky was blue and the white clouds were drifting.

*It formed a stark contrast with the gloomy weather of Pingling County.*

*Unable to resist, he looked up at the blazing sun, squinting his eyes, opened the window, took a breath of fresh air, and then finally checked his phone.*

One missed call.

Jiang Shu called back, "Uncle Zheng, did you need something?"

"How could you not tell me something this big! If it wasn't for the Martial Arts promo video about to air and Miss Ye adding your personal intro at the start, I still wouldn't know you've already perfected your horse stance."

Zheng Yanbo's voice held a bit of complaint, but was even warmer and more familiar.

By his guess, Jiang Shu probably could reach the full-body blood circulation before the college entrance exam.

*But actually reaching it and guessing you might, that's not the same thing!*

*And judging by the timing, Jiang Shu reached perfection in the horse stance some time ago.*

*With this kind of talent, given the tides of the future, maybe he really could soar high.*

"Yeah, I only just barely managed it. I'm still stabilizing over the next few days."

Jiang Shu sounded a little embarrassed. *He really had been busy lately. After filming the Martial Arts promo, he basically spent all his time training, so although his Martial Arts Realm kept improving, he hardly socialized at all.*

Even at home, he'd just eat, make a little small talk, and then immediately head back to his room to rest.

He'd wait for his parents to fall asleep, then travel to Pingling County to train again.

In these five days, his progress in Martial Arts had already outstripped the ten-plus days of training during the Martial Arts promo shoot!

Jiang Shu breathed steadily, and on the other end of the phone, Zheng Yanbo spoke up again, "So do you have your sights set on any academies?"

"Shengjing or Jiangnan, maybe. Depends on the benefits from each academy. Uncle Zheng, you've always got the inside scoop—got any news you can share with me?" Jiang Shu replied with a grin.

"Oh, so you only call me Uncle Zheng when you need something, and never bother calling if there's nothing going on, huh. Shengjing Academy and Jiangnan Academy both have their pros and cons, but the competition is way fiercer in Shengjing."

"Jiang Shu, you might be number one in Ji City now. But Ji City is still only a second-tier city, and there's a huge gap between here and Shengjing. When the order comes down in Shengjing, who knows how many high schoolers start practicing Martial Arts? The ones with great talent there have also reached full-body blood circulation."

"When everybody's got the same talent, what really matters in the later stages is family background. So, in Shengjing Academy, you need to be ready for the possibility of being average, so don't lose your focus as soon as you get there."

"Human nature's the same everywhere. When I, your Uncle Zheng, was in Shengjing back in the day, I met so many students from Shengjing Academy. Some were top dogs back home in county towns or in second- and third-tier cities, thinking their talent was unbeatable. But after entering Shengjing Academy, they got hit so hard again and again they started doubting their whole lives."

"They fell behind academically, again and again, until they eventually slipped into mediocrity. I think Martial Arts is the same. Mindset is vital, and you absolutely need to be ready for that."

Zheng Yanbo spoke earnestly and patiently.

"There's competition everywhere."

Jiang Shu wasn't bothered by that. *The more he learned about Pingling County, the clearer his goals became.*

The greatest shortage in Pingling County was Martial Arts resources.

As for Martial Arts techniques, he had "Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength," enough to cultivate up to the Bone Forging Realm.

But the only thing was, exotic beast meat was too scarce.

*For him, getting into an academy meant his top priority was having enough exotic beast meat!*

Even fox bear meat, which didn't really suit him, could double his training speed.

*If he could get plenty of exotic leopard meat, or even tiger meat at an academy—what then?*

If he could perfect the three methods of practice, nurturing, and fighting, he could nurture his inner strength.

For Martial Artists on Xuanxing, developing visible strength might require talent,

but for him, all it took was resources!

Shengjing or Jiangnan, he'd go wherever offered more.

"Uncle Zheng, competition doesn't scare me. What I need is freedom from mundane distractions and enough investment in Martial Arts resources early on. Which academy do you think would be better? If Shengjing and Jiangnan don't fit, how about East Sea or Tianshu?"