CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51 TRANSFORMATION INTO AN APE

In the hall of the Butcher Court, the interior was not spacious but resembled the main hall of a landlord’s mansion, with a painting "Pine Crane Prolonging Life" on the central wall, orchids arranged on either side, beneath which stood a mahogany square table flanked by two Taishi chairs.

An old man dressed in black, of short stature and seemingly lacking in strength, was pruning the orchids in front of the table.

Suddenly, his eyelids lifted slightly and he spoke indifferently, "A man of several decades old and still so impetuous?"

As his words fell, Ke Yansheng strode excitedly into the room. Just as he entered, he heard the old man’s remark. His face showed a hint of surprise, then he stepped forward and sighed, "Elder Shang’s Qigong is becoming more and more profound. It seems that before long, you will be able to ’Circulate Qi Throughout the Body’ and step into the realm of ’Endless Life’."

"Far from it. I’m one foot in the grave and never set high goals for myself."

The one called Elder Shang was none other than ’Shang Yunfang,’ one of the five Master Fu of Medicine King Hall and the top Swordman legend of the Butcher Court.

After Ke Yansheng entered, Elder Shang didn’t put down his scissors but asked indifferently, "What brings you here?"

Ke Yansheng got straight to the point, "I would like to ask you to request an ’Ultimate Skill’ for a kid in our court."

"Hmm?" Shang Yunfang slowly turned around and looked at Ke Yansheng, "Are you sure you are referring to an Ultimate Skill?"

What is an Ultimate Skill? It refers to martial arts that have not been passed down or are difficult for ordinary people to master. Only those with exceptional talent and innate ability can practice and obtain them.

In all of Medicine King Hall, there are at most six martial arts Ultimate Skills, five of which are derived from the Five Beasts Great Strength Technique, categorized as bladesmanship, archery, boxing, stick technique, clawing, and the needling technique that only the Shopkeeper can cultivate.

For example, Elder Shang’s ’Black Tiger Butcher Knife’ is one of them, comprising eighteen forms. Just the first three forms alone are enough to allow one to dominate all martial arts at all levels below the stage of Inner Qi with Absolute Skill Level Swordsmanship.

And the remaining parts are all in the hands of the four other Master Fu and the Shopkeeper of the hall.

"Asking for an Ultimate Skill? You’ve got some nerve!" Shang Yunfang scoffed. "These past few years, apart from myself, only two other Master Fu have taken on disciples. It is only to Disciples that an Ultimate Skill is passed. Who are you asking for?"

"The kid’s name is Chen Ku," Ke Yansheng replied. "Elder Shang should have heard of him. He won double first places in the last monthly assessment."

"Is that all?" Shang Yunfang said indifferently. "Or is there something more important? A monthly assessment’s first-place Apprentice dares to have you seek an Ultimate Skill for him?"

"Of course not. It’s that today, I’ve discovered the boy’s Root Bone. Though he has only reached the First Realm, he was able to pin a pregnant female leopard to the ground with just one hand!"

Ke Yansheng continued, "And it seems like he only used half of his strength. With this said, Elder Shang should understand what kind of Root Bone he has, right?"

"Innate Divine Strength?!"

A flash of brilliance crossed Shang Yunfang’s eyes. "If it is as you say, this young one, besides the martial arts he practices, must have at least two to three Thousand Jin of natural strength in his Root Bone to accomplish this feat so effortlessly."

"Exactly!" Ke Yansheng became excited, "With two to three Thousand Jin of natural Root Bone strength, just imagine, Elder Shang, what he could become in the future with a suitable Ultimate Skill?"

Shang Yunfang looked intently at Ke Yansheng, "This boy’s Root Bone is indeed suited for an Ultimate Skill, especially the ’Furious Ape Mighty Staff,’ but this Ultimate Skill is in the hands of that old man at the Jinshi Academy. If he finds out, he might come directly to the Butcher Court to snatch the boy away—wouldn’t that be a possibility?"

Ke Yansheng grew anxious, "So, of course, we can’t let Elder Yang find out. We need you to think of a way, something that could grant the kid a move or half of an Ultimate Skill, and still keep him here with us."

"This matter, it’s difficult if you say it is, and easy if you say it’s easy. After all, we’re all from Medicine King Hall, so there’s no issue with not passing down an Ultimate Skill. It’s just that old thing..."

Shang Yunfang stroked his mustache, muttering to himself. "I need to think of a way, how to deceive him."

When Ke Yansheng saw the clear change in Elder Shang’s attitude compared to before, he couldn’t help but laugh, "Now you should understand, our Butcher Court has picked up a good seedling, right? Otherwise, why would I not just teach him the Spirit Ape Knocking Mountain Stick and instead come to you to beg for an Ultimate Skill for him?"

On hearing this, Shang Yunfang’s expression faded, "After all, he’s not the right seedling to cultivate my ’Black Tiger Butcher Knife.’ If he learns that stick technique, it will completely mean that he has no fate with my bladesmanship."

"Surely not? I find that the kid’s speed in mastering the basics of bladesmanship is also extremely fast. It took him only five days to learn the basics of the Ox Splitting Knife. How about... you go test him?" Ke Yansheng asked persistently.

"Five days to master the basics of the Ox Splitting Knife? That’s just passable. He’s even a day slower than I was. Do you know how big the difference is compared to someone born with the Root Bone Power of several thousand Jin?"

Shang Yunfang snorted coldly, "Scram, scram, scram. If I am to pass down my bladesmanship, it must be to a supreme genius, at least someone with higher Talent than me. Otherwise, the good things decline with each generation and might eventually vanish. I can still live another decade or two; there’s no rush to pave a path for my legacy!"

He could afford to wait, with no urgency. If luck was on his side and he advanced to the next Realm, he could add another decade or two to his life.

The successor must be chosen carefully, not desperately.

"Alright then, it’s up to you," Ke Yansheng replied, not too regretful, since he had long known Elder Shang’s high standards for selecting Disciples, requiring a Talent even higher than his own at that age.

Otherwise, he would have brought Chen Ku over as soon as he saw him master the basics of the bone-chopping butcher blade; he hadn’t done so precisely because he figured Elder Shang probably wouldn’t take it seriously.

After Ke Yansheng left, Shang Yunfang sat in the Taishi Chair, pondering. The more he thought about it, the more it didn’t sit right with him; he felt as if he had downed a jar of old vinegar.

"Damn Yang Lin! Usually, he’s messing around with trivial tasks, but when it comes to taking Disciples, luck is always on his side. Just two years ago, he took in a seedling with great arm strength, perfectly suited for the Furious Ape Mighty Staff. And now, my court has produced another one fit for that inheritance... Old thing, what kind of dogshit luck did you have in your last life..."

Though jealous, he couldn’t help but start scheming for Chen Ku. How could he deceive Elder Yang and snatch a move or half of the Furious Ape Mighty Staff technique?

「...」

Chen Ku was unaware that Ke Yansheng had gone to seek an Ultimate Skill for him.

After dealing with the black panther’s leopard fetus, he tried his hand at the giant earth sloth, as big as a bear, and got it to submit completely to him too.

In one day, he had gathered two sources of Ferocious Beast Level Evil Qi.

At night, he channeled it to the Spirit Ape.

As a result, he gained Spirit Ape’s Finger (agile and strong) and Spirit Ape’s Eyes (gazing directly at the sun).

Among these, the ability of Spirit Ape’s Eyes, ’gazing directly at the sun,’ after he experienced it for himself, seemed to give him an additional ability to see even more clearly, on top of his night vision. It inadvertently reminded him of a passage.

I reminisce about my childhood, where I could stare at the sun, discern the finest details and see the tiny things clearly, focusing meticulously on their textures, hence often indulging in the pleasures beyond the material world.

It felt like a person with four to five hundred degrees of myopia suddenly no longer needed glasses to clearly see the world again.

Useful, but not greatly so.

「In the days that followed.」

Chen Ku was initially still thinking about what Ke Yansheng had said about finding suitable martial arts for him. But after several days passed, it seemed as if Master Ke had forgotten all about it, so Chen Ku could only wait.

But the continuous Ferocious Beast Level Evil Qi he gathered finally accumulated enough for a Spirit Ape Transformation.

[Spirit Ape Transformation! Shape-Shift!]