Library of Heaven's Path
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Library of Heaven's Path - Chapter 418: Tiger Head Beast
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Several hundred meters away from the Ten Beasts Cages stood a tall tower.
Two elders were standing by the windows with an incredulous look on their faces.
They were Xuanyuan Kingdom Beast Hall's Hall Master Xie Jiuchen and Grand Elder Wei Yuqing.
And that Wei Youdao was the grandson of this Grand Elder.
When Zhang Xuan arrived at the Beast Hall, the first thing he did was to look for these two. To enter the Ten Beasts Cage, he needed the permission of these two.
"Did you see his movements clearly?" Xie Jiuchen asked in disbelief.
"I... only saw him beating up the Whirlwind Wolves. Other than that... I am unable to see through anything else!" Grand Elder Wei Yuqing's face reddened.
As a 3-star beast tamer, his cultivation had reached Zhizun realm pinnacle, granting him vision much sharper than ordinary cultivators... He should have been able to at least comprehend the trick behind the other party's actions, yet... just like anyone else, he was also completely baffled.
Just by thinking about it left him embarrassed.
"His movements were too fast, so it's normal that you were unable to see anything! If I'm not wrong, on top of the means of a beast tamer, he has also utilized some master teacher techniques!" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen said with a grave face.
"Master teacher techniques?" Grand Elder Wei Yuqing asked doubtfully.
"Indeed. Even though it seemed as though he recklessly charged forward to attack those Whirlwind Wolves, every blow of his struck accurately on the meridians and acupoints of the other party. With just a few strikes, he managed to stimulate their cultivation, bringing their strength, which was capped by their bloodline, up to new heights!" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen explained,
"This is similar to clearing a cultivator's meridians. After those strikes of his, even though there wasn't any visible difference to the Whirlwind Wolves, their cultivation has already grown significantly. Raising their own strength has always been a huge difficulty for savage beasts. Given how the other party is able to induce such a huge growth in their strength just through a few strikes, it's natural that the Whirlwind Wolves would submit willingly to him!"
"This..." Wei Yuqing widened his eyes in shock.
Even though the other party had put it simply, the difficulty in doing so was so great that it could be said to be impossible.
Every single Whirlwind Wolf possessed a different constitution and maturity, so their physical conditions, as well as the location of their meridians and acupoints, would differ from one another. To identify them in an instant and strike on them accurately...
What kind of eyes did the other party possess?
How in the world did he do it?
Putting him aside, even 4-star master teachers would be hard-pressed to do so.
"Other than this, I can't think of any other possibilities!" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen's eyes shone in agitation. "That lad might be young, but he possesses top-notch talent for beast taming!"
"Indeed. Let's see how he'll pass the second stage!" Wei Yuqing nodded.
To be capable of executing techniques so profound that even 3-star beast tamers were unable to decipher them, that lad was indeed impressive.
"In the second stage, he'll have to face three Tiger Head Beast of the same cultivation realm as him."
Hall Master Xie Jiuchen's face turned grim, "Different from Whirlwind Wolves, Tiger Head Beasts are solitary beasts, and they prefer to strike on their own. However, they possess formidable strength, and their bodies and claws are on the level of Phantom equipment. It wouldn't be wrong to say that... they possess invincible defense. Ordinary swords and spears can never hope to pierce through its skin!
"It'll be hard for him to use the same method from before and strike their acupoints and meridians."
"Indeed!" Grand Master Wei Yuqing nodded in agreement.
As a 3-star beast tamer, he could deduce that much. Even though the four Whirlwind Wolves were fearsome adversaries, those who dared to challenge the Ten Beasts Cage were not ordinary beast tamers. At least eight to nine of the challengers would manage to get past the first stage.
The true test... only started from here onward!
Even though savage beasts possess superior physique, speed, and defense to cultivators of the same level, humans possessed an advantage in their intelligence and the heritage of battle techniques.
As long as one learned several formidable battle techniques, with one's superior cultivation, it wasn't impossible to subdue four Whirlwind Wolves.
However... Subduing three savage beasts of the same cultivation realm as one was clearly much harder.
Furthermore, the Tiger Head Beast was adept at individual brawling, and its defense was invincible among those of the same cultivation realm.
It was no joke to say that ten out of ten challengers would fail in this stage, ending up dead or crippled.
"Prepare to save him as soon as it seems like he's in danger. Such talent is rare in the Beast Hall!"
Hall Master Xie Jiuchen felt that it was a pity to see such a talent fall here, so he passed on a command.
"Un!" Grand Elder Wei Yuqing nodded.
Given that even he was unable to see through the beast taming technique that the other party used, it was likely that this Zhang Xuan either had an unbelievably formidable teacher or... he possessed an eye of discernment and talent far surpassing that of others.
Regardless of which one it was, the Beast Hall would have to protect him with all its might.
"Look, it's starting..."
In the midst of the conversation between the duo, Zhang Xuan was already right before the three Tiger Head Beasts, and it seemed as though a battle would trigger at any moment now.
"Tiger Head Beasts possess a powerful physique and have a solitary and skeptical personality. It won't be as easy to tame as the Whirlwind Wolves!"
Standing before the three massive gigantic beasts that resembled tigers, its information surfaced in Zhang Xuan's head.
Mature Tiger Head Beasts could grow up to a height of three meters and a length of five meters. Given its impenetrable defense and massive physique, it already emanated a formidable pressure to face one, so one can only imagine the pressure of fighting three of them simultaneously.
Even without resorting to any techniques, just its charge would be sufficient to destroy an ordinary cultivator.
However, all of this meant nothing to Zhang Xuan.
Even though Zhang Xuan's cultivation was still stuck at Zongshi realm pinnacle, his true fighting prowess was already equivalent to that of a Zhizun realm intermediate stage expert. Three Tiger Head Beasts truly meant nothing much to him.
With a thought, lines of insight surfaced in Zhang Xuan's narrowed eyes.
The form of the three gigantic Tiger Head Beasts immediately changed. The layout of their muscle, the arrangement of their bones, the pathways of their meridians, the faults in their physique... All of them suddenly appeared right before Zhang Xuan's eyes.
Eye of Insight!
After the Soul Tempering of a Mentor’s Calligraphy, not only was Zhang Xuan able to peer into the flaws of those a small cultivation realm stronger than him, the number of flaws he could see had also increased significantly.
These three Tiger Head Beasts may seem imposing to the others, but all he could see were flaws all over them.
"Let's begin then, I'll end this in an instant! So what if they're difficult to tame? My goal isn't to tame them anyway!"
With a slight smile, Zhang Xuan stepped forward.
His final goal was to pass the Ten Beasts Cage, not to tame the savage beasts in it.
Rather, even if he managed to tame them and they became attached to him, that would become troublesome.
Roar!
He took a step forward, and with this, he stepped into the territory of the Tiger Head Beasts. With a ferocious roar, the three massive figures immediately charged forward and surrounded him.
"Tiger Head Beasts possess outstanding defense. It'll probably be a difficult fight..."
Wei Youdao narrowed his eyes.
"Indeed!" Jiang Nanping nodded in agreement. "If he can break through the other party's defense, he might still stand a chance. Otherwise, he's doomed..."
Peng peng peng peng!
Just as the duo was talking, the young man below began exchanging blows with the three gigantic beasts.
"He... Why did he strike the Tiger Head Beast's abdomen? Is he insane?" Jiang Nanping's face warped in shock.
"Different from other savage beasts, the abdomen is where its defense is the strongest. It often intentionally exposes it to lure others to attack it so as to create a momentary lapse in the other party's defense to strike..."
Wei Youdao's complexion looked awful as well.
Most savage beasts were unable to train their abdomen, so it was usually their weak spot. However... the Tiger Head Beast was different.
It had an additional bone at its abdomen, granting it unimaginable resilience.
This was precisely the reason why it often used it to bait cultivators to attack it. To strike at it, one would have to get into the range of the Tiger Head Beast's offense. By then, wouldn't it be free to do as it pleased?
Given how the youngster managed to tame the Whirlwind Wolves so swiftly, the other party should have an in-depth understanding of the habits and properties of savage beasts. How did he make such a low-level mistake?
Not only was striking the abdomen ineffective, one would be doomed the moment the Tiger Head Beast counterattacks!
"Look, the Tiger Head Beast is about to retaliate..."
While the duo was frowning at that sight, the man and the beast below had already come into contact with one another.
Upon seeing the fellow strike its abdomen, the Tiger Head Beast's eyes glowed in excitement. Its thick tail immediately reached forward to pull the young man to him.
Yet, before its tail could reach the other party, the latter's fist had already struck its abdomen.
Disdain and mock flashed across its eyes when a dull thud suddenly sounded.
Peng!
Immense force flowed through the other party's arm onto its body.
The mock on its face froze, and its eyes widened in shock. Its tongue fell out of its mouth, and saliva started dripping uncontrollably down the corners of its mouth.
Sou!
The five-meter long gigantic tiger body flew backward and struck the cage.
Peng!
The figure of a massive tiger was imprinted on the steel cage.
Huala!
Then, falling from the sky onto the ground, a huge storm of dust rose. The Tiger Head Beast struggled, and large mouthfuls of vomit spilled from its mouth. It tried to get back up, but excruciating pain struck its abdomen, rendering it completely immobile.
"What?"
"He struck at the point where the Tiger Head Beast's defense is the strongest, and he still rendered it powerless?"
"This... This..."
In an instant, the spectators standing in the perimeter of the cage fell silent.
The Tiger Head Beast possessed incredible defense. Under normal circumstances, the fist of a cultivator felt nothing more like an itch to it. Yet, to nearly kill it with a single blow...
How did the other party do it?
Are you sure that it is a fist, and not the leg of an elephant?
"It's Heaven's Path Fist Art!"
Among the crowd, Liu Yang tightened his fists and exclaimed with reddened eyes.
This was the Heaven's Path Fist Art that teacher imparted to him. Even though the movements were the exact same as his, there was a world of difference between the might of his teacher's punch and his own.
Given how the Zongshi realm pinnacle Tiger Head Beast was rendered powerless with a single blow, even a Zhizun realm primary stage cultivator would be unable to withstand the might of that fist!
"Looks like I should devote more effort to it in the future..." Liu Yang made up his mind.
"Roar..."
Oblivious to the shock among the crowd, after sending the first Tiger Head Beast flying, Zhang Xuan turned to the remaining two.
Upon meeting his gaze, the edges of the lips of the other two gigantic fellows immediately twitched, and they hurriedly retreated backward.
They didn't possess the intelligence of a human, but they were no fools either.
The one who was sent flying was the strongest of them, but... at the moment, it looked as though it might just breathe its last at any moment now. Since that was the case, how could they possibly withstand that strike?
"Don't be scared. Let me hit you once, and we can end this here. Otherwise, if you all don't fall, I won't be able to proceed on with the trial..."
Seeing the savage beast renowned for its ferociousness backing away from fear, Zhang Xuan was speechless. He clenched his fists and beckoned them forward.
Padah! Padah!
As soon as Zhang Xuan spoke those words, the sound of two heavy objects falling to the ground suddenly echoed. Then, they saw the two imposing Tiger Head Beast falling to the ground at the same moment with their four legs facing the sky. Their tongues were stuck out, and saliva flowed continuously out of their mouths.
"..." Zhang Xuan
"..." The crowd.