Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune: Starting with death row inmates

Seeing Fang Xue arrive, Shen Chen put down the beef leg he was holding and greeted her, "Miss Fang, would you like some?"

Fang Xue shook her head: "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Shen, but I have already eaten."

Seeing Shen Chen eat so much meat in one meal, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Shen has such a good appetite; he must have already cultivated his inner energy!"

Shen Chen put down the beef leg and sighed, "If only it were that easy. True Qi is really difficult to cultivate. I don't know if I can cultivate it in my lifetime."

After chatting for a while, Fang Xue took out a secret manual from her bosom: "Brother Shen, this is my Fang family's unique secret manual, 'Thousand Cloud Hands,' please accept it."

Fang Xue has offered you her family's secret manual. What will you do?

[Winning the lottery: You rejected the secret formula; you have not been involved in any karmic consequences. Neutral]

[Winning the lottery: You accept the secret manual and begin practicing "Thousand Cloud Hands," successfully grasping its true essence. Your grappling skills improve significantly. However, your study of the Fang family's secret manual also attracts the attention of Tang Long, the fifth leader of the mountain stronghold. Draw]

Shen Chen hesitated slightly, then politely said to Fang Xue, "This secret manual is, after all, a unique family heirloom of yours. How could I possibly lay a finger on it?"

Fang Xue insisted, "I am dull-witted and cannot master this 'Thousand Cloud Hands' technique. Rather than let my family's unique skill go to waste, I would rather give it to Brother Shen. Please accept it."

Shen Chen declined a couple more times, but eventually accepted the Fang family's secret manual.

After Fang Xue left, Shen Chen opened the manual and studied it carefully.

Thousand Cloud Hands is a grappling technique, but it also incorporates parrying skills, making it a martial art that combines offense and defense.

A master can not only create the martial arts imagery of "parting the clouds to reveal the sun," but also comprehend the stance of "delicate clouds weaving patterns," enabling them to deflect great force with minimal effort.

High-quality martial arts often only produce one martial arts image. Even a powerful sword technique like Qin Pi's, with its six forms combined, can only produce one martial arts image: "Blood Rain and Bloody Wind"—the sword energy turns blood red, and when the sword is drawn, it is as if blood is being poured down.

The fact that this "Thousand Cloud Hands" technique, when mastered to its fullest extent, can produce two different martial arts images demonstrates its high quality. Shen Chen instantly understood why this martial art had led Tang Long to commit the massacre of the Fang family.

After reading it through once, he was filled with doubt: "This martial art is indeed obscure and difficult to understand. I can't even understand the first move. When striking, should the elbow be tucked in or out? Should it focus on speed or power?"

A thought struck him, and he drew a fortune stick, immediately gaining the correct understanding: "So that's how it is."

Relying on his strong "comprehension", Shen Chen's progress in practicing the Thousand Cloud Hands was incredibly rapid.

Three days later.

Shen Chen kept striking the wooden dummy with his palms. He struck the dummy very quickly, and in just three breaths he had already struck more than a dozen times. Wood chips flew up from both sides of the wooden dummy.

After finishing the treatment, Shen Chen withdrew his hands and felt a strong swelling and pain in his palms.

"This martial art is indeed powerful, but unfortunately I am not yet at a level that matches it." Shen Chen thought to himself. His current level is too low, and he will suffer a certain degree of backlash when he uses "Thousand Cloud Hand".

If he cultivates true qi and uses it to protect his skin and flesh, the power of this martial art will be extremely terrifying, and there will be no need to worry about backlash.

"I need to break through to the True Qi Realm as soon as possible," Shen Chen thought to himself. He drew another fortune stick for himself, and the fortune indicated that his body was not suitable for entering the fasting state.

He had no choice but to temporarily abandon his plan to abstain from grains.

"Brother Shen." At this moment, Qin Pi walked over with a list in his hand. "The list for the hunting ceremony is out, and your name is on it."

"A hunting ceremony?" Shen Chen recalled that Dog Tooth Mountain held a martial arts tournament every year. Before the tournament, the village would randomly draw lots to select a few people favored by the "Martial God" to participate in the hunt. The game they hunted was used as offerings to worship the Martial God.

"You're lucky! The Martial God has personally chosen you to hunt for him," Qin Pi said with a smile.

According to the village rules, if there are byes in the formal competition, these spots will first be allocated to those who have participated in the hunting ceremony.

Moreover, those who perform exceptionally well during the hunting ceremony will receive certain rewards from the village.

The champion of the hunting ceremony two years ago was Liu Ming, who is now dead. He hunted eighteen white-tailed deer and two black bears at the ceremony that year. The chieftain rewarded him with a precious medicine that could help him break through to the True Qi Realm. A year later, he indeed broke through to the True Qi Realm.

Shen Chen also felt he was very lucky. He smiled and said, "That Martial God Immortal certainly has good judgment."

Upon learning that he had been selected to participate in the hunting ceremony, Shen Chen immediately had the idea of ​​hunting: "I can go and practice beforehand. I remember that Zhang Xiaolong and the others took on a job hunting black bears last time."

He then found Zhang Xiaolong, who readily agreed, "Okay, Boss Shen, let's go."

He led Shen Chen to a mountain hollow, surrounded by lush forests. The black soil underfoot was damp and soft, emitting a strong earthy smell.

"This place is called Bear Ridge. Almost all the black bears in the entire Dogtooth Mountain come here to spend the winter," Zhang Xiaolong said.

"We don't need to worry about the sleeping bears, but we must kill the bears that wake up hungry and come out to hunt for food," Zhang Xiaolong said.

"A starving person is a beast, and a starving beast is the worst of beasts. A few years ago, a starving black bear sneaked into the village and ate Old Zhao's whole family. If the neighbors hadn't heard the noise, another family would probably have been eaten."

Soon, Zhang Xiaolong discovered a series of footprints. He and Shen Chen followed the footprints and indeed saw a skinny black bear wandering around.

Zhang Xiaolong drew his bow and nocked an arrow, aiming steadily at the black bear's head, his muscles taut like a bowstring.

He suddenly released his grip, and an arrow flew out like lightning, instantly striking the black bear's head.

The black bear stood still for a second before its body went limp and collapsed, thick, black blood dripping from its mouth.

"Shen, shoot another arrow," Zhang Xiaolong said to Shen Chen.

Shen Chen awkwardly drew his bow and nocked an arrow; he had no experience in archery.

"Whoosh." An arrow shot out with a loud whooshing sound, and the arrowhead missed its target, embedding itself deeply in a nearby tree.

Zhang Xiaolong said, "Boss Shen, that's not how you shoot an arrow. When you draw the bow, don't shrug your shoulders, look into the distance, and keep your knees firmly planted..."

Following Zhang Xiaolong's instructions, Shen Chen gradually adjusted his posture. Before each shot, he would draw lots to confirm his archery stance.

In less than half an hour, Shen Chen's archery skills had become quite impressive, and three black bears had died from his arrows.

"Wow, Shen Chen is amazing!" Zhang Xiaolong exclaimed in amazement. In just half an hour, Shen Chen had completely mastered archery. He was ashamed of his own lack of comprehension.