No pressure, no motivation. Up until now, he still hadn’t fully mastered the form of the first move of Ling Tian, precisely because he lacked a true life-and-death battle, missing that trembling sensation that hovers between life and death!

Battle!

With his longsword extended, Henry Dawson assumed an offensive stance.

The three-tailed wolf-carving, which had been observing Henry Dawson, was instantly enraged by his provocative action, letting out an angry roar. Its four limbs powered up, and its strong body shot forward like lightning, pouncing toward Henry Dawson.

Henry Dawson slid his foot, dodging to the left side, narrowly avoiding the strike from the three-tailed wolf-carving.

At that moment, the three tails behind the wolf-carving’s rear suddenly began to move in unison. The beast, having missed its target, twisted bizarrely in midair and pounced at Henry Dawson again!

Ding!

Henry Dawson swung his sword, slashing at the claw of the three-tailed wolf-carving. Swish—a spray of blood burst forth!

He staggered back seven steps. Looking down, he saw a fresh wound on his lower abdomen! Although he had raised his sword in time to block, he was still injured by the three-tailed wolf-carving!

The strength of the beast was indeed formidable!

Chapter 6: Aggressive and Overbearing

The strength of this three-tailed wolf-carving was at least thirty percent higher than his own!

Henry Dawson estimated in his mind, but he didn’t even bother with the wound on his abdomen. It was just a scratch, not a serious injury. However, if he had been even a little slower in raising his sword, that claw could have easily ripped open his belly and severed his intestines!

The sharpness of this beast’s claws was truly comparable to a deadly weapon.

Once a martial artist completes skin tempering, their skin becomes as tough as cowhide. Even with a sharp blade, it takes effort to cut through! After muscle tempering, the muscles become dense—if struck by a sword, even if the skin is cut, the dense muscles will entangle the blade, preventing serious injury.

As for bone tempering, it’s even more impressive—bones become like refined iron, able to withstand sharp weapons head-on! The final stage, blood tempering, brings vigorous qi and blood, immunity to disease, and resistance to evil. With a surge of aura, the faint-hearted might faint on the spot.

Henry Dawson had already completed skin tempering, but under the claws of the three-tailed wolf-carving, he was as fragile as paper. This showed just how sharp and terrifyingly strong the beast’s claws were.

“Awooo—” Failing to kill in one blow, the three-tailed wolf-carving let out a long howl, like metal splitting the sky, making ears ring with a thunderous echo.

After the howl, the beast pounced again. Clearly, it had gauged Henry Dawson’s general strength from the previous exchange and now attacked again, fearlessly and ferociously.

A gleam of excitement flashed in Henry Dawson’s eyes. Recalling that moment when his belly was nearly ripped open, his mind buzzed incessantly, as if he were about to enter a special state, but he was just a hair’s breadth away, always lingering at the threshold.

“Not enough! Not enough! I need even more pressure!”

He moved nimbly, his longsword clashing again and again with the three-tailed wolf-carving—ding, ding, ding—blocking the beast’s relentless attacks.

This was an extremely dangerous situation; the slightest mistake could send him into utter ruin!

Slash, slash, slash—blood blossomed on his arms, chest, and back. The deepest wound was nearly an inch deep, almost piercing his heart! In just a few minutes, he had danced with death more than ten times, each time barely escaping with his life!

Yet Henry Dawson relished it, the excitement in his eyes growing ever more frenzied. Only now did he realize how fanatical his obsession with martial arts was—he was willing to risk his life to become stronger!

If he could never cultivate, he would surely die in despair before the age of thirty!

He was born for the martial path!

Boom!

Henry Dawson’s mind trembled, and he suddenly entered a wondrous state. The nine diagrams of the Ling Tian Nine Forms surged forth in his mind, constantly shifting and transforming!

So that’s how it is!

He let out a long howl, swinging his sword in a trajectory full of profound mystery!

In the fierce eyes of the three-tailed wolf-carving, a look of terror instantly appeared. It couldn’t dodge, couldn’t escape, as if it had been immobilized by a spell, forced to watch helplessly as the sword struck!

Puff!

The sword pierced straight through the beast’s chest, the tip emerging from its back in a spray of blood! The three-tailed wolf-carving didn’t even have time to groan before its body slumped to the ground, a pool of fresh blood quickly soaking the earth.

Henry Dawson gasped for breath, nearly collapsing to the ground.

That last strike had consumed half of the true essence in his body!

Only because of this was he able to pierce the beast’s hide! That was an excellent layer of defense, no worse than the chainmail worn by martial artists—let alone being run through with a single sword!

“I finally… fully mastered the form of the first move of Ling Tian!” A smile appeared at the corner of Henry Dawson’s mouth—this made him even happier than slaying the three-tailed wolf-carving.

“If just the form is this terrifying, then when I comprehend the intent within and truly unleash this sword technique, what kind of power will it have?”

“And there are nine moves in total!”