Internal Breath

His arms had become sturdier and more powerful, his back broad, with clear muscle definition bulging high like a pair of small wings.

His stance was also more solid, as if he had taken root in the ground, allowing him to channel even greater force when swinging his blade; an ordinary person would likely be unable to budge him even an inch.

His entire frame resembled a towering pagoda!

Yet, as these changes manifested, that intense, hollow sense of hunger surfaced along with them.

This time, having prepared in advance, Zhao An did not panic in the slightest. He picked up the large basin of medicinal broth that had already cooled and gulped it down.

The medicinal taste was thick and carried an unyielding bitterness; it was truly foul.

He had ignored the kind warning of the female physician; the four pots of medicinal soup he prepared contained half a catty, one catty, two catties, and five catties of Red Blood Root, respectively!

The female physician had suggested that a single pot of medicinal soup only required two taels; any more would cause an excess of blood and qi, damaging the body.

But Zhao An knew his current state was extraordinary and could not be judged by conventional standards.

As the half-catty of Red Blood Root broth entered his stomach, heat began to surge through his body. Hot air started to vent from his nostrils, and his face flushed red.

However, as his blood and qi climbed steadily and his body continued to reshape itself, the broth and medicinal power in his stomach were consumed at an incredible speed.

His entire body began to sweat profusely.

"Not enough!"

Zhao An could clearly feel that this half-catty of soup was nowhere near enough to satisfy him.

The hunger had only been briefly suppressed before it came roaring back.

Thus, he picked up the pot containing one catty of medicinal herbs and chugged it down as well.

In the intervals, he frequently grabbed the large basin of beef prepared on the table and shoved it into his mouth to fill the void brought on by the hunger.

Soon, another portion of medicinal soup was exhausted. Zhao An proceeded to drink the two-catty portion, followed by the five-catty one.

However, when he finally picked up that five-catty portion, he was relatively more conservative, drinking it in small sips until the hollow feeling in his body vanished, leaving some of the final portion remaining.

With this, Zhao An had a rough idea: five or six catties of Red Blood Root, supplemented with some meat, was just about enough to satisfy the requirements of one extraction of his Soul Slave's results.

"Calculating it this way, the cost-effectiveness of this Red Blood Root is indeed higher. That Earth Origin Pill from before was a waste..." Zhao An sighed to himself, though he understood this was an unavoidable trial during the process of exploration.

He went out into the courtyard and, under the cover of night, began to practice the Fierce Tiger Blade Art.

Thanks to the foundation laid by the Black Tiger Blade Technique, he did not feel unfamiliar while practicing this Fierce Tiger Blade Art. By the first pass of maneuvering, his movements were already quite fluid.

With wide, sweeping motions, he resembled a true fierce tiger, possessing an indescribable, intimidating momentum.

The blade's edge hummed continuously as it cut through the air, the surface reflecting the bright moonlight with a hazy, silvery glow.

Before long, a complete set of the Fierce Tiger Blade Art was finished.

This Fierce Tiger Blade Art was divided into five realms based on its artistic conception and techniques, progressing from simple to complex, with power increasing layer by layer.

During the period of enslavement, the Xu San Soul Slave had not only deduced the complete Fierce Tiger Blade Art but had also practiced the first realm to near perfection, vaguely touching the threshold of the second realm. In this regard, it could be considered an unexpected windfall.

Zhao An suddenly stood still, his hands hanging down as he gripped the blade, closing his eyes to breathe.

His breathing became increasingly rhythmic and peculiar, his abdomen rising and falling irregularly.

This was the auxiliary breathing technique for the Fierce Tiger Blade Art, or what some might call "internal energy"!

Throughout the entire practice of the Fierce Tiger Blade Art just now, he had naturally utilized this breathing rhythm, as if it were instinct.

And as he finished, he vaguely caught a certain opportunity.

But unfortunately...

"Still a little short!"

Zhao An did not overthink it and immediately began practicing the blade art again.

Over and over, the cycle repeated.

Until that opportunity drew closer and closer, and he seized it!

Boom!

Blood and qi surged within his body. At this moment, it felt as if an acupuncture point in his lower abdomen, the dantian, had been cleared. After a slight twinge of pain, a strand of extraordinary energy sprouted from within, circulating through his meridians before finally dispersing throughout his body.

With a thought from Zhao An, that dispersed strand of energy reappeared.

He followed the flow of his breath and swung his blade!

Bang!

The long blade struck the ground, violently shattering several floor tiles, with cracks spreading out nearly half a meter!

As dust rose, Zhao An looked at the hand holding the blade in disbelief.

"Transcendental power! This is the internal energy unique to a martial master!"

He knew that only by mastering internal energy could his strike just now have such power!

It had nothing to do with an increase in physical strength; the key lay in this strand of internal energy generated after the circulation within his body!

The appearance of this internal energy meant he was no longer just a brute who only knew how to use raw force.

He had progressed from the "external" to the "internal," entering an entirely new realm of martial arts!

As for the Dantian acupoint he had just opened, he had long since understood its significance.

Before a martial artist can cultivate their first wisp of internal energy, they must pass a hurdle: opening the Sea of Qi, located at the Dantian in the lower abdomen.

There was no need to wonder; he had seized that very opportunity just now to open his Sea of Qi, which was how he had cultivated his first wisp of internal energy.

Under normal circumstances, this was by no means an easy task.

To open the Sea of Qi, one requires not only a method for circulating breath but also the guidance of a master, the assistance of medicinal pills, and a certain degree of innate talent and martial aptitude.

Only then, through diligent daily practice, could one hope to seize this opportunity and achieve a breakthrough.

Yet Zhao An had his Soul Slaves to train for him, allowing him to skip numerous steps and achieve the opening of his Sea of Qi and the formation of internal energy in one fell swoop!

"I suppose I can now be considered a martial artist!" A faint smile appeared on Zhao An's face.

Although his internal energy was still weak and newly formed, he still had quite a few Soul Slaves in his Soul Pool!

For him, practicing martial arts was as natural as water flowing into a channel; why should he ever worry?

"In that case, let us continue."

Zhao An then selected the Soul Slave named Dazhuang from among those waiting for orders.

He was the last man the Python Gang had sent out when Zhao An passed the three trials.

He remembered that in terms of strength, this man was likely the strongest of the three from the Python Gang.

[Soul Slave: Li Dazhuang]

[Servitude Period: 7 years]

[Trait 1: Pure-Blooded Human (Capable of practicing human techniques!)]

[Trait 2: Death Substitution (Any Soul Slave can passively substitute for the master when they receive fatal damage!)]

[Trait 3: Martial Brute (Possesses a foundation in unranked martial arts; gains a minor bonus when practicing human martial arts!)]

He also possessed the Martial Brute trait, which provided a bonus during simulated training, and his servitude period was a full seven years, the longest among the remaining Soul Slaves.

He fed the Fierce Tiger Blade Art, which had already reached the perfection of the first realm, to him, tasking him with continuing where Xu San left off to further refine this ninth-grade blade technique.

Seven days from now, he would see who was stronger when it came to the Fierce Tiger Blade Art: himself or Zhou Hu, the leader of the Tiger Head Gang! He would see who was the true master of the original!