"This... how is this possible? He's just a human?"
The giant tiger was stunned.
And it hurt!
Normally, it could swat away several humans with one claw. Just like that old Daoist yesterday, it could have sent him flying with a single swipe.
But the human before it was nothing like a human. Facing him, the giant tiger felt a sense of powerlessness.
"I'm no match for this human. I must escape!"
The giant tiger immediately came to this conclusion. It no longer dared to attack Ning Beichen and quickly turned its massive body to burrow into the mountain cave.
Ning Beichen could have easily stopped it but chose not to. He wanted to force the giant tiger into a corner to see if a "Tui Fan" (凡者) would appear.
After the giant tiger fled back into the cave, Ning Beichen immediately followed.
The cave reeked of a strong, unpleasant odor. Inside, it was a world of its own, far more than a mere den. It was a vast stalactite cave with multiple passages.
The environment within the stalactite cave was complex, with hidden currents and the sound of flowing water.
The giant tiger had vanished without a trace, and it was impossible to know where it had fled.
Although there were claw marks on the ground, they were scattered. Each passage had a large number of claw marks at its entrance, making it difficult for Ning Beichen to discern which path the giant tiger had taken.
Ultimately, Ning Beichen was not skilled in tracking. However, he didn't mind. The cave was not going anywhere. If he couldn't find it in one passage, he would search them all. His speed made this a trivial matter.
Ning Beichen first chose the leftmost passage and quickly sped into it. He returned halfway through.
This was because the passage began to narrow, becoming less than a meter wide, making it difficult even for a human to walk. The giant tiger could not have squeezed through.
Ning Beichen returned to the starting point and chose the second passage.
This second passage was much larger and the scent was stronger, making it a highly probable route for the giant tiger.
However, given the tiger's intelligence, it might have been a deliberate misdirection.
After all, this was its lair, and it was far more familiar with it than Ning Beichen.
But no matter how clever it was, it was futile against absolute strength.
Ning Beichen was incredibly fast, like a projectile, springing from the ground and flying without pause. He soon ventured deep into the passage.
Yet, the further he chased, the stranger Ning Beichen felt. The passage ahead sloped downwards, seemingly leading to an underground river.
As Ning Beichen had suspected, about ten minutes later, he found himself before a large underground river, its water roaring with a thunderous sound.
It was clear that not far away, there must be a waterfall with a significant drop or a river connecting to the outside.
Ning Beichen cursed the giant tiger and lamented his bad luck. He had to retrace his steps, taking another ten minutes to return to the starting point.
Now, only the last passage remained. Unless the giant tiger could fly, it was trapped.
Without any rest, Ning Beichen entered the third passage.
This third passage was filled with numerous hanging stalactites and strange rock formations, creating a gloomy and complex environment. Shortly after entering, Ning Beichen was attacked by a swarm of bats.
Fortunately, Ning Beichen was no ordinary person. He used his palm wind to sweep all the bats away and, moving at lightning speed, reached a flat area. There, he saw the giant tiger lying on the ground, occupying two-thirds of the space. The tiger appeared listless, likely heavily injured.
"Brother Tiger, you have nowhere left to run. Aren't you going to call your master out?"
Ning Beichen landed a few meters away and said.
The giant tiger looked up and roared at Ning Beichen, its eyes filled with hatred. However, it did not attack Ning Beichen directly, perhaps due to its severe injuries or fear.
"Roar!"
"Roar, roar, roar!"
The giant tiger roared, shaking the cave.
Ning Beichen ignored the trembling of the cave and paid attention to the surrounding movements.
However, the giant tiger's roars could easily cause a cave-in. Ning Beichen sprang towards the tiger and struck it with his palm.
With a "bang," the giant tiger's front paw was shattered by Ning Beichen's palm. The tiger let out whimpers like a kitten, whether from pain or fear, it was unclear.
For Ning Beichen, the most difficult part was his inability to communicate with the tiger. He didn't know how to tell it that he wasn't interested in it, but only wanted to know if it had a master.
He also couldn't understand the meaning of the tiger's roars, but he could read the hostility in its eyes. Therefore, Ning Beichen took it as the tiger's malice and decided to subdue it first.
Ning Beichen didn't know how to train tigers, but he knew how to train dogs. If it didn't obey, he'd beat it until it submitted.
Thus, the giant tiger had fallen into misfortune in Ning Beichen's hands.
With each palm strike, Ning Beichen tormented the giant tiger, battering it mercilessly, but carefully controlling his strength to ensure it wouldn't die.
The giant tiger had no idea what Ning Beichen was thinking. It now saw him as a pervert, a demon, a hateful human.
Soon, the giant tiger collapsed, utterly incapacitated. It was covered in wounds, with countless bones broken. Apart from its last breath, it could not move.
This human wasn't killing it but enjoying tormenting it. Truly monstrous.
"Perhaps... I should surrender?"
The giant tiger thought, on the verge of tears.
It no longer dared to harbor hatred for Ning Beichen. Facing such a powerful and perverted human, it felt it was better to be obedient.
But this demonic pervert in front of it didn't seem inclined to take it as a subordinate, merely enjoying beating it.
"Human, why don't you make me surrender! If you ask, I will definitely agree."
The giant tiger waited helplessly in its heart for Ning Beichen to speak.
However, Ning Beichen had no way of understanding a tiger's thoughts. He firmly believed that this giant tiger had a master, and it was likely a Tui Fan.
"Brother Tiger, if you don't let your Tui Fan master come out soon, I'm going to take action."
Ning Beichen threatened it.
The giant tiger looked bewildered. When did it get a master?
And what was this "Tui Fan master" thing?
It had grown so large entirely because it had drunk from that pool for years.
Combined with its intelligence and the luck of comprehending a breathing technique, it had become much stronger and larger than other tigers, becoming the king of this region.