Chapter 25: The Second Awakening
One man and one ape engaged in a fierce battle in the valley below the cliff, their clashes violent. Qin Mu’s arms were sore and numb, and he was being suppressed by the demon ape, gradually finding it difficult to hold on.
Before long, he was once again beaten black and blue by the demon ape. However, the ape did not deliver a killing blow but continued to spar with him, holding back some of its strength.
"Eat, strong!"
The demon ape threw a punch, and the force of the blow stirred up a gale, carrying nine distinct types of power. It was the third form of the Thunderclap Eight Forms, Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder. As it struck, it urged Qin Mu to eat more, to become as strong as itself.
"Divine Firmament Eye, open!"
Qin Mu’s primordial energy surged, rushing into his eyes and forming the first-layer Heavenly Firmament Array Pattern of the Ninefold Heaven Eye-Opening Technique within his pupils. His eyes seemed to gain an extra layer of pupils.
With the Divine Firmament Eye activated, Qin Mu suddenly perceived the world around him with extraordinary clarity, depth, and order. Even the demon ape’s incoming fist appeared in his vision as something wondrous.
He could see the sway of every single hair on the ape’s fist in the air, the movement of every tendon and muscle beneath its skin, and even the flow of its power!
The Ninefold Heaven Eye-Opening Technique that Blind had taught him allowed his eyes to uncover the truth beneath appearances, granting him a level of control and understanding of both his own and his enemy’s strength that he had never imagined!
Qin Mu’s fist met the demon ape’s. Just as their fists were about to collide, his five fingers snapped out in rapid succession, piercing the air with a harsh, whistling sound like a taut bowstring being released!
The second form of the Thunderclap Eight Forms, Snap-Finger Thunderclap Pipa Hand.
Master Horse’s boxing wasn’t all about fists; it also included finger techniques, and the Snap-Finger Thunderclap Pipa Hand was one of its exquisite finger methods. Qin Mu’s first finger struck the demon ape’s massive fist, and the ape immediately felt all the power in its fist vanish.
His second finger snapped out, and the demon ape sensed the tendons in its arm violently vibrating!
His third finger struck, and the ape felt the muscles in its arm tremble violently, a hint of panic rising in its heart.
His fourth finger hit, and the ape’s arm involuntarily swung high, exposing a gap in its chest defense.
His fifth finger struck the chest of this colossal creature, and the ape felt as if it had been rammed by hundreds of wild bulls from the Great Wasteland, staggering backward and falling!
Qin Mu was stunned. Was the Ninefold Heaven Eye-Opening Technique that Blind had taught him really this powerful?
It wasn’t his moves that were strong, but his eyes. With the Divine Firmament Eye, he had easily seen through the changes and flow of the demon ape’s power, found the weakness in its punch, and with his first finger, he had struck that flaw, directly neutralizing the ape’s devastating blow!
Whoosh—
In that moment of distraction, the demon ape lunged, sending Qin Mu flying with a single punch. Then it leaped into the air, clasped its hands together, and hammered down at Qin Mu. The ground shook, and a deep crater formed where Qin Mu’s body landed.
The demon ape landed with a thud and punched into the pit. Just as its fist was about to reach the bottom, Qin Mu’s fingers shot up from the crater and struck its fist again.
The next moment, the demon ape’s massive body was launched high into the air. Qin Mu sprang out of the pit and chased after the ape midair.
Nine Dragons Riding Wind and Thunder!
A rapid series of thuds rang out as the demon ape’s huge body plummeted like a meteor, crashing through over a dozen large trees.
After a long while, Qin Mu and the demon ape made it to the top of the cliff, collapsed, and panted heavily. They had no strength left to continue fighting.
After resting for a moment, the demon ape sat up, raised a thumb, and pointed at itself. "Me, big brother!"
Qin Mu also sat up and shook his head. "Me, big brother. You, little brother."
The demon ape grew furious, extending its fist, its arm covered in bulging muscles. "Me, strong!"
Qin Mu grabbed one of its fingers, swung it around, and slammed it hard into the ground. "Me, stronger!"
The demon ape flipped back up, and the two clashed again. Soon, both were exhausted and lay down, panting heavily.
Once he had recovered some strength, Qin Mu stood up and began performing the Thunderclap Eight Forms on the cliff top. The demon ape also sat up, watching intently.
Yesterday, Qin Mu had only taught it once, and it had grasped only the rough outline. Now, Qin Mu demonstrated every detail of the Thunderclap Eight Forms, explaining the techniques for exerting force in each move.
The demon ape learned incredibly fast. Within a few hours, it had mastered the complete Thunderclap Eight Forms. Qin Mu’s scalp tingled as he wondered if he could still beat this big guy in the future.
"This guy is a martial arts prodigy. Can a beast be this intelligent? Can it cultivate?"
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then sat down and taught the demon ape how to breathe and circulate energy, passing on his "Overlord Body Three-Dan Art."
The demon ape imitated him, learning the breathing techniques. The "Overlord Body Three-Dan Art" was actually the simplest guiding technique, with a very straightforward method—just moving and guiding primordial energy.
Before long, the demon ape had basically mastered the guiding technique, its breathing steady and calm. This was also related to its nature: it only ate plants, was naturally quiet, and had a pure, simple mind, which allowed it to grasp the technique so quickly.
"This guy is truly a martial arts prodigy."
Seeing how fast it learned, Qin Mu couldn’t help but praise it. "Big guy, train hard. I’ll come find you tomorrow for another fight." With that, he leaped off the cliff and headed toward the village.
The demon ape watched him go, then sat back down and murmured softly, "Little one..."
Over the next ten-plus days, Qin Mu came every day to spar with the demon ape. After their fights, the ape would treat him to fruits, and Qin Mu would guide it in cultivation, even teaching it the Lame Man’s Heaven-Stealing Divine Leg techniques.
The demon ape was originally skilled in fist techniques but poor at legwork. After learning the Heaven-Stealing Divine Leg, its leg techniques became extremely tricky, and even Qin Mu would suffer if he wasn’t careful.
Qin Mu’s strength improved rapidly, and the demon ape’s progress was terrifyingly fast. Soon, its primordial energy achieved some success. When they fought, if Qin Mu didn’t use the Divine Firmament Eye, he couldn’t gain any advantage and would instead fall into a disadvantage.
One afternoon, after their usual fight, Qin Mu went to help out at the Mute’s blacksmith shop as usual, following the Mute’s instructions to watch the fire by the furnace.
In his Embryo Divine Treasury, his primordial energy burned like fire, tempering his embryo. Everything seemed normal until suddenly, the embryo began frantically absorbing the golden light from the golden sea within the treasury. Countless streams of golden light surged into his embryo.
Qin Mu was at a loss, completely unaware of what was happening.
The Mute, unable to see inside Qin Mu’s Embryo Divine Treasury, naturally had no idea that a wondrous transformation was occurring within the boy.
The embryo absorbed more and more golden light. Suddenly, the little figure stopped absorbing, ceased breathing and circulating energy, and fell into stillness.
Qin Mu tried to move his embryo, but it remained motionless.
"Did the embryo die?"
The boy felt uneasy. After a long time, his embryo slowly revived and awakened.
Qin Mu sighed in relief and continued watching the fire. Just then, he felt his primordial energy become intensely hot. When the embryo breathed and circulated, the energy ignited, and even when it flowed out of the Embryo Divine Treasury, it didn’t extinguish!
Startled, Qin Mu tried to stop watching the fire, but it was too late. His clothes spontaneously caught fire!
The Mute immediately lifted a large water vat and dumped it over Qin Mu’s head, extinguishing the flames.
The Mute lifted the vat, revealing Qin Mu soaked like a drowned rat.
The Mute stared, examined the burn marks on Qin Mu’s clothes, then quickly dropped his hammer and iron bar and dashed toward the Village Chief, gesturing frantically.
The Village Chief was surprised and quickly had Deaf and the Mute carry him over. "Mu’er, try watching the fire again!"
Not understanding why the Village Chief was so serious, Qin Mu watched the fire again. In his Embryo Divine Treasury, his primordial energy once again turned into a fiery furnace, surrounding the embryo.
Then, a wave of heat surged from within him, and his body temperature rapidly rose!
The Village Chief’s eyes lit up, and he guided gently, "Mu’er, don’t let your mind waver. Focus your spirit. Treat your hand as a blade and slash out for me to see!"
Qin Mu’s mind was blank, his eyes fixed on the furnace fire before him. His primordial energy naturally burst forth, and he used his hand as a blade, slashing forward.
Whoosh—
His hand emitted flames, like a burning fire blade chopping down!