Chapter 7

Zichen fell to the ground, having reached the limits of his life. Only by relying on his strong will did he manage to stay conscious.

"Hum!"

Due to excessive blood loss, he was on the brink of death, and his heart seemed about to stop beating. However, at this moment, Zichen's heart suddenly beat forcefully, and then a dense silver energy emerged from his heart, rushing to his limbs and all parts of his body.

This energy, through his limbs and blood, spread throughout Zichen's body. Under this energy, the wounds on Zichen's body began to contract and heal, visible to the naked eye.

It was as if he had taken a miraculous elixir; the bleeding stopped, and the wounds began to form scars. All of this happened in just a few breaths. After a few breaths, the newly formed scars loosened, and the scabs fell off, revealing smooth and fine skin underneath.

"Indeed, it is so!"

Although Zichen's face was still pale, his spirit was much more vigorous. Looking at the scars that fell off with a touch, a flash of light appeared in Zichen's eyes.

The silver energy was everywhere, and Zichen had once again escaped a crisis.

After carefully covering his tracks, Zichen pretended to stagger and sped off in the direction ahead. He knew that Zhao Can was still chasing him.

His injuries had healed, but his true qi had not yet recovered. At this moment, Zichen was still very weak. Even if he faced the injured Zhao Can, he might not be able to win.

Therefore, he needed to find a place to rest.

After circling around a hill, Zichen found a relatively secluded spot and began to meditate and practice.

Time was limited, so Zichen had to quickly recover his strength. The Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique was running on its own.

The surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered towards Zichen, and at this moment, Zichen was in a state of mental and physical emptiness.

He felt himself transform into the energy of heaven and earth, becoming ethereal and empty, like a wandering soul, floating and drifting, and then arriving in a strange space.

This was a silvery space, filled with silver lightning energy. Apart from this, there was nothing else, making it seem very empty.

"What is this place?"

Just as Zichen was puzzled, the silver lightning energy in the space suddenly surged, forming a huge vortex that began to devour the surrounding lightning energy.

Zichen quickly retreated, staying far away from the vortex, his eyes fixed on it.

The vortex lasted for only three breaths. After three breaths, the vortex disappeared, and the lightning space returned to normal. However, where the vortex had appeared, a figure now stood.

A figure radiating lightning energy.

The figure was only sixteen or seventeen years old, still a youth, but this youth was surrounded by lightning, with cold, sharp eyes like lightning itself.

This was a lightning youth.

Zichen's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the lightning youth, because the lightning youth looked exactly like him.

"How is this possible?"

Zichen's eyes widened, filled with shock.

The lightning youth, seeing Zichen, showed a slight ripple in his cold eyes, but that was all. Then, the lightning youth stood in place, fists clenched, and the lightning around him began to surge.

Faintly, the figure of a fierce tiger seemed to appear from the lightning youth's body.

His cold eyes closed slightly, and then opened suddenly, followed by a powerful punch towards the front.

"Roar!"

A tiger's roar, and at the moment the lightning youth punched, Zichen seemed to see a fierce tiger charging towards him.

A third-rate combat technique, the Tiger Fist.

The first move, Tiger Descends the Mountain.

The fierce tiger descending the mountain, with a sharp and regal aura, charged towards Zichen. During this process, the lightning youth punched again, Tiger Roars.

A tiger's roar shook the forest, representing the king of the forest defending his territory. At this moment, after the roar, the tiger's aura reached its peak, becoming a true king.

The first two moves were just the beginning of the killing moves. The third move of the Tiger Fist, Tiger Pounces, was the final and strongest move.

After the tiger's aura reached its peak, Zichen saw the king of the forest leap towards him, opening its blood-red mouth and extending its cold, sharp claws.

Then, Zichen's vision was filled with silver light, and he was completely enveloped by it.

His consciousness returned, and Zichen's face was pale. He suddenly opened his eyes, showing signs of fatigue, but after the fatigue, there was shock.

"The Tiger Fist, it's the true essence of the Tiger Fist. Who is that lightning youth? What is that silvery space?" Zichen was incredibly shocked.

The lightning youth had only performed three moves, but they encapsulated the true essence of the Tiger Fist, making Zichen see not just a regular fist technique but a real tiger, the true king of the forest.

The Tiger Fist was a powerful technique, and Zichen believed he had already mastered these three moves, even able to perform them backward. However, seeing the lightning youth's direct and essential moves, Zichen realized how ridiculous his previous thoughts were.

The Tiger Fist had only three moves, each emphasizing a different aspect of momentum, with the third move combining the first two to create the final, strongest move, Tiger Pounces.

Performing the moves backward would be absurd and ridiculous.

For the first time, Zichen truly understood that combat techniques also had a true essence.

Without thinking, Zichen stood up, his fists clenched, and his mind focused on the scene he had seen with the lightning youth. The true qi in his body began to surge, and he thought about the momentum of a tiger.

He did not rush to act but let his momentum build.

Faintly, Zichen felt as if he had transformed into a tiger.

At this moment, Zichen performed the first move of the Tiger Fist, Tiger Descends the Mountain, with a regal and powerful aura.

The first move was followed by the second, Tiger Roars, with a tiger's roar shaking the forest, and the aura of the tiger king reaching its peak. Then, the third move, Tiger Pounces, flowed smoothly.

The final killing move appeared in an instant, with a sharp and fierce momentum, charging forward.

"Boom!"

In front of him, Zichen's final punch hit a large rock.

A fist imprint appeared on the rock, and then, starting from the imprint, fine cracks spread out, and with a loud crack, the rock shattered into several pieces.

"Did I do this?"

Looking at the shattered rock, Zichen's eyes widened in disbelief.

On his first attempt at the Tiger Fist, the three moves were not yet perfectly connected, but the final move already had such power, making Zichen extremely pleased.

From today, he would abandon the techniques and focus on understanding their true essence, directly grasping the core of the combat techniques.

"This strike is indeed powerful, but the consumption is also terrible. My second-layer true qi is completely depleted." Zichen shook his head with a sigh, but his eyes were full of joy.

Now, at the second layer of true qi, his attack power far exceeded what it was at the fourth layer. The combination of his body and combat technique was comparable to a fifth-layer inner disciple's strike.

"Those who survive great dangers are sure to have great blessings. This ancient saying is indeed true." Zichen sighed, and at this moment, he seemed to see a path to becoming a powerful figure extending before him.

"Regardless of who that lightning youth is or what that lightning space is, as long as it helps me, it's fine. Now, it's time to deal with Zhao Can." Zichen sneered, and a murderous intent appeared in his eyes.

Now, it was not Zhao Can who wanted to kill him, but he who wanted to kill Zhao Can. Such a rare encounter could not be known by others. Wealth should not be shown, and Zichen finally understood this.

To kill him for a 500-year-old snow ginseng, Zhao Can was willing to do it, let alone such a rare encounter. Although Zichen still did not know what was in his heart, it was definitely not ordinary. Once revealed, not only would the outer and inner disciples of the Lingwu Sect want to dig out his heart, but even the elders and the sect leader might do so.

With great confidence, Zichen chose to take the initiative. After quickly recovering his depleted true qi, Zichen returned to the original path.

Zhao Can was almost at his breaking point. Zichen was simply a monster, surviving his fatal strike and even with his heart pierced, he still did not die.

"Could his heart not be on the left side?" Zhao Can couldn't help but frown. There were rumors that some people were born with unique abilities, and some had unusual body structures, with their hearts on the right side instead of the left.

"It's very likely. Next time, I'll attack his right chest." Zhao Can couldn't help but say, still suppressing his injuries and determined to catch up with Zichen.

But Zichen was far more resilient than he imagined, still standing and not even leaving a trail of blood, only footprints to follow.

Zhao Can felt bitter but had no regrets, only anger. "Zichen, I will not let you live. Even if you had a rare encounter and survived by chance, repairing your dantian, your strength won't increase much in a few days. As long as I kill you, all your rare encounters will be mine."

"Really?" Just as Zhao Can muttered to himself, a cold voice suddenly sounded from ahead.

Zhao Can's face changed, and he looked ahead.

Zichen walked out from a depression in the mountain, his footsteps making a soft sound on the snow.

"It's you. Your injuries have healed?" Seeing Zichen walk step by step, completely without any signs of weakness, Zhao Can couldn't help but exclaim, his heart sinking to the bottom.