Chapter 44: Practicing Tiger and Crane Styles Simultaneously (Please keep reading)

Lin Qi spread his five fingers, using his index and middle fingers in coordination with his thumb to form a mouth-like shape—the Crane's Beak.

"Bang! Bang!!"

In the next instant, Lin Qi's body moved. His aura shifted from its previous majestic and powerful state to one that was swift and elegant.

Crane Style Boxing emphasizes waiting for the attack through defense. The body must be agile, with rapid expansion and contraction; moving through the forest like a shuttle, climbing branches with dexterity, rising and falling with precision, using the shoulders for striking, and avoiding the solid to hit the void...

Its moves were quite simple in name: Crane Beak, Crane Crest, Crane Claw, Crane Bill, Hungry Crane Seeking Shrimp, Single-Legged Crane...

There were eight moves in total, characterized by a blend of softness and strength.

As Lin Qi fought, he recalled the key points of Crane Style Boxing. This was a style fundamentally different from Tiger Style Boxing.

The difference in movements caused a change in his body's power delivery and the way his muscles moved.

His movements gradually transitioned from awkward to proficient. Simultaneously, his body heated up, his blood and qi surged, and the trajectory of their flow began to change.

A wave of numbness rippled through the minute details of the muscles in his limbs and torso.

Lin Qi's eyes brightened; this was a sensation entirely different from Tiger Style Boxing.

Thus, he practiced with increasing vigor, repeating the movements countless times, moving from unskillful to mastery.

Sweat fell like rain, and his martial arts uniform clung tightly to his body. With a flushed face, Lin Qi felt nothing but pure exhilaration.

【Through practicing Crane Style Boxing, your proficiency has increased significantly. Boxing +1%】

【Through practicing Crane Style Boxing, your blood and qi value has broken through. Blood and Qi +0.05】

【Blood and Qi Value: 8.25 → 8.3】

【Boxing: Tier 2 11% → 12%】

...

Lin Qi stopped, panting heavily, his eyes becoming increasingly sharp.

"Teacher Zhang was right. After such a long time, practicing Crane Style Boxing again has brought immense progress."

As he thought this, a sudden sense of weakness and fatigue surged into his heart, surprising him.

*Why is the consumption so high? How many times did I just practice?*

He immediately went to his locker, took out a bottle of blood and qi potion, and drank it. Only then did he feel much better.

In the distance, Zhang Cheng felt complicated. He had watched Lin Qi practice Crane Style Boxing from the beginning, finding it somewhat awkward.

By the time he returned after instructing a few others, Lin Qi was already fighting with incredible proficiency, looking nothing like a beginner; he was not far from mastering the style.

"It seems this kid's comprehension is even stronger than I imagined."

Zhang Cheng had not looked deeply into Li Zhou, Yu Jing, or Qi Yuelin.

However, he believed that Lin Qi was no inferior to them; he simply lacked resources, and would eventually catch up.

The thought that a student he taught could stand side-by-side with Li Zhou gave Zhang Cheng a sense of achievement, making him uncontrollably excited.

...

At noon, at the Red Sky Martial Arts Supermarket.

Amidst the crowd, Lin Qi and Jiang Tao stood before a row of shelves, their attention drawn to the neatly arranged rows of red potions.

"Brother Qi, once the blood and qi value breaks past 8.0 and 9.0, every step becomes a threshold."

"If we continue to use blood and qi capsules or standard potions, the efficiency of improvement will drop," Jiang Tao said slowly.

Lin Qi nodded. He had already felt it; trying to increase his value by another 2.0 within a month was nearly impossible.

"Li Zhou and the others started using better medicinal resources once they hit 8.0."

"Now that we have money, and we'll get a large sum once we sign with a martial arts hall, we must use better resources if we don't want to fall behind," Jiang Tao said. He picked up a potion from the shelf; the liquid inside was a deep, brilliant crimson.

"This is Energy Potion, an advanced version of the blood and qi potion, nicknamed 'High-Grade Blood and Qi Potion'."

"It's the same 100ml, but the effect is several times that of the standard potion. It's exactly what we need."

Lin Qi nodded. He could tell by the color: blood and qi potions were light red, while Energy Potions were deep red.

Looking at the price, it was 5,000 Xia Country Yuan per bottle.

*Ten times the price of the standard potion,* Lin Qi thought with a silent sigh.

It was truly expensive—enough to cover two months of his previous food expenses.

Jiang Tao placed rows of Energy Potions into the shopping basket, and Lin Qi did the same.

He had over 500,000 on him, and with the future "Genius Loan," he could afford even more resources.

With that thought, he grabbed three full rows—30 bottles of Energy Potion—in one go.

In addition, he bought some blood and qi potions and capsules as backup for emergencies.

"Beep!"

"Total: 183,200 Xia Country Yuan!"

"Payment successful!"

"Thank you for your patronage!"

At the checkout, Lin Qi put the potions into his backpack, feeling a bit of a sting at seeing his balance nearly halved.

Looking at Jiang Tao, he had spent even more, buying not just for himself but also for his sister.

"Brother Lin Qi!"

Suddenly, a pleasant voice rang out beside Lin Qi. He turned to look.

Not far away, a beautiful girl appeared in his sight, calling his name.

She was not tall, only about 1.5 meters, with a slender build, fair skin, and a pure appearance.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore a smile that carried a unique sense of resilience.

A light breeze brushed the tips of her hair, and the sunlight fell upon her. When she saw Lin Qi, she broke into a happy smile.

"Miaoyin, what are you doing here?"

Lin Qi greeted her with a smile and reached out to pat her head, feeling her silky black hair.

This girl was Jiang Tao's sister—Jiang Miaoyin.

Jiang Miaoyin did not refuse, though her small face turned slightly red.

"A-Miao, you're here!"

Jiang Tao walked over carrying items. Seeing Miaoyin getting her head patted, he also reached out to do the same.

*Slap!*

Jiang Miaoyin mercilessly swatted Jiang Tao's hand away.

"A-Miao, I'm your biological brother! You won't even let me pat your head?"

"Of course not!" Miaoyin's temperament shifted instantly as she pouted and tilted her head.

After a moment of bickering, Jiang Tao spoke

"Brother Qi, today is Sunday, and there are no afternoon classes. I'm taking A-Miao to the hospital for recuperation."

Lin Qi nodded, looking at Jiang Miaoyin. She was only about 1.5 meters tall.

In the Martial Era, women who practiced martial arts generally exceeded 1.7 meters upon reaching adulthood, while men reached around 1.9 meters.

Since Jiang Miaoyin was sixteen and would be seventeen in a few months, her height indicated severe malnutrition that required massive amounts of supplements to correct.

"Goodbye, Brother Lin Qi!"

"See you next time, Miaoyin!"

Jiang Miaoyin gave Lin Qi a sweet smile and waved goodbye, watching his figure disappear.

"Stop staring, your Brother Lin Qi is already gone," Jiang Tao said sourly from the side.

"Let's go to the hospital. I want to get stronger so I can teach those people in class a lesson for calling me a 'little potato'," Jiang Miaoyin said, clenching her fists determinedly.

"That's right! With me around, you will definitely become the strongest girl in your grade!" Jiang Tao nodded vigorously.

...

Lin Qi also returned home to have a meal with his mother, Fang Huiyi.

After resting for a short while, he chose to return to school.

In the third year of high school, students had half a day off every Sunday afternoon, leaving the entire school deserted during this time.

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

He took a bottle of Energy Potion from his backpack. The liquid emitted a deep red glow, much like human blood.

He opened the cap, and a faint, refreshing fragrance wafted out. He drank it in one gulp.

"Whew~"

Lin Qi took a deep breath. A few seconds later, his stomach began to heat up, growing hotter and hotter.

Waves of heat surged from his stomach, flowing toward every part of his body.

"This Energy Potion really has a kick!"

Lin Qi's eyes brightened as he began to throw punches.

He started with Tiger Style Boxing, performing several sets before switching to Crane Style Boxing.

The heat flowed through his arm muscles, penetrating into even the most minute fibers.

"Bang! Bang!!"

With his entire body heating up, Lin Qi wanted nothing more than to vent this surging energy through his strikes.

He felt brimming with vitality, his muscles being thoroughly tempered. Even through the practice of Crane Style, the minute details of his arm muscles were being refined.

"This is the feeling. If I maintain this speed for a month, my blood and qi value will definitely hit 9.0," Lin Qi thought, his expression invigorated.

【Through practicing Crane Style Boxing, proficiency increased】

【Through practicing Crane Style Boxing, blood and qi +0.01】

【Through practicing Crane Style Boxing, blood and qi +0.01】

【...】