24: Chapter 24 25 years old, peak of the Innate Realm

[Over the past four years, no major events occurred, but your daily life changed significantly. You transformed that sheltered mountain hollow into a respectable dwelling—stone walls to block the wind, a wooden shed to keep out the rain, and a small pond enclosed by the stream for washing. You transplanted several wild peach trees at the mouth of the hollow; in spring, flowers blanketed the slopes, pink and white, reflecting the distant snow-capped peaks, truly resembling a paradise away from the world.]

[Little Wang had its own fixed nest under a concave rock next to your dwelling, lined with thick, dry grass. It had grown quite a bit, its tiger frame more robust, but its personality remained unchanged—gluttonous, afraid of pain, bullying the weak while fearing the strong, and acting cute when it couldn't win a fight.]

[You had grown up, too.]

[From sixteen to twenty, four years of time had polished a young girl into a mature woman. Your stature had increased significantly, your waist was slender and supple, and your skin, due to years of mountain living, had taken on a healthy honey tone, though the base remained fair and could be restored with a little concealment.]

[There was one other change that gave you a massive headache.]

[Your chest.]

[I don't know when it started, but those two mounds began an unstoppable growth process. By the time you were just past eighteen, it had reached the point where you had to bind them tightly with cloth strips every time you practiced swordplay. Otherwise, when you ran, you always felt like there were three people practicing instead of one.]

[As you tied the cloth strips, you thought of a video on breast reduction surgery you had scrolled past on Douyin in your past life. In the comments section, someone had written: "Quack doctor! Give me back my surging waves!" You had even joined in the teasing back then.]

[Year 9 of the simulation.]

[You open your eyes in the stone house.]

[Xiantian Peak.]

[Nine years of accumulation, combined with the underlying memories of two lifetimes and the blessing of being a Martial Arts Prodigy, meant the quality and total amount of your True Qi had reached the limit of the Innate Realm. Every Meridian was stretched to the extreme by the True Qi; even a fraction more would cause it to overflow.]

[But you could not achieve a Breakthrough.]

[It was not because of a Bottleneck, not because of talent, but because of your Cultivation Technique.]

[The Azure Sky Heart Method, an Innate-level Cultivation Technique, only goes up to the Xiantian Peak. The Mind-Cultivation Technique contains no circulation path for the Grandmaster Stage, no guidance method for the qualitative change of True Qi, and no key to open that door.]

[It is like a road that has reached its end; in front is a wall. You can see there is something behind the wall, but you lack the tools to chisel through it.]

[You stand up, walk out of the stone house, and take a look at the mountain hollow where you have lived for nine years. The peach blossoms are in full bloom, petals covering the ground, and Little Wang is napping under a peach tree, a petal hanging from the tip of its tail.]

[You know, it is time for you to leave.]

[You look at Little Wang, looking at it for a long time.]

["Little Wang." You speak up.]

[Its tiger ears twitch, its amber eyes open, and it looks at you.]

["We're leaving, come with me."]

[Little Wang tilts its head, seemingly not quite understanding. But when you start packing your things, it stands up, shakes the petals off its body, slowly saunters over to your side, and rubs its tiger head against the back of your hand.]

[You stroke its ears, turn around, and go back into the stone house.]

[Disguise.]

[You use medicinal powder to adjust your skin tone one shade darker, from fair to honey-brown. You draw your eyebrows thicker, apply a thin layer of vermilion to your lips, and tie your long hair into a high ponytail, revealing a sharp jawline and a slender neck. A tight-fitting hunter's short jacket is cinched at the waist, pulling into the smooth curve of a narrow waist and wide hips.]

[You walk to the stream and look at your reflection in the water.]

[The water reflects a face. The honey-brown skin makes your features appear more profound, with a wildness and sharpness bred by the mountains and forests between your brows and eyes. Yet, your bone structure is too good; even with deliberate ruggedness, the vivid beauty that seeped from your bones cannot be suppressed.]

[Unlike the delicate young girl from Yunjin City, you look more like a hunter's daughter who walked out of the deep mountains and old forests.]

[You feel satisfied.]

[That's enough; as long as I'm not recognized.]

[On the day you left the mountains, you met quite a few travelers on the road.]

[To be precise, the travelers met Little Wang.]

[The first to see you was a woodcutter carrying a load of firewood. When he saw a white tiger following at your side from afar, he dropped his firewood on the spot, let out an "Awoo" cry, and flipped into the bushes by the roadside.]

[You sigh, walk over, and push aside the bushes.]

["Don't be afraid, it doesn't bite."]

[The woodcutter trembles like chaff: "M-miss, that's a tiger—!"]

["It's domesticated." You pat Little Wang's head. Little Wang cooperates by yawning, revealing a mouthful of stark white fangs.]

[The woodcutter shrinks deeper into the bushes.]

[You have no choice but to leave first.]

[Later, when you met other travelers, you learned your lesson. From afar, you would shout, "The tiger is domesticated and won't hurt anyone." The effect was only slightly better than not shouting. Most people still ran; a small number of brave ones stood far away to watch, and a very few dared to come closer to look.]

[There was a seven or eight-year-old boy who poked his head out from behind his mother, his eyes wide and round, full of excitement.]

["Mom! Big cat! Such a big cat!"]

[He broke free from his mother's hand, swooshed over, and hugged Little Wang's tiger head.]

[Little Wang went completely stiff.]

[It turned its head to look at you, its eyes filled with four words—You do something about this.]

[You didn't.]

[The little boy rode on Little Wang's neck and tugged at its tiger ears for a good half a cup of tea's time before being dragged away by his mother, who was crying and scolding. Little Wang, relieved of a heavy burden, let out a low roar, shook its head, and looked at you with a resentful expression.]

[You smile, squat down, and rub its tiger head: "Bear with it, this is called socializing."]

[On the road, you asked a few brave travelers about the recent situation.]

[The news was worse than you expected.]

[Wei Feisen is no longer just a "Branch Leader." Two years ago, the old gang leader died suddenly, and he took over as the leader of the Black Tiger Gang. Now, the entire underground power of the three southeastern states belongs to Wei.]

[After hearing this, you didn't speak, just touched the hilt of the sword at your waist.]

[Three days later, you arrived with Little Wang at the nearest prefecture city—Chengan Prefecture.]

[Chengan Prefecture is a large city in the central part of the Qing Kingdom, with walls three zhang high and carriages and horses like dragons at the city gates. You arrived at noon, just in time for the dense flow of people entering and leaving the city.]

[The city guards, seeing a white tiger walking beside a woman from afar, turned green in the face.]

["Stop!" The leading soldier drew his sword and pointed it at you, his voice trembling, "Who goes there, driving a tiger into the city!"]

[You stop walking and look at him calmly.]

["It is domesticated, it won't hurt anyone."]

["No way!" The soldier gritted his teeth, "A beast is a beast, who knows when it will go mad—"]

[You didn't waste words with him; you raised your hand and pressed it onto a stone pier beside the city gate.]

[True Qi surged out, and a one-foot-long crack appeared on the surface of the stone pier.]

["Don't worry, with me here, it won't hurt anyone."]

[The soldier looked at the crack on the stone pier, then back at you, and swallowed hard. An Innate Martial Artist wasn't rare in Chengan Prefecture, but it wasn't someone a lowly soldier could afford to provoke.]

["You... you must guarantee it won't hurt anyone."]

["If it bites anyone, I will pay with my life."]

[You entered the city.]

[The main street of Chengan Prefecture was wide, with restaurants and teahouses lining both sides, and shouting voices constant. But when you walked past, the whole street became as quiet as if a immobilization spell had been cast for two breaths—then it erupted into screams.]

[Pedestrians retreated to both sides like a tide. Someone knocked over a roadside wonton stall, and someone sat on the ground. An old man selling candied haws stood there holding his straw target, his mouth hanging open and unable to close.]

[Little Wang walked at your side with steady steps, indifferent to the commotion around it, its tiger tail swinging leisurely, with the demeanor of one used to big scenes.]