Hidden Force (2nd update)

Hidden Force (2nd update)

He slept dreamlessly through the night.

At the hour of the tiger, dawn was only just beginning to break.

It was the perfect time to train and strengthen the body.

The moment Lu Chenzhou woke up, he headed straight for Fang Mountain.

There was no one in front of Tiger Garden. The Black Tiger lay there, drowsily squinting.

Yet it had not closed its eyes, as though waiting for something.

Before long, Lu Chenzhou appeared.

The Black Tiger knew it. That monkey was back again!

"Tiger Bro, thanks to you, I was able to train Black Tiger Fist to this level in just one month. I left in such a hurry yesterday that I forgot to thank you."

Lu Chenzhou muttered to himself.

After spending so much time together, even the Black Tiger now looked rather handsome to him.

"Awooo!"

The Black Tiger let out a low cry.

Lu Chenzhou tried hard to recall that previous state of Fortune-Touched Insight, but the feeling refused to come. After practicing his punches on the spot for an hour, he went down the mountain.

The 29th. Cloudy.

The monkey came again.

The Black Tiger had already gone numb.

In the end, Lu Chenzhou returned empty-handed.

He had a good mindset. He cultivated methodically; Fortune-Touched Insight would be wonderful if it came, but its absence would not stop him from bringing Black Tiger Fist to Major Accomplishment in the next few days.

The 30th. Still cloudy.

The monkey had come continuously for nearly a month.

The Black Tiger wanted to see just how long it could keep coming.

May 1st. Clear weather.

In the predawn hours.

Dragon City High School.

Today was a day off. The students either went home or arranged outings with one another. Even martial artists could not keep themselves wound tight every day; they always needed to relax. Lu Chenzhou had heard that some boys in the class were no longer virgins... Aside from a very few special martial arts, the overwhelming majority placed no requirement on a Pure Yang Body.

Lu Chenzhou went nowhere, nor did he return home.

He called his family every day.

There was nothing much happening at the martial arts school either.

It was just that Old Zhang had asked Lu Chenzhou about that app. Lu Chenzhou said he would consider it after reaching the Fourth Stage; he was too weak now, and no one would hire him as a private coach.

After finishing his daily martial arts knowledge exercises and practicing the Heaven Stance and his Movement Skill, Lu Chenzhou arrived at the zoo that morning, intending to break through in one burst here.

Seeing that the monkey seemed determined to stay, the Black Tiger watched Lu Chenzhou practice his fist art from afar. It felt that this monkey was growing more and more "tiger-like."

The Golden Crow sank in the west, the setting sun like blood.

Before he knew it, it was already the hour of the rooster.

His first attempt at breaking through was still somewhat difficult.

"Others don't have a Martial Dao Tree, nor can they see their own progress. When they encounter a barrier like this, training bitterly for a long time without results, that is what true despair must feel like... No wonder so many people completely give up martial arts after being stuck at the Third Stage for years."

Black Tiger Fist truly could not be compared with Basic Fist Art.

The martial path was hard, harder than climbing to the blue sky.

Hidden Force was the first great barrier on a Martial Warrior's path.

He had practiced too fiercely these past few days, and Lu Chenzhou felt somewhat drained. He felt that he was only one kick away from the gate of breakthrough, so he persisted and practiced another full set.

Black Tiger Crossing the Mountain, fearing neither heaven nor earth!

Giving it everything he had, he performed all thirty-six forms in Tiger Garden with the Mountain-Crossing Body, unleashing them in one smooth, exhilarating flow. People occasionally passed by, but upon seeing it was Lu Chenzhou, they shook their heads and left. During this period, Tiger Garden had gained a tiger-crazed man from Dragon City.

This man seemed to wish he could eat and live with the tigers day and night. Then someone found out that he was a transfer student who had arrived at the beginning of the month, with inferior bone aptitude. Everyone understood why he worked so hard. If talent was lacking, hard work had to make up the difference!

"Awooo!"

The Black Tiger became so absorbed in watching Lu Chenzhou practice that it lost itself in the sight. Outside the enclosure, that monkey darted and twisted, rising like a tiger and landing like a tiger. Every punch was like a starving tiger pouncing on prey; every sweeping kick was like a tiger's tail lashing across!

In its daze, it even mistook this monkey for one of its own kind. Lu Chenzhou practiced with complete self-forgetfulness, using the trees in the enclosure as wooden training dummies, until he unleashed the final move.

"Black Tiger Breaks the Army!"

Bang!

Lost in the moment, Lu Chenzhou leaped more than ten feet and drove his palm into a tree trunk as thick as a bowl. His entire body shook and trembled, his bones and internal organs vibrating in unison. In an instant, an unbelievable force surged from his palm like a rising tide.

Awooo!

In his mind, it was as if a tiger's roar rang through the mountains and forests.

Boom!

Crack... A crisp sound came from the bowl-thick tree. A visible crack had actually appeared in its trunk, more than a foot long and an inch deep.

Boundless green leaves rustled down.

They had been shaken loose by that enormous force. At that moment, even Lu Chenzhou's leather-like, callused palm was bright red; the recoil from that strike had not been light either.

He ignored the pain, unable to hide his excitement.

"This is... Hidden Force? Hahaha, I did it! I did it!"

Hong Fu had truly not deceived him. Once Black Tiger Fist reached Major Accomplishment, there was hope of comprehending Hidden Force; there was no need to wait until Perfection. Drenched in sweat, Lu Chenzhou looked toward the Martial Dao Tree:

Black Tiger Fist: Major Accomplishment (1%)

"Half a year to bring Black Tiger Fist to Major Accomplishment... When I threw that palm strike, my bones and five viscera trembled together. The five acupoints I've already opened seemed to have fresh power surging from them as well. Even if my vitality and blood have not entered the Fourth Stage, they are not far off."

Hidden Force was the most important special ability of the Fourth Stage.

The reason the Anli Realm could utterly crush the peak of the Mingli Realm was not the slight difference in vitality and blood, but "Hidden Force." Lu Chenzhou could defeat Du Men across ranks at the Second Stage, but he could never defeat a Fourth Stage opponent across ranks at the Third Stage. The difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

Lu Chenzhou looked toward the leaf of Mountain-Crossing Body.

It was actually flashing, especially eye-catching.

Fortune-Touched Insight, twice the result with half the effort!

Mountain-Crossing Body: Proficiency (90%)

"Wait... While I was practicing just now, did I accidentally trigger Fortune-Touched Insight for Mountain-Crossing Body? What terrible timing. I don't have an ounce of strength left."

Lu Chenzhou sat on the ground and quickly regulated his breathing.

After pondering for a moment, he drank the Qi-Nourishing No. 1 potion he carried with him. He had originally planned to save this bottle for next week, but in order not to waste the Fortune-Touched Insight state, he drank half of it now. His stamina rapidly recovered.

Under the potion's forceful stimulation, he stood up again ten minutes later.

"Overexerting the body is not advisable... But today is a special case. This state is something that can only be encountered, not sought. I should avoid this as much as possible in the future and act within my limits."

Under the Black Tiger's watchful gaze.

Lu Chenzhou began practicing martial arts again. The Black Tiger was shocked as well. If it were in his place, it would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago. This monkey's endurance was far too strong.

Back on campus, students gradually returned from home.

Liu Huan passed by Lu Chenzhou's dormitory and knocked on the door.

There was no response. He must have gone out.

"This guy really is hardworking."

There were few lazybones in a martial arts school. But Liu Huan had hardly seen anyone as desperate as Lu Chenzhou in all his life. This guy was incredible.

No matter whether Lu Chenzhou could get into Dragon City University of Martial Arts in the future.

He sincerely admired him.

The night had deepened. It was nine in the evening.

Lu Chenzhou was still practicing Mountain-Crossing Body.

The Black Tiger had already returned to its den.

On the hillside behind the zoo stood a building with a sign reading Zoo Director's Office. A weathered middle-aged man with graying hair, an upright figure about six feet tall, and casual clothes had finished practicing the Dragon-Tiger Heaven Stance and was casually loosening his muscles and bones.

He stretched, yawned, and sighed.

"The Heaven Stance is too bitter... When will I ever finish opening all these acupoints?"

With every gesture, all 450 acupoints within his body hummed in unison. His majestic aura scattered the clouds in the night sky, while from his vast vitality and blood emerged the phantom of a thick, fierce five-clawed golden dragon, coiling behind the middle-aged man. Its dragon's roar rang through the Constellations.

He casually glanced downward, looked into the distance, and raised a brow.

"Huh? Why is that kid still at it?"

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