Chapter 24: A Tiger's Roar Unleashes the Power

Returning to the Outer Courtyard of the martial arts hall, he continued his daily training.

"There are only 6 or 7 days left."

Perhaps because he had a guilty conscience, Zhou You always felt that Fang Guiqi was watching him.

Later, he confirmed it was an illusion; this guy was elusive and his whereabouts were a mystery, so how would he have the time to monitor him?

The 13 Tiger Bone Plasters must be used up as soon as possible, otherwise, the scent spreading out would surely invite trouble.

Zhou You applied 1 Tiger Bone Plaster each to his chest, back, and four limbs.

Using 6 Tiger Bone Plasters simultaneously brought 6 times the usual amount of Secret Medicine.

Such extravagant behavior directly brought 6 times the thick medicinal power surging into his body.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

Zhou You felt his blood boiling, his muscle cells bathing in the heat flow, strengthening and reinforcing step by step.

"Strength +1, Speed +1, Defense +1."

"Strength: 13, Speed: 13, Defense: 13."

By the next day, the 5 Tiger Bone Plasters had been fully absorbed, with less than 30% of the medicinal power remaining in his body.

Zhou You pulled up his panel to check his data.

Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 14.

Speed: 14.

Defense: 14.

Experience Points: 358.

Occupation: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Ability: Lv8, Fang Lv8, Substitute Lv9.

He was only one step away from the threshold for upgrading the Tiger-Subduing Fist in every parameter.

Zhou You took out another 6 Tiger Bone Plasters, covered his entire body with them, and began training, driven by the medicinal power.

The medicinal power seeped through his pores into his skin and flesh, rapidly nourishing his skin, fur, bones, and internal organs.

With every punch and step, he moved with force, driving his entire body's muscles and bones to operate, absorbing the medicinal power of the Tiger Bone Plasters to a great extent.

Half a day later, a 'ding' sound reached Zhou You's ears.

"Strength +1, Speed +1, Defense +1."

"Strength: 15, Speed: 15, Defense: 15."

"Tiger-Subduing Fist upgrade conditions met. Accept Experience Points -90 to upgrade Tiger-Subduing Fist from Lv9 to Lv10?"

Zhou You did not hesitate and chose to confirm in his heart.

"Experience Points -90, Tiger-Subduing Fist Lv9 → Lv10."

The next moment, it felt as if Zhou You's mind had been struck by a large sledgehammer, buzzing and vibrating incessantly.

A sensation of extreme, numbing itchiness emerged from deep within his bone marrow, flowing through his entire body like an electric shock and piercing through his lungs and internal organs.

Internal Force had finally manifested.

Before this, Zhou You had trained countless times, attempting to grasp the essence of Internal Force, but he had never found the knack.

It was like an invisible wind; he knew it existed, yet he could not capture it, let alone fathom it.

Only now, after meeting the upgrade conditions, did he finally touch the true existence of Internal Force.

"As expected, physical condition is the threshold."

Strength, speed, and defense at 15 points were the basic conditions for cultivating Internal Force.

The Tiger-Subduing Fist was the fundamental training technique for catalyzing Internal Force.

For the new Apprentices in the Outer Courtyard, whether they were throwing random punches or using Tiger Bone Plasters, it all boiled down to stimulating their body's potential.

Some succeeded and catalyzed Internal Force, while others failed and left in dejection.

Zhou You had come to the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall, endured invisible pressure, and trained bitterly day and night, finally touching the edge of Internal Force at this moment.

The catalysis of Internal Force not only required aptitude but also needed to be excavated through acquired training.

At the final moment, Zhou You had consumed a full 12 Tiger Bone Plasters to break through this barrier.

He seemed to hear the sound of a great river surging in his ears; that was the sound of his blood flowing.

His blood flow accelerated, his body temperature rose, and the internal pressure borne by his organs far exceeded the level an ordinary person could withstand.

This was the frequency elevation of a flesh-and-blood body!

Only by rising to a frequency difficult for ordinary people to reach could one be qualified to strike a blow that would shock the world.

At this moment, Zhou You was like a pupa waiting to break out of its cocoon and transform into a butterfly, hiding astonishing potential beneath a seemingly normal exterior.

The sky gradually darkened, the surrounding light faded away, and the martial arts practice field of the Outer Courtyard became quiet.

The new Apprentices left one after another; they were exhausted from the day and needed to rest at night to replenish their strength so they could be in better condition for training the next day.

Zhou You stood before the Hardwood Stake, throwing punch after punch, striking the hard wood with a 'bang, bang' sound.

The century-old Hardwood Stake was the standard unit of measurement for testing martial arts combat power.

Those without Internal Force could not break the Hardwood Stake even if they spent a lifetime striking it with all their strength.

If one had cultivated Internal Force, even a single punch could easily break the Hardwood Stake.

"I am only a hair's breadth away from being able to unleash the effect of Internal Force."

Practicing martial arts was a transformative process of breaking through oneself; even if all conditions were met, he still had to land that most critical punch.

Zhou You roared, his entire body's muscles tensed, and sweat gathered into a stream flowing down to his feet.

He was at a critical moment; success or failure depended on this one attempt.

"This is the feeling, Hunger, an urgent Hunger."

In his mind appeared that Hungry Tiger lying Dormant on a desolate hill, its gaze calm, its lean and strong body filled with explosive power.

Zhou You felt his own breath merge into one with the Meng Hu Quan from the image in his mind.

A ghostly light emerged from his eyes; he wished he could snap and tear the Hardwood Stake before him to pieces and swallow it into his belly.

"There is still 1 Tiger Bone Plaster left, it cannot be wasted either."

Zhou You casually applied the last 1 Tiger Bone Plaster to his chest, and a new stream of medicinal energy flowed into his heart.

Just like the weight of the final straw, it directly pierced the critical node where quantitative change triggers qualitative change.

Zhou You suddenly shivered, a numbing chill surging up from his tailbone, piercing straight through to the crown of his head.

Itching, numbness, tingling, and pain—various sensations surged into his heart.

Zhou You could see with his naked eye that dense goosebumps were simultaneously appearing on the skin of his hands, arms, and thighs.

His whole body subconsciously shuddered, his fist swung out, and he unconsciously threw a punch that had reached the pinnacle of perfection.

The sound of this punch breaking through the air was different from before; it was sharp like a blade, piercing the eardrums with pain.

Faintly, the sound of a tiger's roar could be heard within the wind of the punch, its fierce might overbearing.

"It is done."

An inexplicable and profound feeling emerged in Zhou You's heart; before his fist even touched the stake, he saw the scene of the stake snapping.

Thud—the fist struck the stake, and instead of the resilience and strength fed back in the past, there was only breakage.

Zhou You's fist felt unprecedented ease, directly sending the broken Hardwood Stake flying several meters away.

The force swam beneath his skin like a nimble little fish.

Zhou You took a deep breath and stepped out; driven by the force, his speed suddenly increased threefold.

His vision blurred, and he darted from the center of the open space to the corner by the wall, nearly crashing into it.

Turning back to measure the distance under his feet, it was a gap of 7 or 8 meters, yet he had crossed it in one breath.

This is the marvelous aspect of force; it can significantly enhance strength, speed, and defense.

No wonder in the martial arts hall, only those who have cultivated force are considered a Zhengshi Xuitu; reaching this step, one is finally truly initiated into martial arts.

Zhou You took a few deep breaths, dispersed the force, and the scorching temperature on his skin returned to normal.

A wave of dizziness struck; the consumption of force on the body was too great, not to mention he had just mastered it and his body had not yet adapted.

Fortunately, there was still residual medicinal power from the Tiger Bone Plaster in his body, which quickly seeped into his blood to replenish his exhausted stamina.

"Haha!"

Zhou You laughed loudly in the night; at this moment, he had grasped the threads of his own destiny.