Opening the Ten Cubic Meter Space

"Little tiger, time to die!" Zhao Han raised his saber and charged, while the Mountain Lord dodged swiftly, refusing to engage head-on.

Zhao Han had no intention of killing the Mountain Lord—he wanted to cripple its limbs and then elevate his Tiger Subduing Fist.

"Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave, second wave!"

Zhao Han struck with the force of splitting Mount Hua, his momentum fierce and heavy, unstoppable.

The Mountain Lord was gravely wounded, its legs and feet burned by the limewater, unable to move or defend.

It could only brace against its injuries, lifting its two front paws in a feeble block.

"Rip!"

"Roar..."

One saber stroke fell, and the Mountain Lord's two forelimbs were severed cleanly, its tiger paws dropping to the ground, blood gushing from the stumps.

The Mountain Lord was utterly crippled.

Severe wounds to its flank, ears, and skull—and now the paws it relied on were gone.

Its remaining hind paws were no match for the front ones.

With the threat neutralized, Zhao Han sheathed his saber and began punching the Mountain Lord relentlessly.

"Ow..."

Cries of agony rang out without end. Every solid blow landed on its flesh, bringing the Mountain Lord unbearable pain.

Blood was squeezed out, spraying in all directions. The Mountain Lord grew weaker and weaker.

Fifty punches later!

Tiger Subduing Fist [Simplified, Classified, Proficiency 0/100, Killed one tiger with Tiger Subduing Fist]

"You've had your lot in life—who told you to offend the system?"

Zhao Han glanced at the panel, then increased the force in his hands.

Before long, he had beaten the Mountain Lord to the brink of death.

The Mountain Lord begged in its final moments: "I only ate a few people, just two and a half years... You humans kill each other worse than I do. Why single me out..."

"Who told you the system had its eyes on you?"

Zhao Han sneered, landing a final heavy punch on the Mountain Lord's skull, killing it outright.

The mighty Mountain Lord, tyrant of its domain, was beaten to death with bare fists.

Tiger Subduing Fist [Simplified, Classified, Mastery 0/1000, Killed ten fierce tigers purely with Tiger Subduing Fist]

"Hah..."

Zhao Han exhaled a mouthful of stale air, then felt the changes throughout his body.

With Tiger Subduing Fist reaching Mastery, his strength surged everywhere.

Combined with the Proficiency-level Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave and four other unclassified martial arts, Zhao Han's current power rivaled the peak of Flesh Refining.

He was just one step away from the Bone Refining Realm.

"Too fast. How long has it been, and I've already walked the path others take ten or twenty years to tread?"

He immediately performed a set of Mastery-level Tiger Subduing Fist—fierce and domineering.

It treated any person or beast as a tiger to strike, and against a real tiger, it was even more effective—a fist technique that completely suppressed a tiger's movements.

Then, Zhao Han began dissecting the Mountain Lord with his saber.

After all, it had become a spirit beast—every part was treasure.

Tiger paws, tiger gallbladder, tiger head, tiger tail, tiger penis, tiger skin, tiger meat, tiger bones...

All top-grade goods that could fetch a high price, let alone from a tiger that was no ordinary beast.

When he finished dissecting, Zhao Han found there was too much tiger meat—his storage space couldn't hold it all.

He checked his silver: 85 taels of silver, 2 taels of gold, and over 3,000 copper coins.

"System, open a 10-cubic-meter space for me." Zhao Han waved his hand grandly, exuding extravagance.

80 taels of silver and 2 taels of gold vanished just like that, leaving only five taels of silver and the copper coins.

"Money comes and goes fast!" Zhao Han grumbled.

But then he thought again—once he sold this tiger, the money would come right back.

Gathering all the spoils, Zhao Han also stashed the tiger skin into his storage, then went to loot Yang Li's corpse. On him were five taels of silver and a copy of Fierce Tiger Fist Technique.

By the time he left Gutter Cave, dusk had fallen.

Zhao Han checked the luggage the others had left outside.

Mostly dry rations, water, clothes, tents, and realgar powder.

"A pile of junk."

Zhao Han didn't bother looking further, tossing it all into his storage space.

Ten cubic meters of space—roughly the size of a slightly larger bathroom, enough to hold ten tons of water.

Right now, only a little over one cubic meter was filled, just a corner.

"How the hell do I get back now?"

Once he entered the mountain forest, Zhao Han realized he was in trouble—he was lost, unable to find the way back.

Only Old Zhang knew this route; that was how he made a living as a guide. Anyone else would just get lost.

If only he hadn't killed Old Zhang, just knocked him out instead.

Too bad he'd been too quick with his hands...

It felt satisfying in the moment, but only after killing did he realize how rash he'd been.

Night had fallen. Zhao Han wandered aimlessly through the forest for a while before reluctantly finding an open ground, where he lit a fire, roasted some meat, and ate.

"Howl!"

Wolf howls echoed continuously from the forest, and wild beasts lurked nearby. But when they saw the fire and caught the scent of the small piece of tiger meat Zhao Han had placed on the ground, they all fled far away.

The Mountain Lord had been a tyrant in this area, like the Poisonous Snake Gang Leader and the Black Wolf Gang Leader.

Though the Mountain Lord was dead, its lingering might remained!

After eating the roasted meat, Zhao Han climbed onto a thick branch of a tree trunk, leaned against the trunk, and fell asleep.

Of course, he was only half-asleep; the slightest rustle would jolt him awake.

Fortunately, with the small piece of Mountain Lord meat nearby, the night passed quietly. Even mosquitoes, insects, snakes, and ants dared not approach.

At dawn, Zhao Han ate breakfast, then looked toward the rising sun, using its position to determine direction.

This time, he actually got it right. As he traveled along, he found traces of hunters' activity.

By noon, Zhao Han encountered a hunter and asked him where tigers often appeared.

"Young man, I can see you're a Martial Artist with a bright future, but I still advise you not to provoke tigers."

"The tigers in these mountains have eaten quite a few people. Some have become Mountain Lords that can speak human words. Don't think you, an ordinary Martial Artist, can handle them—even the constables in the county town and the Hall Masters of the various gangs are helpless against a Mountain Lord!"

"If you really want to hunt a fierce tiger, you'd better find some companions first."

The hunter kindly advised Zhao Han, not knowing that Zhao Han had already killed a Mountain Lord far more terrifying than any tiger.

"Thanks for the advice, brother."

It seemed hunting tigers couldn't be rushed.

Tigers were different from lions; they usually lived alone.

Their numbers were already scarce. In this vast mountain forest, killing ten fierce tigers in a short time was nothing short of a pipe dream.

By evening, Zhao Han had returned to the Mad Saber Martial Arts School. As soon as he entered, he saw Old Man Mi burying his head in his meal.

What surprised Zhao Han was that Old Man Mi, despite his advanced age, ate surprisingly fast.

"Old Man Mi, having dinner, huh? Lucky me, I caught it just in time!"

Old Man Mi looked up at Zhao Han, his expression unchanged, but a flicker of shock flashed deep in his eyes.

What had this kid been up to? Why did he look different every single day?

How was his strength improving so rapidly?

He'd only been at the school a few days, and he was already nearly at the peak of the Muscle Refining Realm?

Could it be that this kid had practiced some quick-success martial art?

Quick-success techniques were fine, but their side effects were severe—they damaged the foundation and limited future potential.

Not only that, but Zhao Han's Sha Qi was heavy, and there was even a faint trace of demonic aura from Mountain Spirits and wild monsters.

Clearly, this could only be condensed by killing many people or beasts, even Mountain Spirits and monsters.