Chapter Twelve: The Lean Tiger

In the bathroom, water cascaded from the showerhead, washing away the sweat from Li Qi’s body.

Li Qi gazed at the muscular contours reflected in the mirror, a mixture of satisfaction and subtle joy shining in his eyes.

Under normal circumstances, the shape of human muscles remains fairly constant; exercise only enlarges them without significantly altering their form. Yet, in this world of martial arts, matters were far from simple. Even though Li Qi was only at the beginning of his journey, his body already displayed remarkable differences.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that Li Qi’s muscles were slender and thin, resembling a layer of armor tightly wrapped around him, with every muscle group distinctly defined in clear layers.

Despite not being bulky, these muscles enabled him to swing his blade with full force, cutting through the air with a resounding crack.

Looking at Li Qi’s back revealed even more: the muscle outlines, when tensed, bore the fierce shape of a prowling tiger.

This was the art of body forging!

Different martial arts could sculpt muscle shapes in unique ways.

Li Qi understood that these changes arose because cultivation here involved commanding the body through a powerful and resolute spirit, exerting control over the physical form.

The nervous system was the closest ally of the mind and spirit.

In his past life, Li Qi had read reports from scientific institutions that studied monks and ascetics who spent years in meditation and chanting. They found these individuals’ nervous systems far more active than those of ordinary people.

Hence, many martial monks appeared thin and lean, carrying little flesh, yet possessed explosive power. Even in old age, they moved swiftly and nimbly.

Conversely, those who built enormous muscles in gyms often suffered injuries and had shorter lifespans as they aged.

This gave rise to the saying, “Muscles built in the gym are dead muscles.”

In truth, muscles are just muscles; no such thing as “dead muscles” truly exists.

The difference lay in training directions: one focused on volume, believing bigger muscles meant greater strength; the other pursued muscle density—more precisely, nerve density within the muscle. Muscle hardness and explosive power depended on nervous system control. Given the same size, the higher and more active the nerve density, the stronger the power.

As for injuries in later years, they were caused by the greater consumption of vital energy and blood required to maintain large muscles. No matter how much one trained muscles, the internal organs could not be strengthened proportionally. Excess muscle mass burdened the lungs and other vital organs, shortening lifespan.

In this world, however, it was possible to achieve both high nerve density and muscle volume, though it demanded immense toil and time. Human energy and time were limited, and bodily growth required a process.

Rather than advancing both simultaneously, it was better to perfect one path first before pursuing the other. This was the principle of horizontal forging in cultivation.

There were two main cultivation methods here: training methods and combat techniques. Training methods were divided into three categories: nurturing forging, martial forging, and horizontal forging.

Nurturing forging focused on health preservation; martial forging transformed latent vitality into strength; horizontal forging was the most intense, involving extreme bodily destruction and reconstruction, forging an indestructible body, a golden form that remained uncorrupted and vivid even decades or centuries after death.

To achieve horizontal forging, one either needed a peerless master to guide the intricate details or had to reach a high realm of cultivation oneself, possessing meticulous self-awareness to perceive every subtle change within the body’s crucial points. Only then could horizontal forging succeed.

Otherwise, a misstep could lead to sudden death.

Many of the techniques from Li Qi’s past life—like the Golden Bell Shield, Iron Shirt, and Iron Sand Palm—were not true horizontal forging. They inflicted too much damage and made the body dull instead of sharper. True horizontal forging allowed one to grow sharper through destruction.

“The fiercest among tigers is undoubtedly the lean tiger!”

“According to the clan records, during the peak of the old master’s life, he was incredibly lean yet ferociously fierce. Just one glance could quiet a crying child, and once, with a single roar, he scared a vicious dog to death…”

“But later, the old master attained a deeper understanding and returned to simplicity.”

“My current blade skills are just beginning; I cannot embody the old master’s present state of mind. Thus, I must learn from his younger self—the more ferocious my intent, the faster my swordsmanship will advance.”

“In the past, I trained diligently but remained somewhat chubby because my swordsmanship was incomplete; I had yet to begin forging my body.”

“The forced increase in my attributes isn’t arbitrary; as I cultivate, a mysterious force continually corrects the structural state of my body and spirit…”

Li Qi smiled, admiring the contours of his muscles as he murmured to himself.

“At this rate, even with steady sword training, it will take just over ten days to reach the next realm.”

“Body forging usually begins after entering the realm. I’m advancing early partly due to the attribute corrections and partly because I resonate deeply with this blade technique—both are indispensable.”

“Life and death cycle nurture ferocity; the dark world is where the lone tiger roams…”

“Even before entering the realm, it’s not impossible to break through.”

Li Qi spoke quietly to himself.

He knew well the value of the potent medicine he had taken. Though he was progressing rapidly now, he did not disdain his swift advancement.

Besides, he had never used such a powerful elixir before. The first dose always yielded the best effect; the second dose offered diminishing returns, and by the third, it was little different from an ordinary medicinal bath.

“It’s said this elixir can alter innate attributes; could it be enhancing my congenital coefficient...?”

Li Qi glanced at the congenital coefficient of 1.13 displayed on his status panel.

Though far from his current upper limit, no one disliked having a high ceiling.

In this world, there was no notion that one could not reach the next realm without first hitting a ceiling. The reality was blunt: if your potential was insufficient, even reaching the limit wouldn’t trigger a qualitative leap in life.

Of course, congenital traits were more connected to the physical body. Mind, will, and wisdom had only initial values and were somewhat related, but their postnatal upper limits seemingly did not exist.

The six-dimensional attributes represented six facets of life.

Essence represented the physical body itself; Qi represented the energy system sustaining bodily functions; Spirit represented the nervous system, subconscious, cellular consciousness, and more—not merely brainwaves or mental power.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit represented the tangible side of the duality—the real, concrete foundation.

Mind, will, and wisdom represented the intangible side—the self’s manifestation, the key to mastering oneself, and the core of cultivation. Their union formed true spirit.

Cultivation meant subduing the heart, sharpening the will, and awakening wisdom.

These twelve characters encapsulated the essence of cultivation.

Li Qi’s mind, will, and wisdom were noticeably higher due to his cycle of reincarnation.

Just then, Li Qi’s expression briefly tightened before relaxing.

In a fleeting moment, he saw faint black mist swirling over his reflection, as if a supernatural event had occurred. Yet he knew it was merely a hallucination.

“Is this what I’m destined to encounter? I still have some distance before entering the next realm, yet demonic intent has already begun to assail me. This is truly reserved for peerless geniuses. Even geniuses only have a chance to face it. Ordinary people need not even dream…”

Li Qi thought.

He knew that aside from his status panel, he was far from a peerless genius. If he truly were one, he wouldn’t need three months—or even three days—to refine the Eighteen Tiger Fury Blades to a legendary level.

The title “peerless” was not one to be bestowed lightly.