Apex War God - Chapter 53

Yang Wu had challenged the fifth- and sixth-ranked prison bosses!

This news spread like wildfire through the new cellblock 2.

“Who is Yang Wu? He actually dares to challenge two bosses at the same time; has his brain overheated? No other boss dares to do that.”

“I heard he’s the brat who slaughtered Black Ape. He must be quite capable, or he wouldn’t dare do something like this.”

“Does he really thinks he’s all that? Even the first-ranked boss wouldn’t have an easy victory if those two bosses teamed up. Who does Yang Wu think he is?”

“We’ll know when they fight in two days. I heard the day the Death Legion comes to take people is coming in half a month; that Yang Wu is probably desperate to leave for him to be this daring!”

The name of Yang Wu soon became famous among the prisoners of the new cellblock 2. Even if he died, this batch of prisoners would remember him.

Yang Wu ignored these unfounded rumors, training steadily. The Rainstorm Spear Art had reached Perfection, but the Spiraling Waves Rending Palm Strike was only at the Proficient stage, still some distance from Accomplishment.

Aside from practicing his combat techniques these past two days, he relied on the Supreme Nine Profound Art and the Dragon Turtle Water Suppression Stance to break through six more acupoints, leaving him only a step away from 108 acupoints.

The night before the decisive battle, Yang Wu and Xun Rui were barbecuing wolf meat. Actually, Xu Jiaohua was the one barbecuing it for them; they were only responsible for eating it.

Xu Jiaohua secretly scolded in her heart, They’re really ungentlemanly.

Xu Jiaohua was skilled in cooking. Even without seasonings, her barbecue was still delicious.

Xun Rui said without a single bit of modesty, “Come, come, Little Wu`zi, little black dog, this old man invites you to eat wolf meat. Don’t stand on ceremony; just eat.”

Every time Yang Wu heard “Little Wu`zi,” which was similar to the address for eunuchs, his face would darken. No man would tolerate it, but this old man seemed to have gotten addicted to calling him that.

[TL Note: In imperial China, eunuchs would be castrated before they could serve as eunuchs. They would stop using their old names and be addressed as Little (family name)zi or (family name) Gonggong, which means Eunuch (family name). The first form of address is reserved for the eunuch’s master and those in power. This is a somewhat demeaning form of address, as it is only used with those inferior. However, eunuchs did hold some influence and power in the imperial court, so the first form of address would not be appropriate for their subordinates. Hence, the second form of address, which is more respectful.]

As for Sooty, it couldn’t endure Xun Rui anymore and straightforwardly pounced over to bite him.

Xun Rui dodged left and right, yelling, “Little black dog, I told you to stop pestering this old man; otherwise, I’ll barbecue you too.”

It would have been fine if he hadn’t spoken; the more he talked, the fiercer Sooty became. They seemed to be natural enemies, always making sparks fly.

“Here, Young Master!” Xu Jiaohua said gently, passing some barbecued meat over to Yang Wu.

Yang Wu received it and replied, “Thanks.”

He chomped down the wolf meat in large mouthfuls. The profound art broke down the boundless energy in the meat, allowing it to gradually seep into his skin and flesh and strengthen his vitality.

Animal spirits had naturally strong physiques; frequent consumption of their meat could temper one’s body and prolong life. These were not necessarily empty words. Powerful animal spirits were excellent tonics that could directly increase one’s Profound Energy.

What Yang Wu was eating was Wolf General meat, so the energy it contained was considerable. Even just a small amount was enough to strengthen his body.

If not for his ridiculously overpowered peach-pit dantian, absorbing the wolf meat’s energy would already be enough to increase his strength.

Yang Wu ate an entire five kilograms of wolf meat before feeling sated. Then, he stood up and practiced the Spiraling Waves Rending Palm Strike, one palm after another hitting the air and producing sharp whistling, that strong spiraling force directly exploding and cracking nearby rocks.

The spectating Xu Jiaohua couldn’t help praising it; this level of skill was extraordinary in her eyes.

Xun Rui ignored Sooty, who was biting him, and took a piece of barbecued meat in his hands. As he devoured it, he looked at Yang Wu disdainfully and chided, “It’s fancy but impractical!”

Xu Jiaohua proclaimed injustice on behalf of Yang Wu. “You lack insight; the young master’s palm technique is already perfect.”

“Little lady, what do you know? Look at him. Fine, he has a nice stance, but he moves like a monkey playing with a big knife; it’s all a mess and not worth mentioning!” Xun Rui said, criticizing Yang Wu from head to toe.

“You old fart, do you really think you’re all that just because the young master tolerates you?” Xu Jiaohua countered, displeased.

She had nursed complaints in her heart about serving this old man these days, so she took the opportunity to vent her anger.

“Little lady, you are truly ignorant. This palm technique is a water-attributed palm technique; the water attribute relies heavily on borrowing the opponent’s strength to attack, overcoming hardness with softness. He is currently blindly taking the path of hardness, so how can he grasp the essence of this palm technique? It’s such a waste of this palm technique!” Xun Rui said while digging his ear.

Xu Jiaohua said, “If you are that capable, then why don’t you demonstrate and show me, expand my horizons? You’re just sitting around, talking without doing!”

Xun Rui smiled and said, “Just take it as me speaking nonsense. Quickly, come and massage my legs. That little black dog bit me so bad.”

Xu Jiaohua didn’t take Xun Rui’s words seriously, but Yang Wu did. He had been listening—listening intently—then pondered Xun Rui’s words, feeling they made a lot of sense.

The Spiraling Waves Rending Palm Strike did indeed draw its power from water-attributed Profound Energy. Yang Wu had believed he was supposed to take the hard route with this palm technique. However, after hearing Xun Rui’s words, he now felt there really was a problem with the direction of his practice, so he tried changing. At the same time, he took the Dragon Turtle Sea Flipping Art to verify it. The Dragon Turtle Sea Flipping Art was another technique that used water-attributed Profound Energy and was already imprinted in his mind. He had already confirmed that improving one could also improve the other.

Yang Wu’s palm technique was slowly changing. His movements slowed down, but the spiraling force accelerated. His palm strikes started to acquire an indescribable sense of depth.

Xun Rui watched Yang Wu out of the corner of his eyes, muttering with a faint smile on his face, “Not too dumb, after all.”

Forgetting everything else, Yang Wu practiced for two hours, becoming more and more adept at the palm technique. The palm strike grew stronger and stronger, the Profound Energy in the palm forming a vortex. With a strong spiraling force, the palm landed on the rock. A palm print appeared on that rock; however, the area around it did not burst into pieces, unlike before.

Yang Wu paused, looking at that rock intently, then smiled. “There is hardness in softness; indeed, it is so.”

After a while, that piece of rock turned into a mass of powder. The palm technique had entered the Accomplished stage, its might rising a level higher.

Yang Wu wanted to thank Xun Rui but found that this old man was already in the stone hut, snoring in his sleep.

He looked at Xu Jiaohua, who was sitting in a daze, and said, “Xu Jiaohua, properly serve Elder Xun; you will definitely benefit.”

Still thinking Yang Wu would be the one giving her the benefit, Xu Jiaohua winked at him and said, “Thank you, Young Master.”

Not bothering with her further, Yang Wu gestured to Sooty. When the puppy jumped onto his shoulder, he habitually petted its head and said, “You go check up on Skinny Monkey and Xiaoman. You don’t always have to stay by my side.”

Woof woof! Sooty licked Yang Wu’s palm and barked twice before jumping off Yang Wu’s shoulder and running toward the original cellblock 68.

Yang Wu raised his head to look at the dark sky and murmured, “I hope you all are alright. I will definitely bring you all out of this place; it’s a promise!”

Yang Wu was so confident because he had been tempered and had grown in the process of killing, and he had already acquired the heart of an expert.

The night passed and dawn came. A new day had begun.

After his daily absorption of propitious energy, Yang Wu started down the mountain. Although he still had shackles on his legs, he had a musky smell that intoxicated Xu Jiaohua, who was following behind him.

After Yang Wu brought Xu Jiaohua down the mountain, Fatty Dong and ten other prisoners respectfully welcomed him, calling out, “Greetings, Young Master!”

Everyone was a prisoner in the prison; probably only Yang Wu would dare call himself a young master.

“From now on, you are all part of the Wuhou Gang, not the Black Ape Gang. Remember, your boss will come over in the near future. At that time, you must also treat him this respectfully; if not, don’t blame me for being harsh!” Yang Wu said calmly to Fatty Dong and the rest.

“Yes, Young Master!” the crowd replied in unison.

After witnessing Yang Wu’s strength, they no longer dared to doubt his words. Who could fight hundreds of men by himself? Who could finish off Black Ape in one blow? Who could kill a Wolf General?

This young man, who had just come of age, in front of them had done all this. This place, which could hold prisoners for a lifetime, would most likely not be unable to trap this growing young dragon.

“You know what I’m doing; I’m going to challenge Wang Bajin and Zhou Xuelong. Do you want to come along?” Yang Wu asked the group of prisoners.

“We will follow the young master and go together!” Fatty Dong and the group of prisoners replied.

They wanted to see whether Yang Wu really could fight those two by himself and become the new cellblock 2’s boss. If he won, they would undoubtedly have a good time; if he lost, all they had to do was follow someone else. They did not have much to lose.

Yang Wu smiled, not stopping them from following. The group thus proceeded with great fanfare toward Wang Bajin’s mountain.

The challenge venue was in Wang Bajin’s territory, as his ranking was higher than Yang Wu’s and Zhou Xuelong’s.

Yang Wu’s group made their way over. Along the way, many prisoners saw them and gossiped.

“The youth in the lead is Yang Wu? Does the expert who slaughtered Black Ape really have such a small frame?”

“It should be him. He’s pretty handsome. I don’t know what he did to be thrown in here. What a pity!”

“Yang Wu wants to challenge Boss Wang and Boss Long simultaneously. This match can’t be missed! Let’s hurry over to watch.”

“He is fighting against two alone, simply seeking his death!”

Yang Wu ignored the idle chatter. He passed by Zhou Xuelong’s territory—the original cellblock 6, one block higher than cellblock 7. The prisoners held here were a tad stronger.

Here, Yang Wu faced an obstruction—a hundred prisoners blocking his way. The twelve people at their lead had a ferocious air. It was obvious at a glance that they were up to no good.

Xu Jiaohua went up to negotiate. “Ge Hu, what are you all doing? Still not clearing a path for us.”

Ge Hu, the leader of these people, was one of the Twelve Guardians under Zhou Xuelong. A man of about forty years old, he was tall and burly, with a ferocious tiger tattooed on his arm, making him relatively intimidating.

[TL Note: Interesting detail, the Hu in Ge Hu means tiger. The tattoo might be a reference to his name.]

Ge Hu looked playfully at Xu Jiaohua and said, “So, it is Xu Jiaohua. Your figure is so alluring. If you don’t want to die, then come and have some fun with this great me. As for that brat who wants to challenge our boss, he’s a fool daydreaming.”

Xu Jiaohua wanted to reply, but Yang Wu had already walked toward Ge Hu and swung the crowbar toward Ge Hu’s head, saying domineeringly, “Fight!”