Crash!
Roar!
Crack!
A Striped Tiger, about six meters long and as tall as a horse, charged with an invincible force, bursting through the branches and brush. With a mighty roar, it pounced down like Mount Tai and clamped its jaws around Mountain Demon's head and upper body.
Mountain Demon didn't even know what had happened before half its body was crushed in the tiger's jaws.
Cui Hao trembled violently. He had seen it: the tiger's roar had stunned Mountain Demon, slowing its reaction by a split second. That split second had cost it its life.
He couldn't bring himself to think of hunting the tiger. Flattening himself among the dead grass, Cui Hao waited until it had eaten Mountain Demon, seized the hunter's corpse in its jaws, and vanished into the dense woods. Even then, he didn't dare get up, and stayed hidden.
The panel refreshed.
[Stealth: Beginner]
[Progress: 10/300]
[Effects: Scent -5, Light as a Swallow +5, Use of Shadows +5]
Though he hadn't done anything, as the panel updated, Cui Hao felt many new abilities welling up in him, as if he'd been born with them.
As long as he controlled his breathing, he could walk without making a sound.
His ability to use the shadows had improved by leaps and bounds, too.
But now wasn't the time to celebrate. The last time his Stealth skill had updated was after he'd assassinated Zhou Menghu and returned home.
At the time, the data had read: [Early Stage: 20/100]
Now he'd only been lying there, doing nothing, and Stealth had reached Beginner. What did that mean?
He stayed where he was for another hour. Then the tiger he'd seen leave earlier reappeared, majestic as a ruler of the mountain. Its eyes glinted with murderous intent as it slowly emerged and stared at the opposite bank of the stream for a long while. Suddenly, it let out a tremendous roar.
The roar seemed to form a shock wave, making Cui Hao's ears ache.
The pain in his ears was a small matter. The tiger's roar carried an overwhelming pressure that made his whole body tremble uncontrollably.
Fortunately, the tiger left after a single roar.
Cui Hao stayed prone where he was. Another hour passed before he carefully flexed his hands and feet, then slowly got up and backed away.
After retreating more than ten steps, he picked up his prey and the dead hunter's bow and arrows, crossed the First Mountain, and headed home.
Looking at the bare First Mountain, he finally understood why some people would rather starve or sell their sons and daughters than go to the Second Mountain to gather firewood.
At least selling their children let them stay alive. Going to the Second Mountain meant death. Thankfully, he'd always been careful and hadn't dared venture deeper, even with his cheat.
Under the cold moonlight after dark, Cui Hao passed the village entrance and ran into Zhou Mengyue, who was leaving the village.
Seeing the bow on Cui Hao's back and the prey hanging from his shoulder pole, Zhou Mengyue's face tightened. Thinking of his elder brother's death, he asked, "You know how to hunt?"
Cui Hao always set out to hunt at dawn and returned late, sometimes after dark.
Most people in the village didn't know he could hunt. Zhou Mengyue didn't know either.
"Like father, like son; the son of a rat digs holes. It's only natural that I know how to hunt. Brother Zhou, want to buy my catch?"
Zhou Mengyue looked the Hog Badger over. "How much?"
"Fresh Hog Badger. It's delicious braised, roasted, or stewed." Cui Hao held up two fingers. "Just two taels of silver."
Cui Hao had whetted Zhou Mengyue's appetite. He haggled. "Half a tael."
"One and a half."
Not wanting to waste any more breath, Zhou Mengyue pulled a little over one tael of silver from his sleeve and shoved it into Cui Hao's hand.
"Thank you for your custom." Cui Hao gave the shoulder pole a shake, leaving the Hog Badger behind. "See you."
"Stop!" Zhou Mengyue suddenly called after him. "Have you trained in martial arts?"
The shake of the pole had revealed his skill. Cui Hao answered honestly, "I've only been training for three days. You've got a good eye, Brother Zhou."
Zhou Mengyue narrowed his eyes. "Which martial arts academy?"
"Zhanhong Martial Arts Academy."
"Where'd you get the tuition?"
Zhou Mengyue was being quite rude, but Cui Hao had only trained for three days and obviously couldn't beat him. He put on a cheerful act. "I caught a Golden Python. Xu Family Pharmacy offered a good price."
Zhou Mengyue suddenly punched him in the chest.
An irresistible force sent Cui Hao flying five or six meters. His back slammed into the well wall with a bang, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Useless! You're an insult to everyone who practices martial arts." After cursing him, Zhou Mengyue picked up the Hog Badger, took the silver, and strode away.
Cui Hao's internal organs were in agony, and he couldn't get up right away. He leaned against the well wall for support until Lin Da happened to pass by.
"Brother Hao!" Lin Da hurriedly helped Cui Hao up. "Who did this to you?"
"I got hurt hunting. Sorry for the trouble, could you help me get home?"
Lin Da agreed. He picked up the scattered belongings and supported Cui Hao as they walked home.
"Brother Hao!" At the courtyard gate, Su Yun saw the blood at the corner of his mouth. Tears streamed down her face as she asked in a trembling voice, "Who did this to you?"
"I got hurt hunting." Cui Hao sat down on a stool in the main room and already felt much better. "Give Lin Da two pounds of smoked meat."
"I don't need any meat," Lin Da said, waving his hand. "Brother Hao, I'd better head back early. Take good care of yourself."
Su Yun saw Lin Da off, shut the courtyard gate, then came back and asked helplessly, "Brother Hao, should we get a doctor?"
"No need." Cui Hao was sure he was fine. "It's just a minor injury. Help me wipe down, then let's get to bed early."
Su Yun understood. "You're like this, and you can still do it?"
"I can't, but you can."
Su Yun's face turned bright red.
There was hot water in the pot. Su Yun brought it over in a wooden basin, adjusted the temperature with cold water, then soaked a piece of hemp cloth and gently wiped Cui Hao down.
Su Yun was meticulous as she wiped him and careful as she washed his feet. Cui Hao lounged like a lord, rocking his head back and forth.
After two comfortable days, the panel refreshed.
[Between the Sheets: Beginner]
[Progress: 95/300]
[Effects: Physique +5, Distributable Progress Points +40]
"Distributable Progress Points" were useful. He wouldn't add any for now; he'd save them for a breakthrough or a life-or-death situation where he could use them as needed.
On the third day, just as the sun peeked over the horizon, Cui Hao felt fully recovered and went to the martial arts academy to work on his strength.
"Junior Brother Cui," the lean, dark-skinned Sun Cheng asked, "why didn't you come yesterday?"
"Someone punched me. I stayed home to rest for two days."
Sun Cheng took Cui Hao's wrist to check his pulse. After a moment, his brows relaxed. "It's nothing serious. Looks like the other person knew you were a disciple of Zhanhong Martial Arts Academy."
"Is our academy that impressive?"
"Master used to serve as a bodyguard for an official in the imperial capital. He retired because of an injury, but no one knows for sure whether he's still in touch with that official. That's why people don't dare offend us."
Understanding dawned on Cui Hao. Two nights ago, he hadn't been beaten to death—not because Zhou Menglong had held back, but because Master and the academy had saved his life.
"Junior Brother Cui," Sun Cheng said seriously, "you'd better break through to Mortal Martial within two months. If you stay at the academy after that, then..." He paused. "Before you reach Clear Force, you're just an ordinary disciple. Master and the academy won't help you."
"Also, don't use Qi and Blood Powder to build up your qi and blood faster. It's for Mortal Martial practitioners. Using it early will damage your foundation."
Cui Hao nodded and continued working on his strength. When it was fully light, Master came to inspect them. Everyone trained even harder, hoping to earn his approval and praise.
"Xiao Li." Xu Dian stopped in front of Xiao Li, who was lifting a stone lock. "You're doing well. Keep it up."
They were both newcomers. Beside him, Wang Nian puffed out his chest, hoping Master would encourage him too, but Xu Dian turned and walked away.
That left a group of newcomers, Wang Nian among them, immediately discouraged.
Hoping to catch Master's eye, Wang Nian pushed himself even harder after that brief loss of spirit.
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