Chapter 383 - 365: Thunder Summoning Enhancement

Su Yu downed another cup of Spirit Wine, then grabbed Zhen’Er by the wrist and pulled her onto him.

Her full hips settled onto Su Yu’s lap, but he was in no mood to enjoy the feeling. His hands pressed against her slender waist, traveling up her back.

"You really broke through! Even the Gaohuang acupoint is open!"

Zhen’Er seemed to delight in the shock on Su Yu’s face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled radiantly. "Brother Su, Zhen’Er would never lie to you. I really broke through. Is there something wrong with me breaking through so soon?"

"How did you break through so fast? You’re twice as fast as I was!"

If Su Yu didn’t know Zhen’Er possessed the Wood Spirit Body, he might have thought she was a different person entirely.

"Brother Su, it should be thanks to my Wood Spirit Body, and also because I’ve had plenty of Martial Arts Resources recently. My Wood Spirit Body can operate spontaneously, absorbing Spiritual Qi to nourish my body and increase my Qi and Blood. I’ve also been consuming a large amount of Pills and other treasures lately, and my Wood Spirit Body converted all of it into Qi and Blood. As my Realm improves, my Wood Spirit Body becomes more and more powerful, and its conversion efficiency improves in tandem."

"Now, I don’t even have to actively cultivate. My Martial Arts Realm just keeps improving on its own, and at an accelerating pace."

HISS...

’Good heavens... This must be what a true prodigy, a true freak of nature, looks like!’

Su Yu couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. ’Is cultivating Martial Arts supposed to be this easy?’

’I have to train bitterly day and night just to keep advancing my Realm.’

’But Zhen’Er’s Wood Spirit Body is something else. It operates spontaneously, cultivating around the clock! It devours Martial Arts Resources, converts them automatically, and boosts her Qi and Blood!’

"Then what about the bottleneck for opening the acupoints? Did you succeed on your first try?"

Zhen’Er shook her head. "Brother Su, I think my current rate of advancement is because of my constitution. I have a feeling that for the acupoints mentioned in the Cultivation Technique... after my Wood Spirit Body awakened, they were already open! As long as I have enough Qi and Blood, I don’t need to break through any acupoints. My Realm just advances naturally."

Su Yu’s heart skipped a beat when he heard this. ’They were already open... That sounds just like how I don’t have any bottlenecks when I break through.’

But after a moment’s thought, he perceived a difference.

’No, my acupoints definitely aren’t just open. The bottlenecks are there; I just push through the ’door’ very naturally. Zhen’Er’s description, however, makes it sound like it’s all thanks to her Wood Spirit Body. For her, they’re innately open.’

’In that case, the term ’Heaven’s Favor’ is truly fitting.’

’No wonder Master said that in Ancient Times, a constitution like Zhen’Er’s would make her a Sect’s Saintess at the very least. He wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest.’

’No, even in the current Martial Arts Era, her talent is astounding!’

’After all, the path of Martial Arts was founded after Spiritual Qi withered, using the ways of immortals as its foundation. Perhaps the fundamentals of Martial Arts and immortality are interconnected.’

"Zhen’Er, you just said your Wood Spirit Body can absorb Spiritual Qi for cultivation? Is there still Spiritual Qi in the world?"

Zhen’Er nodded seriously. "There is, Brother Su. But the Spiritual Qi has long been depleted and is nearly undetectable. Still, a tiny amount remains. It’s a bit thicker in special places, like over by the Lotus Pool, because of the Nine-Turned Cyan Lotus."

Su Yu immediately extended his Divine Sense to probe the area, but he couldn’t detect any special energy in the air.

He sighed internally. ’Looks like I’m really not one of the ’heaven-favored’ ones. I can’t sense it at all...’

"Brother Su, my talent must have its limits. It’s not like all my acupoints are truly open; it just seems exaggerated because my current Realm is so low. I have a feeling that as I advance, I’ll still need to rely on hard work and cultivation."

Su Yu nodded in agreement after listening. ’Heaven’s favor, no matter how great, must have its limits. Otherwise, people would be born as Martial Arts Grandmasters. What would be the point of cultivating then?’

’Instead of envying this so-called ’Heaven’s Favor,’ I should focus on cultivating one step at a time. After all, my own peerless talent is the one that’s truly limitless.’

’The path is long, but as long as I keep striving forward, I will eventually reach the pinnacle of Martial Arts.’

’Take Martial Saints, for example. They can even crush gods and immortals. In that light, what does a ’heaven-favored child’ like the descendant of a god even amount to?’

Having figured all this out, Su Yu’s resolve for the path of Martial Arts was once again solidified, and a stunningly resilient light flashed in his eyes.

"Zhen’Er, since you have such incredible talent, don’t hold back on using Martial Arts Resources. Cultivate with all your might and break through to the Muscle Forging Realm as soon as you can! I’ll need your help then!"

"Okay, Brother Su!"

A brilliant light flashed in Zhen’Er’s eyes as well; she seemed incredibly excited at the prospect of being able to help Su Yu more.

...

「Front Courtyard, Martial Arts Arena.」

BANG—

Accompanied by the crisp twang of a tendon, like a powerful bowstring snapping, Su Yu completed the final stance of the Greenwood Shadow Ape Fist.

He slowly exhaled a searing bolt of air that looked like a white ribbon. With a thought, the panel floating before his eyes appeared.

[Martial Arts]: Greenwood Shadow Ape Fist (entry-level 750/1000)

’This progress is so fast! At this rate, it won’t be more than a few days before I can break open the Tongling Acupoint, officially ushering in the second sublimation of my Great Tendons and stepping into the Ape Tendon Realm!’

A trace of anticipation flickered in Su Yu’s eyes.

He closed his eyes slightly, and his Divine Sense, flowing like liquid mercury, instantly turned inward to clearly perceive every inch of his body.

In the microscopic view of his Divine Sense:

The Great Tendons in his body, which coiled like dormant horned dragons, were now filled with a massive amount of Exotic Beast essence. The once semi-transparent, mortal Great Tendons were now stained a deep, lustrous gold.

This golden hue was already approaching the one-third mark of the Great Tendons’ total volume.

Su Yu tried clenching his fist. As his Great Tendons stretched and recoiled, the golden essence flowed like liquid Gold through the fascial fibers, exponentially increasing their ultimate resilience and elastic power.

It was the satisfying thrill of a physical evolution he could see and feel every single day!

Su Yu contentedly withdrew his inner gaze, his eyes scanning further down the panel.

Before he handed over the Divine Statue of Mother Black Lotus, he had already absorbed its Divine Blood and authority.

Now, his Breakthrough Points and Thunder Authority showed new changes.

[Breakthrough Point]: 3 points (Progress 40%)

’Three more points. The recent growth rate of my Breakthrough Points is a pleasant surprise.’

The previous Divine Blood had added another 100% to his progress. Combined with the treasured fish and other resources he had consumed over the past few days, which added nearly another 10%, his Breakthrough Point total had reached an all-time high.

’I won’t rush to use them for Breaking a Limit. Now that I’ve accumulated some Breakthrough Points, I can carefully plan my future path for Breaking Limits!’

Su Yu’s gaze continued downward. The following Divine Skills and Authority were his current strongest trump cards.

[Divine Skill] Taibai Primordial Magnetism (Gold) (Tier One) (Unlock Progress 51%) (Taibai Primordial Magnetic Gold Qi: 2 strands)

[Trait]: Magnetic Gathering and Edge Nourishing.

Taibai rules over slaughter, and Primordial Magnetism commands all metals! The possessor of this Divine Skill can automatically strip and absorb Taibai Primordial Magnetic Gold Qi from the void each day, cultivating it within their Dantian. After ten days, one strand can be condensed. A maximum of three strands can be nurtured at a time.

This strand of golden qi is the ultimate expression of sharpness in heaven and earth. When attached to any weapon or projectile, it can induce a qualitative primordial magnetic transformation in its internal structure, granting it extremely potent sharpness and cutting power!

[Divine Skill]: Silent Extinction (Thunder) (Tier Two) (Unlock Progress 1%) (Usable)

[Trait]: Extinction. All things have a beginning and an end; this Skill specializes in returning them to ruin. When the intent of Silent Extinction descends, it forcibly strips away all "life force" and "Spiritual Energy." Those afflicted by this intent will find their Qi and Blood stilled, their flesh and blood turning to ash and decay, completely severing any possibility of healing or regeneration. All phenomena become void, leaving only silent death.

[Authority]: Thunder (Completeness: 3.1%) (Thunder Summoning usable)

[Authority Trait]: Thunder is heaven’s might, the executioner of celestial punishment! As the host has grasped a minuscule portion of the Authority of Thunder, their resistance to Thunder Power is permanently increased by 30%, and their aptitude for comprehending the Thunder Law is increased by 30%.

[Attached Divine Law]: Thunder Summoning! The host can use their mind to communicate with heaven and earth, forcibly inducing a great celestial phenomenon to channel the furious thunder of the highest heavens and call down two strikes of divine punishment!

The unlock progress for Taibai Primordial Magnetism (Gold) (Tier One) had reached 51%. This was because after absorbing the drop of Divine Blood, Su Yu had chosen the enhancement option, increasing the unlock progress by a direct 50%.

’I have enough Divine Skills as trump cards now. It’s better not to bite off more than I can chew. I should strengthen the ones I already have.’

Silent Extinction was his most powerful trump card, and its might was already sufficient. As his ace in the hole, he had always treated it as his most important life-saving measure and didn’t intend to use it lightly.

Therefore, he had ultimately chosen to strengthen Taibai Primordial Magnetism (Gold)!

’This Taibai Primordial Magnetic Gold Qi takes ten days to gather one strand, and it’s a perfect match for my current saber techniques. Strengthening it was the right decision. It’s just a shame that drop of Divine Blood didn’t raise it directly to Tier Two!’

Su Yu looked at the panel with some regret. If it were raised to Tier Two, he wondered if it would shorten the accumulation time or increase the number of strands he could gather. Either way would have been incredibly useful.

’Of course, the biggest pleasant surprise this time was the growth of the Thunder Authority! At 3.1% completeness, I can already summon heavenly thunder twice! If I were to unlock it completely, wouldn’t I be able to call down thunder to strike people whenever I want?’

’But the way this Thunder Authority improves is strange. The previous Divine Statue only gave me 0.1% completeness, but this one gave me 3% in one go. Why is that?’

Su Yu’s mind raced as he tried to figure out the reason.

’Is it the amount of Divine Blood? Or the amount of divine power? Or maybe the amount of faith power?’

’Faith power can probably be ruled out first. Same for Divine Blood, since it was just one drop both times. Divine power doesn’t seem right either. My Divine Sense perceived that divine power as if it appeared from thin air, not like it was part of the Divine Statue itself.’

Unable to make heads or tails of it, Su Yu could only set the matter aside for the time being.

He was only able to come into contact with things related to deities so early because of his peerless talent; he was fundamentally incapable of understanding them on his own.

’Forget it. I should focus on planning my future Martial Arts path and Breaking Limits. There’s no need to probe the secrets of these trump cards. As long as they work, that’s enough!’

’Ultimately, increasing my own baseline strength is the only true way to survive and make my way in these chaotic times! After all, trump cards will eventually be used up. When that happens, I’ll only have myself to rely on!’