58: The Monkey's Many Transformations

The night was thick, and deep within the dense forest on the outskirts of Mount Mang, only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard.

In the place where Chen Linsheng had previously clashed with the bandits, several torches were now lit.

Five soldiers, dressed in plain clothes but unable to hide their military bearing, surrounded the five corpses and examined them carefully.

The man leading them, who looked like a squad leader, crouched down. He ran his finger over a smooth, deep-to-the-bone blade wound on a bandit's neck, then looked at the other corpses, which were almost identical. Frowning slightly, he said in a heavy voice:

"What clean technique. Each one was killed with a single strike. The execution was ruthless, forceful, and heavy, directly severing the neck bone... This is the handiwork of a Flesh Refining Realm Martial Artist. These blind fools really kicked a steel plate this time; they deserve their bad luck."

A scarred soldier behind him spat disdainfully upon hearing this: "Hmph, these trash. The cut they handed over usually wasn't enough anyway. It's better that they're dead—peace and quiet! It saves them from constantly ruining our Black Market's reputation."

He paused, his gaze shifting toward Qinghe County, his eyes flickering with greed in the night.

"A pity... I heard that White Lotus Sect demons appeared in the county town this time, causing quite a stir. It's a shame that County Commandant Wang is a coward, only deploying his Garrison Troops to search the city. If only we brothers could go in... Hehe, who knows how much profit we could squeeze out."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other soldiers nearby nodded one after another, their faces showing expressions of tacit agreement.

For these soldiers stationed outside the city with limited opportunities for profit, a major search within the city was the perfect chance to amass wealth.

Suddenly, a cold, emotionless voice drifted eerily from the darkness behind them like a ghost: "There's no profit for you, but you certainly have plenty of blood."

"Who?!"

"Who's there!"

The soldiers' hair stood on end instantly. They jumped up like startled rabbits, quickly turning back-to-back to form a defensive formation. Their torches and weapons were all aimed at the source of the voice as they shouted sharply.

However, there was only an impenetrable darkness deep in the woods.

Just as they were filled with suspicion and uncertainty, a dark figure appeared before them without warning, moving so fast it exceeded their visual tracking ability!

"Puff!"

The torch in the leading soldier's hand went out instantly.

But in the instant before the firelight was completely extinguished, the last flickering spark clearly illuminated a face.

A face that was handsome yet deathly pale, with eyes that were hollow and numb, as if it had lost all the light of its Soul.

Zhang Yuchen!

That face vanished in a flash, and immediately after, a cold killing intent submerged the remaining four soldiers like a tide.

Screams were stifled in their throats, and the sound of clashing weapons rang out briefly and sharply before quickly falling into silence.

Only a thick smell of blood began to permeate the forest... The next day, the atmosphere in Qinghe County was still tense, but Chen Linsheng's courtyard seemed like a tranquil paradise.

In the faint morning light, Chen Linsheng brought Su Wan to the dedicated training room. After the events of last night, he felt even more strongly the necessity of improving the strength of those around him.

"Wan'er, today I will teach you a palm technique called 'Soft Cloud Nine Strikes'." Chen Linsheng took out the Secret Manual he had purchased at a "huge cost" and said warmly.

He did not mention the Black Market or the killings from the previous night, only wishing for her to practice martial arts in peace.

Su Wan was intelligent and understood his intentions. She didn't ask questions but nodded vigorously, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a determined light: "A Sheng, I will definitely study hard!"

Chen Linsheng first had her read the Secret Manual thoroughly.

To his slight surprise, Su Wan was able to memorize most of the complex Move diagrams and Qi Circulation routes after reading it just once. Her comprehension was far beyond that of an ordinary beginner Martial Artist.

Then, he stood behind Su Wan and guided her hand-by-hand to perform the opening stance of "Cloud Rising Hand," carefully explaining the power techniques and breathing coordination.

"Let the intent follow the body's movement, and the Qi follow the intent. The strength should be contained but not revealed, like clouds gathering and dispersing..."

Su Wan focused intently, feeling the warmth from Chen Linsheng's palm and his steady guidance of her strength.

She was naturally meticulous, and after being carefully nurtured by Chen Linsheng with various medicinal meals and residual medicinal power during this time, her physical Foundation had been polished quite well.

In just half an hour, the "Cloud Rising Hand" Su Wan practiced had already begun to take shape. Although her strength was still shallow, that sense of flexible and continuous meaning was already faintly showing through!

Chen Linsheng let go of her hand and allowed her to practice on her own.

He saw Su Wan concentrate her mind and perform it again. Her palm strikes were gentle, and her footwork was agile. Although she was slightly unpracticed, there were almost no errors. Her high level of Comprehension Ability made even Chen Linsheng secretly click his tongue in amazement.

'This talent...'

If he didn't possess the spirit book and its numerous Divine Effects, in terms of Comprehension Ability alone, he probably wouldn't be able to compare to Wan'er.

"A Sheng, did I do it right?" Su Wan finished her stance and breathed slightly, looking at him with a bit of trepidation.

Chen Linsheng suppressed the surprise in his heart, stepped forward, and encouraged her with a smile: "More than right, Wan'er, you did excellently! Your Comprehension Ability is very high, far exceeding my expectations."

"Really?" Upon hearing this, a smile as bright as the morning sun blossomed on Su Wan's face, her eyes filled with the joy of being recognized and a surge of motivation. "Then... will I be able to help you in the future?"

Seeing her expectant gaze, Chen Linsheng's heart softened, and he lightly scraped her nose: "Of course. Once you've practiced well, maybe you'll even be able to protect me."

"Mhm!" Su Wan nodded vigorously, feeling full of energy.

Chen Linsheng took out an ice muscle pill for her to take, helping her strengthen her Foundation and nourish her blood and Qi. Then, he let her continue to familiarize herself with the Moves on the side.

He himself walked to the other side of the training room and sat cross-legged, pulling out the other "harvest" from the previous night from his robes.

Besides "Soft Cloud Nine Strikes" and "Overlapping Waves Archery," there were also several booklets "retrieved" from the bandits.

After counting, he had not only recovered the hundred taels he had spent but also "earned" an extra hundred taels, which made him feel much more balanced.

At least he knew he hadn't lost money on those two Secret Manuals; he might have even picked up a bargain.

After all, the stall owner at the Black Market probably never expected that he would "return the goods at the original price" with interest.

Those booklets from the bandits were mostly crude external techniques or incomplete internal breath methods. He flipped through them briefly and tossed them aside, as they weren't of much value.

Only the last ancient booklet, which was tattered and missing its cover, caught his attention.

On the first page, four characters were written in ancient seal script: "Spirit Monkey Hundred Changes."

He read through it carefully and found that it wasn't just a simple Movement Technique or fist technique, but an extremely unique comprehensive Martial Skill.

It included strange Movement Techniques imitating mountain apes and spirit monkeys, unpredictable fist and finger techniques, and even a set of coordinated breathing guidance techniques, aimed at extremely tempering a Martial Artist's flexibility, coordination, and reaction speed.

The latter half of the Secret Manual was severely missing, but judging only from the remaining content at the beginning, its concepts were exquisite and the movement designs were inconceivable. It was definitely not something ordinary mortal grade martial arts could compare to.

"Imitating a hundred beasts, agile and ever-changing... The intent behind 'Spirit Monkey Hundred Changes' actually has similarities to 'Python Dragon Strength,' though it takes a path of lightness and tricky changes."

The more Chen Linsheng looked at it, the more extraordinary he found it.

"Although it's incomplete, if I can master the Movement Technique and finger techniques within, I'll have countless more variations whether facing an enemy or traversing the mountains and forests. It will compensate for my current shortcoming of having plenty of ferocity but slightly lacking in agility."

He tried to mobilize his blood and Qi according to the descriptions in the book, imitating a stretching movement called "Ape Stretching Arm."

The movement seemed simple, but it required extreme coordination of the shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, and even the waist and hips. It demanded high flexibility of the muscles and bones.

With his current "Hunyuan True Body" Foundation and the basis of ten times Skin Quenching, he actually felt a slight sluggishness when performing it, requiring deliberate control to get it right.

"As expected, it's not simple!" Chen Linsheng's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he decided to make this fragment of "Spirit Monkey Hundred Changes" one of his priorities for concurrent cultivation.

Just then, Su Wan's surprised voice came from the side: "A Sheng, I feel... it seems like there's a flow of heat moving in my arm!"

Chen Linsheng looked up and saw Su Wan staring at her hands, her face full of disbelief.

Around her body, extremely faint but real blood and Qi fluctuations were emanating.