Chapter 6

(End of the sixth update for today. After finishing, everyone can wash up and go to bed. We'll meet again tomorrow.)

"Escape into the forest..." Chen Zhigang frowned, seemingly dissatisfied that a Fourth Layer Blood Qi Realm warrior like Chen Dazhong had allowed a Second Layer Blood Qi Realm warrior to escape: "Forget it, a mere Second Layer Blood Qi Realm warrior venturing deep into the Roaring Wind Forest has only one path to death."

Chen Zhigang thought to himself that even if he ventured deep into the Roaring Wind Forest, he wouldn't gain much.

"Brother Gang, this is the fierce tiger my brother encountered in the Roaring Wind Forest. Because of it, Chen Zong had a chance to escape. But my brother killed this tiger, and these are for you, Brother Gang." Chen Dali handed a tiger leg to Chen Zhigang.

"Good, good, good. In recent years, fierce tigers have become increasingly rare." Chen Zhigang took the tiger leg with a somewhat excited tone, his eyes gleaming: "With this, my Blood Qi can become even more condensed and powerful."

...

After Chen Zong tidied up the small house in the forest, it became much cleaner.

Outside the house, after practicing the Tiger Strength Fist, Chen Zong began to practice sword techniques.

The light in the forest was dim, and the iron sword was gray and mottled, making it difficult to see any reflection when swung.

He practiced the True Sword Eight Stances over and over again, becoming increasingly proficient.

After practicing the True Sword Eight Stances several times, his stomach started to rumble. Chen Zong walked to the stream, staring at a plump, large fish. With the iron sword in hand, his breathing became almost imperceptible. Suddenly, he thrust the sword into the water.

However, the fish reacted extremely quickly, flicking its tail the moment the iron sword entered the water and swiftly swam away, leaving Chen Zong's sword empty.

"I don't believe it." Chen Zong's stubbornness kicked in, determined not to stop until he speared a fish with his sword.

He adjusted and thrust the sword repeatedly, and in the end, he managed to spear a fish only after his stomach was nearly empty. He quickly took out the flint from home to light some dry leaves, butchered the fish, which weighed about five to six pounds, and began to roast it over the fire.

Soon, golden fish oil dripped, sizzling, and the rich aroma filled the air. Sprinkling the seasonings he brought from home, the smell made Chen Zong's mouth water, and his stomach growled incessantly.

After roasting, without waiting for it to cool, Chen Zong took a bite, breathing out in satisfaction.

In no time, a fish that still weighed about five pounds after being butchered was in Chen Zong's stomach.

After resting for half an hour, Chen Zong got up and continued practicing the Tiger Strength Fist, practicing ten times in a row.

"I feel that my Tiger Strength Fist has reached the peak of Great Success and can break through to Perfection. What is still lacking?" Chen Zong lowered his head and pondered.

The image of the tiger descending the mountain was not with him, but the scene was already deeply imprinted in Chen Zong's mind. Closing his eyes, he thought, and the image became clear.

From the image, Chen Zong gained many insights, but they were scattered and could not be connected, so he couldn't find the opportunity to break through.

Suddenly, a figure flashed in Chen Zong's mind, a pair of cold and domineering eyes. An inexplicable sense of terror emerged, and a chill ran down his spine. It was the image and eyes of the fierce tiger he had seen not long ago.

The real tiger's image overlapped with the tiger in the painting. A flash of inspiration broke through the constraints, and the scattered insights were connected. Feeling a sudden enlightenment, Chen Zong opened his eyes, his gaze shining brightly. He stretched his limbs and assumed the Tiger Stance.

As Chen Zong made subtle adjustments, a tiger-like aura began to gather around him, gradually spreading out. Not far away, a large gray rabbit emerged from a tree hole. Feeling the aura, it trembled and huddled into a ball, unable to move, as if it had seen the king of beasts.

The fish in the stream fled in panic.

After maintaining the Tiger Stance for ten minutes, Chen Zong suddenly sprang up and punched forward. The terrifying aura surged with the punch, the wind roaring like a tiger's roar, startling the gray rabbit into convulsions, foaming at the mouth, and dying from fright.

After practicing the Tiger Strength Fist, the final Tiger Frenzy Stance was even more impressive and powerful than before, his heart pounding, his Blood Qi surging, and he felt his strength rapidly increasing.

"This feeling is amazing." Chen Zong was extremely excited: "The Tiger Strength Fist has reached Perfection, and my cultivation has also reached the peak of the Second Layer Blood Qi Realm, just one step away from the Third Layer. It's equivalent to several months of cultivation."

"The realm of Perfection is the Tiger Aura, which can emit a tiger-like aura to intimidate the target."

"The creator of this fist technique is indeed formidable."

The reason tigers are so strong is not only because of their powerful physical strength but also because of their aura as the king of beasts.

"Every time my martial arts level improves, my Blood Qi can be slightly enhanced. If I can improve the True Sword Eight Stances to the Minor Success level before the Martial Disciple Battle, I might have a chance to break through to the Third Layer Blood Qi Realm."

"However, before that, I need to continue practicing and consolidating the Tiger Strength Fist, which has just broken through."

The Tiger Strength Fist at the Perfection level exercises 70% of the body, surpassing the True Sword Eight Stances at the Beginner level. Each practice session, Chen Zong could feel his Blood Qi surging in his body, gradually growing stronger.

After practicing the Tiger Strength Fist thirty times, Chen Zong felt his limbs weak, and his stomach growled again. He walked over, picked up the gray rabbit that had been scared to death, cleaned it, and roasted it over the fire.

This gray rabbit weighed about ten pounds, enough for two delicious meals.

After eating, he rested, and during his rest, he thought about the key points of the True Sword Eight Stances, then continued practicing.

Practicing fists, practicing sword, eating, sleeping.

This was Chen Zong's daily life in the small house in the forest.

Here, it was very quiet, free from any interference, allowing Chen Zong to fully focus on his cultivation, feeling his progress every day.

Another night passed, and Chen Zong walked out of the small house. The first thing he did was to draw the tenth mark on the tree trunk, indicating that he had been here for ten days.

After a quick wash, he walked to the stream, staring at a fish, waiting for the right moment, gathering his strength, and thrusting the sword. The sword broke the air, making a faint sound, and pierced the water, spearing the fish.

Martial artists have a large appetite, especially Chen Zong, who used almost all his time for cultivation except for rest, consuming more energy.

From morning to night, he ate six meals, each at least five pounds of fish or rabbit meat, the most common food, occasionally eating snake meat.

Eating dozens of pounds of meat every day, and then being absorbed by the body through cultivation, his Blood Qi grew stronger, nourishing his body, making him increasingly robust. However, his strength was still at the 300-pound level, a bottleneck that could only be broken to continue improving.

The Tiger Strength Fist had already reached the Perfection level, so Chen Zong no longer needed to think about how to break through. Therefore, he practiced the Tiger Strength Fist ten times in the morning and evening, and the rest of the time was spent on the True Sword Eight Stances. The parts of the body exercised by the Tiger Strength Fist were different from those of the True Sword Eight Stances, and combining the two could exercise the entire body, with better results.

Chen Zong also found that spearing fish with a sword was helpful for practicing the True Sword Eight Stances.

"Father said that sword techniques require speed, accuracy, and stability. All three are essential; otherwise, being fast but missing the target is useless."

"Previously, I couldn't spear a fish with one thrust because I wasn't accurate or stable enough. After ten days of practice, my accuracy and stability have improved, but there is still room for improvement."

"To improve speed, accuracy, and stability, besides spearing fish, perhaps I can try other methods."

After thinking, Chen Zong took a straight branch as thick as his thumb, stuck it in the ground, stood in front of it, and focused his eyes on the branch, gathering his strength.

He raised the sword and chopped down.

The sword missed the branch and fell to the side.

"So much off!" Chen Zong was stunned, thinking his sword was already accurate and stable enough.

"Again."

He gathered his strength, raised the sword, and chopped down.

He practiced again and again.

The eleventh day!

The twelfth day!

The thirteenth day!

The fourteenth day!

The fifteenth day!

After practicing the True Sword Eight Stances twenty times, Chen Zong raised his sword and walked to a straight branch as thick as a chopstick, raised the sword, and chopped it in half.

"Good, my accuracy has indeed improved a lot." Chen Zong smiled.

Striving for perfection, Chen Zong replaced the chopstick-thick branch with a thinner one.

Another new day, Chen Zong drew another mark on the tree trunk.

"Four days until the Martial Disciple Battle." Looking at the twenty marks on the tree trunk, Chen Zong muttered to himself.

He walked to the stream, stared at a large fish, and thrust the sword with ease. The sword speed was extremely fast, and the tip of the sword pierced the water, spearing the fish.

After eating the fish, Chen Zong drew his sword and practiced the True Sword Eight Stances.

Once, twice, three times... the ninth time, the final stance—Explosive Sword!

The force surged through the sword, bursting out instantly, the sword body rubbing against the air, shining with a dazzling light, cutting through the dim forest.

"The sword body shining, affecting vision, is the Minor Success level." Chen Zong was first stunned, then overjoyed.

It took him five days to practice the True Sword Eight Stances to the Beginner level. He thought it would take at least a month to reach the Minor Success level, but in the absence of external interference and with the help of spearing fish and chopping branches, it only took fifteen days to reach the Minor Success level.

"Good, it seems my training method is indeed correct." Chen Zong was even happier. The True Sword Eight Stances were passed down by the mysterious sword tip, but the methods of spearing fish and chopping branches were his own ideas. Perhaps such methods already existed, but no one had taught him, and it was the result of his own efforts.

Achieving progress through one's own efforts, from nothing to something, is the most exhilarating sense of accomplishment.

At this moment, Chen Zong felt his Blood Qi surging, like the water of a great river, continuously washing over his body, causing changes. The energy from the dozens of pounds of meat he ate every day was stored in his body, and now, with the surging Blood Qi, it was being continuously released, integrating into his limbs and bones, gradually strengthening his muscles and skin.

"This feeling... my cultivation is about to break through."

He quickly assumed the Sword Stance and practiced the True Sword Eight Stances again, using it to guide the energy and accelerate the breakthrough.

After a few rounds of the True Sword Eight Stances, even stronger energy emerged from deep within his body, spreading throughout, his muscles tightening, giving Chen Zong a sense of greater strength.

"Ha ha ha ha, Third Layer Blood Qi Realm, I have finally reached it." Chen Zong couldn't help but laugh: "In the Martial Disciple Battle, I will definitely be among the top three. Chen Zhigang and Chen Dazhong, it's time to settle our accounts."

"However, there are still a few days until the Martial Disciple Battle. I can use this opportunity to improve further."

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