Chapter 10: Comprehending true intent, tiger walking like a sick animal!

The night was like ink, and everything was silent.

"Five Animals Fist proficiency +5..."

Jiang Ye set up a fist stance in the narrow open space in the gatehouse, his heart and mind condensed.

Since breaking through to Bright Force and generating Qi and blood, his understanding of the "Five Animals Fist" had become more profound, and as his intent flowed, he could touch the more subtle "spirit" behind the five kinds of living postures.

This time, he set up the "tiger form" stance, and as his heart and mind immersed—

His heart and mind immersed, and his intent reached, no longer just imitating the fierce outer appearance of a tiger hunting, but exploring toward the deeper, more essential survival posture of that king of beasts...

In a trance, he seemed to "see" a vast snowy plain.

A huge tiger was walking slowly.

Its pace was unexpectedly slow, even carrying a few points of floatiness, its shoulders relaxed, its spine slightly collapsed, its eyelids half-drooped, as if it were sick and listless, far from the disdainful and majestic posture of the king of beasts in his imagination, relaxed to the point where there seemed to be flaws all over its body.

However, when a trace of the scent belonging to prey drifted past its nose with the wind—

The tiger's relaxed muscles instantly tightened like iron strings, its half-drooped eyelids suddenly lifted, and the cold light of taking life exploded from its ice-blue pupils!

All the previous laziness, slowness, and sickly illusions were torn to shreds in an instant, and a fierce, murderous aura condensed to the extreme and violent to the extreme soared into the sky!

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

An ancient saying goes: The eagle stands as if sleeping, the tiger walks as if sick!

A realization that seemed to come from ancient times, like a thunderbolt, split the chaos and exploded in his sea of consciousness:

【Fatigue is not decline, but the spirit is hidden, the form is loose and the intent is deep!】

【Observing the exterior, it seems slack and idle, empty in every aspect; investigating the interior, however, it is sealed and closed, with essence hidden; the power of tigers and leopards lies dormant in the vitals, and the momentum of thunder is stored in the Mud Pill Palace!】

【If it doesn't move, it's like rotten wood. If it moves, it's like spring thunder breaking, earth fire surging, spirit, intent, Qi, and force erupting together, overwhelmingly unstoppable!】

【Your comprehension is superb, you have seen through the appearance, pointed directly to the origin, and comprehended the 'tiger form' true intent—Tiger walking like a sick animal!】

Name: Jiang Ye

Lifespan: 80

Fate: Ladder to Divinity【Effect 1: Superb Comprehension】

Mastered Martial Arts: Five Animals Fist【Small-success, 101/500】

Mastered True Intent: Tiger walking like a sick animal

The system's cold and clear prompt tone now seemed to carry a scorching temperature.

"Ugh..."

Jiang Ye groaned, his body maintaining the tiger form stance trembling violently.

The moment that mysterious true intent merged into his heart and mind, he clearly felt that the interior of his aging body was undergoing a strange and profound change.

The Qi and blood that had been slightly "ostentatious" and wandering due to breaking through to Bright Force seemed to be subjected to some invisible restraint and guidance, beginning to sink inward and condense!

No longer ostentatiously displayed under the skin, but penetrating deeper into the gaps of tendons and bones, settling into the depths of bone marrow, and hiding among the five internal organs.

A kind of unprecedented "relaxation" permeated from his bones.

It wasn't weakness, but a kind of "emptiness" and "stillness" that perfectly wrapped and hid all strength, all sharpness, and all aura.

He felt his heartbeat become slower and heavier, and his breathing long and almost inaudible.

"Tiger walking like a sick animal... hiding force into the marrow... hiding sharpness in clumsiness..."

Jiang Ye slowly finished his stance and opened his eyes.

Those seemingly aged eyes no longer had any turbidity, as sharp as a tiger's eyes, full of brilliance.

He looked down at his palms, which were still full of wrinkles, and slowly clenched his fists.

No accumulation of force, no roaring, not even obvious muscle bulging.

The fist was waved forward lightly and casually.

Bang!

A low yet extremely penetrating explosion, like muffled thunder, exploded in the narrow gatehouse!

Crack!

The crisp sound was clear.

Three meters away from Jiang Ye, the hard wall built of blue bricks and gray mortar exploded with a dense web of fine cracks!

In the center of the cracks, brick powder fell down one after another.

"Is this the fist force after comprehending the 'tiger walking like a sick animal' true intent?!"

Jiang Ye's pupils shrank suddenly; even though he had a premonition, seeing it with his own eyes, his heart still couldn't help but jump heavily.

Three meters away, the fist force condensed and did not disperse, actually capable of destroying walls and cracking stones!

If this hit a flesh-and-blood body... even an iron body would probably have broken tendons and bones, and internal organs would become mush!

He had guarded the martial arts academy for twenty years and had seen many Bright Force disciples exert force, focusing on momentum and heavy strength, exploding upon contact; when had he ever seen such a terrifying force that was both restrained and violent, capable of injuring enemies from a distance?

He suddenly realized that this "Five Animals Fist," which Liu Liu Qingshi evaluated as "leaning toward health preservation and lacking killing power," had exploded with power far beyond the Mountain-Collapsing Fist, which was known for its fierceness and dominance, under the combination of his "superb comprehension" and "tiger form true intent"!

"Really want to..."

Jiang Ye licked his somewhat dry lips, his eyes flashing with brilliance.

"Find a human dummy... and practice it solidly."

Possessing sharp weapons, the desire to kill arises.

Inexplicably, Jiang Ye suddenly felt his hands itching.

"This world is becoming less and less peaceful; there should be an opportunity soon."

The next day.

Jiang Ye got up early as usual.

He practiced the "Five Animals Fist" several times in the open space in front of the door before opening the academy gate.

The morning wind was slightly cold, and the long street was silent.

He sat back on the small stool that had been polished bright by the door, tucked his sleeves, half-drooped his eyelids, and became that old gatekeeper who seemed to be sleeping at any time.

The first one to arrive with the morning dew today was still not Shi Lei.

The person was a young disciple with a round face and a sturdy figure; Jiang Ye vaguely remembered his surname was Feng, not eye-catching in the outer courtyard, and usually nothing special.

This disciple surnamed Feng walked in a hurry, walking toward the gate with his head down as usual.

However, just as he walked near the gatehouse and his gaze inadvertently swept over Jiang Ye sitting there—

"Ah! Tiger?"

A short, sharp scream sounded suddenly, exceptionally harsh in this quiet morning.

The disciple surnamed Feng was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight, slamming on the brakes, his face instantly turning pale, his pupils shrinking, and he couldn't help but stagger half a step backward, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

In his horrified vision, the hunched old man sitting at the door had his whole body collapsing loosely, without any spirit, clearly in a state of being on the verge of death.

But for some reason, the moment his gaze touched him, he vaguely seemed to see a fierce tiger crouching in the shadows!

But, just for an instant.

That illusion vanished like smoke.

Before him was clearly still that ordinary old gatekeeper Jiang Ye, with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles, looking at him with somewhat confused dim old eyes, seemingly confused by his sudden scream.

"I... am I..."

The disciple surnamed Feng shook his head violently, blinked hard several times, and looked again; where was any fierce tiger?

There was only a very ordinary, decaying old man.

A strong sense of absurdity and embarrassment surged into his heart, making his cheeks hot.

Early in the morning, was he confused by practicing martial arts? Or was he not awake and seeing things?

Actually seeing the old gatekeeper as a tiger... if this spread, wouldn't he be laughed at by his fellow disciples?

He looked around guiltily and quickly; fortunately, it was still early, and no other disciples were present to witness this shameful scene.

He didn't dare to look at Jiang Ye anymore, hurriedly lowered his head, muttered something indistinct, and almost fled, hurriedly passing through the gate and slipping into the martial arts academy.

"Scared by my tiger form true intent?!"

Jiang Ye watched the disciple's panicked back silently, a flash of realization in his eyes.

But this was no big deal.

Ordinary people would only attribute it to illusion, eye-flow, or distraction.

As long as he didn't use that hidden force, in the eyes of the world, he was still that unremarkable old gatekeeper Jiang Ye.

The morning light gradually brightened, and the inside and outside of the martial arts academy gradually returned to the usual noise and vitality.

Disciples arrived one after another, and the shouts on the martial arts field rose again.

Just at this time, the sound of horse hooves and laughter came from near to far, stopping in front of the academy gate.

"Senior Brother Zhang, you are my own big brother from now on! Last night was truly... an eye-opener!"

Accompanied by a voice carrying obvious flattery and excitement, Hu Tian jumped down from a carriage that wasn't luxuriously decorated but spacious enough.

His face still had the excited flush of a night's revelry, his eyes shining, his coarse cloth clothes still the same, but there was a leather small bag of decent quality at his waist, clearly not an object he should have had originally.

Following him off the carriage was Zhang Xu, who had changed into a dark red martial arts suit embroidered with gold edges today, looking even more noble and compelling.

Behind him were still those few inner-courtyard followers, each with a knowing smile on their faces.

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

He followed closely half a step behind Zhang Xu, his posture respectful but intimate, the worship and gratitude in his eyes toward Zhang Xu were undisguised, completely different from the nervous and cautious country boy of yesterday. ===== CHAPTER 11 =====