His cultivation, which was stuck at the equivalent of Human Body Tempering Stage 3, suddenly jumped.
Crack. Pop.
Level Up.
"Hahahaha! Body Tempering Stage 4…this is so easy! Perks of my Eternal Knowledge."
He drank another jar. Ate more meat and when his stomach got full, he circulated his Qi again and refined everything in moments.
Body Tempering Stage 5.
He was speed-running cultivation using money and gluttony.
This was the path of the Swine Sovereign!
Suddenly, a loud crash interrupted his meal.
The door to his private room was kicked open. Splinters flew everywhere.
Tian Wudi paused, a chicken leg halfway to his mouth. He sighed. "Can't a man eat?"
Standing in the doorway were three men.
Leading them was a middle-aged man with a long goatee. He wore the grey robe of a Gu Clan Elder. This was Gu Hai, the Uncle of Gu Bo whom Tian Wudi had smashed earlier.
Behind Gu Hai were two large guards carrying iron staffs.
"Zhu!" Elder Gu Hai roared. His face was purple with rage. "You ungrateful livestock! You dared to injure my nephew? You broke his ribs! You stole his resources! And now you are here, spending my clan's money on wine?"
Gu Hai was furious. His nephew was carried home crying. It was a humiliation. A genius beaten by a pet?
Tian Wudi calmly bit into the chicken leg. Crunch, crunch. He swallowed the bones.
"Old man," Tian Wudi said, not standing up. "You are interrupting my food. Do you know that stress causes indigestion? Indigestion ruins the complexion."
"You are seeking death!" Gu Hai screamed. "Guards! Break his legs! Cut off his tongue! I will roast him for dinner tonight!"
"Yes, Elder!"
The two guards stepped forward. They were at the Body Tempering Stage 4. Strong warriors for commoners.
They swung their iron staffs at Tian Wudi's head. The wind howled. These strikes were heavy enough to crack a boulder.
Tian Wudi did not dodge. He couldn't dodge fast yet because he was fat and sitting down.
Instead, he grabbed the heavy oak table with one hand.
"Get lost."
He flipped the table.
Or rather he didn't just flip it, he angled it perfectly to intercept the staffs.
BANG!
The iron staffs hit the table. The table shattered, but the force reverberated back. The two guards felt their hands go numb. Their webs between thumb and index finger tore open. They dropped their weapons.
Before they could react, Tian Wudi picked up two empty wine jars on the side.
He threw them with perfect precision.
Smash! Smash!
The heavy ceramic jars exploded on the guards' foreheads. They didn't even scream. Their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
One move. Two enemies down.
Tian Wudi wiped grease from his mouth with a napkin. "Weak. Did you hire these clowns from a circus?"
Elder Gu Hai was shocked. He looked at the guards, then at the pig.
"You... you are concealing your strength?" Gu Hai narrowed his eyes. He sensed the Qi fluctuation. "Stage 5? A pig at Stage 5? No matter! I am at the Body Tempering Stage 8!"
Stage 8 involves hardening the internal organs. It is a huge gap from Stage 5. Strengthwise, Gu Hai had the power of four bulls.
Gu Hai drew a long sword from his waist. "Die, monster!"
He used the Falling Leaf Sword Technique. The blade flickered, creating three illusions. It was fast and tricky.
Tian Wudi's eyes saw through the technique.
In his past life, he was the Sword God. To him, this "Falling Leaf" looked like a child scribbling with a crayon.
"Full of holes," Tian Wudi sneered.
Gu Hai lunged. The sword aimed for Tian Wudi's throat.
Tian Wudi did not have a weapon. But he had something else.
He took a deep breath, expanding his massive, barrel-like chest.
"HRRRRRRRRNOOOORK!!!!"
Tian Wudi let out a sound that was half-pig snort, half-bestial roar. He focused the sound directly at Gu Hai's face.
A full blown scream or a roar from Stage 5 was deafening. The dishes on the shelf exploded.
Gu Hai felt like a hammer hit his brain. His ears bled. His balance failed. The sword technique was disrupted.
In that split second of confusion, Tian Wudi moved.
He did not use a fancy step. He used his mass.
He charged. A three-hundred-pound cannonball.
Tian Wudi jumped. Yes, the fat pig jumped. He flew three meters into the air, defying gravity for a moment due to pure and just breakthrough Stage 5 new explosive leg power.
He fell at Gu Hai. Smashed on him and sat down on his chest.
CRACK.
The floorboards broke. Elder Gu Hai lay flat on the ground, with a fat pig sitting on his chest.
"Argh... pfft..." Gu Hai coughed blood. He couldn't breathe. He felt like a mountain was crushing his lungs. His ribs were screaming.
Tian Wudi sat comfortably, using the Elder as a human cushion. He reached for a broken bottle of wine on the floor.
"You act so high and mighty," Tian Wudi looked down at the Elder's terror-filled eyes. "But look at you now. Getting warmed by my ass."
"You... the Clan... will kill you..." Gu Hai wheezed more blood out.
"Let them come," Tian Wudi took a sip of wine. "But before they come, you must pay for the damages. You broke the door. You ruined my meal."
Tian Wudi rummaged through Gu Hai's robes. He found a Spatial Pouch.
A Spatial Pouch is a rare treasure in this town. It can hold items inside a magical pocket dimension.
"Thank you for the gift," Tian Wudi grinned. He slapped the Elder's face. Slap.
"Now, sleep."
He hit the back of Gu Hai's neck. The Elder passed out.
Tian Wudi stood up. He felt great. The fight helped him digest the food faster.
Body Tempering Stage 5 (Peak).
He waddled out of the ruined room.
Madam Rouge was standing there, mouth wide open. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock. She saw everything.
A pig defeated a Clan Elder?
Tian Wudi stopped in front of her. He flipped a gold coin to her.
"This is for the damages I did, Madam, put the rest of the damages on the Gu Clan's tab. Tell them the Swine Sovereign sends his regards."
He looked at her legs, which were trembling slightly.
"Also," he leaned in, his voice low and magnetic despite coming from a snout. "I noticed you hold tension in your hips. My 'Solar Finger Massage' is famous for curing lonely widows. Keep your window open tonight."
Madam Rouge felt a strange heat rise in her body. The sheer shameless dominance of his aura was undeniable, even if he looked like... well, a pig.
"Get... get out!" she squeaked, flushing red.
"Hahaha! A woman who blushes is a flower waiting to be plucked!"
Tian Wudi laughed and walked out of the restaurant, leaving a local legend behind for everyone to gossip about for days and months.
Now, he had resources. He had the Elder's Spatial Pouch.
"It's time to return to the Clan," Tian Wudi looked at the setting sun. "There is a fiancée I need to steal, and a cultivation technique I need to choose for my suit."
This is mortal realm, all the methods and art are all mortal ranks and trash for his taste. He refused to use it. But his Eternal Knowledge is also not suitable for him.
He needs to establish a proper base for his cultivation, a proper foundation on which he will be again a Sovereign.
Swine Sovereign.
Shameless Swine Sovereign.