The Trade

"You know spells, so it's no surprise you're unwilling to become my disciple. After all, Immortal Cultivators have far greater prospects. If you become a high-level cultivator, your lifespan will far exceed an ordinary person's. If I had Spiritual Perception, I would make the same choice." Hall Master Tian could only look regretful.

"Hall Master, although I can't become your disciple, I'm still very interested in the Black Tiger Breathing Method. Could we exchange methods directly?" Wang Yu flicked his wrist, instantly extinguishing the flame in his hand, then looked at him and asked tentatively.

"The Black Tiger Breathing Method cannot be taught to anyone other than the hall master's personal disciples or immediate family. Although I'm very interested in your method as well, I can't make an exception." After hesitating for a while, Hall Master Tian still shook his head.

"That's truly a pity. I'm quite sincere about this. If you change your mind, Hall Master Tian, you can come find me anytime."

Wang Yu felt deeply disappointed at this. After exchanging a few more idle remarks with Hall Master Tian, he took his leave.

Hall Master Tian watched Wang Yu's departing back and sank into thought. Just then, someone quietly appeared at the doorway.

Back at his lodgings, Wang Yu was still thinking about the formidable power of the Black Tiger Breathing Method that Hall Master Tian had described. Unable to resist, he stripped off his shirt and began practicing the Black Tiger Fist in the courtyard again. As sharp hisses cut through the air, the muscles of his upper body kept writhing and swelling, but he could never achieve the terrifying expansion Hall Master Tian had displayed with that single strike in the fist hall.

Even so, as the muscles of his back writhed, they once again formed the shape of a tiger's head.

Overclocking!

Bang! Bang!

A crystalline gleam suddenly flickered deep in Wang Yu's eyes. His figure shifted twice as he changed his clawed hands into fists. His arms abruptly blurred out of sight before him, but two explosive cracks suddenly erupted in the empty air ahead. Only then did his two blood-streaked arms reappear.

What was this?

The crystalline gleam had already vanished from Wang Yu's eyes, but surprise appeared on his face as he looked at the fine bloody marks covering his arms.

His skin was exceptionally tough now. He had merely entered Overclocking mode on a whim and thrown two straight punches with all his strength, yet he had almost split the skin and flesh of his arms. This was truly difficult to imagine, and nothing like it had ever happened before.

Could it have something to do with the Black Tiger Martial Image on my back?

After all, his improved Black Tiger Fist Technique incorporated the body-tempering exercises of the Tiger Pounce Diagram's four forms. Its power was already worlds apart from the original. Once he entered Overclocking just now, his muscle control, neural coordination, and reactions had reached an even more outrageous level, pushing this body's explosive strength to its limit.

At this thought, Wang Yu instinctively reached back and felt his back a few times, but found nothing. After those two punches at the pinnacle of his strength, the Martial Image on his back had simply faded away.

"Senior Sister Tian, haven't you watched enough? Would you mind coming down from the wall?" After pondering for a moment, Wang Yu suddenly turned toward the top of the wall on one side of the courtyard and spoke calmly.

"Huh? Had you already spotted me? How did you see through my Hundred Transformations Concealment Method?" A clear, surprised voice came from atop the wall. Then a tall figure, almost indistinguishable from the wall itself, lightly leaped down. It was none other than Hall Master Tian's daughter, Tian Ziying.

She wore a cloak almost the same color as the gray wall, and her face was full of surprise.

"Your concealment method is excellent, Senior Sister. I only just noticed you. What brings you here?" Wang Yu glanced at the cloak on the tall woman and asked without betraying anything.

That was indeed the truth.

Tian Ziying had been lying silently atop the wall without making the slightest sound. Only when he activated Overclocking and his five senses were suddenly magnified countless times over had he discovered her presence.

This put him slightly on his guard. He decided that wherever he went from now on, he would activate Overclocking mode more often to avoid unknowingly walking into an ambush. Otherwise, a single careless mistake could cost him his life.

"Junior Brother Wang, you threw Sonic Boom Fists just now. That's something you can only do when both strength and speed reach a certain extreme. You haven't even practiced a Breathing Technique, so it was already sheer luck that your arms weren't crippled on the spot after those punches." Tian Ziying folded her arms and swept her gaze over Wang Yu's wounded arms, speaking with the hint of a smile.

"Sonic Boom Fist?"

Hearing yet another unfamiliar term, Wang Yu couldn't help raising his eyebrows.

The tall woman smiled briskly and offered a further explanation:

"As far as I know, you could count everyone in Tongzhou who can throw a Sonic Boom Fist on one hand. My father is one of them, but even he could only just manage it without harming his arms after mastering the Black Tiger Martial Image and soaking his arms in medicinal baths for years. And he can only throw one punch at a time. Before throwing a second, he needs to rest for half a day."

"The Sonic Boom Fist really does place an enormous strain on the arms. It isn't something you can use lightly." Wang Yu nodded in agreement, already beginning to understand that this so-called Sonic Boom Fist was probably the result of a punch breaking the sound barrier.

"With a body as powerful as yours, Junior Brother, you could surely throw Sonic Boom Fists with ease and without injury if you practiced the Black Tiger Breathing Method," Tian Ziying said meaningfully.

"Since you say that, Senior Sister Tian, has the hall master changed his mind?" Wang Yu asked without hesitation.

"This has nothing to do with my father. I simply want to make a trade with you. I can exchange the instructions for the first two levels of the Black Tiger Breathing Method for that method of yours." Tian Ziying no longer concealed her purpose.

"Heh, nothing to do with Hall Master Tian? And only the first two levels?" Wang Yu chuckled, looking dissatisfied.

"The Black Tiger Breathing Method is extremely difficult to practice. My father has only given me the instructions for the first two levels. Even if I wanted to trade the complete instructions with you, I couldn't." The tall woman shook her head repeatedly.

"What a coincidence. My method is also divided into four forms, and it's quite difficult to practice too. Without me teaching you personally, you'd probably struggle to grasp it, Senior Sister. How about I trade the first three forms for the first three levels of the Breathing Technique?" Wang Yu replied, unwilling to lose out.

"How are those the same? The Black Tiger Fist Hall has stood firm in Tongzhou for hundreds of years precisely because of this Black Tiger Breathing Method. You can imagine how valuable it is. You're already getting a tremendous bargain if I'm willing to offer the instructions for the first two levels." Tian Ziying arched her delicate brows and refused without hesitation.

"Senior Sister Tian, I'm an Immortal Cultivator. This method is also an Immortal Cultivator's Body-Tempering Method. There are even high-level Immortal Masters willing to offer me heaps of Spirit Stones in exchange for it. No matter how valuable the Black Tiger Breathing Method is, it's still only a method practiced by mortals." Wang Yu replied unhurriedly, showing no willingness to yield even half a step.

The tall woman was momentarily speechless. Only after a long while did she spit out:

"You win. Swear a terrible oath."

An oath?

Wang Yu was somewhat taken aback.

"Whoever offers something false in this trade shall have their cultivation utterly destroyed and die without a place to be buried." Without hesitation, Tian Ziying uttered words that left Wang Yu drenched in cold sweat.

Four hours later, Tian Ziying left the courtyard in a huff, carrying a book of illustrations.

Wang Yu remained in the courtyard with a yellowed booklet newly in his hand and a broad smile on his face.