Physical enlightenment begins with Xingyi Quan

Chen Jianghe lay prone behind a dense thicket of bushes, his breathing extremely low.

He had been lying in wait there for almost half an hour.

About twenty paces ahead, a wild boar weighing about eighty pounds was rooting around the edge of a mud pit. Its tusks protruded, its mane was like halberds, and its four hooves were short, thick, and powerful. It was clearly a wild animal that roamed the mountains year-round and was full of vigor.

Chen Jianghe's gaze was calm as he slowly swept over the wild boar's neck, behind its ears, and back, quickly reviewing the distribution of vital points and the angle of his cut.

During his three years in the slaughterhouse, he dismembered thousands of animals. Pigs, cattle, sheep, dogs... the skeletal structure, tendon pathways, and vital organ distribution of each animal were etched into his very bones.

However, wild boars are different from domesticated livestock. They are untamed, highly alert, and have thick skin and flesh, making them difficult to injure with ordinary swords and knives.

Chen Jianghe slowly reached his right hand behind his waist.

What his fingertips touched was not a butcher's knife, but a half-foot-long sharpened hardwood piece—something he had specially prepared after entering the mountains.

As if sensing something, the wild boar suddenly raised its head, its small eyes scanning its surroundings warily.

Chen Jianghe held his breath and concentrated.

Three breaths later, the wild boar lowered its head and began to root for food again.

Just as its head drooped and its neck was fully exposed—

Chen Jianghe made a move.

He sprang out from behind the bushes like a cheetah, covering seven or eight steps in a flash, and the wooden spike in his hand pierced the wild boar's neck three inches below the side with perfect accuracy!

"Pfft."

The sound of a splinter piercing flesh is faint.

The wild boar shuddered violently, its front hooves raised, about to turn its head and bite, when Chen Jianghe's left fist followed with lightning speed, slamming a punch into its mouth and nose.

With a slight release of hidden force, he snapped the throat bone, completely silencing the agonizing scream that was about to escape.

The wild boar's eyes bulged out and its limbs twitched violently, but in just a few breaths, its massive body went limp.

Chen Jianghe did not immediately let go.

He pressed down on the pig's body with one knee, slowly rotated the wooden splinter in his right hand half a circle, and at the same time, struck the pig's heart with his left fist again, the hidden force penetrating and shattering the heart meridian.

Double kill, ensuring absolute safety.

After confirming that the wild boar was dead, Chen Jianghe quickly looked around.

The forest was silent, save for the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.

Only then did he begin to process the prey.

He drew the butcher's knife from his waist with swift and steady movements, each strike precisely avoiding major blood vessels, the blade gliding along the bone to preserve the most vital parts.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the wild boar had been completely decomposed.

The meat from the four hind legs and tenderloin was carefully removed, wrapped in oilcloth, and stuffed into the basket on the back. Only the heart and liver were taken from the internal organs, and they were wrapped up in the same way.

Without lingering, Chen Jianghe quickly left the open space, following the path he had noted on his way there.

.......

This pattern continued for five days.

He was extremely cautious in his actions, always observing his surroundings before taking a step; and always seeking a way out when arriving at a new place.

With the help of the map provided by Li Chengyue and his own keen senses, he gradually figured out the terrain, water sources, wild animal activity patterns, and even the shift changes of the Qinglong Guard patrol team in this area.

The hunting targets were always small to medium-sized wild animals. Each hunted animal was processed quickly, and only the best parts were taken.

Then return to that hidden stone cave.

He had already tidied up the cave. He cut the hunted meat into strips and hung them in a well-ventilated place to dry in the shade, taking a suitable amount to eat each day.

In his spare time, Chen Jianghe would repeatedly practice stance training and Five Elements Fist in the acupoint to digest the essence of the flesh and blood he had swallowed.

[Destiny: Diligence is rewarded by Heaven; success is inevitable]

[Current Skill: Three-Body Stance (Mastery)]

Progress: 89%

Current skill: Five Elements Fist (Mastery)

Progress: 51%

[Effect: Contains internal strength, penetrating the body and disrupting meridians]

Although the meat of these ordinary wild beasts is far less potent than that of exotic beasts in providing a surge of vital energy, its advantage lies in its relatively reliable source.

.......

That afternoon, Chen Jianghe had just hunted a roe deer and was cutting off the best tenderloin and hind leg meat, wrapping them in oil paper.

Suddenly, his ear twitched slightly.

Footsteps could be heard thirty paces away.

They were not wild animals; their footsteps were disordered and uneven, indicating at least three people, and their unsteady gait suggested they were not in good condition.

Chen Jianghe quickly stuffed the meat package into his backpack, his left hand quietly reaching for the lime powder bag in his pocket, while his right hand rested on the knife handle at his waist.

He crouched low, hiding behind an ancient tree that was as thick as a person's embrace, and observed with bated breath.

He saw three figures walking towards him.

They were all in their early twenties, dressed in matching dark blue martial arts school uniforms, with swords at their waists.

The leader was a young man with a square face and a newly scabbed scar on his left cheek;

On the left was a short, stocky man with fierce eyes, but he couldn't hide the emptiness in them.

On the right is a tall, thin man with a sallow complexion and bluish under-eyes.

The three men's clothes were covered in mud and grass, their cuffs were worn in many places, and their scabbards had many dents. It was clear that they had been trekking and searching in the mountains for quite some time, but had found very little.

"Damn it, we've been looking around for ages and haven't even seen a rabbit!" the short, stocky man spat. "If we can't find anything to eat soon, I'll be walking on air, let alone practicing my martial arts!"

"Stop talking nonsense and save your energy." The square-faced youth frowned. "If you want to experience the true taste of meat, you have to go deeper."

"The depths?" The tall, thin man shrank back. "Senior brother, are there any strange beasts in the depths...? With our paltry skills, aren't we just throwing our lives away?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" the square-faced youth glared at him. "The martial arts school is barely scraping by; the meager amount of minced meat they get isn't even enough to fill a gap between their teeth! If we can't get any meat to replenish our energy, forget about making progress in our training; we might not even be able to leave Black Wind Ridge alive!"

The three men, cursing and swearing, had already reached the vicinity of where Chen Jianghe had just dealt with the roe deer.

Suddenly, the short, stocky man sniffed: "Huh? There's a smell of blood! Fresh!"

The square-faced youth's expression changed, and he quickly scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally landing on the spot where Chen Jianghe had just dealt with the roe deer.

"Someone just slaughtered some livestock here!" The square-faced youth's eyes lit up. "The blood's still wet; they couldn't have gone far!"

The three of them immediately perked up and, following the faint traces of blood and footprints, quickly found Chen Jianghe's trail.

Chen Jianghe sighed inwardly.

They were eventually discovered.

He could have noticed earlier and quietly retreated, but he was inevitably distracted while dealing with his prey, and the open terrain made it difficult to completely conceal his tracks.

If that's the case...

A cold glint flashed in Chen Jianghe's eyes.

At this moment, the three had already followed the trail and surrounded them.

The square-faced youth walked in front, the short, stocky man on the left, and the tall, thin man on the right, forming a triangle that subtly surrounded Chen Jianghe.

Their gazes first fell on Chen Jianghe—he was dressed in a dark gray coarse cloth shorts, with an ordinary butcher knife at his waist, and looked like an ordinary herb gatherer or hunter.

But then, the three of them were drawn to the backpack on Chen Jianghe's back.

The backpack was bulging, with dark red oil seeping from the edges, clearly indicating freshly hunted meat.

In these times of soaring meat prices in the outer city and high hunting costs in Black Wind Ridge, this bag of meat is enough to make any martial artist envious.

The square-faced youth and the short, stocky man exchanged a glance.

Greed ignited in the eyes of the three like wildfire.

In chaotic times, the strong prey on the weak.