Back at the Martial Arts School's Outer Court, Zhou You continued his daily training.
"Only six or seven days remain."
Perhaps because he had a guilty conscience, Zhou You always felt that Fang Guiqi was watching him.
Later, he confirmed it was just an illusion. That guy appeared and vanished like a ghost, his whereabouts a mystery—where would he find the time to monitor Zhou You?
The thirteen patches of Tiger Bone Paste had to be used up quickly. Otherwise, if their scent spread, it would surely invite disaster.
Zhou You placed one patch of Tiger Bone Paste each on his chest, back, and limbs.
Using six patches of Tiger Bone Paste at once brought six times the usual dose of secret medicine.
Such extravagance directly sent six times the potent medicinal power surging into his body.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
Zhou You felt his blood boiling, his muscle cells bathing in a hot current and growing stronger bit by bit.
"Strength +1, Speed +1, Defense +1."
"Strength: 13, Speed: 13, Defense: 13."
By the next day, five patches of Tiger Bone Paste had been fully absorbed, with less than thirty percent of the medicinal power remaining in his body.
Zhou You summoned the System Panel to inspect his stats.
Name: Zhou You. Strength: 14. Speed: 14. Defense: 14. Experience Points: 358. Class: Martial Arts Apprentice. Ability: lv8, Direction lv8, Generation lv9
He was only one step away from meeting every requirement for the Tiger Subduing Fist to advance.
Zhou You took out another six patches of Tiger Bone Paste, covering his entire body with them as he began training with the medicinal power driving him onward.
The medicine seeped through his pores into his flesh, swiftly nourishing his skin, hair, bones, and internal organs.
With every punch and every step, the air cracked. His muscles and bones throughout his body moved in tandem, absorbing the Tiger Bone Paste's medicinal power at an accelerated rate.
Another half day passed, and Zhou You heard a ding beside his ear.
"Strength +1, Speed +1, Defense +1."
"Strength: 15, Speed: 15, Defense: 15."
"Tiger Subduing Fist upgrade requirements met. Accept Experience Points -90, Tiger Subduing Fist lv9 → lv10?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou You chose to confirm in his heart.
"Experience Points -90, Tiger Subduing Fist lv9 → lv10."
The next instant, it was as if a massive iron hammer had struck Zhou You's mind, leaving it humming without end.
An unbearably itchy, tingling sensation rose from the depths of his marrow, coursing through his entire body like electricity and piercing through his lungs and organs.
Martial Force had finally taken shape.
Before this, Zhou You had trained countless times, trying to grasp the essence of Martial Force, yet he had never found the key.
It was like an invisible gust of wind. He clearly knew it existed, yet had no way to catch it, much less fathom it.
Only now, after meeting the upgrade requirements, had he finally touched the true existence of Martial Force.
"As expected, physical condition is the threshold."
Fifteen points each in Strength, Speed, and Defense were the basic requirements for cultivating Martial Force.
The Tiger Subduing Fist, meanwhile, was the foundational training method that catalyzed Martial Force.
The new apprentices of the Outer Court, whether they threw wild punches or used Tiger Bone Paste, were ultimately trying to stimulate their bodies' potential.
Some succeeded and awakened Martial Force; others failed and left in desolation.
Zhou You had come to Jianxiong Martial Arts School, endured invisible pressure, and cultivated bitterly day and night. At last, in this moment, he had touched the edge of Martial Force.
Awakening Martial Force not only required talent, but also the excavation brought about through acquired training.
At the final juncture, Zhou You had spent a full twelve patches of Tiger Bone Paste before breaking through this barrier.
He seemed to hear the rushing waters of great rivers and mighty streams beside his ears. It was the sound of blood flowing.
His blood flowed faster, his surface temperature rose, and the internal pressure borne by his organs far exceeded what ordinary people could endure.
This was the frequency shift of flesh and blood!
Only by rising to a frequency beyond ordinary people's reach could one be qualified to unleash a blow that shattered rocks and shook the heavens.
At this moment, Zhou You was like a chrysalis on the verge of Transformation into Butterfly, astonishing potential hidden beneath an outwardly ordinary appearance.
The sky gradually darkened, and the light around him faded away bit by bit. The Outer Court's training ground also grew quiet.
The new apprentices left one after another. They had labored all day and needed to rest at night to replenish their strength, so they could train in better condition the next day.
Zhou You stood before the wooden stumps, throwing punch after punch at the hardwood, each impact echoing with a bang.
Century-old hardwood stumps were the standard unit for measuring a martial artist's combat strength.
Without Martial Force, even if one exerted a lifetime's worth of strength, one could not break a Hardwood Stump.
But if one cultivated Martial Force, even with just a single punch, one could easily break a Hardwood Stump.
"I'm just a sliver away from producing the effect of Martial Force."
Practicing martial arts was a process of breaking through oneself and transforming. Even if every condition had been met, he still needed to throw the most crucial punch.
Zhou You held a roar in his mouth, every muscle in his body taut as sweat gathered into streams and flowed down to his feet.
He was at the critical moment. Success or failure would be decided in this one move.
"This is the feeling—hunger, urgent hunger."
In his mind appeared that starving tiger lurking upon a desolate hill, its gaze calm, its lean and powerful body brimming with explosive strength.
Zhou You felt his own presence merge with that of the fierce tiger from the painting in his memory.
A dim gleam shone from his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to smash the Hardwood Stump before him to pieces, tear it apart, and swallow it whole.
"There's one patch of Tiger Bone Paste left. I can't waste it either."
Zhou You casually placed the final patch of Tiger Bone Paste on his chest, and a fresh current of medicine flowed into his heart.
Like the weight of the last straw, it directly punctured the critical point where quantitative change gave rise to qualitative change.
Zhou You suddenly shuddered. A cool, tingling current shot up from his tailbone and ran straight through the crown of his head.
Itchiness, numbness, tingling, pain—every sensation surged into his heart.
Before Zhou You's eyes, dense goosebumps simultaneously rose across the skin on the back of his hand, his arms, and his thighs.
His whole body trembled instinctively, and his fist shot out, unconsciously delivering a punch that had reached the pinnacle of perfection.
The sound of this punch tearing through the air differed from before. It was sharp as a blade, piercing his eardrums with pain.
Faintly, an intermittent tiger roar came from the fist wind, its ferocious might bearing down on all around it.
"It's done."
An indescribably profound feeling arose in Zhou You's heart. Before his fist had even touched the wooden stump, he had already seen it snapping apart.
Thud! His fist struck the wooden stump. What came back was no longer the usual toughness and strength, but fracture.
Zhou You's fist felt an unprecedented lightness as it sent the broken Hardwood Stump flying several meters away.
Martial Force flowed beneath his skin like nimble little fish.
Zhou You took a deep breath and stepped forward. Driven by Martial Force, his speed suddenly tripled.
His vision blurred, and he shot from the center of the open ground to the corner by the wall, nearly crashing into it.
Turning back to measure the distance beneath his feet, he found that he had crossed seven or eight meters in a single breath.
This was the wonder of Martial Force. It could greatly increase Strength, Speed, and Defense.
No wonder only those who cultivated Martial Force in the Martial Arts School were considered official apprentices. Only upon reaching this stage had one truly entered the door of martial arts.
Zhou You took several deep breaths and dispersed the Martial Force. The scorching temperature on the surface of his body returned to normal.
A wave of dizziness struck him. Martial Force consumed too much of the body, and he had only just cultivated it—his body had not yet adapted.
Fortunately, the remaining medicinal power of the Tiger Bone Paste within him swiftly seeped into his blood, replenishing the strength he had expended.
"Hahaha!"
Zhou You laughed beneath the night sky. At this moment, he had seized the threads of his own fate.
Before you continue