When meditation left him feeling exhausted, Su Hao collapsed into bed. At dawn the next morning, while the sky was still dim, he got up to practice martial arts.
Su Hao plunged into grueling training. His appetite grew, and he used Eight Treasures Health Soup to nourish his body and heal old injuries. He devoted himself completely to martial arts. He had long since grown accustomed to these hard but fulfilling days, and he took pleasure in feeling himself improve.
His progress was just as astonishing!
In the blink of an eye, a month and a half had passed.
"Roar!"
In the hills behind Su Family Fort, Su Hao rolled his shoulders and wrists. After warming up, he shifted from stillness to motion, like a fierce tiger suddenly opening its eyes, swiping its claws, overturning a mountain, and roaring in fury...
Su Hao's Tiger Form Fist was advancing and transforming at a rapid pace. Every movement radiated a natural majesty and ferocity, with a beauty that was a pleasure to behold.
Even when he sat, lay down, or rested, he seemed like a tiger crouched in its lair. The aura he gave off was so startling that birds scattered from the branches in every direction!
Mastering the various moves and changes of Tiger Form Fist counted as reaching the entry level.
Being able to control one's blood and qi, practice each move to perfection, and execute them at will as if by instinct was the "Form" stage of minor mastery!
A step beyond that was to fully grasp the variations in every move and stance, with the body following the mind. Each move became like a part of the body, and even an ordinary glance or gesture seemed to carry the fist art's intent. This was the "Spirit" stage of great mastery.
Su Hao had already reached the pinnacle of the "Form" and "Spirit" stages in Five Animals Fist. Now, he needed to open the meridians in this body and take the next step: combining skill and will with his flesh to give birth to force.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Su Hao practiced Tiger Form Fist with all his might. In his hands, the set was perfectly balanced in form and spirit. Every movement was flawless, and his blood and qi flowed with his techniques, filling him with a palpable might. That fierce aura alone could leave ordinary people weak in the knees.
It was hard to imagine that a boy of fourteen or fifteen could train his fist art to this level!
Su Hao practiced Tiger Form Fist over and over, completely lost in a state where self and world became one.
Crack, crack!
Sweat soaked through Su Hao's clothes. After who knew how long, a breeze stirred, and he suddenly heard the sound of something breaking. The invisible barrier had been shattered.
At that instant, Su Hao's blood and qi surged. It felt as if every meridian in his body had been opened. Blood and qi coursed through his limbs and bones, his heart pounded, and his body temperature rose rapidly until his skin turned crimson!
His body seemed to become a blazing furnace, tempering his flesh and nurturing a new power. Dark red impurities were even expelled from his pores.
At last, after the time it took an incense stick to burn, Su Hao gradually emerged from that state. The world seemed to have changed before his eyes. His vision had grown sharper; he could make out the veins on leaves ten zhang away.
His hearing had sharpened too. He could hear the wind, and his sense of smell had transformed as well, letting him distinguish the fresh scents of different plants and trees in the forest. It felt as if he had been reborn!
"Tiger Form Fist... I've finally channeled its force!"
Su Hao opened his eyes. A glint of tangible light flashed through his bright gaze, and a sincere smile crept onto his lips.
"The change... is enormous! My blood and qi have surged, and my physical strength has leaped with them..."
Su Hao's eyes shone. He clenched his fist and felt a power within him far greater than before.
In the forest, he spotted a boulder the size of a millstone, covered in vines and moss and weighing at least three or four hundred jin.
Su Hao went over to it and grabbed opposite corners with both hands. Then he flexed his arms and lifted with all his strength.
Rip!
The vines covering the boulder tore loose. The enormous stone rose with a scrape, and Su Hao hoisted it high overhead without feeling much strain. He made a slight adjustment with his arms and held the millstone-sized boulder steady with one hand!
"I can lift a stone this heavy with one hand. The strength in my arms must be well over a thousand jin. In terms of physical strength alone, I can already rival a martial artist in this world who has entered the First Refinement realm!"
Su Hao felt immense power coursing through his limbs. His heart pounded with joy he could hardly conceal.
The martial path of this world focused on nourishing Blood Energy and tempering the body. Once a person cultivated Blood Energy, they could use it to refine secret medicines and temper their flesh, step by step, until they transcended the ordinary. The Body Tempering realm was divided into four refinements.
As far as Su Hao knew, First Refinement martial artists trained their skin and muscles. Reaching this realm not only greatly increased their strength, pushing it beyond human limits, but also made their skin tough enough to withstand fists, kicks, and clubs without harm. It was even said that those with exceptional talent could cultivate skin like copper, impervious to blades and spears and unharmed by sharp weapons!
Most people who practiced martial arts probably never got past the stage of strengthening their blood.
The threshold for becoming a First Refinement martial artist was being able to lift a heavy cauldron—to raise a thousand-jin weight with both arms. It was a level of strength that ordinary people could not reach even after a lifetime of hard training. Those who attained it could wield weapons weighing dozens of jin. In armor, they were like killing machines, fearsome fighters who could take on dozens of enemies on the battlefield.
Anyone who reached the First Refinement realm was qualified to work as an escort or a guard, or even sit the imperial examinations and become an official. Once you entered the ranks of martial artists, you could make a good living wherever you went.
The Su family had several First Refinement martial artists. That was how they had secured their footing at Su Family Fort and earned the right to do business and amass wealth!
Su Hao had not yet cultivated Blood Energy, but his internal martial arts training had made his physique strong enough to rival a First Refinement martial artist.
"Not only that. Tiger Form Fist is complete, and I've fully grasped its every nuance. I've even given birth to a force within my body... This force is fierce beyond compare. It can split stone and shatter bone. This is the force gained by taking fist arts and martial skills to a profound level, born from combining skill with strength!"
Su Hao's gaze shifted. He suddenly flexed his arm and tossed the boulder into the air. Then, with a low growl, his bones, skin, and muscles all tensed. Power surged up from the soles of his feet, traveled through every joint, and converged into a single stream before flowing into his punch!
Su Hao's fist slammed into the boulder, and a deep, thunderous tiger's roar rang out.
Crack!
The boulder boomed as if struck by a thousand-jin iron hammer. It burst apart under the tremendous force, shattering into pieces that scattered across the ground.
The power behind that punch left anyone who saw it dumbfounded!
"This is Tiger Gallant Force, born from training Tiger Form Fist to its peak. Its defining traits are unrivaled ferocity and the ability to shatter anything!"
Su Hao's fist was completely unharmed, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
What internal martial arts cultivated was not raw strength, but "force."
Force was a power created by combining technique and the body, transmitted through the bones, skin, and muscles. It could shatter solid rock with a bare fist without injuring the fist itself.
"This is faster than I expected. I cultivated Tiger Gallant Force in just a month and a half. Next, I'll train the other four forms and open the remaining meridians. Once the other four forms have all channeled their force, I'll be able to recover my peak strength!"
Su Hao clenched his fists, full of motivation.
He had crossed into this world, and it was a chaotic place. Worse, he had become a boy and lost the strength he once possessed. He had never felt secure. Only after regaining his peak strength would he be able to relax!
After a brief rest, Su Hao turned to practicing Crane Form Fist.
Each of the Five Animals Fist styles had its own strengths. Tiger Form Fist was fiercely powerful; Deer Form Fist was supple and nimble, adept at redirecting force and countering attacks; Bear Form Fist was heavy and solid; Ape Form Fist was swift and tricky, striking from afar; and Crane Form Fist was light and sharp, built to defeat an opponent in a single blow... The five styles complemented one another. Once all five channeled their force, he could achieve the state of transformed force!
Ordinary people might spend their entire lives channeling force through even a single style, let alone perfecting all Five Animals Fist.
But Su Hao still had his experience and mastery. All he needed to do was open his meridians and regulate his body. Channeling force would be as natural as water flowing into a ditch.
Three months had passed since Su Hao began his "rehabilitation."
In the hills behind Su Family Fort, Su Hao practiced Crane Form Fist.
Whoosh!
Su Hao spread his arms and stood on one leg. It was a simple pose, yet it carried a light, nimble grace, as if he might drift into flight.
Sss, sss, sss!
In the next instant, Su Hao shifted from stillness to motion. He brought the fingers of both hands together into beaks and struck in quick succession. A series of sharp cracks split the air. His fists were like pointed beaks, sharp arrows, or spears—so fast they seemed like flashes of light and shadow. The naked eye could catch only a string of afterimages.
That was not all. His footwork shifted rapidly and in tight, precise steps, dragging afterimages behind him. He seemed almost to be "flying," his movements impossible to follow!
Among the Five Animals Fist styles, Crane Form Fist was the fastest and had the lightest footwork. It focused on using speed to overcome slowness and defeating the opponent with a single strike.
Su Hao suddenly heard a cracking sound in his ears. It came from the many blocked meridians in his body opening up. The energy and force channels of Crane Form Fist now flowed unobstructed, and a second force began to grow within him!
Su Hao's body seemed to grow even lighter, his shape taking on the form of a crane!
Before you continue