Advanced Martial Art Acquired!

The two sudden changes filled the four of you with a sense of foreboding. At that moment, Ye Hongqi roared and unleashed even greater power, temporarily suppressing the Fierce Tiger King.

So he'd been hiding his strength all along. He had also completed Blood Replacement and Muscle Condensation, and was likewise only one step away from becoming a First-rate Martial Artist!

But you had lost two major sources of fighting strength in succession, while Ye Hongqi's brief burst came at the cost of rapidly draining his internal force. One misstep, and all of you would die here!

The Fierce Tiger King had one move that carried it through every fight. Intelligent enough, it chose to use it again. Its hide was thick and its body enormous—trading injuries meant little to it, but for you, it was trading lives.

This time, the one it chose to trade its injuries for a life against was Ye Hongqi, a martial arts prodigy who had completed Blood Replacement and Muscle Condensation at only nineteen. He even occupied the last spot on the Wind and Cloud Youth Ranking, placing among Da Qing's top hundred young talents!

But even if he ranked among the top hundred, a Second-rate Martial Artist was still a Second-rate Martial Artist. Under the Fierce Tiger King's pouncing bite, carrying several thousand jin of force—a crushing disparity of pure numbers—he was bound to die!

Until—dazzling azure light flashed. Time seemed to slow and drag at that instant. You saw the azure glow surge from Ye Hongqi's arm into his sword, then fly from the sword's tip and plunge straight into the Fierce Tiger King's head: through its mouth.

The Fierce Tiger King's final swipe sent Ye Hongqi flying more than ten meters. Yet after that blow, its life force faded away as swiftly as an autumn cicada's. Even that last strike had merely been an echo of its remaining life; it hadn't held any real strength.

Ye Hongqi rose while coughing blood, with at least five broken bones. Yet you stared at him excitedly. That azure glow just now had been projected Force Qi!

Ye Hongqi had broken through on the spot. He was now a First-rate Martial Artist!

Yun Shou: "...Did we run into a protagonist?"

It really felt that way to him. Protagonists were often accompanied by death—not the protagonist's death, but the deaths of passersby.

"Luckily, I've got some strength myself. I won't end up fueling the protagonist's explosive breakthrough."

You buried the dead, then boiled the tiger bones into soup and roasted the tiger meat over a fire.

Ye Hongqi said that consuming such mountain beasts could replenish vitality and strengthen one's qi, greatly benefiting martial arts cultivation. The four of you ate together, and afterward, your blood and qi surged as your entire bodies brimmed with vigor and strength.

You locked eyes with the female martial artist who used a bow, hooked up with her, and afterward went your separate ways in the martial world.

Yun Shou: "..."

You absorbed a considerable portion of the Fierce Tiger King's blood-and-flesh essence. Though there was still no sign of breaking through to First-Rate, you could clearly feel your foundation rising. This was an increase to your base foundation—under amplification, the actual gain was even greater!

It was Da Qing 287. You were thirty-two years old, and your foundation was 146%, but this 146% was worth at least 152% from before you ate the tiger!

Your base foundation of 100% had finally reached the level possessed by an ordinary person raised healthily with proper nourishment. With a 1.46-fold boost, it was already quite impressive. Even if you started learning Martial Arts from scratch, your chances of becoming a First-rate Martial Artist wouldn't be small.

After accepting the town mayor's reward, you continued on your journey. Your goal was to travel the world.

In Da Qing 288, you heard that Qingcheng had fallen. The Wu Army slaughtered the city for three days, turning the vast Green Lake into a living hell. The corpses thrown into Green Lake dyed it into "Red Lake."

You sighed and continued practicing Martial Arts, settling temporarily in East Forest City.

In Da Qing 289, you discovered that the Water Dragon Skill didn't seem to suit you as well as the Iron Body Technique. Otherwise, with the insights you gained from your Iron Body Technique having reached Perfection, the Water Dragon Skill should have reached Major Accomplishment by now.

You began deliberately and casually searching for better Martial Arts, seeking one better suited to you—a powerful foundational martial art.

In Da Qing 290, without Zhu Baowen's intervention to intimidate them, the Wu Kingdom's army had yet to show any decline. They kept advancing while fighting, pushing straight southward. You felt the atmosphere among the people around you growing increasingly grim.

Half a year later, you also headed south, leaving East Forest City to put more distance between yourself and the battlefield.

In Da Qing 291, although you hadn't entered the ranks of First-rate Martial Artists, your internal force had increased by another twenty percent compared to when you had first achieved Blood Replacement and Muscle Condensation, thanks to the yearly 1% foundation amplification and your unceasing, ever-refined training.

But you could also feel that your body's foundation was nearing the limit of what could be developed. Soon, aside from the 1% foundation increase each year, you would lose even the slightest room for improvement at the Second-rate Martial Artist level. You would completely reach your own limit; only a breakthrough could make you stronger.

You settled down in Yangxue City, occasionally earning honest money through your martial prowess to support yourself.

In Da Qing 292, the Qing Kingdom ceded territory and paid reparations. The Wu Kingdom ceased hostilities.

The Water Dragon Skill reached Major Accomplishment. Besides the Overlord Saber Technique, you also learned the Hundred Battles Spear Art.

After all, learning more Combat Techniques wouldn't conflict with one another or affect your foundation. Their only drawback was that they took time—nothing more.

In Da Qing 293, you heard that two First-rate Experts had arranged a battle atop the White Moon Tower in the city. You rushed over to watch. Saber light and sword shadows crisscrossed, and in the end, the saber wielder emerged victorious.

You gained some insights and felt yourself drawing ever closer to Internal Force Projection.

In Da Qing 294, you joined Tianhe Martial Hall and became one of its instructors. Your main duty was serving as a sparring partner...

In Da Qing 295, you gradually gained the trust of the Martial Hall Master, Martial Master Fang Mingyue. You applied to switch to the formidable martial art Flowing River Technique, signing a lifetime contract with Tianhe Martial Hall.

As always, directly asking for a hall-defending martial art like Flowing River Technique had nearly zero chance of success. Such Advanced Martial Arts were only passed down to direct disciples raised by the hall from childhood.

It wasn't that the martial art was overly secretive. They simply wanted their own people to remain ahead forever, never to be surpassed by outsiders. Flowing River Technique was an Advanced Martial Art that could lead directly to Martial Master and held the ambition of reaching Grandmaster!

What if they taught it to outsiders, who uncovered its secrets and learned its weaknesses? What if they taught it to someone in the hall who wasn't a direct disciple, only for him to turn the tables and surpass the direct line?

But you were switching martial arts. Part of your foundation would be ruined, almost completely blocking your path toward becoming a Martial Master from the very beginning. Thus, the difficulty of obtaining it dropped dramatically.

A drop in difficulty didn't mean no difficulty. Martial Hall Master Fang Mingyue ordered her disciples to investigate your background, explore your past experiences, and so on.

They learned that you had lived in Yangxue City for several years. They heard that you had devoted yourself wholeheartedly to martial arts in East Forest City. They learned that you had once slain a vicious tiger in He'an Town...

But they found nothing further, because your birthplace, Qingcheng, had long been massacred by the Wu Kingdom's army. Few living people remained, and it was now a city of the Wu Kingdom. Even if some old residents still survived, how could they have known some obscure "tenth-something leader" from a gang outside the city?

After a series of procedures involving oaths and contracts, your relationship with Tianhe Martial Hall became far closer. You were no longer like the instructor you had once been—taking payment for work, free to leave whenever you wished.

You learned the Flowing River Technique.

In Da Qing 296, with the Primordial Chaos Art and your experience from dispersing your cultivation once before, you completely dispersed the Water Dragon Skill in only one year. Not a trace of the Water Dragon Skill remained in your foundation!