Chapter Twenty: Mastery of the Wild Tiger Claw

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At this moment, Lin Yanghao had just ventured deep into the Chaoyang Mountains when he saw a giant Sabertooth Hunting Tiger chasing after a small white beast that looked much like a puppy. Lin Yanghao found the scene rather comical—a fourth-rank demonic beast pursuing a creature no bigger than a dog, and yet unable to catch it.

“Well, I’ve been looking for an appropriate beast to fight, and the Sabertooth Hunting Tiger will do nicely!” Lin Yanghao thought to himself, waving his hand in anticipation.

Without another word, Lin Yanghao launched his attack on the Sabertooth Hunting Tiger, while the puppy-like little beast darted into a nearby thicket to hide.

Glancing back at the Sabertooth Hunting Tiger, Lin Yanghao felt as though the beast was sneering at him, which only stoked his anger further. How dare even a mere beast mock him? Enraged, his attacks grew fiercer, each blow delivered with all his might. Yet, despite his efforts, Lin Yanghao failed to make much impact; it became clear that a fourth-rank beast was far superior to those of the second or third rank, both in offense and defense. In fact, he found himself thrown aside by the Sabertooth Hunting Tiger more than once.

Lin Yanghao now felt rather miserable, realizing he had brought this hardship upon himself. Had he known things would turn out this way, he would never have ventured so deep into the mountains. But there was no turning back; he could only brace himself and fight on. Once again, he charged forward.

“Frenzied Tiger Claw!”

The beast’s hide was simply too tough. Despite his relentless attacks, all Lin Yanghao managed was to cause the Sabertooth Hunting Tiger some pain, without inflicting any real damage.

Patting his chest, Lin Yanghao’s fingers brushed against the small dagger he had acquired earlier. Concealing the dagger in his sleeve, he charged at the Sabertooth Hunting Tiger once more.

“Stupid tiger, take this!”

In that instant as he closed in, Lin Yanghao swung the dagger and drove it straight into the beast’s chest. Only at the moment of death did the Sabertooth Hunting Tiger realize what had happened, disbelief still flickering in its eyes.

“This dagger is truly a divine weapon! To pierce such formidable defenses—what a treasure!” Lin Yanghao thought joyfully. To his surprise, the dagger changed once more, its color shifting from black to a brighter, whiter sheen. He dripped the remaining beast blood onto the blade, but it underwent no further transformation.

At last, Lin Yanghao understood—the dagger could evolve by absorbing blood, but only in measured amounts each time.

As he prepared to leave, the little white beast emerged from the undergrowth and began to follow him. Feeling somewhat lonely and finding the creature rather endearing, Lin Yanghao decided to let the ‘little dog’ accompany him on his journey.

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Over the next few days, Lin Yanghao wielded the mysterious dagger to slay many fourth-rank demonic beasts.

“Hahaha! At last, I’ve reached the Fifth Heaven of the Martial Artist! My Frenzied Tiger Claw has also reached mastery!” Indeed, through these days of rigorous training, Lin Yanghao had broken through to the Fifth Heaven, and his signature technique had become fully perfected.

Eager to return, Lin Yanghao decided it was time to go back to the Land of Death. During his absence, he had missed Feng Batian and Feng Shihan—though, of course, he missed Feng Shihan most of all. With the ‘little dog’ in tow, he set off on the journey home.

“I’m back! I’m back!” As soon as he reached the Land of Death, Lin Yanghao shouted at the top of his voice.

Still at home, Feng Shihan recognized his voice and cried out, “Yanghao!” She dashed out in the direction the sound had come from.

“Yanghao—” Feng Shihan had worried for so long that, upon seeing Lin Yanghao, emotion overwhelmed her. Forgetting all shyness, she threw herself into his arms, a sight that stirred the heart.

Seeing the delicate tears still glistening on her lovely face, Lin Yanghao felt a wave of tenderness ripple through him.

Unable to resist, he stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight embrace, gently stroking her silky hair.

Feng Shihan’s face flushed crimson; she lowered her head and hesitated, but at last, she could not withstand the warmth of her beloved’s chest and hugged Lin Yanghao tightly in return.

After holding each other for a while, Lin Yanghao gradually loosened his embrace. Noticing the bashfulness lingering at the corners of Feng Shihan’s eyes, his affection for her deepened all the more.

“Shihan, let’s go see Grandpa Feng first,” Lin Yanghao suggested softly.

“Yes, all right,” Feng Shihan replied, her cheeks still tinged with pink.

“Grandpa Feng, I’m back!” Lin Yanghao called out as soon as they entered the house.

“Grandfather went out hunting just now. Let’s wait for him—he’ll be back soon,” Feng Shihan said, her face still rosy from the recent emotional moment.

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“Oh, how adorable!” Just then, having recovered from her earlier excitement, Feng Shihan noticed the white, puppy-like creature. The fondness young women have for cute things is, after all, only natural.

Yet the little fellow was rather uncooperative, refusing to let Feng Shihan catch it. Lin Yanghao chuckled, caught the little creature, gently stroked it, and said to it, “Don’t be afraid—this is your mistress. Go let her hold you.”

Sure enough, after hearing Lin Yanghao’s words, the little beast glanced up at Feng Shihan, then with a nimble leap, nestled itself into her arms, making her laugh with delight.

It was truly Lin Yanghao’s good fortune to have found this little creature. Out of boredom, he had once spoken to it, only to discover that it could actually understand him. At that moment, Lin Yanghao realized he had stumbled upon a rare treasure.

“Boy, you’re back! Come here and let me test your skills!”

Just as Lin Yanghao and Feng Shihan were enjoying their reunion, Feng Batian’s voice suddenly rang out, shattering the budding intimacy and causing Lin Yanghao to curse inwardly.

“Oh, Grandpa Feng, watch this.” At once, Lin Yanghao began demonstrating his abilities, revealing both his Fifth Heaven cultivation and the mastery of his Frenzied Tiger Claw.

Feng Batian was astonished at Lin Yanghao’s rapid progress; to break through another tier in such a short time was remarkable. Even in his own youth, it had taken half a year to reach the Fifth Heaven, though he had advanced from the first to the fourth in just a month. Progress became ever more difficult as one moved higher—could this boy truly be a once-in-a-millennium genius? Little did Feng Batian realize that Lin Yanghao’s swift advancement was largely due to the ‘Flame Sun Pill’ Lin Yanghao had given him.

“Not bad—it proves you haven’t been idle during this time,” Feng Batian remarked, trying not to lavish too much praise but inwardly quite amazed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep working hard and strive to become as strong as you,” Lin Yanghao replied earnestly.

“Good, it’s enough that you have such resolve. Next, I’ll tell you about your upcoming training. Each task must be more challenging than the last.”

“Ah—Grandpa Feng, actually, I might not need to train in the same way anymore. Do you know about the Flame Sun Pill?”