chapter 2 The old man and the dog ===

The next morning, Nicholas Pickering couldn't wait to start practicing martial arts.

After practicing for half a day, Nicholas Pickering's full expectations turned into disappointment.

Due to the birth defects of his nine fingers and even his body, even if Nicholas Pickering has practiced body tempering to the extreme, he is still not as good as a normal person. He is unable to sense the vitality between heaven and earth, let alone cultivate the true essence.

If you don’t become a real person, you won’t become a warrior!

"Come again!"

Nicholas Pickering did not forget his original intention and continued to practice boxing.

In the summer sky, Nicholas Pickering was sweating profusely in the forest, practicing hard, and did not stop until he lost all his strength.

"Boom!" "Boom!"...

Suddenly, there was a ground shaking sound coming from the dense forest below.

The trees below were shaking wildly, and some were even broken and fell to the ground. A huge black shadow was faintly visible flying towards this side.

"Vicious beast!?"

Nicholas Pickering was shocked, turned around and ran away.

With his current strength, he is simply not enough to deal with the powerful beast.

While running, Nicholas Pickering looked back and was horrified to find that the route of the vicious beast actually formed a straight line with him, making it clear that it was coming towards him.

Along the way, all the trees and boulders that hindered the ferocious beast were violently knocked away or broken into pieces by it, which was extremely cruel.

Nicholas Pickering didn't understand why there was such a powerful ferocious beast in the back the Pickering Family. He even began to wonder if Jaxton Pickering had deliberately tricked him last night. As he ran away, he cursed bitterly: "Jaxton Pickering, you bastard, you actually forced me to Coming to such a dangerous place..."

Before he finished cursing, Nicholas Pickering saw a large shadow flying over his head, and a vicious beast blocked his way.

Nicholas Pickering stopped in shock and saw the ferocious beast in front of him clearly: "What a big... dog!"

This is indeed a dog, but it is an extremely huge black dog, almost as big as a foal. It opens its bloody mouth and reveals its extremely sharp fangs, which makes people feel chilled all over.

"Woof!"

The giant dog barked and took a step forward.

Nicholas Pickering took three steps back, picked up a big stone, and held it tightly in his hand.

Although Nicholas Pickering knew that he was no match for this or rather this big black dog, he did not intend to sit still and wait for death.

The big dog stopped and did not move forward. It stared at Nicholas Pickering from two feet away with its big copper bell-like eyes.

Nicholas Pickering didn't dare to move rashly, he could only stare at the big dog, not even daring to take a breath.

As he watched, Nicholas Pickering suddenly had a strange feeling: "This dog seems to be looking at himself?"

Yes, that’s inspection!

It's a bit like a treasure appraiser examining a unique treasure.

A bit like a martial arts master examining a supreme sword.

It's a bit like a lecher looking at a beautiful girl...

But, as a human being, being scrutinized by a dog?

Nicholas Pickering felt that his dignity had fallen to the ground, but he didn't dare to pick it up. He felt aggrieved!

"Woof!"

The big dog seemed to have finished its inspection, barked again, and suddenly spit out a white light.

The white light was like an arrow, flying towards Fang Mo without any warning at an extremely fast speed.

Nicholas Pickering defended himself from left to right, but he didn't expect this big dog to attack in such a way.

Facing the fast white light, Nicholas Pickering couldn't dodge at all. He raised the big stone in his hand to block the white light.

"Click" sound!

The boulder was vulnerable and shattered instantly.

Nicholas Pickering was stunned and could only watch as the white light shot into his mouth with great accuracy.

"...Isn't it dirty?"

Compared with death, Nicholas Pickering was more worried about hygiene issues - this thing was spit out from the dog's mouth. Isn't this kissing in disguise?

Did you travel through time just to kiss a dog?

"Buzz!"

White light suddenly exploded inside Nicholas Pickering body, and the beam penetrated and completely enveloped his body.

Suddenly, Nicholas Pickering felt like the world was spinning. There was only endless white light in front of him, forcing him to close his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find that he was no longer in the woods behind the mountain, but in a mysterious world.

All around, there is a dense aura of aura, with peach blossoms planted all over the sea, and hundreds of birds in full bloom, just like a fairyland, which makes people forget to leave.

"Where is this? Is it because of that white light?"

As a time traveler who had already died once, Nicholas Pickering was not afraid of the unfamiliar environment. Instead, he was a little curious and vaguely looking forward to it.

As for what he expected, he couldn't even tell.

Ahead, there was the sound of running water.

Nicholas Pickering followed the sound of water and saw a small river.

By the river, an old man with a gray beard was sitting fishing, his eyes seemed to be open and closed, and he was dozing off.

On the river, the mist was so thick that you couldn't see the movement of the fishing line at all, and you didn't know how the old man fished.

"Hello, old man!"

Fang Mo learned the rules of this world, bowed and called to the old man.

The old man slowly opened his eyes, looked at Nicholas Pickering, and said casually: "Coming?"

Nicholas Pickering Mo answered in a strange way: "Here he comes."

The old man said: "Have you seen Alfie?"

Alfie?

Such a poetic name?

I don’t know where the little fairy is!

Nicholas Pickering asked: "Who is Alfie?"

The old man said: "That big black dog."

Nicholas Pickering: "..."

The old man asked again: "Is your name Nicholas Pickering?"

Nicholas Pickering nodded, slightly surprised: "Old man, do you know me?"

The old man shook his head: "I don't know."

Nicholas Pickering: "..."

The old man asked again: "Do you know what the highest state of martial arts is?"

the Pickering Family has many books. Nicholas Pickering knew a little about it and replied: "Martial Saint."

The old man asked again: "Do you want to become a martial saint?"

Hearing this, Nicholas Pickering was inexplicably excited, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Looking at the old man's white beard fluttering in the wind, Nicholas Pickering thought that this should be the legendary immortal spirit.

Now, he finally knew what he was expecting.

Nicholas Pickering took a deep breath and asked, "Can you make me a Martial Saint?"

The old man shook his head: "No!"

Nicholas Pickering: "..."

The old man asked again: "Do you know what the entry level of martial arts is?"

Nicholas Pickering was a little depressed and didn't want to answer the other party's questions.

The old man looked at him quietly, waiting for his answer.

Nicholas Pickering had respected the old and loved the young before, so he could only sigh helplessly and replied: "True Yuan Realm."

The old man asked: "Do you want to become the True Yuan realm?"

Nicholas Pickering always felt that the old man was a little pragmatic, but he still asked cautiously: "Can I...?"

The old man finally gave his first positive answer since the conversation: "Yes."

Nicholas Pickering eyes glowed with hope, and he wanted to kneel down immediately to become his master, and asked, "Old man, can you help me break through to the True Yuan Realm?"

The old man shook his head again: "No."

Nicholas Pickering: "..."

"But you can!" the old man said again.

"I can?"

Nicholas Pickering was stunned for a moment, looked at his right hand that was missing a finger, and wanted to say: I was born with nine fingers, so I can't.

The old man seemed to know what Nicholas Pickering was thinking, and said, "Even if you are born with nine fingers, you can do it."

After speaking, the old man took out an ancient book from somewhere and threw it to Nicholas Pickering

Nicholas Pickering took the ancient book and was shocked to see four big characters written on the cover: "Nine Finger Hegemony".

Below is a row of small characters: My name is Wu Tian. Because I was born with nine fingers, I created this technique for future generations to practice. This technique appears to be a quenching of the body, but is actually a source of vitality, but it requires enduring inhuman suffering.

The old man said slowly: "This book "Nine Finger Hegemony" was acquired by me in his later years. The author of this book was also born with nine fingers, and eventually achieved the status of a saint and was called the Tianwu Sage by later generations. This book is his meticulous work Created specifically for those born with nine fingers. As long as you can endure inhuman suffering, you will naturally be able to break through the shackles, generate true energy, and become a true warrior."

Hearing this, Nicholas Pickering expression was extremely excited, and his body couldn't help but tremble.

When the clouds opened and the moon shone brightly, Nicholas Pickering burst into tears of gratitude and wanted to kneel down to become his master.

But the old man shook his head and said: "What you want to practice is the method of the Nine-Finger Sword Master, and you are his disciple. You cannot apprentice to others. Okay, you can go back and come back here after the practice is completed." "

As he spoke, the old man waved his hand, and Nicholas Pickering left the ground uncontrollably. His body was surrounded by dense air and disappeared in an instant.

Looking at the direction in which Nicholas Pickering disappeared, the old man stroked his beard and said softly: "After waiting for so many years, I finally waited for you. Little guy, since you come from other worlds, you are not in this chess game. Even if you are a saint, even if you are a saint, you are not from another world. It's that person, and I can't count you. You are the only hope. Because of you, I searched all over the world to find this "Nine Finger Hegemony". Don't let this world down!"

…

As the world turned around, Nicholas Pickering returned to the woods in the back mountain again, holding the "Nine Finger Hegemony" in his hand.

Raising his head, Nicholas Pickering saw the big black dog opposite and called tentatively: "Alfie?"

The big black dog opened his mouth and revealed a humane smile. It was no longer as vicious as before, but actually had a hint of intimacy.

Nicholas Pickering also smiled kindly, and then began to read the ancient book in his hand.

After reading the entire article carefully, Nicholas Pickering smiled.

As stated on the cover page, the "Nine Finger Hegemony" was indeed specially created for those born with nine fingers, and it was just right for Nicholas Pickering's physique.

Nicholas Pickering felt as if he had found a treasure and started practicing with full expectation.

In essence, "Nine Finger Hegemony Technique" is actually a body-tempering technique.

However, unlike ordinary body-tempering techniques, Ba Jue is full of weird punches, and all of them are moves that push the human body to its limits.

After practicing for only half a day, Nicholas Pickering was pleasantly surprised to find that his physical strength, which he originally thought could not be enhanced, was actually increasing at a gratifying speed.

Of course, the cost of practicing Ba Jue is also very high. You have to endure inhuman pain, which is simply unbearable.

However, Nicholas Pickering still gritted his teeth and persisted, because this was his only hope. No matter how hard and tiring it was, as long as he didn't die, it was worth it.

After half a month of inhuman torture, Nicholas Pickering benefited a lot.

Today, his physical strength is at least several times higher than before, and his strength has also been greatly improved.

"boom!"

Amidst the muffled thunder, Nicholas Pickering, who was practicing, punched a big tree nearby.

Suddenly, the giant tree that one person was hugging suddenly broke and fell to the ground, causing smoke and dust to fly everywhere.

"hey-hey……"

Nicholas Pickering was very satisfied and smiled like an old dog in heat.

This would have been absolutely impossible for Nicholas Pickering to do half a month ago.

"Sunset and dusk, let's finish practicing here today."

Today, Nicholas Pickering was out of character and did not practice until nightfall as usual before going home.

Because tomorrow is the end of the month, the Pickering Family will distribute body tempering liquid to all disciples on time to assist in their cultivation.

By then, Nicholas Pickering's cousins ​​will appear, and trouble will inevitably arise, and Nicholas Pickering must deal with it with all his strength.

"Oh, what's supposed to come will always come, there's no way to avoid it..."

Nine Finger Sword Master