From Diving Scholar to Martial Arts Saint

The ninth month of the year 505 of the Qian era. The nation was falling apart. Foreign warships and cannons threatened the coast, while strange beasts ran rampant at home. To implement new reforms, the imperial court issued an edict officially abolishing the civil examinations. Desperate scholars took their own lives by jumping into the water in droves. History would remember the event as the Scholars' Mass Suicide. Unfortunately, Chen Xiuwen was one of them, so he decided to abandon literature and take up arms. "I've heard this story too many times already. They say that Chen Xiuwen was nicknamed the Black-Hearted Tiger in his youth. He was handsome, but incredibly petty." Smack! A palm strike came from four hundred kilometers away. "Who's calling me petty?" Chen Xiuwen withdrew his hand, came back to his senses, and continued cultivating his divine ability. "Once I finish practicing the Candle Dragon's Illumination of Yin, I'll awaken the Candle Yin ability. I'll illuminate the Nine Yins, command yin and yang, and reverse life and death!" Practice the Black Tiger Fist and gain the Tiger Soul ability: a body like a ferocious tiger and the strength of nine oxen. Practice the Xiangliu Earth-Devouring Art and gain the Earth-Devouring ability: devour the land, poison generations, and survive even with nine heads. Practice the Nine Forms of Listening to the Earth and awaken the Di Ting ability: hear keenly, distinguish truth from lies, and identify all things. It all begins with the Black Tiger Fist.