novelraw Chapter 281 - 182
Chapter 281 - 182
A dark, sunless underground chamber.
The tall, beautiful Purple Shirt woman walked over with lotus steps, dropping to one knee before a figure shrouded entirely in a black robe.
"Purple Shirt pays respects to the Celestial King."
"Gao Feng is dead."
A warm yet deep voice drifted from under the black robe.
"What? Gao Feng is dead..." Purple Shirt froze for a moment. "Celestial King, leave this matter to me. I suspect this was Li Feiyu’s doing. I’ve already uncovered a few clues regarding his identity..."
"It’s no longer necessary. Li Feiyu is unimportant... I’ve already ordered Yi Yi and Yi San to handle this. Men of mine died on Changping Dao because of him. Gongsun Xin owes me an explanation." The black-robed figure waved his hand, a tranquil voice carrying an innate authority that brooked no disobedience.
Then he hooked a finger beneath Purple Shirt’s chin.
Purple Shirt’s snowy neck arched, a flush rising on her cheeks. Her waist snaked around the black-robed figure like a water serpent. After a bout of passion—
"Purple Shirt, you are to garrison the Black Forest Mountain camp. Ensure that the weapons and Treasure Armor—and that item—are forged as quickly as possible."
"As you command."
...
Meanwhile, the two heading to Cang River walked and paused intermittently.
The Canglan Tributary was frozen three feet thick; beneath the ice, the river waves roared. A young, handsome man stood on his head, his skull planted among jagged stones, suspended upside down.
Yan Xiaolan guessed that Elder Lin must be cultivating some strange Martial Art. Though this wasn’t her first time seeing Elder Lin like this, every time she saw this sight she couldn’t help but steal a few peeks.
"Focus on your fist training."
"Ah, yes... Elder Lin."
Yan Xiaolan hurriedly retracted her gaze, but inwardly she was quite curious. Elder Lin was clearly turned away from her, even standing inverted with eyes closed—how could he still sense her peeking?
Su Mu’s eyes remained shut. With every inhalation and exhalation, threads of Power coursed through numerous acupoints atop his head. Each cycle made those points vivified, connected, bulging, then contracting. Repeating this again and again, that most vulnerable human spot—the head—was being effectively tempered.
With the current strength of his flesh, he could skip the entry-level cultivation method of the Iron Head Skill and directly opt for a tougher method. Only with Yan Xiaolan nearby did he restrain himself; otherwise, Su Mu intended to train directly with blades and soldiers.
Before long, Su Mu softly exhaled, and a warm current welled up within him.
Iron Head Skill (Small Success 1%)
It was only on this journey that Su Mu truly began cultivating this Eighth-Grade Cross-Training Martial Arts, the Iron Head Skill. Yet just during a few days’ travel and rest, he’d already cultivated this difficult Iron Head Skill to Small Success.
However, now that an Eighth-Grade Martial Arts reached Small Success, it could no longer boost Su Mu’s Comprehension even a little.
As for Yan Xiaolan, this girl’s Martial Dao was a complete mess. Luckily, though, she was humble and eager to learn. So, with nothing else to do these days, Su Mu offered some pointers, making her start with Fist Technique, laying a solid foundation before moving on to Sword Cultivation.
The reason Su Mu gave her the secret manual for Rock Shattering Fist instead of other techniques was carefully considered. Rock Shattering Fist’s Force Transmission Method fit very well with Dark Force; if she gave her all in cultivating it, she could effectively make up for her lack in Power. As for advancing to Transforming Force or beyond, that would be up to her—it was no business of Su Mu’s.
After reaching Small Success in Iron Head Skill, Su Mu struck while the iron was hot, inferring the Molten Fire Golden Body.
"Elder Lin is truly diligent... No wonder he recovered fully in just a few months!" Yan Xiaolan watched Su Mu lost in cultivation, thinking quietly.
The evening sun slanted; the wind and snow grew fiercer.
Dong!
A mighty bell peal thundered out, the rolling soundwaves shattering the three-foot ice sheet of the Canglan Tributary a dozen feet away.
A ten-foot three-inch Golden Bell shimmered around Su Mu. Where the Flame Giant Tiger had once been hazy during Su Mu’s bout with Yuan Qing, it now bore vibrant red-gold mane, and its tiger eyes shone with fresh spirit.
Snowflakes filling the sky evaporated into billowing white mist before they could land. Flames erupted around Su Mu, blazing fiercely.
"Such powerful Martial Arts—has Elder Lin had a breakthrough?"
Yan Xiaolan felt the terrifying heat radiated by the Golden Bell and subconsciously stepped back while summoning her Power to defend herself. Yet a smile of genuine joy surfaced—she seemed even happier than if her own Martial Arts had broken through.
At once, she halted her fist practice, rested a hand on the sword at her waist, and swept her gaze about, playing Protector for Su Mu.
After a while, Su Mu let out a light breath, his slowly opened eyes glowing faintly.
Molten Fire Golden Body (Small Success 23%)
Comprehension: 116 (Dragon-and-Phoenix Level)
Having reached Small Success in Iron Head Skill, Su Mu had only meant to take advantage of the momentum to infer a bit further, but unexpectedly succeeded all at once. With the integration of Iron Head Skill, his Molten Fire Golden Body jumped straight from entry-level to Small Success Realm, and it even boosted his proficiency by another notch.
This is the key difference between self-created Martial Arts and the ordinary kind. Whether it was Thunder Shock Fist or the Molten Fire Golden Body, both were Martial Arts Su Mu combined and inferred from the foundation of many other arts. As long as he perfected or created new moves, his proficiency would rise rapidly.
Because Su Mu himself was the creator of these Martial Arts.
Noticing Yan Xiaolan standing Protector, Su Mu gave a slight nod.
"How much further?"
"About... sixty li."
"Let’s move out."
The two continued on, and by dawn, the outline of a mountain city appeared ahead. They didn’t enter the city, but instead went eastward.
"Elder Lin, that Gongsun Xin is the Chief of the Changping Escort Agency. I kept watch here for half a month once, and glimpsed Gongsun Xin from afar. The Changping Escort Agency isn’t all people from Changping Dao. It’s actually the estate east of town that’s their stronghold. Plenty of Changping Dao experts are there. I didn’t dare approach rashly. Sneaking in to assassinate Gongsun Xin would be extremely difficult..."