The territory of the Silver Wolf was in the north.
The north was a forest, and the rate at which the water sources in the forest were drying up was faster than imagined.
Even though the Silver Wolf King's ice and snow abilities were extraordinary.
It still couldn't stop the increasingly hot weather from evaporating the water sources.
The Silver Wolf pack needed water, and the prey they raised needed water.
Among the prey, a large number of herbivores fed on grass, and without water, the grass would wither and die!
The Silver Wolf King sensed the crisis.
Thus, it came to the Flame Camp seeking help.
"How do we cooperate?" Tang Wen was curious yet found it hard to believe.
Could a Mutated Beast have such foresight?
Qian Dong's eyes deepened: "The Great Lake!"
"Oh?"
Qian Dong recalled the scene from that day, somewhat uneasy as he spoke: "Old Crow concocted a Realgar potion and poured it into the lake. The Green Python King and its descendants surfaced! The scene was so terrifying that my warhorse was scared witless! I was also completely numb! You have no idea, there must have been tens of thousands of snakes!"
After finishing, Qian Dong still seemed shaken and quickly took a big gulp of wine to calm his nerves.
"The Silver Wolf King and its offspring froze the entire lake surface. The Queen, two Generals, and us, along with many Elite Silver Wolves, all took action. It was an incredibly lively day..."
Tang Wen felt a bit regretful that he had missed such a grand event.
"So, the Green Python King is dead?"
"How could that be! King beasts aren't so easy to kill, and the lake was its domain! It was injured and escaped into the underground river."
"What happened next?"
"The Queen moved half a mountain to block the lake's entrance and exit to the underground. That matter was settled for the time being."
"Won't the Green Python King climb ashore?"
Qian Dong rolled his eyes: "Climb ashore for what? To seek death?"
After saying that, he added: "In the future, when you go out and see Silver Wolves and our people drinking water by the lake together, don't be too surprised."
The Silver Wolf pack and the Flame Camp had a history of enmity, but in the face of disaster and survival, that past was insignificant.
Tang Wen nodded: "Well, we've just brought in a waterwheel, which will come in handy."
"..."
Tang Wen had no plans to leave the camp anytime soon.
After making such a splash in Five Cities and nearly beating the genius of the Black Mountain Camp to death, it was uncertain whether Black Fang would fully recover. It was better for him to lay low for a while.
After dinner, that night, he went to the Visualization room.
In the Visualization Diagram, the scene was all too familiar.
This was a scene Tang Wen would dream about.
[First, Second, and Third Forms of the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist: Mountain Splitter Cannon, Head-on Cannon, Half-step Blast]
These three forms of fist techniques, he had mastered to perfection through repeated practice and real combat.
And just a few days ago, with the experience bar halfway filled, he had a new realization—the Seventh Form: Eight-Armed Divine Fist.
Thus, out of the six forms of the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist available in the camp, he had mastered four.
There were still two forms he had no clue about: [Fifth Form: Dragon Emerges from Water, Ocean Floor Trembles]
[Tenth Form: Mountain Blasting Cannon]
The more he thought about it, the more his thoughts became tangled.
In the end, he decided to stop thinking and got up to practice the Eight Section Brocade.
Tang Wen completely relaxed his mind, no longer pursuing speed, like an old Taoist priest, his heart as calm as an ancient well.
As the saying goes, when chopping wood, chop wood; when eating, eat; when practicing, practice.
When he performed the first form, he focused solely on the first form, doing the stretching movements without any other thoughts, just stretching.
Gradually, he felt that everything was different.
But it seemed like everything was the same.
He entered a state of complete absorption, forgetting both himself and the external world.
After several repetitions, Tang Wen's eyes were half-open and half-closed.
He gently sat down, quietly immersing his mind into the Contemplation Method.
The core force of the Contemplation Method, influenced by the pressure of the earth's crust, produced a flying fireball... a mountain collapsing.
Under his control, the Contemplation Method accelerated repeatedly, like fleeting shadows, scenes changing rapidly.
A series of scenes compressed into one second.
Then half a second.
1/4 second.
1/8 second...
Finally, it became a single thought: with one thought, the Contemplation was complete.
He didn't know how much time had passed before Tang Wen was awakened by a sharp pain.
His temples were throbbing.
The pain in his temples was like a spasm.
How long had I been in Contemplation?
Had my mental energy been so thoroughly depleted?
He tried to get up, but his head spun.
He simply grabbed the cushion prayer mat beneath him and lay down on it.
In less than half a minute, he was deeply asleep.
Four and a half hours later, Tang Wen woke up.
The first thing he did was check the Experience Panel:
[Meditation Martial Art: Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist, Proficient (3217→3580/6000)]
383!
It had actually increased by 383 points of experience?
He couldn't help but be surprised. Previously, in the wilderness, using the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist to destroy ten earthen mountains had only yielded about the same amount of experience.
But how many days would it take to destroy ten earthen mountains?
Unlike now, which had only taken a few hours.
Not only that, but his mental energy had also slightly increased.
[Spirit: 9.3→9.4]
A full 0.1 point increase.
Considering the current strength of Tang Wen's mental energy.
Apart from the growth brought by breakthroughs in basic cultivation methods, it was almost impossible to improve through regular training.
Unexpectedly, today brought a pleasant surprise.
Next was [Eight Section Brocade, Expert (7331→7431/18000)]
A full hundred-point increase.
For an expert-level cultivation method, this was already a lot.
Let's try again!
"Gurgle, gurgle"
Tang Wen sprang up from the ground like a carp leaping out of water, but before he could start trying, his stomach began to protest.
"Alright, let's eat first."
He went to the palace kitchen and had two bowls of hand-pulled chicken noodles.
Tang Wen didn't return to the meditation room where the Visualization Diagram was located, but instead went directly to the small courtyard where he had last secluded himself for training.
The stone bricks in the courtyard were spotless.
Clearly, someone had been cleaning it regularly.
He eagerly entered the basement and began training:
"Preparation stance, hands inserted to benefit the triple burner, hands and feet to strengthen the kidneys and waist..."
Just as he reached the second section, Tang Wen felt a slight warmth in his lower back, not the kind of dry heat, but a gentle, moist warmth.
It was quite enjoyable.
One round, two rounds
Three rounds, five rounds
He went through more than a dozen rounds in one go.
But he didn't find that same self-forgetting feeling from last night.
Only a sense of overall comfort, full of energy, and in exceptionally good condition.
Is that state not something you can force?
Well, I'm going to force it!
Tang Wen focused and trained again.
Training, eating, sleeping.
A day passed, and he still hadn't found that feeling.
On the second day of seclusion, a loud crashing sound echoed in the courtyard.
It was Tang Wen dragging the black dummy from the courtyard into the underground training ground.
A week passed, and he still hadn't been able to enter that self-forgetting state.
He simply adjusted his mindset and continued training as usual.
On the eighth morning, still warming up with the Eight Section Brocade, as he practiced, the state finally came.
Tang Wen took a few deep breaths, carefully experiencing it.
After a moment, he began practicing the fist techniques.
First stance: Mountain Splitter Cannon
Second stance: Head-on Cannon
Third stance: Half-step Blast
Fifth Move: Dragon Emerges from Water, Ocean Floor Trembles
This move still didn't unleash much power.
However, Tang Wen deeply imprinted the punching method into his mind, making his execution remarkably smooth.
Seventh Move: Eight-Armed Divine Fist
A phantom of eight arms flashed behind Tang Wen.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, the black metal dummy was struck dozens of times.
Tenth Move: Mountain Blasting Cannon
Tang Wen thrust out a punch, and his body suddenly felt empty.
It was like the relief of carrying a hundred pounds of weight for hundreds of meters and then suddenly setting it down.
Exhausted yet light.
Thud!
The thousand-pound black metal dummy was sent flying sideways, crashing into the hard steel and stone wall.
The Mountain Blasting Cannon was starting to feel effective.
But it was still far from the level depicted in the Visualization Diagram, where it could collapse an entire mountain!
Tang Wen immersed himself in the fist techniques, continuing to train.
The black dummy was repeatedly smashed against the wall in various ways until Tang Wen's mental energy was depleted, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
Unlike last time, this time, not only was his mental energy exhausted,
but his physical strength was also nearly drained due to the intense training.
In his state of self-forgetfulness, he hadn't noticed.
But now that he stopped, every muscle in his body ached.
He quickly pulled
out the Exotic Beast Jerky he had prepared earlier. The jerky had been sliced extremely thin by the three maids at home, almost like the fatty beef rolls used in hot pot.
Tang Wen swallowed dozens of slices in one go and then fell into a deep sleep!
(End of Chapter)