Black Tiger Martial Image

Wang Yu gave a slight start and hurriedly turned to look, only to discover that three people had appeared beside him without his noticing.

The speaker stood at the front, a lean old man of average build, with deeply sunken eyes and a penetrating gaze. He held a pair of gleaming iron balls in one hand. It was Hall Master Tian of the Black Tiger Fist Hall, known as the Iron Tiger, whom Wang Yu had met several times before.

Two people stood behind Hall Master Tian. One was the broad-shouldered, burly Instructor Zhu, who had left earlier. The other was a tall young woman in white training clothes, eighteen or nineteen years old, with a long braid. Her features were regular, but a distinctly heroic air shone between her brows.

Farther away, the other formal disciples had stopped practicing and were all looking over in awe.

"Greetings, Hall Master, Instructor Zhu." Feeling somewhat puzzled, Wang Yu stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Who taught you that Black Tiger Fist? Third, was it you?" Hall Master Tian nodded, then suddenly turned to the burly man beside him.

"Master, how could I possibly teach a fist technique like that? His Black Tiger Fist is clearly riddled with flaws!" Instructor Zhu waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of dismissal.

"Father, you just said it was rather interesting. Is there something profound about Junior Brother Wang's Black Tiger Fist?" The tall young woman looked at Wang Yu with considerable interest.

She was actually Hall Master Tian's daughter. Wang Yu had heard of her, but this was his first time seeing her in the hall.

"Heh, I may be getting on in years, but my old eyes haven't gone dim yet. You three, come with me. Everyone else, stay here and wait."

Hall Master Tian chuckled, gave the casual order, and turned toward the courtyard gate at the back.

Instructor Zhu and the tall young woman paused in surprise, then naturally followed him.

Several thoughts raced through Wang Yu's mind before he followed as well, looking obedient. Deep within his pupils, however, a pale yellow Spell Pattern briefly flashed and vanished.

He had actually activated the Qi-Observing Technique at that moment.

Within a pale yellow halo, the blood qi around all three of them flickered distinctly.

The blood qi around Hall Master Tian rose more than two inches above his skin.

Instructor Zhu's rose less than an inch.

The tall young woman's rose an inch and a half.

Hall Master Tian's blood qi was actually as vigorous as Wang Yu's had been when his bloodline was half-awakened. Wang Yu, who had previously regarded these "ordinary people" with indifference, immediately grew somewhat wary.

This Hall Master Tian did not seem to be an ordinary mortal martial artist.

He took another look at himself. With his bloodline fully awakened, the blood qi around his body now reached nearly three inches.

The other formal disciples, meanwhile, were lost in a fog of confusion and began discussing it among themselves.

After Wang Yu followed Hall Master Tian into a more secluded little courtyard in the Martial Arts Practice Field, the old man turned and gave him an instruction:

"Wang Yu, perform the Black Tiger Fist you just showed us again, but twice as fast."

"Twice as fast?"

Wang Yu seemed somewhat taken aback.

The tall young woman and Instructor Zhu exchanged a glance, both looking surprised as well.

"Yes. Take off your shirt and execute your moves twice as fast. Begin now." Hall Master Tian spoke with a faint, ambiguous smile, but his tone allowed no refusal.

"Yes, Hall Master."

After a moment's consideration, Wang Yu thought no further, took off his shirt, and assumed his stance. He began performing the Black Tiger Fist Technique before the three of them, each move noticeably faster than before.

Instructor Zhu and the tall young woman stared wide-eyed, but could make nothing of it.

"Twice as fast again."

Seeing this, Hall Master Tian gave another order without hesitation.

This time, Wang Yu did not answer, but his movements grew faster and faster. The Black Tiger Fist Technique, which had seemed awkward before, began to look fierce and sharp. Gradually, every clawing motion and punch carried an indescribable bestial quality. Every muscle in his body trembled with his movements, especially the large muscle groups across his back, which writhed and twisted at an astonishing rate.

Within moments, Wang Yu seemed to have transformed into a vicious tiger standing on its hind legs. As his arms swept through the air, faint hissing sounds came from between his fingers. The writhing muscles on his back gathered together, vaguely forming a savage tiger's head. Its eyes, nose, and even its gaping, bloodthirsty maw were vividly lifelike, as though it had come alive.

"Black Tiger True Meaning!"

This time, before Hall Master Tian could speak, Instructor Zhu and the tall young woman cried out in unison.

Suddenly, a figure flashed, and Hall Master Tian appeared behind Wang Yu like a phantom.

Bang!

The old man's clothes burst apart, and his upper body swelled a full size, exposing dark, blue-black muscles like cast iron. Drawing a sudden, deep breath, he punched forward with a raging gust of wind.

Wang Yu swayed, turned around, and drove a fierce punch out to meet him.

Boom!

Their fists collided, sending currents of air whipping out to either side as dust flew.

Wang Yu staggered several steps backward before barely steadying himself. One arm had gone completely numb.

Hall Master Tian's body had not shifted at all, but his feet had sunk half a foot into the ground, leaving two gouged tracks roughly ten feet long. A huge tiger's head had also formed on his back.

Instructor Zhu and the tall young woman stared, dumbstruck.

"Black Tiger True Meaning? No, he has merely achieved the black tiger martial image." Hall Master Tian withdrew his fist, murmuring with a strange expression.

"Father, isn't the black tiger martial image something you can only achieve after comprehending black tiger true meaning?" The tall young woman could no longer hold back her question.

"No. Once you comprehend black tiger true meaning, you can certainly form the black tiger martial image. But forming the black tiger martial image doesn't necessarily require you to comprehend black tiger true meaning first." Hall Master Tian shook his head, then asked Wang Yu solemnly:

"Wang Yu, you have never learned the hall's core secret technique, the Black Tiger Breathing Method, much less comprehended black tiger true meaning, which can only be achieved after mastering that Breathing Technique. Yet you can form the black tiger martial image. Can you tell me how?"

"Hall Master, I only paid to learn a set of the Black Tiger Fist Technique when I came to the Black Tiger Fist Hall. I don't know anything about black tiger true meaning or the black tiger martial image. Since the hall has a core secret technique as well, may I pay silver to learn it?"

Wang Yu shook his arm a few times as he answered frankly, inwardly startled by Hall Master Tian's strength.

He was someone with an awakened bloodline, and he had already put all his strength into that punch, yet he had only managed an even match. He could not help taking a keen interest in the Black Tiger Breathing Method the old man had mentioned.

He was certain that Hall Master Tian had no fluctuations of Dharma Power whatsoever and was not an Immortal Cultivator. A yellow spell pattern flashed deep in his pupils once more as he activated the Qi-Observing Technique again and swept his gaze over Hall Master Tian's body.

The blood qi around Hall Master Tian surged wildly. It no longer rose merely two inches, but a full five inches.

He glanced at himself again. The blood qi around his own body had also suddenly risen to four and a half inches.

This gave him another shock.

"The black tiger martial image is the image on our backs right now. Once it appears, it means your cultivation of the Black Tiger Fist Technique has reached an extremely high level." The old man turned around and spread his arms slightly, displaying the blue-black tiger's head on his back.

"Hall Master, you're saying I have that thing on my back too?" Seeing the image on the old man's back, Wang Yu froze, then immediately reached behind himself and felt around haphazardly.

"Ziying, go inside and bring out that large mirror."

Seeing this, Hall Master Tian gave his daughter a direct instruction.

Still in shock, the tall young woman answered and hurried into the nearby room. She carried out a large bronze mirror half a person's height and set it behind Wang Yu.

Wang Yu turned his head to look into the bronze mirror.