Chapter Thirty-One: The Tiger-Subduing Maneuver

Tiger Fist and Leopard Fist, though both are forms of ancient animal mimicry boxing among the Eight Animal Fists, differ dramatically—not only in their styles of combat, but also in their methods of practice.

According to ancient wisdom: the mind resides at the crown, the five senses in the eyes, the four limbs in the palms and soles, the pulse in the breath, the belly at the navel, the bones in the spine, and the essence in the kidneys.

Thus, training the bones centers on training the spine. The Tiger Fist stance demands the spine be both relaxed and powerful, alternating tension and release; the movements of the back facilitate the circulation of lung energy, which, when drawn into the bones, nourishes them. In this way, training the spine becomes a method to fortify every joint in the body.

Therefore, Tiger Fist is a supreme form for refining the body’s structure and majestic bearing. Its breathing technique, the secretive Tiger’s Roar, is inspired by the growl of the wild beast itself. At the pinnacle of mastery, one’s bones take on the resilience of a tiger’s, and the body becomes unthinkably powerful.

Leopard Fist, meanwhile, is the art of cultivating force. The claws—fingernails—are the extensions of the tendons; the twelve sinew channels begin at the fingertips. As one practices the Leopard Fist stance, the breath concentrates at the tips of the fingers. With each inhale and exhale, the energy moves along the tendons into the liver, strengthening it. Since the liver is the root of fatigue, when it is robust, one is tireless and explosive in power.

This is why Lu Yao, with a sudden twist, could wrench joints and snap tendons—her twelve sinew channels had been honed to a formidable degree, flowing freely to the extremities, enabling her to unleash such bizarre and savage techniques.

To merge the techniques of both fists is to blend two unique kinds of martial energy—a feat all but impossible.

Yet, the signature technique of the Five Animal Hall lies in the exclusive stance it developed: the Cat-Tiger Stance.

There is a saying: the cat is the tiger’s master and the leopard’s kin. The Cat-Tiger Stance relinquishes some of the Tiger Fist’s raw dominance, but in return, gains infinite versatility.

The tiger, lord of the mountain, is immense, with sharp teeth and steady, forceful strikes that awe its foes. The leopard, fierce and agile, tears flesh from bone, leaps mountains and streams, vanishes into the shadows. Combined, the tiger and leopard’s strengths allow for sudden, lethal assaults—striking like a reaper among grass.

Lu Yao’s hips rose and sank, her body drawing taut like a great bow. Her ten fingers and toes flexed, and her frame resembled a siege spear ready to be unleashed.

Tendons became the bow, bones the arrow; tiger’s might fused with leopard’s utility—this was the secret weapon of her style: the Tiger-Leopard Strike.

In an instant, her form seemed to stretch a full yard, her blood and energy surging with her fists, releasing a force tenfold stronger than the tiger energy Kou Li had displayed earlier.

Within that tremendous power lurked a chilling, ruthless claw force—sixteen hidden claw strikes woven into the onslaught, each targeting human vulnerabilities: head, throat, ribs, chest, groin.

In that moment, Kou Li felt as if the figure before him was no human, but a monstrous beast—tiger’s body, leopard’s head, ten hands, a hundred claws—lunging with fangs bared to tear him apart.

The duel between martial families was indeed a clash of instants, fortunes reversing in the blink of an eye. In moments, the two had traded advantage several times. First, his opponent seized initiative with a surprise Leopard Fist attack. He risked everything to regain the upper hand, yet she endured until his strength was about to falter, then unleashed her killing move.

To wield two distinct martial energies in one style—was this not the realm of the Four Great Refinements?

"If she executes the Tiger-Leopard Strike, even our two senior brothers would have to be wary. This time, her opponent is as good as dead. Pity—I rather liked the look of him," Lu Yao mused unexpectedly. But she had no intention of holding back; instead, she intensified her energy. In such martial duels, only death brings resolution. Any trouble that might follow, she would leave for her seniors to fret over.

To kill is the greatest thrill!

Kou Li’s mind raced—Tiger Fist, Three Soul Palm, even his most desperate, hidden resources—none could break this crisis.

The Tiger-Leopard Strike: even masters at the level of the Four Great Refinements must defend with all their might. How then could he withstand it?

At this moment, Kou Li felt he had reached a dead end.

On the brink of life and death, once more his will—and his methods—were tested.

His thoughts drifted to the wild tiger he had encountered on Mount Nantianmen, the reek of blood whipping through the air, the beast’s sudden descent from the mountain. The scene from his dream and the current reality fused into one.

Kou Li’s vision had never been so sharp.

The tiger was no longer just a beast; from the skull, through the spine, chest, waist, sacrum, pelvis, down to the tailbone.

Below the breastbone: humerus, patella, ulna, wrist, metacarpals.

Tiger tendons, like coiled springs, wound intricately around the joints and vertebrae, twisting, stretching, contracting with each movement.

Tiger Form’s every motion—spinning, bow-stepping, dual claws, five-petal tiger hammer, mountain-sitting single whip, tiger flicks flea—could be traced in these transformations.

The Tiger Fist’s power was indeed modeled on the animal’s own motions. The spinning step was one method of generating force—the four humeri’s tendons twisting, pulling against the center of the waist like the spinning of a loom. The bow step claw was another, as if lines connected all muscles and bones, weaving together the seventeen postures and general principles of Tiger Fist into a complex picture.

The directions, thickness, and length of these lines intertwined into a tangled skein.

Yet this skein was not flawless; if one had a pair of scissors and followed the thinnest, shortest threads, it could be easily severed.

A hundred thoughts flashed by in a heartbeat.

To an onlooker, Kou Li seemed utterly defeated—eyes closed, guard slack, sweat beading from beneath his skin, as if all his strength had dissipated.

Yet this apparent inaction, full of openings, gave Lu Yao pause. A body replete with weaknesses is, in a sense, as unassailable as one with none.

Fortunately, though a woman, she had claimed more than a dozen lives; her resolve was unshakable. In that instant, she made her decision—Tiger form, Leopard claw, striking at the neck.

A thunderous crack split the air!

Her punch erupted with explosive force.

In Kou Li’s eyes, the fierce tiger from his dream overlapped perfectly with the she-tiger before him. Once more, he glimpsed the shortcut to cut through the tangled skein.

His body showed no sign of exertion; his right foot suddenly shattered the wooden floor and sank into the mud below.

As his foot stuck, his body tilted; just before the claws reached his skin, he narrowly evaded the strike.

His body pitched forward, back muscles tightened, spine snapped like a whip—one-handed lash!

Lu Yao’s vision blurred—her opponent vanished. The Tiger-Leopard Strike, embodying all her killing intent, energy, spirit, and the essence of her art, had been dodged!

Panic flickered in the heart of the Five Animal Hall master’s beloved daughter. Her strength already spent, she could not understand: how had a certain-kill move been evaded so easily?

“Tiger-Slaying Form!” White Crane’s eyes widened, energy surging around him, a chorus of crane cries rising. The great shadow behind him had already vanished.

“How can it be Tiger-Slaying Form?!”

Of the seventeen stances of Tiger Fist, plus two newly completed in recent years by the Five Animal Hall—Starving Tiger Pounces, Tiger’s Might Fist—nineteen in total, all combined to create the killing move known as Tiger-Slaying Form.

This was a counter to all Tiger Fist techniques—form as momentum, intent as spirit—the anti-form achieved only by those who had truly mastered animal mimicry boxing.

Mastering the anti-form marked the step from proficiency to true mastery.

Setting aside White Crane’s shock, Lu Yao’s Tiger-Leopard Strike having failed, her instincts remained sharp. Her legs were just shifting from a tiger’s crouch to a cat’s shadow when, in an instant, pain shot through her abdomen, ribs, chest, and collarbone. All the Tiger Fist energy within her was severed at once.

With a swish, her body was hurled to the ground, energy rebounding, leaving her trembling and utterly spent.

A flash of murderous intent glinted in Kou Li’s eyes. He collapsed at the waist, bent his knees, his spine rising and falling; steam burst from his reddened skin, misting the air. As his claw struck down, it bore a trace of that “Young Master Huang’s” legendary Dragon-Seeking Claw.

Tiger’s roar stirs the valley; dragon’s cry fills the land.

Auspicious clouds drift across the sky; blazing flames part the blue heavens.

The boiling tiger opens its jaws—to devour man whole!