From the moment the Tiger Soul awakened, I became invincible.

Chapter 114 Descending the Mountain, Zhao Longhu

Qin Wu was completely unaware of the conversation between Cang Xuanwu and the others. At this moment, he was entirely focused on breaking through his first acupoint, a crucial step to which he poured all his energy. After an unknown amount of time, he could feel his acupoint vibrating violently, and simultaneously, the barrier that had long remained unbreakable was gradually being breached. Finally, at a certain moment, Qin Wu suddenly roared, a roar filled with unrestrained exuberance, and in an instant, his power was released. At the same time, his first major acupoint was directly opened, and the internal energy within his body began to transform into true energy.

"It's a success!"

Sensing the changes within his body, Qin Wu's expression became extremely excited. After such a long period of effort, he had finally opened his acupoints and embarked on the path of nourishing the heart and unblocking the meridians.

At the same time, this also meant that he was about to enter the initial stage of True Qi. As long as he could fully open all twelve acupoints, he would truly become a powerful expert in the initial stage of True Qi, a world of difference compared to the past. The moment he mobilized his True Qi, he could feel the change in his power. In the past, when he used the Dragon Elephant World-Suppressing Fist to activate True Qi, the power was not only astringent but also extremely stiff, causing him intense pain. But now it was different. Although this power had not yet been fully transformed, he could feel that the power within it was easy to handle, and for him, it was not a great burden at all.

Outside, Cang Xuanwu and the others had been observing the commotion inside. Upon hearing the loud shout, they exchanged glances. Cang Xuanwu's expression was one of disbelief. He had sensed something extraordinary in the roar; it seemed to contain a faint trace of true qi. Otherwise, it shouldn't possess such power. Could it be that Qin Wu had actually succeeded?

The next moment, Qin Wu emerged from his secluded cultivation place. Seeing the still somewhat unstable power on Qin Wu's body, Cang Xuanwu's expression changed from disbelief to overwhelming joy.

"Good lad, you were able to open your acupoints in such a short time. There are very few people in the entire history of Tianwu Mountain who have been able to do this."

Zhou Yan touched the knife at his waist, his eyes filled with utter shock. Qin Wu's strength was simply too immense. Zhou Qiao'er, standing beside him, was also stunned, staring at Qin Wu in disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend that he had actually accomplished such a feat.

Then Qin Wu walked up to the three of them. Seeing Cang Xuanwu, Qin Wu asked with some surprise, "Senior, what brings you here?"

Although they had joined Tianwu Mountain, Cang Xuanwu rarely appeared afterward. After all, while Tianwu Mountain wasn't extremely large, it still had quite a few disciples. As an elder of Tianwu Mountain, Cang Xuanwu couldn't devote all his energy to the three of them, so he quickly left to handle matters in the core area of ​​Tianwu Mountain. Their affairs were left to some outer disciples of Tianwu Mountain.

Qin Wu had thought he wouldn't see Cang Xuanwu for a while. But now, Cang Xuanwu's appearance surprised him.

Then Cang Xuanwu said, "I really didn't expect your strength to improve so quickly. I don't know if letting you know about this is a good thing or a bad thing."

Cang Xuanwu hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke, "Just recently, we received a message from Kunlun Ruins. Kunlun Ruins wants to enter our Tianwu Mountain to spar with our newly recruited disciples. The requirement is that all disciples who have been in the sect for less than three years are eligible to participate."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wu frowned immediately, and said with a serious expression, "Is this directed at me?"

He now had a basic understanding of the situation within the True Qi Sect. Three years was simply insufficient for a newly initiated disciple to become a competent fighter. Therefore, under such circumstances, they would not easily hold a competition among disciples who had been in the sect for less than three years. Even if a competition were to take place, it should be within their own sect, not brought all the way from Kunlun Ruins to their Tianwu Mountain. Therefore, it was clear that Kunlun Ruins had its own purpose in coming to Tianwu Mountain this time. And he could think of no other possibility besides the fact that he had offended Taixuzi in the past.

Cang Xuanwu didn't mince words, nodding directly and saying, "This time, the leader is Taixuzi from Kunlun Ruins. That old bastard is clearly petty; he saw you offended him last time, so he's come here to cause you trouble. Originally, I thought it would be good for you, with your strength, to see what a disciple from Kunlun Ruins who has been in the sect for three years could do. Although we're bound to lose, it would at least give us a sense of the power gap between True Qi sects. My Tianwu Mountain also has some disciples who have been in the sect for three years, but their quality is still inferior to that of Kunlun Ruins. So, we're almost certain to lose this battle. However, your breakthrough has surprised me, but it's also a great pity."

Cang Xuanwu's expression was extremely complex. Even if Qin Wu had opened his acupoints, he didn't think Qin Wu could defeat those disciples who had joined Kunlun Ruins three years ago. After all, there were differences between disciples, and three years was enough time for the elites of Kunlun Ruins to open many acupoints. There might even be some who had fully opened all twelve acupoints and entered the initial stage of True Qi. Their Tianwu Mountain didn't have such disciples. The reason was simple: Tianwu Mountain was now in decline, and its recruitment of disciples was naturally much worse than that of Kunlun Ruins. Therefore, the disciples of Tianwu Mountain were often difficult to compare with those of Kunlun Ruins in terms of talent. Qin Wu's talent was indeed shocking, but comparing him with the disciples of Kunlun Ruins was still a very difficult task. If Qin Wu were mediocre, it wouldn't be a problem, but the talent Qin Wu was showing now made him somewhat worried. If he were to be defeated in this competition, it could very well affect Qin Wu's future martial arts path.

So he immediately said, "However, I think Tianwu Mountain has lost this competition, but you don't need to worry too much. After all, there is still a certain gap in the overall strength of the two sects. With your talent, you will have many opportunities to defeat the disciples of Kunlun Ruins in the future, so it's okay to lose this time."

Zhou Yan glanced at Cang Xuanwu and then said, "Senior, if we can avoid defeat, it's naturally better to avoid defeat."

A fighting spirit flickered in his eyes. After this period of cultivation on Tianwu Mountain, his cultivation had broken through to the peak of the Nourishing Heart and Opening Meridians stage, only one step away from opening the acupoints. This was all thanks to the advantages of the resources on Tianwu Mountain. If it weren't for that, he might not have been able to reach the peak of the Nourishing Heart and Opening Meridians stage yet, let alone prepare to break through to the twelve acupoints stage.

Upon hearing this, Cang Xuanwu quickly glanced at him and then said, "Don't let a small thing ruin your chances. You're not Qin Wu. Qin Wu's cultivation level is already higher than yours, and he still has some hope of breaking through to the acupoints. But your situation is completely different. If you try to break through, you're very likely to fail, which will affect your potential."

Zhou Yan did not answer, but looked at the Black Demon Blade in his hand, and then said calmly, "Senior, rest assured, I have my own plans."

He's not stupid; he wouldn't do something like that. But he also has his own trump cards. He and his sister are different from ordinary people; perhaps they really do have a chance to open their first major acupoint within a month. The only question is whether they'll have enough strength to compete with their opponent once they open that first acupoint.

Then Cang Xuanwu shook his head and didn't continue. He knew about the Zhou siblings' situation, though not much, but enough for him to judge that they must have some other trump cards. However, he naturally favored Qin Wu the most. Putting everything else aside, from the moment Qin Wu opened his first major acupoint, he even believed that Qin Wu could fight against someone who had already opened two or even three acupoints.

Then Qin Wu spoke up and said, "Senior, rest assured, all of this trouble was caused by me. Now that I have joined Tianwu Mountain, I will absolutely not allow anyone to trample on Tianwu Mountain."

"Just do what you can."

Cang Xuanwu spoke. He didn't have much hope for what Qin Wu said, after all, the gap between the two sides was simply too great.

Qin Wu didn't explain. He knew Cang Xuanwu's thoughts; a month was simply not enough time to accomplish much. However, Qin Wu also had his own confidence. Based on his current assessment, he believed he could open another acupoint before the people from Kunlun Ruins arrived. With two acupoints and his formidable combat power, even if he couldn't dominate the competition, it would be enough to impress Taixu Zi. In his self-assessment, as long as the opponent's strength hadn't truly reached the True Qi Transformation Realm, he had a fighting chance, and even a possibility of defeating them. As for whether he could defeat someone at the True Qi Transformation Realm, that was another matter entirely; only a fight would tell. What he wanted to do was never to crush everyone, but to make Taixu Zi realize how much he would regret missing out on him. Just demonstrating his power would be enough. Of course, if he could defeat all the disciples from Kunlun Ruins, he would be extremely willing.

With this incident, all the newly recruited disciples of Tianwu Mountain cultivated with extreme seriousness. Everyone was eager to improve their strength so that they could fight for Tianwu Mountain when the disciples of Kunlun Ruins came in the future.

Qin Wu was no exception. He honed his cultivation every day, and with the support of the spiritual spring and the spiritual essence pills, his cultivation speed was extremely fast. The most difficult part of opening the twelve acupoints was the first hurdle. After opening the first acupoint, opening the rest was not a difficult task. However, even so, fully opening all the acupoints was still not an easy task, and it required time to refine.

A few days later, Cang Xuanwu came over again. Upon seeing Qin Wu, Cang Xuanwu said, "Qin Wu, one of my disciples from Tianwu Mountain has recently gone missing. You have just broken through and have now consolidated your breakthrough. There is no need to rush to break through. Go out for a trip, relax, and change your mood. It's not too late to come back after things are over."

Qin Wu did not refuse, but instead asked, "Who is missing?"

"The missing disciple is named Zhao Longhu. He has already opened many acupoints and is only one step away from truly entering the True Qi Realm. However, you don't need to worry too much. With his strength, he shouldn't encounter any major problems, since he was just handling a routine task. We didn't originally plan for him to return so soon, but the people from Kunlun Ruins are about to arrive, and Longhu is an elite disciple of my Tianwu Mountain. Naturally, we can't let him be absent at this time. So, we need you to have him return as soon as possible."

After speaking, Cang Xuanwu gave Qin Wu some basic information. Qin Wu didn't refuse and went down the mountain towards Zhao Longhu's location.

Seeing Qin Wu leave, Cang Xuanwu sighed, "That kid is good in every way, except he's too competitive. Zhao Longhu has been down the mountain for a while now, I wonder if he's still in that position. If he's delayed any longer, maybe the people from Kunlun Ruins will have left too."

Just after he finished speaking, another voice suddenly rang out: "You actually have a brain like that?"

As the voice faded, an elderly man with half-white hair stepped out. This man was none other than the Lord of Tianwu Mountain.

Cang Xuanwu grinned and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. We have absolutely no chance of winning against Kunlun Ruins this time. Rather than letting a talented disciple accept such a defeat, it's better for him to avoid this battle."

The Lord of Tianwu Mountain did not refute this, because he shared the same thought; otherwise, he wouldn't have tacitly approved of Cang Xuanwu's actions. There was little chance of victory to begin with, so why invite trouble?

Meanwhile, Qin Wu had already descended Tianwu Mountain. The location where Zhao Longhu disappeared was not close to Tianwu Mountain; he had traveled for several days, covered in dust, to reach the vicinity. However, he didn't know much, so he didn't have a good solution for the time being and could only cultivate while inquiring about Zhao Longhu's whereabouts.

A few days later, Qin Wu was searching for Zhao Longhu's whereabouts when he suddenly heard a voice: "That kid from Tianwu Mountain is good at hiding, but unfortunately, the three patriarchs have already found him. It won't be long before the three patriarchs make him regret being born into this world."

The speaker was a man with a sinister expression. Hearing his words, the man beside him grinned, the ruthlessness in his eyes clearly showing that they had a grudge against the people of Tianwu Mountain.

The moment Qin Wu heard the words "Tianwu Mountain," he immediately realized he had likely found the real deal. Without hesitation, he walked directly to the two men: "Are you talking about Zhao Longhu of Tianwu Mountain?"

Qin Wu spoke.