The Strength of Two Tigers

"Pass like Thunder and move like the Wind!"

A distinct chilly shout exploded and suddenly echoed throughout the mountain grove.

A silhouette could be seen shuttling back and forth, while making its way through the forest. Each time that figure stuck his palm out; it produced an illustrious sound along with bursts of thunderous roars.

"Bang!" With a dull thumping sound, the wood shavings were sent swirling in the air as spiderweb-like cracks appeared at the spots which were slapped by the palms.

Also with a loud 'kuaca' sound, that tree collapsed accordingly after getting struck.

The four moves of the Rushing Thunder Hand had already been practiced quite exceptionally and proficiently by Ye Xiwen. Five days passed in a flash while he was busy practicing without any obstruction. His strength had already reached 995 Jin and was almost close to obtaining the strength of two tigers. Under normal circumstances, only the warriors of Houtian fifth stage could attain the strength of 2 tigers, but Ye Xiwen's strength was already approaching that number. In fact, he was able to feel that the next breakthrough was not far.

His strength was already drawing near to the strength of two tigers, plus his Rushing Thunder Hand had also reached six echoes!

He attained substantial progress during the last five days, enough to sweep away any expert of Houtian fourth stage. However this was still not enough, far from enough!

Ye Xiwen was issuing the moves of Rushing Thunder Hand over and over. The fourth stage and fifth stage of this martial art technique were kind of like watersheds, in fact the strength of 1000 Jin was also a huge watershed when talking about strength analysis because a warrior with the strength of two tigers could actually defeat several warriors with their strength at 999 Jin.

When a person's strength suddenly increased to 500 Jin, they wouldn't be the same anymore. Their overall strength would no longer stay scattered across the limbs and bones, rather would condense into one group of energy which would then continue to grow and multiply endlessly. The total might of a person would increase several times, enough to turn the heaven and earth upside down.

And after a person's strength increased to 1000 Jin, then the strength contained in the echoes would be a lot stronger than before.

Ye Xiwen issued the Rushing Thunder Hand once again and produced seven muffled rumbling noises in one go.

"Bang!"

One more time, Ye Xiwen's palm caused an air explosion while he was soaked in sweat from head to toe, as if fished out from the river just now. He could feel his muscles going numb all over his body; his muscles were twitching unceasingly which was a direct result of overstraining them.

Ye Xiwen clenched his teeth and got rid of the beads of sweat that were dripping into his eyes. His whole body was sore with pain and numbness spreading all over, but he knew that giving up was not an option. Although his school was only a branch of the Main Sect of Yi Yuan School, it still had a collection of various types of ancient books. Several of them contained information regarding how to have a successful breakthrough. The key to having a breakthrough lied in the so-called continuous process of progressing continually by exhausting one's body to the utmost, and by practicing non-stop without taking rest in between. When done properly as described, one would witness the birth of a new power within oneself, further forming an endless loop of energy circulation.

"Ss..." Ye Xiwen drew back the corners of his mouth; he didn't stop even for an instant and issued the Rushing Thunder Hand once again.

(NT: 'Ss' is the sound of air being sucked between the teeth, indicating hesitation or thinking over)

A silhouette unceasingly shuttled back and forth in the jungle; each of his gestures and movements were meticulous.

After an uncertain amount of time, Ye Xiwen's figure halted abruptly. He shot his palm and issued a burst of thunder-like Zhen Qi which made a loud fulmination.

"Rumble!"

"Rumble!"

...

"Bang!"

Ye Xiwen's palm unexpectedly issued a total of seven echoes of thunderous sounds.

His muscles began to throb and bones started to collide, making crackling and rattling sounds. His old strength was at its limit and a new strength appeared to be taking birth involuntarily. His strength had made a breakthrough once again, reaching the strength of two tigers. This was really an explosion type of progress which pushed his cultivation all the way to the peak of Houtian fourth stage.

Although it was merely the peak of the fourth stage, Ye Xiwen still managed to achieve the seventh echo of Rushing Thunder Hand by relying on the strength of two tigers.

Even a warrior of Houtian fifth stage was no longer his match.

Suddenly, there came a subtle 'rustling' sound from the front side of jungle. There appeared a huge hog that was more than 2 meters tall and its whole body was covered in monstrously long thorns. It was making loud snorting sounds and had actually ground its way through the jungle to come out.

Ye Xiwen's mind immediately shivered when he realized that it was a Houtian fifth stage demon beast called Arrow Hog. Its greatest weapon were the long thorns densely covering its upper and lower body, not to mention it was able to eject these thorns when faced with danger. He needed to be careful in order to not get shot by those thorns.

The Arrow Hog's coarse pelt and thick flesh were very difficult to deal with. Also, its long tusks could directly kill a tiger.

It was stubbornly observing Ye Xiwen as it fiercely stamped its foot on the ground and immediately tightened its muscles. In a flash, dozens of arrow-like long thorns were shot by the Arrow Hog. They as if blotted out the sky and went all the way towards Ye Xiwen.

Ye Xiwen was somewhat gloomy what was the deal with this beast. There was a possibility that since he had been engrossed so earnestly in shadowboxing, he probably didn't pay attention and ended up intruding into this Arrow Hog's territory. His reaction was not at all slow as he immediately stepped backward with a burst of Zhen Qi beneath his feet. As lithe as a swallow, it seemed as if he was skimming in the air. He somehow managed to evade most of the thorns and also swept the remaining ones into another direction.

When the Arrow Hog saw that its attack did not work, it immediately dashed over at a flying speed. This was completely unexpected considering its heavy and sturdy appearance. It was extremely fast and its long tusks were arched upwards; it seemed all set to directly bore its tusks through Ye Xiwen's head.

Ye Xiwen's left foot tilted to the right as he twisted his body to change direction in midair, barely avoiding the danger of getting impaled by the Arrow Hog's tusks.

As soon as Ye Xiwen landed on the ground, the Arrow Hog dashed towards him like a small rolling mountain, without giving him even a tiny bit of chance to breathe.

Ye Xiwen coldly snorted but did not fall back. There was a burst of Zhen Qi beneath his feet that immediately propelled him forward like an arrow. He shot his palm which appeared to be wrapped in curling thunderclouds. The rumbling noise of the thunderclaps was deafening. In the blink of an eye, his palm passed right through the densely covered thorns of the Arrow Hog before maliciously pounding on its body. The strength of two tigers ruptured in its entirety along with the explosion of the clouds surrounding his palm.

"Bang!"

That Arrow Hog had its flesh bruised and lacerated; several of its ribs were broken as well. It gave out miserable shrieks again and again as its small mountain-like body recoiled away from Ye Xiwen.

In general, Zhen Qi couldn't do much to damage the tough pelt and thick flesh of an Arrow Hog beast. Not to mention that this was a demon beast of Houtian fifth stage and Ye Xiwen was only at the peak of Houtian fourth stage.

However Ye Xiwen's strength had already reached the strength of two tigers, so his overall strength was not at all lesser than that of the Arrow Hog. Not to forget the advantage of the Rushing Thunder Hand that had also reached the extent of seven echoes.

Just a single palm attack had left this Arrow Hog in a miserable state; its blood-curdling screeches were resounding everywhere.

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