Chapter Four: Have I Achieved Enlightenment?

These past few days, every evening after dinner, Chen Fan would stroll around the nearby inns and public gathering spots. He probed discreetly, silently searching and investigating information about Pi Liu and his companions. His efforts bore some fruit: he learned that Pi Liu was indeed extraordinary, having once displayed his strength by easily defeating over a dozen ordinary men, likely a martial artist himself.

At the same time, Chen Fan kept searching for ways to improve his own martial arts training efficiency. Unfortunately, he found nothing useful.

One day, as the sun set, Chen Fan pushed open the door to his courtyard. His little niece, Chen Xi, was giggling, running carefree around the yard—she was too young to remember much and had no worries. Not far from her, a large, fat tabby cat lay sprawled on the ground. Apparently, the neighbor’s cat had snuck into their home at some point.

It was strange: Huai Tree Street lay on the outskirts, almost rural, where families barely scraped by and meat was a rare treat. Yet this tabby was unusually plump and large.

The little girl rushed toward the big cat, but with a swift leap, it bounded onto the wall and quickly escaped outside. Despite its size, the cat moved with remarkable agility.

Disappointed, Chen Xi waved her hand, then spotted her uncle returning and ran happily to throw herself into his arms.

Chen Fan’s elder brother was chauvinistic, clinging to old, patriarchal customs, and looked down on his wife for having only a daughter. At three and a half, the little girl had no memories of her father’s affection and preferred her uncle, Chen Fan.

It was Chen Fan who, after crossing into this world, named her Chen Xi—his elder brother lacked the education for it. Chen Xi flashed her dimples, babbling, “Little father! Little father!”—in local custom, children called their uncle “little father.”

With her father away these days, the girl felt no longing, but thanks to Chen Fan, meals had improved and she had meat almost every day, growing ever more cheerful. Of course, this change in diet earned Chen Fan frequent scolding from his sister-in-law, given the looming burden of twenty taels of debt.

Smiling, Chen Fan picked up his niece. As he walked onward, he suddenly paused, surprised.

The characters before his eyes shifted mysteriously:

[You observe the cat’s movements and fall into a state of enlightenment, deepening your understanding of Tiger Fist.]

Chen Fan was bewildered. “When did I enter enlightenment?” He had merely watched the cat leap and spin, feeling nothing unusual.

This was far from the legendary enlightenment he’d heard about.

In that instant, Chen Fan felt a tingling warmth in his fists, a sudden urge to practice Tiger Fist again. He set Chen Xi down and, standing in the small courtyard, began to drill the moves once more. At first, his motions were hesitant, but after a few repetitions, his punches flowed smoothly, like water.

As he practiced, Chen Fan entered a strange, inexplicable state. Images of the leaping cat flashed through his mind. Heat steamed from his body, and he sensed a fiery current coursing through his arms. He punched forward suddenly.

Smack.

The air surged, a sharp crack resounded, and in his ears, it seemed as if a tiger’s roar echoed.

From the doorway, the little girl sat on a small stool, clapping her hands excitedly as she watched Chen Fan finish his routine. “Amazing! So amazing!”

Chen Fan exhaled in relief and glanced at the empty space before him.

[Your understanding of “Tiger Fist” has greatly increased. The progress of the second form has advanced by 50%. Your Tiger Fist training efficiency has improved.]

The progress bar for Tiger Fist jumped from 11% to 61%, leaving Chen Fan stunned. His face lit up with joy.

He had been trying to improve his training speed for days, to no avail, and was about to give up—then, unexpectedly, he found a breakthrough. Not only could he boost efficiency, but his cultivation progress advanced directly, though the method was odd.

Upon reflection, Tiger Fist was created by observing tigers, and tigers were feline, after all. Perhaps there was indeed some connection between the big tabby and the art.

“My aptitude is decent, but it shouldn’t be enough to reach enlightenment just by watching a cat… It must be that I accidentally fulfilled some hidden condition for martial arts training,” Chen Fan mused. “If watching a big cat lets me ‘enlighten’ and improves my efficiency, what if I saw a real tiger?”

He let his imagination wander. But soon, he shook his head.

“My mediocre skills wouldn’t even make a decent snack for a tiger.”

Chen Fan wasn’t foolish—he had no intention of becoming a tiger’s meal. Besides, at his current efficiency, he could master Tiger Fist in two months, so there was no need to risk his life seeking out a tiger.

If he lost his life, all would be in vain.

“By the way, the prompt said my Tiger Fist training efficiency increased—how much, exactly?”

He checked his automatic training rate: about 12% progress per day, nearly a third higher than before! With simple math, what would have taken forty days could now be finished in just over twenty, shaving more than ten days off.

“I wonder, during that ‘enlightenment’ session, what was that heat I felt in my body? Could it be the legendary internal energy?”

Sadly, he had no real knowledge of martial arts, and could only guess, never knowing for sure. Now, out of the “enlightenment” state, he could no longer sense that heat.

“I know nothing of martial arts—I need to join a martial arts school.”

Chen Fan clenched his fist.

Yet joining a school required an enrollment fee—dozens of taels, far out of his reach.

His thoughts spun, and soon he conceived another idea.

“This golden finger of mine—does it allow training in just one martial art at a time, or several? If I can multitask…”

His eyes gleamed. Since starting Tiger Fist, his constitution had grown stronger; if he could practice several arts, their effects would compound, making him even more formidable.

…

The enlightenment from watching the tabby happened only once. Afterwards, no matter how closely Chen Fan observed the cat, nothing triggered a second time, much to his disappointment.

His improved diet, purchase of Tiger Fist, and the looming payment owed to Pi Liu meant the family’s savings were nearly depleted. So he approached Steward Hou, requesting an advance on his wages.

Hou, favoring Chen Fan, made an exception and reluctantly gave him three taels.

A few days later, Chen Fan, silver in hand, returned to the Flying Tiger Sect, hoping to meet the shabby man he’d encountered before and buy more manuals.

He visited two or three times before finally spotting the man again, loitering near the sect’s gate.

Overjoyed, Chen Fan hurried over.

“I finally found you!”

The man’s face changed slightly, but he quickly put on a strange act, feigning ignorance.

“Young man, you must have mistaken me for someone else.”

He pretended not to recognize Chen Fan!

Chen Fan smiled wryly, understanding his intent, and reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’m not here to return the goods!”