Taishan Fist Perfected

A power that had never appeared before surged forth, flooding his entire right arm and making it go numb for an instant.

Xie An slowly raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. Power exploded.

This was the power of the major tendons, completely different from the sensation of the Skin-Tempering Realm.

"So this is the power of the major tendons..."

As the medicinal baths continued, the second major tendon began to emit a snapping, rebounding sound.

The third, the fourth...

Crackle! Pop!

Xie An could clearly feel the major tendons within his body snapping and trembling one after another.

It was like popcorn frying in oil. Once the heat was right... kernels naturally blossomed into popcorn one by one.

In martial circles, tendons were described as "ropes" connecting the muscles and bones throughout the body. They included tendons, ligaments, fascia, and more. The human body contained roughly 485 tendons in total.

Yet most martial artists who had just achieved Muscle-Tendon Tempering could generally only skillfully mobilize a handful of tendons to exert force.

Opening one hundred and sixty major tendons meant reaching Full Muscle-Tendon Tempering.

After all, a considerable number of tendons lay deep within the bones, marrow, and organs. Ordinary martial artists found them exceedingly difficult to reach and open.

But Xie An, who had learned the Five Animal True Form Diagram, was different.

The Five Animal True Forms possessed all-round martial effects, covering a sufficiently broad range of muscles and bones in their cultivation.

The moment he broke through to Muscle-Tendon Tempering, he opened a full seventy-seven major tendons.

Because Xie An had heard seventy-seven snaps from his major tendons.

He had directly reached half of Full Muscle-Tendon Tempering. It was already astonishingly exaggerated.

"Looks like seventy-seven tendons are the limit of my first round of Muscle-Tendon Tempering. The tendon-training effect brought by the Five Animal True Form Diagram is quite good."

After the medicinal bath ended, Xie An put on his inner garments and walked into the snow-filled courtyard, spreading his feet apart.

Hum!

All seventy-seven major tendons in his body snapped and exerted force at once, transmitting it section by section into his right arm before he threw a savage punch.

Crack!

The incredibly swift punch churned the air, producing a piercing howl like a whipping lash.

What formidable fist force!

Compared to the Skin-Tempering Realm, his strength had increased by more than double.

For the first time, Xie An truly felt the extraordinary sensation martial training could bring.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Xie An practiced the Mountain-Suppressing Stance once more, then performed the Mountain-Taming Fist again.

The same fist art, when unleashed with the martial realm of Muscle-Tendon Tempering, possessed completely different power and effects.

Xie An then practiced the complete Five Animal True Form Diagram once more.

The same True Forms now possessed power that could not be mentioned in the same breath as before.

The Five Animal True Form Diagram gradually became a deadly combat art for killing and seizing forms.

After finishing, Xie An was still not satisfied. He summoned the panel.

[Ten-Thousand Questions Martial Arts Model Lv1]

[Qi and Blood: 1.9]

[Spirit: 1.9]

[Martial Realm: Muscle-Tendon Tempering]

[Talent: Spirit Sight (Qi-Gazing)]

[Taishan Fist: Mountain-Suppressing Stance (Perfected), Mountain-Taming Fist (Perfected)

Five Animal True Form Diagram (Perfected)]

"After half a month of frenzied nourishment, my Qi and Blood has finally reached 1.9. I can transplant the third form of Taishan Fist."

Xie An immediately returned to his room and opened the third-level fist manual of Taishan Fist.

This was the final level of Taishan Fist, as well as its true essence.

It could be said that the earlier Mountain-Suppressing Stance and Mountain-Taming Fist had both laid the foundation for this level.

Three striking characters filled his vision: Five Mountains Collapse.

A single punch contained five layers of fist force.

The five layers erupted in succession, like five mountains crashing onto an enemy one after another.

Its might was immense, but the burden it placed upon the body's muscles and bones was equally crushing.

The five layers of force had to erupt continuously within the same punch. The muscles and bones endured repeated impacts, and if the body could not withstand them, one would collapse before even defeating the enemy.

Yet Xie An felt that... wasn't it perfectly normal for powerful martial arts to have side effects?

The key was mastering it.

"Ten Thousand Questions, transplant Five Mountains Collapse!"

[Identifying...]

[Identification successful: Taishan Fist Third Form, Five Mountains Collapse]

[Dismantling...]

[Dismantling successful]

Xie An glanced at the panel. His Qi and Blood value had fallen from 1.9 to 1.1.

Sure enough, it was exactly as Ten Thousand Questions had estimated earlier. Dismantling Five Mountains Collapse required 0.8 units of Qi and Blood.

The prediction was very accurate.

Then the 1.0 unit of Qi and Blood needed for the transplant should be reliable as well.

[Transplanting...]

In an instant, his Qi and Blood value immediately fell to 0.1 before stopping.

Then countless forms and training methods for Five Mountains Collapse surged into Xie An's mind, embedding themselves into his muscle memory. Xie An felt as though he had become an old fist master who had trained bitterly in the mountains for many years, with every form of Five Mountains Collapse etched deep into his bones.

It lasted for roughly half a quarter-hour.

[Transplant successful]

Xie An lay weakly on the bed, enduring the dizzying weakness. He reached toward the desk beside him, pulled open a drawer, and took out a Vital Blood Pill to swallow.

As the medicinal power dissolved in his stomach, a powerful current of Qi and Blood flowed through his limbs and bones, rapidly replenishing Xie An's depleted reserves.

Huff!

Seeing the fully restored Qi and Blood value on the panel, Xie An let out a long breath.

The exhaustion in his body finally vanished.

Walking into the courtyard, Xie An spread his feet apart and immediately stood in the snow like an old tree rooted deep in the earth, unmoved by wind or rain.

After Taishan Fist reached great mastery, the feeling was completely different.

He threw a punch, and the wind exploded.

At once, two major tendons within his body snapped.

His developed major tendons had reached seventy-nine.

He changed forms—White Tiger Sky-Roar.

Two more major tendons opened, bringing the total to eighty-one.

For others, opening even one major tendon was a task of immense difficulty, but Xie An found it effortless. The main reason was that Taishan Fist was no ordinary introductory martial art. It offered enormous benefits for opening tendons and tempering bones.

Combined with the artistic-conception martial art, the Five Animal True Form Diagram, it was like wielding two weapons at once. Its tendon-opening effect was something other Muscle-Tendon Tempering martial artists would not dare dream of.

Xie An practiced the complete Taishan Fist once.

It was practiced and weighty, its force boundless.

From time to time, he could hear crackle, pop sounds coming from his body.

His developed major tendons had reached a full one hundred and one.

It was remarkably exaggerated.

"As expected of an advanced martial art. Its tendon-opening effect is excellent."

Having tasted the benefits, Xie An did not stop. He continuously practiced Taishan Fist and the Five True Forms.

Two hours later, Xie An was drenched in sweat.

The major tendons within his body had developed to a full one hundred and sixty.

Comparable to Full Muscle-Tendon Tempering.

"It seems I can't keep opening tendons for now. I wonder how mighty the force of all one hundred and sixty major tendons snapping and exerting force together would be..."

Xie An slowly walked to the two-man-tall ornamental rock nearby.

It was a Taihu stone.

It had been carved by an old master from the Fragrant Mountain Gang back then, and its price had been anything but cheap.

Xie An slowly raised his hand. All one hundred and sixty major tendons in his body snapped and trembled at once.

He threw a punch.

Within one foot of the punch was Mount Dai; at two feet, it gained the blessing of Sea of Clouds; at three feet, Heavenly Pillar was added; at four feet came yin and yang; at five feet was Mountain Shatter.

The five layers of fist force stacked atop one another, melding into a single force that crashed savagely into the ornamental rock.

Five Mountains Collapse!

Boom!

In an instant, the earth shook violently, and the snow piled on the courtyard trees slid down in flurries.

At first, the ornamental rock appeared unmoved. But a crack soon emerged. Then it widened and spread without end, covering the entire rock... until, with a rumble—

The ornamental rock directly collapsed into countless fragments of stone.

"As expected of the foundational martial art secretly passed down by Uncle Shui's sect!"

Xie An smiled as he withdrew his hand and brushed the snow from his clothes. "Qiu Lan, have craftsmen bring another Taihu stone later."

Qiu Lan's little mouth fell open, and for a moment, she forgot to answer.

Only when Xie An leaned close and pinched her rosy little cheek did Qiu Lan suddenly come to her senses. "Y-Yes, understood."

"Go on."

Xie An withdrew his hand and returned alone to his room, standing before the full-length mirror to examine himself.

"Now I can be considered a martial artist at Full Muscle-Tendon Tempering. With the perfected Five Animal True Forms and Taishan Fist, I wonder if I can make Zhou Ji cough blood with one punch..."

Speak of the devil, and the devil arrived.

"Young Master!"

Zhou Ji rushed in from outside, panting heavily. "I waited in the woods outside Li Family Village for half a month, and I finally spotted Uncle Shui's carriage this morning."

Xie An abruptly turned around. "How did Uncle Shui deal with the matter of Li Family Village?"