Chapter 381: Hungry Tiger Swallows the Sun and Eats Without End

A tattoo? That won't do at all; it would delay me from going to the factory to tighten screws, and I wouldn't be able to pass the interview!

No, wait, I've transmigrated and been reborn; I don't need to go to the factory anymore!

Zhou You shook his head and lightly stroked his back; although the brushwork was colorful, it felt smooth to the touch with no raised texture.

He recalled the origin of this painting: a passing old man had done it on a whim.

Hehe, he hadn't known at first, but later, after he delved into Seal Script and studied under Ceng Fuzi, becoming well-versed in the famous painters and calligraphers of the world, he roughly guessed the old man's true identity.

Among the Northern Four Masters, the one most skilled at painting tigers: Hanyusou.

Wang Laohu's greatest dream in life was to acquire an authentic tiger painting by Hanyusou, yet he could never realize it.

Zhou You not only had one, but he hung it in his bedroom to observe frequently, integrating the essence of the Hungry Tiger into his fist techniques.

Just a moment ago, the Hungry Tiger painting had shielded him from the erosion of the lightning fire, effectively saving his life; this kindness could not go unrewarded.

Thinking of this, Zhou You couldn't help but feel a bit regretful; a famous painting destroyed in the flames of war—if he wanted to observe it again in the future... he would only be able to look in a mirror.

At the thought of the Hungry Tiger painting seeping into his back and deforming with his limb movements in the future, he couldn't help but feel it was a bit unsightly.

Zhou You couldn't help but take a few steps forward, lowering his center of gravity to assume a pouncing, ready-to-strike stance.

A strange sensation surged into his heart! The stretching of skin texture, the friction of muscle fibers, the collision of bone joints—every minute change was incomparably clear.

All of this presented itself before Zhou You as if he were looking in a mirror.

It was precisely the change brought about by the Hungry Tiger painting entering his back; he now carried a hungry tiger on his back, no longer a tiger of paper and ink, but a hungry tiger reborn through flesh and blood.

Zhou You felt the hunger emanating from his cells; the flesh on his back stirred as if it might split the skin at any moment to leap out as a starving, thin tiger dripping with saliva.

"Tiger-Crane Dual-Action Fist Lv41 → Lv49, ultimate move Hungry Tiger Swallows the Sun completed, upgraded to Hungry Tiger Swallows the Sun and Eats Without End."

The improvement brought by the true intent of the Hungry Tiger was a rapid advancement in his fist techniques, with even the ultimate move taking a step further.

Zhou You suddenly recalled that when Chen Yang and Zheng Qing unleashed their Martial Master-level ultimate moves during the siege, what they shouted were all seven-character titles.

Could it be that the more characters, the higher the grade and the more powerful the ultimate move?

The direct impact of the fist technique improvement was that Zhou You took a sudden, large stride, seeing the threshold for breaking through to Intermediate Martial Master.

As the fist technique's Qi and blood circulated through his body, washing over his flesh, bones, and internal organs, his previously stalled realm began to advance slowly.

His physical strength increased further, with defense, speed, and power rising in a comprehensive and balanced manner.

"1.5 times steel, upgraded to 2 times steel."

His defense had already reached the ceiling; the next step should be to move from extreme hardness to softness and step into the Intermediate Martial Master realm.

The unexpected happened...

Zhou You's frozen fist originally used the Hungry Tiger as its artistic conception, so breaking through the same realm required far more effort and resources than others; his initial breakthrough to Martial Master was already later, coming after two other personas.

Now that the Hungry Tiger had entered his back, the artistic conception of hunger had reached a higher level, and the difficulty of breaking through to Intermediate Martial Master had increased tenfold.

Fortune and misfortune are unpredictable!

In this way, while his main body's strength had increased, the barrier to breakthrough had also become thicker.

By comparison, the persona Lu Zhigang had a better chance of breaking through to Intermediate Martial Master; after all, as long as he had enough potent, fierce poisons, he could apply the Palm Poison to his body and upgrade through the methods of tempering a poisonous physique.

During this time, Lu Zhigang had been searching everywhere and had already found some leads.

News came from Fucheng that there was a clue about a strange poison; if he could refine this poison, his Poison Palm could be upgraded to the Poison Dragon realm.

This poison came from the Poison Dragon, ranked in the top ten of the Strange Insect Ranking; it was a mouthful of saliva spat out by a Poison Dragon when it was at its most enraged and resentful.

Poison Dragon saliva is both a strange poison and an antique, preserved from ancient times to the present; the mere cost of the vessels and methods to contain it is astronomical. As for the price? Just value it as an antique; preparing one or two million in cash wouldn't be excessive, right!

Zhou You had no objections to this; problems that could be solved with money were not problems.

What's more, the Poison Dragon was no nobody back then; its saliva was by no means mere leftover scraps.

Top ten of the Strange Insect Ranking—this was a status of genuine substance, with no exaggeration.

In ancient times, the Poison Dragon would travel with the water, poking its head above the surface to spray poisonous wind and mist, rising to high altitudes to combine with the clouds and bring down a poisonous rain curtain covering ten thousand miles, exterminating both man and beast, leaving the land barren forever.

Master-level experts took turns attacking it, and only then did several Heaven Sects join forces to finally slay it.

The Poison Dragon saliva was its essence; if utilized well, the Poison Dragon realm was within reach, and there was a high probability of breaking through to Poison Dragon.

If this bottle of Poison Dragon saliva was full weight and not degraded by age like the snake venom of the Hui-Yu, it could even help Zhou You's persona break through all the way to Strong Martial.

Therefore, he was determined to obtain this poison; no matter how much money it cost or how many people he had to kill, he had to have it.

Fucheng...

"Brother, it's not that I won't help you, but I'm really strapped for cash lately."

Zhang Huaimin rubbed his hands together, his expression very troubled.

He spoke the truth: once the war started, the source of wealth in the small town was cut off, and he returned to the days of not knowing where his next meal was coming from. He naturally couldn't go to the gardens anymore, and his food, clothing, housing, and transportation had shrunk significantly, making him ashamed to see acquaintances.

He had heard a little about the news of the Poison Dragon saliva, but those participating in the competition were all big-time players; the strength and financial resources required were far beyond what he could bear.

"Big Brother, you have the heart, but I have my own channels."

'Lu Zhigang', which was Zhou You's persona avatar, had just been to the Thousand Faces Hall to renew his bounty, continuing to exploit the bug and maintain the state of running both his main body and avatar.

He took out an item; it was the token given by Liu Fengji.

Seeing the mark on the sash, Zhang Huaimin was shocked, "Brother, how did you get this?"

Upon learning that Zhou You had saved Liu Fengji, he grabbed Zhou You's wrist, "Brother, this great fortune is also a great danger; we must discuss this carefully!"

It turned out that in order to rescue Liu Fengji, the Dayin Mountain had lost a large number of elite Disciples, and even the fierce generals leading the team had been punished.

Liu Fengji eventually returned to the city safely on his own, and the matter was left at that.

If Zhou You were to jump out now and claim that he had taken advantage of the Dayin Mountain drawing fire to secretly rescue Liu Fengji...

Tsk tsk, it would be a miracle if the Dayin Mountain didn't beat him into a pulp.

Therefore, this credit could not be shirked; it had to be acknowledged, but not too high-profile.

"Big Brother, don't worry, I know the gravity of the situation."

Zhou You intended to keep a low profile, planning to meet Liu Fengji in private and ask him to help find the Poison Dragon saliva.

Although it is said that being associated with a noble family is destined to be infinitely glorious, because of his own experiences, he did not quite trust this bunch of meat-eaters.

"Brother, if it is convenient, could you do me a favor?"

Just as he was thinking this, Zhang Huaimin smiled awkwardly, looking at him with a face full of expectation.

He understood; his sworn brother was not content with loneliness and was thinking of rushing back to a noble family to become a Gate Guest, and the Liu family was a good place!

"What is difficult about this?"

Zhou You waved his hand, "I am seeing Liu Fengji this trip, so I will handle the matter while I am at it."

Zhang Huaimin's ability was not bad, he just lacked luck; there would be absolutely no problem with him being a noble family's Gate Guest, and helping him build a bridge and make a connection was a mere trifle.

(End of this chapter)