I Can Strengthen Infinitely-Chapter 38 - 37: Tiger Cubs

Without any hesitation, Jiang Kang took the initiative, determined to seize the slightest advantage.

His spear gleamed with cold light as its tip seemed to split into three stars returning to their lair, splitting and then merging again to stab at Qin Yuesheng from three different directions, finally targeting his chest.

Calm and unhurried, Qin Yuesheng swung out horizontally with his saber. Though his blade didn’t touch Jiang Kang’s fine iron spear, a transparent saber aura flew out, slicing into Jiang Kang’s spear ahead of time.

The saber aura contained immense power, immediately causing the entire fine iron spear to tremble violently, forcibly altering Jiang Kang’s attack.

"What?!"

Bang!

Facing Jiang Kang’s shock, Qin Yuesheng approached wielding the Evil-Subduing Saber. Despite the spear being made of fine material, it couldn’t withstand both the saber aura and Qin Yuesheng’s force of hundreds of pounds, yet it didn’t snap.

Thankfully, Qin Yuesheng’s cultivation of the Essence Nourishing Technique allowed him to recover quickly, continuing his attack with undiminished force.

Giving Jiang Kang no chance to react, he struck out with three consecutive slashes.

Bang bang bang!

Three saber auras combined with three successive slashes; the fine iron spear finally couldn’t bear it anymore and broke into two pieces.

"Phew!"

Part of Qin Yuesheng’s force also traveled along the spear shaft, affecting Jiang Kang. Though Jiang Kang was in the Outer Skin Refining stage, he couldn’t withstand Qin Yuesheng’s fierce power of eight hundred pounds.

In an instant, both arms and the snapped spear were shaken out of his grip, and his entire body was uncontrollably flung backward.

Watching as Jiang Kang crashed into the stronghold’s wall, breaking most of the wooden beams, his body got stuck in the gap, with sharp splinters scratching his skin and leaving bleeding marks.

"Your Outer Skin Refining isn’t very well done." Qin Yuesheng walked over and commented.

In the Skin Refining stage, after reaching completion, it is a known trait that ordinary weapons cannot significantly damage the skin.

Even iron weapons can’t easily harm one, let alone wood; yet this person had his skin scratched by wooden splinters, indicating his Skin Refining level is average.

Jiang Kang almost spat blood hearing Qin Yuesheng’s remark. His External Forging Skill required applying force to tense muscles and stretch the skin for toughness.

However, Qin Yuesheng’s relentless slashes left him no time to apply force, cutting him down before he could react.

Picking up the broken spearhead, Qin Yuesheng pressed it against Jiang Kang’s throat, asking, "Do you know where Hulao Stronghold is?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Yes, I know." Jiang Kang hurriedly raised his hand, "I’ll tell you, please spare me."

"Alright." Qin Yuesheng nodded.

"Hulao Stronghold is located under Three-cone Peak, east of Meteor Mountain. Their stronghold is large and easy to spot." Jiang Kang asked uncertainly, "Will you keep your promise?"

"Of course, I value my word." Qin Yuesheng smiled and then dislocated Jiang Kang’s legs and arms.

"Ah!!!"

"Mountain bandits may be spared from death, but they must be captured. Not knowing acupuncture points, you’ll have to suffer this." Qin Yuesheng tore off Jiang Kang’s clothes, binding his hands and feet behind his back.

With his limbs dislocated, Jiang Kang’s body was extremely flexible, easily bound into a ball by Qin Yuesheng.

"Wait here for a while; I’ll check the place you mentioned and then take you to Cyan Yang City to see the authorities."

Seeing Qin Yuesheng about to leave, Jiang Kang shouted, "You can’t just leave me here, the woods of Meteor Mountain have many beasts. With all these killed, they’ll definitely come, which is as good as killing me."

"Is that so?" Qin Yuesheng thought for a moment, then took off Jiang Kang’s trousers, hanging him under the big flag within the stronghold.

The flagpole was over two zhang high, out of reach of most beasts hanging in mid-air.

Ignoring Jiang Kang’s cries and shouts, Qin Yuesheng quickly took his saber and left the place.

...

Jiang Kang’s stronghold was merely a small one, with limited strength, only Jiang Kang, the first leader in the Outer Skin Refining stage worth considering; the rest were weaklings, posing no threat.

Based on his fight with Jiang Kang, Qin Yuesheng determined he had officially stepped into Outer Skin and Bone Forging, far exceeding the Outer Skin Refining martial artists.

"Having forged skin and bone, I now have the capability to contend with the one-eyed tiger Xu San."

Qin Yuesheng ran swiftly through the forest, though not as fast as galloping horses, much quicker than walking.

As Qin Yuesheng continued east of Meteor Mountain, suddenly, a deafening roar echoed nearby—distinctly a tiger’s roar through the forest.

Qin Yuesheng immediately halted.

"A tiger?" His expression turned joyful.

Tiger Bone Wine is highly nutritious; if he could kill a tiger, All-Purpose Essence would surely not be lacking.

Thus, he immediately focused on locating the direction of the tiger’s roar and sprinted towards it.

...

"Roar!" A white tiger with dangling eyes and a forehead full of scars roared madly at its surroundings, as it found itself trapped by four black bears taller than a human, their eyes fierce and their drooling mouths revealing predatory intent.

Behind the white tiger, three tiger cubs that had just opened their eyes stayed close to their mother’s hind legs, crying out adorably, but their tender voices lacked any real deterrent force.

Beneath the tiger mother’s neck, three deep claw marks visible to the bone kept bleeding; with the continued blood loss, the old tiger would soon die from excessive bleeding even without further attack.

Facing the threat of the tiger mother, the four black bears showed no fear, directly charging forward, their massive bodies suddenly standing upright, one bear paw striking the fierce tiger.

Without any surprise, the severely wounded tiger, unable to fight back with cubs behind her and unable to evade, instantly took a heavy blow, letting out a sorrowful cry as she collapsed weakly to the ground.

Half of her head was smashed into pulp by the bear’s paw, and as her gaze faded, she was critically injured, beyond saving, with no hope of survival.

"Awuwu, Awuwu, wuwuwu."

The three little tiger cubs half-ran and half-rolled to their mother’s head, sadly licking her blood-stained fur, but they could no longer hear any response from her.

One bear crouched down, grabbed the nearest tiger cub, and with its jaws chewing, the cub turned into a pile of mushy flesh and blood within its mouth.

Following suit, its companion grabbed another cub and feasted heartily.

Blood splattered profusely, staining the ground crimson.

Just as the last cub was about to meet a tragic end, suddenly a forceful wind blew by, and the black bear that was about to grab the last cub froze suddenly. A crack appeared on its neck, and its head promptly fell to the ground.

Bang!

The headless bear’s body collapsed, immediately drawing the attention of its companions.

"Roar!!"

Three black bears stood upright instantly, standing straight as an arrow, while their bodies inflated like balloons, fur bristled, creating an utterly intimidating aura.

A silhouette swiftly approached, the moment they arrived, a saber swung towards one of the black bears.

It was Qin Yuesheng.

At this moment, Qin Yuesheng secretly felt startled, not expecting to encounter people-bears, the creatures hunters most dread in Meteor Mountain.

And it was four of them.

People-bears are fiercer than ordinary bears; with one slap, a normal human would be immediately smashed, bones crushed to bits.

Although Qin Yuesheng was now skilled in Outer Skin and Bone Forging, he instinctively wished to avoid engaging the people-bears; their threat level was too high.

He could resist blades and weapons, but the people-bears’ attacks were like super heavy hammers, far deadlier than knives, swords, spears, or axes.

Facing Qin Yuesheng’s aggressive attack, the people-bear didn’t hesitate, fiercely swinging its paw in retaliation.

The calloused pads on its paws were as hard as stone, essentially acting as armor for the paw, making it unafraid of hunters’ long bows despite being a beast.

Crack!

The Evil-Subduing Saber was not a normal blade; its extraordinarily sharp edge instantly sliced through the people-bear’s calluses, striking the pad.

But before Qin Yuesheng could be pleased, a shocking force erupted from the bear’s paw, sending him flying backward, crashing through three tree trunks as thick as an adult’s waist before finally stopping.

"Cough!" Qin Yuesheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his internal circulation disrupted, and his knife-wielding arm aching and weak.

"This bear paw’s force exceeds a thousand pounds!" Qin Yuesheng was shocked.

Fortunately, although people-bears were inherently strong, they didn’t have a corresponding hardness in their musculature; Qin Yuesheng found it relatively easier to deal with them.

The key was, no longer competing in strength, but relying on his speed and agility advantage to kill swiftly.

"Roar!" Seeing its paw send this troublesome person flying, the bear immediately charged, intending to deliver Qin Yuesheng a fatal strike.

But this time, Qin Yuesheng was wise, no longer allowing it a chance to touch him. Instantly, he leaped behind the bear, and single-handedly thrust the saber directly into its hidden, scarcely visible hindquarters.

Though the Evil-Subduing Saber was single-edged, it didn’t hinder Qin Yuesheng from delivering a severe wound to the bear.

As he twisted the saber forcefully, the bear’s internal organs were immediately pulverized into a mess.

"Roar!"

This was not a lethal wound, but Qin Yuesheng didn’t want to give it a chance to turn and resist, as the other two bears were quickly closing in.

Releasing his grip, Qin Yuesheng kicked the saber’s hilt forcefully, and the Evil-Subduing Saber charged like a firecracker, completely hidden within the bear, emerging from the neck a moment later, embedding in a nearby tree trunk.

Qin Yuesheng jumped off the bear’s body, soaring like an arrow.

The two bears arrived finally, only to be greeted by their companion’s corpse.

In less than a hundred breaths, Qin Yuesheng had killed two of the four bears, filling the remaining ones with anger, which quickly overwhelmed their minds, making them even more frantic and violent.

Qin Yuesheng moved to retrieve the Evil-Subduing Saber and defiantly faced the remaining two bears.

"Bear paws and gallbladders are treasures, but today I won’t let you go."