Chapter 8

Now, Zichen, with his clothes drenched in blood, looked disheveled but was full of spirit, his eyes filled with a cold killing intent.

Apart from his injuries healing, Zhao Can also noticed that Zichen had changed. There was an indescribable aura around him, an aura that was similar to that of many powerful figures.

Zhao Can felt a chill in his heart. Seeing Zichen approaching, he instinctively took a few steps back, his voice tinged with fear, "Zichen, what are you going to do?"

Zichen stepped through the snow, his eyes fixed on Zhao Can, and said coldly, "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"We are brothers, aren't we? Could you really harm your brother?" Zhao Can looked at Zichen.

A hint of mockery appeared at the corner of Zichen's mouth, and he said, "Brothers are there to be betrayed when there's profit to be had. That's your own wise saying."

Zichen took a step forward.

Seeing Zichen approach, Zhao Can felt as if a powerful figure was coming towards him. A sense of helplessness arose in his heart, his face changing rapidly. Thoughts raced through his mind, and Zhao Can said, "Zichen, what will it take for you to let me go?"

Zhao Can stopped, no longer retreating, but stared at Zichen intently.

Zichen shook his head and said coldly, "From the moment your weapon pierced my heart, one of us was destined to die. Either you die, or I die."

"Can't you give me a chance?"

"Just like you didn't hold back when you attacked me," Zichen said coldly. "But I can give you a chance to attack first. Whether you can seize it is up to you."

"Fine, you said it." A cold light flashed in Zhao Can's eyes, and he already had a short dagger in his hand.

At this moment, Zichen also clenched his fists, his entire body seemingly entering a profound realm. An aura like that of a king of the mountains and forests emanated from him.

Zhao Can felt the pressure. At this moment, Zichen seemed to have turned into a mountain, the mountain-like aura pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

The aura around Zichen continued to grow, and the pressure on Zhao Can increased. In the end, the mountain-like aura suddenly transformed into a fierce tiger. At this moment, Zhao Can felt that he had become the prey in the tiger's eyes, and he could only flee.

"Not good, if this continues, I won't even have the courage to attack." Zhao Can suddenly bit his tongue, a faint bloodiness spreading in his mouth. The pain made his spirit vibrate, and the third-rate step technique, the Flowing Cloud Step, appeared.

Holding the short dagger, he stared at the tiger-like aura surrounding Zichen, like a venomous snake, and launched a fierce attack.

This time, Zhao Can directly attacked Zichen's eyes.

A third-rate combat technique, the Spirit Snake Sword Technique.

Under the immense pressure from Zichen, Zhao Can suddenly grasped the true meaning of the Spirit Snake Sword Technique at the moment of his attack. The short dagger in his hand seemed to transform into a venomous snake, fiercely attacking the vital parts of the tiger.

A cold light flashed in Zichen's eyes, like a cold bolt of lightning in the tiger's eyes. Zhao Can's breakthrough surprised him, but his understanding of the true meaning of combat techniques far exceeded Zhao Can's.

With a twist of his fists, he launched a fierce punch, the first move of the Fierce Tiger Fist. Its momentum was fierce and swift. Then, Zichen's fist technique retracted, and an aura of a king of the mountains and forests appeared, the tiger's roar shaking the forest.

This was the second time Zichen had launched an attack with true meaning, and the connection between the moves was even more perfect. The third move was released in an instant.

Fierce Tiger Feeding.

Under the wind of Zichen's fists, Zhao Can seemed to see a fierce tiger charging towards him at high speed. The cold claws were already at his chest, and the bloodthirsty mouth was at his head.

Such a powerful attack with true meaning directly dispersed the venomous snake aura that Zhao Can had just formed, like a tiger dispersing a venomous snake, charging towards Zhao Can.

Then, Zhao Can saw endless silver light rushing towards him, instantly enveloping him.

Zichen stood still, motionless. In front of him, Zhao Can was also motionless, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

"Boom!"

In Zhao Can's hand, the third-rate weapon instantly shattered into pieces, falling to the ground. At the same time, blood gushed from Zhao Can's seven orifices, and his body fell backward.

Zhao Can was dead.

Looking at the fallen and dead Zhao Can, Zichen's mood was still complex. In just a few days, so much had happened that Zichen found it hard to adapt. However, he had no regrets about killing Zhao Can.

Fortunately, all the bad things were over.

But was it really over? Of course not. Zichen took Zhao Can's bag and started to return the way he came. There was still some time before the inner disciple assessment, and during this time, Zichen did not plan to return.

Although he had killed Zhao Can, which was equivalent to a fifth-layer true qi attack, it was just equivalent. His true combat power could not compare to that of a fifth-layer inner disciple, let alone Wang Xiong.

Wang Xiong was at the eighth layer of true qi, well-known among inner disciples, and possessed a second-rate combat technique. Whether in terms of strength or cultivation method, he far surpassed Zichen.

If Zichen returned now, he would inevitably be questioned by Wang Xiong, who would certainly ask about the whereabouts of the 500-year-old snow ginseng. If Zichen could not answer, Wang Xiong might kill him.

Although the sect had long stipulated that internal disciples were forbidden from any form of internal conflict, especially mutual killing, Zichen believed that Wang Xiong could kill him without alarming the sect's rules.

On one hand, Wang Xiong had his own power base, and on the other, Zichen had no strong backing, just a lonely and unsupported young man.

In a sheltered pile of rocks, Zichen sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating. His consciousness once again entered the silver space.

In the silver space, the lightning youth appeared again. With his fists clenched, an intangible aura of a king appeared. On the opposite side, Zichen also clenched his fists, silver light surging around him, emitting an aura of a king.

The two faced each other, and then, with a twist of their fists, they launched the fierce Fierce Tiger Fist. One move after another, they struck like lightning, like flowing clouds, two roaring tigers appearing and charging towards each other.

"Boom!"

In the silver space, a loud explosion suddenly sounded. Then, the tiger Zichen launched dissipated, while the tiger launched by the lightning youth charged towards Zichen, dispersing Zichen's illusory body.

Zichen opened his eyes, a hint of joy in his eyes. Although he was defeated again today, he had gained many insights.

More than ten days had passed since Zhao Can's death. During these ten days, Zichen, apart from eating and drinking, had been cultivating the Fierce Tiger Fist and the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique.

His second-layer true qi had reached the peak of the second layer during these few days of cultivation, just one step away from the third layer.

This cultivation speed was something Zichen had never dared to imagine before.

"My Fierce Tiger Fist has reached the great completion of true meaning, but it has not yet reached the level of mind-following. But after a few more times, I believe I can break through and reach the level of mind-following."

For three days, Zichen continued to cultivate.

In the silver space, the two youths faced each other again.

"This time, I will not lose," Zichen said confidently, looking at the lightning youth who looked exactly like him.

The lightning youth did not speak, just clenched his fists, his aura surging. In an instant, he seemed to transform into a fierce tiger.

If it were before, Zichen would have been surprised, but in the short ten days, he had fought with the other side hundreds of times, and he was no longer surprised.

Because in the next moment, his aura also transformed into a fierce tiger.

"Roar!" "Roar!"

Two roars of fierce tigers echoed, mind following will, the moves not yet appearing, but the aura already surpassing the first move of the Fierce Tiger Fist, directly triggering the roar of the second move.

The auras of the two were surprisingly similar, as if they were the same person. The attacks they launched were also simultaneous, two tigers charging towards each other.

The fist winds collided in the air, producing a dull explosion. A powerful shockwave forced Zichen to retreat several steps, but his form did not dissipate. On the other side, the lightning youth, who had remained motionless for ten days, was also forced to retreat several steps.

"Ha ha!"

Zichen laughed loudly. His Fierce Tiger Fist had finally reached the level of mind-following, perfectly executed. Although it was a third-rate combat technique, after perfectly grasping the true meaning, it was no weaker than a second-rate combat technique.

Laughing, Zichen's mind moved, and he exited the silver space.

In the outside world, Zichen opened his eyes, a hint of joy in his eyes. The Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique was running on its own, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.

Suddenly, the joy on Zichen's face turned to ecstasy. The essence of heaven and earth around him suddenly surged, converging towards him from all directions.

"This is a breakthrough."

Just as his fist technique reached perfection, his strength broke through again, and Zichen was truly ecstatic. The essence of heaven and earth around him surged into his body, then was absorbed by his heart, refined by the silver sphere, and fed back from his heart.

His physique was changing, and the silver true qi in his dantian was also changing.

Until the turbulent true qi calmed down, Zichen had broken through to the third layer of true qi. In his dantian, it was all pure silver true qi, with occasional lightning threads wandering.

Today, both his fist technique and his strength broke through, and Zichen was in high spirits, planning to reward himself. But when he touched his bag, he suddenly realized that the food was gone.

Food was the root of everything. Without food, Zichen could not survive.

But now, Zichen could not return, so he just needed to get some food. As for what to eat, Zichen had already planned it a few days ago.

Eat bear meat, eat bear paws, eat ice bears.

"Should I be able to deal with ice bears now with my current strength?" Zichen thought to himself.

At the third layer of true qi, with his powerful physique and perfect Fierce Tiger Fist, he seemed capable of dealing with a fifth-level fierce beast.