Deep into Broken Fang Mountain

Broken Fang Mountain.

Verdant peaks rose in layers, wreathed in mist.

It stood over a thousand zhang tall and took its name from its summit, which split into two halves like a broken tooth crushed between a giant beast's jaws.

From afar, it resembled a savage primordial beast lurking amid a sea of clouds.

The forests and farmland of all the surrounding villages depended on Broken Fang Mountain. Even as villagers continued clearing the woods, they still occupied only a tiny portion of it.

Deep within Broken Fang Mountain, all manner of fierce beasts roamed in packs.

Even a First-Class Martial Artist could not guarantee that he could traverse the entire mountain.

For rumor had it that spirit beasts with awakened intelligence lived here.

At that moment, a dark-blue figure leaped through the dense forest like an ape, his movements extraordinarily nimble.

Every time he changed positions, he startled a flurry of birds.

This was none other than Xu Mingwei. He carried two bows on his back: a great black iron bow and a pine-green longbow.

The great black iron bow was a specially crafted heavy bow.

Simply drawing it required over a thousand jin of force. Drawing it fully, into the shape of a full moon, required more than three thousand.

Only a First-Class Martial Artist could draw it fully through sheer strength.

Only a martial artist at the Houtian peak, with all his circulating apertures connected, could wield it effortlessly and at will.

Arrows fired from this bow chased clouds and raced lightning, carrying the might of a thousand jun.

Even a martial artist who had just entered Xiantian could be grievously wounded by a single arrow if the right opening presented itself.

As for Xu Mingwei, [Natural Divine Strength] now granted him four thousand two hundred jin of strength in each arm. Combined with his [Eagle Eye] talent, he could lock onto his target.

If he seized an opening, it would not be as simple as a grievous wound.

It would be an absolute one-shot kill!

The other pine-green longbow was far more ordinary, but it was still more than sufficient for hunting common tigers and vicious wolves.

Xu Mingwei would only use the heavy black iron bow against unusual beasts.

He was already more than ten li beyond the outermost woods and fields cleared by the common folk.

None of the villages' hunters ventured this deep.

"Last time, I got about this far."

Xu Mingwei moved through several more spots before finally finding the mark he had carved with a dagger on the trunk of a large tree.

It was the character "Xu."

The strokes bit deep into the wood, winding like snakes and dragons, exuding a bold, unrestrained air.

Xu Chuan required the children of the Xu Household to practice calligraphy every day until they turned fifteen.

Ten years of painstaking practice.

Training the hand was also training the heart.

Xu Mingwei had only recently come to understand this principle, and his admiration for Xu Chuan had grown all the greater.

Thus, he still practiced often, giving form to his resolve.

"I'll look for the little animal Xueji wants on my way back."

Xu Mingwei surveyed his surroundings, then continued swiftly deeper into the forest.

Compared with running along the ground, leaping through the trees was much safer.

Suddenly.

A sharp whoosh came from beside him, and he saw a fist-sized object hurtling toward his head.

Xu Mingwei twisted at the waist, shifting his body slightly sideways to avoid the sudden attack.

But because the ambush had come while he was leaping through the air, his interrupted movement forced him to land on the ground.

Looking up, he saw a burly, man-sized ape perched on a thick tree trunk dozens of meters above. It had a protruding muzzle, a red face, and white fur, and was baring its teeth at him while wildly waving its limbs.

"What a powerfully built monkey!"

Xu Mingwei's pupils contracted. This was his first time seeing an ape of this kind.

"That arm must have at least a thousand jin of strength."

An ordinary hunter encountering it would probably have had his head split open at the first exchange.

The white-furred ape seemed annoyed. It hurled another dark, round object from its other hand at him.

Xu Mingwei dodged easily once again.

He was even curious enough to walk aside and pick up the object for a look.

"A fruit?"

"How strange. It's actually this hard."

Xu Mingwei squeezed it firmly. It felt as though he were squeezing a stone, much to his surprise.

"I'll take it back and let Dad have a look."

Xu Mingwei glanced at the ape, picked up a pebble, and hurled it back at the white-furred creature.

Though the white-furred ape was nimble too, the stone Xu Mingwei threw traveled far faster than its projectiles.

It dodged, but not quite far enough.

The stone still grazed its waist, sending blood spraying.

"Roar!"

The white-furred ape cried out in pain and clutched its wound.

It glanced at Xu Mingwei, a trace of fear showing in its eyes. Then, with another two roars, it fled swiftly, carrying a trace of resentment.

"At least you know what's good for you."

The corners of Xu Mingwei's mouth lifted slightly. If it attacked again, he would certainly kill it.

He found the other black fruit, tucked it into the bundle on his back, and continued onward.

Xu Mingwei had not entered the depths of Broken Fang Mountain simply to hunt wild beasts.

That would have kept him far too busy.

He could spot several of them almost every few moments.

His main purpose was to find unusual beasts to hone himself against.

Tigers and giant bears, for instance.

The outstanding specimens among them possessed raw strength even more astonishing than that of some First-Class Martial Artists.

Still, beasts were ultimately beasts. Unless they overwhelmed their opponents with numbers, they were no match for martial artists.

Even Third-Rate Martial Artists could kill these beasts with weapons, movement techniques, and strategy.

Naturally, Xu Mingwei sought them out to fight at close quarters and temper himself through actual combat.

Suddenly.

The view ahead opened up.

A small, pale-blue lake came into sight, its surface shimmering.

A stretch of green grass surrounded the lake.

The scenery here is quite pleasant.

Xu Mingwei murmured inwardly as his gaze swept around. At the other end of the lake, he spotted a tiger standing more than half a man's height, its tawny coat covered in black stripes.

Its limbs were muscular, and its long, thick tail bore black rings and a black tip.

Its entire body had sleek lines that radiated strength.

Xu Mingwei's pupils contracted slightly. He could even clearly see the "king" character formed by the markings on its forehead as it turned its head.

It was holding an antler deer in its jaws, dragging it into the woods.

"What a tiger. It's sturdier and fiercer than any I've encountered before."

Xu Mingwei immediately followed it.

After trailing it for a while, he arrived at the foot of a low hill.

The hillside was almost vertical, as though someone had cleaved it open with a single sword stroke.

Clematis covered much of the rock face, blooming with large, alluring flowers.

At the foot of the hill was a cave, clearly this tiger's home.

Xu Mingwei rapidly closed in.

The tiger's ears twitched as though it had sensed something. It released its prey and turned to look.

Its large, bright amber eyes gleamed sharply as it fixed its stare on Xu Mingwei.

Xu Mingwei set his bows, quiver, and other belongings aside. With a hearty laugh, he sprang up, clenched his fist, and slammed it forward.

The tiger's eyes flashed. It likewise leaped up and swung a forepaw, striking fiercely.

Thump!

Fist collided with paw.

Man and tiger proved evenly matched, each retreating backward.

"What fierce strength!" Xu Mingwei said with a toothy grin.

An ordinary tiger possessed only a little over two thousand jin of strength, with a limit of around three thousand. Yet the one before him could strike with well over four thousand jin.

Even an ordinary bear would have been sent flying by one swipe, its head reeling.

"Again!" Xu Mingwei's fighting spirit blazed as his blood surged.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Feeling its majesty challenged, the tiger roared in fury. The look in its eyes was now entirely that of a beast watching prey.

Xu Mingwei cracked the ground beneath his foot and shot forward like an arrow.

The tiger did not meet him head-on, instead leaping sideways.

As Xu Mingwei's movement momentarily stalled, a thick, long, black-ringed tail lashed toward him like a whip.

Its whistling reached his ears in an instant.

Xu Mingwei blocked with both arms, but the blow still sent him flying several meters.

Only then did the tiger bare its fangs, open its bloody maw, and pounce to bite him.

The corners of Xu Mingwei's mouth lifted slightly. Bracing one hand against the ground, he thrust his right foot out like a spear. It struck the tiger and kicked it more than ten meters away.

The tiger rolled two or three times after landing before rising, its eyes fixed gravely on Xu Mingwei.

Just then.

Another tiger's roar came from inside the cave. A slightly smaller tiger with a paler coat slowly emerged.

"A female tiger?"

"So a tiger couple lives here."