Chapter 361 345: Divine Skills, Return Journey

'This glittering gold stone... its texture feels somewhat similar to the Blood God Stone I got before.'

Su Yu pondered this carefully.

When he killed the Huyan Family's Tributor, he had also seized a stone that contained divinity. However, that Blood God Stone was dark red all over, completely different from the golden stone before him.

'Strange. Back then, the system didn't give me the option to absorb Divine Blood from that Blood God Stone. Was the stone's level too low? Or is the fundamental nature of this golden divine stone completely different from the Blood God Stone?'

Su Yu's brow furrowed slightly.

'The options appearing now are the same as when I got the Divine Statue of the Unbegotten Mother. This proves this stone is also related to some deity.'

This speculation made Su Yu all the more curious and alarmed.

As his Martial Arts Realm improved, he was encountering more and more bizarre things and divine secrets. Beneath this seemingly ordinary, chaotic world of Martial Arts, there were clearly even deeper secrets hidden!

'Forget it. There's no point in overthinking this. Strength that's truly mine is the only truth. I'll just devour this divine power first!'

Su Yu focused his mind, his gaze returning to the two options on the system panel.

'I already have the Tier Two Divine Skill, Silent Extinction (Thunder). Its power is more than enough, so maybe I should try unlocking a new Divine Skill!'

Although the Divine Skill's power was world-destroying, its terrifying thirty-day cooldown period always made Su Yu reluctant to use it.

Even though he had now broken through to the Muscle Forging Realm, the cooldown time hadn't shortened in the slightest. This showed that his improvement in the Martial Arts Realm was negligible compared to the power of a Divine Skill.

'I'll try unlocking a new Divine Skill. If the cooldowns of the two skills aren't shared, then I've hit the jackpot!'

Filled with anticipation, Su Yu gave the command in his mind.

'Absorb the Divine Blood!'

'Execute option two!'

...

[Divine Blood successfully absorbed]

[Breakthrough Point progress +100%]

[Executing option two, analyzing new Divine Skill]

[Analyzing...]

[Analysis successful]

[Congratulations, you have mastered the Tier One Divine Skill: Taibai Primordial Magnetism (Gold) (Tier One)]

[Divine Skill]: Taibai Primordial Magnetism (Gold) (Tier One) (Next Tier unlock progress: 1%)

[Trait 1]: Magnetic Gathering and Edge Nourishing.

Taibai governs slaughter, Primordial Magnetism commands all metals! The user of this Divine Skill can automatically strip and draw Taibai Primordial Magnetic Gold Qi from the void of heaven and earth each day, nourishing it in their Dantian. After ten days, one strand can be condensed. A maximum of three strands can be nurtured.

This strand of Gold Qi is the ultimate expression of the world's sharpness. Attaching it to any weapon or hidden weapon will cause its internal structure to undergo a primordial magnetic transformation, imbuing it with extremely powerful sharpness and cutting force!

"Taibai Primordial Magnetism, Magnetic Gathering and Edge Nourishing!"

As Su Yu looked at the explanation on the panel, his eyes instantly flashed with ecstatic joy!

'This Divine Skill is amazing!'

'Unlike the pure, destructive power of Silent Extinction, this one accumulates Taibai Primordial Magnetic Gold Qi! When this Gold Qi is attached to a weapon, I don't know exactly how sharp it will be, but since it's a Divine Skill, it definitely won't be bad!'

With a wave of his hand, Su Yu dismissed the Divine Skill panel and quietly sensed the changes within his body.

Within his Dantian, there did seem to be some imperceptible change happening, but he normally couldn't look inward, so he wasn't clear on what exactly had occurred.

This made him feel a little frustrated and curious.

'Dammit, if only my Divine Sense were stronger, I'd be able to look inside myself.'

Su Yu shook his head helplessly. Right now, the only ways to improve his Divine Sense were to use Breaking Limit on reading or consume ancient rare treasures that could enhance it.

Neither of those was easy to do.

He summoned the panel again and continued reading.

[Breakthrough Point]: 1 point (Progress: 88%)

He hadn't taken any more Treasure Medicines in the past few days, so his Breakthrough Points hadn't increased much. But the Divine Blood had just added a full point, and now he was approaching two points!

However, this time he had brought back all the resources from Linyuan City and also harvested a lot of supplies from Wind Evil Stronghold. After he returned, he would definitely be able to make a huge leap in progress!

At this thought, Su Yu felt a sense of anticipation and downed the coarse tea in his bowl in one gulp.

...

「The next day.」

Riding his Dragon Scale Horse, Su Yu smoothly caught up with the White Ape Martial Arts Hall's convoy and regrouped with his senior sister and the others.

The journey back was very peaceful. The bandits who had wanted to rob them sensed the Qi and Blood of a Muscle Forging Realm expert radiating from the convoy from afar and were all scared into hiding deep in the mountains and old forests, not daring to show themselves.

When they passed the Wild Fox Inn, Su Yu scanned it from a distance and was a little puzzled to find that the unsettling presence he'd felt before was gone.

'Looks like that dangerous expert has already left.'

However, to be cautious, he still had the caravan bypass the Wild Fox Inn and head straight for Black Stone City.

As they neared Black Stone City, the atmosphere of war grew more intense.

Along the road, refugees from the north were everywhere. Starving people in groups of three or five would see the caravan and rush forward like madmen to beg.

"Milords! Have mercy! Spare a mouthful of food!"

"Officers! Even a mouthful of coarse bran will do! Help us!"

Yang Gang had his men draw their blades to scare them, but these refugees, their eyes red with hunger, showed no fear. They desperately rushed forward, kneeling one by one with loud THUDS in the ruts, clinging to the muddy wheels with their withered, twig-like hands and refusing to let go.

Seeing the situation was about to spiral out of control, Lin Wanzhu sighed and ordered her subordinates to take out two bags of brown rice and distribute them.

Then, she stomped her foot on the ground, instantly creating a deep crater.

Splintered stones flew, finally intimidating and driving the crowd of starving people away.

"Ah Yu, it looks like the battle at Cangya Pass is getting tighter. Judging by their accents, these refugees have all fled from there."

Lin Wanzhu returned to the convoy and said softly to Su Yu.

"Mm. A defeated army collapses like a landslide; situations like this will only become more common." Su Yu's hand on the reins tightened slightly. "Let's hope the natural defenses of Cangya Pass and Celestial Victory General can hold back the enemy."

A heavy gloom fell over everyone's hearts. They continued on in silence, finally arriving outside the South City Gate of Black Stone City.

Not far from the city gate, seven or eight more refugees were kneeling, with several children by their sides, both boys and girls.

"Sir, have a heart, please buy my child. For just one meal, he will be your ox and horse!"

"Sir, for just one fishcake, my daughter can be your bed-warming maid!"

"Waaaah, my child is about to starve to death... Sir, I beg you, please buy my child."

The group watched in somber silence as they quietly entered the city.

"Freshly baked pagoda tree flower cakes! Steaming hot pagoda tree flower cakes! Care to try one, customer?"

"Sugar figurines for sale! Lifelike sugar figurines! Any young master who eats one will have their cravings satisfied!"

"Shaobing, shaobing! Crispy shaobing sprinkled with white sesame seeds!"

The atmosphere inside the city was the complete opposite of outside, immediately becoming much more lively.

It seemed that no matter what, the people inside the city could still survive. 'I hope Black Stone City isn't actually breached.'

Su Yu's gaze was solemn. He knew that once Black Stone City fell, the hundreds of thousands of people in the city would all suffer from the immense chaos and crisis of war.

'My strength must increase as quickly as possible. If I want to play a role in this great war and help defend Black Stone City, the Muscle Forging Realm is probably not enough. I need to be at least in the Profound Bone Realm!'

...

"Brother Su, you're finally back!"

In the rear courtyard of the Su Mansion, Yang Zhen was like a gentle breeze. With nimble footwork, she crossed several yards in an instant, arriving at Su Yu's side and giving him a big hug.

Not to be outdone, Yang Ai was even more fiery and passionate. She ran over without any hesitation and hugged Su Yu from behind, refusing to let go.

Su Yu felt a bit helpless, letting the two girls hug him quietly for a moment before saying, "Zhen'Er, Ai'Er, alright, I'm fine. The trip was very successful. We got all the goods back, and Yang Gang and the others are okay."

"Hehe, that's great! I knew that with Brother Su on the job, it would be a piece of cake!" Yang Ai happily linked her arm with Su Yu's and pulled him down to sit on a stone stool in the courtyard.

"Brother Su, hurry and take out all the spoils! I'll count and record them for you! Our mansion will be able to stock up on so many good things this time!"

Yang Ai cupped her fragrant cheeks like the little miser she was, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Yang Zhen looked at her younger sister's impatient appearance and shook her head helplessly. She walked gently to Su Yu's side, helped him take off his outer coat, and said softly:

"Brother Su, since you're back, leave the tedious inventory work to us sisters. You must be exhausted from traveling for days. Go back to your room first, take a hot bath, and get some good rest."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you two then."

Su Yu smiled and stood up, wiping his palm across his Storage Ring.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Following three extremely dull thuds, three mahogany chests appeared out of thin air in the center of the courtyard!

Immediately after, with a great CLATTER, a pile of valuable things fell to the side.

"Ah, so much! Brother Su, you're amazing!" Yang Ai chirped as she immediately began to take inventory.