Five Animals Creation Play

"Pay back the money?"

Jiang Tian was stunned for a moment, asking subconsciously, "Pay back what money?"

He had clearly already paid his apprenticeship fee.

"Hmph!" Yuan Long let out a cold snort, his expression unkind. "The ten Blood Vitality Pills you just swallowed, were they not bought with silver? Thirty taels each, three hundred taels in total!"

"Hiss—"

Jiang Tian gasped, suddenly remembering.

After breaking through his realm, the blood vitality in his body had burned frantically, leaving him feeling hollow and famished. Yuan Long had indeed fed him ten pills.

But this stuff... thirty taels for one? Why not just go out and rob someone?

His face turned from green to white, his thoughts churning.

Did he really have to give in today?

"Forget it."

Yuan Long sighed and waved his hand. "I was too impatient. During these days, you can spend more time with my daughter. She isn't as cold as you all think; it's just that with me around, no one dares to approach her."

"Alright."

Jiang Tian breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Also." Yuan Long frowned, his tone suddenly becoming a bit more severe. "That kid Li Batian, stay away from him."

Jiang Tian's eyes flickered—he had already noticed it yesterday; from the changes in Zhou Mu, he could catch a glimpse of Li Batian's methods.

"I called you here not just for the sake of the marriage."

Yuan Long walked over to the chair and sat down, picked up the cup of tea on the table that had long since gone cold, took a sip, and asked inexplicably, "What do you think of the Five Animals Fist?"

"It is naturally very good." Jiang Tian thought for a moment. "It contains five types of imagery and is flexible and ever-changing."

Yuan Long calmly dropped a bombshell: "That is an incomplete martial art."

"Incomplete?"

Jiang Tian was stunned. The Five Animals Fist, which seemed so perfect in his eyes, was actually just incomplete?

"Do you want the complete version?" Yuan Long smiled slightly, his eyes hidden in the shadows, making them difficult to read.

Jiang Tian didn't even think, blurting out, "I do!"

"Then you must promise me one thing."

"The marriage is off the table!" Jiang Tian's face darkened.

"It is not about the marriage."

Yuan Long stood up and stepped out of the shadows, exposing himself to the light once more.

Jiang Tian clearly saw the emotions in his eyes: vicissitudes, fear, worry...

These expressions were actually appearing on the face of a Transformation Energy martial artist!

"You and Manzhi do not have to marry." Yuan Long spoke slowly. "But one day in the future, I will have Manzhi follow you. You must promise me—protect her well."

"Don't be in such a hurry to refuse."

Yuan Long raised his hand to stop Jiang Tian from speaking and continued, "In addition to the complete Five Animals Fist, I can also provide all the resources you need for your martial arts training."

Jiang Tian fell silent.

He did not want to have too many attachments—the emotional bonds left behind by his predecessor were already enough.

"Do you trust my character that much?" Jiang Tian said in a deep voice. "And I am currently just a small Body Tempering martial artist, while you are a Transformation Energy expert..."

"You don't need to protect her all the time." Yuan Long raised his hand, interrupting him. "Just help her once when she needs help."

"Fine!"

Jiang Tian agreed immediately.

Helping once was not a problem.

"It is a deal. Now, I will teach you the complete Five Animals Fist."

Yuan Long stood with his hands behind his back, his expression becoming solemn.

"The complete Five Animals Fist is called the Five Animals Creation Play."

"Ordinary martial arts allow one to master one type of [Momentum] upon reaching perfection; those are lower-grade martial arts."

"Mid-grade martial arts have two types of [Momentum]."

"Upper-grade martial arts have three types of [Momentum]—the Five Animals Fist belongs to the upper-grade."

"And the Five Animals Creation Play has five types of Momentum. Tiger, Bear, Deer, Ape, and Bird."

"The Five Animals Fist is a castrated version, possessing only the Tiger, Ape, and Bird momentums."

Yuan Long spoke word by word, as if counting his own treasures.

"Tiger—the Tiger in a Cage, focused on slaughter, with peerless offensive power."

"Deer—Deer in the Snow, treading on snow without leaving a trace, light, agile, and swift."

"Bear—Bear in the Cave, storing power while lying dormant, a single move capable of Mountain Shaking."

"Ape—Ape in the Cliff, scaling rocks and leaping over ravines, flexible and tricky."

"Bird—Bird in the Rain, avoiding wind and rain alike, with keen perception."

"However, Momentum is not so easy to comprehend. Some can grasp it during Body Tempering, while others cannot touch upon it their entire lives."

"Momentum has nothing to do with one's proficiency in martial arts, nor does it relate to one's realm; it depends primarily on comprehension."

"Depends primarily on comprehension?"

Jiang Tian's eyes brightened slightly.

Comprehension? Well, I happen to be a little bit good at that.

"Come, I will demonstrate the Five Animals Creation Play only once. If you cannot comprehend it, that is your own business."

Yuan Long assumed a stance, then suddenly paused.

"Master Yuan," Jiang Tian took the opportunity to ask, "why don't you teach everyone the full Five Animals Creation Play instead of teaching the castrated version?"

"Heh!"

Yuan Long sneered, "You'll know once you see it."

Because the Five Animals Creation Play was far too complex, the founder had chosen to castrate it.

Back then, it had taken him several days just to barely get a grasp on this set of techniques.

He had already whetted Jiang Tian's appetite, and he didn't believe the kid wouldn't be curious. When Jiang Tian couldn't understand it later and begged him to teach it again, he would see how he could toy with him.

As for learning it in one go?

Impossible.

Thinking of this, Yuan Long slowly pulled into an extremely archaic boxing stance.

It was indeed vastly different from the Five Animals Fist—it was far more complex, the variations in the movements were completely different, and the transitions between each form were more seamless and fluid, as if the essence of the five beasts had truly been fused into one.

The tiger roared in the mountain forest, the deer leaped over the mountain stream, the bear crouched in the cave, the ape climbed the sheer cliff, and the bird pierced through the wind and rain...

The five forms rotated, completed in one breath.

A moment later, Yuan Long retracted his posture, placed his hands behind his back, and asked indifferently, "Did you learn it?"

What he didn't know was that the panel in front of Jiang Tian had quietly changed—

Martial Art: Five Animals Creation Play (Minor Success) (1+/500)

Jiang Tian was slightly stunned.

It actually directly overwrote the Five Animals Fist?

Is it because they share the same origin?

Seeing Jiang Tian dazed, the corners of Yuan Long's mouth curled up slightly.

Hmph, you brat, I've eaten more salt than you've eaten noodles; you think I can't handle you?

"Did you learn it?" he asked again, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible smugness.

"I learned it," Jiang Tian replied truthfully after snapping back to reality.

"Hm?"

Yuan Long raised an eyebrow, unconvinced, and tilted his chin upward, "Then demonstrate it for me."

"Alright."

Jiang Tian walked to the open space in the middle of the room, took a deep breath, sank his waist, dropped his hips, and pulled into the boxing stance.

[Beep! You possess Innate Martial Bone and Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Creation Play +9]

After finishing the set, Jiang Tian stood still, his breathing steady.

He was a bit puzzled; the progress had changed from the original 11 to 9. Could it be because this Five Animals Creation Play was more complex?

That must be it.

The room was so quiet that the flickering of the candle flame could be heard.

Yuan Long stood frozen in place, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes wide as saucers.

His current state of mind could not be described by any words.

Is he serious?

He watched it once... and learned it?

Yuan Long opened his mouth, then closed it again.

After a long while, he squeezed a few words through his teeth:

"You brat... just what kind of monster are you?"