Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 96: Chapter 89 The Brave Beheading of the Tiger! Seeking a Marriage Alliance?_2

Howling gusts of wind.

Gu Sheng’s power surged endlessly, his fist striking with ferocity. A loud crack rang out, and the tiger’s claw was forcibly snapped apart.

His gaze grew increasingly unrestrained and gleeful.

When gaining the upper hand, spare no mercy for the tiger!

Fist after fist, wrapped in sheer force, pounded viciously against the tiger’s head.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Blood and flesh splattered, the muffled sounds thundered like a storm. Dizzy and disoriented, the tiger—already gravely injured with an arrow piercing its left eye—succumbed entirely after this relentless beating, soon losing all signs of life.

Gu Sheng halted his assault, slightly catching his breath as he viewed the massive tiger before him, his eyes brimming with an indescribable sense of achievement.

A tiger is the king of the jungle; to single-handedly hunt such a beast is an honor.

Yet of course.

For someone like Gu Sheng, joy did not stem from some vague, ethereal notion of honor.

He remembered vividly the scene from when his innate wisdom had first awakened, as wolves invaded the manor, and Gu Jingang slew one under the moonlit sky, his fist blasting the wolf’s skull into pieces.

And now.

Gu Sheng could also achieve the feat of slaying a tiger single-handedly.

This meant that the once unreachable goals were now within his grasp. The sensation of climbing higher and higher, step by step, surpassing objectives that were once unattainable—that was the true source of his fulfillment.

He glanced at the tiger’s corpse, blood flowing incessantly, reminding him it had been beaten to death by his savage punch force.

It carried the same exhilaration as Wu Song’s legendary tiger-slaying.

Joy swelled in his chest. This mighty beast held significant value; it was a rare prize. While tigers were not overly difficult to defeat—many within the manor were capable—the real challenge lay in finding one.

After pondering briefly.

Gu Sheng began dealing with the tiger’s corpse.

Producing a short axe, he chopped off the tiger’s right forepaw with force, reworking it to resemble the marks of a beast’s bite before stuffing the severed paw into the tiger’s mouth. Next, he inserted arrows into both of the tiger’s eyes.

He then fabricated a few seemingly grievous yet relatively minor wounds on his own body.

Once finished.

Gu Sheng nodded in satisfaction.

The story lined up: encountering an injured tiger with a broken leg in the woods, using skillful archery and a kiting strategy, and ultimately bagging the beast at the cost of sustaining injuries himself.

”Perfect timing to let people know that I’ve successfully advanced to Stone-Skin Martial Artist...”

Gu Sheng hoisted the tiger’s corpse onto his shoulder and descended the mountain.

Though he couldn’t help but notice something peculiar—the tiger seemed oddly light. He brushed the thought aside, attributing it to the season’s harsh winter exhausting the creature’s reserves, preventing it from fattening up.

...

Gu’s Manor.

Groups of tenant farmers were toiling to cultivate the fields. Spring set the tone for the year’s harvest; with the snow just melting and life reviving, it was the perfect time to work hard.

It was now the afternoon, and the sun’s rays weren’t too harsh.

”Let’s hope this year brings a good harvest, so we can enjoy a decent winter!”

”Exactly! If we get another winter like the one two years ago, it’ll be suffering all over again. Er Gou, isn’t your boy turning fifteen next year? Are you thinking of sending him to the manor to train in martial arts?”

”Training in martial arts isn’t so easy. For a tenant farmer’s child, rising up isn’t simple. The furthest we can hope to go is someone like Lord Gu Jingang. Nearby, well, there’s a chance for Gu Sheng...”

The farmers swung their hoes as they occasionally exchanged idle chatter.

Suddenly.

One of the farmers wiped the sweat from his brow, his body shuddering reflexively, causing the hoe in his hand to slip to the ground, narrowly missing his feet.

”A... a tiger’s in the manor!”

He pointed tremblingly into the distance, causing the farmers’ hearts to lurch as they each nervously gazed toward the direction, ready to flee at any moment.

Soon enough, they saw a black-and-yellow striped beast slowly approaching from a distance. Yet its movement seemed somewhat strange.

One farmer with sharp eyes noticed the discrepancy and shouted repeatedly:

”What do you mean a tiger’s entered the manor? Someone’s hunted it! Look beneath the tiger—it’s a person!”

Wow!

The farmers’ eyes were immediately filled with astonishment. Their initial panic dissipated as they took a closer look. Sure enough, someone was carrying a tiger’s corpse. As the figure moved closer, they realized the hunter was none other than Gu Sheng!

”It’s Gu Sheng!”

”Good heavens, Gu Sheng managed to slay a tiger single-handedly?”

”Has Lord Gu Sheng become a Martial Artist?”

Their gazes turned reverent, their previous informal mentions of Gu Sheng quickly replaced by the honorific title of Lord Gu Sheng. In troubled times, Martial Artists represented security, and one who could single-handedly defeat a tiger was all the more extraordinary!

Gu Sheng, attuned to both sight and sound, naturally caught the shifting looks and whispered discussions among the farmers.

His lips curled into a subtle smile.

He gave no direct response, relying instead on their speculation. To the farmer closest to him, he nodded and smiled, then carried the tiger’s corpse steadily onward, showing faint signs of staggering and exhaustion, his face smeared with blood.

As Gu Sheng’s figure receded into the distance, the murmuring slowly resumed.

”Good heavens, this is my first time seeing a tiger up close. Just its corpse is enough to unsettle me!”

”Those arrows piercing its eyes—Lord Gu Sheng’s archery skill is truly remarkable!”

”But it seems like Lord Gu Sheng is in a rough state too.”

”Well, that’s understandable. I’ve heard tigers are tougher than most Martial Artists. For Lord Gu Sheng to hunt one right after becoming a Martial Artist is already impressive. He might someday become the next Lord Gu Jingang!”

The farmers’ eyes glimmered with envy. The tenant farmer named Er Gou stomped the ground firmly, his expression resolute.

”Martial arts! I’ll work hard this year, and next year, I’ll send my boy to train too! If his talent is as good as Lord Gu Sheng’s, that’s the true path to changing our fate. No more working the fields day after day...”