Gou Zai Wu Dao Chao Shi Xing Nian Da Gong

The Zhou family's backyard.

Zhou He was practicing stance training. He was agile and his movements were precise and skillful. He had already mastered the Hu family stance training.

Zhou Fugan sat under the shade of a tree, watching his grandson practice his cultivation while sipping tea.

He left the business to his two sons. He wouldn't need their help for the time being.

He was mainly responsible for the cultivation of his two grandsons.

The two grandsons' physical constitution is basically what it is, and there won't be much improvement in a short period of time, but with Tai Chi, the effects will gradually and subtly become apparent.

The rest will depend on tonics to improve their cultivation.

He doesn't need to worry about Zhou Sheng's side; the tonics from the Hammer Cloud Martial Arts School are quite good and enough for him.

However, since Zhou Hexue was learning the Hu family's sword technique, he had to personally oversee it.

As Zhou He's practice of the Hu Family Stance Technique progressed smoothly, the tonics he needed for cultivation became increasingly urgent.

He didn't want Zhou He to use the tonics bought outside because they had too many side effects. That's why he bought the precious tiger tendon grass and other auxiliary medicinal materials, as well as medicine-making tools, to prepare to make the tonics that were used in the Hu family knife technique.

The first tonic is called Tiger Tendon Powder, and its preparation method seems simple. It is made by combining powdered Tiger Tendon Grass (a precious medicinal herb) with various other herbs.

But Zhou Fugan knew that things were not that simple.

The efficacy of this medicine mainly comes from tiger tendon grass. So why not just take tiger tendon grass directly instead of adding other medicinal materials?

That's because tiger's tendril is extremely toxic, and most people can't tolerate it. Other medicinal herbs must be used to weaken the toxicity, and incidentally, they can also slightly enhance the effects.

There are many tricks to this, from the age and processing of the medicinal materials to the temperature at which each ingredient is added, all of which require careful attention. Otherwise, the resulting Tiger Tendon Powder might be more toxic than commercially available tonics.

For the past two days, Zhou Fugan hasn't started refining anything, because he's been thinking about this problem. He even bought several medical books to read, but unfortunately, he hasn't figured out anything about it.

"Forget it, thinking about it won't help, I have to try it out. Anyway, I have enough money now, so wasting some precious medicine doesn't matter."

Thinking of this, Zhou Fugan simply got up and walked towards a side room.

This was the alchemy room he had chosen. Pushing open the door, the interior was decorated exactly like a traditional pharmacy. A wall was covered with medicine containers filled with various medicinal herbs. A counter stood in the center, serving as the worktable for making medicine. All the necessary tools were there, including a small scale, a mortar and pestle, and a wok for frying herbs.

...

Zhou Fugan first recalled the preparation method of Tiger Tendon Powder, then opened a locked cabinet, took out a tiger tendon grass, put it into a medicine grinder, and gently crushed it with his hands, quickly obtaining a bottle of fine powder.

He weighed out a portion of tiger tendon grass powder, selected various necessary auxiliary medicines from the medicine container, and began to prepare tiger tendon powder according to the prescribed method.

Before long, he had prepared a small bottle of Tiger Tendon Powder.

At this point, a prompt appeared on the virtual interface.

"The host has refined Tiger Tendon Powder. Its effects are: to weaken toxicity and enhance efficacy."

"The cost: exposure to toxic medicinal materials, resulting in chronic poisoning."

"An exemption can be activated without incurring a cost, while retaining its effectiveness."

In an instant, Zhou Fugan's mind was filled with all sorts of tips and experiences in refining Tiger Tendon Powder, as if he had been refining this medicine for decades, and he immediately became a master alchemist. He had a thorough understanding of all the details, such as how to select medicinal materials, how to mix them, and how to analyze their properties.

Of course, he only knows Tiger Tendon Powder.

"Haha, very good!"

Zhou Fugan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

In this way, he can easily prepare Tiger Tendon Powder with the lowest toxicity and the best efficacy.

Moreover, he can instantly learn how to prepare any tonic.

Zhou Fugan poured the freshly prepared Tiger Tendon Powder into his mouth and swallowed it. This dose was quite toxic, so he decided to eat it himself to avoid wasting it.

Then, he took out fresh tiger tendon grass powder and other medicinal herbs, and skillfully prepared them. Soon, he had several bottles of tiger tendon powder.

Zhou Fugan took a sample and tasted it, discovering that his Tiger Tendon Powder was far superior to the version recorded in the Hu Family Knife Technique. Its toxicity was significantly reduced, and its efficacy was enhanced.

The original Hu Family Knife Techniques recorded that Tiger Tendon Powder needed to be taken once every five days to neutralize its toxicity, but the one he prepared only needed to be taken once every three days.

...

"He'er".

Zhou Fugan came into the courtyard with a bottle of Tiger Tendon Powder and called out softly.

"grandfather."

Zhou He immediately stopped cultivating and walked over.

Zhou Fugan handed over the small bottle and instructed, "This contains Tiger Tendon Powder, which I've prepared for you. It's a supplement specifically for your martial arts practice. Take it once every three days, one spoonful each time, dissolved in water. Got it?"

"Tiger Tendon Powder? Great, I'll remember that, Grandpa!"

Zhou He jumped up happily, took the small bottle, and ran to find water.

During this time, he found that his cultivation was not very effective. He asked his grandfather and learned that he needed to take supplements to help him. Now he finally has supplements.

......

After resolving Zhou He's problem, Zhou Fugan continued his research on internal cultivation methods.

The main challenge lies in integrating the Hammer Cloud Stance Technique with the Mountain-Stepping Leg Technique. Although they originate from the same lineage, their techniques are completely different, making their integration extremely difficult.

However, Zhou Fujin has already made progress.

What he actually wanted was the shockwave power of the Mountain-Stomping Leg; the technique itself was secondary. The shockwave power of the Mountain-Stomping Leg came from its unique method of generating force, and the techniques merely facilitated the execution of this method.

Zhou Fugan plans to integrate this method of force application into the Hammer Cloud Stance Technique, which will greatly reduce the difficulty of integration.

If he succeeds in the end, it will not only greatly increase his cultivation speed, but also allow Zhou Sheng to switch to a new stance training method, which will greatly increase the speed of his tendon and bone tempering.

......

Hammer Cloud Martial Arts School, a corner of the training ground in the backyard.

Zhou Sheng was practicing diligently, his back soaked with sweat, which dripped onto the ground, forming a small muddy puddle.

"Junior brother, Master wants you to come over."

Suddenly, Liu Cheng came over and said.

"Oh? What does Master want with me?"

Zhou Sheng stopped cultivating, wiped his sweat, and followed Liu Cheng to Chen Liangqing's courtyard.

When he arrived, not only was Chen Liangqing there, but several other novice disciples were also present. Zhao Xiong stood beside Chen Liangqing, looking at him with a kind smile.

"Master!"

Zhou Sheng stepped forward and bowed.

"Zhou Sheng, you did very well. Today I heard Chief Escort Hong talk about your performance in the battle at Fishbone Bay. You really brought honor to our martial arts school."

When Chen Liangqing saw Zhou Sheng, a smile appeared on his face, and he praised him.

"It's all thanks to Master's excellent teaching! This disciple dares not take credit!" Zhou Sheng said modestly.

Chen Liangqing laughed heartily. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Haha. You have contributed to the martial arts school, so I must reward you. From now on, the martial arts school will cover your monthly cost of Hammer Bone Pills."

"Thank you, Master!"

Zhou Sheng's face lit up with joy. He needed six Hammer Bone Pills every month, and each pill cost three taels of silver. This would save him more than ten taels of silver.

At this moment, Zhao Xiong spoke up to show goodwill: "Junior Brother Zhou, congratulations. I will need your guidance in cultivation and fighting techniques in the future."

Zhou Sheng glanced at him, unsure whether the man was sincere or not, but as the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face, so he replied, "I wouldn't dare to offer guidance, let's learn from each other."

Seeing the two getting along so well, Chen Liangqing couldn't help but show a look of relief on his face.

Zhao Xiong is the successor he has chosen; if he grows up to be successful, the martial arts school will be handed over to him. However, while Zhao Xiong has excellent potential, his character is somewhat lacking. He has been working on training him recently, and it seems to be working very well.

As a successor of a martial arts school, the most basic requirement is to have an open mind and be tolerant of others. Only then can one become a qualified head of a martial arts school.