Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Fish Dragon Skill Minor Achievement

"Alright, now that the hidden danger is gone, it’s time to head back."

Qin Fangqiong casually tucked the wooden box, which had a paper talisman stuck to it, into his robes.

He turned and glanced at Su Yu. Seeing his expression hadn’t changed in the slightest, he chuckled and said, "You brat. So young, but you’ve already learned to hide your thoughts well."

"This Blood God Stone contains a sliver of a god’s will. You can’t use it yet. However, this item is quite useful to me—it can help me recover from my old injuries. When we get back, I’ll make it up to you with some other good things."

Su Yu bowed slightly, his expression sincere. "Master, how could you say such a thing? I couldn’t be happier to help you heal. How could I possibly care about a mere trifle like this?"

A hint of gratification flashed in Qin Fangqiong’s eyes. "With such a heart, I can see I didn’t misjudge you. But there’s no reason for a master to take advantage of his disciple. I will definitely compensate you when we get back!"

Su Yu said no more, but he was secretly delighted. ’The Blood God Stone is useless to me, and I always felt it was a liability to carry around. Now that Master has it, it’s the perfect outcome.’

Beside them, Lin Wanzhu’s eyes lit up, and she couldn’t hide her joy.

’Master’s injuries from years ago never healed, causing his realm to fall. If he can use this stone to recover, and perhaps even return to the Profound Bone Realm, the White Ape Martial Arts Hall will have a much stronger footing in these chaotic times!’

"Master, can this Blood God Stone really heal your old injuries? Should we try to contact the Huyan Family? Maybe we can get more? After all, Junior Brother Chen still has a marriage alliance with them."

Qin Fangqiong shook his head. "This Blood God Stone can only help me recover from some of my old injuries; a full recovery is out of the question. As for Chen Fan, things are probably not right over there anymore. The Huyan Family making a move on Su Yu means they aren’t just after the Yang Family’s business. I will have him break off this engagement!"

"Master, it’s safe here now. I’d like to stay in Qingxi Village for a while longer and practice my aquatic Cultivation Technique by the Black Water River," Su Yu requested.

Qin Fangqiong nodded. "Alright. Your breakthrough to the Flesh Refining Realm was so astonishingly fast, it’s best to keep it hidden for a while. This is a good chance to avoid the attention in the city."

"In a little while, the martial arts halls of Black Stone City are going to form a Martial Arts Hall Alliance. There will surely be a fierce struggle over the distribution of benefits. When that time comes, you will make your debut with the force of a thunderbolt and push the reputation of our White Ape Martial Arts Hall to its peak!"

"Yes, I will obey Master’s command!"

After seeing off Master Qin and his senior sister, Su Yu also gave some instructions to Song Mirror, telling him to go back and submit the mission report.

As for the escaped bandit leader, the report concealed his true strength, stating only that he was an expert at Skin Tempering Realm Perfection and had ultimately managed to escape.

As for the other Security Guards, their perception was limited, and under Su Yu’s orders, they wouldn’t dare speak out of turn, so there were naturally no issues.

...

In Qingxi Village, Su Yu returned to the familiar little courtyard with its thatched cottage.

After all this time, it seemed not a single brick or tile had changed, but his status in the villagers’ eyes had been turned upside down.

The moment he entered the village, Su Yu was nearly swamped by the crowd of villagers.

Li Da’s father, Carpenter Li, brought a brand-new set of redwood furniture with several of his apprentices, even though Su Yu had already told Wang Yuechi that he wouldn’t be coming back.

Auntie Wang from next door brought over a new cotton quilt that had been warmed in the sun.

Even more extravagantly, the entire Li Family, where Li Jin was from, turned out, looking as if they wanted to kneel until they wore through his doorstep.

Li Jin’s father now understood things clearly. If it weren’t for his son working as a guard at the Su Mansion, how could the Li Family have ever been able to do business in Qingxi Town, let alone Black Stone City?

Su Yu didn’t refuse the goodwill of his fellow villagers. He gave Wang Yuechi five taels of silver and asked him to arrange return gifts on his behalf.

The moon hung high in the sky.

In the small courtyard, Su Yu and Wang Yuechi sat opposite each other at a stone table, drinking wine and eating.

At first, Wang Yuechi was still reserved, but after seeing that Su Yu was the same as ever, and with a few cups of strong liquor in his belly, he finally relaxed a little and said with great emotion:

"My lord, our Qingxi Village has really benefited from your prestige. Nowadays, whenever people from the Public Security Bureau come to our village, they’re always so polite."

"They’re even flexible on many matters whenever they can be. Qingxi Village has become the heart of the entire Qingxi Town. Lots of people are scrambling to move here! That Landlord Song from the next town over, he’s donating money here every day, just hoping to buy the house next to yours."

Su Yu glanced over the courtyard wall at the house next door. It was still the house where Yaya’s family used to live.

"You’ll have to ask Yaya about that. Why don’t you go into the city tomorrow and see for yourself? Wang Qu is with Yaya now. The two of them study every day and have made a lot of progress."

"Thank you for nurturing my son, my lord!" Wang Yuechi’s eyes grew red as he stood and bowed deeply.

...

「The next morning.」

Su Yu pushed open his door, stepped into the small courtyard, and stretched comfortably.

Now that his White Ape Fist had reached Perfection, he hadn’t had a chance to ask his master for a new Cultivation Technique, so he suddenly found himself with a lot of free time.

He checked his panel again.

’First, let’s get the Bibo Fish Dragon Skill to Minor Achievement! After that, my ability to hold my breath, swim, and fight underwater will all improve greatly.’

’Then I can check out that underwater cave in the cliff I found before!’

However, Su Yu didn’t have high hopes for the cave. With his current strength at the Flesh Refining Realm, even finding a few treasure fish wouldn’t be anything to get excited about.

... 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

「Black Water Riverbank.」

Near the cliff’s underwater cave, the current was swift.

Su Yu was bare-chested, his body moving like a swimming fish as he continuously practiced the various moves of the Bibo Fish Dragon Skill in the raging current.

"Swimming Fish Tail!"

Su Yu’s spine suddenly trembled. With his legs together, the muscles in his waist and abdomen instantly exploded with astonishing elastic force, kicking up a plume of white spray in the water. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he shot forward more than ten zhang in an instant. He was so fast that only an afterimage could be seen in the water!

"Wave-Piercing Stab!"

His body spun, striking out like a sharp sword in the water. He used his momentum to slam fiercely into a giant reef rock at the bottom of the river.

"BOOM!"

A muffled explosion rang out.

The hard reef rock was instantly pierced and shattered. Countless fragments shot through the water, stirring up murky sand and silt.

[Bibo Fish Dragon Skill: Skill Level +10]

...

As he finished the final run-through, that feeling of sudden enlightenment descended upon him once more.

[Bibo Fish Dragon Skill has advanced to Minor Achievement]

[Martial Arts]: Bibo Fish Dragon Skill (First Layer) (Minor Achievement 1/2000)

’Finally, Minor Achievement!’

The moment Su Yu set foot on the bank, a strange transformation began inside his body.

"CRACKLE! POP!"

A sudden series of dense, cracking sounds erupted from his bones. It was immediately followed by a wave of aching numbness and intense pain that bored deep into his marrow, as if countless tiny hammers were beating and reshaping every bone in his body.

Sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, but Su Yu’s expression remained unchanged.

Having experienced the bone-washing of the Purple Jade Flower and the transformation of the White Ape Saint Body, he was long accustomed to this level of pain.

An hour later, the pain subsided.

Su Yu stretched his limbs and felt that his body had changed again. Each bone seemed denser, and the connections between his joints had become more flexible and agile.

’According to the Cultivation Technique, I should have now achieved the initial fish bone transformation?’

Su Yu clenched his fist. He didn’t feel much of a change in strength, only that his flexibility had increased.

’Time to test it in the water!’

With that thought, Su Yu leaped into the water with a SPLASH.

As soon as he entered the water, the bones in Su Yu’s body began to change according to his will.

"CRACK... CRACK..."

Accompanied by faint cracking sounds, his shoulder joints contracted inward and his rib cage expanded slightly. Without affecting his ability to exert force, his entire body became longer and flatter, like a streamlined barracuda!

’So this is the initial transformation of the fish bones in water!’

Su Yu was delighted. He could clearly feel his body was better adapted to the water, as if he had truly become a fish.

"Swimming Fish Tail!"

"WHOOSH!"

This time, Su Yu shot forward more than fifteen zhang in an instant. His speed had increased by a full fifty percent!

’So fast!’

Su Yu turned and looked back at the distance he had just covered in an instant, unable to contain his joy.

’At this speed, even some real treasure fish can’t compare to me!’

’In that case, it’s time to explore that underwater cave in the cliff!’