White Ape Snatching the Moon

By then, with a fist technique and a leg technique at his side, coupled with the Mountain Sea Scroll's bodily enhancement effects, he would surely count as an expert even within the Body Tempering realm.

The reason he was so eager to improve his martial cultivation was naturally so he could protect himself while carrying out missions in Yangping Mountain.

After all, he had not forgotten why the Beast Hunter Hall had begun recruiting hunters ahead of schedule.

The Yangping Mountain beast tide.

Ever since joining the Beast Hunter Hall, he had gained a certain understanding of Yangping Mountain.

A beast tide erupted in Yangping Mountain roughly once every four years. When that time came, the number of strange beasts within the mountain would increase greatly, and rare spirit beasts would even appear. Spirit beasts like the Red-bellied Spirit Snake would definitely emerge, and there would be more than just one.

In fact, most of the spirit beasts recorded near the top of the Hundred Beasts Scroll had appeared during beast tides.

Although the Yangping Mountain beast tide was generally confined to Yangping Mountain and would not spread too much to the foothills, even if some strange beasts came down the mountain, they were mostly ordinary wild animals.

But Town Mountain Tower naturally would not let such an opportunity slip by. Whenever a beast tide came, it was also the Beast Hunter Hall's busiest time. They would organize hunters in large numbers to enter Yangping Mountain and hunt rare, precious strange beasts seldom seen in ordinary times.

Yet that was also the most dangerous time in Yangping Mountain. Although experts from Town Mountain Tower would lead the teams, they naturally could not look after ordinary hunters like them.

Thus, before every Yangping Mountain beast tide, the Beast Hunter Hall would recruit hunters on a massive scale. But after the beast tide ended, how many of those hunters would remain depended entirely on fate.

He had also probed Zhang Ding indirectly. Having half the men survive would already be considered pretty good.

That was why Lin Sheng was so desperate to increase his strength, along with the threat posed by the Tooth Gang.

Though he believed he had dealt with Liu Ergou and the others quite discreetly, there was no guarantee that some flaw would not surface. Raising his strength as much as possible could never be wrong.

For two days, Lin Sheng practically holed himself up in the courtyard, diligently practicing the White Ape Leg Technique.

Then another mission came to him. Perhaps his luck truly was good; this mission, like the previous one involving the honey badger, was not particularly difficult.

They completed the mission successfully in two days, and only two of them suffered minor injuries.

As for Ma Qiang, after that day, he had never again taken the initiative to provoke him. He seemed to have forgotten the matter entirely, and whenever he saw Lin Sheng, he would take the initiative to avoid him.

That surprised Lin Sheng somewhat, but he was happy with it. Better one less trouble than one more; it was naturally best if the other party did not come looking for a fight and create trouble for him.

Yangping Town.

That day, in the courtyard, Lin Sheng moved endlessly through the yard like an ape, twisting, turning, and leaping.

The courtyard had changed greatly from before. More than twenty wooden stakes as thick as bowls had been planted throughout it.

At that moment, Lin Sheng stood atop the stakes, his body constantly shifting. Suddenly, his legs swelled by a full circle, and he heavily stomped one foot onto a wooden stake.

With a dull bang, the stake split apart in all directions. Lin Sheng then sprang up and jumped down from it.

"After three days, I've finally cultivated the White Ape Leg Technique to Minor Mastery."

A trace of delight appeared on his face. He could clearly feel that his strength had improved considerably compared to before.

Especially in terms of speed and reactions, he was roughly at the level of Agility Boost 1 when the honey badger entered his body.

Of course, beyond that, the White Ape Leg Technique seemed even stronger than he had imagined.

Besides enhancing speed, this leg technique also possessed considerable killing power.

The kick that had shattered the wooden stake just now was a killing move from the Minor Mastery stage of the White Ape Leg Technique, called White Ape Snatching the Moon.

This was something the Raging Bull Fist did not have at Minor Mastery. From this alone, it was clear that the White Ape Leg Technique was quite good among third-rate martial arts. This complete third-rate martial art was enough to support his cultivation until the early Muscle Forging realm.

Just as Lin Sheng was in high spirits over his breakthrough in cultivation, someone else was in equally good spirits elsewhere.

Bang!

With a dull crash, Ma Qiang slammed his palm viciously onto a bluestone slab before him. In an instant, the slab, a full two inches thick, shattered apart.

"Ha ha ha... I finally broke through!"

Ma Qiang threw back his head and laughed wildly, his face overflowing with indescribable exhilaration.

His talent was not as outstanding as his elder brother's, and he had also started learning martial arts rather late. That was why he had never been able to step into the Body Tempering realm.

Thus, he had always despised those so-called geniuses. Whenever a talented newcomer joined the squad, he would take the initiative to spar with him and make him taste some hardship, satisfying his own vanity.

But today, with the help of a Blood Cultivating Pill, he had finally crossed this threshold and entered the Body Tempering realm. The knot in his heart that had built up over many days dissipated at once.

"From today onward, I, Ma Qiang, am finally a true Body Tempering martial artist."

He let out a heavy breath, and the expression on his face suddenly twisted.

"You little bastard, just wait. I'll repay the humiliation from that day tenfold."

"Xiao Qiang, did you break through?"

At that moment, a deep, powerful voice sounded from outside the room. Then the door was pushed open, and a tall, burly man who bore some resemblance to Ma Qiang strode inside.

The man saw Ma Qiang's change at a glance, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad. You didn't waste that Blood Cultivating Pill. The medicinal effect should not have fully dissipated yet. Take advantage of it and keep cultivating—don't waste it."

The newcomer was Ma Qiang's elder brother, Ma Long, captain of the Beast Hunter Hall's Third Squad and an expert of the Muscle Forging realm.

As Ma Long spoke, he took out another small brocade box from his robes and placed it on the table.

"There's a second Blood Cultivating Pill inside. Use it only after you've stabilized your blood and qi in the Body Tempering realm. It should then make up, to a certain degree, for the hindrance to your blood and qi caused by beginning cultivation too late."

"Thank you, Big Brother."

Ma Qiang immediately nodded, a trace of excitement appearing on his face. He knew full well how valuable a Blood Cultivating Pill was.

Though he was usually rather overbearing, toward his elder brother he felt both respect and fear. He knew that everything he had today came from Ma Long. Otherwise, with his circumstances, let alone entering the Body Tempering realm, whether he could even practice martial arts at all would be another matter.

"Xiao Qiang, now that you've successfully entered Body Tempering, there's no need for you to remain with Wang Sanyang any longer. In a few days, I'll speak to him. You can stay by my side instead. I'll put a few men under your command, and your safety will be assured. With the Body Tempering realm, that will also be enough to shut up other people's gossip."

Ma Long spoke calmly. He still cared quite a bit about this younger brother of his. After all, if Ma Qiang achieved something in cultivation, it would also greatly benefit the Ma family in the future.

But upon hearing this, Ma Qiang froze. He hurriedly said,

"Next month, Big Brother. I'll go over next month. I still have some matters to settle with Captain Wang."

"Oh?"

Ma Long raised his eyes and swept his gaze over him. Ma Qiang felt as though he had been seen through completely.

"What, is it because of that new kid in your Ninth Squad? If I remember correctly, his name should be Lin Sheng."