Entering town

Song Qi all but tore at his beard, his eyes wide, unable to recover for a long while.

How many days had it been? How had this brat already achieved mastery in Stance Training?

With every step, the stance art flowed through his body, form and intent united. Though he had yet to fully rein it in, this was unmistakably greater mastery of the Golden Ape Stance Art.

He had meant to offer a few pointers, but what the hell could he point out now? He himself had only achieved greater mastery of the Azure Goat Stance Art.

Forget that nonsense about mastering one art opening the way to ten thousand. He was nowhere near that level. With their understanding on equal footing, what damn pointers could he give?

"Old sir, I broke through by luck. I haven't managed to rein in my aura yet. I'm still not practiced enough."

Su Yan made it sound easy. The old fellow Song Qi sneered. "Keep pretending. Go on, keep pretending. Don't tell me you've achieved mastery in Monkey Fist too?"

Who could have guessed that Su Yan would grin and say, "I happened to achieve mastery while fighting wild beasts in the mountains."

Song Qi tore out a handful of beard, pointing at Su Yan and stammering "You..." for ages, ultimately unable to find anything to say.

When he recovered, his eyes burned. "Impossible. Those black bears and vicious tigers of yours couldn't stop you at all. Even if you went there to fight wild beasts, grinding away at your stance training couldn't possibly produce progress like this."

Indeed, even before mastering his stance techniques, Su Yan had already been able to fight and kill a vicious tiger. What difference did killing a bear now make?

Could it possibly be fiercer than a vicious tiger?

Su Yan held nothing back now. "I used tonics such as Redskin Powder to practice Stance Training and progressed quickly, but just before the breakthrough, things slowed down."

"That's normal. Tonics help with breakthroughs, but sometimes they can't do all the work."

"I remember both you and Butcher Yang saying not to practice dead stances."

Su Yan continued, "I've gradually mastered combining fist techniques with stances, and I've learned most of how to conceal a stance within my steps. That made me think there might be another way to practice living stances that I hadn't tried."

"That comprehension of yours..."

By this point, Song Qi understood. He sighed with feeling. "Yes. There's one more stretch of road before greater mastery: fighting stances, killing stances. Martial arts are a means of reaching the heavens, but they're also a means of killing. If you learn a body's worth of martial skills but don't dare fight and kill, half of them are wasted."

Su Yan had realized on his own that training through mortal combat was the final stretch, and had put it into practice by going straight into the mountains.

Back in his day, the old shopkeeper had thrown him into the mountains and driven bears after him before he gradually understood.

Yet this brat...

"I was lucky enough to kill a Copper-Whiskered Fox-Face vicious ape. That was how I broke through."

"A Copper Fox Ape. An early first-tier savage beast. Even among beasts of its level in the Wild Mountains, it's a vicious creature."

From Su Yan's description alone, Song Qi named the vicious ape from the night before.

"A Copper Fox Ape? That's a fitting name. I saw it fighting a wolf pack, which was how I found the blood tendon flowers in the wolves' den."

"Don't sell the Copper Fox Ape. You've just broken through, so you need to make your physical foundation solid. Eat as much of it as you can. Take two blood tendon flowers for yourself; I only need three. Later, get a Blood Lingzhi from Bai Shan and put it on my account."

Song Qi pondered, as though composing a prescription. "Earthblood Vine, Cinnabar Lingzhi, Blood Essence Yellow... take half a tael of each and simmer them with the Copper Fox Ape's bones and meat. Drink all of it. That will temper your skin and membranes, store up medicinal power, and begin nourishing your tendons and bones, helping you break through to the Sinew and Bone Realm sooner."

Su Yan committed the prescription to memory and nodded. "Thank you, old sir. I'll bring you some Copper Fox Ape flesh and blood tomorrow too."

Song Qi laughed. "What would I want with the flesh and blood of an early first-tier savage beast? Once you become an Inner Gate disciple, reach the Sinew and Bone Realm, and enter the Wild Mountains, you'll learn how many savage beasts there are. The backbone of every household and faction is holed up in those mountains. That's where the great struggle lies."

Then Song Qi added, "You live alone, so stay here for the next few days. Tomorrow, I'll take you into town to meet some old friends and introduce you. Once you join the Golden Ape Martial Arts Hall's Inner Gate, you'll be spending plenty of time in town..."

Song Qi rambled a little, but the smile never left his face.

"Go get some rest. Call Bai Shan if you need anything."

"All right."

Su Yan agreed, then left the courtyard.

"I've lived for decades, and now I can't even give a youngster pointers. All those years have gone to the dogs."

Annoyance showed on Song Qi's face as he mused, "The Hundred Herbs Hall's martial arts aren't easy to pass on. Looks like I'll have to trade on this old face and ask a few old fellows to teach him something. With only the Golden Ape Martial Arts Hall's skills to rely on, his weaknesses are still too great."

At that thought, a fierce glint flashed through his eyes. Back then, he had lost by half a move, and it was precisely his weakness that had cost him.

"Gu Changfeng!"

Morning mist rose, and a piercing chill filled the mountains. Enduring the cold, Su Yan rose early and practiced his stances in the courtyard.

Even after Stance Training reached great mastery, there was still the Transformation Realm beyond it.

Two strands of Insect Essence entered his body. Su Yan moved freely, yet his Stance Training and footwork were completely united with his movements.

Wisps of qi and blood were continually refined from his body, like countless tiny streams in the mountains gradually converging into a surging river.

The qi and blood refined by Stance Training at great mastery isn't just more abundant, but more powerful too. Its ability to temper the body is much stronger.

As Su Yan held his stance, he reflected on how utterly different Stance Training at great mastery was from its lesser-mastery form.

The stronger Stance Training could not only refine more powerful, surging qi and blood to temper his body, but also enhance his ability to digest vital essence from outside sources.

Given the same time and conditions, his ability to absorb and digest medicinal power had also increased.

These two effects complemented each other. As long as he had enough resources, one could imagine how quickly he would grow stronger.

Su Yan practiced his stances for over an hour, exhausting both strands of Insect Essence. He exhaled a breath of stale air before beginning his Monkey Fist practice.

The Eight Forms of Monkey Fist flowed at his will, his punches instinctive and brimming with force. He was every bit as ferocious as that day's Copper Fox Ape, with an added measure of nimbleness.

"Excellent!"

Song Qi had woken as well. Dressed in a black robe and full of vigor, he shouted his approval.

Su Yan finished his practice. Song Qi approached and said, "Eat something, then come into town with me to meet someone."

Su Yan nodded in agreement, thinking, The person the old sir wants to see now is probably connected to the blood tendon flowers.

After eating, the two fetched fine horses from the shop and rode out of the Mountain Market Ward.

The Little Mountain Society's lookouts could only stare.

"What do we do? That brat's been with Steward Song the whole time. There's no opportunity at all."

"Find Chief Gu. He'll have to handle this."

The Little Mountain Society members keeping watch gathered in a street corner. They had watched for an entire night.

They had thought that once the brat left the Hundred Herbs Hall, they could find a chance to seize him and deliver him to Gu Hong.

Who could have expected this outcome?

"Chief Gu went into town last night. How are we supposed to find him?"

They looked at one another, unable to think of a solution. But even with Song Qi absent, they did not dare charge into the Hundred Herbs Hall.

After turning it over in their minds, they could only retreat for the time being.

For a while, this left the Mountain Market Ward as calm as ever.

Meanwhile, Su Yan's fine horse traveled swiftly, and before long, he entered Cloudcang Town with Song Qi.

After entering, Song Qi did not head straight for the Hundred Herbs Hall. Instead, he went to Cangliu Lane.

Cangliu Lane was where Cloudcang Town's wealthy households lived. Its streets were broad, lined with rows of willow trees. Their long branches swayed gracefully, beautiful as the breeze brushed past.

The entire lane was filled with grand gates and spacious compounds. Without a fortune to one's name, one truly could not buy a decent residence here.

The two rode in and continued all the way to a residence at the end of the lane.

They dismounted and tethered their horses at the base of a willow. Song Qi strode forward and pounded on the gate.

"Who is it?"

A servant opened the gate. Seeing Song Qi, he hastily bowed and apologized. "Master Song, I didn't know it was you. Forgive this lowly servant."

"Move aside."

Song Qi pushed the servant aside and strode in with Su Yan. "Take good care of the horses."

As he walked, he called out loudly, "Second Xu, I'm back! Hurry out and welcome your sovereign!"