Chapter 69: The White Ape

June 5th, the 640th year of the Daliang Dynasty.
The weather was clear. Chen Mu bent his knees slightly, lifted his hands toward the sky, narrowed his eyes into slits, and slowly and lingeringly exhaled a breath.
The next moment, a wave of heat abruptly radiated from within his body.
The muscles all over his body twitched in small increments and expanded at a visible rate.
In just three breaths, Chen Mu transformed from a tall, thin figure into a rugged, inverted-triangle physique with pillars for legs.
Immediately after, that fierce and terrifying physique rapidly shrank once more.
It was as if an invisible force was comprehensively compressing inward. In a short while, Chen Mu reverted to his tall, thin appearance.
Compared to how he looked initially, he only appeared slightly sturdier.
After a long while, Chen Mu took a deep breath and stood up.
"Done!"
Having relentlessly ground away for more than a month, the Green-Eyed Golden Ape Form-Training Technique had successfully reached the Tendon-Transforming stage. The split second just now was the thorough reshaping of his physique.
Transforming from that massive build back to being lean again, Chen Mu instead felt that his overall strength was even greater.
This was the wondrous aspect of form-training techniques; they truly remade the microscopic structures of the musculature. The muscle fibers increased only slightly in thickness, but strength grew exponentially, while agility paradoxically rose instead of falling.
"With the foundation of mastering the Peregrine Falcon Form-Training Technique, the path for the Green-Eyed Golden Ape Form-Training Technique is completely smooth."
"Once I train it to the pinnacle, aided by proficiency, forming the Wandering Soul will be just around the corner."
"The approach of stacking form-training techniques has proven to be the right one."
Chen Mu clenched his fists and stretched his legs, quietly experiencing the changes in his body.
"As long as the Wandering Soul doesn't turn out to be tiny again." Chen Mu prayed helplessly.
The form-training techniques circulating in the pugilistic world were far too crude, and the coverage area of the Wandering Souls they produced was never large. The smaller the area of the Wandering Soul, the poorer its quality and the slower the accumulation rate.
"If they're all that tiny, how many form-training techniques would I have to practice to truly cover my entire body?" Just calculating it made Chen Mu's scalp tingle slightly.
Yet upon closer reflection, he felt it was nothing of the sort.
He possessed proficiency and the foundation of a mastered form-training technique, allowing him to quickly master new martial arts. The time consumed was inherently shorter than that of ordinary people.
"After all, a hundred years is given to nurture the soul."
He was only twenty years old now.
There were still eighty years left until a century.
If he practiced one form-training technique per year, before the deadline, excluding wasted time and making a conservative estimate, he could master at least seventy kinds.
Thinking of this, Chen Mu's mood instantly relaxed.
"There's no need to rush blindly forward. Slower, more meticulous, and steadier is better."
As for the issue of lifespan limitations, Chen Mu harbored some vague speculations.
With the generation of the Wandering Soul, his vigor grew increasingly exuberant day by day, which was a manifestation of formidable vitality.
"What if the soul's power eventually forms armor all over the body? Would my vitality become even stronger?"
Whether from his own sensations or the ambiguous descriptions of the Armored Soul, Chen Mu felt a deep sense of anticipation toward it.
"Tonight, I'm heading to the ghost market's large boat. I must buy that White Ape Form-Training Technique!"
Now that he was no longer short on money, he should buy it early to secure it safely in his possession.
Having stayed in Nanyang Prefecture for five or six months, he increasingly felt the preciousness of form-training techniques.
The black market only ever cycled through those exact three books.
The civilian martial arts schools were even more vague and evasive.
Now that he thought about it, being able to run into that money-grubbing Sheng Hong back then was truly fortunate.
It was just a pity that the man was a bit too greedy for money. In the end, he lost his life, and his money went unspent.
That's right, he was dead, but his money was still around!
I actually knew where his house was, yet I completely forgot to go back and collect the condolence gift?!
A tactical blunder! A tactical blunder!
I can only blame myself for being inexperienced at the time.
Who knows who ended up profiting from it in the end?
...
As dusk fell, Chen Mu ate his meal early.
Wearing a grey bamboo hat and a yin-yang mask, Chen Mu donned the Yang Zhi disguise once more.
Taking advantage of the night, he crossed the Luo River pontoon bridge and arrived at a secluded dock on the southern bank of the Luo River.
He deliberately chose this spot far away from his residence to board the boat, fearing that someone might track him all the way to his doorstep.
A pitch-black covered boat, a masked boatman, and a black wooden token—Chen Mu sat at the bow, cutting through the misty vapor, and stepped aboard the ghost market's large boat.
Without wandering around, he walked straight to the Red蓼 Studio (Red蓼 Studio), slightly altered his voice, and spoke bluntly: "I want the White Ape Form-Training Technique."
The shopkeeper, wearing a ghost mask, was startled, and then a hint of extra warmth crept into his polite and gentle voice.
With such a straightforward tone, this was a wealthy patron!
"Please take a look, honored guest. This is the White Ape Form-Training Technique, complete with full heritage and clear annotations. It only costs eight hundred liang!"
Chen Mu looked up at the ghost-masked shopkeeper and slowly pulled six hundred liang in silver banknotes from his bosom, handing them over.
The ghost-faced shopkeeper froze.
Six hundred liang was the marked price at Red蓼 Studio. He had quoted eight hundred liang simply to make a bit of extra cash, never expecting this wealthy patron to be so well-versed in the prices.
Immediately afterward, acting as if nothing was amiss, he said with a helpless sigh, "My guest sure knows how to drive a hard bargain."
"Since the guest is so straightforward, I cannot be petty either. Six hundred it is!" The ghost-faced shopkeeper waved his hand and spoke with an air of generosity.
Chen Mu curled his lips. Trying to swindle my money—aren't you afraid I'll gift you a bag of iron lotus seeds?
He promptly put away the book and prepared to leave.
"Honored guest, please stay."
Chen Mu snapped his head around, his eyes beneath the bamboo hat locked dead onto the shopkeeper.
What? Are you really trying to pull something?!
The ghost-faced shopkeeper instantly felt his scalp tingle. Could this fellow actually be a murderous fiend?!
The shopkeeper cautiously recommended, "I recently acquired a few precious secret techniques here. Would you like to take a look at them as well?"
It wasn't easy being a black market salesman!
Secret techniques?
Chen Mu's interest was piqued.
That Hall Master Lin Que back then seemed to possess a secret technique capable of explosive, instantaneous attack speed.
If he hadn't managed to manifest soul power and oil his feet to run fast enough, he might not have survived.
"Let's see." Chen Mu's eyes lit up as he sat back down at the table.
"Please wait a moment, honored guest." The ghost-faced shopkeeper walked into the back room with evident delight.
Before long, he returned carrying a wooden box three fingers thick.
"Please appreciate them," the shopkeeper said confidently as he popped open the wooden box.
Chen Mu looked over with curiosity.
Inside the wooden box lay a total of three booklets, which Chen Mu took out one by one.
*The Mandarin Duck and Phoenix Technique*, *The Classic of Supreme Bliss*, and *The Wondrous Method of Golden Wind and Jade Dew*.
"Hiss!" These were definitely not the secret techniques he had in mind.
A subtle ambiguity laced the shopkeeper's voice: "How are they?"
"Is this book... proper?" Chen Mu indicated that he didn't understand, but he felt profoundly shaken.
"Indeed, not quite proper," the shopkeeper chuckled slyly.
Chen Mu wore an expression of sudden comprehension, his right hand itching with restless impulse.
I'm just looking, purely to broaden my horizons!
Having successfully convinced himself, Chen Mu hurriedly opened *The Mandarin Duck and Phoenix Technique*.
"Rise early every day, take the Clear Tone Powder (recipe in appendix) with warm water, then clear your throat and chant the following decree, reciting it at least twenty-three times..."
"The bird calls are crisp; you must control the speed of your breath, neither too fast nor too slow..."
"Human voices are complex; you must select one old person, one middle-aged person, one youth, and one child, conversing with them daily and constantly imitating them..."
Chen Mu looked up at the shopkeeper with a bewildered expression.
"This ventriloquism secret technique is a legendary pugilistic art, and there's even a belly-speaking secret technique at the end. It's a rare and excellent arcane method!"
Chen Mu: "..."
This wasn't the improper kind of book he had imagined!
A profiteer! A thorough profiteer! Playing with a consumer's emotions!
Clinging to a shred of hope, Chen Mu flipped open the other two books.
Good grief, *The Classic of Supreme Bliss* turned out to be a sleep manual. Through various detailed methods, its sole purpose was to help people fall asleep easily and quickly.
The book repeatedly claimed that practicing according to its methods would grant supreme bliss in dreams.
I'd sooner believe in ghosts!
The final book was even more outrageous—it was about beauty care!
It adjusted muscle morphology, lifted and tightened the skin, and even contained medicinal recipes for whitening and removing blackheads?!
Chen Mu speechlessly gazed at the ghost mask opposite him.
As expected, these secret techniques were truly improper.