Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 51 - 49: Forging Strength into a Weapon, Transforming Force!
Counting one pill for fifty days, these five pills would be enough to keep him safe for more than half a year.
"It’s time to start pushing toward Transforming Force."
With no more reason to look over his shoulder, Su Mu’s days finally returned to rare peacefulness. Most of each day was spent cultivating in the house he rented on Yanque Street.
Now that Five Animals Qigong and Tiger Subduing Fist had reached perfection, Su Mu treated both fist techniques as warm-up exercises, running through them quickly every day to keep his form, practicing makes perfect.
After that came Rock Shattering Fist, Startled Sparrow Step, Gale Fist, Torrential Rain Spear Technique.
Every time he finished his fists, Su Mu would get into the right state faster when practicing the Great Spear—fist leading, spear extending.
Su Mu hadn’t put much time or energy into Eighth Grade Vajra Body for now. What mattered most to Su Mu at this stage was practicing fist techniques; besides breakthrough in Fist Technique boosting his own comprehension, he also needed to continuously refine, strengthen, and purify the power within, attempting a third Refining Force.
Each night, Su Mu would also use White Jade Barbarian Bone Ointment to temper his bones. This time, he didn’t just apply it to his left arm, but rubbed it all over his body, quietly building up strength for his future push toward Eighth Grade Bone Forging Realm.
Torrential Rain Spear Technique, First Move: Cloud Surge.
A bamboo broom traced an arc across the sky, slicing up a gust of wind, the wind rolling and surging, gathering momentum.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a long spear thrust out of the swirling clouds, piercing the air. With a bang, it shot like the tip of a blade into the old locust tree.
Crack!
Another crisp explosion—but not from the old locust tree. The bamboo broom simply couldn’t bear it, bursting apart into shredded trumpet-shaped strips of bamboo.
Su Mu paused, thinking he’d need to visit the market today to buy a poplar pole for use. As for a proper spear, he’d wait till his Spear Technique reached Small Success.
Now, Su Mu could already perform the first move of Torrential Rain Spear Technique. Though the strike still felt awkward, rigid and somewhat mechanical, Small Success didn’t seem far off.
He started practicing at dawn; by mid-morning, Su Mu freshened up and changed clothes, then went to the market to buy a box of Osmanthus cake, and picked a box of walnut crisp.
Carrying the two boxes of pastries, Su Mu arrived at the pharmacy. The little doctor immediately crowded close to see what desserts Su Mu had brought today.
"It’s walnut crisp!"
The little doctor’s face lit with a streak of joy, her eyes curving in a smile. These days, Su Mu would stop by the pharmacy daily—first, to cooperate with the pharmacist’s research on the Gu Poison in his body, and secondly to drain some poisoned blood, preventing the Gu Insect inside from getting too strong.
Sometimes Su Mu would also consult the pharmacist about medical matters; even when concentrating, the pharmacist could answer offhand.
When the pharmacy was busy, Su Mu would stay to help. After a while, many began calling Su Mu "Little Doctor."
That evening, the pharmacy was finally quiet. The pharmacist brewed a pot of wine, and the three sat around in the study eating pastries. At that moment, the little doctor made a suggestion.
"Su, why don’t you move into the pharmacy? There are plenty of empty rooms in the courtyard... plus, it’d make it easier for Master to study Gu Poison."
The pharmacist, in the middle of enjoying the Osmanthus cake, froze for a second. Suddenly, the pastry in his mouth didn’t taste as sweet. Su Mu knew the little doctor meant well, but he needed to train in martial arts, and living alone felt freer.
"Thank you for your kind offer, little doctor, but I don’t live far away—just on Yanque Street—and I’m used to living alone."
"Actually, it wouldn’t be bad for our young friend to move in, but it shouldn’t be forced."
The pharmacist said, secretly letting out a sigh of relief, then continued to enjoy the Osmanthus cake.
Life was calm and quiet as water. Ten days passed.
Whoosh!
A wild wind arose suddenly.
Under night’s curtain, in the courtyard, a shadow shot up three zhang in a startling leap. As he fell, he lightly used a branch as thin as a finger for support—the leaves trembled, and, in that instant, the Startled Sparrow shifted direction and vaulted away.
Startled Sparrow Step (Great Success 1%)
Comprehension: 19 (Jade-Level)
At this moment, the sparrow-shadow hit the ground and turned out to be a young man. A warm current rose within his abdomen; he immediately closed his eyes and waited as the warmth spread—instantly, all the fatigue from a hard day’s training melted away. His whole body felt as though he were soaking in a hot spring, wonderfully comfortable.
"Startled Sparrow Step has reached Great Success!"
Su Mu opened his eyes again and softly exhaled. Just now he’d performed the Branch-Breaking Transformation from Startled Sparrow Step, using tree trunks or walls in mid-air to sharply twist his body.
Startled Sparrow Step—the first Body Technique Su Mu mastered—had just stepped from Small Success to Great Success. Su Mu’s comprehension increased by two points.
At that moment, Su Mu again faintly sensed the bottleneck of comprehension.
points of Comprehension—the very limit of Jade-Level. To go further would be a brand new realm of enlightenment! 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
After this, Su Mu fell into his familiar, fulfilling routine. Qingyun City was far from peaceful; the major powers and gangs in town clashed often.
The Cyan Cloud Army would sometimes ride through the streets or out into the wilderness to hunt bandits. News of the Black Mountain Rebel Army causing trouble outside the city arrived from newcomers; the Black Mountain Army seemed to be growing ever stronger.
But none of that concerned Su Mu. A modest home, a single pharmacy—his life reduced to a simple line between two points. To outsiders, the routine must seem dull beyond words. But for Su Mu, immersed in it, it was deeply fulfilling.
Time slipped past like a white horse’s shadow; in a blink, Su Mu had been settled in Qingyun City for three months.
Autumn faded into winter, the world wrapped in silver, blanketed in white. This year, winter seemed a bit colder than before; in the alleys of Qingyun City, many small shops were already closed.
The great stores on Cyan Cloud Avenue kept their doorways open, burning charcoal night and day for warmth, scents of wine and meat drifting through red-painted doors.
On Yanque Street, the sparrow’s chatter had disappeared; flowers and trees had withered, the roads sparsely traveled. In a courtyard blanketed by snow—
The young man seemed oblivious to the cold of winter, still dressed in thin rough cloth.
Whhh—whoo!
Within a one-zhang circle beneath his feet, no snow remained. The youth moved fluidly between two wildly contrasting fist techniques—one slow, one swift—making the shift seem effortless, almost imperceptible.
One punch was soft and light; the next shot forth with a gale, sending the snow on the old locust tree tumbling down, thick snowflakes drifting into the air.
Gale Fist Great Success (1%)
Thus, the three major fist techniques had all reached Great Success: one at perfection, one near perfection, and one at Great Success, plus the perfected Five Animals Qigong.
Any single martial art might take an ordinary Martial Artist ten, twenty or even more years to master—like Qingshui Town’s number one, Zhao Xuan, who spent twenty years mastering Gale Fist before reaching Great Success Realm.
Few at Su Mu’s age had reached such depth in three distinct fist arts.
Now, three distinct powers surged within Su Mu’s body—forceful power, Yin and Soft Force, cohesive power. Every martial art, refined to greatness, generated its own power, and fist techniques were the very best for refining power and laying foundations among all Martial Arts.
Each power in Su Mu’s body represented at least one martial art at Great Success Realm.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The three powers clashed, interwove and fused together, filling the air with a sound like rushing torrents. Underneath Su Mu’s chest, his heart beat strong and fast. Within, his Qi Blood surged with the merging powers, a symphony of force and lifeblood played inside him.
Then a flush of red instantly spread across his body, warmth covering him. A snowflake landed and melted at once on his burning skin. At this moment, Su Mu’s body was like a raging furnace.
Qi Blood was the roaring fire.
The three fundamentally different powers—like three distinct iron billets, and at the same time, the powers themselves were fire!
"Three fist techniques... three powers. It’s like forging steel—I must fold, hammer, and fuse these three forces, draw out the essence and discard the dross, then forge iron into a weapon!"
"This weapon shall be called... Transforming Force!"
