Translator: AnubisTL
World of Eternal Night, Blackwind Mountains.
After more than a year, Li Qing returned to the World of Eternal Night.
This time, his purpose was simple: to leverage the time dilation here and quickly break through to Inner Strength.
Li Qing was now just one step away from reaching the Inner Strength realm. All he needed was time to slowly refine his skills.
"And while I'm here, I should probably gather some gold and silver. Feeding that tiger is costing me a fortune!"
Li Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead. He'd started with several hundred taels of silver, thinking it would last for years.
But the gluttonous Fan Tong, now nearing adulthood, had an ever-increasing appetite, devouring an enormous amount of meat every day.
Of course, Li Qing himself was a heavy meat eater. Since he began drinking Tiger Bone Wine, his physique had grown increasingly robust, requiring him to consume large quantities of meat daily to maintain his blood and qi.
The silver that should have lasted at least two or three years had quickly dwindled.
"You gluttonous brute! You're nothing but a spendthrift. I'll send you back to Small Jade Ridge one of these days," Li Qing scolded Fan Tong, who was standing beside him.
"Arooo!" Fan Tong howled indignantly, as if to say, "You're not exactly eating less yourself!"
Traveling between the two worlds allowed him to bring living creatures along. Li Qing had already tested this before, which gave him the confidence to bring Fan Tong with him.
Leaving Fan Tong in Shengtian City without Li Qing's direct supervision would likely cause chaos.
The Fan Tong of today was no longer the tiger cub of the past. He was now a ferocious, full-grown tiger!
It had been a year and a half since Li Qing last returned. Considering the time dilation, roughly four or five years had passed in this world.
Should he go back and check on things?
Li Qing gazed toward Blackrock City, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
He vaguely remembered asking Tian Long of the Righteous Gang to look after Old Man An and his granddaughter before he left. He wondered how they were doing now.
Never mind. I should focus on cultivation first.
Once he successfully reached the Inner Strength level, it wouldn't be too late to explore this strange world. By then, even if the appearance of a tiger seemed impossible, he could simply use his fists to explain it to others. After all, it was perfectly reasonable for the World of Eternal Night to have tigers!
"I'll make this place my base. It's remote and ideal for setting up camp. No need to return to the city."
With that, Li Qing began preparing his camp.
This time, he hadn't just brought a tiger. He had also brought a large jar of Tiger Bone Nourishing Wine and various daily necessities, including food.
Without the sun, only a crimson moon cast its eerie glow over the Blackwind Mountains. Where trees once stood, strange mushroom trees now towered, their caps a mix of red and green, their texture like sawdust, indigestible to humans.
These mushrooms could be used as fuel for fires. In this world, there were two main ways to stay warm: chopping down mushroom trees or mining coal from the earth.
For lighting, the World of Eternal Night had a unique mushroom called the night-glow mushroom.
Similar to a Brilliant Night Pearl, the night-glow mushroom was incredibly resilient. It could take root anywhere and thrive, emitting a constant, radiant glow.
Soon, Li Qing had nearly completed setting up his base camp.
An iron wire bed stretched between two mushroom trees, with a crackling campfire nearby, radiating waves of warmth.
He stored his provisions—grain and dried meat—in iron chests alongside a large vat of Tiger Bone Wine.
He even erected a makeshift shelter to shield against wind and rain, clearly prepared for long-term survival in the wilderness.
After finishing these tasks, Li Qing noticed that Fan Tong seemed unusually listless.
Fan Tong used to love frolicking outdoors. Even inside the blacksmith's shop, it couldn't stay still, constantly running around.
Li Qing had assumed it would love the World of Eternal Night, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
Frowning slightly, Li Qing walked over to Fan Tong and checked its condition.
Physically, there was nothing wrong. It was strong and healthy, with deep breaths and a steady heartbeat.
Could it just be a mental issue?
"Is this brute hungry?" Li Qing wondered, picking up a fresh beef leg and tossing it to Fan Tong.
It ate the meat, but afterward, it still looked listless.
Was it adjusting to the new environment? Or was something else bothering it?
Li Qing couldn't figure it out, but he was sure there was no immediate danger to its life.
"If you're feeling unwell, tell me, okay?" Li Qing rubbed the tiger cub's head.
"Awoof!"
Fan Tong's response was still full of energy, which reassured Li Qing.
After spending so much time together, Fan Tong had proven to be far more intelligent than he'd expected, sometimes even understanding what Li Qing said.
Putting Fan Tong's listlessness aside for the moment, Li Qing focused on practicing his martial arts.
He started with the Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram, his most familiar form, using tiger palm strikes against the hard, cold mountain rocks.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At first, Li Qing controlled his strength, not using his full power.
Minute strands of Internal Strength constantly erupted from his palm, not to shatter the mountain rocks, but to penetrate deep within them.
From then on, strange and eerie muffled thuds often echoed through the rarely visited Blackwind Mountains.
In this cold, dark, and desolate world, Li Qing's heart for martial arts and the pursuit of Dao grew ever more unwavering and resolute, never fading with the passage of time.
During this period, whenever his supplies ran low, he would return to Shengtian, disguising himself in various roles to purchase provisions on a large scale, all to avoid drawing attention.
And so, in the blink of an eye, six months had passed in the World of Eternal Night.
Time flies in the mountains.
This wasn't just an expression. Li Qing, nearly oblivious to the passage of time, would have barely noticed its passage if he hadn't occasionally returned to Shengtian.
Boom!
In the Blackwind Mountains, a massive boulder exploded with a resounding crash.
The way the boulder shattered was peculiar: one half remained completely intact, while the other half splintered into four pieces.
Li Qing stood before the intact half of the massive boulder, slowly retracting his palm.
Even with his unwavering resolve, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic at this moment. His entire body trembled slightly.
"Inner Strength... finally!"
"Hahahaha! ROAR!"
Li Qing let out a clear, resonant roar toward the dark sky. This roar, brimming with his body's vital energy, echoed for countless miles.
After six months of relentless training, he had finally reached the level of an Inner Strength expert—one of the few true powerhouses in the Martial World.
Without a Grandmaster to challenge them, Inner Strength experts could dominate any region.
"So that's it. To reach the Inner Strength level, one must not only master this unique method of channeling power but also possess perfect control and understanding of their own body."
Li Qing spread his hands, then closed his eyes to focus. He could clearly feel the flow of vital energy through every part of his body, even briefly controlling the circulation of his blood.
All of this was thanks to the experience and key points Guo Zhentong had imparted to him. If he had been left to figure it out on his own, it would likely have taken him at least four or five years to fully grasp these concepts.
Vital Energy is the essence of a person. Once the body's Vital Energy is depleted, various ailments, both major and minor, will arise.
But now, Li Qing could briefly control his own Vital Energy. If any part of his body felt discomfort, he could mobilize his entire Vital Energy to repair it.
This meant he had completely freed himself from the troubles of illness. The three great fears of mortals—birth, aging, sickness, and death—were now things he could largely ignore!
As long as he wasn't killed, Li Qing, with his long lifespan, could indulge in the pleasures and adventures of the human world to his heart's content.
"I can't stop drinking the Medicinal Liquor. It's the foundation of my strength. After nearly a year of drinking it, my physique, while not completely transformed, has improved dramatically. It truly deserves its thousand-gold price tag!"
Over the past six months, Li Qing had been diligently drinking Tiger Bone Medicinal Wine and consuming large quantities of meat. His current physique and strength far surpassed what he had possessed before.
"I don't know how others felt when they first entered the Inner Strength realm, but it certainly wasn't like this."
Having broken through to the Inner Strength realm, Li Qing had gained a clear understanding: even at this level, his raw power far surpassed that of many established Inner Strength experts.
His greatest advantage now was his youth and vitality. His Vital Energy surged like a boundless sea. In contrast, Inner Strength experts who practiced External Martial Arts would gradually decline with age as their Vital Energy waned.
Compared to those individuals, Li Qing only lacked experience. But with his strength, many times more terrifying than a wild bull's, and everyone now capable of channeling Inner Strength, who was he afraid of?!
Of course, this didn't apply to those who practiced Internal Martial Arts.
Relatively speaking, practitioners of Internal Martial Arts weren't as reliant on their body's Vital Energy. While Vital Energy still played a role, their true strength lay in their Inner Strength.
These individuals grew more formidable with age, their Inner Strength becoming ridiculously profound. A young man's wild punches wouldn't even faze them.
"Hahaha! Time to leave the mountains and travel the world!"
(End of the Chapter)
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