Drying ground.
Lin Sheng imitated Tian Hu's movements, bending his knees, stepping into a lunge, and raising his fists towards the sky, maintaining a strange and awkward posture.
This reminded him of the so-called yoga from his previous life, but the movements and stances of this Raging Bull Fist seemed even more exhausting than those yoga poses.
Just maintaining this single posture, he couldn't last even a minute before sweat beaded on his forehead. He forced himself to change to the next movement.
After just two minutes, he hadn't even finished the several movements of the first stance, and his coarse cloth clothes were already soaked with sweat. Finally, he couldn't hold on any longer, releasing the posture and gasping for air.
He turned his head to look at the situation of the people around him; they were basically in the same state as him, with little difference. However, one of the strongest skinners among them was still maintaining and occasionally changing his posture.
Although his face looked flushed, he seemed to be able to continue.
He persisted for a full 5 minutes and completed the first stance before finally relaxing.
And he was also the one who lasted the longest among everyone.
Lin Sheng knew this person. After all, he had been in the skinner's workshop for over two months, and even without much interaction, he knew the other person's name.
This person was named Wu Gang. He was considered an old-timer in the skinner's workshop and also somewhat of a leader among the older skinners. His performance in the Slaughterhouse each month was basically among the top one or two.
But this was also normal. After all, Wu Gang was strong and fit, and his physical condition was definitely the best among these people.
However, the fact that he lasted for a full five minutes still made Lin Sheng feel a bit surprised.
Having experienced it himself, he clearly understood how physically demanding it was to practice these Raging Bull Fist movements.
It seemed Wu Gang was also a small Genius, at least much stronger than himself.
Lin Sheng thought to himself, but soon immersed himself in his practice again.
Wang Dehai didn't give them much time; after more than an hour, he was already urging them to hurry back and continue working.
Even though these people had expressed their intention to join the Hunting Beast Hall, their work in the Slaughterhouse still had to be completed.
They hadn't truly joined the Hunting Beast Hall yet; they were still skinners belonging to the Slaughterhouse.
The only difference was that their two meals a day were better than before. The usual bland clear soup now had a hint of meat, although it was only some finely chopped Rock Sheep offal. However, compared to the previous vegetable soup, it was undoubtedly much more nutritious, and they were also given one more coarse flour steamed bun.
After all, practicing martial arts while completing the workload consumed a great deal of physical energy.
Because the martial arts practice in the afternoon had taken up time, Lin Sheng didn't finish his daily quota until it was completely dark.
He returned home, reported his safety to the two elders, and explained the reason.
While the two elders were pleasantly surprised, they couldn't help but worry, as even they had heard about the dangers of the Hunting Beast Hall in Zhenshan Tower.
"Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I'm not a child anymore. I know what I'm doing, you don't need to worry."
Lin Sheng offered a few words of comfort, which finally eased their minds slightly.
After the two elders went to sleep, Lin Sheng didn't go to bed early as usual. Instead, he went to the courtyard and continued practicing the Raging Bull Fist.
He understood that this Raging Bull Fist was the only Opportunity he currently had to change his fate, so even though he was already tired, he still had to persevere and practice.
The first stance of the Raging Bull Fist has a total of five movements and postures.
The movements are not complex, but they are quite physically demanding.
Lin Sheng knew his physical condition was too poor, so he only persisted for one and a half minutes each time, not directly challenging his physical limit. He would stop to rest for a while, allowing himself to fully adapt.
After repeating this five times, he felt a pervasive soreness and numbness in his body. He knew that even with deliberate moderation, he had reached his limit. If he continued practicing, his body would likely be injured, and if he pulled a muscle or something, he probably wouldn't even be able to get out of bed the next day.
He clearly understood the principle of knowing when to stop, so he immediately stopped, quickly washed himself, and then hurried to bed.
Early the next morning.
Lin Sheng opened his eyes and felt a faint ache in his limbs, but thankfully, it wasn't severe. He quickly got up and did some simple exercises, and this discomfort dissipated considerably.
Pushing open the door, he smelled an enticing aroma and saw a tightly wrapped lotus leaf chicken placed on the stone grinder outside.
"A Sheng, you're practicing martial arts now. Take the lotus leaf chicken on the stone grinder to nourish your body."
Lin Hong's voice came from the room next door.
"Okay."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng paused slightly before nodding heavily in response.
He picked up the lotus leaf chicken and went out.
He was never one to be sentimental, and his current martial arts training indeed consumed a lot of energy. Even with the improved meals at Zhenshan Tower, it was still not enough. As for this lotus leaf chicken, it was clearly bought early in the morning by Xie Guilan or Lin Hong specifically for him.
By the time he arrived at the Slaughterhouse, the entire lotus leaf chicken was already in his stomach.
And today, a third of the people in the Slaughterhouse hadn't shown up.
Even among those who did come, many had painful expressions on their faces.
As soon as he entered, he heard Wang Dehai's angry curses.
"A bunch of inexperienced good-for-nothings! You got a little martial arts and lost all sense of proportion! Don't you know what too much is? ...No one is allowed to cut corners on today's workload! Those who didn't come, I'll deduct two days' wages from them..."
Watching Wang Dehai walk away grumbling, Lin Sheng understood that these people probably overtrained yesterday and were suffering the consequences today.
Many things cannot be achieved overnight, and martial arts is even more so. Perseverance is the key.
Ignoring the others, Lin Sheng focused on handling his own daily quota.
In the afternoon, Tian Hu arrived as scheduled.
The skinners who were absent today also struggled over with their strained bodies, as no one wanted to miss the afternoon's instruction.
Tian Hu stood at the front of the line, scanned everyone, and then let out a cold snort.
"It seems you all practiced very diligently yesterday. Now I will teach you the Qi Circulation method of the Raging Bull Fist."
After speaking, he began to explain to everyone.
The Qi Circulation method was also not complicated. In less than half an hour, Tian Hu had finished explaining it to everyone.
"Alright, today's instruction is complete. Do you have any questions?"
Tian Hu spoke indifferently with his arms crossed.
His sharp gaze swept over everyone, but no one spoke up in response.
After all, they had only just started practicing martial arts for one day. How could they have any real questions? Even if there were some minor issues, they had probably already discussed them among themselves. Moreover, although Tian Hu didn't hide anything when teaching them, they could sense that he didn't seem to think much of them. Therefore, unless it was a difficult problem to solve, no one was willing to speak up.
"Since there are no questions, then practice well. I will come back every three days from now on. It won't be too late to ask any questions then."
After speaking, Tian Hu turned and left.
With his eyesight, he had seen from the beginning that there was nothing particularly noteworthy among this group of skinners. Only a few were barely acceptable, but they were just so-so and not worth any extra effort from him.
Watching Tian Hu leave, the group of skinners began to digest the Qi Circulation method they had been taught today.
After personally trying it a few times, Lin Sheng confirmed that he had mastered the key points and didn't stay any longer, heading straight back to the Slaughterhouse.
Anyway, the daily quota in the Slaughterhouse couldn't be reduced, so it was better to finish today's quota first before practicing, to avoid being disturbed.
Upon returning to the skinner's workshop, he happened to run into Wang Dehai who had just come out of the room.
Seeing that Lin Sheng had actually returned on his own initiative, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"You're not bad, kid. You're stronger than those idiots."
He reached out his greasy large hand and patted Lin Sheng's shoulder. Without saying more, he left directly.
Lin Sheng didn't pay attention to this. He returned to his workstation and began to process the remaining Rock Sheep.
And soon after, amidst Wang Dehai's scolding, the group of skinners also returned, looking dispirited.
Thus, three days passed quickly and quietly.
During these three days, in addition to working every day, Lin Sheng also made every effort to find time to practice the Raging Bull Fist.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much change. The time he could maintain the first stance of the Raging Bull Fist only increased by about twenty seconds from the initial two minutes.
He also subtly inquired about the progress of the other skinners, and their progress was basically similar to his.
Overall, his progress was at a middle-tier level among this group of skinners. Clearly, his previous body's Aptitude and foundation were not particularly good.
Among everyone, Wu Gang was the most outstanding. Not only could he maintain the first stance of the Raging Bull Fist for a full 5 minutes when he first started practicing, but now, after a few days, it is said that he can maintain it for eight minutes.
This progress was indeed much faster than his.
Tian Hu had also mentioned the condition for achieving proficiency in the Raging Bull Fist: being able to maintain the first stance for over the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and then successfully activating the body's Qi and blood using the Qi Circulation method. That would be considered proficiency.
Based on this progress, Wu Gang would definitely be able to achieve proficiency within a month, while he and most of the other skinners would struggle, or rather, it would basically be impossible.
Actually, Lin Sheng was still confident that he could achieve proficiency within a month, but the prerequisite was to be completely free from work and have sufficient energy supply, which was clearly not realistic.
However, he was not in a hurry, because his own Opportunity would arrive soon.
Early this morning, Lin Sheng skillfully skinned and butchered the Rock Sheep in front of him.
These Rock Sheep sent to the Slaughterhouse were basically knocked unconscious before being brought in. After all, if these Rock Sheep were skinned after they died, the quality of the fur would decline, and the corresponding selling price would also be affected.
So, after all these days, he had long become accustomed to the bloodshed here.
The slaughtering knife in his hand plunged into the Rock Sheep's neck with a squishing sound, and dark red blood gushed out.
As usual, he placed the prepared wooden bucket below to catch the thick blood.
But suddenly, he felt a burning sensation in his chest, as if a red-hot iron had been branded onto him.
The intense pain made him nearly drop the slaughtering knife in his hand.
However, he ultimately endured it. If he accidentally ruined the Rock Sheep's hide, he would inevitably be scolded and have some wages deducted.
He suppressed the urge to let go of the knife, but the intense pain caused veins to bulge on his hand and his face to become somewhat contorted.
Fortunately, this strong burning sensation did not last long. In just a few breaths, the intense heat gradually subsided.
Hoo... Hoo...
Lin Sheng gasped for air, pulling up the front of his shirt with one hand. Looking down, he saw that the circular mark on his chest had now completely turned blood-red, like a blood-colored ring.
Looking closely, the blood-red color on the ring seemed alive, slowly flowing.
"Has this circular mark finally finished accumulating?!"
Lin Sheng muttered to himself. The burning pain just now had come from the circular mark.
"What is the use of this circular mark?"
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, he was surprised to find that the circular mark in the center of his chest suddenly developed blood-colored Texture as thin as hair, spreading outwards from the ring.
The speed was extremely fast. In just the blink of an eye, it enveloped his entire upper body, and even his whole body.
What frightened him even more was that the messy Slaughterhouse in front of his eyes was also rapidly changing. Thick blood plasma gushed out from the four walls of the Slaughterhouse, instantly turning the entire Slaughterhouse into a sea of blood, and his vision was completely filled with blood-red.
He didn't know how long had passed, but the blood-red color in front of his eyes suddenly dispersed, replaced by a void space.
What came into view was a faint ball of blood-colored mist, constantly twisting and swaying, like the unopened primordial Chaos.