Tiger Form, Ox Strength

In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

Within the inner courtyard, Liang Qisheng's figure moved without pause.

As his techniques shifted, every part of his body—elbows, knees—became lethal weapons.

With each collision, the air trembled incessantly, like the beating of war drums.

A sudden tremor ran through his form, and he roared like a beast through the mountains.

Liang Qisheng leaped onto a massive boulder, and as his body shifted, he transformed directly into a black tiger.

Turning his head to gaze back at the moon, a tiger's roar shook heaven and earth.

The surrounding air churned violently, and a fierce gale abruptly rose, stirring the entire space.

When his gaze refocused, there was no trace of a human figure—only a black tiger with pitch-black fur, coiled atop the boulder, roaring skyward.

A surging dominance radiated outward, as if claiming this space as its hunting ground.

"Form of the Fierce Tiger! Technique complete! Progress 97%."

As Liang Qisheng checked the data in his mind, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

During this time, aside from carrying out executions, he had been soaking in the inner courtyard, never going out.

He had poured Merit Points like the sea, consuming dozens of Body Tempering Pills, before finally evolving and transforming the Black Tiger Fist to this extent.

Now, not only had he achieved the form of the fierce tiger, nearly divine in its essence, but his strength had also reached the power of two oxen—a full doubling from before.

Without needing much demonstration, he could feel that every muscle group in his body seemed to have gained added momentum. Every inch of his elbows, knees, and fists had become lethal weapons—he was a human-shaped weapon.

In a real life-or-death struggle, every move and technique could take a life.

His fists could produce sonic booms, tearing through the air into piercing winds, sending chills down one's spine.

No wonder they said martial artists were gold-devouring beasts—they required corresponding financial resources.

Even though Liang Qisheng held a cheat, he still needed sufficient wealth.

Over these two months, with the tempering of Body Tempering Pills and Merit Points, no one knew how his strength had soared by leaps and bounds.

It could be described as a complete rebirth, with his power increase reaching a shocking level.

At the same time, his expenses were enormous—hundreds of silver taels had gone down the drain, leaving his pockets emptier than his face.

Body Tempering Pills and medicinal bath materials had nearly drained him completely.

Thankfully, the inner courtyard provided meals; otherwise, this big eater would have gone hungry.

Moreover, Liang Qisheng's situation was extremely special—the transformation from Merit Points was pushing his body toward the most perfect direction.

Such massive consumption, which Liang Qisheng willingly bore, was also to lay a more solid foundation for himself, so that when he broke through to higher realms, he could leap like a carp over the dragon gate, achieving even greater gains.

It was like building a high-rise—the foundation had to be solid enough to support more floors in the future.

To make a simple comparison: an ordinary late-stage Meat Refining martial artist typically had only the strength of one ox.

This so-called "one ox" wasn't a common yellow cow or water buffalo, but a wild ox three meters tall and weighing several tons.

Some martial artists, blessed with exceptional talent or having built their foundation with various medicinal powers since childhood, could gain a significant boost on this basis, reaching the strength of one and a half oxen—enough to hold a great advantage.

For reference, an ordinary early-stage Tendon Refining martial artist had the strength of two oxen.

Thus, Liang Qisheng's strength, even among ordinary Tendon Refining martial artists, was nothing to scoff at.

But now, at the late-stage Meat Refining realm, Liang Qisheng possessed the strength of two oxen—a quantitative change leading to a qualitative leap.

When he broke through to Tendon Refining, his power would undoubtedly undergo an explosive increase.

By then, his increased strength would be enough to grant him an overwhelming advantage when facing ordinary martial artists of the same rank.

Sometimes, Liang Qisheng couldn't help but look forward to it—after breaking through to the Tendon Refining realm, just how far his accumulated strength could reach.

"I've dragged it out long enough—time to get moving."

Since arriving at Blade-Casting Town, nearly half a year had passed. Liang Qisheng had kept his head down, training hard and improving his strength, never speaking of his origins to outsiders, nor stirring up trouble.

But in his heart, he harbored a fierce tiger that sniffed the roses—he repaid kindness with kindness, and vengeance with vengeance, never letting things slide lightly.

Now that he felt his strength had reached a standard limit, it was time to settle some debts of gratitude and grudges.

"Revenge doesn't wait overnight—ten years is too long; seize the day."

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Now, Liang Qisheng had formally become a disciple of Chen Delu.

To request leave and leave the inner courtyard, he needed to explain the situation to him.

However, after searching around without finding his master, he went to Senior Brother Zhao Hu and asked for ten days of leave.

Senior Brother Zhao Hu didn't ask anything and agreed immediately, telling him to report back within half a month.

After bidding farewell to Senior Brother, Liang Qisheng packed a few things simply, slung the Decapitation Blade his master had gifted him on his back, and left.

Of course, the Decapitation Blade in his hand, though identical in shape to the demonic blade that had once sat on the offering altar, was merely a replica.

Still, it had been forged with many precious metals mixed in, making it far sharper than the Ghost Head Blade he had used before.

This time, Liang Qisheng did not travel on foot. He hailed a carriage and set off directly toward Lotus Town.

All nine towns were subordinate to Shiwu County, so there were considerable connections between them.

Merchant caravans came and went frequently on ordinary days, so Liang Qisheng was in no hurry; he rode the carriage onward.

In less than half a day, partly on foot and partly by carriage, Liang Qisheng arrived at the outskirts of Lotus Town.

Lotus Town was a place he knew quite well. When he had first come to this world, it was here that Old Man Zhao had taken him in.

Back when he worked part-time as a hunter and herb gatherer, selling mountain goods, he would make the trip every half month.

Now, so much time had passed, and coming here again gave him a feeling both familiar and strange.

"Long time no see!"

Liang Qisheng sighed with emotion, then followed the familiar mountain path into the town.

After all, he was just a small fry. Nine Harmonies Hall would never bother to keep him in mind.

Even if they had some covert intelligence or pursuit, they couldn't watch him every moment.

Half a year had passed since the incident; he didn't believe Shopkeeper Lin would still be clinging to the matter. The man had probably already forgotten about this one hunter who hadn't died.

Moreover, in this past year, Liang Qisheng had changed a great deal.

His strength had advanced too quickly, causing his body to grow again, now close to one meter eighty-seven.

His muscles bulged, every muscle group streamlined.

And after killing so many prisoners, his temperament had turned cold, as if he had become a different person.

Perhaps even if Shopkeeper Lin stood right before him, he might not recognize him.

Still, Liang Qisheng kept his form hidden, trying not to appear in anyone's line of sight, because his physique was far too conspicuous among ordinary people.

Liang Qisheng slipped into Lotus Town under cover of darkness.

He naturally wouldn't just barge into Nine Harmonies Hall like that. Leaving aside whether a direct confrontation could let him kill Shopkeeper Lin, doing so would be far too brainless.