Beginner

Zhou You had originally planned to continue practicing the Ferocious Tiger Fist after dinner. He realized that even though his stomach was full, his body still felt very empty and tired as if he had stayed up all night.

He knew that his body had yet to recover, so he had no choice but to give up on practicing boxing and doing low-intensity training for his hands and legs.

He only needed to control the intensity of the training and not exceed the threshold of natural physical recovery.

The next morning, Zhou You asked Zhao Qing about eight fist techniques as planned before continuing to slack off.

In the afternoon, he practiced diligently, and his proficiency increased four times.

Zhou You knew that this should be the limit of his current body.

On the afternoon of the third day, after practicing the Ferocious Tiger Fist for the second time, Zhou You opened the interface as usual. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had finally mastered the Ferocious Tiger Fist.

Ferocious Tiger Fist (Master) (0/10)

Zhou You silently noted that his proficiency increased nine times before he continued practicing.

After one round, Zhou You discovered something different.

His cultivation speed seemed to be slightly faster than before.

After practicing the Ferocious Tiger Fist four times with all his might, Zhou You suddenly felt that he still had strength left, but it was not much. He could not keep up and had to stop practicing.

Over the past few days, Zhou You had asked around. If an apprentice wanted to learn the Ferocious Tiger Fist, he would have to complete it in 15 minutes. Normally, it would take three months, which happened to be the tuition cycle.

Those with higher talent would need at least a month.

After all, it would take the other apprentices at least half a month to memorize all 36 fist techniques.

Zhou You took note of it after reading it once. He had become a beginner in three days and it was genuinely fast.

He decided to wait for almost a month before telling Zhao Qing.

Two days later, on September 21st.

After the morning class ended, Zhou You went to the cafeteria and found that other than the window that usually served food, another window was opened. There was a long line in front of the window. The apprentices were laughing, fighting, and cursing, all with expectant expressions.

Zhou You was a little confused.

Zhao Liuping was in the queue. He saw him and hurriedly called out, "Zhou You, come and line up here."

When they first entered the dojo, there were still people who warmly invited Zhou You out to hang out after class.

After a few rejections, no one called him anymore, and their attitude was not as enthusiastic.

Only Zhao Liuping was slightly closer to him.

Zhou You was not afraid of talking to people. However, he had left the dojo once only to find someone on his tail. He could only quickly find an excuse and run back to the dojo.

He had already made up his mind not to enter the dojo for three months. In any case, he did not need to spend a single cent in the dojo.

If three months was not enough, then six months.

If he could not develop an internal force to become a martial artist in six months, he would find an opportunity to follow the dojo's escort team out of the city and go far away.

Seeing that the apprentices were all lining up, Zhou You was about to line up at the back. When he heard Zhao Liuping call him, he looked around and walked straight behind Zhao Liuping cutting the queue.

The man behind him glared at him but said nothing.

Zhao Liuping was Zhao Qing's distant cousin. He would occasionally help Zhao Qing with some chores in the outer courtyard. The apprentices had to give him some face.

"Zhou You, this is the secret bacon soup brewed by Master Cheng. You can receive it on the first, eleventh, and twenty-first day of the lunar calendar," Zhao Liuping turned around and explained.

Bacon soup?

Zhou You understood and his eyes lit up.

This was a medicinal soup that strengthened one's foundation and nourished one's vitality. It was also sold outside. The original host would drink one portion a month for one tael.

Following the flow of people, Zhou You quickly received the bacon soup.

The palm-sized glass contained black viscous fluid. He shook it gently but its contents remained motionless. It was much thicker than the previous ones he took.

When he brought it to his mouth, a strong medicinal smell filled his nose.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou You did not hesitate to raise his cup and poured it into his mouth. Then, like the other apprentices, he used some clear soup to wash the cup clean. Then, he raised his head and drank the fluid. Only then did he put down the glass and go to the side to get rice.

When the medicine entered his body, Zhou You felt a warm current rising from his lower abdomen. It was very weak, but it was endless. His entire body felt warm, and the fatigue in his body quickly disappeared.

This feeling seemed to be a little different from the memories of the original host.

This warm current seemed to have become much stronger.

Carrying the food, he sat down opposite Zhao Liuping. Before Zhou You could speak, Zhao Liuping asked, "Zhou You, have you drunk bacon soup before?"

"I have." Zhou You nodded.

Since they planned to practice martial arts, the apprentices here had more or less drunk tonics before joining the dojo.

"Then do you want to buy more at the market price internally? It's definitely strong and undiluted."

The corner of Zhou You's mouth twitched. Wasn't it obvious that the bacon soup sold outside by the boxing club had been mixed with water? No wonder the medicine wasn't as effective as the one he had just drunk.

After some hesitation, Zhou You shook his head. "Let me think about it."

The Ferocious Tiger Fist Dojo was involved in a variety of trades. In addition to accepting payment to teach fist techniques, they also provided bodyguards, guards, medicines, and so on.

There were in-house apothecaries in the dojo who were in charge of refining medicine.

The in-house doctor was in charge of treating bruises and massaging to improve blood circulation.

However, only official inner disciples could enjoy it for free.

If outer disciples needed any of this service, they had to pay for them.

When practicing martial arts, one relied on hard work and medicine.

Medicine could strengthen the foundation of the body and treat hidden injuries left behind by martial arts practice.

It could also increase his cultivation speed.

Zhou You naturally wanted to buy medicine, but he wanted to test the medicinal effect before making a decision.

Now that there was no source of income, money had to be spent carefully.

After the lunch break, the usual practice was to cultivate in their rooms.

Two hours later, Zhou You stopped cultivating.

After practicing the Ferocious Tiger Fist eight times, his body finally reached its limits. The effects of the bacon soup had also passed.

After the third round, the interface changed.

Ferocious Tiger Fist (Master) (1/10)

After practicing the Ferocious Tiger Fist nine times with all his might, his proficiency increased by 1.

It was the same as when he entered the dojo.

Zhou You vaguely felt that he had found a pattern to increase his proficiency.

...

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

After practicing the technique the second time today, Zhou You opened the interface and his eyes lit up.

Ferocious Tiger Fist (Greater Mastery) (0/100)

Nothing else changed. Zhou You continued practicing the technique.

As usual, after two more rounds of boxing, Zhou You suddenly felt that he still had enough strength to fight again.

He did as he thought.

Twelve minutes later, Zhou You leaned against the back of the bed and panted heavily.

Zhou You had never felt so tired before. It was even more tiring than when he had just started practicing boxing.

However, he looked very excited.

After this round of boxing, his proficiency increased, but it did not exceed the limits of his body.

This meant that when he woke up tomorrow, he would be an energetic man again.

From the next day onwards, he could practice boxing five times a day.

It was not much, but it was a good change.

For the past 20 days, other than the day he drank the bacon soup, he could only practice boxing four times a day. This made Zhou You think that this would continue for good.

Now that there was a change, he was filled with anticipation for the future.

However, when he saw that the Greater Mastery Stage required 100 proficiency points, Zhou You's expression turned bitter.

According to the previous pattern, the interface would only increase by one proficiency point after practicing the technique nine or eight times. The entire Greater Mastery Stage would take about five to six months.

Even if he spent the remaining 30 taels of silver to stay at the dojo for three months, he could only stay in the martial arts school for a little more than five months.

In that case, time was very tight.

Before the tuition period ended, he might be able to master the Ferocious Tiger Fist, but he was not entirely sure.

Moreover, who knew if he would be able to cultivate inner strength after mastering it?

Or what if there was a higher realm following it?

As for leaving the martial arts school to cultivate on his own, aside from the tail on him, just earning money for food every day would probably exhaust all his strength. He would not have much strength left to use for practicing the technique.

After all, the boxing club provided meat for every meal. The rice and steamed buns were filling, and it was much better than the food from the original owner's well-off family.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou You finally made up his mind and walked towards the door.