11: Chapter 11 Tiger Dad: Kid, unleash your potential!

After the tiger fruit ripened, it no longer emitted that dense, exotic fragrance, and the mountain forest gradually returned to peace.

Lu Hu looked at the nine fruits in his system inventory; each one was bright red, weighing over ten jin, and as large as a watermelon.

They grew very round. Lu Hu took one out and bit into it, and a spray of plump juice squirted out.

“Awoo!”

Lu Hu's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected the skin of this tiger fruit to be so hard while the flesh was crisp and juicy.

As the flesh went down his throat, a surge of scorching energy spread through his body. It was similar to the warm medicinal power of ginseng, both capable of tempering the body.

Lu Hu opened his mouth wide and swallowed the tiger fruit in one gulp, circulating the Qi Refining Art to refine the energy within him. The Dantian where he stored spiritual energy expanded visibly to the naked eye.

The energy contained in this single tiger fruit was equivalent to a month of non-stop cultivation; it truly was a fine treasure.

After refining the energy from the tiger fruit, Lu Hu discarded the wild boar carcasses scattered across the ground one by one.

He scattered them across various areas; with nature's digestive capacity, these wild boar carcasses would be picked clean before they even had a chance to rot.

After disposing of the carcasses, Lu Hu strolled through the mountains and soon found a patch of grass.

Previously, Lu Hu would have ignored this grass, but with the knowledge from the compendium of a hundred herbs, he knew that this grass was also a type of medicinal herb.

It was called Kidney Essence Grass. Humans mostly used it to strengthen the waist, supplement the kidneys, and restore virility, but for Lu Hu, its main use was to replenish Qi and blood.

There was quite a lot of it, weighing roughly ten jin.

With this amount, before he had a cultivation technique, Lu Hu's constitution would have barely felt any effect from eating it.

He would have had to eat massive quantities to receive a growth prompt from the system.

But now that he had a technique, the medicinal power of the herbs was basically all refined. After eating it, the effects were fully utilized, roughly equivalent to a day of bitter cultivation.

With the technique, Lu Hu realized that the entire mountain was filled with his cultivation resources.

He couldn't let them go to waste.

Lu Hu stepped forward and ate all the large stalks of grass, leaving the small ones to continue growing.

Lu Hu continued his stroll through the mountains. With the compendium of a hundred herbs, the plants in the mountains were all walking medicinal ingredients in his eyes. Many could be used to assist his cultivation. Unless they tasted truly terrible, Lu Hu would basically eat any medicinal herb he saw.

Purple Grass, benefits Qi and clears the nine orifices—eat.

Golden Dog Ridge, strengthens the waist and supplements the kidneys—eat.

Achyranthes, strengthens bones and tendons, supplements liver and kidneys—eat.

...

That day, a strong tiger arrived in the mountains. His fur was glossy, and his gaze was cold. He came to the stream to drink. The moment he leaned down, the muscles all over his body bulged.

For a tiger living in the wild to grow this strong without a single injury represented his formidable strength.

After drinking, the tiger looked into the distance, a trace of complex emotion flashing through his majestic gaze.

He was the Tiger Dad who had been away from his territory for nearly a month.

After leaving, Tiger Dad had wandered aimlessly. His powerful hunting skills ensured he never lacked food wherever he went.

He had accidentally trespassed into other male tigers' territories along the way and fought several battles, each resulting in a crushing victory.

From his initial pride to the last few times, Tiger Dad gradually began to reflect. Though he was powerful, he didn't seem to be this powerful before.

They were all male tigers in their prime; how could he defeat them in just two or three moves?

When did he become so strong?

It seemed to be... after the cub arrived.

Why did he become stronger after the cub arrived?

Tiger Dad didn't understand, but he found that he missed the cub a little.

As a tiger, he shouldn't have any lingering attachments after parting with a blood relative.

But after staying with that strong yet incapable-of-survival "trash" son for so long, Tiger Dad's mind had gradually become more flexible, and he often thought about inexplicable things.

Tiger Dad resented his son's useless personality and wanted to leave for good to force him to learn how to survive independently.

These past few days, Tiger Dad had traveled very, very far, fearing his son would catch up. But once the distance was truly great, he worried his son wouldn't be able to catch prey and would go hungry.

He knew he shouldn't think this way. Since he chose to say goodbye, their next meeting should be as rivals.

But perhaps because he had invested too much in this son, he couldn't bear to see him in trouble.

Images of the cub being too hungry to walk or being injured while hunting constantly appeared in his mind.

Those wild boars and buffalo in the territory were not to be trifled with.

If he had known, he would have cleared those fellows out before leaving so he wouldn't be constantly worried.

The more he thought, the more irritable Tiger Dad became.

Ultimately, he chose to come back and take a look. The timing of his return was also calculated.

Tiger Dad had experienced hunger. When he was first driven away by his mother, he was lost and confused, not knowing where to go. His hunting often failed, and he lived from hand to mouth.

Based on his experience with hunger, with his son's fat physique, he should have no problem lasting until now even if he hadn't caught any prey; at most, he would be a bit weak.

Returning at this time would just ensure he didn't starve to death.

Of course, if his son had learned to hunt during his absence, that would be even better.

Then he could leave with peace of mind.

Tiger Dad rushed toward the cub's den. Along the way, he felt an inexplicable mix of tension and anticipation.

His son's physique was even stronger than his own. If he mastered hunting skills, he would surely become an outstanding male tiger that surpassed him.

He was the one who raised him; thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel proud.

A tiger's potential is triggered when they are hungry to a certain extent. When he was wandering and found it hard to catch prey, he had somehow erupted with a surge of strength when he was so hungry he had no energy left, killing a brown bear to fill his stomach.

His cub should be able to unleash his potential too, right?

Gradually, Tiger Dad approached Lu Hu's den. From a distance, Tiger Dad saw the cub lying on the ground, seemingly eating something.

He's thinner!

Having not seen him for so long, his son's size was now about the same as his. One must know that when he left, his son was a whole circle larger than him.

Tiger Dad felt a pang of sorrow but was also relieved, because he saw his son's shiny fur, which meant he wasn't currently starving.

His son finally took the initiative to hunt. Tiger Dad felt emotional; his decision to leave was indeed correct. Tiger Dad walked further forward, but as he got closer, he suddenly froze in place.

Up ahead, under a tree, his cub was holding a fruit and gnawing on it. Beside him was a pile of grass, which he occasionally took a large bite of, chewing with great relish.

Tiger Dad's vision went dark. In a state of extreme hunger, his son had actually unleashed the potential to become a vegetarian!

...

Lu Hu was very happy today. With the help of the Spirit Fertilizer, the Tiger Fruit Tree had produced another nine tiger fruits.

Moreover, to Lu Hu's surprise, his urine actually contained spiritual energy. When he used it to water the ordinary ginseng field, the ginseng actually began to grow plump.

This meant that in the future, the ginseng wouldn't be such tiny roots; they would grow as thick, succulent, and crunchy as radishes.

In a great mood, Lu Hu found another patch of Kidney Essence Grass. Pairing it with a tiger fruit, he enjoyed a wonderful meal while cultivating.

Suddenly, Lu Hu caught a familiar scent. He snapped upright and saw that missed figure.

“Roar!” (Old man!)

Lu Hu let out a howl and immediately ran up to Tiger Dad. This was great; he had been worrying about how to go out and play for the past two days, and now his relief shift had arrived.

“Roar!” (You're finally back!)

“Roar-roar!” (I thought you'd really abandoned me.)

“Roar-roar-roar!” (Looks like you went out because you were in heat. So, was the little tigress pretty?)

...

Tiger Dad looked at his son, who was winking and nudging him with a slightly wretched expression. Tigers only communicated through simple physical movements.

Tiger Dad couldn't understand the complex content of Lu Hu's language, but looking at his son's expression, he knew he was acting crazy again.

There was no light in Tiger Dad's eyes.

He ran away from home to force his son to hunt alone, and as a result, he had forced his son to defy his nature and switch to a vegetarian diet.

Forget it!

Tiger Dad sighed. He had intended to just take a look and leave, but in this situation, if he left, this son would really stick to a vegetarian diet forever. Oh heavens, we of the Tiger Clan have eaten meat since we were cubs; how can we eat grass?

His son was a disappointment, but what could he do? He couldn't just watch his son starve to death.

He'd just keep raising him; anyway, he could hunt.

“Roar!” (By the way, Tiger Dad, I've got something good for you to eat.)

After the excitement passed, Lu Hu patted Tiger Dad's shoulder, signaled for him to follow, and then went to the Tiger Fruit Tree.

...