Chapter 53: Becoming an Arhat

Ou Xiaolu felt as though he had become a tiger. Since childhood, he had possessed a pair of sapphire-like eyes unlike anyone else’s, and lived deep within a mysterious mountain forest. From a young age, he had claimed this forest as his own domain, patrolling it tirelessly each day.

Throughout these patrols, the tiger fought constantly, growing stronger, and eventually became the most formidable beast in the entire forest.

One day, while on his rounds, the tiger discovered a new path where there had never been one before. Following this trail, he stumbled upon a secret realm. There, a Daoist priest was breathing in and out mist, utterly unafraid when the tiger appeared.

From that day forth, the tiger visited daily, imitating the Daoist’s breathing exercises. As time passed, the Daoist began to teach the tiger more intentionally. He taught the tiger his own cultivation breathing technique and even helped the tiger choose a divine power: to nurture the Wind of Golden Sha in his lungs. When the tiger exhaled, he could spit out thick smoke and black sand—any creature caught in its path would be flayed, and any drawn into it would be shredded to pieces.

No one knows how much time passed before the Daoist transcended mortality and ascended to immortality, leaving the tiger to return to his human form. Once again, he resumed his daily patrols of the mountain.

During one such patrol, he discovered a crown. Within it, he sensed a trace of divinity. Through this sliver of divinity, the tiger glimpsed another possibility: he began spreading the idea among the forest beasts that he was the mountain god.

One day, his proclamation was acknowledged by Heaven itself, and he was ordained as the true mountain deity, transformed into a being with the head of a tiger and the body of a man.

When the dream ended, Ou Xiaolu opened his eyes to find a new day had dawned.

He did not rise immediately, but instead lay there, savoring the details of the dream. It was, in fact, the story of his second incarnation. Compared to his first incarnation, Booth, this second one seemed both more powerful and simpler in experience.

On his incarnation interface, Ou Xiaolu saw his new form. Compared to Booth, this incarnation had two distinct appearances: one, a normal-sized tiger, and the other, a strong man with a tiger’s head, draped in Daoist robes.

As for the tiger’s appearance, Ou Xiaolu wasn’t sure how to adjust it to look more appealing, so he merely slimmed the tiger to avoid making it appear too plump, and settled on the new incarnation’s form.

Soon after, an enormous Siberian tiger materialized in Ou Xiaolu’s dorm room, lying down before him.

He was relieved that his incarnation had taken the form of a tiger. That was easy enough to explain; if it had shown up as a humanoid with a tiger’s head, he had no idea what trouble it might have caused the school.

Gazing at the tiger, Ou Xiaolu spoke earnestly, “You’re the result of combining [Role: Man-Eating Tiger], [World: Rusty Arrow], [Item: Sapphire], [Equipment: Abandoned Sea Crown], and [Skill: Qi Cultivator’s Breath]. Calling you Tiger seems too plain, so let’s go with Arrow. The English name ‘Arrow’ also works as a person’s name—let’s call you Arrow.”

The tiger nodded and, to Ou Xiaolu’s surprise, replied, “That’s a decent name. But before we talk more about names, hand me the Spirit Shrine Stone—it’ll be useful to me.”

Such straightforward requests were no shock to Ou Xiaolu; incarnations were more independent than mere projections, possessing their own will and understanding what suited them best.

Without hesitation, Ou Xiaolu handed the [Item: Spirit Shrine Stone] to Arrow, who opened his mouth and swallowed the card whole.

Ou Xiaolu knew Arrow had simply stored the card in his own inventory interface and didn’t mind. Instead, he asked Arrow to open his attribute panel to check his stats.

[Arrow (Ou Xiaolu’s Incarnation, Supporting Role), ID: 102, Level: 0, Experience: 0/500, Combat Power: 559, Health: 100, Mana: 100.]

[Skills: Golden Sha Wind Sand Technique (Blue-level Divine Power), Qi Cultivator’s Breathing Method, Tiger Panther Thunderous Roar, Wind Summoning Art, Tiger’s Roar in the Mountains (Mountain God Divine Power)]

[Equipment: Mountain God’s Crown]

Seeing these skills, Ou Xiaolu felt Arrow was far stronger than Booth, but then wondered why Arrow’s combat power rating seemed lower.

Arrow glanced up at him. “Haven’t you realized? ‘Combat power’ is just a threshold to qualify for entry into a world. It doesn’t directly reflect your true strength. Rather than obsessing over combat power, you should focus on honing your skills. For example, your swordsmanship has improved quickly through constant practice.”

“So the Qi Cultivator’s Breathing and the Tiger Panther Thunderous Roar are the same?” Ou Xiaolu mused. “Makes sense. And what about your divine powers?”

“You can use divine powers too, but you’ll have to train them yourself. And the Mountain God’s power might not work as well for you,” Arrow replied thoughtfully. “After all, your body is different, so some effects may not translate.”

Ou Xiaolu glanced at Arrow lying at his bedside and nodded. “Alright, I’ll master the Qi Cultivator’s Breathing and the Thunderous Roar first—these should enhance my physical attributes.”

“Just like basic internal energy—they’re neutral and only strengthen your body,” Arrow explained, then began instructing Ou Xiaolu on breathing and skeletal resonance.

After all, this wasn’t like internal energy: with internal energy, once you memorized the route, it was easy to circulate; but if you messed up the resonance, your bones could be shaken apart.

Before long, black liquid began oozing from Ou Xiaolu’s body, emitting a strange, foul odor.

Arrow immediately retreated two steps, wrinkling his nose. “For someone with ten years’ worth of internal energy, your body’s in terrible shape. Your foundation is really lacking.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you. I almost died from lack of vitality at fourteen—living to now is already an achievement.”

Despite his words, Ou Xiaolu hurried to the bathroom for a shower. Afterward, he discovered he felt lighter, his body invigorated by the breathing technique and the power of the Thunderous Roar, both gradually transforming his constitution.

“This is great. Now I’m looking forward to your two divine powers. By the way, I gave you a sapphire—don’t tell me it only became your eyes?”

Arrow cocked his head, pondering. “I feel something, but I don’t know how to use it yet. Perhaps I’ll sense it when I level up. Speaking of which, I need to find a place to prepare myself—I sense my breakthrough is near.”

“Alright, I’ll take you to the valley later. You can level up there, and watch over the place for me. Is there anything else you need?”