Chapter 57 - 56: [Precise Throwing] (Orange)

Chapter 57: Chapter 56: [Precise Throwing] (Orange)

The Ghost-faced Ape was deader than dead.

Its Divine Soul had been absorbed into my Zhengqi Furnace.

’What other strange things could happen?’

Although Lu Jing’an found it strange, he suppressed his curiosity and asked in a deep voice:

"Third Uncle, what happened?"

On the other end of the line, Lu Huaisan took a breath before lowering his voice.

"The men who came back said that when they reached the Old Crow Forest,"

"they saw a flock of crows fighting with monkeys."

"The fight on both sides was incredibly brutal. The ground was covered with the bodies of crows and monkeys."

"The Monkey Demon’s corpse was covered in crows, which were pecking at it."

"It was only after our boys fired a few shots that they scared the flock away."

"But the Monkey Demon’s corpse had already been pecked beyond recognition."

After listening, Lu Jing’an’s brow slowly furrowed.

’Is it the original flock of crows from the Old Crow Forest... the ones that were driven away... coming back for revenge?’

That seemed to be the only reasonable explanation.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately pressed,

"Third Uncle, ask the men who went there."

"Did any of the crows that ate the Monkey Demon’s corpse drop dead on the spot?"

Lu Huaisan grunted in acknowledgment and shouted something to someone outside.

A moment later, a more respectful young man’s voice came on the line:

"Young Master Lu, my name is Lin Hong. You can just call me Erzi."

"I was the one who led the team to retrieve the Monkey Demon’s corpse this time."

Lu Jing’an said, "Lin Hong, tell me everything you saw in detail."

Lin Hong didn’t dare to be negligent.

He immediately recounted everything he had seen and heard on his trip for Lu Jing’an.

After listening to all the details, Lu Jing’an asked the same question he had just asked his third uncle.

"To answer your question, Young Master, a good number of crows did indeed collapse while they were eating."

"But... some of them flew away. They were wobbling, but they definitely weren’t dead."

Lin Hong answered truthfully.

Hearing this answer, Lu Jing’an’s brow furrowed slightly again.

Because, under normal circumstances,

the flesh of a Ghost-faced Ape would be fatal to these crows.

And it should have been instantly fatal.

Yet, some still managed to fly away.

That could only mean one thing.

Some of the crows in the Old Crow Forest had also become demonized.

This was definitely not good news.

’I just dealt with one Ghost-faced Ape, and now there are demonized crows.’

’And by the looks of it, there are quite a few of them.’

Although these demonized crows weren’t too strong at the moment,

if they were allowed to grow stronger,

they would be even more difficult to deal with than the Ghost-faced Ape.

After all, crows could fly, and there were a lot of them.

Lu Jing’an felt it would be safest to nip this danger in the bud.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Jing’an came up with a good plan.

He hung up the phone with his third uncle.

Lu Jing’an then called his second uncle, Lu Huaichuan.

He briefly explained the situation to his second uncle, and then Lu Jing’an presented his solution.

"Second Uncle, can you find a few pharmacies in the city and have them set an appropriate price for purchasing crows?"

Lu Huaichuan pondered for a moment on the other end of the line, then clapped his hands in praise.

"Brilliant! Jing’an, you’ve used the ’drive the tiger to devour the wolf’ tactic beautifully."

"Leave this to your second uncle. Don’t you worry."

Finally, there was a plan to deal with another lingering threat.

Lu Jing’an breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the time and realized eight hours had passed.

[Refining Complete]

[Acquired Green entry: Immune to Hundred Poisons]

[Acquired Green entry: Master of Throwing]

[Acquired Green entry: Long Arm Power]

[Acquired 1 Ghost-faced Ape Memory Pearl]

[Acquired 4 Energy Points]

Although there were three entries, they were all green; there were no orange entries.

This was the difference four hours made.

Lu Jing’an quickly checked the explanations and notes for the three entries.

[Immune to Hundred Poisons] (Green)

[Note]: When equipped, grants immunity to various poisons with no more than one hundred components. Please do not attempt to ingest highly toxic substances with more complex compositions.

[Master of Throwing] (Green)

[Note]: When equipped, you gain meticulous control over the trajectory and force of thrown objects. Plucking a flower or picking a leaf, all can be used to harm others.

[Long Arm Power] (Green)

[Note]: When equipped, your arms can briefly extend their Attack range or strike from extremely tricky angles. An inch longer is an inch stronger.

A look of satisfaction flashed in Lu Jing’an’s eyes.

’They’re all green entries, but every one is practical.’

’[Immune to Hundred Poisons] shores up a Martial Artist’s weakness to poison.’

’[Master of Throwing] gives me a reliable long-range option.’

’As for [Long Arm Power], it’s practically tailor-made for Long Arm Fist.’

’Next time I use Long Arm Fist, it won’t just be a visual extension.’

’My arms will be extended in a true, martial sense.’

’An inch longer is an inch stronger; that’s the principle for a Martial Cultivator.’

With a thought, he equipped all three entries at once.

The moment the entries were equipped, Lu Jing’an saw the ’+’ signs behind the three entries [As Clear as Daylight], [Master of Throwing], and [Long Arm Power] light up.

[Upgrade entry level. Energy Points required: 5. Upgrade?]

Seeing that this upgrade required three entries, Lu Jing’an was a bit surprised.

However, Lu Jing’an had plenty of Energy Points right now. The ginseng from the last raid had all been converted into Skill Points.

So without hesitation, Lu Jing’an made his choice.

[Upgrade]!

[Upgrading. Estimated time to completion: 3 hours]

While the entries were upgrading,

Lu Jing’an also inspected the Ghost-faced Ape’s Memory Pearl.

Lu Jing’an was also very curious about how the Ghost-faced Ape was artificially created.

He delved into the Ghost-faced Ape’s memories.

At first, the vision was shaky, as if leaping between treetops.

Back then, the Ghost-faced Ape was just a simple, happy long-armed ape.

It spent its days swinging and playing among the trees, picking wild fruit.

But it was smarter than its peers, even knowing to place the plumpest fruits,

before a broken clay statue—an image of "Shen Sheng" enshrined in a small rural temple.

It would also imitate humans, placing its forelimbs on the ground, as if kneeling in worship.

Until one day, an iron cage and rope nets fell from the sky.

Along with many of its kind, it was sent to a place that looked like a school but was actually a secret research institute.

People in white coats appeared daily, using cold syringes to inject liquids of various colors into their bodies.

It witnessed its companions screaming shrilly, clawing at themselves madly until they stopped breathing, their flesh a bloody mess.

It didn’t die, but instead fell into an even deeper nightmare.

The dosage of the drugs was increased again and again, and its intelligence grew, twisted by the pain.

A bloodthirsty desire and frenzied resentment burned its mind at every moment.

It roared and prayed countless times in the direction of the clay statue from its memories.

But it never received any response.

The scene shifted.

When it finally couldn’t hold on any longer,

and was tossed into the wilderness like scrap by those in white coats,

the deeply buried resentment and the demonic Medicinal Power had some kind of reaction.

It didn’t die, but instead transformed into a [Ghost-faced Ape] amid excruciating pain.

It remembered the location of the research institute, but the fear lingering in its heart kept it from turning back.

So it fled, heading south.

When hungry, it attacked lone travelers; when thirsty, it drank from mountain springs and rivers, until it barged into the Old Crow Forest.

It drove out the crow flock and intimidated the other monkeys.

It turned the place into its own lair, setting up barrier after barrier.

In the Old Crow Forest, it devoured hundreds of innocent people.

Until the arrival of Lu Jing’an and his people brought an end to it all.

Lu Jing’an slowly opened his eyes.

The scenes from the memory were not far from what he had guessed.

He silently committed the location of the research institute hidden beneath the school to memory.

’It might come in handy in the future.’

Just then, a notification appeared:

[Upgrade Complete]

[Precise Throwing] (Orange)!