Second Transformation, Second Talent

Shen Xiu gave the young man five taels of silver, then stepped into the small town beneath the youth's greedy gaze.

For now, he would let the youth hold on to those five taels of silver. He could collect them once he left town.

The town's crowds were a mixed bag of fish and dragons, all people eking out a living at the Foot of the mountain—woodcutters, hunters, herbal gatherers. At this time, the streets were teeming with people.

For those who traveled back and forth beneath Mount Da Wu each day, earning enough to fill their bellies was already a fine harvest.

But someone like Shen Xiu—

Someone who had entered town twice in succession carrying two demon beasts like this—

Such a sight might not appear even once in several years.

As Shen Xiu entered the town with two demon beasts slung over his shoulders, he was like a firefly in the dead of night, instantly drawing gazes from every side of the street.

There was astonishment and admiration.

There was respect, and there was greed.

All kinds of faces formed a living tableau of all kinds of people.

This was the myriad facets of life in Yang Family Town.

Shen Xiu understood that dragging two demon beast corpses through this town was far too conspicuous.

Yet this was the only place at the Foot of the mountain where he could stay. He had no other choice.

Returning to the inn, he dragged the two corpses into his room beneath the waiter's somewhat fearful yet admiring gaze.

With a thought, Shen Xiu released the Golden Cicada.

The jade-white Golden Cicada danced through the air, exceedingly cheerful. Circling the Black Demon Bear's corpse, it found a spot and happily began to feed.

Perhaps because the Black Demon Bear contained more energy, the Golden Cicada seemed especially fond of it, and even its appetite had grown larger.

It had already eaten nearly half of yesterday's corpse, bringing the Nine Transformations Golden Cicada's satiety to 87.3%.

Once it finished eating one Black Demon Bear corpse between today and tomorrow, the Golden Cicada's satiety would naturally reach its limit.

A day passed.

Only after eating, pausing, and eating again did the Golden Cicada finish that corpse.

Golden motes once again glimmered across the Golden Cicada's translucent wings. It became the same as it had been during its first molt, then flew into Shen Xiu's abdominal Dantian, where layer upon layer of golden threads wrapped around it and condensed into a shell.

Not long afterward, Shen Xiu understood through a stirring of his mind.

In a daze, a surge of heat appeared from nowhere inside his body, then swept through him like a tide. Compared to last time, it came fiercer and more violently.

That force which had appeared from nothing coursed endlessly through his body like great dragons.

His meridians continuously widened throughout his body.

As the heat traveled across him, unknown impurities seemed to be expelled from his body, cleansing him again and again.

As usual, not much time passed.

Energy surged through his body. The muscles around his limbs swelled and rippled, while the flesh and tendons beneath his skin visibly writhed and twisted, as though an immense hand were stretching and kneading them.

Bit by bit, his strength rose to inhuman heights.

At the same time—

A wave of stabbing pain spread through his bones and joints. Crackling sounds burst forth from within, like beans popping in a hot pan.

His heartbeat also became powerful and forceful, each beat like a war drum being struck, echoing throughout the room.

The entire process lasted several minutes. By the time it ended, Shen Xiu was drenched in sweat, as though he had been hauled from a river.

In its place came a sensation of utter exhilaration. After such baptism, his entire bearing seemed to have been renewed.

The heat scattered throughout his body, and the piercing pain vanished with it.

Shen Xiu opened his eyes. In an instant, an aura that seemed ready to choose someone and devour them erupted from him unconsciously, as if an ancient primordial Fierce Beast had awakened and come charging forth, carrying savage and terrifying might.

Yet in the blink of an eye—

That aura returned to his body, and the oppressive presence vanished. He once more looked entirely harmless.

But that was only an outward appearance.

Shen Xiu slowly exhaled.

A stream of white breath extended three feet beyond him.

His cultivation had not changed, yet the strength of every part of his body had risen by an astonishing degree.

Examining these gains, Shen Xiu was deeply satisfied. He could clearly feel that his body had undergone earth-shaking changes in that short span of time.

His muscles had become denser, his power greater, his skin tougher, and his movements swifter.

Whenever he moved, faint thunderous explosions of force echoed from within his body, like peals of lightning.

After moving his body around, Shen Xiu suddenly looked toward the round stool sitting in the corner of the room.

Though called a round stool, it was actually made from a section of round timber and looked exceptionally sturdy.

He walked over, extended his palm, and lightly pressed downward on its center. His force flickered outward.

In an instant—

With a crack, the hard wooden stump shattered as easily as brittle tofu. Fine cracks spread from top to bottom.

They were densely packed.

At a touch, wood chips fell to the ground, while fragments rained down in a rustling stream.

This power, this force—

And the toughness of his skin were simply absurd compared to before.

Shen Xiu had a faint premonition that, with his current strength, he could defeat even a martial cultivator in the Third Realm Bone Marrow Cleansing.

[Host: Shen Xiu]

[Cultivation: Second Realm Muscle Tendon Training]

[Talents: Heaven Rewards Diligence, Innate Martial Body]

[Techniques: ▼]

[Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art: Fourth Layer, Outstanding 41.3%]

[Blood Battle Saber Technique: Second Layer, Initial Glimpse 66.8%]

[Clone: Nine Transformations Golden Cicada (Second Transformation, Satiety 0.1%)]

As if waking from a dream, the information on the panel had changed. The Nine Transformations Golden Cicada's satiety had reset to zero, and another talent had been added: Innate Martial Body.

Innate Martial Body.

It was a physique countless martial cultivators dreamed of. It naturally harmonized with the martial path, allowed astonishingly swift progress in cultivation, and came with a naturally formidable body. Among martial cultivators of the same realm, it was almost an invincible existence.

Who would have thought—

He had directly converted this physique for himself now.

Inside the room, Shen Xiu adapted to his body, throwing punch after punch. Every strike unleashed an astonishing sonic boom.

Its momentum was vast and imposing, incredibly shocking.

Outside a shabby tavern in Yang Family Town.

A burst of hurried footsteps suddenly rang out as a group clad in red robes passed through the street.

At the sight of this red-robed party—

The surrounding people hurriedly moved away, avoiding them as though they were snakes and scorpions.

Even the clamor from the taverns lining both sides of the street could not help but lower slightly, as though everyone feared something.

These people were all members of the Yang Family in the center of town.

As the founders of Yang Family Town, they had operated here for years and already possessed considerable foundations.

They had more than a dozen martial cultivators who had entered the realms, including three stewards who were Second Realm martial cultivators.

Such strength amounted to nothing in the cities, but in this remote little town beneath a vast sky, they were absolute local tyrants.

Seeing their menacing manner now, it was clear that someone was about to suffer misfortune.

The Yang Family group continued onward until they reached a certain spot.

A young man wearing a worn red robe squeezed through the crowd, then pointed at an inn by the street and grinned obsequiously at the sinister-looking man leading them.

"Steward Lin, that outsider is in here!"

The place he pointed to was none other than Shen Xiu's lodgings.