At this moment, anyone could clearly feel the slow approach of death’s footsteps.

A kind of indescribable, immense terror instantly enveloped his heart.

Time seemed to slow down, and his mind was elevated at an extraordinary speed. This was not an illusion, but rather the instant eruption of a living being’s potential at the moment death arrives.

Then, he sensed it—a strange power suddenly emerged from the dantian in his lower abdomen.

It was an incredibly formidable force, the power born from the sudden eruption of over ten years of hard training and potential at the brink of life and death.

He raised his fist, and that wisp of power born in his dantian immediately surged into his fist, meeting the threat head-on with all its might.

But just as he raised his fist, the giant tiger’s massive jaws had already clamped down hard on his neck. The powerful tugging force seemed as if it would tear his body completely in two.

“Crack…”

A tremendous boom rang out, and the giant tiger, weighing over three hundred kilograms, was sent flying by his punch.

But this tiger was truly worthy of being called the king of beasts. Even after suffering such a terrifying blow, its jaws, locked onto William Carter’s body, refused to let go, even in death.

※※※※

“Ah…”

William Carter suddenly jumped up from the bed, cold sweat pouring down his body like rain, the muscles on his face twitching uncontrollably.

At the very moment he struck the tiger, his neck had also been bitten through by this mountain overlord. In his memory, the scene of sending the tiger flying was the last thing he saw. After that, his consciousness plunged into absolute darkness.

However, now he understood that this was not his death, but rather his consciousness, which had been attached to that strange body, returning to his own.

Glancing at his own body, William Carter instinctively touched his neck and chest.

He finally confirmed that his neck was not broken, nor had he crashed into a tree and suffered seventeen or eighteen fractures.

He blinked twice. Although he didn’t understand why, this time, the events that happened to the strange body were no longer reflected on his own body as before, but this was undoubtedly a great relief.

Still, whenever he recalled that scene just now, his heart would race with lingering fear, unable to calm down.

The dense forest behind the mountain was truly perilous. Just running into a giant tiger by chance was enough to send him to the afterlife.

At this moment, he completely believed his father’s words.

That talk about breaking through one’s limits only in life-and-death situations—what a deadly lie. If every martial artist had to go through such perilous circumstances to advance, then those who survived would be one in a hundred.

He panted heavily for a long time before he finally felt a little better.

Getting out of bed, he changed out of his sweat-soaked clothes. Looking at the garments drenched in cold sweat, William Carter shook his head in self-mockery.

The training he did every day turned out to be of little use in such a situation. It seemed that real combat and training were truly worlds apart.

Perhaps because it was his first time experiencing such a dangerous scene, the battle with the giant tiger was vivid in his mind and wouldn’t fade away.

William Carter simply sat down on the floor, quietly reflecting on the feeling of that moment. His thoughts returned to the final instant—he clearly remembered a strange power being born in his dantian. Although this power was still weak, just a tiny wisp, it was enough to send the giant tiger flying.

If that wisp of power had been a bit stronger, or if he had possessed it before encountering the tiger, the outcome of his battle with the beast might have been completely different.

He slowly calmed his mind, doing his best to recall the sensation of that final moment.

As if by a stroke of inspiration, or perhaps as if it were only natural, just as he immersed himself fully in this state, his lower abdomen suddenly grew warm.

The exact same feeling—a faint, almost imperceptible power began to gather in his dantian.

William Carter’s eyes suddenly widened, an indescribable joy spreading across his face.

True Qi…

This was definitely true qi.

He had started learning boxing under his father’s strict supervision at the age of three.

For over ten years, not a single day was missed. Although this decade of training had laid a solid foundation for him, he had never been able to break through that final barrier, never able to condense even a wisp of true qi in his dantian through martial arts practice.

But today, after the battle with the mountain tiger, William Carter had finally succeeded.

Sensing the single wisp of true qi in his dantian, his eyes grew inexplicably moist.

True qi—this was not only the goal he had pursued day and night for over ten years, but also his father’s lifelong hope.

He would never forget the loneliness and disappointment on Henry Carter’s face the first time he spoke of giving up. That was an expression that would break any man’s heart.

But now, all the gloom had dissipated, and his heart was filled with pride.

Between life and death, there truly is great terror, but after great terror, there is also great reward.