Chapter 10

Night was ink-black, all sounds hushed.

“Five Animal Fist proficiency +5...”

Jiang Ye slowly assumed a fist stance in the narrow space inside the gatehouse, his mind sinking into stillness.

Since breaking through Mingjin and giving birth to his blood and qi, his understanding of the Five Animal Fist had grown ever deeper; in the flow of his intent, he could now touch the subtler “spirit” behind the five creatures’ postures.

This time, he took the “Tiger Form” stance, immersing his mind fully.

As his intent sank deeper, it was no longer mere imitation of the tiger’s ferocious hunting posture, but a journey toward the beast’s deeper, more essential mode of existence...

In a haze, he seemed to “see” a vast, snow-covered plain.

A massive tiger paced slowly.

Its steps were unexpectedly slow, almost unsteady, shoulders slack, back slightly hunched, eyelids half-lowered, as if too feeble to muster energy—far from the majestic, lordly bearing one imagined of the king of beasts, its entire frame seeming riddled with openings.

Yet, when an infinitesimal scent of prey drifted past its nose on the breeze—

The tiger’s relaxed muscles snapped taut like drawn iron strings; its half-lowered eyelids snapped open, and ice-blue pupils blazed with cold light that snatched life itself!

All prior laziness, slowness, and sickness vanished in an instant; an essence of ferocity, condensed to its peak and blazing to its extreme, erupted skyward!

Between stillness and explosion, there was no transition—only the purest, most lethal transformation!

Ancient words said: The eagle stands as if asleep; the tiger walks as if sick.

A revelation, as if echoing from antiquity, struck like thunder, cleaving chaos and exploding in his mind:

【Fatigue is not decay—it is spirit’s hidden concealment, form relaxed, intent sunk deep!】

【Observe its exterior: lax, idle, seemingly empty everywhere; examine its interior: sealed, closed, essence hidden, tiger’s and leopard’s might crouched in the marrow, thunder’s force stored in the dantian!】

【When motionless, it is like rotting wood. When it moves, it is like spring thunder breaking free, earthfire surging, spirit, intent, qi, and strength bursting forth as one—unstoppable, overwhelming!】

【Your insight is extraordinary. You pierced the illusion, reached the source, and comprehended the True Meaning of “Tiger Form”—Tiger Walks as if Sick!】

Name: Jiang Ye

Lifespan: 80

Destiny: Ascending the Divine Ladder 【Effect 1: Extraordinary Insight】

Mastered Wu Gong: Five Animal Fist 【Minor Completion, 101/500】

Mastered True Meaning: Tiger Walks as if Sick

The system’s cold, clear notification now felt scorching hot.

“Hnn...”

Jiang Ye grunted, his body trembling violently as he held the Tiger Form stance.

In the instant the profound True Meaning merged into his mind, he clearly felt a strange, deep transformation occurring within his aged body.

The blood and qi, which had slightly surged outward after breaking through Mingjin, now seemed bound and drawn inward, sinking and condensing!

No longer flaunting itself beneath the skin, it sank deeper into the sinews and bone gaps, precipitating into the marrow, hiding between the five organs and six bowels.

An unprecedented “relaxation” seeped from his very bones.

Not weakness—but a perfect containment, concealment of all strength, all sharpness, all qi, into an “emptiness” and “stillness.”

He felt his heartbeat slow, deepen; his breath grew long, nearly imperceptible.

"The tiger walks as if sick... consolidating strength into the marrow... concealing sharpness within simplicity..."

Jiang Ye slowly ended the stance and opened his eyes.

His once-clouded, aged eyes now gleamed with piercing clarity, like the gaze of a tiger.

He looked down at his still-wrinkled hands and slowly clenched his fist.

No tension, no roar, no visible muscle bulge.

The fist moved forward, seemingly casual, effortless.

Boom!

A low, penetrating detonation echoed like muffled thunder inside the cramped gatehouse!

Crack!

The sound was crisp.

On the solid wall of blue bricks and mortar, three meters away from Jiang Ye, a spiderweb of fine cracks exploded outward!

Dust rained down from the center of the cracks.

“Is this the power of the fist after comprehending the ‘Tiger Walks as if Sick’ True Meaning?!”

Jiang Ye’s pupils shrank sharply; even though he had anticipated it, seeing it with his own eyes made his heart pound hard.

Three meters away, the fist’s force remained condensed, yet shattered stone and wall!

If this struck flesh and bone... even an iron body would shatter bones, rupture organs!

He had guarded the Qingstone Martial Academy for twenty years, seen many Mingjin disciples unleash power—focused on forceful impact, explosive on contact—but never had he seen such an inwardly concealed yet violently explosive force capable of striking from afar!

He suddenly realized: this Five Animal Fist, which Liu Qingshi had dismissed as “focused on health, lacking in killing,” now, fused with his “Extraordinary Insight” and the Tiger Form’s True Meaning, had unleashed power surpassing even the famed, brutally forceful Mountain-Crushing Fist!

“I want...”

Jiang Ye licked his dry lips, eyes gleaming.

“Find a training dummy... and practice properly.”

When one possesses a sharp blade, the will to kill arises.

For no reason, Jiang Ye suddenly felt his fingers itch.

“The world is growing more turbulent. There should be an opportunity soon.”

The next day.

Jiang Ye rose early as usual.

He practiced the Five Animal Fist several times on the front courtyard before opening the academy’s main gate.

The morning breeze was chilly, the long street silent.

He returned to the worn, polished stool beside the gate, pulled up his sleeves, half-lowered his eyelids, and became once more the gatekeeper who seemed ready to fall asleep at any moment.

The first to arrive this morning, as always, was not Shi Lei.

It was a young disciple with a round face and sturdy build; Jiang Ye vaguely remembered his surname was Feng—he was unremarkable in the outer courtyard, never drawing attention.

The young man named Feng hurried forward, head down as usual, walking toward the gate.

Yet, as he neared the gatehouse and his gaze accidentally swept over Jiang Ye seated there—

“Ah! Tiger?!”

A sharp cry rang out, piercing the quiet morning.

The disciple named Feng froze as if seeing a ghost, stumbling backward half a step, face instantly pale, pupils constricted—unconsciously recoiling as if confronted by something terrifying.

In his horrified gaze, the hunched old man seated at the gate sagged limply, devoid of any spirit or vigor, clearly on the brink of death.

Yet, for an instant, as his eyes met Jiang Ye’s form, he seemed to glimpse a massive, striped tiger crouched in the shadows!

But only for an instant.

The illusion vanished.

Before him stood only the ordinary, withered gatekeeper Jiang Ye—white-haired, wrinkled, blinking with confused, dim eyes, as if startled by his sudden cry.

“I... I...”

The disciple named Feng shook his head violently, blinked hard, and looked again—where was the tiger?

Only a common, decrepit old man remained.

A wave of absurdity and embarrassment surged through him, heating his cheeks.

Was he hallucinating from overtraining? Or just sleep-deprived?

To mistake the gatekeeper for a tiger... if this got out, he’d be laughed at by every fellow disciple!

He nervously glanced around—thankfully, the hour was too early for any other disciples to have witnessed this humiliation.

He dared not look at Jiang Ye again, lowered his head, mumbled something incoherent, and hurried past the gate, practically fleeing into the academy.

“He was frightened by my Tiger Form True Meaning?!”

Jiang Ye silently watched the disciple’s hasty retreat, a flash of understanding in his eyes.

But it mattered little.

Ordinary people would dismiss it as illusion, eye strain, or mental distraction.

As long as he did not unleash his concealed power, to the world he remained merely the unremarkable gatekeeper Jiang Ye.

Morning light brightened; the academy gradually returned to its usual bustle and vitality.

Disciples arrived one by one; the training grounds echoed with shouts again.

At that moment, hooves and laughter drew near and halted before the academy gate.

“Brother Zhang, from now on you’re my real elder brother! Last night was... truly eye-opening!”

With a voice dripping with flattery and excitement, Hu Tian leapt down from a carriage that, though not luxurious, was spacious enough.

His face still bore the flushed glow of last night’s exhilaration, eyes bright; his coarse cloth robes remained unchanged, but now he wore a high-quality leather pouch at his waist—clearly not his own.

Next stepped down Zhang Xu, now dressed in dark red, gold-threaded training attire, radiating even greater nobility.

Behind him followed his usual inner courtyard attendants, each wearing knowing smiles.

In just one night, the relationship between Hu Tian and Zhang Xu had undergone a qualitative leap.

He walked half a step behind Zhang Xu, posture respectful yet intimate, his gaze filled with unhidden admiration and gratitude—utterly transformed from the nervous country boy of yesterday.