Apex War God

Dozens of mountain peaks separated Smoke Signal Mountain Prison’s cellblocks 68 and 8. Even so, the prisoners in block 68 could feel the bloody aura.

Many were spared the guards’ usual torment as most of the guards had been temporarily called away.

Yang Wu was not aware of the commotion. He used his time to teach Skinny Monkey the Rainstorm Spear Art, ensuring his brother had a technique he could rely on.

By this point, Skinny Monkey had four stones of strength, only one step away from reaching Medial Grade. Once he crossed that threshold, establishing his authority within block 86 would not be difficult. The only challenge would be the bosses Little Ugly Girl and Black Ape, who might show up to avenge their fallen minions.

Fortunately, movement between cellblocks was prohibited for the moment, due to the grave incident in block 8. This gave the two young men the perfect opportunity to cultivate and train.

Now that they were not worried about their Scarlet Steel Rock collection, they could focus solely on cultivation.

Having come to trust Skinny Monkey and acknowledge the young man’s cultivation talent, Yang Wu imparted the rest of the Whirling Combat Art’s incantations, as well as the Rainstorm Spear Art.

With guidance from his sworn brother, Skinny Monkey quickly mastered the Rainstorm Spear Art’s first two moves. However, he was only able to follow the form; he had a long way to go before he’d become Established.

Yang Wu left Skinny Money to train alone, isolating himself within the stone hut as he continued to try to remove the seal on his sealing pearl.

Even after trying a few more methods to release the seal, he still failed to uncover the pearl’s secret. Of course, this was the treasure of some long-ago expert; a mere Foot Soldier hardly had the means to break the seal

Sealing pearls are precious items Kings create. I may have it in my grasp, but I still can’t open it! Yang Wu fretted as Sooty surreptitiously appeared next to him, growling softly at the pearl.

“You want this?” he asked.

The pup shook its head and growled again as if it were trying to say something Yang Wu could not understand.

“What do you want?” He was puzzled.

Sooty circled him twice and then pointed a front paw at the sealing pearl, then at the ground. The young man seemed to get the hint. “You want me to drop the pearl?”

The pup nodded, wagging its tail.

He hesitated for a while but, in the end, decided to trust the dog. After all, Sooty had already brought him so much good fortune.

Yang Wu set the sealing pearl down, and the black pup walked over to it before spewing flame at the item. The flame was small, yet it radiated so much heat that Yang Wu had to back away a few steps. So, Sooty is a dog that spits fire; is it a sapient spirit? he wondered silently, staring with wide-eyed disbelief.

Animal spirits fell into two categories. Sapient spirits were intelligent by nature and matured by absorbing the world’s essence. Feral spirits evolved from wild beasts, possessing only animal intelligence and clinging to their primal instincts. This group matured as it devoured and killed.

Yang Wu had, in fact, long suspected Sooty was a sapient spirit due to its intelligent reactions. Now that he witnessed the puppy’s ability to spit fire, he was certain.

Not only did sapient spirits have higher intelligence, but they also possessed some special spirit arts. By the looks of things, Sooty’s flame was only one of the spirit arts it knew.

The fire dissipated almost immediately. Its tongue lolling, Sooty panted harshly, evidence of how much energy its ability required. Fortunately, the effort had not been in vain as the seal around the pearl finally broke.

Crack! Crack!

Cracks began to appear across the pearl’s surface, and a tiny ray of light escaped.

Woof woof…! Sooty barked at Yang Wu several times, urging the young man to take action.

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Yang Wu immediately returned his attention to the pearl. He then bit his finger, then massaged it until it released a drop of blood, which he let fall on the pearl.

His father had told him about Sealing Pearls long ago. Once the seal broke, he would have to feed it a drop of blood immediately to receive the inheritance within.

As his blood hit the cracked pearl, it split apart, and a beam of blue light shot toward Yang Wu’s glabella.

Realizing the light contained the memory of the inheritance, Yang Wu didn’t resist.

Suddenly, the young man fell into a trance. In his mind, Yang Wu saw a bizarre scene. He stood before a vast ocean, a gigantic sea turtle coasting through the water. The turtle looked ferocious with a snake-like head and dragon horns. Its shell also contained an eight-trigram diagram. The beast was majestic to watch as its limbs skimmed the sea’s surface, casting monstrous waves that shook the heavens and earth like a tsunami.

Before long, however, the sea turtle transformed into an old, hunchbacked man. He waved his arms in a strange, endless dance. Though the movements seemed to lack power, he began to accumulate power, affecting the world around him. Strong winds swirled, and massive waves crashed, stirring up a violent storm. At times, a dragon’s roar even filled the air. As time passed, the storm grew as if preparing to destroy the massive ocean once and for all.

Awestruck, Yang Wu stared, stunned and a little afraid as he took in the earth-shattering power.

As a viscount, he had witnessed many experts in Royal City, yet those individuals were nothing before this old man, the transformed turtle. The being before him could slaughter wave after wave of those experts, displaying a rare level of prowess.

This was a formidable spiritual power and one unique to turtle spirits, not humans. Fortunately, the fact that Yang Wu could receive this inheritance proved he could also practice it. Still, he would need to observe and study this scene before he could fully grasp this power.

For a long time, Yang Wu was caught up in the trance, unable to pull himself out.

The scene was too shocking, beyond his wildest dreams. He endured the burden it left on his mind, forcing himself to watch the scene from start to end. Finally, the mental demand became too much, and he collapsed.

This startled Xiaoman, who stood watch from a distance. Worried, she rushed toward him and helped him up. She asked, “Young Master, are you alright?”

Though she still donned her boyish disguise, her face covered in soot, her eyes sparkled with a sweet charm. It was the only evidence of her true gender.

Yang Wu sat up, shaking his head, which pounded with a vicious headache. Struggling to think past it, he murmured to Xiaoman, “You can leave me for now. Don’t let anyone disturb me.”

The young woman nodded and stepped out of the stone hut, glancing back with a worried look.

Alone now, Yang Wu replayed the scene in his mind, memorizing it before he fainted from exhaustion.

He did not wake until the next day.

“Big Brother, you’ve finally come around! I was so worried!” Skinny Monkey said from next to Yang Wu.

Yang Wu struggled to stand, while Xiaoman stood awkwardly to the side, tugging on a corner of her shirt. Muttering, she apologized, “Young Master, I’m sorry…. I-I couldn’t stop him.”

The young man waved a hand, “It’s fine. Sorry, I made you both worry.”

“Are you sure you’re alright? You were unconscious for a full day and night. You scared me,” Skinny Monkey said sincerely.

Yang Wu offered a reassuring smile. “I’m okay. Really. You two can go. Let me get some rest.”

Not daring to question him further, the pair did as they were asked.

It was only then that Yang Wu had the chance to reflect on the inheritance he had just received. After forcing himself to watch the scene over and over, he came to know this spiritual power as the Dragon Turtle Sea Flipping Art.

With a single palm strike, he could overturn oceans and rivers. With a single punch, he could overwhelm both heaven and earth!

The technique was terrifying, an absolutely horrific force.

Fully utilizing such spiritual power would require an extraordinary expert, and Yang Wu was well aware that he was not yet strong enough. He’d consider anyone an exceptional talent if they could even train in the art.

The beauty of this particular art was its potential as a foundation, even for a cultivator at their weakest. As one grew stronger, they would begin to display the technique’s full splendor. This meant that Yang Wu’s timing was perfect. He could now study the art’s form, then its essence, before he’d finally prove its principles and reach perfection.

I guess I will need to practice the Dragon Turtle Water Suppression Stance first if I want to train with the Dragon Turtle Sea Flipping Art. One must first stand on the water and transform into the dragon turtle before they can wield this spiritual power, he thought to himself.

As he stood, Yang Wu visualized the dragon turtle suppressing the water around it. Taking up the same stance, he circulated energy with the Supreme Nine Profound Art. This stance was unlike his usual horse stance. First, he balanced himself on his tiptoes, hunching his back like a turtle. He then swung his arms forward as if paddling through the water. The odd stance, so dissimilar to a horse stance, was a little awkward at first.

The young man tried to move as the old man had. The awkward form was uncomfortable at first, but as he circulated the Supreme Nine Profound Art several times, warmth began to radiate from the soles of his feet. Soon enough, Profound Energy flowed from his dantian, through his twelve meridians, and to his feet. Finally, the soles of his feet began to feel wet.

As he concentrated, he felt as if he were standing in a puddle, but when he looked down, the ground was dry and the wet sensation vanished.

Was that my imagination? He asked himself. But that did not deter him from practicing the stance. Again, he began to feel water under his feet. This time, however, he didn’t look down, concentrating on holding the stance, and gradually, he entered another trance.

Before he realized it, a puddle of water had manifested on the stone hut’s dirt floor.

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