Chapter 1126

A thread of heaven and earth's long qi, exchange for a construction-type divine ability, seek an opportunity for exploration.

Is it worth it?

For others, changing people might require some hesitation, but as a water monkey, facing the Long Wang's lair, it's hard not to be moved; historical scenes have replayed countless times, and this situation, without exception, tells Liang Qu that he can encounter good things.

How to make money?

What others don't have, I have; what others have, I excel; what others excel at, I am frugal; what others are frugal at, I turn.

The places others cannot reach are where opportunities lie,

Let's gamble!

Taking advantage of the early dawn, I rushed from home to Huaiyin Martial Hall, found a quiet room, and sat cross-legged.

With the intention set, radiance flashed.

Splash!

The red-eyed spirit fish leapt out of the blue waters and jumped straight into the body.

A unique change spread from the depths of the spirit, cool as if immersed in clear water; the withered spirit continuously drew nutrients, gradually nurturing something different.

Bai Yuan's fourth divine ability, Liang Qu's seventh divine ability!

The divine ability turns and generates by itself.

Liang Qu then took out five blank notebooks, and based on the memories in his mind, he copied out the characters in abundance.

One volume of the "Wansheng Gong," which I forgot to give yesterday, so I might as well study it myself first.

The remaining four volumes.

"Ling Shu Casting Body Diagram," "Wan Hua Shaping Classic," "Tui Xing True Explanation," "Zhen Ling Transformation Record."

These four techniques are all within the Tianhuo Sect, superior methods for shaping the remaining forms!

Although the techniques were memorized beforehand, just like exams require listing vertically on paper, listing them on paper for observation makes summarization easier and less prone to omission.

"Shua shua shua!"

"La la, te."

In the martial hall dormitory, disciples laid out Mao coins and pig-hair brushes, on a hot day they bared their arms, drew water from the courtyard well, and by the washing pool came the sound of laundry; at the end of Yin hour, before five o'clock, with the sky dimly bright, students had already stood on the sand, lining up according to their respective grades and classes.

"Where is Ashui?" Xu Zishuai stood on the high platform, looked around, "I just saw him come from home, why is he not here now?"

"He requested a quiet room, saying he was cultivating." Hu Qi replied.

"He was also supposed to bring a class." Xu Zishuai shook his head, "Forget it, let him go."

No one has died, and no one has died and come back to life.

Xu Zishuai does not know what it feels like to die and then come back to life.

When mountain bandits raided the village in his childhood, his foster parents hid him in the red basin for washing faces, and threw it into the backyard well; Xu Zishuai remembers this very clearly,

The red basin was the dowry brought by his foster mother, cherished very well, made of camphor wood, very heavy and solid; as a child he could not move it, he leaned in to smell,

There was a faint camphor wood scent.

He curled up in the red

basin, his whole body's muscles tensed to the limit, because the red basin was very small; after stuffing a person inside, the well water was only half an inch from the basin's rim.

If the person moved slightly, the water would level with the basin's mouth.

A little movement, and water would overflow in.

The basin walls were very damp; if the basin tipped over, he would die.

He curled up in the red basin for two days, three days?

I don't remember.

His whole body's muscles and bones were nearly necrotic.

When he came out, it was Yang Dongxiong who grabbed his collar and forcibly pulled him out of the basin.

Xu Zishuai forgot what the situation was like then; he was dazed at the time, thinking he had been caught by bandits, and afterward had no impression whatsoever; at that time, Yang Dongxiong was in his prime, like a lion, the senior brother was ten or so years old, laughing that he resembled a boiled shrimp with a bent back, the kind without meat.

Perhaps Liang Qu is the same as him.

Curled up in that red basin at the time, head and feet braced against each other, unable to let the well water overflow in.

Xu Zishuai stepped forward and struck the gong, shouting loudly.

"Today's martial demonstration! Divided into four grades: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding! Jia grade, three credits! Yi grade, one credit!"

"Roar!"

The sandy field erupted in cheers.

Martial sparring is so much more fun than standing like a post! Equivalent to leaving the classroom, going outdoors for practice!

No matter how tired, it's more fun than boring cultivation.

"Hua hua hua."

Pages turning.

"All phenomena gathered into the body, all forces concentrated in one palm, all battles must surely win."

"Ah, so this is it, such a clever method of force, no wonder it's the Great Huang Taizu."

Reading the copied "Wansheng Gong," Liang Qu's eyes brightened; previously he had swallowed dates whole without savoring, but now he has a new understanding of "Wansheng Baoyuan."

Having cultivated to his level, one creates techniques for others; it's hard to gain inspiration and help from them anymore; although he still cultivates "Wansheng Baoyuan" and "Long Tiger Subjugation Diamond Gong," both have already been cultivated to the point of instinct, becoming part of his own realm system, transcending the simple category of "learning."

"Wansheng Baoyuan," its core lies in holding another's essence, qi, and spirit, making them neither internally depleted nor externally leaked, long-term filling the body, embracing the physique as one, to emit one and manifest ten thousand, ten thousand forces surging, stacking endlessly, furthermore prolonging life and repairing hidden injuries.

This technique divides into setting the spirit, inner vision, preserving the spirit, and gang refining, four layers.

Liang Qu has long completed all cultivation, reaching the state of pure furnace fire, entering the hall and inner chamber.

After the first layer "setting the spirit," the technique's cultivation turns on its own, with excellent effect; the spirit easily concentrates, sitting in meditation easily enters stillness, doing anything achieves twice the result with half the effort.

The second layer "inner vision" helps greatly, not merely looking at the five viscera and six bowels simply, but at the non-existent illusory objects, such as acupoints, such as heart fire, such as the qi sea, convenient for adjustment and detecting errors.

The third layer, "Preserving the Spirit,"

This assistance is greater; the use of 【Chuanzhu Zhan Jiao】 cannot be separated from the transformation of 【Divine Lord Seal】 produced by the metamorphosis of "Preserving the Spirit."

Finally, the fourth layer, "Gang Refinement," which supplements innate essence, is triggered after consuming the Eight-Clawed King and refining the Great Elixir; once triggered, it supplements innate essence—something that can be encountered but not sought.

In terms of presence, 【Wansheng Baoyuan】 is inferior to 【Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming】 in achieving divine abilities, but in its subtle, pervasive effect, it is unmatched and among the highest-grade gentle internal arts.

Liang Qu's fortune is truly good; both cultivation methods are of high refinement, compatible with each other, and can accompany him throughout without needing to change methods due to realm limitations.

Without the integration of 【Embracing the Elixir Technique】, 【Wansheng Gong】 lacks some of the "natural Dao" longevity and restorative effects, but its power attribute is more domineering and extreme, giving a feeling of sweeping across the eight wildernesses.

During the "Preserving the Spirit" stage, there is also a method for tempering the primordial spirit.

However.

The development of martial arts over thousands of years is not without foundation.

After experiencing two and a half complete dynastic cycles, the 【Wansheng Baoyuan】 of Louguan Tai and the 【Wansheng Gong】 of the Great Huang Martial Emperor show no clear superiority; the difference lies more in path and cultivation approach.

Slightly combining and adopting.

Liang Qu can then absorb and accept these methods, gradually integrating them into his own realm system.

"Taking the intent of sweeping across the eight wildernesses, 【Chuanzhu Zhan Jiao】 should be able to increase its power by another level; furthermore, Gang Refinement—"

The "Gang Refinement" of 【Wansheng Baoyuan】 supplements innate essence; 【Wansheng Gong】 is purely body tempering. The former has an extremely high upper limit, capable of supplementing to the essence, with greater effect, though low frequency; the latter has high frequency but is slightly inferior in irreplaceability.

"Can 【Gang Refinement】 be combined with 'Withered Wood Meets Spring' to trigger another 'Gang Refinement'? Let the frequency of 'Gang Refinement' increase?"

If achievable, the value of 【Wansheng Gong】 will surge dramatically!

One Gang Refinement is equivalent to undergoing a furnace reforging, adjusting and organizing oneself from head to toe, becoming more coordinated and more perfect.

Applied to Liang Qu's current state, it will at least be a surge of the qi sea!

This concerns the foundation.

The entire cultivation method is deeply imprinted in his mind; Liang Qu is not in a hurry to act.

He first pulls out the remaining variation methods, reviews them in one go, re-memorizes them entirely, advances in the sea of consciousness, transforming into countless sparks of thought, colliding and absorbing.

This is the cultivation method of the Tianren Sect masters; now, Liang Qu's realm cultivation method.

Lofty and far-reaching.

One can extensively draw from the strengths of a hundred schools, select suitable parts from various cultivation methods, organize them, and then cultivate.

The quality of cultivation methods may not be high, but they are certainly more suitable.

Only a single morning.

In the sea of consciousness, sparks converge, transforming into a single cultivation method, one by one—【Human Return to Origin】!

The spirit gradually recovers.

Liang Qu opens

his eyes, and the first thing he feels is that he has gained a new "instinct."

Communicating with the Cauldron.

【Cauldron Master: Liang Qu】

【Refining Marsh Spirit: Great Sage Water Ape (Orange) (Fusion Degree: 49.1%)】

【Marsh Essence: One Hundred Four Thousand Nine Hundred】

【Innate Divine Ability: Water Travels a Thousand Miles, Abyssal Sea Prison, Vortex Palace (No Water Beast), Holding Up Heaven Pillar】

Divine ability achieved!

Glancing at the fusion degree, 49.1%, just 0.9 away from the 50 threshold—equivalent to 180,000 essence, with over 100,000 still lacking, clearly insufficient; he stores it first, to prevent a recurrence of the situation where divine ability generation lacked sufficient essence.

"Returning to the Netherworld, I will go explore the Long Wang's Cave!"

One cannot become fat in a single breath.

Activating 【Wansheng Baoyuan】, suppressing distracting thoughts, Liang Qu begins cultivating 【Human Return to Origin】.

Such methods are characteristic of the Netherworld, unaffected by flesh and orange, acting upon the soul, altering soul form, from demon to human, from human to demon.

A faint warm current rises within the body.

Gradually.

Liang Qu feels the heat in his limbs and bones begin to dissipate, like receding seawater, scattering inward, gathering and settling.

The warmth originating from the fish-snake body is now being peeled away inch by inch from the tendons, bones, and skin membranes, allowing Liang Qu to clearly "sense" that a certain "form" constituting his existence is loosening and changing.

A strange "ethereal" feeling spreads outward.

The sense of bodily weight and boundary are both fading.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

In the martial hall, apprentices collapse to the ground, panting heavily.

Xu Zishuai, with one man and one staff, spends a day knocking down hundreds of senior students, neither breathless nor tired.

Initially, such practical martial drills were conducted between students in pairs, higher efficiency, helpful for students' combat experience growth; after all, they are peers sparring, still able to stir up competitive spirit.

However, soon problems arose in the martial hall due to excessive competitive spirit.

Precisely because students spar with peers of similar level, the losing side often cannot save face, always attributing it to their own luck and condition,

especially when female apprentices are watching, it is easy to anger flare up; one failure leads to a second attempt.

Said.

Indeed, there are luck and condition factors: winning brings back a round, losing leads to complete fury, ultimately turning a simple contest into personal grudges,

after school, challenging alone; if solo combat fails, it turns into group brawls; after just two such student-to-student drills, they are called off, turning into exchanges between students and teachers.

This also greatly increases the time cost borne by instructors.

There is no way around it.

One can only say that a group of vigorous youths is too difficult to manage.

One thought of vigorous youth, and Xu Zishuai recalled that year

when he surrounded and beat a group of people, his junior martial brother.

"Has Ashui not come out yet?"

"Today probably won't work."

"Fortunately, I didn't send the message." Xu Zishuai breathed a sigh of relief; he had wanted to send a message this morning, saying Liang Qu was coming to teach, but Liang Qu went to the martial hall to cultivate himself, so he didn't shout.

Good thing I didn't rush.

Otherwise, the students below returning to the dorms at night wouldn't know what to do to themselves.

In the quiet chamber.

The half-fish, half-snake Liang Qu hovered midair, while below, corpses sat in the same lotus posture.

In a state unseen by others, Liang Qu's body radiated brilliant light, leaving only a blurred outline.

At this very moment, ripples surged around the outline, undulating without cease, like waves on the sea, until the waves calmed and evolved into a human-shaped outline!

However.

The outline could not be maintained for even half a quarter-hour; ultimately, the transformation failed, and it reverted to half-fish, half-snake.

Failure.

"Not very practiced."

Gripping his fish fin, Liang Qu felt no anger; today was only his few cycles of cultivation—how could he possibly master transformation so quickly? According to various cultivation manuals, being able to preliminarily grasp bodily transformation within a month is already considered remarkable progress, extraordinary talent, and full transformation requires half a year or more.

With realm support, Liang Qu felt he still needed half a month's effort.

"First, eat."

"Ashui!"

"Senior brother!"

"Finally willing to come out! Come, let's go eat?"

"Eat!"

The shadow of the fence cast by sunlight gradually shifted eastward, then gradually lengthened, casting a dazzling orange glow on the yellow earth road.

Horse carts and large wagons kicked up dust, heading east and west.

The senior brothers linked arms and shoulders—how they came together in the morning, how they returned together at night.

Laughter rang in their ears, and the scent of osmanthus filled the air.

Coincidentally.

That year's crab feast, Ah Fei was struck with a blunt stick by Pingjiang and Pinghe of the Long family, and he too smelled osmanthus.

Since Liang Qu was promoted to Grand Master, traveling east and west, joyful days have existed; people seek enjoyment, and there's always a way, but leisure is hard to come by—rarely can one have such idle days as this.

"Splash."

Clear water flushed away blood, washed the cutting board, and dripped pattering into the sink.

Inside the Yang mansion, it was again a frenzy of butchering oxen and sheep, flames raging.

They paid no heed to the fact that most of last night's beef and mutton remained uneaten; worst case, they'd send it to the martial hall to give students free extra meals—in short, they ate at home, however fresh, however it came.

Yesterday they ate a big dish, today they ate hot pot,

water boiling with gurgling sounds.

In the hall, the ice platform was prepared early, cool and refreshing; sliced, washed ice trays were brought out, the meat so fresh it still jumped on the ice surface—slaughtered and immediately put in the pot, even without needing to wait

for sourness.

Hot mist swirled.

This time, Liang Qu didn't forget to take out the 《Wansheng Gong》 he had copied from the Yin Realm.

"Master! Yesterday I forgot to give it to you—I found a good thing in the Yin Realm."

"Oh?"

Yang Dongxiong reached out to take the manual, and all the senior brothers gathered around,

the cover bore no characters, nor did it carry Liang Qu's true intent.

"What good thing? Let me see!" Xu Zishuai craned his neck.

"Is it a cultivation manual?" Chang Song read the general outline word by word, then stroked his chin, "I'm looking at it, and it seems somewhat like 《Wansheng Baoyuan》?"

Fellow disciples, naturally cultivating the same sect's manual.

"No, not like 《Wansheng Baoyuan》—it should be more like 《Bai Zhan Gong》!" Hu Qi reminded.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked again at the manual, far more profound than the simplified 《Bai Zhan Gong》, and without exception, they thought of one possibility.

"Wait, is this the 《Wansheng Gong》? The lost original?" Xu Zishuai exclaimed in astonishment.

Liang Qu, accustomed to speaking in halves, said: "I don't know if it's the original, but anyway, I took it from the Tianhuo Sect's Sutra Pavilion, glanced through it,

and felt that even if it's not the original of 《Wansheng Gong》, it's eight or nine out of ten, usable as the original. What I wanted to say yesterday, I just didn't get the chance."

Original!

Everyone's eyes lit up.

《Wansheng Baoyuan》 is a combination of 《Bai Zhan Gong》 and 《Baodan Gong》; 《Bai Zhan Gong》 is merely the military promotion version of 《Wansheng Gong》, so how vastly different it is from the 《Fangsheng Gong》 of the Great Huang Martial Emperor!

Now there actually is an original?

Drool flowed out.

Ashui truly has many good things.

"You say this is from the Tianhuo Sect?" Yang Dongxiong calmed his mind and immediately seized the point.

"Yes, the Great Li Tianhuo Sect."

How quickly everyone's minds turned.

"Da Li has taken in so many dead souls — has the accumulated merit yielded quite a few lost methods?"

"Does the imperial court's Scripture Palace offer rewards for completing fragmented texts?"

Yang Dongxiong nodded: "Ordinary cultivation methods and martial arts grant minor merit rewards and the right to select a method; true arts count as major merit. Speaking of which, I recall something — the 'Azure Dragon Killing Scripture,' did you exchange for it?"

Liang Qu shook his head: "This disciple didn't exchange for it at the time; if I had, I could have returned one major merit."

"Ashui, there's a fortune to be made in there!" Xu Zishuai excitedly slapped Liang Qu's shoulder, "We can't keep letting the netherworld shear our yang-world wool — we need to shear the netherworld's!"

"That's exactly what I mean; I have a plan." Liang Qu grinned, "So I want a copy of the Scripture Palace's fragmented text catalog. When the time comes, I'll go search specifically in the Tianhuo Sect — if they have any, I'll complete them all."

World martial arts are developing quite well.

The new surpass the old

people.

New methods surpass old methods.

But that doesn't mean lost, ancient cultivation methods have no use — especially top-tier methods, precisely because their transmission was never wide, their uniqueness and pioneering nature are in no way inferior to today's!

There's a term called 'drawing inferences from one instance to understand others.'

Two cultivation methods that seem completely unrelated may well share common ground, each solving its own problems, achieving an effect greater than the sum of their parts!

"Ashui, lend me your Chishan — I'm heading to Nanzhili tonight to demand it!"

"No rush." Liang Qu stopped Xu Zishuai, "Eat first; it's not going anywhere — a day or two makes no difference."

The original appearance of the 'Myriad Victories Merit' made everyone realize that the Tianhuo Sect was not merely a crisis, but a treasure vault.

That very night, Xu Zishuai, reeking of hotpot, mounted Chishan and rushed toward Nanzhili, traveling through the night.

Chishan's speed was extraordinarily fast — reaching the imperial capital took only a few short days; Nanzhili was even less of an issue, half a day at most — it was just that handling matters in between would take some time.

The next day at noon.

"Bang!"

A catalog three chi thick slammed onto the desk.

The desk creaked and swayed with an 'aiya' sound.

Liang Qu's teeth ached with a sour twinge.

Caught up in the joy, he forgot one thing.

The yin and yang worlds cannot carry objects across — bringing them out is fine, letting Awei read them, the catalog could only be memorized by his brain alone, acting as a living porter.

The catalog alone is this thick; memorizing the summaries along with it would be incredibly difficult — what if he accidentally mixes up the entries?

But just thinking of major merit, the Xuanhuang Badge, and water-attribute spirit plants, Liang Qu gritted his teeth and fished out the white jade crown the former Holy Emperor had once given him that granted photographic memory.

Hua.

The white jade crown fell from the fish head.

Fortunately, Long Eying had quick eyes and fast hands, catching the crown.

Can't wear it.

"Take it slow — no need to rush back to the Tianhuo Sect anyway. Back then both Hall Vice-Directors managed it; there's no reason I can't."

Liang Qu is a hands-off shopkeeper, leaving everything to Shen Zhongliang, but in outsiders' eyes, the River God Sect is newly founded and facing a major relocation — the sect lacks rules and regulations, so being out for a month or month and a half is perfectly normal.

"Damn!"

The Tianren Sect Master's memory is clearly not bad.

Alas, he is ultimately not an electronic computer.

Human laziness manifests especially in the brain — many people appear diligent, but are actually using physical exertion to mask mental laziness; this is an instinctive resistance.

Memorized to one-fifth.

"'Long Yin Merit,' especially skilled — General Outline"

"What merit? Dong Yin Merit?"

"Dong what merit?"

Memorize a bit each day, memorize a bit each day.

A full half-month, in cultivation

while practicing 'Chen Renxing Returning to Origin,' clearing Snow Mountain dark stakes, advancing on multiple fronts simultaneously, the three-chi-thick catalog was successfully chewed through two and a half chi — Liang Qu felt he possessed boundless wisdom; his primary cultivation method, 'Chen Renxing Returning to Origin,' likewise reached a critical bottleneck!

White light overflowed.

The fish-shaped outline undulated into human form, and amid the prolonged radiance, the undulation suddenly stabilized, as if after being dazzled by the white light, vision slowly recovered.

The light gathered back into the body.

Opened eyes.

Clear five fingers, arms, arrived at the pond's edge.

Familiar face.

"Hu."

Liang Qu flexed his five fingers, drew a deep breath.

Excitement.

Thrill.

June to October, a full season — forcibly turning a fish into a human, how excruciating?

Human form.

No easy feat!

Heaven births all things, only humans are noble!

"At my current cultivation progress, I can maintain human form for at least one double-hour each day."

Technique transformation does not change the soul's essence — although it's a bit strange, Liang Qu, who was glanced at by the Black Emperor, truly became a 'Fish Woman'; to change back, he'll likely have to wait for complete resurrection, transforming from yin to yang.

However—

Liang Qu looked at his own hand, at the corpse before him, and at the crimson blood shadow to one side.

Though there was clearly only one consciousness, in the world there were three people.

He stared at it for a long time.

Like looking at the contemplation of white bones, the contemplation of impurity.

The contemplation of white bones: first observe the decay and collapse of flesh on one's own forehead, leaving only white bones. Gradually spreading from narrow to wide, imagining from one end, the flesh decays and collapses, revealing the white bones. Until the entire body, only white bones are seen. Having clearly seen one's own skeleton, one then observes others, the decay and collapse being the same in the contemplation of impurity. Observing one's own hair turning red, swelling, distending, turning blue, turning purple, turning black, skin ulcerating and rotting, foul blood spreading all over the body from head to toe.

Strange.

Absurd.

"Lighting the lamp, burning the cotton wick, drying the lamp oil, emitting a wisp of faint blue smoke—"

He recalled the old monk's words.

To penetrate heaven and sever earth, to retrieve the heavenly soul and earthly soul, one must first sense the heavenly soul and earthly soul, yet the heavenly soul and earthly soul are not something wandering outside; they originally reside within every person's body.

The three souls originally reside in the spirit of life.

Therefore, upon a person's death, the souls return via three paths.

The heavenly soul returns to the heavenly path, the earthly soul returns to the underworld, and the human soul returns to the grave.

Penetrating heaven and severing earth means severing the cause and effect of the heavenly soul and earthly soul, so they do not enter the heavenly path, do not enter the underworld, and remain firmly as one.

Its essence is to block their future path, not to retrieve them.

Just like a candle burned to exhaustion, the cotton wick will char, the lamp oil will dry up, and finally a wisp of blue smoke rises upward.

This wisp of blue smoke is the heavenly soul and earthly soul.

The blue smoke is originally part of the candle.

The heavenly soul and earthly soul ought to belong to a person as part of them.

What penetrating heaven and severing earth aims to do is, after the candle burns out completely, to have no more that wisp of blue smoke, to firmly abide in oneself completely.

"How to do it?"

Liang Qu murmured to himself.

He looked at himself, at the blood shadow, at the corpse, his gaze leaping, his thoughts soaring, his qi sea active, amidst overlapping shadows.

A thread of spiritual light flew past.

He clenched his fist around the Blood Slaughter Divine Ability Command.

The crimson blood shadow stood up, merged into the corpse, the blood shadow controlled the corpse, standing before Liang Qu.

Liang Qu stepped forward, likewise merging into his own flesh.

The three became one.

He raised his hand.

The corpse did not move; what he saw was the soul leaping out of the corpse.

Spiritual control of the blood shadow.

The blood shadow controls the flesh.

Now the corpse moved.

Yet it requires one mind, three uses.

I move myself, I control the blood shadow's movement, I control the blood shadow controlling the flesh's movement.

Deliberately.

Wrong.

What is wanted is not this.

Exerting effort to keep the three in the same frequency, not with spirit, but with deliberation, rather with instinct, with the subconscious, Liang Qu began to walk in the pond, stumbling and staggering.

The soul led, the blood slaughter followed slowly, the corpse last, movements consistent, as if three shadows were split beside the pond.

Seeing the old die watching two shadows move in unison, unable to make heads or tails of it.

What madness is this again?

Walk, run, flip.

Becoming increasingly smooth, increasingly effortless.

The three grew ever closer, until to the naked eye there was no difference, walking together, running together, flipping together!

Liang Qu stood still in place, halted the breeze, spread his arms, and assumed a posture.

The old die was extremely familiar with this posture.

Monkey Fist!

When first arriving, at that time Liang Qu was still at the Fourth Gate, often rising early to train, the old die could daily see Liang Qu hammering and training in the courtyard, however, as Liang Qu's realm grew higher, what it saw grew less and less.

For a moment, it actually felt quite nostalgic.

Recalling those vigorous years of the past?

It recalled Liang Qu's old saying that often hung on his lips.

Pa!

The sleeve trembled with sound.

A crooked, twisted punch.

The old die was greatly puzzled.

How is Liang Xiaozi becoming more and more regressive as he lives? As a grand master of the Tianren Sect, he can even forget his own signature skill?

Soon.

A crisp punch wind sounded.

Liang Qu moved with grand opening and closing, gathering power like drawing a bow, releasing power like loosing an arrow.

Dragon form, snake waist, fish-scale steps.

Move

Follow the force and move, steps change with the body.

The more he fought the more practiced he became, the more he fought the smoother he became; gradually, within the smoothness lay a carefree ease, within the ease a lingering charm, from dawn he fought until dusk,

from dusk he fought until dawn.

Clearly the human form could only be maintained for one double-hour, yet within the coordinated rhythm, there was actually not the slightest change!

Unity of Heaven and Man, moving the momentum of Heaven and Earth.

A vortex rose in the pond.

Fallen leaves fluttered.

Otter Kai, forced to tag along running, was swept up in it, stumbling crookedly, unable to resist, stumbling crookedly, involuntarily following along to drill; Otter Kai at the lead, they formed a triangular formation, trailing behind Liang Qu practicing Ape Fist.

"The Elder had an epiphany?" Long Binglin murmured to himself.

"Perhaps?" Long Eying was not too certain.

The youngster from the Scarface family came down the mountain to visit, wanting some tasty food; entering the pond's range, he involuntarily joined in, and the Ape Fist formation grew ever more imposing.

Chen Qingjiang carried a pole-load past the doorway, hearing the huffs and hahs, he always felt there was a garrison of soldiers drilling inside.

Stars and moon shifted, unaware of day or night.

Three days and three nights.

Autumn wind wrinkled the water surface; golden osmanthus from the street drifted in, half-floating on the lake.

The howling fist-wind abruptly ceased, the pond ripples gradually calmed.

"So that's how it is."

With a loud exclamation of praise, Liang Qu collapsed, sitting quietly by the pond.

Like a chain uncoupling, Otter Kai couldn't stop his momentum, toppling backward, bowling-ball style knocking over the little river otters.

The river otters were already exhausted beyond measure, tumbling in a heap with a clatter.

"Heave-ho."

A little river otter sprawled its four limbs, wiping a forehead of sweat.

This job.

Too tired, otter.

Gotta ask for a raise!