The entire hall fell completely silent. That figure above had fallen into deep thoughts as well.
“So, what you mean is?”
The figure above shot Zhao Qianqiu a questioning gaze. As an instructor, Zhao Qianqiu had a greater say on this subject.
“Hehe, honestly, I haven’t given it much thought yet. This is all just my conjecture in the end, and this is only the first day. We’ll know what we should do as we move along.”
Zhao Qianqiu said carefreely.
“Haha, that’s fine as well. Indeed, this is just the first day. I’ll soon be returning to the royal palace to report events to His Majesty. His Majesty has been keeping a close watch on the Three Great Training Camps.”
The figure above chuckled.
“Hehe, I’ll bid lord farewell then. It so happens that I need to prepare some activities for that bunch tonight. Kunwu Training Camp is no place for fun and joy. They should at least realize this much as my students.”
Zhao Qianqiu chuckled as well.
“Hahaha, alright. But don’t go overboard!”
Hearing Zhao Qianqiu’s words, that figure above laughed as well. He seemed to have known that Zhao Qianqiu would do this.
“I understand.”
Clasping his fist tightly, Zhao Qianqiu turned around and left the main hall.
Shortly after Zhao Qianqiu left, that figure left Kunwu Training camp as well.
…
Time passed slowly. Soon, darkness had completely consumed the skies.
Meditating on the floor, wave after wave of Origin Energy flowed into the meridians and acupoints in Wang Chong’s arms, shoulders, waist, and crotch.
Dexterity-type secret arts focused heavily on one’s arms, waist, and crotch. There were many acupoints and meridians that had to be paved open, and what makes things worse was that most of them didn’t overlap with the pathways of strength-type secret arts.
The ‘Hexad Arms Technique’ was a high-tier secret art so the number of hidden acupoints and pathways one had to open was many times greater than ordinary dexterity-type secret arts. As such, the process was fated to be lengthy and tiresome.
If Wang Chong wanted to cultivate a speed-type secret art on top of that, the number of hidden meridians and acupoints he would have to open up would be even greater. By then, the total amount of acupoints to open in itself could already potentially number in the hundreds.
Given the overwhelming energy and time one needed to dedicate to the cultivation of all three types of secret arts, one’s cultivation would surely be impeded, thus limiting one’s ultimate achievement in the path of martial arts.
This was the reason why Zhao Qianqiu didn’t recommend cultivating all three types of secret arts before reaching True Martial realm.
However, Wang Chong was different. Back then, in the imperial prison, the Sage Emperor had bestowed him with two pills. The Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan had also each generously gifted him with a single pill, thus totaling up to four.
On top of that, he could claim quite a few of those unique pills crafted by the alchemists in the royal court from Six-fingered Zhang every month.
It was with such great resources that Wang Chong was willing to learn two or perhaps even three types of secret arts simultaneously.
The cultivation of the Hexad Arms Technique was difficult but the benefits were great. When paired with the Single Character Consecutive Slash, his fighting prowess would be multiplied several folds.
In truth, the reason Wang Chong saved the pills provided by the Sage Emperor was precisely to cultivate this Hexad Arms Technique after his release.
“I should at least first reach minor accomplishment in the Hexad Arms Technique first before consuming any pill. This way, I can make use of the energy within the pill to open up the meridians and acupoints in arms, thus mastering it in the shortest time possible.”
Wang Chong thought.
In the Origin Energy realm, the Hexad Arms technique was definitely a dexterity-type secret art that stood at the zenith. Even when put against the more powerful secret arts available in True Martial realm, it still didn’t pale in comparison.
Embraced by the night, the White Tiger Peak fell completely silent. Immersed in the cultivation of the Hexad Arms Technique, Wang Chong became oblivious to the passage of time.
Ka!
Following an unknown period of time, Wang Chong heard a crisp echo by his ear. It seemed like someone had stepped on a tree branch.
He halted his cultivation immediately.
“Hm?”
Perplexed, his eyes shot open. Such a crisp sound on a silent night like this was more than suspicious.
On top of that, it sounded extremely close to his room.
Wang Chong focused all of his attention into his hearing, but his surroundings were completely silent. It was as though the sound he had heard was just a product of his imagination.
“Weird. Am I mistaken?”
Wang Chong was baffled.
The room was completely dark—there wasn’t a single lamp lit. Other than his own, Wang Chong could faintly hear another heartbeat. It was nearly imperceptible and exceptionally slow. It belonged to Su Hanshan.
Unknowingly, he had returned to the room as well. Su Hanshan seemed to have noticed something was off as well, and he was trying to listen to the movements outside too.
Peng!
Suddenly, a loud explosion reverberated in the air. It seemed as though some heavy object had crashed into a room. It sounded extremely near, as if… it came from next door!
Then, a loud and fearful scream echoed. It sounded exceptionally conspicuous amidst the silent night.
“Jingdian!”
Wang Chong’s body jolted in agitation, and his face warped slightly. That voice didn’t come from Zhao Jingdian but the person who adamantly declared that he wouldn’t share a room with Su Hanshan.
But Zhao Jingdian shared a room with him, and the shout clearly meant that the duo had met with some kind of trouble.
Weng!
Wang Chong immediately dashed forward, headed straight for the door.
Roar!
Everything happened swiftly. Just as Wang Chong was about to reach the door, the roaring of a tiger suddenly shook the air. Amidst the shadows, a massive silhouette flashed. It pounced from beyond the door, bringing about a sharp mountain gale with its movement.
“A tiger?”
Wang Chong was taken aback. With the dim illumination from the night sky, he could vaguely make out the outline of a tiger. It was two meters long, with a head four times bigger than that of a human’s, and a physique even larger than a bear.
Boom!
With everything happening in the blink of an eye, Wang Chong wasn’t granted any time to think. His right fist punched forward, clashing heavily with the tiger’s claws.
Peng! An immense force jolted Wang Chong back as a sharp pain assaulted his arm. Making use of the momentum, Wang Chong leaped further back, pulling some distance between him and the tiger.
At the same time, the massive tiger landed on the floor. A slight crimson gleam could be seen from its eyes. Under the dim light, Wang Chong noticed that the tiger’s stomach was sunken in, and the outline of its bones could almost be seen.
A starving tiger!
As this thought flashed across Wang Chong’s mind, his complexion darkened. It was common sense that a starving tiger would be much fiercer and aggressive than in any other state.
After the previous clash, Wang Chong gauged that the strength of the tiger was above his.
On top of that, its bones were much sturdier than his.
Despite the concept of Tiger Bone in a human’s root bone cultivation, it only meant that the cultivation method was modeled after tigers. It didn’t really mean that one was able to compare up to a real tiger.
Roar!
As soon as the tiger landed on the ground, a huge gale burst forth amidst the darkness and another two massive tigers appeared. They moved to flank Wang Chong’s previous assailant.
Seeing the three tigers at the other end of the room, Su Hanshan stood up as well.
There was no partition whatsoever within a room so Su Hanshan witnessed everything that had just happened clearly.
While Wang Chong was marked by one of the tigers, the remaining two marked Su Hanshan. The threat that a single tiger posed was limited, but three at once meant something very different.
Roar!
The mountain trembled and the roar of a tiger sounded from the neighboring room—the room which belonged to Zhao Jingdian and the other fellow. As though influenced by the aggressiveness in the roar, the three massive tigers charged forward, one going for Wang Chong while the other two for Su Hanshan.
An ominous wind blew through the darkness. In a flash, that massive shadow was already right before Wang Chong. Its speed, strength, dexterity, and burst power were astonishing.
Back in the Wang Clan, Wang Chong had also tested the burst power of the Tiger Bone, and it had allowed him to cover a distance of several dozen zhang swiftly, a distance that was more than sufficient for him to capture a bird easily. However, compared to a real tiger, it seemed like he was still lacking.
After all, how could an imitation compare up to a real tiger?
Weng!
Without time to think, Wang Chong immediately executed the Celestial Steps, dodging to the side. Boom! The table behind Wang Chong was smashed into smithereens as the claw of the tiger swept all the way downward, creating a huge hole in the floor.
Even though its attack had fallen empty, the starving tiger immediately turned around to strike Wang Chong once more.
But at this moment, Wang Chong had already reached his bed. He grabbed the sword he had left behind previously there.
Klang!
The crisp sound of metal reverberated in the air as the sword was drawn from its sheath. In that moment, Wang Chong’s aura changed abruptly. Executing the Single Character Consecutive Slash, his movement speed surged, allowing him to easily avoid the tiger’s assault. Halfway through his movement, he abruptly twisted along with his sword, turning back for the tiger.
Single Character Consecutive Slash!
Boom!
As the sword swung out, a deafening cry of agony shook the room. Wang Chong’s sword had cut into the body of the starving tiger.
However, the expected sight of a clean cut didn’t occur. Rather, when it sunk into the tiger’s body, it seemed to have struck a metal plate, preventing Wang Chong from pushing the sword any further.
“Tiger Bone!”
This thought flashed across Wang Chong’s mind. The bones of a tiger were far sturdier and denser than that of a human cultivator. A sword could easily pierce into its flesh, but cutting through its bones would prove to be difficult.
Failing to kill the tiger, Wang Chong further triggered its ferocity instead. A cold gleam flashed from its claws as it smashed down onto Wang Chong’s skull.
The immense strength harnessed within this strike was sufficient to even bend and break metal.
Wang Chong dared not face the blow directly. He hurriedly retreated and retrieved a sword mounted on the wall. The sheath covering this sword was ordinary and inconspicuous; something that one could buy for a few copper coins outside.
Most people would just disregard it upon sight. In fact, it was uncertain whether they would accept it even when offered to them.
But to Wang Chong, this was the trump card that he had brought to the training camp.
Klang!
A cold gleam flashed past and blood splattered in the air. A tiger’s large furred-head fell to the ground and rolled away. Even the resilient and sturdy tiger bone couldn’t withstand this slash.
Wootz steel sword!
Author’s note:
【PS: Many people seem to have confused tigers with cheetahs. Many people seem to have the common misconception that a tiger isn’t much larger than a panther or a human. In truth, a tiger can grow to become much larger than a human. Most tigers, upon maturity, can reach a length of 2.45m, and when standing up, they are significantly taller than a human. The same goes for their physique as well.
Also, their head is equivalent to three to four times the size of a grown man’s head, and a single paw can reach a weight of 2 tonnes (~2000kg). That is more than enough to crush a person’s skull.】