“Tiger meat?”
“This stuff is hard to get!”
“There’s demand but no supply.”
“Even tiger bone is a valuable medicinal herb.”
“An ordinary skeleton costs more than ten thousand silver dollars, far beyond the means of ordinary families.”
“Fortunately, beef can serve as a substitute. These days, meat costs roughly one silver dollar for ten pounds of pork, or ten copper coins per pound.”
“Beef costs twice as much as pork. Eating ten pounds of beef a day would cost at least two silver dollars.”
“But there’s a problem. I’m homeless right now, living in the rear courtyard of Hongyun Mahjong and Card Hall. There are too many people around, so I don’t even have a place to cook beef.”
“So I’d better eat cooked beef instead. Cooked beef costs twice as much as beef. Ten pounds of cooked beef a day costs four silver dollars, which means twenty silver dollars for five days.”
“As I guessed, even the rapid cultivation method requires spending money!”
“Besides, I’d better find a place to live and secretly practice martial arts. It needs to be secluded, offer private space, lie somewhere remote enough not to attract attention, and, most importantly, be a standalone residence.”
“A house like that costs at least ten silver dollars a month. That’s another expense!”
Jiang Wangzu lamented inwardly.
He read through the Black Tiger Fist Manual several more times. After memorizing every word, he placed it on Sister-in-Law’s bed.
Then he patted sister-in-law’s buttocks and left.
With his Attribute Panel, he only needed someone to read a cultivation manual once; it would then lock in the contents permanently, imprinting every word in his mind.
Thus, he had a photographic memory for cultivation manuals and could memorize them at a glance.
After leaving Sister-in-Law’s residence, Jiang Wangzu went to a real estate company and rented a standalone courtyard in the outskirts of the Lower City District for ten silver dollars a month.
Then he went to a braised-meat shop, bought ten pounds of cooked beef, and indulged in a feast.
Since achieving Iron Crotch Technique Grandmastery, he often felt hungry.
Sometimes, he ate three meals a day, with ten steamed buns or five meat pies at each meal, without feeling full.
Eating beef posed no challenge. He devoured five pounds of cooked beef in one go and was full afterward.
With about five pounds of cooked beef remaining, he decided to eat it that evening, then practice the Crouching Tiger Stance and Black Tiger Fist.
Stance Training is a prerequisite for martial arts in many Sects. Many people must practice it for several years before systematically learning techniques, combat methods, and training methods.
“Practice martial arts without training your foundation, and all your efforts will come to nothing in old age!”
The “training” here referred to Stance Training!
Learn to stand firmly before discussing ferocity; that is the proper way to begin Martial Dao Cultivation.
Standing firmly meant building a Martial Artist’s Lower-Body Fundamentals.
Unable to pull them, unable to push them down.
Only then could one be considered to have laid a solid foundation.
Every Sect recognized Stance Training as the best way to build Lower-Body Fundamentals.
Of course, some people trained their Lower-Body Fundamentals by other means, such as pulling a Rickshaw.
The Great Xinmin Republic had many Martial Artists who had started as Rickshaw Pullers.
Pulling Rickshaws day after day and year after year built their strength and steadied their foundations like Mount Tai. As a result, Martial Arts Training became twice as effective with half the effort.
Zhao Changgeng, one of Shen City’s top Martial Arts Experts, was a Rickshaw Puller before becoming a prominent figure in Shen City.
Jiang Wangzu’s decision to learn the Body-Hardening Technique, Iron Crotch Technique, first was an act of forcing growth by pulling up seedlings.
An ordinary person who trained this way would achieve little and could easily cripple themselves.
But he was different. He had a cheat!
After eating his fill, Jiang Wangzu went from Hongyun Mahjong and Card Hall to Longjiang Wharf with Da Niu and Er Hu.
The three explained their purpose, and the patrol assigned them to a Patrol Duty team.
Their task was simple: patrol the area around Longjiang Wharf and report anything suspicious at once.
For five consecutive days, Jiang Wangzu patrolled Longjiang Wharf.
He also practiced Black Tiger Fist three times a day and ate ten pounds of beef daily. At last, he achieved black tiger fist entry!
Countless images of Stance Training and boxing practice surged into his mind, and everything he had struggled to understand became clear.
A warm current flowed through his body, causing a greater commotion than when he achieved Iron Crotch Technique Grandmastery.
“My strength has increased tremendously. I may not be able to shatter someone’s skull with one punch like Chen Tai, but I’m at least far better in a fight than an ordinary grown man!”
“And this is only Entry!”
“If I grind it to Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, or even Perfection, wouldn’t I be able to crush Chen Tai?”
“Heh heh heh!”
“I’ve been in this world for more than a month, and I finally have some power to protect myself!”
Feeling the strength in his body and the stability of his Lower-Body Fundamentals, Jiang Wangzu smiled with satisfaction and examined the conditions for advancing Black Tiger Fist to the next Level.
【Technique: Black Tiger Fist（Entry）】
【Rapid Cultivation Method: Practice three times daily, supplemented by one dose of Black Tiger Powder Secret Medicine each day, to reach Minor Accomplishment in ten days; or practice ten times daily and eat ten pounds of beef a day to reach Minor Accomplishment in half a year!】
Jiang Wangzu: “？？？”
“Why is the difference between the two choices so enormous this time?”
“If I choose the second method, it’s simpler, but it will take half a year to cultivate Black Tiger Fist to Minor Accomplishment. Choosing Black Tiger Powder Secret Medicine would take only ten days!”
“But the Medicinal Herbs required for this Black Tiger Powder Secret Medicine are extraordinary. One dose probably costs more than a hundred silver dollars, right?”
“The money I have probably isn’t enough to buy ten doses of Black Tiger Powder Secret Medicine!”
“Forget it. I’ll secure the black tiger powder secret medicine first. As for the money, I’ll find another way!”
Jiang Wangzu thought to himself.
Chen Tai practiced Child Body Technique.
He had practiced stance training for five years.
He had practiced Black Tiger Fist for more than ten years.
He trained bitterly for decades without missing a day.
Only then did he cultivate Black Tiger Fist to the Major Accomplishment Level and become a Martial Artist with Great Achievement in Strength Training.
And that was with Chen Tai investing substantial cultivation resources.
On top of that, he possessed decent talent.
And he was diligent.
Yet even if Jiang Wangzu chose the second rapid cultivation method,
he would need only half a year to reach minor accomplishment in Black Tiger Fist.
He would need only three to five years to cultivate Black Tiger Fist to major accomplishment.
Within ten years, he would cultivate it to Perfection.
By then, Jiang Wangzu would be only twenty-eight years old.
He would still have at least another decade before reaching the peak of his physical strength.
That would be enough time for him to break through to the next martial arts realm.
He could cover in three to five years the path Chen Tai had taken nearly thirty years to complete.
He could complete in ten years the path Chen Tai would never finish in his lifetime.
Such a cultivation speed could hardly be called anything but astonishing.
But Jiang Wangzu was not satisfied!
Half a year was too long. He had to seize every moment!
In troubled times, monsters ran rampant.
Even Chen Tai did not dare claim to possess sufficient power to protect himself.
Let alone him?
Half a year was enough time for countless changes to occur.
Therefore, he had to seize the present!
He had to get his hands on the Black Tiger Powder Secret Medicine!