Chapter 54: Bloodline Awakening, Daoist Longshan Emerges |
White Ape had always thought he was just an ordinary monkey, but Ning Qi told him that the reason he hadn’t become an Exotic Beast was because his bloodline was too strong and difficult to awaken.
This made him not only hopeful, but all the more eager for the day his bloodline would awaken.
In the past few days, Zhenwu Sect had been under constant attack. He had watched with growing anxiety, but could do nothing.
Even though he cultivated quickly, he was still only in the Body Tempering Realm. In events like this, he couldn’t offer any real help—at most, he could assist with patrols.
But now.
He finally had a way to grow stronger quickly.
As long as he could awaken his bloodline, his strength would leap forward. And afterward, by continually tapping into his bloodline, he could become even stronger. Combined with the martial arts Ning Qi had taught him, he’d grow far faster than the average Exotic Beast.
“Please teach me, Master!”
White Ape respectfully bowed.
Ning Qi smiled faintly and began to explain.
“The so-called Ape King True Form begins with the mind—visualize the Ape King, condense the physical body, connect the divine sense...”
White Ape sat cross-legged on the ground.
He listened to Ning Qi’s slow explanation, completely entranced. It felt like a door to a brand-new world was gradually opening before him.
The mysteries between body and spirit unfolded before his eyes.
Even when Ning Qi stopped speaking, he didn’t notice. Still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, his mind was full of the secret art just passed on.
A long while later.
White Ape finally emerged from his trance.
His eyes were full of worship, and he looked at Ning Qi as if he were a deity.
“Thank you, Master, for bestowing this technique!”
Ning Qi simply nodded with a smile and encouraged,
“With your talent, if you work hard, you should see results within two months.”
With that, he turned and left with his hands clasped behind his back.
Now at seven years old, Ning Qi looked like a young boy. The way he stood with his hands behind his back was a little amusing—but in White Ape’s eyes, he was unfathomable.
White Ape’s greatest wish was that one day, he could truly earn Ning Qi’s recognition and become his disciple.
Others might not understand how amazing Ning Qi was, but White Ape had spent every day with him. He knew a little.
He believed that to become the formal disciple of someone as extraordinary as his master, he would have to work twice as hard.
Otherwise, even if Ning Qi agreed, he wouldn’t feel worthy.
“I’ll work twice as hard!” White Ape’s gaze was resolute.
…
After passing on the technique.
Ning Qi didn’t slow down.
Though Ape King True Form was designed for White Ape, it could also be adapted for his own use.
Ning Qi continued comparing the differences between his body and White Ape’s.
As long as he figured out the principles, it would be easy to apply them to himself.
While steadily moving toward the Nine-Fold Realm, Ning Qi was constantly building up. Creating techniques was part of his daily routine. By now, he had developed so many martial arts and secret methods that he couldn’t even count them. Some had been placed in the Scripture Pavilion; others hadn’t even been recorded yet.
One night.
Ning Qi stood in the forest, senses stretched to the limit.
After making sure no one was around, he began his movements.
His originally small frame swelled as if inflated—within moments, he was over two meters tall, and still growing at an alarming rate.
Finally, he stabilized at over ten feet tall.
Like a miniature giant!
If his Daoist robe hadn’t been made of extremely special material, it probably would have been torn to shreds. Even so, it was now tightly clinging to his expanded body, looking rather odd.
But Ning Qi didn’t care about that.
He was sensing the immense strength flowing through him.
With casual movements, he lifted boulders and hurled them, blasting holes in the mountainside.
He pulled massive trees out by the roots—there was a kind of pleasure in releasing such power, and he almost wanted to howl out loud.
But he held back.
Even though this place was a fair distance from Zhenwu Sect’s main gate, making too much noise might draw attention.
Ning Qi’s eyes held a hint of wonder.
“What incredible power—at least five times stronger!”
That was a bit of an exaggeration.
Keep in mind, Ning Qi’s body was already terrifying. Now, in this special state, with his strength increased fivefold, he could probably smash a White Mist Realm expert with a single punch.
This was the result of all his efforts.
Though it was the same Ape King True Form, he had optimized it to better suit himself by incorporating the Body-Altering and Bone-Changing Technique.
After a bit more testing, Ning Qi slowly returned to his normal form.
“The pity is that Ape King True Form only strengthens the physical body. If my internal energy were also five times stronger, I might even be able to go toe-to-toe with a Core Formation Realm expert?”
“But that’s something to aim for—keep strengthening Ape King True Form.”
“If one day it reaches the level of Manifesting Heavenly Form, then it’ll truly be a divine power!”
Ning Qi was full of anticipation.
In myths from his previous life, immortals revealed divine forms during battles—towering, immeasurable, and full of boundless power. Maybe one day he could do the same.
White Ape was the perfect subject to observe.
By letting him train in Ape King True Form, his bloodline might feed back into the technique and cause unexpected evolutions.
Next.
Ning Qi let White Ape train on his own.
Though he looked forward to the day White Ape mastered it, he didn’t pressure him. Everything should come naturally.
But White Ape completed Ape King True Form much earlier than Ning Qi’s estimated two months.
Snow fell in thick flakes.
White Ape, having succeeded, was already waiting outside Ning Qi’s house early in the morning. As soon as Ning Qi stepped out, he respectfully said,
“Master, I’ve mastered Ape King True Form!”
Surprise flashed through Ning Qi’s eyes.
Then he nodded in satisfaction.
It was half a month ahead of schedule—White Ape had clearly worked hard.
“Let’s give it a try.”
White Ape hesitated.
Ning Qi had once told him not to reveal martial arts in front of others. He was worried the noise would attract attention.
Ning Qi saw what he was thinking and smiled:
“It’s fine. If anyone comes, I’ll know.”
Whenever his senior brothers or sisters came, he sensed it from a long way off.
Hearing that.
White Ape no longer hesitated.
Under Ning Qi’s expectant gaze, he activated Ape King True Form. In an instant, Ning Qi’s eyes widened.
White Ape’s body swelled visibly—originally about the same height as Ning Qi, in seconds he shot up to nearly twenty feet tall!
Even more dramatic than when Ning Qi used it himself.
At this moment, White Ape.
Could no longer be called a “little monkey”—he was now a towering white ape, covered in sleek, glossy fur, with bulging muscles that radiated strength.
Not only that.
His pupils glowed more obviously with gold, exuding something almost divine.
White Ape’s face showed overwhelming excitement. He looked like he wanted to howl, but forcibly suppressed the instinct.
Ning Qi studied him and asked,
“Tiansheng, how do you feel now?”
White Ape’s deep voice rumbled:
“Master, I feel better than ever before. I feel like I’m way, way stronger, and there’s a strange power rising up inside me.”
Ning Qi’s eyes flickered, lingering a moment on White Ape’s golden pupils:
“So this is the bloodline, huh? Just like I suspected—the rapid strengthening of the body forced the bloodline to awaken. I wonder what kind of bloodline it actually is… maybe Master will know.”
He continued asking,
“Is it easy to maintain this state?”
Yuan Tiansheng scratched his head and said,
“Feels alright. As long as I’m not in intense battle, I can pretty much keep it up all the time!”
Ning Qi was surprised.
When he used Ape King True Form, it constantly drained his energy. Even with his strong foundation, he could only hold it for a few hours before needing rest.
But White Ape could keep it up indefinitely?
“Seems like after the bloodline awakening, it merged with Ape King True Form and changed it. To some extent, this might now be Tiansheng’s true form, so maintaining it takes no effort—only during battle will it consume more energy.”
Ning Qi was pleased.
He liked unexpected developments like this.
Even though he had created Ape King True Form, after merging with White Ape’s bloodline, it evolved, giving him more inspiration.
“Come on, test out your strength now.”
Ning Qi stood with hands behind his back.
White Ape didn’t hesitate.
Any hesitation would be disrespectful to his master.
There was no way his strength could actually hurt his master—that’d be ridiculous.
Yuan Tiansheng took a deep breath, his right arm muscles suddenly swelling.
With the force of ten thousand pounds, like a mountain bearing down, he struck—no tricks, just pure overwhelming power.
But Ning Qi remained calm.
Left hand still behind his back, he slowly raised his right palm.
That massive, boulder-like ape palm was easily caught in Ning Qi’s hand.
The visual impact was shocking—but the disparity in strength was even more awe-inspiring.
White Ape had thought maybe he could slightly shake his master in this form.
But now, in such close contact, he finally understood how unreachable Ning Qi truly was.
Ning Qi slowly retracted his hand and nodded in approval.
“Not bad—you’ve got about thirty thousand pounds of force now. Once you reach Perfect Body Tempering and develop your bloodline further, you might reach eighty or ninety thousand.”
Even in giant ape form, that was quite impressive.
But it still couldn’t compare to Ning Qi’s supreme foundation.
Without using any secret arts or martial techniques, Ning Qi’s single arm had one hundred thousand pounds of force.
White Ape returned to his original form and scratched his head awkwardly:
"I feel better than ever right now, just a little hungry."
Ning Qi nodded:
"That’s probably due to the bloodline awakening. I’ll have Senior Brother prepare more food and precious materials for you. During this time, your strength will improve rapidly. Now that your bloodline has awakened, there’s no need to be so cautious like before. It’s okay to gradually share a bit with Senior Brother and the others."
Previously, White Ape wasn’t allowed to show his skills in front of others—just to be safe, in case people found out he could practice stance techniques.
But now that his bloodline was gradually awakening, his identity as an Exotic Beast served as a good cover, so showing some strength wouldn’t be much of a problem.
Ning Qi stared at White Ape’s golden pupils for a moment.
Some powerful Exotic Beasts awakened innate talents. He thought White Ape’s golden eyes might be one of those, since White Ape had just said that when he focused his gaze, moving objects seemed to slow down slightly.
However, this kind of talent would need further bloodline development to fully awaken.
He believed that White Ape’s golden pupils would become a powerful gift.
If he could understand them thoroughly, it would definitely be a huge gain.
"But with my current internal energy strength, this is about as deep as I can go. To explore deeper changes related to the Heavenly Beast bloodline, I’ll need to become even stronger. Probably even the Qi Origin Realm won’t cut it."
Ning Qi had to temporarily set the thought aside.
After that.
White Ape’s strength practically changed by the day. His Body Tempering progress started to skyrocket.
In just a few short days.
He broke through from Perfect Organ Refinement into Marrow Refinement.
And then he kept progressing—all as if guided by divine aid after his bloodline awakened.
At this rate, he might reach Perfect Body Tempering by next year.
But even now, as long as White Ape used his Ape King True Form, he could easily dominate most martial artists at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm.
Luo Wentian and the others came to see for themselves.
They had all heard that White Ape had awakened his bloodline.
Ning Qi hadn’t kept it a secret, since White Ape’s rapid growth required a lot of resources.
“We don’t even know what kind of bloodline Tiansheng has, and it’s already this powerful right after awakening?”
The other True Disciples were filled with joy.
In the distance, Yuan Tiansheng revealed his Ape King True Form. His immense power was jaw-dropping. Everyone thought it was just White Ape’s natural talent.
They checked all kinds of ancient records and ruled out most known ape-type Exotic Beast bloodlines.
Things like the Sky-Piercing Ape, Iron-Armed Ape, White Giant Ape, Silver-Eared Ape—all those Exotic Beasts didn’t match what Yuan Tiansheng had shown.
Ye Qinghe said with emotion:
“There are countless Exotic Beast bloodlines in the world, and occasionally a unique one shows up. Tiansheng might be one of those rare types. We’ll have to wait until Master comes out of seclusion to see if he can recognize it. Who would’ve thought... back then, this little monkey couldn’t even beat a Long-Armed Ape, and now he’s this strong.”
White Ape scratched his head bashfully.
Everyone praised him.
In their eyes, with White Ape’s potential, he could absolutely become one of Zhenwu Sect’s greatest assets in the future.
Ning Qi just smiled and watched.
The White Ape who had once held back his strength was now finally able to show it openly.
As long as he didn’t reveal his stance techniques, regular martial techniques used for combat weren’t a problem.
That was just about controlling power.
But once he reached the Inner Origin Realm or Qi Origin Realm, he’d have to be more cautious again.
White Ape knew this very well himself.
He might be playful at times, but he knew what was important.
Time passed.
News of Yuan Tiansheng’s bloodline awakening stirred quite a commotion among the disciples of Zhenwu Sect.
Everyone was excited and happy for him.
But White Ape only ever displayed his Ape King True Form in front of the True Disciples.
Gradually.
The excitement faded.
White Ape still mingled with the other disciples as he always had, but now he had a new activity—he could spar with Zhenwu Sect disciples to build up real combat experience.
Yuan Tiansheng’s strength kept progressing steadily.
So did Ning Qi.
After White Ape’s bloodline awakening, Ning Qi also further investigated the changes in Ape King True Form, constantly refining the secret art.
Just like that.
In the blink of an eye, it was year-end.
This year’s Zhenwu Sect year-end competition was noticeably quieter. The earlier events had left quite an impact on the sect.
Even though the chaos had mostly subsided, the disciples remained on alert every day, afraid the enemy might just be lulling them into a false sense of security.
“Master still hasn’t come out of seclusion… I wonder if his state of mind was affected.”
After the competition ended, Ye Qinghe voiced her concern.
Daoist Longshan had already been in seclusion for nearly a year.
But just then.
Ning Qi was the first to look toward the back mountain. Then Jiang Baishan followed, and soon all the other True Disciples.
Everyone had sensed that unique ripple.
Ning Qi’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Could it be that Master is about to break through?”
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