Chapter 44: Crane and Tiger Form Practiced Together (Request Follow-Up)

Lin Qi spread his five fingers, forming a beak-like shape with his index and middle fingers combined with his thumb—the Crane Beak.

“Bang! Bang!!”

The next moment, Lin Qi moved—his aura shifted from majestic and powerful to swift and graceful.

Crane Fist emphasizes defense as preparation for offense, requiring agile, rapid movements: entering a forest like a shuttle, perching on branches with precision, rising and falling with accuracy, striking with the shoulder, avoiding solidity and targeting emptiness…

Its techniques have simple names: Crane Beak, Crane Crown, Crane Claw, Crane Beak, Hungry Crane Seeking Shrimp, One-Legged Crane…

There are eight moves total, each soft yet infused with hardness.

As he practiced, Lin Qi recalled the essentials of Crane Fist—a style utterly distinct from Tiger Fist.

The different movements altered how his body generated force and how his muscles moved.

His motions gradually shifted from awkward to fluent, while his body warmed, his blood and qi surged, and the trajectory of their flow began to change.

Tiny muscles across his limbs and torso sent waves of tingling numbness.

Lin Qi’s eyes gleamed—this sensation was entirely unlike that of Tiger Fist.

He trained harder, repeating the forms over and over, countless times, progressing from clumsiness to mastery.

Sweat poured like rain; his martial uniform clung to his body, his face flushed, yet he felt exhilarated.

【Through practicing Crane Fist, your proficiency in Crane Fist has increased significantly. Fist Skill +1%】

【Through practicing Crane Fist, your Blood Qi has broken through. Blood Qi +0.05】

【Blood Qi: 8.25→8.3】

【Fist Skill: Second Stage 11%→12%】

…

Lin Qi halted, breathing heavily, his gaze sharpening further.

“Zhang Laoshi was right—after so long, practicing Crane Fist again has brought me tremendous progress.”

As he thought this, a sudden wave of weakness and exhaustion surged through him, startling him.

Why did I expend so much? How many times did I repeat this?

He immediately went to his locker, took out a Blood Qi tonic, and drank it down—only then did he feel better.

Far away, Zhang Cheng’s emotions were complex; he had watched Lin Qi begin practicing Crane Fist with awkwardness.

After guiding a few others and returning, he found Lin Qi performing it with flawless fluency—as if he’d trained for years, nearing mastery of Crane Fist.

“This kid’s insight is stronger than I imagined.”

Zhang Cheng had never deeply studied Li Zhou, Yu Jing, or Qi Yuelin.

But he believed Lin Qi was no less talented than them—merely lacking resources, and he would catch up eventually.

The thought that he had trained a student capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Li Zhou filled Zhang Cheng with pride, making him unbearably excited.

…

Noon, Chiqiong Martial Arts Supermarket

Among the crowd, Lin Qi and Jiang Tao stood before a shelf, their attention drawn to neatly arranged tubes of red tonic.

“Brother Qi, once your Blood Qi breaks 8.0 and approaches 9.0, every step becomes a barrier.”

“If you keep using Blood Qi capsules or tonic, the efficiency of improvement drops,” Jiang Tao said slowly.

Lin Qi nodded—he’d already felt it; raising his Blood Qi by another 2.0 in a month was nearly impossible.

“Li Zhou and the others started using better tonics once they hit 8.0 Blood Qi.”

“We have money now, and once we sign with a martial arts gym, we’ll get a large sum. If we don’t want to fall behind, we need better resources.”

Jiang Tao took a tube from the shelf—the liquid inside was deep red, rich and vivid.

“This is Energy Tonic—an upgraded version of Blood Qi Tonic, nicknamed Advanced Blood Qi Tonic.”

“Same 100ml volume, but its effect is several times stronger—perfect for what we need.”

Lin Qi nodded; Blood Qi Tonic was light red, while Energy Tonic was deep red—the color alone conveyed the difference.

The price: 5,000 Xiaoguo currency per bottle.

Ten times the cost of Blood Qi Tonic—Lin Qi sighed inwardly.

This price was outrageous—it equaled his old two-month food budget.

Jiang Tao placed row after row of Energy Tonic into his cart; Lin Qi did the same.

He had over 500,000 on hand, plus his future Talent Loan—he could afford even more resources.

Thinking this, he grabbed three full rows—thirty bottles of Energy Tonic.

He also bought some Blood Qi Tonic and capsules, just in case.

“Ding!”

“Total: 183,200 Xiaoguo currency!”

“Payment successful!”

“Thank you for your visit!”

At checkout, Lin Qi placed the tonics into his backpack, staring at his nearly halved balance—his heart ached.

Jiang Tao had spent even more—not just for himself, but for his sister too.

“Brother Qi!” A sweet voice rang beside Lin Qi; he turned.

A beautiful girl appeared in his sight, calling his name.

She was short, barely over 1.5 meters, slender, with pale skin and a pure face.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, her face smiling, radiating quiet resilience.

A breeze stirred her hair ends; sunlight fell on her. Seeing Lin Qi, she beamed.

“Miaoyin, what are you doing here?”

Lin Qi smiled and reached out, gently ruffling her smooth, jet-black hair.

The girl was Jiang Tao’s sister—Jiang Miaoyin.

Jiang Miaoyin didn’t resist, her cheeks turning faintly red.

“Miaoyin, you’re here!”

!

Jiang Tao approached, carrying his purchases, and reached out to ruffle her hair too.

“Slap!”

Jiang Miaoyin struck his hand away without mercy.

“Miaoyin, I’m your own brother! Can’t I even touch your head?”

“Absolutely not!” Jiang Miaoyin’s demeanor shifted instantly, pouting and tilting her head.

After a brief tussle, Jiang Tao spoke:

“Brother Qi, today’s Sunday, no class this afternoon—I’m taking Miaoyin to the hospital for therapy.”

Lin Qi nodded, looking at Jiang Miaoyin—barely 1.5 meters tall.

In the Martial Era, female cultivators typically surpass 1.7 meters in height after adulthood; males reach around 1.9 meters.

Jiang Miaoyin was sixteen, turning seventeen in a few months.

This was severe malnutrition—she needed abundant supplements to catch up.

“Brother Qi, goodbye!”

“Miaoyin, see you next time!”

Jiang Miaoyin gave Lin Qi a sweet smile, waved goodbye, watching his figure vanish from view.

“Don’t stare—he’s already gone,” Jiang Tao muttered sourly beside her.

“Let’s go to the hospital. I’m getting stronger, then I’ll teach those idiots in class a lesson for calling me ‘Little Potato.’”

Jiang Miaoyin clenched her fist fiercely.

“Exactly. With me around, you’ll become the strongest girl in your grade!” Jiang Tao nodded firmly.

…

Lin Qi also went home, sharing a meal with his mother, Fang Huiyi.

After resting briefly, he returned to school.

Third-year students had half a day off every Sunday afternoon; the campus was utterly empty.

Lin Qi returned to his martial arts room, changed into his uniform, and prepared to cultivate.

He took out a tube of Energy Tonic—the liquid glowed deep red, like human blood.

He uncapped it; a faint, clean fragrance drifted out. He drank it down in one gulp.

“Huh~”

Lin Qi took a deep breath; seconds later, his stomach warmed, then burned hotter.

Waves of heat surged from his abdomen, spreading to every part of his body.

“This Energy Tonic really packs a punch!”

Lin Qi’s eyes gleamed as he began practicing forms.

He started with Tiger Fist, repeating it several times, then switched to Crane Fist.

The heat flowed through his arm muscles, penetrating even the finest details.

“Bang! Bang!!”

With his entire body ablaze, Lin Qi wanted only to release all that energy through punching.

He felt overflowing vigor, his muscles thoroughly refined—even the subtlest fibers of his arms were tempered through Crane Fist practice.

"This is the feeling—within a month, maintaining this pace, my blood qi will definitely surge past 9.0," Lin Qi said with renewed enthusiasm.

【Your proficiency in Crane Fist has increased】

【Your blood qi has increased by 0.01 through practicing Crane Fist】

【Your blood qi has increased by 0.01 through practicing Crane Fist】

【...】

(End of Chapter)