The Golden Bell Shield Technique, you're nothing but a relentless shadow!

"A skill reaching perfection grants three additional bonuses?"

Chen Jue was slightly taken aback; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation since awakening his status panel.

Beyond awakening the sonic-strike killing move [Tiger’s Roar in the Mountains], the appearance of the final [Tiger’s Roar??] seemed like a nudge from the panel, guiding Chen Jue to learn his next hard-qigong skill.

"Dragon’s Chant Iron Shirt?"

"Since they are both hard-training skills from the Wudang Taihe Sect, they can benefit from a dual-buff." Chen Jue had previously bought a copy of "Illustrated Secret Manual of the Tiger’s Roar Golden Bell Cover" online and had brought it with him on this trip.

He hadn't been able to purchase the training method for the Dragon’s Chant Iron Shirt online, but someone had uploaded it to a group file, which Chen Jue had downloaded to his phone. He could practice along with it, and in the process, unlock the final [Tiger’s Roar??] combination state to see what kind of peculiar bonus could possibly require two perfected martial arts to awaken.

In addition to those two states, the Tiger’s Roar Golden Bell Cover also awakened a special bonus called [Golden Bell Body].

Beyond increasing Chen Jue’s defensive capabilities, this bonus was said to accelerate the cultivation speed of skills with the same name.

Chen Jue stared at the [Golden Bell Body] buff and pondered. He realized that this Tiger’s Roar Golden Bell Cover was likely originally intended to be practiced in two separate directions: "Tiger’s Roar" to train the internal organs, and "Golden Bell Cover" to temper the physical body. That was why it awakened [Golden Bell Body], a bonus that transcended the essence of the tiger spirit.

As for the skills with the same name mentioned by [Golden Bell Body], Chen Jue quickly formed a plan.

While browsing various martial arts in the group files, Chen Jue had discovered that basic external arts like the Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Cover, which were treated as dime-a-dozen tropes in martial arts novels, actually had many variants in the real world.

Just like the Wudang wall-leaping skill he had learned previously, the Shaolin Temple had its own version of a wall-leaping method—they hadn't even bothered to change the name.

For the Golden Bell Cover alone, Chen Jue had seen no fewer than three types in the group!

There was the Wudang Taihe Sect's Tiger’s Roar Golden Bell Cover, the Shaolin Golden Bell Cover from the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts, and an Iron-Armed Golden Bell Cover rumored to have been created by the Song Dynasty martial arts master Zhou Tong, who was known as "Iron Arms."

"If a single perfected Golden Bell Cover is already this powerful, imagine if I managed to master all three..." Just thinking about it made Chen Jue feel a thrill of excitement.

He already had the training methods for the other two versions downloaded on his phone. Unfortunately, the training was too physically demanding, and since it was already nearly midnight, Chen Jue suppressed his urge to continue and decided to rest.

However, with a wild tiger nearby, Chen Jue didn't dare to fall into a deep sleep.

He glanced over at the large tiger, which was now, for some reason, as docile as a kitten.

Seeing Chen Jue look at it, the tiger slowly stood up, padded over to his side, and rubbed against his leg, acting just like a house cat seeking affection from its owner.

"Huh?"

"Why have you suddenly become so obedient?"

Chen Jue was baffled. Seeing the wild animal’s sudden change in temperament, he reached out and petted its head. It truly felt completely different from petting a small cat!

After being stroked a few times, the tiger lay down by his feet, rolled over halfway, and exposed its snow-white belly to him.

One must know that the abdomen of a feline is a sensitive weak point. If an ordinary person were to rashly touch a cat's belly, they would almost certainly be met with a flurry of swipes.

But once a cat exposes its belly to you, allowing you to touch it at will, it means it has completely lowered its guard.

The same was true for this giant tiger!

It had been conquered by the display of power during Chen Jue's training; it had effectively accepted this "two-legged beast" as its leader, which was why it revealed its belly.

"I didn't expect you to be a female!" Chen Jue crouched down and rubbed its white belly. The tiger let out a purring sound.

Just like a house pet enjoying its owner's touch—deep down, they were all cats, sharing the same nature.

After having his fill, Chen Jue found that no matter how he tried to shoo the tiger away, it wouldn't leave; it simply wanted to stay close to him.

***

Chen Jue had no choice but to lean against its belly, and the man and the tiger fell asleep cuddled together under the warmth of the campfire.

Of course, Chen Jue didn't dare to sleep too soundly.

After all, he was relying on a wild, untamed tiger. He was worried the creature might be feigning obedience as a ruse, only to wake up in the middle of the night and take a bite out of him.

Because of this, his sleep was light—or rather, it wasn't really sleep at all, but a state of heightened alertness where he could react to the slightest disturbance.

He rested this way until 5:00 AM, getting only about five hours of sleep. During the night, he woke up several times to add wood to the fire before returning to the warmth of the tiger’s belly to doze.

Fortunately, his physical fitness was exceptional, and with the [One Breath Rising with the Sun] bonus from his perfected Boy’s Qigong, he could maintain constant energy.

He didn't feel exhausted at all, while the tiger actually slept more soundly than he did.

Its body rose and fell slightly with its purring, and whenever insects flew over its head, its two furry ears would twitch. Watching it, Chen Jue felt the urge to reach out and touch those ears.

"No more breakfast!"

"I finished the compressed biscuits yesterday."

"It looks like I have to go back today to restock before heading further into the mountains."

Chen Jue glanced at the sleeping tiger. Feeling an empty gnawing in his stomach, he decided to find something to eat. He took off his outer coat, grabbed the sharpened branch again, and headed down to the river.

The morning river water was bone-chilling, testing his physical limits. Combined with his empty stomach, it took him half an hour of great effort to spear four white fish, all larger than the ones from the day before.

Perhaps because it was autumn, the river fish were incredibly fatty and delicious. After scaling and cleaning them, he skewered them and smoked them over the still-smoldering campfire.

When the aroma of the roasted fish began to spread across the riverbank, the sleeping tiger twitched its nose, opened its eyes, let out a massive yawn, and trotted over to beg for food.

"This creature doesn't think I'm its zookeeper, does it?"

"The problem is, you're a wild tiger!" Chen Jue checked its ears and neck, finding no signs of artificial tagging or tracking devices like those seen in nature documentaries.

Seeing it waiting for a handout, Chen Jue tossed it two half-cooked fish. Within a few bites, the tiger had crushed bones and all and swallowed them down.

Large carnivores usually preferred food with a hint of blood, and these half-cooked fish were a delicacy to it.

Chen Jue waited until his fish were thoroughly cooked, then ate them while drying his clothes by the fire.

...

After extinguishing the fire and packing his bag to head back, Chen Jue discovered that the tiger was actually clinging to him!

Every time Chen Jue took two steps, the creature followed. Even when he wove through the dense forest, it trailed closely behind him at a distance of just a few meters.

"Brother! You're the King of the Forest! What are you doing following me?"

"Go back! Go back!"

Chen Jue pushed it away a few times, trying to drive it off, but it wouldn't leave. It kept following him until they reached the spot where they had crossed the river the day before.

Chen Jue moved with agility, leaping several meters across the river by stepping on the boulders in the water.

To his surprise, the tiger followed suit with a single jump. For this King of Beasts, a river of that width was nothing more than a casual stride.

"Good grief!"

"Why aren't you going back?" Chen Jue felt helpless. He didn't want to hurt the silly, adorable big cat. He decided to speed up his pace, crossing mountains and ridges, and cutting through dense forests and tall grass.

He thought that with his speed, he would surely shake off the tiger.

Yet, when he was almost at the hill behind the W寨 village, the creature popped out from somewhere again, purring and rubbing against his leg in a fawning manner.

What Chen Jue didn't know was that no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't lose a tiger determined to follow him.

Tigers had an incredibly keen sense of smell. A living human walking through the remote, rarely-trodden forest was bound to leave a scent trail, which was exactly how it kept tracking him down.

"Fine, fine! Since you want to follow me so badly."

"You can come home with me, but don't you dare make a sound, understand?" Chen Jue felt resigned. He had been practicing his martial arts so well, and now he had this tag-along.

It was just that this tag-along was a bit excessively large!

In ancient times, people called tigers "Big Bugs," and the term was incredibly fitting and accurate right now.

Standing on the peak behind the village, he looked down and saw the elderly residents preparing lunch. Wisps of cooking smoke rose, and there was no one else moving about.

Chen Jue braced himself and led the tiger back to the old house belonging to Brother Biao, locking the door from the inside.

Fortunately, the house was in a corner of the village, some distance from the homes where the elderly lived. Otherwise, a few purrs from this "Big Bug" would likely have sent the villagers' blood pressure skyrocketing!

...

After driving the tiger into the innermost room and calming it down with a few pats, Chen Jue took off his clothes and shoes, which had been through a rough day, wiped himself down, and changed into the casual sportswear he had arrived in.

It was already noon. After walking all morning, Chen Jue felt his food had been digested. He rummaged through the room, found a pack of compressed biscuits, tore it open, and tossed it to the tiger.

"This isn't a long-term solution!"

"Brother, you stay here and take a nap while I go out to buy some food." Chen Jue pondered for a moment, thinking about how to settle this tag-along.

He brought in a basin of clean water and opened another pack of compressed biscuits, leaving them for the tiger as a makeshift lunch. Seeing the tiger cooperate obediently, Chen Jue left the room, used a wooden bar to secure the door from the outside, locked up the old house, and bolted toward the tourist town.

He first ate a hearty meal at a local restaurant, then went to a butcher shop to buy over twenty pounds of fresh beef and pork bones, and stopped by an outdoor supply store to buy a new, large backpack, which he filled with more compressed biscuits and energy drinks.

Although these items didn't taste great, they were undeniably filling—a single biscuit could sustain him as much as five bowls of white rice.

If he hadn't had these biscuits during his breakthrough last night, he likely would have been left physically drained by the siphoning effect.

Carrying his haul, he walked quickly back to the village. As luck would have it, he ran into Wang Biao, who had just driven over from Bao Shan City!

"Old Mao, aren't you tired carrying all that stuff? Why didn't you take a motorbike from town?"

"Why did you buy so much meat? Going for a wild barbecue?"

"Why aren't you saying anything? You don't look so good! Didn't get enough rest in the countryside these past few days?"