Chapter 0017: Single Room

Upvotes, recommendations, and clicks are appreciated...

※

According to the introduction on the golden slip, Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist has nine stages and eighteen moves.

The first move "Eaglet Tiger Howling in the Mountains" and the second "Young Tiger Wind" are of the Yellow-rank Lower Class. The former focuses on power, and the latter on speed. Upon reaching peak proficiency, they can rival with any Yellow-rank Lower Class martial arts.

The third move "Winged Tiger Devouring the Sky" and the fourth "Flipping Tiger and Overturning Bear" are of the Yellow-rank Middle Grade. One emphasizes power and the other speed. Even at the Yellow-rank Middle Grade, they are the most dominant.

...

The seventeenth move "Dragon March and Tiger Step" and the eighteenth move "Whale Swallowing and Tiger Biting" have reached the Earth-rank Top Grade. In the words of the golden slip, once you attain peak proficiency, there is "No rival under Heaven".

The second part of the golden slip introduced a body refining method known as the "Tiger Golden Body Skills". This method is divided into ten levels. Once mastered, the first level can offer the strength of a tiger with just the physical body. The second level doubles the power to that of two tigers, all the way up to the tenth level, equivalent to the power of ten tigers. Moreover, with each level mastered, the practitioner's resistance to blows will also significantly increase.

Ma Jian specifically mentioned in the "Tiger Golden Body Skills" that its cultivation would need to be complemented by specially made pills. It's best to use the flesh and blood of Tiger Beasts like Demonic Tigers, mixed with several spirit herbs to make the Tiger Roar Pill. Regular consumption over many years can strengthen the body, improve constitution, and greatly promote the practice of the "Tiger Golden Body Skills".

Ma Jian emphasized that the Tiger Roar Pill is crucial; the power of the punch depends on what kind of tiger's flesh and blood is used to make the pill. For example, if a regular tiger is used, the "punch of a tiger" would be equivalent to 500 pounds. If a Demonic Tiger is used, then a punch would be as strong as a Demonic Tiger, reaching a thousand pounds. Of course, with high-ranking Demonic Tigers like Fiery Demon Tigers, the power of a "punch of a tiger" would be at least 2000 to 3000 pounds.

The third part of the golden slip included some of Ma Jian's personal accounts, detailing some of his experiences and observations. He mentioned that he didn't have long to live, and left all his legacy in a place called Horse Mountain, hoping it could be passed to someone destined. There was also a map attached to the end of the golden slip, but for some unknown reason, only half of the map was visible. It's unclear whether the map was originally incomplete or lost half when the Heavenly Dao Engine swallowed the Demonsensing Orb.

Qi Tian was naturally interested in Ma Jian's legacy, but his current strength was negligible. Even with the reputation of Imperial Master Mansion, he could barely save himself. If he left the protection of the Imperial Master Mansion, his meager cultivation might lead him to being severely injured.

Qi Tian wisely put Ma Jian's legacy at the back of his mind and focused on Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist and "Tiger Golden Body Skills". Both of these were helpful for him, like a timely aid. He had only been practicing "Black Jade Skills" till now, and didn't have any martial arts skills at his disposal. In a fight, he had to rely solely on himself, unable to stimulate and maximize his strength. Now with the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist, he could fully unleash his potential.

The emergence of "Tiger Golden Body Skills" was also good news for Qi Tian. He had developed three meridians so far, and could punch with a force of a thousand pounds, but his body was showing signs of inability to sustain this strain. If he used the Heavenly Dao Engine in combat, his body would undoubtedly collapse from the explosion of power, likely fracturing his bones. If he could practice "Tiger Golden Body Skills", refining even just the first level would significantly enhance the power his bones and sinews could withstand. This would solve his current problem. Moreover, practicing "Tiger Golden Body Skills" had other benefits, which, without having to use his True Essence, endowed him with tremendous power and served as an excellent trump card in combat.

With a set of martial arts skills and a body refining method, Qi Tian decided to start with the practice of Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist. The day for the Moon-duel was nearing, and he didn't have the privilege of keeping out of the fight this time. If someone challenged him, he would have to accept. At this time, improving his fighting strength was the priority. As for refining his body, he could delay it until after the Moon-duel.

Qi Tian spent some time memorizing the content from the golden slip, word for word. He then used a knife to scratch off some words from the golden slip and tore it into pieces, rolling them into several small balls. He would dispose of them in different places when the time was right, ensuring they could never be pieced together again.

After handling the golden slip, Qi Tian began to recall the teachings of the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist in his mind. Being extremely intelligent with a high aptitude, he was able to go to a top university in his previous life and study aeronautical engine design and manufacturing.

In his previous life, he had watched Animal Planet many times and observed the habits of tigers in wildlife parks. Though Earth's tigers couldn't compare to those in the Cultivation World, they certainly had similarities. By combining all these elements, Qi Tian made excellent progress in his study of the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist.

Qi Tian's room was too small for practicing the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist. Therefore, Qi Tian first went to the Pill Hall to buy some elixirs he might need, then hurriedly rushed to the martial arts arena dedicated to outer sect disciples.

Apart from the Force Measurement Room, there were also training rooms for either individual or collective use by outer disciples. The single rooms were more expensive and not plentiful. Sometimes, queues formed for those who wanted to use these single rooms.

Qi Tian was lucky. When he arrived, a single room had just become vacant. He quickly paid five thousand liang and reserved it for five days.

The disciple in charge of registration looked at Qi Tian somewhat surprised. Lower ranked outer disciples like Qi Tian weren't typically wealthy. They usually paid for the single training rooms by the hour, and it was unusual for them to use it for more than half a day. While there were individuals who booked for long periods like Qi Tian just had, they were definitely not low-ranked disciples like him.

However, the disciple didn't comment, he just registered Qi Tian according to the rules and handed him two things. One was the control jade token for the room, which allowed him to enter and exit, and, once inside, he could initiate the array in the room and seal it, preventing outsiders from entering and disturbing his cultivation.

The other item was ten sticks of Pure Heart Incense, a type of consumable used to help cultivators concentrate and ward off external evils. It was made from a variety of natural treasures. One stick could burn for a full twenty-four hours, making it enormously valuable.

Qi Tian thanked the disciple and, holding the control jade token, entered the room. After sending a stream of magic power into the token, the room's door automatically opened. As Qi Tian slipped inside, the door closed behind him.

In his previous life, Qi Tian had seen many automatic doors, all products of science and technology. In the cultivation world, encountering the same functionality left him marvelling once again at the strength of the cultivation civilization, and further reinforced his determination to make a name for himself among cultivators.

Qi Tian lit a stick of Pure Heart Incense and placed it in the incense burner at the corner of the room. As the light fragrance wafted out, he took a deep breath and felt his tumultuous heart calm surprisingly quickly.

Qi Tian carefully reviewed the eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist manual in his mind. He combined his understanding of the manual with his observations of tiger movements, integrating them organically in his mind and continuously refining this connection.

He seemed to see a tiger, lazily emerging from its den, stretching its forebody, yawning, and shaking its body. It leisurely descended down the mountain path, treading quietly upon the thick layer of leaves. From afar, it spotted a prey animal, its eyes lighting up. It crouched low, using the cover of underbrush to get closer to its prey, then sprang out, knocking down the prey and biting through its windpipe...

Qi Tian's eyes grew brighter. He exhaled a turbid breath of air, spread his legs, made his hands into a claw-like shape, and bent his knees slightly. In that moment, he felt as though he had become the tiger, and the tiger was him.

Qi Tian infused the true essence flowing through his meridians into his torso and limbs following the guidance of the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist figure and a wonderful instinct, and started to move.

He was well aware of the saying, "A minute on the stage, ten years of training off it." While practicing the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist now, he doesn't dare hold back the slightest bit. Each punch he threw pulled power from his whole body. Punch after punch, continuously. Each training session, he exhausted all his strength until he was utterly worn out before he rested. He constantly pushed himself beyond his limits.

When he was tired, he would lie down and take a nap. If he got hungry, he would eat a Grain Avoidance Pill he had bought from the Pill Hall. The pill was tasteless, and difficult for Qi Tian, a Qi refining Initial Stage disciple, to swallow. But to master the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist as soon as possible, Qi Tian endured for five days.

During these five days of extreme cultivation, he practiced the first several moves of the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist thousands of times, some even more than two thousand times. The progress he made during this time was enormous.

He successfully mastered the first six moves of the Eight Desolate Demon Tiger Fist, ensuring that every punch he threw now carried the power of a Yellow Grade Top Quality martial arts skill.

At this point, he had completely overcome the lack of coordination and stiffness of his body. His muscles, bones, flesh, and the true essence in his meridians had highly integrated into one entity. He didn't have to consciously control them; everything flowed naturally.