“No matter what, a hundred or more lesser mountain spirits is definitely the biggest lair near Peaceful Sun Town.” Lu Gang's words brought some comfort to everyone, at least their efforts weren't in vain.
“After a night of work, hand Blacktooth over to me. Junior Brother Xu and I will investigate further. You three can head back to rest for now.” Liang Qu felt he truly needed rest; he was exhausted and mentally drained.
If the sky were to fall, there'd be someone taller to hold it up.
He believed Senior Brother Lu was capable, and followed his two senior brothers back to the Martial Hall.
After a quick wash and oiling his Subduing Waves Spear, he collapsed onto the bed in a deep sleep, not even getting a chance to see what kind of blessing the Marsh Spirit's favor granted him.
Liang Qu woke up in the afternoon, had a simple meal of cold rice, and then asked his senior brothers for leave, using the excuse of needing to check on some construction at home.
In truth, he just wanted to find a remote aquatic territory to study the Marsh Spirit’s favor in peace, worried that the process might produce strange occurrences that others could see.
Hu Qi pondered for a moment and agreed, “Alright, there's not much else to follow up on for now. Be sure to return as soon as you've finished.”
Liang Qu expressed his gratitude, “Thank you, Senior Brother. I’ll be back before dark.”
At the wharf, he boarded his boat and sailed to a secluded water area, stopping and crawling under the canopy to sit cross-legged.
[Mountain Demon Hunt Progress: 32]
[Affinity reached thirty percent, granted the Marsh Spirit's Favor of the River Lord Emperor once, allowing partial fusion with the River Lord Emperor’s Marsh Spirit.
Martial Path reaches the first tier of divine understanding, talent in martial arts doubles, and damage to water-element demonic beasts increases by ten percent.
Do you wish to fuse?]
Doubling talent in martial arts!
Liang Qu's eyes brightened at those words.
Fuse, fuse fiercely!
The Marsh Cauldron shone brightly.
Liang Qu watched as a godly figure wielding a spear stepped out from the cauldron and merged with his body the instant they made contact.
Boom!
A surge of pain pierced through his consciousness, as if his entire body was being burned by fierce flames.
The intense pain surged from the depths of his marrow, causing every pore to clench tightly.
“Ah!!! I curse you to hell!!!”
Liang Qu's fingers clenched, fingernails digging deep into his palms, drawing warm crimson blood.
Flames coursed through his veins, tearing at his body with violent throbbing, as if molten rock boiled within his marrow!
He was in such agony he wanted to smash his head against the deck, and every second his consciousness teetered on the edge.
At a point where every last thread of awareness was about to shatter—
Liang Qu's perspective shifted.
The world turned gloomy and dim, the gray expanse of the river undulating with towering waves.
Each colossal wave shattered against the next in white froth before crashing down.
An enormous shadow moved underwater, the river's surface suddenly swelled.
A terrifying creature with two antler-like horns broke through the river's surface, scattering countless tons of river water.
The terrifying creature stared down from above, its golden eyes burning like twin suns!
A dragon?!
Liang Qu's pupils contracted sharply, his entire body trembling with overwhelming fear.
Yet suddenly, he moved.
Liang Qu's gaze shifted, realizing shockingly that he was gripping a Three-Point Double-Edged Blade!
Raising it as if he held his Subduing Waves Spear, but the feeling was entirely different, beyond words to describe.
The Three-Point Double-Edged Blade descended.
The world went silent.
The roar of tides, the whistle of the wind, the resounding cries all vanished.
All was reduced to black and white, twisted lines filling the skies and earth, chaotic and energetic.
Liang Qu saw the blade's tip slice through those contorted lines, severing everything it touched like a white eraser through gray pencil lines.
His temples throbbed, mind pounding with unbearable pain, yet he dared not grow lax even for a moment.
A pronounced fissure appeared on the river surface, the miles-deep expanse splitting downward as if an invisible blade was carving through.
It pulled terrifying airstreams, slashing through the flood dragon's skull.
In an instant, the flood dragon exploded into fragments, letting out half a mournful howl as its muscles and bones pulverized—detonating in a fog of blood!
For miles, the river transformed into a sea of blood!
Countless large fish driven by primal urges overcame their fears, fiercely swimming upstream solely to taste the dragon’s blood.
They bit and tore at each other in mad frenzy, exploding into bloody shreds upon consuming the dragon’s blood, the redness deepening until only a lucky few evolved successfully, their bodies growing massively, each exuding an intimidating presence.
Liang Qu stood frozen.
Am I, this powerful?
Splash!
The scene changed again, and Liang Qu's hand gave way as he face-planted into the deckboard, chipping a tooth to taste his own blood.
Such pain!
The residual pain left Liang Qu trembling as he painstakingly rose, cradling his head, trying to recall that moment.
But it was all forgotten, lost completely.
His face pale, his mind was a void, unable to remember the strike at all.
Too painful, it was too damned painful!
How could it hurt so much?
It was completely unlike the time he fused with the Water Monkey.
[Fusing partial River Lord Emperor’s Marsh Spirit.
Gained Martial Path Divine Understanding Tier One, martial talent doubled, and additional ten percent damage to water-element demonic beasts.]
Alright, not bad.
Who'd have thought he could fuse other marsh spirits besides Wu Zhiqi.
Unfortunately, the myths of Erlang Shen are as rare as hen’s teeth, almost impossible to access, so another blessing is unlikely.
Right now, the focus was on upgrading the Water Monkey to the Azure Marsh Spirit.
My monkey brother is exceptional, even Great Yu would respect him.
The transformation will undoubtedly be immense.
Imagine, manipulating waves dashing through water, what flair!
Liang Qu lay back on the deck, breathing heavily.
His skin felt impossibly sticky, encrusted with salt, making him look as if he'd just been fished out of water.
Resting for a good quarter-hour, he finally caught his breath and jumped into the river for a bath.
Since gaining affinity with the Jianghuai River, its cold no longer affected him.
Drawing water from the well still felt chilly, but it seemed like now the river itself granted him special privileges.
Reaching full affinity, would he be the manager of the Jianghuai River? An alternative river god, perhaps?
Pondering randomly, Liang Qu washed himself and returned to the boat to check his internal energy.
Three inches thick, two feet long!
He could already start flesh refinement!
The requirement for flesh refinement is around two and a half inches thick, about the size of a forearm.
Three inches was more than enough.
Unbelievably, receiving partial fusion with the River Lord Emperor’s Marsh Spirit already brought additional benefits.
He had only been practicing martial arts for two months and was about to begin flesh refinement and overcome the second barrier.
Filled with excitement, Liang Qu tested his Bow Force Technique.
The flow of energy was much smoother, becoming quite effortless.
Like previously running a high-demand program, the sudden cut in computational needs was drastic.
Not quite right.
The technique remained unchanged.
It was him that changed; he seemed to have added a memory stick.
Usage dropped from a hundred percent to fifty percent, much less mental effort was required, making practice easier.
Having concluded, Liang Qu sat cross-legged once more, beginning flesh refinement.
Similar to the skin barrier method, the flesh barrier used the same technique: spreading energy into the fibers and great tendons.
Unlike the earlier pain, refining the flesh barrier wrapped him in warmth, each muscle fiber and tendon slowly shifting, feeling wonderfully comfortable.
It was like stretching languidly after sitting too long, hearing his spine crackle as tense muscles relaxed.
“Phew.”
With his flesh refinement complete, Liang Qu felt all weariness dissolve.
Reaching to pick up his Subduing Waves Spear, he sensed breath!
The spear was truly breathing!
Liang Qu’s eyes widened as he experienced an unprecedented connection, previously only feeling the spear responded to his will, wielded effortlessly.
Never like Senior Brother Lu mentioned, as if something alive resided within.
Perhaps his previous martial talents were too lacking, unable to perceive it?
Liang Qu stepped onto the bow, swinging the spear, its tip barely skimming the water surface yet casting gentle ripples without the slightest splash.
An indescribable feeling, but everything felt much easier.
Despite having received little formal training with a spear, he intuitively knew what to do, how to excel—an innate intuition.
What bliss!
Liang Qu’s expression lit up as he considered himself talented even accounting his initial natural martial gift.
Doubling it should make him one in a thousand, correct?
Moreover, after two days of intensive training, Senior Brother Hu said he did well.
Didn’t that mean he was one in ten thousand?
He was a one-in-ten-thousand prodigy now!
Barely containing his pride, Liang Qu faced the river, his spirit soaring high.
Finally, he had to try one last move.
Under the boat, the river flowed and the surface rippled.
Drawing a deep breath, Liang Qu set foot onto the water.
Amidst currents of thousands of pounds, the water lifted him gently.
(End of Chapter)