I Am the True Tiger

Sun Ninghu said nothing.

His breathing grew heavier and heavier, the rise and fall of his chest increasingly violent. Two flames burned in his light-brown eyes—shocked and terrified.

His legs trembled faintly, as though he were using every ounce of strength to suppress the urge to turn and flee for his life.

"My lord, this servant belongs to Yunhe Commandery Princess..."

Qiu Chihu said nothing, his hand settling on the saber hilt.

The saber slowly slid from its sheath.

Its blade was exceedingly long, more than a foot longer than an ordinary goose-quill saber.

The spine was extremely thick, yet the blade itself was thin—thin as a cicada's wing, glinting with a ghostly, icy light beneath the sun.

Faint silver patterns flowed across the blade, spreading from hilt to tip like a silver serpent coiled around it, spitting cold radiance.

The instant the saber left its sheath, the air within several yards suddenly turned frigid.

Chen Lingxi understood at once.

"This saber... is no ordinary weapon!"

Seeing that begging was useless, Sun Ninghu suddenly let out a low roar and pounced at Qiu Chihu.

Both his claws shot forth. Scarlet qi-light flickered from all ten fingers, tearing ten sharp howls through the surrounding air.

He had put everything into this leap. His whole body became like that of a true ferocious tiger, unstoppable.

"Overestimating yourself!"

The long saber in Qiu Chihu's hand turned lightly.

One slash!

Only one slash.

The saber light swept upward from below, carrying Silver Marrow qi-blood and bone-chilling cold radiance as it struck Sun Ninghu's right arm squarely!

That saber light was too fast. So fast that Chen Lingxi saw only an exceedingly thin silver line cut through the air before he heard bones shatter.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out!

Sun Ninghu's right arm was severed at the shoulder. The cut was smooth as a mirror, and blood gushed forth, dyeing half his body crimson.

Screaming, he fell backward. His left hand clamped tightly over the stump as blood streamed through his fingers and pooled on the ground.

Qiu Chihu walked forward, planted a foot on Sun Ninghu's chest, and looked down at him.

His face was bathed in the glow of the two strands of True Light above Sun Ninghu's head, flickering between brightness and shadow. His smile became all the more terrifying!

Sun Ninghu's entire body trembled. His lips moved a few times, as if he wanted to say something.

But before he could speak, Qiu Chihu's saber moved.

The blade sank into his throat.

Sun Ninghu's body convulsed violently a few times, then went still.

Qiu Chihu pulled out his saber, wiped the blood from its blade with Sun Ninghu's lapel, and sheathed it.

He stood there, looking down at Sun Ninghu's corpse.

"I am the true tiger." He spoke softly, as if talking to himself, yet also as if speaking to the corpse. "You, a mere servant, dare share my name?"

As his words fell, Sun Ninghu's corpse began to dissolve.

Starting from his limbs, it turned inch by inch into fine motes of light, like a heap of sand scattered by the wind. It silently vanished into the air, then transformed into a stream of radiance.

That radiance, together with the two strands of True Light that had originally hovered above his head, drifted toward Qiu Chihu.

Qiu Chihu did not even spare it a glance. One hand on his saber hilt, he strode toward the mountain path, the eighteen strands of True Light above his head following after him.

Chen Lingxi sat motionless in the tree canopy.

Only after he watched Qiu Chihu's back disappear at the end of the mountain path through the gaps in the leaves did he slowly withdraw his gaze and close his eyes again.

The canopy was so quiet that only the wind and the rustling locust leaves remained.

After an unknown amount of time, several muffled blasts erupted again from a distant mountain hollow.

Chen Lingxi opened his eyes.

Qiu Chihu stood on the mountain path not far away, looking around as he muttered to himself, "There is still one servant left. Where is he hiding?"

He frowned in thought.

Chen Lingxi seemed to sense something.

"Other than me, all the other fighting beasts are dead."

He rose to his full height!

The tree canopy rustled.

Qiu Chihu sensed it as well and raised his head toward the canopy.

His gaze pierced through layer upon layer of locust leaves and collided with Chen Lingxi's eyes.

Tilting his head, he bared his teeth in a grin.

"You servant, you hid well."

Chen Lingxi brushed several dead leaves from his robe, then leaped down, landing lightly in the forest clearing.

Without another word, Qiu Chihu stepped forward and casually slashed at him.

The saber light rang sharply, Silver Marrow spilling across the sky!

Chen Lingxi's qi-blood surged as he threw a punch with a thunderous boom.

City-Crushing, Mountain-Crushing!

His fist force shattered the saber light!

Qiu Chihu's expression changed.

He saw the faint silvery-white gleam beneath Chen Lingxi's skin, and the unique, piercing chill of Silver Marrow within his qi-blood.

"Silver Bones." His brows lifted slightly, surprise flashing through his eyes. "Not bad. A Silver Bones fighting beast is rather rare in Yuan River Prefecture."

As he spoke, he lightly shook his saber.

Cold light suddenly flashed across its blade.

Silver Marrow flowed over the blade, qi-blood pulsing in and out, forcing the air within several feet to hiss.

"You hid from me for so long, wasting no small amount of my time and making me lose face before the Crown Prince." The smile on his face faded somewhat. His tone remained even, but the teasing in his eyes had vanished, replaced by undisguised killing intent.

Chen Lingxi did not answer.

He suddenly felt that Qiu Chihu's gaze was exactly like Lu Baizhong's when he had pinned down an ant in Willow Street Alley.

He was even worse than Lu Baizhong...

This man still saw him as a beast for them to admire.

The disgust in Chen Lingxi's heart nearly ignited into open flame.

So...

He threw another fierce punch!

With that punch, he unleashed the third form of the Seven Forms of Ceasing War once more—[City-Crushing Stance]!

Qi-blood churned violently within him. The scarlet of Copperfire Qi-Blood and the coldness of Silver Marrow intertwined and collided in his meridians, like ice and fire forged in the same furnace, yin and yang converging into a vast, irresistible force that erupted with a boom through the exertion method of Mountain-Crushing Force.

Where his fist swept through, the air compressed into a visible white ring that spread outward in layer upon layer. Broken stones flew and dead leaves whirled everywhere in its wake.

The might of this punch far surpassed that of an ordinary Silver Bones beginner by an unknown margin!

This was the exquisite wonder of tempering one's bones on the Qi Circulation Third Floor!

Light flashed in Qiu Chihu's eyes. Neither dodging nor evading, he slashed out as well.

This slash was too fast.

Chen Lingxi saw only an extremely thin silver line flash before his eyes, spanning the sky with unstoppable force!

The instant fist and saber collided, Mountain-Crushing Force and saber light crashed together with a dull boom like thunder!

A blast of air spread in every direction, sweeping away all the dead leaves, shattered stones, and withered grass within several yards, exposing the bare yellow mud beneath.

Chen Lingxi felt an incomparably fierce force pass through the saber, numbing his fist.

More terrifyingly, that force did not dissipate. Instead, it spread up through his finger bones, palm bones, and wrist bones. Every bone along the way buzzed as though someone had struck it viciously with an iron hammer through flesh and skin.

He retreated three steps before steadying himself.

"Bone-Penetrating Force." Chen Lingxi moved his numbed wrist, his gaze darkening.

[Bone-Penetrating Force], the mark of Silver Bone Major Accomplishment.

This Bone-Penetrating Force was tyrannical to the extreme.

Though he had blocked that slash head-on with Mountain-Crushing Force, the Bone-Penetrating Force clung to him like a festering disease in the bone, piercing his qi-blood barrier and directly shaking his bones.

Silver Bone Major Accomplishment truly was extraordinary.

Having gained the advantage with one slash, Qiu Chihu pressed the attack without mercy.

He stepped forward, and the silver patterns on his treasured saber suddenly lit up.

The moment those silver patterns lit up, the saber's momentum changed abruptly.

His previous slash had followed a frigid, sinister path. Its saber light had been thin as a silver thread, cold and threatening.

But now, the silver patterns on the blade seemed to ignite, bursting with dazzling golden light.

[Radiant Gold Saber Method]!

This was the saber art passed down through generations of the Qiu Family, drawing upon the meaning of "the great sun shines upon gold, leaving nowhere to hide."

Once its saber momentum unfolded, it was like a blazing sun hanging overhead, its radiance reaching ten thousand zhang.

In a single instant!

Qiu Chihu slashed seven times in succession.

The first six slashes were each stronger and faster than the last.

Chen Lingxi's qi-blood surged. Mountain-Crushing Force and City-Crushing Stance erupted one after another as he met Qiu Chihu's long saber head-on!

Then the seventh slash fell.

This was the killing move of the Radiant Gold Saber Method. The saber swept diagonally from upper right to lower left, and the golden light on its blade blazed to its utmost brilliance, like a true sun falling from the ninth heaven!

Unable to evade, Chen Lingxi could only drive Mountain-Crushing Force to its limit. His right fist shot out fiercely, meeting the saber light head-on.

This time, a thread of azure light appeared upon his fist!

[Azure Edge Method]!

That azure light was exceedingly thin and faint, mixed amid scarlet qi-light and silvery-white gleam. Without close scrutiny, it was almost impossible to notice.

But at the instant saber and fist collided, that thread of azure light suddenly flared, like a famed sword hidden in its sheath finally drawing forth.

Fist and saber collided.

Clang!

It was like two divine weapons crashing head-on!

The sound waves spread outward like ripples, making the surrounding leaves shudder and rustle. Several crows perched on distant branches cried out in alarm, circled a few times through the air, and fled in panic.

The two men withdrew at once after that clash.

Qiu Chihu looked down at the treasured saber in his hand.

The saber was still trembling.

Qiu Chihu raised his head and looked at Chen Lingxi's right hand.

Chen Lingxi's index and middle fingers were pressed together like a sword, a thread of hazy azure edge-light slowly pulsing from their tips.

For the first time, genuine astonishment appeared in Qiu Chihu's eyes.

"What kind of technique is this? I have never heard of it." He narrowed his eyes and asked.

Chen Lingxi did not answer.

Azure light pulsed from the tips of his right fingers, reflecting against the Mountain-Crushing Force over his left fist.

Scarlet qi-light, silvery-white gleam, and azure sharpness interwove and flowed endlessly around his body.

He was like a sword immortal wielding a spiritual sword.