Chapter Sixteen: Two Manuals, Vajra Tiger Subduing!

"Is there something unusual about this manual?"

Su Mu stepped closer and lowered his voice to ask.

The stall owner was clearly taken aback. He raised his head slightly and glanced at Su Mu, seemingly trying to guess what the person before him was thinking. Unfortunately, all he could see was a white fox mask covering his face.

"You're not from Qingyun County?"

"So what if I am? And what if I'm not?" Su Mu was growing more certain that Tiger Subduing Fist had a history behind it.

Hearing this vague answer, the stall owner took the man before him for an outsider. "This area is around Qingyun County in Qing Province. Aside from the county government and the Black Mountain Army, which has risen to prominence in recent years, there are five major powers."

"These five powers are one family, one temple, one tower, and two gangs."

"The family is the Xiao family of Qingyun, the temple is Vajra Temple, the tower is Hundred Pills Tower, and the two gangs are Clear Wind Gang and White Jade Gang. Your manual may have something to do with Vajra Temple."

The stall owner explained in a low voice. None of this was a secret; anyone could find out by asking around. Once he had finished, he said no more.

The county government and the Black Mountain Army, along with the five major powers.

The man's explanation had been vague, but Su Mu could almost be certain that the Tiger Subduing Fist he had acquired was most likely a martial art from Vajra Temple.

"Thanks for the information."

Having gotten his answer, Su Mu quickly lifted his hand from Tiger Subduing Fist and began browsing the manuals. The stall owner promptly tucked the manual away inside his robe.

Su Mu first looked for a Lightness Skill and picked out a Movement Technique called Startled Sparrow Steps. After that, he had planned to choose a weapon-based martial art as well.

But there were only two weapon-based martial arts at this stall. After reading the first three pages of each, Su Mu found them inferior even to the fist technique he had looked at earlier. Besides, they were for weapons like hooked blades and short knives, neither of which appealed to him.

"I'd better pick another fist technique or leg technique."

After looking through the selection, Su Mu furrowed his brow beneath the white fox mask. Having examined everything, he decided the first manual he had browsed, Rock Shattering Fist, was still the best fit.

"I'll take these two."

Su Mu successfully traded one manual for two. Once the deal was done, he immediately got up and left.

"Tiger Subduing Fist is a martial art from Vajra Temple's lineage. It's considered one of the top Ninth Rank martial arts in terms of power, and once mastered, it makes you a match for anyone at the same level. The only problem is that those bald monks' martial arts are far too difficult to cultivate. I could find a chance to sell it to someone else. I wonder how this fellow got his hands on it."

"This man probably comes from some remote place outside Qingyun County... He doesn't realize that mastering one martial art is better than being half-baked at several. Practicing even one martial art takes enormous effort and time—several years at the least, more than a decade at the most. This fellow is a strange one, trying to practice several martial arts at once."

"Then again, maybe he just can't master Tiger Subduing Fist, so he wants to trade it for something else..."

Watching Su Mu leave, the stall owner shook his head and muttered to himself.

Su Mu had no idea what the stall owner was thinking. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. This top-tier Ninth Rank martial art, with its high threshold for cultivation in other people's eyes, wasn't all that difficult for him.

After leaving the stall, Su Mu continued browsing the Black Market. Since he had come all this way, he might as well look around and broaden his horizons. After making a full circuit, he was ready to leave. Just as he turned around—

A thin figure hurried toward him. The person had his head lowered, apparently in a rush, and failed to notice Su Mu until he crashed straight into him.

Acting on instinct, Su Mu, a Ninth Rank Martial Artist, circulated the strength within his body. His figure swayed only slightly, his lower body sinking like a tiger crouched in the mountains. He didn't move an inch.

The thin figure, on the other hand, seemed to have run into a wall. He let out a muffled groan and stumbled back several steps, nearly falling to the ground.

"Are you all right?"

Su Mu reached out to help him, but the thin figure timidly stepped back.

"Sorry, sorry."

After apologizing several times in a row, the man hurried past him and left.

Watching him go, Su Mu looked puzzled. Something about the man seemed off. He quietly checked his clothes, but the manuals were still there, and he hadn't lost any money or belongings.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Before long, Su Mu made his way unobtrusively toward the Black Market exit. Several peddlers at the entrance watched him leave with a trace of pity on their faces.

"That guy's been marked by those three... I'm afraid he won't make it out of this forest."

After leaving the Black Market, a cold glint flashed across Su Mu's face beneath his white fox mask as he walked through the forest. His brows furrowed slightly.

With Five Animal Frolics mastered, Tiger Subduing Fist mastered, and several months of constantly taking Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup, his improved perception had made him far sharper than ordinary people.

The footsteps behind him were light, but they couldn't escape his ears.

Su Mu stopped and turned to look.

In the distance, a thin figure emerged from the shadows beneath the trees in the night. Su Mu's pupils constricted slightly. He recognized at a glance the very person who had bumped into him at the Black Market.

"So I wasn't overthinking it... That man did it on purpose. I've been marked."

After a moment's thought, Su Mu understood the trick. The other man had most likely tested his strength through that "accidental" collision.

Su Mu had instinctively used the strength in his body, letting the man determine that he was a Qi Refining Martial Artist.

Since the other party had already figured out roughly how strong he was and still dared to rob and kill him, the people targeting him were nothing like the Scarred Man Sun Li had hired to ambush him.

To ambush a Qi Refining Martial Artist, there had to be at least one Qi Refining Martial Artist among them.

"I shouldn't linger here. I'll leave first."

Thinking this over, Su Mu had no intention of fighting these unknown ruffians in the forest. If he could get away, that was clearly the better choice.

Of the thirty-six stratagems, flight was the best. Su Mu sped up, using Deer Play from Five Animal Frolics. He became a deer darting through the woods.

"He bought two manuals worth two hundred taels as soon as he showed up. There's no way he's carrying only two hundred taels on him. The prey's a little tough, but after this haul, we can eat and drink like kings for the rest of the year."

Ten zhang behind him, greed flashed in the thin figure's eyes.

"I deliberately bumped into him just now. Judging by his reaction, he's probably only just entered the Ninth Rank, a Martial Artist who's completed his first round of Qi Refining. Big Brother hasn't finished his second round yet, but he's close. With the two of us backing him up, we can definitely take this guy down."

Just as Su Mu had guessed, the man had deliberately bumped into him. He had created an "accidental" collision to test Su Mu's strength.

When someone was hit without warning, they instinctively protected themselves. The man could then judge their strength from their reaction. He had felt the fierce, unyielding force in Su Mu's body just then, which was clearly a sign of completing the first round of Qi Refining.

The first round of Qi Refining was Manifest Force. It could shatter stone and was forceful and direct. A Martial Artist at this level would struggle against someone wearing armor.

The second round of Qi Refining was Hidden Force. It was soft and yielding, able to penetrate armor to a certain extent and injure the wearer beneath it.

But from Su Mu's reaction, it was obvious that his strength was still at the level of Manifest Force.

"Not good, the fat sheep's trying to escape. We can't wait any longer."

The thin figure immediately broke into a run. At the same time, he reached into his robe and pulled out a wooden whistle. Several long and short blasts rang through the forest.

Just a few breaths after the whistle sounded, Su Mu heard two more whistles coming from different directions ahead. The blasts varied in length, clearly a way of exchanging information.

Su Mu stopped at once, realizing he had been surrounded. He wasn't familiar with this forest, while his opponents clearly knew the area inside out. He probably wouldn't be able to escape.

"Judging by the whistles, the other two are still some distance away..."

"Pick them off one by one!"

Su Mu knew he couldn't let the three men join forces and surround him. He would kill the one behind him first!

When the thin figure saw Su Mu fleeing, he simply stopped hiding and chased after him relentlessly. Then, when he saw Su Mu rush into a dense patch of woods, a cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He knew very well that this patch of woods was an excellent place to kill. The three of them had already killed plenty of people there.

"You've picked yourself a fine place to be buried."

But the moment the thin figure entered the woods, a chill ran down his spine. Beneath the trees ahead stood a man with a cold glint in his eyes. A savage aura emanated from him, as though he were a ravenous tiger about to pounce on its prey.

"This man isn't a Ranked Martial Artist... But even a lion hunting a rabbit must use all its strength!"

Five Animal Frolics, nearing perfection, gave Su Mu an exceptional level of control over every muscle in his body. Mastery of Tiger Subduing Fist, meanwhile, allowed him to rapidly marshal his blood and strength.

Gulp.

The thin ruffian's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. He felt as though a terrifying beast had fixed its gaze on him.

The next second—

His heart jolted beneath his chest, and in his eyes, he saw a figure pouncing toward him like a tiger.

Roar!

A tiger's roar seemed to accompany the punch, striking fear into its opponent before the blow even landed. This was an added effect of mastering Tiger Subduing Fist.

The thin ruffian was horrified and hurried to draw the long saber at his waist. But the tiger's roar had left him dazed for a moment. By the time he came to and tried to swing his blade, it was too late.

Seizing that fatal moment of distraction, Su Mu crossed several zhang in an instant and closed in.

Vajra Tiger Subduing!

Su Mu opened with a killing move. His fingers clamped together like iron pincers to form a tiger's claw. Beneath his mask, his eyes were wide with fury, like a Vajra glaring in wrath. He bent slightly at the waist, drove the force through his torso and arm, and struck with his right claw.

Before the thin ruffian could swing his saber, Su Mu's claw shot forward and landed squarely on his throat.

Crack.

His throat bone shattered beneath the blow. Then the claw tore through flesh, punching clean through the thin man's neck. A tiger's claw burst out through the back of his neck.

"Th-this..."

The thin ruffian's eyes widened to their limit, terror and disbelief flooding his face. His mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something.

The next second, Su Mu's right arm abruptly tensed, and he yanked his hand out of the bloody hole.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

The thin ruffian shuddered. His pupils went unfocused, and his body collapsed limply to the ground.

After killing a villain with one blow, Su Mu looked down at the fallen body, deeply startled. He hadn't expected Tiger Subduing Fist to be this terrifyingly powerful.

"No wonder it's a Ranked Martial Art."

Su Mu muttered to himself. He glanced at his blood-soaked right claw. After killing someone a second time, he no longer felt the panic and helplessness he had the first time.

A ferocious glint flickered in Su Mu's eyes beneath the mask. He felt no guilt about killing the likes of these murderous robbers.

Whoosh!

He drew a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

As he breathed out, the blood and strength within Su Mu's body circulated faster, growing hot and searing. Then he turned toward the depths of the forest like a fierce tiger just woken from sleep.

"Two left..."