Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Ape Shadow Swift Wind

In the next instant, it was as if several years had passed in the depths of Su Yu’s consciousness.

In a daze, he seemed to have transformed into a Spiritual Ape traversing a vast, ancient forest, endlessly punching at the air.

From the sluggish wind resistance he felt when he first started punching, to day after day of striking against raging gales. Finally, at the moment he threw his one-hundred-thousandth straight punch, the thick air resistance around him shattered, transforming into pure, instinctual speed!

Su Yu’s eyes snapped open. The thick sinews beneath the skin of his arms vibrated intensely, actually emitting a low hum like a powerful bowstring drawn taut.

"Ape Shadow Swift Wind! What a great Trait!"

A look of delight appeared on Su Yu’s face as he focused on the Trait’s information.

[Trait]: Ape Shadow Swift Wind. The bones and sinews of your arms are like a fully drawn longbow. When you punch, muscle resistance is greatly eliminated, doubling your punching speed for a short period. At extreme speeds, you can easily create afterimages that are difficult for the naked eye to follow, leaving your enemies unable to defend.

’Time to test it!’

Su Yu stood in the center of the Martial Arts Arena, took a deep breath, and suddenly put force into his arms. He didn’t circulate his Qi and Blood, relying solely on his physical body to strike out!

CRACK! CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—

A continuous series of sharp sonic booms exploded in the air. Amidst the raging gusts, his fists’ trajectory could no longer be tracked by the naked eye, leaving only a few blurry, overlapping afterimages.

Before the force of the blows dissipated, Su Yu took a step forward, closing in on the Ironwood Stake in front of him, and unleashed a torrent of punches like a sudden squall.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

The dense sound of the strikes almost merged into a single, continuous tone.

’So strong!’

’My punching speed is completely untraceable! At full power, who in the same realm could possibly stop me?’

’My saber technique was already perfected, but my Fist Technique was never anything special. But now that I’ve learned the Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape Fist and gained the Ape Shadow Swift Wind Trait, my combat power with my fists has also soared!’

Su Yu walked over to the well, drew a bucket of water, and splashed his face. The icy water refreshed him, his mood growing even more cheerful.

Watching his strength grow little by little... there was no feeling in the world more intoxicating than this.

"Brother Su, breakfast is ready. You should eat it while it’s hot."

Just then, Yang Zhen’s gentle and melodious voice came from outside the courtyard gate. Today, she wore an elegant, celadon-colored "flowing immortal" dress. Standing gracefully under the corridor, her eyes curved with a smile, she looked just like a virtuous young wife waiting for her husband.

"Alright, I’m coming."

...

In the main hall, an extremely sumptuous breakfast had already been laid out on the large, round rosewood table.

The main dish was a steaming hot porridge of fine rice simmered with minced meat and ginseng, with a rich, amber-colored layer of oil floating on top.

The side dishes included two steamers of translucent, jade-like fish dumplings, juicy meat-filled buns, golden and crispy fried dough sticks... and an entire roasted Black Rock-Hoofed Pig leg, its skin crispy and meat tender, sizzling with oil.

This breakfast cost at least several taels of silver, but in the current Su Mansion, it was just the standard daily meal for Su Yu to replenish his Qi and Blood.

Su Yu ate with gusto. Swallowing a few of the delicious fish dumplings, he casually asked, "How are the mansion’s finances recently?"

While ladling porridge for Su Yu, Yang Zhen softly reported, "Brother Su, the Yang Family’s business is getting bigger and bigger. They sent over a dividend of more than a thousand taels this month. My younger sister had someone ask if you still want to use all the money to purchase precious fish and precious herbs, as usual?"

’Over a thousand taels. Not bad at all.’

Su Yu nodded in satisfaction. The Yang Family had truly become his cash cow.

"Yes, exchange it all for precious herbs and fish. Also, tell the Yang Family to find a way to get me a Cyan-Scaled Sea-Exploring Swallow."

Now, with the help of his Martial Arts Enlightenment ability, it only took him two hours a day to practice the Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape Fist, freeing up a lot of his time. He planned to also practice the Lingxi Beast Taming Technique that was in his storeroom.

The Cyan-Scaled Sea-Exploring Swallow would be perfect for practice. Once tamed, its reconnaissance abilities would be quite helpful. Su Yu hadn’t forgotten how much trouble that creature had caused him when they fought on Ghost Mist Island.

Yang Zhen noted it down carefully and continued reading from the ledger, "The dividend from the Jiang Family’s trade route has also arrived. It’s about three hundred taels. As for the Cai Family..."

At this point, Yang Zhen’s tone faltered slightly, and a barely perceptible hint of feigned annoyance flashed in her autumn-water eyes. "Miss Cai personally delivered a precious herb, a Nine Yang Blood Orchid. She also wanted to see you, Brother Su... but since you weren’t here, I found an excuse to send her away."

Cai Yun?

Su Yu immediately felt a headache coming on.

That woman was too bewitching and seductive. She used the excuse of delivering precious herbs to come to the Su Mansion every month and try to seduce him. To make matters worse, she was a rich patron, and dealing with her was truly exhausting.

"Ahem... Zhen’Er, well done." Su Yu said, going with the flow. "If that woman comes again, I’ll leave it to you to deal with her."

"You got it, Brother Su!" Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen’s beautiful eyes instantly lit up, and she couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of her lips.

"There’s one more thing," Yang Zhen continued softly. "Wang Hu from Wang’s Blacksmith Shop has broken through to become a Martial Artist. Several of the senior brothers from the martial hall have prepared congratulatory gifts to send over."

"Wang Hu broke through? That kid’s luck is pretty good."

Su Yu praised him sincerely. After a moment of thought, he instructed, "Have someone make a trip. Send over my Mo Yuan Saber, and while you’re at it, take a fifty-year-old wild ginseng as a congratulatory gift."

Yang Zhen agreed to everything and continued to report on the various miscellaneous matters of the mansion in a perfectly organized manner.

Looking at the beautiful woman before him who managed a large mansion of several dozen people so flawlessly, Su Yu felt gratified, but couldn’t help reminding her, "Zhen’Er, you should leave some of the mansion’s chores to Brother Su Hong. Don’t let it delay your own cultivation."

"Don’t worry, Brother Su." Yang Zhen blinked playfully, her tone filled with excitement. "My Wood Spirit Body is operating on its own every day, and my Qi and Blood are constantly being replenished. I estimate that in just a few days, I’ll be able to break through the final Yongquan Acupoint and enter the First Acupoint realm."

Su Yu was stunned by her words.

"You’re about to break through to the First Acupoint realm?"

He looked at Yang Zhen in disbelief. If he remembered correctly, it had only been a few months since she became a Martial Artist, right?

Such speed showed that her potential was definitely high; she wasn’t the kind of person whose potential was exhausted after becoming a Martial Artist.

"Yes..." Seeing Su Yu’s strong reaction, Yang Zhen also found it a little strange. "I find it strange too. I used to feel like my Qi and Blood were stagnant, but ever since I awakened this Wood Spirit Body, I feel like Martial Arts cultivation... seems to have gotten quite simple."

’Listen to that! What kind of thing is that to say!’

Su Yu sucked in a sharp breath, pulled over a round stool, and sat down beside her.

"Don’t move. Let me check your bones!"

Without giving her a chance to protest, Su Yu grabbed Yang Zhen’s slender arm, rolled up her sleeve to reveal a forearm as fair as a lotus root, and placed his warm, large hand directly on it.

The art of bone assessment emphasized strength and perception. It could only be performed by someone who had entered the Flesh Refining Realm and mastered an extremely high level of internal force. Although Su Yu wasn’t as experienced as his master, Qin Fangqiong, he was more than capable of gauging her depth.

As his long fingers roamed inch by inch over the young woman’s skin, feeling the cool yet vigorous Qi and Blood between her bones, the shock in Su Yu’s eyes grew deeper.

’This Wood Spirit Body is truly domineering. It’s constantly and imperceptibly reshaping her root bone... This bone structure is at least at the Upper-Middle Root Bone level!’

To confirm the circulation in her lower body, Su Yu didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Yang Zhen’s calf and naturally placed her small foot, clad in a soft-soled cyan satin slipper, on his own thigh. He then reached out to remove her shoe and sock.

"Ah..."

Caught off guard, Yang Zhen’s pretty face instantly flushed crimson...

Even the roots of her fair ears turned a delicate pink. She clutched the hem of her dress, her body trembling slightly, but she allowed Su Yu to remove her shoe and sock.

Su Yu’s large hand covered her warm, small, jade-like foot. His thumb pressed precisely on the Yongquan Acupoint on the sole of her foot, but his brow furrowed. "Hm? Why is there no fluctuation of Qi and Blood gathering to break through the barrier?"

"Bro... Brother Su..." Yang Zhen’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, so shy she nearly buried her face in his broad chest. "It’s my other foot that’s about to break through... You’re holding the one that isn’t."

Su Yu didn’t feel awkward at all. He calmly put down her foot and, with perfect composure, picked up the other one.

Lifting the hem of her dress and taking off the small shoe, the slender foot, as fair as suet jade, landed in his broad palm. It felt delicate and smooth to the touch. Su Yu couldn’t resist giving it a gentle squeeze, drawing a soft, breathy moan from the young woman.

’It’s a pity this world doesn’t have stockings.’

Su Yu lamented inwardly.

’With such long, straight, and exquisitely shaped legs, if paired with the black silk stockings from my past life, the destructive power would be simply immeasurable.’

’Or maybe nude-colored ones wouldn’t be bad either...’

’Women who practice Martial Arts are really different. Light and flexible, with an elegant temperament.’

’No, no, perhaps it’s because Zhen’Er’s Wood Spirit Body is too extraordinary. Especially that Wood Spirit Qi, it’s rich in life force, which is equivalent to constantly nourishing her body.’

Shaking the messy thoughts from his mind, Su Yu carefully examined the surging, boiling Qi and Blood at the Yongquan Acupoint and finally came to a firm conclusion. "You are indeed about to break through. With your talent, even in the entire Inner City of Black Stone City, you would be considered a top-tier genius!"

Su Yu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. He had gone through countless hardships to raise his own root bone, yet this young woman had caught up just by awakening a Spirit Body.

However, he quickly smiled in relief.

’I have a peerless talent. In the future, I will only be stronger than anyone else!’

It was a good thing that Yang Zhen had the talent to keep pace with him and possessed greater power to protect herself.

"Alright, put your shoe back on." Su Yu ruffled Yang Zhen’s hair and said gently, "From now on, worry less about the mansion’s affairs. Focusing on your cultivation is the right path. I’m going to train some more... Oh, right. When you have time, go look through some ancient texts and check on that Stone Egg, the ring, and the Jade Pendant in my storeroom."

"Okay! Zhen’Er will remember, Brother Su!" Yang Zhen nodded, gentle and virtuous. The look in her eyes still carried the shyness and affection from just moments before.

Su Yu turned and strode towards the Martial Arts Arena in the front courtyard.

He’d eaten his fill. Next, it was time to try out that Lingxi Beast Taming Technique.