Chapter 373 - 355: Pay-to-Win Tendon Refining

The morning mist was thick, carrying a hint of early spring’s chill.

In the backyard of the Su Mansion, beneath the Iron Locust Tree adorned with a bronze wind chime, a series of sounds rang out, like the sharp snap of a powerful bowstring.

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

Su Yu, his toned upper body bare, threw punch after punch. With every strike, power originated from the great "dragon" dormant along his spine, cascading through his body to his arms and fingertips. The thousands of Great Tendons throughout his body stretched and vibrated at a high frequency.

Over the past few days, relying on the "tendon sense" he awakened after reaching the entry-level, he could now instinctively and clearly perceive every Great Tendon involved in exerting force. He even began to make minuscule adjustments to the snapping angles of these Great Tendons in the split second of a punch, guiding them to unleash a more powerful Gang Force.

Through constant trial and error, the force and trajectory of Su Yu’s punches grew ever more precise and flawless.

This was the terrifying difference between a Muscle Forging Realm Martial Artist and an ordinary one. They no longer simply expended their Qi and Blood. Instead, they had truly transformed their physical bodies into precise, terrifying machines, seeking perfect explosive power and energy conversion with every move!

Less than an hour later, he finished a complete set of the "Greenwood Shadow Ape Fist."

Su Yu slowly relaxed his stance, and the familiar line of ink-black text finally appeared before his eyes.

[Greenwood Shadow Ape Fist Skill Level +5]

[Martial Arts]: Greenwood Shadow Ape Fist (Entry-level 105/1000)

’It really is difficult. With my current talent, I only gain 5 Skill Level points for this Fist Technique per session.’

Su Yu sighed to himself as he looked at the panel. However, he wasn’t discouraged. With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved an exquisite suet-white Jade Bottle from his Storage Ring.

With a POP, he uncorked the bottle. A refreshing fragrance, tinged with a strange, sweet-metallic scent, instantly filled the air.

Su Yu tilted the Jade Bottle, and three Pills rolled into his palm. They were a dark-gold color, their surfaces faintly shimmering with cloud-like patterns.

’Fortunately, I’m wealthy enough now that I don’t have to worry about running out of Ape Tendon Pills.’

Ape Tendon Pill. This Pill was made using the spinal Great Tendons of an Exotic Beast as the main ingredient, supplemented by dozens of rare medicinal herbs like Bone-Melting Grass and Blood-Coagulating Purple Ginseng. A High-tier Alchemist had to refine it in a crucible for seven days and seven nights to successfully extract the essence of the ferocious Exotic Beast’s tendons into a Pill.

After consuming this Pill and circulating it with a Muscle Forging Realm Martial Art, not only could a Martial Artist rapidly recover their Qi and Blood, but the essence of the Exotic Beast’s Great Tendons contained within the Pill could also be directly absorbed into their own Great Tendons, tempering and strengthening them at the most fundamental level.

It was an indispensable Martial Arts Resource for cultivators in the Muscle Forging Realm!

Because its main ingredient was hard to find and the refinement process was complex, the Ape Tendon Pill fetched an astronomical price in Black Stone City. On the black market, a single Pill could sell for over a hundred taels of Silver!

With Su Yu’s current terrifying training intensity and digestive ability, he could consume three a day. That meant burning through more than three hundred taels a day!

In a single month, just consuming Ape Tendon Pills would cost him over ten thousand taels of Snowflake Silver!

’I’m rich now. A mere ten thousand taels to break into the Ape Tendon Realm within a month? It’s a damn good deal!’

Su Yu no longer hesitated. He picked up a Pill with two fingers and swallowed it with a GULP.

As the Pill entered his stomach, his terrifying digestive ability instantly kicked in.

Su Yu felt as if he had swallowed a piece of red-hot charcoal. A scorching heat surged from his abdomen, rushing wildly through his meridians to his limbs and bones.

Not daring to be careless, Su Yu immediately assumed his stance and began practicing the Greenwood Shadow Ape Fist once more.

This time, with the aid of the Pill, the tempering process within his body underwent an immediate change!

Wisps of golden, glass-like filaments seemed to mix with his Qi and Blood, continuously seeping into the Great Tendons he used to exert force.

HISS...

During this process, as the Great Tendons were stretched and his Qi and Blood surged, the golden filaments were integrated into the Great Tendons.

This fusion was by no means a pleasant experience!

Su Yu felt as though just as his Great Tendons were stretched to their absolute limit, someone had stabbed them with fine golden needles.

The pain made his entire body tremble.

But in his two years of practicing Martial Arts, he had scraped by on the edge of life and death, his temperament and willpower long since forged to be as hard as bedrock.

Faced with this excruciating pain that an ordinary person would find unbearable, Su Yu simply clenched his jaw, suppressed the agony, and continued his practice, his punches becoming even fiercer and more domineering!

A full hour later.

The immense medicinal power of the three Ape Tendon Pills was finally wrung dry and completely absorbed by Su Yu’s body. The tens of thousands of tendons and meridians throughout him had undergone a baptism and tempering.

Su Yu relaxed his fists and stood still. With a thought, his Divine Sense instantly turned inward, and he began to inspect his own body.

His "gaze" passed through skin and flesh, starting from the thickest great "dragon" along his spine and extending out to his limbs and bones.

He saw that inside his Great Tendons, which were originally a translucent color, there were now fine, golden, flocculent strands!

The sight was like the finest white jade naturally inlaid with gossamer threads of pure gold, exuding an indestructible beauty.

’These golden strands must be the essence of the Exotic Beast’s Great Tendons I absorbed! Supplementing a mortal body with the foundation of an Exotic Beast... of course my Great Tendons will become thicker and more resilient!’

Su Yu clenched his fist. Although only an insignificant trace had been integrated into his Great Tendons, the feeling of abundant power was distinct.

He endured the intense soreness from his muscles and Great Tendons being repeatedly torn and rebuilt. Without using any special techniques, relying solely on the pure physical snap of his Great Tendons, he casually threw a punch!

BANG!

The air cracked with a sonic boom. Both the initial speed of the punch and its explosive power at the end had clearly increased compared to an hour ago!

’If I keep training like this, "paying to win," and have an unlimited supply of Ape Tendon Pills... a month at most will be more than enough for me to open my Spiritual Aperture and officially step into the Ape Tendon Realm!’

’By then, at least a third of every Great Tendon in my body will probably be completely filled with this formidable golden essence!’

Su Yu was in a good mood as he withdrew his Divine Sense.

Now that he could inspect his body with his Divine Sense, he was able to observe the changes in his Great Tendons far better than other Martial Artists.

This was a great advantage for his Martial Arts cultivation.

For example, during his training just now, he could see the changes in his Great Tendons.

And if he noticed a particular Great Tendon was being tempered too slowly during cultivation, he could deliberately guide the golden essence to temper it, allowing his Skill Level to increase even faster!

...

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had quietly passed.

During this period, Su Yu consumed Martial Arts Resources without regard for cost, and his Skill Level in the Greenwood Shadow Ape Fist grew steadily.

Besides the growth of his Martial Arts Realm, he had also finally accumulated enough of the Breakthrough Points he had been eagerly awaiting.

[Breakthrough Points]: 2 (Progress 1%)

’Two points. Should I use them to Break the Limit of the Lingxi Beast Taming Technique?’

Su Yu hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the edge of the lotus pond. He saw the little croc-dragon lazing by the water’s edge again, sunbathing.

He reached for its golden horn. Just as his hand was about to close around it, the little croc-dragon’s body shot forward, instantly escaping to a distance of ten feet away.

"Hm?"

Su Yu looked at his empty hand, a little surprised.

’I wasn’t being particularly serious with that grab, but its speed isn’t something an ordinary person could dodge.’

’This little guy’s instantaneous speed is pretty astonishing.’

"Come here!"

Su Yu beckoned to it. The little creature chirped "GU GU" twice and immediately ran back obediently, nuzzling against Su Yu.

"Little croc-dragon, you should be intelligent enough to understand me now. Do you want to go test your mettle in the Black Water River? If you’re willing, I’ll form a contract with you and let you evolve again."

The little croc-dragon immediately raised its head, a thoughtful look flashing in its amber, slit-like pupils.

After a moment, it shook its head. "GU GU GU..."

From its expression and movements, Su Yu roughly understood what it meant.

"You’re saying to wait a little longer?"

The little croc-dragon promptly stood up on its hind legs and nodded. Then, it patted its snow-white belly with a thick foreclaw, and three golden stripes instantly appeared.

Su Yu followed its gesture and couldn’t help but let out a sound of surprise. "These golden stripes on your belly... what are you accumulating?"

Right now, two of the three golden stripes on its belly had already turned a blazing gold, and the last one was two-thirds of the way there. It looked like it would be full soon.

Su Yu didn’t know what would happen when all three golden stripes turned blazing gold, but it would most likely be a great help to the little croc-dragon.

He nodded. "Alright, we’ll wait until you’ve accumulated everything. Are you building up these golden stripes just by sunbathing every day? That’s too slow. I’ll have Mu Ying add more Exotic Beast Meat to your meals and mix in some Pills!"

Now flush with cash, Su Yu didn’t hesitate to be generous.

"GU GU!"

Hearing this, the little croc-dragon happily bobbed its head.

Su Yu looked at this ferocious beast, which was already over two meters long and stood a good half a head taller than him on its hind legs. The sight of it now, shaking its head like a goofy husky, made him chuckle.

...

「Late at night, at the Public Security Bureau headquarters.」

Inside the Mansion Master’s office, wisps of blue smoke rose from burning sandalwood.

Pang Xuan sat alone behind a large rosewood desk, his deep-set eyes bloodshot.

He stared at the mountain of intelligence reports on his desk, summarizing the unusual activities in the Outer City over the past ten-plus days, his thick brows knitted into a tight knot.

’The Mother Black Lotus Divine Statue, the surge of refugees, spies popping up everywhere... and that newly established Inspection Bureau in the Inner City, extending its reach further and further, acting more arrogantly and tyrannically, frequently overstepping its authority...’

Pang Xuan rubbed his throbbing temples with a large hand, feeling utterly exhausted.

Every single one of these issues was thorny enough to cause turmoil and bloodshed in Black Stone City, and they all had to be resolved as soon as possible!

The problem was, with the escalating war and the infiltration of the Black Lotus Sect, the Public Security Bureau, already short-staffed, was now even more desperate for manpower!

’First thing tomorrow, I have to go to the Inner City to report on my duties again.’ Pang Xuan sighed, a heavy shadow passing over his eyes.

’The Mother Black Lotus Divine Statue has vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea. We haven’t found a single substantial clue. Those people in the Inner City will definitely use this as a pretext to grill me tomorrow! If I can’t withstand the pressure, I’m afraid the Inspection Bureau will bite off a huge chunk of the Public Security Bureau’s authority!’

Lost in thought, Pang Xuan’s gaze slowly shifted downward, finally landing on a gilt-edged letter of recommendation at the front of his desk, sealed with the Golden Scale Guard’s gold wax seal.

He reached out, picked it up, and unfolded the letter:

"This is to certify that Su Yu, Vice Commander of the Golden Scale Guard, has broken through to the Muscle Forging Realm! This officer dares to fight in the face of great enemies, has repeatedly performed meritorious deeds, and has served with distinction in protecting the city. We, the undersigned, jointly recommend him for promotion to the position of Great Commander of the Public Security Bureau!"

The lead signature on this letter of recommendation was none other than Li Jingxuan, followed by the names of Lin Wanzhu and several other Vice Commanders.

Pang Xuan fell into deep thought after reading it.

He had promised Su Yu this, so he didn’t intend to go back on his word. However, promoting Su Yu to Great Commander right after he had just broken into the Muscle Forging Realm would likely cause a lot of dissatisfaction.

After all, the current five Great Commanders were all experts at least at the Jiao Tendon Realm.

This was especially true for the Zhao Family’s side. Zhao Sen had also recommended someone for Great Commander, hoping to seize more power within the Public Security Bureau before the integration with the Inner City!

’Forget it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Su Yu is so young and promising; if he can’t even win over the crowd, then he isn’t worthy of being a Great Commander!’