Third Realm of the Tiger Subduing Stance

"Ming Jin!"

Fang Mo's heart jolted. He did not dare meet it head-on and used a Tai Chi parrying hand.

The moment he touched the other man's arm, he felt a strength like steel. Without time to think, he used deft force to try and divert the force of the punch.

"Hah!" The other man suddenly barked out. His body shuddered, and a powerful force shook through him, knocking Fang Mo stumbling backward.

Bang! The other man stepped forward and drove his fist at Fang Mo's face. The fierce wind from it made his eyes sting.

Fang Mo could neither dodge nor block, yet the fist stopped right before his eyes.

"Ha ha!" A hearty laugh rang out. The fist withdrew, and the man pulled down his face covering. "Brother Mo, I never expected you to have this kind of strength after only a few days of training. Not bad! You actually managed to take my punch!"

It was none other than Yue Jian!

In fact, Fang Mo had recognized Yue Jian the moment he shouted. Shaking out his arm, he said, "What's so good about that? I couldn't even take one punch from you!"

"That's already impressive!" Yue Jian said with a laugh. "That redirect just now nearly threw off my center of gravity. I only shook you away because I erupted with Ming Jin. An ordinary person might not have been able to keep steady!"

"By the way, Brother Mo, what Fist Technique did you use just now? It felt extraordinary!" His eyes shone brightly. If Fang Mo had been a little stronger, Yue Jian definitely would have suffered for it.

"It was just a little trick for applying force." Fang Mo smiled faintly. Although no one in his previous life had cultivated Tai Chi Fist to the formidable level of martial artists in this world, the principles of combat techniques were shared.

But in this world, it was clearly not all that useful. Strength was the foundation; technique was only technique. He headed toward the room, shaking his numb arm as he said, "Why did you have time to come over? Weren't you intensifying your training?"

"The training's over!" Yue Jian followed him, his tone somewhat helpless. "Even if I kept training, I still wouldn't break through to Peak Manifesting Strength before the end of the month. No point doing useless work!"

"You gave up?" Fang Mo smiled as he opened the door and turned on the light. The room immediately brightened.

"It's not really giving up."

"The competition this time is too fierce. Shen Songyang, Chen Yezhao—even your fiancée Qin Muxue—are all at Peak Manifesting Strength. I'm afraid I have no hope of getting into Yun Kong Martial Academy!"

Yue Jian said this with a smile as he picked up a bag from beside the door and handed it to Fang Mo.

"There are five jin of Exotic Beast Meat in here, along with some medicinal liquid for treating injuries and soaking baths!"

Looking at the bag, Fang Mo felt somewhat moved. He did not refuse and took it.

"Sit down. I'll pour you some tea."

Yue Jian sat down, and Fang Mo poured him a cup of water and handed it over.

"The competition is on the twenty-eighth, right?" Fang Mo asked as he sat across from Yue Jian.

"Yeah! Brother Mo, are you going to watch?"

After hesitating, Yue Jian still said, "Qin Muxue is competing too. She's one of the favorites, and a lot of people think she might take the championship!"

Fang Mo shook his head. "I'm not going."

Yue Jian looked at Fang Mo, knowing he might be feeling upset, and hurriedly changed the subject.

"Oh, right, Brother Mo. Be careful lately. Word has gotten out that you left the Fang Family. There are rumors that you took five million in cash from the Fang Family, and quite a few gangs are looking for you!"

Fang Mo paused slightly, then smiled. "All right, I understand."

But inwardly, his heart turned cold!

This had to be the work of that stepmother. He had already left the Fang Family, yet she still refused to let him go. Five million was enough to make plenty of people see red.

"There's another piece of good news!" Yue Jian looked at Fang Mo with a grin. Somehow, that grin made Fang Mo feel it carried ill intent, making him doubt whether this news was good at all.

"What good news?"

"My eldest sister, Yue Quan, is coming back from the Donglai Sword Sect on Zhiyuan Star!"

Yue Jian looked at Fang Mo and smiled.

"Yue Quan!" Fang Mo was slightly dazed. In his mind appeared that valiant girl who had always protected him.

They had not seen each other for three years. He really did miss her a little. He wondered whether, when she learned that he had tried to hang himself, she would beat him up through tears like before.

Yue Jian sat for a while longer before leaving.

Fang Mo looked over the medicine Yue Jian had brought. There were five bottles of medicinal liquid for bathing, two bottles of injury medicine, and five jin of Exotic Beast Meat.

Perfect. He had long since used up his Martial Hall allocation. With these things, he could speed up his progress.

East City District, Great Wind Gang.

This gang mainly made its living operating pleasure establishments and was quite powerful in East City District.

At that moment, in the luxurious private room on the top floor of the Great Wind Gang's Night Sea Bar, Du Wei, the gang leader, sat on a broad sofa with a shapely woman in his arms. Through the one-way glass, he could see the young men and women below dancing wildly.

Just then, the door opened, and a short young man entered. He was Huang Jun, the Great Wind Gang's second-in-command.

"Big Brother, there's news about the person Young Master Yang asked us to find!" Huang Jun approached Du Wei and spoke quietly.

Du Wei's eyes snapped open at those words. He patted the woman and said, "You go out first!"

The woman hurriedly rose to her feet and left the room.

Du Wei stood, poured Huang Jun a glass of wine, and said, "After searching for so long, we finally found him. Tell me, where is he?"

"The information isn't confirmed yet!" Huang Jun said as he accepted the wine.

"What's going on?" Du Wei's gaze darkened, and displeasure appeared on his face.

Huang Jun hurriedly said, "One of the boys in the gang said that more than ten days ago, he seemed to have seen the person we're looking for around Imperial City Street!"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Du Wei lifted his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Send several men to investigate. Make sure you find him. Young Master Yang has called to urge us several times already. If we still can't find him, it'll be hard to answer for it!"

"All right. I'll personally arrange for people to go!" Huang Jun answered and headed outside.

"Wait!" Du Wei called Huang Jun back and looked at him. "That's Martial Arts Street. Be careful and don't provoke anyone from the Martial Halls!"

"Got it! Don't worry, Big Brother!" Huang Jun answered before turning and leaving.

Fang Mo had no idea that his whereabouts might have been exposed. With the Exotic Beast Meat and medicinal liquid Yue Jian had given him, he trained even more frantically.

After training madly every day, a week passed in the blink of an eye. It was time to break through.

In the Martial Hall, Fang Mo stood in the Tiger Subduing Stance. His body rose and fell continuously, sweat dripping down. With every breath, his qi and blood surged through his body like a raging torrent. From time to time, people looked over, sensing the fluctuations of qi and blood radiating from him.

[Tiger Subduing Stance: Entered the Hall (1/5000)]

The Divine Mirror in his mind trembled, and golden words appeared. It was as if sudden enlightenment struck him, and his understanding of the Tiger Subduing Stance rose again.

Boom! His body shook as vast energy burst from his Dantian and flooded into his limbs and eight channels. His qi and blood roiled like a river, surging wildly and tempering his body. He felt as though even his soul were ascending.

This instantaneous improvement gave Fang Mo an unprecedented sense of exhilaration, as if he had leaped from an ordinary person into an expert capable of shaking heaven and earth.

His body had become much lighter, yet every movement contained the force of a thousand jun. Even his breathing carried traces of nature's rhythm, resonating subtly with the surrounding air.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Fang. Your Tiger Subduing Stance has broken through again!" Ding Zhiyuan approached with a smile.

Wiping away his sweat, Fang Mo said with a broad grin, "Thank you, Senior Brother Ding. I was lucky to break through!"

"Can you complete nine Heavenly Cycle Breaths now?" Ding Zhiyuan asked.

"I should be able to!" Fang Mo thought for a moment before replying.

"Come with me!" Ding Zhiyuan called to Fang Mo and led him before Miao Ping. Respectfully, he said, "Senior Brother Miao, Fang Mo's Tiger Subduing Stance has broken through to the third realm. He wants to take the test!"

"Not bad." Miao Ping had seen it just now. He swept his gaze over Fang Mo from head to toe. "It shows you haven't slacked off this past month. But you still need to work twice as hard. Among all the current students, you've progressed the slowest. Even Zhiyuan completed it in twenty days!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Miao. I'll work twice as hard!" Fang Mo said respectfully.

"Rest first." Miao Ping waved his hand. "Later, I'll test your Tiger Subduing Stance. If you pass, I'll begin teaching you the Tiger Subduing Fist!"

"Yes, Senior Brother Miao!" Fang Mo hurriedly bowed respectfully.

Fang Mo rested for a while, then went to find Miao Ping once his body had recovered.

Miao Ping led him to one side, took out a timer, and began testing him.

Fang Mo calmed his mind and steadied his breath. His qi and blood had grown stronger, but without a Fist Technique to mobilize it, he had no idea how to use it. The martial arts from Earth had no such methods. Perhaps only after learning the Tiger Subduing Fist and understanding its methods would he be able to see how the martial arts of his previous life could be improved.

Now that his qi and blood were stronger, holding the stance was much easier.

His breathing was deep, fine, and unbroken. His whole body seemed like a person standing aboard a boat, rising and falling with the waves. His movements were exceptionally precise, and many people's eyes lit up as they watched.

Even Miao Ping could not help secretly nodding. Fang Mo's Tiger Subduing Stance was quite good at this point, already surpassing many students.

What a pity!

If Fang Mo's Bone Structure had been good enough, then with his comprehension, he should have stood out among the students.