Man and Tiger Battle, and the Art of Deflecting Force

At dawn the next morning, before the sky had brightened.

Luo Can had already finished his routine Fishing by the Fate-Defying Spring.

He had good luck today, catching a Forty Thousand Year Spirit Bone, three bottles of high-grade Soul Power Pills, and several rare medicinal herbs.

[Ding! This Fishing session has ended. Overall rating: Excellent+. Reward: 2000 Points.]

[Points: 2700]

As soon as the system prompt faded, he took several Spirit Bones from his Storage Soul Tool—ones he had accumulated recently, all between ten and thirty thousand years old and poorly suited to his own attributes.

"Break them down."

[Ding! Dismantled Ten Thousand Year Spirit Bone ×1. Obtained 2000 Points.]

[Ding! Dismantled Twenty Thousand Year Spirit Bone ×1. Obtained 4000 Points.]

[Ding! Dismantled Thirty Thousand Year Spirit Bone ×1. Obtained 8000 Points.]

After a string of crisp system notifications, the number in the Points Panel began to jump wildly. In the end, it settled firmly at 19000.

"Enough to upgrade."

With a thought, Luo Can tapped the "+" behind the Fishing Spot.

[-10000 Points]

The Fate-Defying Spring beneath his feet trembled once more. The spring expanded to fifteen zhang, while misty spiritual vapor rose from its surface, refracting a rainbow halo in the morning light.

At the same time, the Immortal Herbs in the surrounding Herb Garden visibly grew taller, their leaves becoming fuller and thicker.

"Ten thousand Points per upgrade..." Luo Can rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Next time, it'll probably cost twenty thousand."

He had roughly figured out the upgrade pattern for the Fishing Spot—1, 2, 5, and 10, increasing by multiples.

By that calculation, the next upgrade would require twenty thousand Points, and the one after that fifty thousand. Raising the system permission from Level Three to Level Four would also take fifty thousand Points, making a total of exactly one hundred thousand.

"One hundred thousand Points..."

Luo Can sighed softly. How long would it take to save that much? It looked like he would need to dismantle more Spirit Bones in the future.

Setting those thoughts aside, Luo Can began preparing breakfast.

Ye Lingling would begin her true "devil training" today. She would expend a great deal of stamina, so her meals naturally had to keep up.

He took out a piece of hundred-year-old Iron-Armored Ox meat and slowly stewed it with Fate-Defying Spring water. Adding several medicinal herbs that warmed and replenished the blood and qi, he made a pot of fragrant medicinal meat porridge.

When morning light filled the valley, Ye Lingling emerged from the house, rubbing her eyes.

Seeing the lavish breakfast on the table, she tilted her little head, her azure eyes full of confusion.

"Master? Why is the food so good today?"

"Mm, hurry and eat." Luo Can smiled and rubbed the tuft of hair sticking up from her sleep. "Once you're done, we'll begin a new stage of training."

Though Ye Lingling was puzzled, food was right in front of her, and she could not be bothered to think too much. She immediately sat on the stone bench and began eating heartily. After spending these days with Luo Can, she had long since lost her initial restraint around him. Her eating habits had changed from slow, careful bites to wolfing everything down.

Very soon, the two of them cleared the table. Ye Lingling patted her little belly in satisfaction, ran to the edge of the clearing, practiced a set of Tiger Stance forms to warm up, then habitually walked over to the Ghost Tiger, preparing to begin their daily "man-and-tiger stare-down."

Upon seeing her, the Ghost Tiger inside the Barrier merely lazily lifted its eyelids, revealed its sharp claws, and bared its teeth halfheartedly.

After glaring at each other like this every day for the past few days, it had grown numb to it.

After a while, Luo Can walked over to Ye Lingling.

"Lingling." He rubbed the little girl's head, his tone carrying a hint of mischief. "Want... something more exciting?"

"Hm?" Ye Lingling looked up blankly.

The next moment—

"Snap."

Luo Can snapped his fingers crisply.

The pale golden Soul Power Barrier surrounding the Ghost Tiger shattered at once.

"..."

Ye Lingling froze.

So did the Ghost Tiger.

Separated by three zhang, the girl and tiger stared at each other wide-eyed. The air became strangely silent.

Luo Can patted Ye Lingling's shoulder. A nearly transparent golden film instantly covered the little girl's body.

"The stare-down game is over." He smiled. "Next comes 'man and tiger battle' time."

With that, he flashed away and appeared on a branch of the distant Dragon Blood Tree. Sitting there leisurely, he looked ready to enjoy the show.

After a brief silence.

The Ghost Tiger reacted first.

"ROAR—!!!"

The fury and frustration it had suppressed for days erupted at that moment. Its scarlet tiger eyes instantly bloodshot, its hind legs slammed into the ground, and its massive body lunged straight at Ye Lingling!

Ye Lingling's little face went pale with fright, and she instinctively turned to run.

But how could a person possibly outrun a tiger?

Especially a hundred-year-old Ghost Tiger that had been imprisoned for so long and was now in a towering rage.

In only three breaths, the Ghost Tiger had caught up behind her. Its sharp claws carried a bloody stench as they viciously slammed toward Ye Lingling's back!

Bang!

The golden film over her body rippled slightly, absorbing and dispersing most of the impact.

The little girl was sent flying several meters. A burning pain erupted across her back, yet strangely, she did not feel the expected sensation of flesh splitting open.

"This..."

Before Ye Lingling could understand what had happened, the Ghost Tiger's second strike arrived. It reared up, its front claws grabbing at her shoulders like iron pincers, while its bloodthirsty jaws bit straight for her throat!

"Awoo—!"

At the critical moment, Ye Lingling instinctively assumed the Tiger Stance and met it with a Vicious Tiger Pounce.

Bang!

Her small body flew backward, drawing an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the grass five zhang away.

The Ghost Tiger's strength was simply too great.

Ye Lingling grimaced in pain, feeling as though every bone in her body had been torn apart. Yet when she struggled to get up and checked herself, she discovered that aside from the pain, she had not suffered a single wound. Even where the tiger's claws had struck earlier, her skin was only faintly red.

She looked up at Luo Can in the tree.

Luo Can winked at her and gestured for her to continue.

Ye Lingling understood at once.

She would not die.

Since she would not die... what was there to fear?

"Don't chicken out. Just do it!"

She quietly encouraged herself. Fighting spirit lit up in her eyes. Facing the Ghost Tiger charging at her again, she no longer ran. Instead, she sank her waist, planted her feet, and assumed the Tiger Stance once more.

The next half-stick of incense became a one-sided beating.

The Ghost Tiger vented the frustration it had built up over the past few days. It pounced, clawed, bit, and rammed her, every move vicious. Ye Lingling became a human-shaped punching bag, sent flying again and again, only to struggle back up each time and grit her teeth as she continued fighting.

Finally, after being sent flying once more, Ye Lingling collapsed on the ground and could no longer get up.

She panted heavily, feeling as though her entire body had been taken apart and put back together. She did not even have the strength to move a finger.

Luo Can leaped down from the tree and raised a hand to restore the Soul Power Barrier, trapping the Ghost Tiger that still wanted more. He walked over to Ye Lingling, bent down to pick her up, and carried her to sit by the spring.

One Body Refining Pill and a small sip of Fate-Defying Spring water.

The gentle medicinal power spread through her body. Her exhaustion receded like a tide, and the pain quickly eased. Color visibly returned to Ye Lingling's pale face, and after only a few breaths, she was full of life again.

"How does it feel?" Luo Can asked.

"It's so hard..." Ye Lingling said with a bitter little face. "I'm too weak. That ugly tiger sends me flying with a single hit."

"Mm. The gap in strength and size really is huge." Luo Can nodded. "But some gaps can be made up through skill."

He paused, then said seriously.

"Next, I'll teach you several methods of gathering force and deflecting force. Listen carefully."

"Yes, Master!"

Ye Lingling immediately sat up straight and pricked up her ears.

"Gathering force means concentrating the strength of your entire body at a single point before releasing it in an instant. The Mountain-Crushing Force of the Tiger King Mountain-Crushing Fist works on this principle. But you have not mastered it yet, so you must use clever force—"

Luo Can extended a hand, palm facing upward.

"Watch carefully. Soul Power does not begin from the arm. It rises from the soles of the feet, passes through the legs, waist, and back, and finally gathers in the fist. This is called Force From the Ground."

He slowly threw a punch. There was no sound from the fist wind, yet a small tree as thick as an arm three zhang away snapped in half with a crack.

"Deflecting force, on the other hand, means guiding and dispersing your opponent's force until it vanishes without form."

Luo Can then assumed another strange posture—his arms curved as if embracing a ball, his body leaning slightly back, and his steps drawing an arc. Though he was merely posing in the air, he gave off an oddly slippery, untouchable feeling.

"This is Silk-Reeling Force. When your opponent attacks, do not receive the strike head-on. Follow the direction of his force, guide it aside, and deflect it away. Combined with footwork, it can reduce ten parts of an opponent's strength to only three when it lands on you."

He carefully explained the principles of gathering and deflecting force, the routes of Soul Power circulation, and the key points of coordinating the body. These were insights he had gained from martial arts such as Tai Chi and Xingyi in his previous life, then repeatedly verified through real combat. The results were excellent.

"With this, gathering force and deflecting force can allow the first two forms of the Tiger Stance to achieve the effect of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds." Luo Can looked at Ye Lingling. "Do you understand?"

"Mm-hm!" Ye Lingling's eyes shone as she nodded firmly. "I think I've got an idea!"

She stood, stretched her arms and legs, and looked toward the Ghost Tiger pacing restlessly inside the Barrier. Eagerness to fight ignited in her eyes.

"Master, let's continue!"

Luo Can smiled.

"Alright."

He snapped his fingers, and the Soul Power Barrier vanished once more.

"ROAR—!"

The newly freed Ghost Tiger roared wildly and pounced straight at her.

Ye Lingling drew a deep breath and assumed the Tiger Stance. In her mind, she rapidly recalled the methods of gathering and deflecting force that Luo Can had taught her. Her Soul Power circulated along a specific route, her feet retreated slightly, and her arms curved as if embracing a ball.

The Ghost Tiger pounced before her, its claws slamming down with a bloody stench!

Bang!

Ye Lingling was sent flying again.

But this time, the Ghost Tiger also staggered. Its forward momentum was diverted by several degrees, causing it to stumble across the ground. It shook its head, a trace of confusion flashing through its scarlet eyes—had that claw just struck a slippery loach?

Ye Lingling flipped over and scrambled to her feet, delight flashing in her eyes.

It worked!

Though she had still been sent flying, she could clearly feel that she had deflected nearly thirty percent of the Ghost Tiger's force! And when she hit the ground, she instinctively used the Ground-Rolling Force-Deflection Luo Can had taught her, so the fall did not hurt nearly as much as before.

"Again!"

She spread her stance, the fighting spirit in her eyes growing fiercer.

The Ghost Tiger growled low and pounced again.

In the clearing, the girl and tiger began a new round of battle.

In the distance, Luo Can leaned against the Dragon Blood Tree, watching that small figure gradually master the techniques of gathering and deflecting force as she was knocked down and climbed back up again and again. A gratified smile curved his lips.