Listening to Tides Art

Boom!

The Qi-Blood within Su Xinghe's body erupted in an instant.

His five fingers shot out like eagle talons, lightning-fast, and clamped down on the other man's withered wrist.

Then he yanked hard.

Thud!

Old Madman, little more than a skeleton, was hauled up by him, his shriveled upper body hanging over the windowsill.

"So heavy!"

After Inner Tempering, he could now lift three- or four-hundred-pound stone locks with one arm. Yet at this moment, he could barely drag the other man's upper body out through the window.

But never mind that. Fight first.

"Letting you drink!"

"Letting you eat meat!"

"And even letting you hang around with Liu Laizi!"

"Ungrateful bastard!"

No wonder Old Madman was dying. After Liu Laizi had been sent in by him, there had been no one left to bring the old man food.

At once, old grudges and fresh hatred rushed to his head.

Iron chisel in hand, Su Xinghe swung his perfected Eight Trigrams Palm like a fan.

Again and again, he chopped at Old Madman's nape and the back of his head.

The chisel collided with skull, producing a string of dull thuds.

"So hard!"

With hundreds of pounds of force wielded through Eight Trigrams Palm, even a cow would have long since been split open, its bones cracked and sinews torn.

"He really is a martial artist. His skin membrane has definitely been tempered."

"Even his bones are outrageously hard..."

Lower Ninth Rank tempered the skin membrane, while Upper Ninth Rank forged the bones. This fellow was at least an Upper Ninth Rank martial artist.

Su Xinghe's arm was swinging so hard it practically threw sparks.

Crack!

The old wooden windowsill could not withstand the immense force and was smashed apart beneath his blows.

Old Madman's body, rigid as a stubborn rock, fell to the floor with it.

"Hehehe..."

Lying facedown amid the broken wood chips, he suddenly let out a dry sound that seemed half sob, half laughter.

In the darkness, it was like the mournful cry of a night owl.

"You still dare scare people!"

Su Xinghe quickly switched to another perfected leg technique and viciously kicked at his head.

"You... really... did... come... to... wait... for... me..."

This lunatic had probably done too many shameful things. His mind was full of persecution delusions.

Even at this point, he still could not let it go.

Crack!

His foot struck empty air.

With a boom, he kicked the wall instead.

"That hurts!"

Su Xinghe clutched his foot, sucking in cold breaths.

It turned out that while this madman's bones and skin membrane had been tempered, years of illness and suffering had severely atrophied his muscles. Before the bones could be kicked apart, the fragile joints in his neck gave out first.

"B-b-boss... h-he's dead!"

Little Beggar, hiding to one side, cried out shakily.

"What?"

Rubbing his nearly broken toes, Su Xinghe looked toward Old Madman lying on the floor.

Sure enough, this senior seemed a little dead.

Old Madman was still glaring furiously. But his head and body had already folded into a full one hundred and eighty degrees.

Even so, Su Xinghe was not reassured.

He raised the chisel and drove it hard into the eye socket.

The peeling wooden door creaked open. Watching Su Xinghe stride inside, Little Beggar looked back at the pitch-black, stinking ditch beside them, gritted his teeth, and could only force himself to follow.

"Ugh... it stinks!"

It was the first time either of them had entered this house.

The moment they stepped inside, the rancid stench of rotting corpses flooded the air.

Little Beggar's face instantly turned deathly pale, and he hurriedly turned around and ran out of the little dark room.

Su Xinghe did not move.

His gaze fixed straight on the bedroom within.

Something had flown out of his clothes just now.

For some reason, this was the first time Little White Bat had ever left him voluntarily.

White Bats were extremely timid. Normally, Little White Bat did not even dare glance outside. Only in the dead of night, when it was hungry, would it poke its head out from beneath his clothes to beg for food.

Under the dim candlelight.

Scattered within the bedroom doorway were bones, ghastly white.

Some belonged to small animals, and some to humans.

But most were human bones less than a meter long...

They formed a circle, guarding a pitch-high black "Octopus" at its center.

Eight shriveled tentacles drooped in all directions over the pile of white bones. Its enormous head had dried up and collapsed, exposing an empty hollow within.

A plump Little White Bat crawled shakily out of that hollow.

It seemed to have something clamped in its mouth.

Little White Bat's pink skin had turned bright red. It spread its wings and flapped desperately. Only then did it manage to get airborne, wobbling into Su Xinghe's arms.

"Squeak, squeak~"

A black pearl quietly rolled out and fell into his arms. Beneath his collar, Little White Bat opened its mouth and let out a satisfied burp.

Then it closed its eyes in contentment.

For a strange beast, the brain matter of an Outer Demon might have been everyday food. Unfortunately, this was the Zhou Martial Sage Dynasty, and the little fellow could only feed on the blood of living creatures.

Su Xinghe tugged at the front of his clothes and covered Little White Bat.

The stench filling the room had come from this pile of bones in the bedroom.

"Outer Demon..."

Su Xinghe silently called out the name in his heart, and long-sealed memories began to surface.

A pitch-black mountain cave. Countless masses of flesh and blood were fed to an "Octopus" more than ten times larger than this one. Someone extracted the "Octopus's" bodily fluids to cultivate Treasure Medicines.

Old Madman had somehow acquired an Outer Demon and hidden it in Tongzi Ward, secretly feeding it.

Perhaps it was to heal his injuries, or perhaps to avoid his enemies.

But his injuries had been too severe.

He could only gather corpses from the stinking ditch to feed this Outer Demon. Then Liu Laizi's gang had been taken down, cutting off its food source.

In the end, the demon starved to death.

And so did he.

"Report it to the authorities?"

The thought had barely arisen before Su Xinghe immediately snuffed it out.

Who was he? What right did he have to get involved in something like this?

Ten minutes later, the room had become a complete mess.

There was no silver, nor were there any divine weapons or sharp artifacts.

He found only a black token and a roll of dusty gray parchment.

One side of the token bore a carved blade, while the other was engraved with the words "Yi Thirteen." Though he did not recognize it, he put it away to investigate later.

The parchment had long developed a glossy patina and was as hard as a dried hawthorn roll. He only pried it open enough to glance at its title. It was a manual called "Listening to Tides Art."

It said it was used to test talent, not some true martial art or supreme technique. Afraid of breaking it apart, he did not yet know its contents.

It was not easy to set a fire in the city, lest it draw the Public Security Office's attention. He could only throw the bones and corpses inside into the stinking ditch beside the house before hurrying away.

That counted as doing a good deed, saving the Public Security Office a huge headache.

Otherwise, not only would the Public Security Office patrolmen suffer, but the entire Tongzi Ward would probably be turned upside down by the Martial Dao Bureau.

The night sank deep as water, and all sounds fell silent.

The two walked one before the other, each carrying their own thoughts in silence.

Along this road, Little Beggar was no longer afraid.

Only, his heart was beating a little fast.

After nearly half a year of watching and investigating, tonight had finally brought results. Though he did not know what Listening to Tides Art was, he understood that it was something martial artists practiced.

Before the little ruined temple.

"I'm leaving."

After giving his habitual farewell, Su Xinghe turned to leave.

A small hand suddenly grabbed the hem of his clothes from behind.

"Boss..."

"Hm?"

His steps halted, and he slowly turned around.

The youth was looking up at him, his clear eyes filled with a pleading that could not be dissolved.

"You..."

Su Xinghe was about to ask when he saw the other's gaze slowly lower until it settled on his chest.

The blazing desire in the youth's eyes was exactly like his own when he had once searched everywhere to buy true martial arts.

"Ah, how did I forget about this?"

"Come on. Let's go to your room."

He actually wanted to see what talent he himself had, and while he was at it, test Little Beggar too.

"Thank you, Boss!"

Light immediately appeared in Little Beggar's eyes.

That light scattered the inferiority and loneliness that had always shrouded his heart. It was like spring flowers blooming in riotous splendor, and like the blazing sun of summer.

A candle was lit in the side hall.

There was no table in Little Beggar's room, so the two sat shoulder to shoulder against the edge of the bed.

The pale yellow parchment was lined with countless cracks, and layers of grease had seeped into it, giving it the appearance of jade, as though it had endured many years. Though it had been kept well, it had already begun to harden and turn brittle.

After much effort, the two finally managed to flatten it out.

Lines of ancient, simple characters slowly came into view.

"Listening to Tides Art

Heavenly One Sword Sect, entry talent assessment.

Written by Venerable Canglang in the first year of Zhou Martial. Copied by Piaoxue in the year five hundred and twelve.

The sword is sharp; it must not be wielded alone. The softness of water is what makes it useful. When a person reaches the utmost void, they may reflect upon their inner heart. Guard a single point of mysterious light, and the spirit shall reveal itself...

The formless is not used. Observe form to reveal it outwardly; attune the spirit, then enter the pavilion, and Xuanji shall surely be bestowed."

With his experience in the true martial art Golden Ape Fist, along with his broad study of various martial arts and techniques, Su Xinghe quickly understood the principles behind Listening to Tides Art after setting aside the peripheral details.

This was not a true martial art, nor could it circulate Qi-Blood to temper the body from within. Not to mention Body Tempering, Bone Forging, or cultivating Dark Force.

Listening to Tides Art did not even state a rank. It seemed to be merely a mental method for testing martial talent.

He just did not know where the Heavenly One Sword Sect was. There was no information about it in his memories.

It mainly taught people how to sit quietly and breathe, regulate their breath, and strengthen their spirit. Then they were to preserve their spirit, look inward, and shine their awareness back upon themselves.

Yet there were still some crucial points beyond Su Xinghe's understanding. He did not quite understand why the method described in the art could test a person's martial talent.

But he had a secret.

The cultivation method of Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi on the Fate Panel, which had no experience value, was somewhat similar to this Listening to Tides Art.

The difference was that one illuminated the self, while Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi rested upon another object.

After reading it once, he looked up and discovered that the youth beside him had already sat cross-legged. His eyes were half narrowed and his breathing long and steady. Clearly, he had already reached the state described by the technique, where self and surroundings were both forgotten.

Su Xinghe sighed inwardly.

Martial arts still required the heart of a child. While he was thinking this and that, someone else had already begun cultivating.

He silently opened the Fate Panel in his mind.

"Su Xinghe: White Ape Martial Academy (Outer Disciple)"

"Martial Dao: Apprentice Grade (Inner Tempering 1%)"

"Fate: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"

"Trait 1: Water-Tight, Unyielding"

"Trait 2: Many Grains Make a Tower, Success Follows Naturally"

"Listening to Tides Art (First Glimpse of the Path) 0/100"

"Golden Ape Fist (Hall-Entering) 967/1000"

"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"

"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"

"Army-Breaking Grab (Perfected)"