The Fourth Round: Tiger Overlord Fist

  Meng Qiu had cultivated the second level of the Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Technique, and after resting for a day, he spent six days and six nights in arduous practice, with only two or three hours of rest each day. Even Meng Qiu's strong willpower was almost at its limit. On the second day, after resting, Meng Qiu left Yun Tou Mountain early in the morning, entered the surrounding forest, found a secluded cliff, and began to practice the Tiger Overlord Fist. The fist technique was different from internal strength training and couldn't be practiced in a small room. Those purple-robed or black-robed disciples who were skilled in martial arts could practice in the performance hall, but Meng Qiu, as a nobody with no reputation, no talent, and no real power, couldn't enjoy that kind of treatment.

  Meng Qiu stood at the edge of the cliff, facing the howling mountain peaks, with his clothes and hair blown back.

  In front of him was a hundred-foot cliff, but he stood at the edge, gazing into the distance, his whole body swaying slightly as if in rhythm with the surrounding mountain wind. Then suddenly, his footsteps shook, and his entire body was like a thunderbolt exploding from a state of silence, bursting forth violently, his bones shaking, tiger-like roars echoing loudly.

  This is the starting pose of Hu Bao Quan, with a majestic and powerful stance. In an instant, Meng Qiu transformed into a fierce tiger, and with two loud bangs, his fists clenched, slightly shook, and began to execute the moves according to the secret manual, each move full of vigor and power.

  The moves of the Tiger Overlord Fist had been fully memorized by Meng Qiu, and this time, although it was his first attempt at practicing, he executed them smoothly without any awkwardness, performing the twelve moves with a flowing motion, his fists breaking through the air with a powerful force that was intimidating.

  "What a great Tiger Overlord Fist!" Meng Qiu exclaimed after finishing his practice, retracting his moves and couldn't help but think to himself with joy: "It seems that choosing the Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Technique and the Tiger Overlord Fist was indeed correct. With my second-level cultivation of the Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Technique, as long as I can master the Tiger Overlord Fist, I can basically one-shot kill ordinary mid-stage practitioners, and even if I encounter late-stage practitioners, I should be able to hold my own and won't be easily defeated, unless the opponent is extremely experienced or a genius."

  Meng Qiu thought to himself, couldn't help but smile slightly, then continued to open his stance, fists breaking through the air, booming and crackling...

  In the blink of an eye, nearly a month has passed. In the mountains outside Yun Tou Shan, Meng Qiu's aura is like a mountain, his hands are like gold, and his fists are like hammers. With each punch, he shatters the air, his aura is like thunder, causing the surrounding rocks to tremble. At this moment, Meng Qiu is like a true king of tigers, one punch can make others retreat in disarray, that kind of fierce and shocking aura can literally scare ordinary people to death.

  The Twelve Forms of the Tiger Overlord Fist were unleashed, with movements as swift as the wind. Each punch was powerful and fierce, unleashing a devastating force from Meng Qiu's body. The final punch exploded out like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. A massive boulder, weathered by countless years, shattered into pieces with a deafening crash. The fist wind swept across, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.

  Reining in his momentum, he opened his hands, and a glint of sharpness flashed through Meng Qiu's eyes: "The power of the Tiger Overlord Fist is indeed extraordinary. The punch just now was already comparable to a full-strength blow from someone in the late stages of Qi training. Now what I lack is footwork and speed. If my footwork and speed can catch up, relying on this fist technique alone will be enough to kill people above my level."

  Transcending realms to kill, for ordinary cultivators, is almost like a myth, only true geniuses can achieve it.

  Meng Qiu is not a genius, but he now has the qualifications to challenge the geniuses. In this month's time, he has been diligently practicing the Tiger Overlord Fist, rising early and retiring late, almost forgetting to eat and sleep, practicing this set of fist techniques countless times. With his own comprehension, plus leveling up and adding points, he has managed to practice this set of fist techniques to the fifth level, which is also the limit of the Tiger Overlord Fist.

  The Tiger Overlord Fist belongs to the middle-grade Huang-level martial art and has a maximum of five realms.

  It's not just that, this month of bitter practice of fist method has also made Meng Qiu's Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Skill progress a lot. Because he needs to urge the true energy to cooperate every time he practices boxing, the Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Skill is unknowingly rotating, which is equivalent to cultivation. Although it hasn't been upgraded to the third level, it makes his true energy more pure and refined, and his experience has increased by a large margin. I believe that in not too long, he will be able to upgrade again.

  And Meng Qiu also had another expectation in his heart.

  According to reason, the Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Technique he cultivated was a fragmentary version, equivalent to a lower-grade yellow-level technique, and could only reach the third level at most. However, there was a jade symbol in Meng Qiuzi's sea of consciousness that could directly add points to upgrade, which made him wonder if he could still improve after reaching the third level. If so, it would be wonderful, equivalent to letting him cultivate the authentic Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Technique, which is a true Xuan-level superior technique, and can reach the thirteenth level realm, with the power of ten dragons and ten elephants, shocking and unimaginable.

  "Hmm!" Meng Qiu thought to himself, calming his emotions and slowly exhaling a mouthful of turbid air: "Now that I've mastered the Tiger Overlord Fist, next I need to strengthen my physical strength and body technique. These two have become my weaknesses."

  To enhance physical strength in preparation for the next upgrade of the Ten Dragon Ten Elephant Technique, while the body method is also an urgent problem to be solved. As the saying goes, all martial arts under heaven are invincible, only speed is not broken. Even if the power of Tiger Overlord Fist is great, it's useless if you can't hit the enemy in the end. Therefore, speed has become a key factor, not just the speed of punching, but also the speed of movement itself, footwork, body method, and punching method, all three are combined as one.

  Meng Qiu thought to himself as he rushed back to Yun Tou Mountain, but on the way, he passed through a mountain pass and suddenly saw a group of dark and eerie aura surging, and from the aura came a faintly heard soft and mournful voice, which made his heart skip a beat, and he involuntarily stopped to look: "Could it be her?"

  In Meng Qiu's memory, a breathtakingly beautiful woman emerged, or more accurately, it wasn't a woman, but a female ghost.

  Through a forest, Meng Qiu arrived behind a large tree and gazed at the dark air mass. In the valley below, on a flat ground, human figures were moving about, with a gloomy wind blowing. A woman in white was practicing martial arts, her voice rising and falling, her body like a white shadow, her aura as black as ink. The weapon she wielded was not a sword or saber, but a rare Flowing Star Mallet, its chain three zhang long, its head as large as a watermelon. As this slender woman swung it about, the air shook with a deafening crash, like thunder, containing the power to shatter everything.

  "It's really her! Nie Xiaoqian!" Meng Qiu recognized the woman's appearance as soon as he saw it clearly.

  In his memory, it was Nie Xiaoqian who brought him to Yun Tou Shan three years ago, and that was their only encounter, after which they never saw each other again. Logically speaking, Nie Xiaoqian is the direct disciple of Grandmaster, so she should have the qualifications to enter the Performing Martial Hall for cultivation, but unexpectedly, she also ran out into the wilderness.

  Meng Qiu was not surprised, but after thinking about it, he felt relieved.

  Nie Xiaoqian, as the eldest sister of the Nie family and also the direct disciple of her grandmother, is a mid-term master of the Yin Spirit. She is also extremely beautiful, so she must have many suitors. It's likely that she came here to escape from all that.

  Nie Xiaoqian's lotus steps flew in dance, her arms spread out, as if dancing, the movements were extremely beautiful and expansive. However, the Flowing Star Hammer in her hand, which was connected to a chain over three zhang long, contained destructive power, whooshing with an aura like a rainbow.

  One move after another, Nie Xiaoqian suddenly shot up into the air, leaping high, her figure flashing like a white crane flapping its wings, and with one hammer strike, she smashed towards the ground.

  A loud rumbling sound, a shocking scene unfolded, on Nie Xiaoqian's Flowing Star Hammer, a dazzling light suddenly flashed, like a shooting star falling to the ground, shattering rocks and smashing into the earth, creating a deep pit with a diameter of five or six zhang.

  "My grass! So strong!" Meng Qiu watched with his heart trembling, compared to Nie Xiaoqian's hammer, his Tiger Overlord Fist was simply child's play.

  "Who? Still not coming out?" Nie Xiaoqian's hammer had just passed, and she reined in her stance, her eyes gleaming like electricity. It was clear that she had long since discovered Meng Qiu's whereabouts. She let out a cold snort and glared over at him.

  Those two gazes seemed to penetrate the trees and land directly on Meng Qiu's body. Meng Qiu knew he couldn't hide, so he obediently revealed himself, cupped his fists and said: "Niece Shifu, earlier I passed by here, not intentionally sneaking a peek at Shifu's practice."

  Nie Xiaoqian carefully sized up Meng Qiu, looking somewhat familiar. After a moment's thought, she suddenly remembered: "You're the one I brought up the mountain?" Then she looked at Meng Qiu again and nodded: "Not bad, already reached the middle stage of Qi training, and with such pure True Qi, you'll likely break through soon."

  "Master's discerning eye." Meng Qiu knew that Nie Xiaoqian was far more powerful than him, and it wasn't unexpected that she could see through his true nature. What truly surprised him was that Nie Xiaoqian, a woman who looked delicate and beautiful, actually wielded the Flowing Star Mace.

  "Alright, you can go now. I'm busy today and don't have time to talk much with you, but since I brought you up the mountain, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come find me." Nie Xiaoqian said calmly.

  "Yes! Thank you, Sister." Meng Qiu nodded, understanding that this was Nie Xiaoqian's way of showing him favor, and now he had the qualification to be valued by Nie Xiaoqian.