Fiftieth Chapter: A Transformation in Comprehension, Understanding a Thousand Things at a Word!

"Force follows the heart's command, envelops the whole body, and transforms into armor..."

The youth silently recited the twelve-character formula for transforming force that he had heard from the burly man in black armor. At this moment, Su Mu's comprehension was also at a special juncture, breaking through its limits.

Inspiration struck!

With one insight leading to another, Su Mu slowly closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and sank into a state of complete oblivion.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Snow swirled endlessly between heaven and earth. The moment it landed on the youth, the intense heat around him melted it into water, which was then evaporated by the twin torrents of force and blood qi surging through Su Mu's flushed-red body.

The snowstorm filling the sky unknowingly became a timely rain, easing some of the heat around Su Mu. It was also like the water quenching a weapon during forging.

Under such immense pressure, the three streams of force were hammered and tempered again and again. Three streams joined to form a river; the three streams of force in Su Mu's body, which had never mingled before, began to transform into a great river.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

With the birth of the river of force, the turbulent sounds within Su Mu grew faintly more impassioned, then advanced further, becoming the furious roar of a great river beating against its banks.

Hum!

Three unceasing streams of force surged forward one after another, merging into a river. As it grew, the river of force flowed through Su Mu's limbs and meridians, infusing every inch of skin and every pore. The rapidly surging force instantly enveloped his entire body, forming invisible armor.

A wondrous sight appeared.

The snowflakes filling the sky froze for an instant just before they could land on Su Mu. Not a single flake touched him before they were immediately shattered.

Even the dust on the ground was shaken loose by this powerful force, rising into the air and swirling around Su Mu.

After a long while, the river of force was fully formed, and the furnace fire gradually died down. He had achieved force transformation!

Su Mu slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the unprecedented changes in his body, his eyes brimmed with joy.

After two years of martial training, he had finally achieved force transformation!

Su Mu rose to his feet. At a mere thought, the river of force surged into motion and instantly enveloped his body. He could feel that every inch of his flesh and skin—even his hair and nails—contained surging force transformed to this level.

Force refined to this degree surpassed the bounds of ordinary Martial Artists. The vast majority of Martial Artists in the world would never reach the level of force transformation in their lifetimes.

Su Mu felt stronger than ever. He scanned the courtyard and spotted a large stone in the corner. The dark, rounded stone, with its salty, sour smell, had once been used to weigh down a jar but had since been left unused.

He reached out and lightly pressed down on the stone with a claw-shaped hand. The grasp looked airy, as if he had hardly exerted any strength, yet the stone slowly caved in, revealing a palm print.

"Force transformation can't directly amplify the power of martial arts... But when several streams of force merge, the force within a Martial Artist's body is tempered to an unprecedented degree, and their control over it becomes terrifying."

With a mere thought, Su Mu could direct the river of force to envelop his palm—even his hair and nails. The condensed force, flowing at high speed, could easily shatter stone.

The next moment, Su Mu abruptly clenched his claw into a fist and punched his own chest with all his might.

The instant his fist touched his body, Su Mu felt what Zhao Xuan had felt before. The force of the blow seemed to plunge into the sea and was instantly split apart in every direction by the force covering his skin. His fist veered aside as though striking something as slippery as a loach, and the force of the blow was dispersed.

A frustrating sense of having strength but nowhere to use it welled up inside him.

Even Su Mu couldn't help feeling that frustration. One could imagine how helpless Zhao Xuan had felt back then.

"Force into armor—what an incredible force transformation!"

Su Mu exclaimed in admiration. If he encountered the burly man in black armor again, he was confident he wouldn't need to rely on Movement Technique to dodge. With this armor of force, he had every reason to stand against the man head-on. Why avoid his strongest blows?

Just as Su Mu finished testing his transformed force, the warm current inside him—which had yet to fade—built up enough strength. The improvement in comprehension brought by Gale Fist reaching mastery broke through the limits of Excellent Talent, Raw Jade.

Comprehension: 21!

His sinews and bones hummed. The warm current swirled and surged straight toward his brow, and Su Mu's body slowly grew a little taller. For an instant, he felt as though his soul had left his body, and his mind wavered.

When he opened his eyes again and lifted his gaze slightly, he saw snowflakes drifting down from the vast sky. Among the countless flakes, he saw one that was unusually large, its delicate patterns clearly visible.

He reached out. Snowflakes continued to fall, and the especially large one swayed in the breeze before landing squarely in the center of his palm.

It was no coincidence.

After his comprehension broke through, Su Mu's already extraordinary senses grew sharper still. When he focused completely, it seemed he could faintly perceive the rhythms and patterns of all things.

[Name: Su Mu (14 years old)]

[Lifespan: 130 years]

[Skills: Five Animal Frolics (Perfection), Tiger Subduing Fist (Perfection), Forging (Great Mastery 98%), Rock Shattering Fist (Great Mastery 95%), Startled Sparrow Steps (Great Mastery 68%), Gale Fist (Great Mastery 1%), Alchemy (Minor Mastery 15%), Torrential Rain Spear Technique (Beginner 90%), Medicine (Beginner 66%), Adamantine Body (Beginner 15%)]

[Comprehension: 21 (Understanding a Thousand Things at a Word)]

After the transformation ended, Su Mu glanced over his current status panel. His lifespan had increased by a full twenty-five years during the transformation, and his comprehension had changed from Excellent Talent, Raw Jade to "Understanding a Thousand Things at a Word."

The very best of the best could understand a thousand things from a single word!

Buddhism divided the myriad beings of the world into those of superior capacity, middling capacity, and inferior capacity.

Those of inferior capacity struggled to develop true faith and needed repeated guidance before they could enter the path.

Those of middling capacity advanced step by step, refining themselves through repeated practice.

Those of superior capacity understood the moment they heard.

The term "those of superior capacity" referred to cultivators gifted with extraordinary talent and exceptional comprehension.

Such people were one in ten thousand. Even among a million, they were rare. If they devoted themselves to medicine, they could become renowned physicians. If they pursued literature, they could place on the imperial examination rolls. If they practiced martial arts, they could advance all the way, encountering few bottlenecks before reaching a certain level.

In short, people with such comprehension could not be kept from shining, no matter their origins, status, or profession. Like fine wine unafraid of a deep alley, their moment to dazzle the world would surely come.

Just as Su Mu was about to test the changes brought by "Understanding a Thousand Things at a Word," the sound of numerous footsteps reached him from outside the alley.

Bang, bang, bang!

The gates of the neighboring and opposite courtyards were both pounded violently, as if someone were kicking them in. A voice shouted, "Open up! The Qingyun Army is conducting a routine inspection!"

Soon, several footsteps approached the gate of Su Mu's courtyard as well.

"Open up in there!"

Su Mu furrowed his brows. Through the crack in the gate, he saw that they were indeed three Qingyun Army soldiers.

After he opened the gate, two soldiers surrounded Su Mu while another tried to barge inside. Su Mu shifted his feet and blocked the soldier who was trying to enter.

"Breaking into a private residence violates Great Yan law. May I ask what crime this commoner has committed?"

"Are you Su Mu?"

"I am."

"Tell me, did you rent this residence three months ago?"

Su Mu nodded.

"What do you do for a living in the city?"

"Hmph, can't answer, can you? You live alone in such a large residence? I suspect you're a Black Mountain Army spy. Come with us."

Su Mu was taken aback. He had actually been suspected of being a Black Mountain Army spy. Someone with no occupation who had rented a secluded residence in the city was certainly suspicious. In the soldiers' shoes, he would have suspected such a person too.

The three Qingyun soldiers immediately closed in. They were only ordinary soldiers, not even qualified Martial Artists, so Su Mu wasn't afraid of them. Still, starting a fight with the Qingyun Army inside Qingyun City would obviously be unwise.

"Please wait a moment. There's something inside that can prove my innocence."

The three exchanged glances. Their leader nodded. "I doubt this kid would dare try anything. Zhou Hu, go inside with him and get the item. We'll watch the gate."

Su Mu soon went inside and took a token from a cabinet. The soldier named Zhou Hu stared at it in surprise. "A squad leader's token?"

He hurried outside and handed it to the leading soldier. The moment the man saw the character Shi on the back, he recognized it.

"Shi? This is Squad Leader Shi Feng's token. Squad Leader Shi is searching the next alley right now. Go ask him to come here."

The token Su Mu had taken from inside was the one Shi Feng had given him after Su Mu rescued him from several Black Mountain rebels. If things hadn't come to this, Su Mu wouldn't have wanted to use it. For now, he didn't want to get entangled with the Qingyun Army, the Black Mountain Army, or any other factions.

But things hadn't gone as he wished.

Before long, a familiar figure came into view. Shi Feng was delighted to see Su Mu.

"Little brother, so it really is you! We parted ways six months ago. Why didn't you come find me after arriving in Qingyun City?"

After exchanging greetings, Shi Feng immediately put on a stern face and rebuked the others. "This little brother is a friend of mine, Shi Feng's. He could never be involved with those bandits. Why haven't you withdrawn at once?"

"Yes, Squad Leader Shi."

"Little brother, the three of us offended you just now. Please don't hold it against us."

They immediately apologized to Su Mu and hurried out of the courtyard. Shi Feng stayed behind after the three soldiers had left, so Su Mu invited him into the courtyard.

"What should I call you, little brother?"

"Su Mu."

"Brother Su, don't take it to heart. The Black Mountain rebels have been causing frequent trouble these past few months. With the New Year approaching, County Marshal fears there may be Black Mountain spies hiding in the city, so he ordered a thorough search."

Su Mu shook his head. "Of course."

Just then, Su Mu's gaze fell on the iron spear beside Shi Feng. Noticing it, Shi Feng spoke with some embarrassment. "I still have to thank you for rescuing me that day, Brother Su... But if I'd had this fine-iron spear then, how could those bandits have acted so brazenly!"

"Brother Shi, may I take a look at this spear?"

"Of course."

Su Mu took the long spear in one hand. His grip was steady, without the slightest wobble, and Shi Feng was startled. His spear weighed about fifty pounds—not a light load.

Watching Su Mu gently run one hand over the spear, Shi Feng was struck by an idea and extended an olive branch.

"Right, this is exactly when our Qingyun Army needs people. Brother Su, why not join us? With your martial skills, you're sure to make a name for yourself."

Su Mu studied the spear for a while, then returned it and politely declined.

"Brother Shi, I'm a loner by nature. If I joined the Qingyun Army, I'd feel stifled. I might cause trouble and drag you into it."

Shi Feng understood that Su Mu was turning him down. He looked disappointed but didn't press the matter. Before leaving, he offered a friendly reminder.

"Brother Su, you should go out less for a while, or find work in the city. That'll make it easier to handle the inspections."

"Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Brother Shi."

Shi Feng's desire to recruit Su Mu hadn't faded when he left. He looked back at Su Mu's courtyard, another thought stirring in his mind. Su Mu, meanwhile, paced thoughtfully outside the courtyard before entering his study.

He ground the ink and swept his brush across the paper, inspiration pouring forth.

After seeing Shi Feng's spear, Su Mu had been inspired by his newfound comprehension, and a blueprint for the Torrential Rain Spear appeared in his mind.

Before long, a blueprint for a brand-new long spear, combining the design of Shi Feng's weapon with the Torrential Rain Spear, appeared on the paper.

At that very moment,

his forging skills, which had stagnated after months without swinging a hammer, advanced another step, reaching an even higher realm.

Forging (Perfection)!