Chapter 4 - You’re an Exception! (1/2)
Temporarily letting go of the obsession of the former possessor of this body, Lin Yun took out the painting scroll given by Old Hong.
In the Sword-Washing Chamber, he often saw Old Hong observe this painting in an extremely cautious way, but Lin Yun never stole a glance at it.
He wondered what on earth was in the painting.
“Let tiger be your heart but gently sniff a rose.”
These were the words written on the scroll, full of ancient austerity and sophistication at the same time.
The moment the scroll was unfolded, raging roar rings in Lin Yun’s ears and a fierce tiger rushed right toward him from the painting.
Bang!
Lin Yun got a fright and pulled back in a hurry, dropping the scroll on the ground.
His heart wouldn’t stop beating slower after a long time.
“It’s so scary. It seems that there was really a tiger coming at me.”
Lin Yun’s fear lingered for a while. Looking at the scroll on the ground, he decided to pick it up after some hesitation.
Painted in the scroll was a fierce tiger rushing out, one peek at which imposed tremendous pressure on the viewer.
In the next second, you would forget that it was something in a painting, but instead regarded it as a real tiger coming at you.
The tiger opened its mouth, sending out tiger roars formidable enough to shake one’s soul.
Whiz!
Lin Yun quickly folded the scroll, not daring to take one more look. His hand holding the painting slightly trembled.
How terrifying! No wonder Old Hong couldn’t be careful enough every time he watched the painting.
The pressure of a fiery tsunami or earthquake taking place right in front of you! The murderous breath of the king of all beasts attacking straight at your heart!
Undoubtedly, this scroll was a real treasure.
However, it seemed useless for the moment because one look at it made Lin Yun under tremendous pressure.
“Wait…”
Lin Yun’s eyes lit up, remembering what Old Hong told him, “What you practice is Tiger Fist, so it must be of great use even if you cannot figure out the secret of the painting.”
Now he got it that Old Hong never expected him to unlock the mystery in the painting.
He only hoped that by observing it, Lin Yun could reach the top level of Tiger Fist.
The practice of any cultivation or martial arts, from primary to top, could be divided to four stages: Primary Stage, Slight Achievement, Big Achievement, and Final Perfection.
Tiger Fist was one of the simplest of all basic martial arts, the Primary Stage of which could be reached with just a little perception.
With diligence and hard training for enough time, it was not difficult to reach Slight Achievement.
Reaching Big Achievement, however, required much. For a person without enough perception, no matter how much time spent on it would be a waste.
As for Final Perfection, it required both gift and opportunity, which was indeed a pipe dream for him.
Even the most basic martial art, once reaching Final Perfection, could generate breath-taking power of destruction, or even broke through the limitation of the martial art itself, exerting enormous might that transcended its own grade.
In the past two years, Lin Yun’s Tiger Fist had been stuck in Slight Achievement.
The power of Tiger Fist could only be given play to thirty percent, so it was out of pure luck that he defeated Zhou Ping last time.
The major reason for Lin Yun’s last victory was Zhou Ping’s complacency and underestimation of Lin Yun because for a long time, he had been able to easily beat the crap out of Lin Yun.
He never anticipated that Lin Yun should reach the third level of martial practice, so he suffered great deal under his impatience and impulse.
Joining the outer Sect was sure to be followed by many new challenges, so it’d be better to stabilize his martial level first. It wouldn’t be late to wait until he reached the Final Perfection of Tiger Fist.
In his previous life, Lin Yun had been a calm and vigilant actor.
He never took an inattentive step and always made a move when he was as sure as a gun.
This world, operated by the law of the jungle, permitted even no bit of negligence, because any careless behavior might ruin one’s whole life.
Making up his mind, Lin Yun stopped hesitating.
He tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart and once again unfolded the tiger scroll.
Whizz!
As if a gale fleeting by the ear, the overwhelming pressure came right at his face.
Lin Yun tried his best to keep calm, carefully observed the subtle spirit of the tiger, and quickly folded the scroll after insisting for two seconds.
He closed his eyes in an attempt to recall in his mind the subtle spirit of the fierce tiger from the paining.
By the time when he opened his eyes with brilliance, Lin Yun began to practice Tiger Fist in the tiny wooden cabin.
Instantly, the punches blew as fluently as running water and as smoothly as floating clouds, and the tiger spirit, reverberating simultaneously in his mind while he carried out movements, was absorbed bit by bit.
Finishing a set of punches, Lin Yun merrily felt his body stretched to a full extent.
A swell of thoughts flooded to him and every intertwined detail was inextricably about Tiger Fist.
An experience had never occurred before embraced Lin Yun, in an enjoyably abstruse way beyond description.
It was indeed helpful. Old Hong wasn’t bragging!
Joy sprawled along the corners of his mouth. He was motived to open the scroll again.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, and four seconds!
This time, Lin Yun watched the scroll for four seconds, doubling that of last time!
The fierce tiger in the painting had even formed a vague silhouette in his mind.
In the narrow and plain cabin, the young man seemed to have opened the door to a brand-new world, so he kept practicing the martial art regarded as worthless trash by others.