Chapter 44: Practicing Tiger and Crane Forms Simultaneously

Liqi's five fingers spread apart, his index finger, middle finger, and thumb combining to form a claw-like shape—the Crane Claw.

"Bang bang!!"

The next moment, Lin Qi's body moved, shifting his aura from imposing and robust to swift and graceful.

Crane-style boxing emphasizes defense through stillness, an agile body, rapid contraction and extension, weaving through forests like a shuttle, landing on branches with precision, well-timed rises and falls, striking with the shoulders, and avoiding the solid to attack the weak...

Its forms are also quite simple: Crane Beak, Crane Crest, Crane Claw, Crane Bill, Hungry Crane Foraging for Shrimp, One-Legged Crane...

There are eight forms in total, with techniques combining gentleness and rigidity.

As he practiced, Lin Qi recalled the key points of the Crane-style boxing. This was a martial art completely different from Tiger-style boxing.

The differing movements caused changes in how his body exerted force and how his muscles moved.

His movements gradually transitioned from unfamiliar to proficient. At the same time, his body heated up, his vital energy surged, and the trajectory of his blood circulation began to shift.

A tingling sensation spread through the micro-muscles of his limbs and torso.

Lin Qi's eyes lit up; this was a completely different sensation from Tiger-style boxing.

Thus, he grew even more enthusiastic, practicing over and over again. He repeated it countless times, progressing from clumsy to skillful.

Sweat poured down like rain, his martial arts uniform clinging tightly to his body. Lin Qi's face was flushed, and he felt utterly exhilarated.

[Through practicing Crane-style boxing, your proficiency in Crane-style boxing has significantly increased. Boxing +1%]

[Through practicing Crane-style boxing, your vital energy value has broken through. Vital Energy +0.05]

[Vital Energy Value: 8.25 → 8.3]

[Boxing: Tier 2 11% → 12%]

...

Lin Qi withdrew his stance, panting heavily, his gaze growing ever sharper.

"Teacher Zhang was right indeed. After such a long time, practicing Crane-style boxing again has yielded massive progress."

Thinking this, a sudden wave of weakness and fatigue washed over him, startling his mind.

Why is the consumption so heavy? Exactly how many times did I practice?

He immediately walked over to his locker, took out a vial of vital energy potion, and drank it down. Only then did he feel much better.

Meanwhile, Zhang Cheng in the distance experienced complex emotions. He had watched Lin Qi start practicing Crane-style boxing rather awkwardly.

After guiding a few others and returning to check later, Lin Qi was already executing the moves with extreme proficiency, not like a beginner at all. He was not far from mastering Crane-style boxing.

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

Zhang Cheng had not deeply understood Li Zhou, Yu Jing, and Qi Yueling.

However, he believed Lin Qi was no inferior to them; what he lacked was merely resources, and he would catch up sooner or later.

The thought that a student he taught could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Li Zhou filled Zhang Cheng with a sense of accomplishment, and he couldn't help but feel thrilled.

...

At noon, Chaqiong Martial Arts Supermarket

Amidst the crowd, Lin Qi and Jiang Tao stood in front of a row of shelves, where neat rows of red potions caught their attention.

"Brother Qi, once your vital energy breaks through 8.0 and 9.0, every single step is a threshold."

"If we keep using vital energy capsules or basic vital energy potions, the efficiency of our improvement will drop," Jiang Tao said slowly.

Lin Qi nodded. He had already sensed this; improving by another 2.0 within a month was nearly impossible now.

"Li Zhou and the others were already using better potion resources when they hit 8.0 vital energy."

"Now that we have money, and we'll secure a large sum upon signing with a martial arts dojo in the future, we have to use superior resources if we don't want to fall behind."

With that, Jiang Tao took a vial from the shelf. The liquid inside was deep red, profound and bright.

"This is stamina potion, an upgraded version of the vital energy potion, commonly nicknamed advanced vital energy potion."

"It's also 100 milliliters, but several times more effective than the vital energy potion. It's exactly what we need."

Lin Qi nodded. The vital energy potion was light red, while the stamina potion was deep red; one could tell just by looking at the color.

Checking the price, it cost 5,000 Xia dollars per bottle.

Ten times the price of a vital energy potion, Lin Qi sighed inwardly.

The price was truly exorbitant, enough to cover his food expenses for two months in the past.

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

He had over 500,000 on hand, and combined with future genius loans, he could afford to purchase more resources.

Thinking of this, he grabbed three full rows, totaling 30 bottles of stamina potions.

In addition, he bought a few vital energy potions and vital energy capsules just in case of emergency.

"Beep!"

"Total: 183,200 Xia dollars!"

"Payment successful!"

"Welcome again!"

At the checkout, Lin Qi placed the potions into his backpack. Seeing his remaining balance drop by nearly half, his heart ached slightly.

As for Jiang Tao, he spent even more, purchasing items not only for himself but also for his younger sister.

"Brother Lin Qi!"

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

Not far away, a pretty girl came into view, calling his name.

She was short in stature, just over one meter five tall, with a slender figure, fair skin, and a pure appearance.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, a smile graced her face, and she possessed a unique resilient temperament.

A gentle breeze blew across the ends of her hair, and sunlight washed over her. Upon seeing Lin Qi, she broke into a joyful smile.

"Miaoyin, why are you here?"

Lin Qi greeted her with a smile, reaching out to pat her head, feeling her soft, pitch-black hair.

This girl was none other than Jiang Tao's younger sister—Jiang Miaoyin.

Jiang Miaoyin didn't refuse, her small face turning slightly red.

"A-Miao, you're here!"

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

"Slap!"

Jiang Miaoyin slapped Jiang Tao's hand away without hesitation.

"A-Miao, I'm your biological brother! Can't I even pat your head?"

"Of course not!" Jiang Miaoyin's attitude shifted instantly as she pounced her little lips and tilted her head.

After the two bantered for a moment, Jiang Tao spoke up:

"Brother Qi, today is Sunday and we have no classes this afternoon. I'm taking A-Miao to the hospital for a recuperation session."

Lin Qi nodded, looking at Jiang Miaoyin, who was only around 1.5 meters tall.

In the martial arts era, female martial artists generally grew past 1.7 meters upon reaching adulthood, while males averaged around 1.9 meters.

Jiang Miaoyin was 16 years old this year and would turn 17 in a few months.

This severe underdevelopment required a massive amount of nutritional supplements to compensate.

"Goodbye, Brother Lin Qi!"

"Miaoyin, see you next time!"

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

"Stop looking, your Brother Lin Qi is already gone," Jiang Tao muttered enviously from the side.

"Let's go to the hospital. I want to become stronger, teach that group in class a lesson, and stop them from calling me a little potato."

Jiang Miaoyin clenched her fists fiercely.

"That's right! With your big brother here, you'll definitely become the strongest girl in your grade!" Jiang Tao nodded firmly.

...

Lin Qi also returned home and had a meal with his mother, Fang Huiyi.

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

For the senior year, Sunday afternoons offered a half-day break, leaving the entire campus deserted at this time.

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

He took a vial of stamina potion from his backpack; the liquid emitted a deep red hue, resembling human blood.

Unscrewing the cap, a faint, refreshing fragrance drifted out, and he drank it in one gulp.

"Hoo~"

Lin Qi took a deep breath. A few seconds later, his stomach grew warm, rapidly turning scalding hot.

Waves of thermal currents surged outward from his stomach to every part of his body.

"This stamina potion really has a strong afterkick!"

Lin Qi's eyes lit up as he began throwing punches.

Starting with Tiger-style boxing, he executed it multiple times before switching to Crane-style boxing.

The heat currents coursed through the muscles of his arms, flowing toward even more minute areas.

"Bang bang!!"

With his whole body heated up, Lin Qi only wanted to vent his boundless energy through boxing.

He felt full of vigor, his muscles thoroughly tempered, and practicing Crane-style boxing even tempered many micro-muscles in his arms.

"This is the feeling! If I maintain this speed within a month, my vital energy will definitely break through to 9.0," Lin Qi thought with high spirits.

[Through practicing Crane-style boxing, your proficiency has increased]

[Through practicing Crane-style boxing, Vital Energy +0.01]

[Through practicing Crane-style boxing, Vital Energy +0.01]

[...]