Chapter 388 - 370: Ape Tendon Breakthrough

In the days that followed, the turmoil in Black Stone City completely subsided.

The development of the Flying Feather Guard also started to get on the right track.

Thanks to Cui Wanhe and Feng Ting joining, along with the prestige Su Yu had earned from his major accomplishments, a considerable stir rippled through the Public Security Bureau. It prompted many squad leaders and Captains to change their minds and join the Flying Feather Guard.

As for the rank-and-file members, the expansion of the Flying Feather Guard was even more rapid.

For one, a position in the Public Security Bureau was considered a good job, one that many people normally wouldn’t even have a chance to get. Even though the Black Lotus Sect was now rampant and the work had become much more dangerous, there were still those willing to join and gamble on their future.

For another, the White Ape Martial Arts Hall joined forces with the Flying Fish Martial Arts Hall and the Hongshan Martial Arts Hall. They recommended a large number of their apprentices to join, greatly bolstering the Flying Feather Guard’s strength.

The Lin, Jiang, Xu, and Cai Families, among others, also responded enthusiastically, sending large groups of their clans’ elites and Martial Artists.

With Lin Wanzhu handling the many miscellaneous affairs, Su Yu could relax and take a hands-off approach, focusing all his energy on practicing his martial arts at home.

In the early morning, a thin mist shrouded the courtyard like a light veil.

The gnarled, iron-like branches of the Iron Locust Tree stretched out in the morning light. Dressed in black, Su Yu moved like a Spiritual Ape in the woods, his footwork nimble and swift.

As he exhaled sharply and completed the final move of the Green Wood Shadow Ape Fist, a powerful Gang Force condensed without dissipating, creating a shockwave about an inch thick in the air.

Immediately after, a delightful message appeared before his eyes.

[Green Wood Shadow Ape Fist Skill Level +5]

[Green Wood Shadow Ape Fist has broken through to the Minor Success Realm]

[Martial Art]: Green Wood Shadow Ape Fist (Minor Success 1/2000)

BOOM!

In an instant, his Qi and Blood erupted like a volcano. A dull, deep rumble echoed ceaselessly from within his body.

His Divine Sense immediately sank into his body.

Before, when he had yet to develop his Divine Sense, he could only rely on physical sensations to feel his way through every breakthrough. Now, under the microscopic observation of his Divine Sense, he glimpsed for the first time the mystical landscape of the human body’s acupoints.

He saw an acupoint on the back of his neck light up with Qi and Blood like a star, transforming into a massive, dark-gold star suspended in a mysterious void.

This great star, normally hidden in some mysterious space, now manifested and erupted with the terrifying gravitational pull of a black hole.

WHOOSH!

The surging Qi and Blood in his body instantly transformed into a vast golden river, madly converging on that acupoint through his meridians.

However, this was completely different from the way flesh was nourished in the Flesh Refining Realm. This time, wherever the river of Qi and Blood flowed, the muscles and bones beneath his skin remained as solid as bedrock. Only the Great Tendons, hidden deep in the crevices between flesh and bone, reacted. They were like furious dragons awakened by spring thunder, roaring and writhing under the stimulation of his Qi and Blood!

Even more astonishingly, the golden marrow hidden deep within his Great Tendons was instantly ignited, bursting forth with the dazzling light of crushed gold.

Under the repeated scouring and tempering of the violent Qi and Blood, this crushed golden light condensed into thousands of golden needles. They were as fine as hairs yet incomparably sharp, and they frantically stimulated every inch of his Great Tendons.

"Hiss..."

Even with his iron will, Su Yu couldn’t help but clench his teeth and suck in a sharp breath.

This wasn’t the first time he had felt this kind of pain.

He had experienced it once before when breaking through to the Muscle Forging Realm, and the pain this time was no less intense!

Through the eyes of his Divine Sense, he knew his body’s Great Tendons were undergoing a transformation. Within the river of Qi and Blood, they were being stretched to their absolute limits, like golden bridges spanning a blood-red abyss.

Just as a Great Tendon stretched to its breaking point, at the very instant it was about to snap, wisps of golden tendon marrow would pour over it like molten lava. The marrow would rapidly mend the fissures, tempering the Great Tendon and making it ever thicker and tougher.

Stretching, reshaping, fusing.

Through this constant cycle, the golden hue on his Great Tendons began to spread outwards at a visible rate.

After about an hour, the piercing pain inside his body suddenly receded like an ebbing tide.

"THWANG!"

Su Yu’s body shuddered violently as every Great Tendon resonated in unison, erupting with a sharp hum like a fully drawn longbow. The aftershock alone was enough to send ripples across the surface of the Lotus Pool.

A startled koi in the Lotus Pool leaped from the water with a SPLASH, tracing a stunning red arc through the air before crashing back down and sending crystalline droplets flying.

The little croc-dragon rolled over, its eyelids lifting just a crack. It cast a lazy glance, then expressionlessly plopped its large head back onto its claws. After a couple of grunts, it went back to enjoying its leisurely life in the morning sun.

’The explosive rebound of the Great Tendons sounds like a clap of thunder. This is the Ape Tendon!’

Su Yu stretched his limbs, carefully sensing the changes after his breakthrough.

’The Ape Tendon Realm emphasizes two things: flexibility and length. Flexibility refers to the incredible suppleness of the Great Tendons, which allows for easy changes in angle.’

Su Yu recalled his master’s words and reached up to pluck a leaf from the Iron Locust Tree overhead.

"SWISH!"

The moment he moved, the difference was immediately apparent.

His arm moved like a whip, twisting through the air. It bent like a venomous snake, making the angle of his strike impossible to follow.

In the next instant, the leaf was in his hand. The only thing visible during the process was the afterimage of his bending arm.

’My strikes are so versatile now. I can attack from multiple angles, making them impossible to defend against. That move Master showed me from the Green Wood Shadow Ape Fist, the one that wraps around blind spots like a green vine, was a demonstration of the Ape Tendon’s flexibility!’

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. He finally knew how his master had executed that move.

’Next is the length of the Great Tendons!’

He reached for another leaf overhead. This time, he aimed for one that was clearly beyond his arm’s reach.

"SWISH!"

Astonishingly, his arm seemed to lengthen in a flash, becoming an afterimage that plucked the leaf in an instant!

’So this is the secret to the Shadow Ape’s Branch Exploration!’

A faint smile touched Su Yu’s lips as he recalled the first move his master had demonstrated. That move utilized the length of the Ape Tendon!

In an instant, the Great Tendons would explosively rebound, stretching to their absolute limit and extending the reach of a strike as if from nowhere.

When experts clash, a hair’s breadth like this is the difference between life and death!

Feeling exhilarated now that he understood the secret, Su Yu once again assumed his Fist Stance and began practicing the Green Wood Shadow Ape Fist under the tree.

"BOOM!"

As he moved into his Fist Stance, a whirlwind instantly swept through the courtyard.

His figure blurred into a series of afterimages. As he dodged and weaved, his posture would sometimes resemble a climbing Spiritual Ape, his arms twisting through the air like vines in tricky, unpredictable arcs.

At other times, his fists would strike like thunder. His arms would suddenly lengthen from the explosive rebound of his Great Tendons, and the edge of his fists would tear through the air, creating violent sonic booms!

A fierce wind rose from the ground, shaking leaves from the Iron Locust Tree. But before they could even touch the ground, they were instantly shredded to dust by a sky-filling barrage of fists as ferocious as a sudden storm!

[Green Wood Shadow Ape Fist Skill Level +6]

’My pure strength and speed have both increased by about fifty percent, which is actually a little less than I expected. It seems the main improvement in the Muscle Forging Realm isn’t just a simple boost to physical stats.’

Su Yu’s Divine Sense looked inward again and found that over a third of his Great Tendons had now turned a brilliant gold.

’But the changes to my Great Tendons are significant, and that has changed how my moves are executed. My explosive power in particular has increased immensely. So my actual increase in combat effectiveness is much greater than just fifty percent!’

’My comprehension of Fist Stance should have also improved in sync with my breakthrough. But my Fist Stance has already reached the Perfection Realm, so there’s no more room for comprehension. This is also why, despite my breakthrough, my combat power didn’t increase as dramatically as it would for a typical practitioner in the Muscle Forging Realm.’

But Su Yu just chuckled at himself. ’I’m getting greedy. My combat power was already high enough to defeat experts at the Tiger Tendon level, a realm above my own. Now that I’ve broken through to the Ape Tendon Realm, I can even go head-to-head with a Jiao Tendon Realm expert!’

’If I use Mo Yuan, an ordinary Jiao Tendon Realm expert would probably be no match for me!’

After assessing his current combat power, Su Yu was in a good mood. He stretched comfortably, his gaze falling back to the panel.

’The next breakthrough requires 2000 Skill Level. Right now, I’m gaining about 6 points per session. Based on my previous progress, I can probably gain thirty to forty points a day. At this rate, one month should be enough for me to break through again!’