Realm-Hopping Martial Master

Above Perfection lay Break Limit,

*Jiang Shu's pupils quivered slightly.*

In just a few short days, he had counter-killed a masked Martial Artist and trained in "Snake Step."

He prepared to enter the mountain and started practicing the entry-level Famished Tiger Finale Claw.

His fists and kicks were vicious, his strength improving so fast it could be called a thousand miles a day.

*Yet when he saw the words "Break Limit" on the panel, his whole body still could not help but tremble with excitement.*

Break Limit.

It meant that any Martial Arts technique, in his hands, could surpass Perfection,

The progress he made now was just explosive growth within a small Realm,

But what the panel brought him, what it truly offered, was a resplendent Great Dao of endless martial advancement,

Take, for example, "Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength," which could only be cultivated up to the Bone Forging Realm,

But if he cultivated it to Perfection—just one step further—with this Cultivation Technique, he could directly break into the Refining Internal Realm,

He ate leopard meat, paired with wild fruits,

Unknowingly, Jiang Shu and Qi Yuan had already been inside these mountains for three full days,

They slowed down their pace, growing ever more cautious—every so often, strange roars echoed from the depths of the mountains,

Night fell,

The bright moon hung high above,

The leaves rustled, Jiang Shu stomped out the campfire with one foot,

They were now close to the deep mountains, where jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards could only become food,

Thus, even though both of them possessed Stone Skin Realm combat strength,

they still dared not draw attention by lighting a fire in the darkness,

"Senior Brother Qi, you get some rest first—I'll take the night watch tonight,"

The mountain wind howled as Jiang Shu spoke softly, These past few days, he fought savage beasts by day, and Qi Yuan kept watch at night,

"Alright,"

Qi Yuan was not about to play coy,

Bringing Jiang Shu up the mountain was meant to have some backup, after all,

In the mountains alone, one must kill attacking beasts while searching for signs of Mutant Beasts,

For a long time, even Martial Artists would end up exhausted, their blood and vitality drained,

He leaned against one side of the cave, sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes to rest—soon, his breathing evened out, and he slipped into a doze,

Meanwhile, Jiang Shu stood at the cave entrance, like a famished tiger guarding its den,

Since Tiger Form Three Styles could Break Limit,

he naturally wanted to test how much improvement Famished Tiger Guarding the Den and Famished Tiger Breathing would bring after Break Limit,

On the translucent panel, his proficiency increased bit by bit,

Like the heavy fog in the deep mountains, it gradually shrouded the entire range,

In just a single hour, Jiang Shu's field of view shrank to a mere two steps ahead,

Sounds of all kinds came crisply from the grass,

A snake slithered past,

A wild rabbit grazed,

Jiang Shu quietly took two steps forward, holding his breath, Outskirts of the mountains, scenes like this were far too common—he had seen them more times than he could count,

*But where was this?*

*Nearing the depths of the mountain!*

By now, even jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards were rarely seen,

*Let alone rabbits lacking even the slightest means of self-defense?*

Snake Step,

Moving cleverly between shadow and light, with a hint of Concealment,

Jiang Shu crept closer—under the thick fog, he could not clearly see what lay ahead; his only way to gauge the situation was with these ears he had honed since entering the mountains,

"Hiss…"

This was the sound of a snake flicking its tongue,

"Whoosh!"

This was the sound of wind whipping past,

"Pssht."

This one he could not identify,

Jiang Shu's breathing stayed even, his left hand already quietly gripping the iron staff on his back, ready to draw at a moment's notice,

Suddenly, a gust of wind attacked without warning,

A strange, rabbit-like creature appeared abruptly in Jiang Shu's field of vision,

Its entire body covered in red fur—just the part showing was nearly a meter long, with more hidden by the fog,

Its two "rabbit" teeth were saber-like fangs, hideous and deadly, From its blood-soaked maw, a mist of blood sprayed straight at Jiang Shu,

"Bang!"

He struck with his staff, twisting his body at lightning speed to evade,

Beneath him, a chunk of stone exploded into fragments under a single kick from that bizarre rabbit beast,

"Mutant Beast?"

He confirmed it instantly—Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength erupted forth, Jiang Shu spun and counterattacked, his iron staff whirling,

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Blow after blow—though Jiang Shu had the raw power to rip apart tigers and leopards, and even with the iron staff, under the collision of this strange beast, he was forced back step by step,

The iron-staff wrapped in a coat of iron plating finally showed its true form,

After several impacts, the iron cladding shattered to pieces,

"Duck!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind,

Jiang Shu dodged down at once—a feathered arrow whipped through the air,

It shot right over his head!

Missed!

Another arrow!

Qi Yuan drew bow and nocked arrow—at the first sounds of battle, he'd snapped awake and rushed over, weapon ready,

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Rabbit, red fur, fangs—it sprays bloody mist,"

Jiang Shu broke things down into a few concise words,

He tumbled aside over and over, dodging several more attacks from the red-furred savage rabbit,

If it had been daytime, he would not have looked so battered,

*But in the fog, he could only see two steps ahead,*

*And this bizarre rabbit-creature could clearly see everything!*

*The enemy was clear-sighted and he was blind!*

*Clearly, after this, he needed to find a Martial Arts technique to train his eyesight,*

*The thought flashed by—Jiang Shu focused all his attention, not daring to relax for a second,*

At this moment, he could not trust his eyes anymore,

He could trust only the shifting sounds around him—the change in the air,

"Alright!"

Seeing several arrows fail, Qi Yuan unsheathed his blade,

The Famished Tiger Martial Hall never taught swordsmanship,

so he had nowhere to learn,

But in the mountains, a long blade was just plain more useful than a fist,

He hacked forward with the blade, as if to slice through the thick fog,

"Senior Brother Qi, any idea what this Mutant Beast is?"

Jiang Shu moved in fast, pressing back to back with Qi Yuan,

"No clue…on your side!"

"Got it!"

Jiang Shu swung his staff—in that moment, he wielded it as "Slice" from Tiger Form Three Styles,

The movement was like a tiger's tail, heavy and forceful, the momentum sweeping crosswise,

"Bang."

...

After that strike, everything fell silent,

He could only hear the faint whisper of wind,

"Did it leave?"

At last, seeing the fog grow ever thicker, Qi Yuan could not help but say something,

"Looks like it,"

With only a single-step visibility, Jiang Shu replied uncertainly,

The two stood back-to-back, tightening their focus, and retreated inch by inch toward the cave,

After all, who could say how much thicker this fog might get,

If it grew any thicker,

what awaited them might well be death!

The cave,

pitch dark,

Shrouded in dense fog— even the moonlight and starlight vanished,

The two of them sat facing each other in silence for a while,

*Pingling County was still too small,*

*They Martial Artists from commoner families still knew far too little,*

*The strange fogs deep in the mountain,*

*the eerie red-furred monster,*

*And these weren't even large Mutant Beasts!*

*Already, they had been forced to use everything they had,*

"If it were daytime, we could've taken it,"

After a while, Jiang Shu finally spoke, "This fog is too thick—we can't go any farther into the mountain,"

"Mm,"

Qi Yuan fell silent,

*So it was true, no matter how well you prepared,*

*Once you actually climbed the mountain, you realized how damn hard it was to hunt Mutant Beasts,*

*No wonder mutant beast meat in the black market cost a new price every time,*

*After all, aside from Martial Artists, who could know,*

*Just how much risk you took, how hard you battled, just for a few pounds of beast meat!*