Broken Tooth Mountain.
Layer upon layer of emerald peaks rose amid swirling mist.
It stood over a thousand zhang tall, named for its summit being split into two halves, like the broken tooth of some colossal beast.
From afar, it looked like a primordial ferocious beast lying dormant within a sea of clouds.
The forests and farmland of the Ten-Mile Eight Villages all depended on Broken Tooth Mountain for their existence. Though villagers continually cleared new woodland, they still occupied only a tiny portion of it.
Deep within Broken Tooth Mountain, all manner of Fierce Beasts roamed in packs.
Even a First-class Martial Artist would not dare guarantee that he could cross the entirety of Broken Tooth Mountain.
For legend said that Demonic Beasts with awakened intelligence lived here.
At that moment, a dark green figure leaped through the dense forest like a monkey, incomparably nimble.
Every time he shifted position, he startled a flurry of birds.
This person was Xu Mingwei. Two bows were strapped to his back: one was a Black Iron Great Bow, and the other was a Pine Wave Longbow.
The Black Iron Great Bow was a specially made powerful bow.
Simply drawing it required over a thousand jin of strength, while drawing it into the shape of a full moon required more than three thousand jin.
Only a First-class Martial Artist could draw it to a full moon through sheer strength alone.
Only a Houtian Peak Martial Artist whose Acupoints throughout the Heavenly Circuit had been opened could wield it with ease and do as he pleased.
Arrows fired from this bow chased clouds and pursued lightning, carrying the force of a thousand jun.
Even a Martial Artist newly entered into Xiantian could be severely wounded by a single arrow if an opportunity was found.
As for Xu Mingwei, [Innate Divine Strength] now granted each of his arms the strength of four thousand two hundred jin. Coupled with the talent of [Eagle Eye], he could lock onto his target.
If he caught an opportunity, it would not merely mean severe injury.
It would absolutely be a one-strike kill!
The other Pine Wave Longbow was far more ordinary, though it was more than sufficient for hunting ordinary Fierce Tigers and wolves.
Xu Mingwei only used the Black Iron Strong Bow when dealing with certain unusual beasts.
This place was already more than ten li beyond the outermost forest and farmland cleared by the common folk.
Hunters from every village would not venture this deep.
"This was roughly as far as I got last time."
Xu Mingwei moved through several more positions before finally discovering a mark he had carved into the trunk of a large tree with his dagger.
It was the character "Xu."
It had cut three inches into the wood, its strokes dancing like serpents and dragons, carrying a bold and heroic air.
Xu Chuan required the Xu Family disciples to practice calligraphy every day until they turned fifteen.
Ten years of bitter practice.
Practicing calligraphy was also tempering the heart.
Xu Mingwei had only recently come to understand this truth, and his admiration for Xu Chuan grew ever deeper.
Thus, he still practiced often, to make his resolve known.
"I'll look for the little animals Xue Ji wants on my way back."
Xu Mingwei looked around and continued rapidly deeper into the mountain.
Compared to running along the ground, leaping through the trees was much safer.
Suddenly.
A sharp "whoosh" split the air at his side as a fist-sized object flew toward his head.
Xu Mingwei twisted at the waist and shifted his body slightly, evading the sudden attack.
However, since he had been ambushed in midair, his movement was interrupted, and he could only land on the ground.
Looking up, he saw a Thunder Duke Mouth Red-Faced White-Haired Ape standing on a thick tree branch dozens of meters above. It bared its fangs and brandished its limbs at him.
"What a sturdy monkey!"
Xu Mingwei's pupils contracted. It was his first time seeing such a species of monkey.
"That arm probably has at least a thousand jin of strength."
If an ordinary hunter had encountered it, he would likely have his head smashed open and bloodied in a single exchange.
The white-haired ape seemed somewhat enraged. It hurled another pitch-black, round object from its other hand at him.
Xu Mingwei easily dodged again.
He even grew curious, walked over, and picked the object up for a look.
"A fruit?"
"How peculiar. It's actually this hard."
Xu Mingwei squeezed it forcefully. It felt as though he were gripping a stone, leaving him greatly astonished.
"I'll take it back for Father to inspect."
Xu Mingwei glanced at the ape, picked up a pebble, and threw it at the white-haired ape in return.
Although the white-haired ape was agile as well, the speed of Xu Mingwei's thrown stone far surpassed it.
It dodged, but not completely.
Its waist was still grazed, sending a spray of blood flying.
"Roar~"
The white-haired ape cried out in pain, clutching its wound with one hand.
It glanced at Xu Mingwei, a flicker of fear appearing in its eyes. After letting out two more "roars," it swiftly fled with a trace of resentment.
"Consider yourself sensible."
Xu Mingwei's lips curved faintly. If it attacked again, he would certainly kill it.
He found another black fruit and tucked it into the pack on his back before continuing onward.
Xu Mingwei had not entered the depths of Broken Tooth Mountain merely to hunt Wild Beasts.
That would have been far too busy.
He could find several almost every moment.
What he truly wanted was to find some unusual beasts to temper himself against.
Fierce Tigers and giant bears, for instance.
The exceptional varieties among them possessed strength that surpassed even some First-class Martial Artists.
But Fierce Beasts were Fierce Beasts in the end. Unless they relied on sheer numbers, they would not be a match for Martial Artists.
Even a Third-rate Martial Artist could kill such Fierce Beasts with the aid of weapons, movement techniques, strategy, and the like.
Xu Mingwei sought them out precisely to fight them hand-to-hand and temper himself in real combat.
Suddenly.
The view ahead opened up.
A pale blue lake, its surface sparkling with ripples, entered his sight.
A stretch of green grass surrounded the lake.
"This is quite a pleasant view."
Xu Mingwei murmured inwardly. As his gaze swept around, he spotted a fierce tiger at the far end of the lake. It stood more than half a man tall, with tawny fur covered in black horizontal stripes.
Its limbs were powerful, its tail thick and long, marked with black rings and ending in black.
Its overall lines were smooth, yet it radiated an overflowing sense of power.
Xu Mingwei's pupils shrank slightly. When it turned its head, he could even clearly see the character "Wang" on its forehead.
At that moment, it was biting a horned deer and dragging it into the forest.
"What a fierce tiger. It's stronger and more imposing than any I've encountered before."
Xu Mingwei immediately followed it.
After following it for a while, he reached the foot of a low hill.
The mountain face was nearly vertical, as though someone had cleaved it apart with a single sword strike.
The rock wall was covered in clematis, blooming with large, alluring flowers.
There was a cave at the foot of the hill. Clearly, it was this fierce tiger's dwelling.
Xu Mingwei rapidly closed in.
The fierce tiger's ears twitched as if it had noticed something. It released the deer, turned around, and looked over.
Its large, bright amber tiger eyes flashed with sharp light as they fixed unblinkingly upon Xu Mingwei.
Xu Mingwei set his longbow, quiver, and the rest aside. Laughing loudly, he leaped up, clenched his fist, and smashed it down fiercely.
A flash passed through the fierce tiger's eyes. It also leaped up, swung a forepaw, and struck hard.
Bang~
Fist and paw collided.
Man and tiger were evenly matched, each retreating backward.
"What ferocious strength!" Xu Mingwei grinned, baring his teeth.
An ordinary tiger only possessed a little over two thousand jin of strength, with its Limit reaching barely three thousand. Yet the one before him could unleash more than four thousand jin of force with a swipe.
Even ordinary bears could slap it hard enough to leave it dizzy and send it flying backward.
"Again!" Xu Mingwei's fighting spirit surged as his blood boiled.
"Roar, roar, roar~"
The fierce tiger felt that its dignity had been challenged. It roared furiously, its eyes now looking at Xu Mingwei entirely as prey.
Xu Mingwei stomped the ground apart and shot forward like an arrow.
Yet the fierce tiger did not meet him head-on. Instead, it leaped sideways.
The instant Xu Mingwei's movement stalled, its thick, long tail with black rings lashed toward him like a whip.
The whistling sound reached his ears in an instant.
Xu Mingwei raised both arms to block, but his entire body was sent flying several meters away.
Only then did the fierce tiger reveal its fangs, open its bloody maw, and pounce to bite him.
Xu Mingwei's lips curled upward. Supporting himself on one hand, he shot out his right leg like a long spear, striking the fierce tiger and kicking it more than ten meters away.
The fierce tiger rolled two or three times after landing before rising again. Its pair of tiger eyes stared solemnly at Xu Mingwei.
Just then.
Another tiger roar came from within the cave, followed by a slightly smaller fierce tiger with lighter-colored fur slowly emerging.
"A Female Tiger?"
"So a tiger couple lives here."
Before you continue