Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 113 - 102: White Ape Assists Cultivation

The war in Black Mountain Prefecture broke out at the start of the year, after everyone had left.

The Black Mountain Army and the rebel forces fought several major battles outside the city, dragging on for over two months. Hong Yuan and the instructors and professors from the Martial Artist Institute took action, and were on the verge of killing the high-ranking rebels when Lin Shan betrayed them, wounding Hong Yuan. At the same time, powerful experts from Black Temple emerged among the rebel leaders and launched a siege against Hong Yuan and his allies.

With no other choice, the people from the Martial Artist Institute retreated into the city.

Deprived of interference from a top-level True Qi Realm expert, the rebels managed to stabilize their position. That same month, the rebels from Liyang Prefecture sent troops into Black Mountain Prefecture, and as Xu Yuan received no support from the other prefectures, the defenders were forced onto the defensive.

After struggling to hold the outer city for less than a month, they lost it, and soon street battles with the rebels broke out within the city quarters, prompting another retreat—this time, into the inner city.

"We haven’t gotten word from the Martial Artist Council in two months now!"

This proved the rebels had fully sealed off Black Mountain Prefecture.

Li Nangua looked at him worriedly.

"Don’t worry about me. You know I never do anything unless I’m sure of myself."

Lu Chang’sheng held her hand, comforting her.

Li Nangua leaned her head against his shoulder and whispered, "If you’re going, then let me go with you!"

"Nonsense!" Lu Chang’sheng barked softly.

Not far away, Lu Chang’an, who was playing, looked over. Seeing that his parents weren’t making a fuss, he lowered his head and went back to his games.

"I need you here to protect everyone. Otherwise, even if I do go, I won’t have any peace of mind."

Although Fufeng Town was remote, the chaos of war had attracted more and more roaming bandits—some of them even Martial Artists. Without a True Qi Realm expert to guard them, the entire Lu Mansion would find it hard to stay safe.

"Don’t worry. I’ll be sure I’m ready before I do anything."

Lu Chang’sheng said.

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Back in his training room, Lu Chang’sheng glanced at the Light Curtain Panel.

"Name: Lu Chang’sheng"

"Age: 29/57"

"Root Bone (Primary): 5/10 [Unknown]"

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"Root Bone (Secondary): 5/6 [Blade Technique, Genius, Next Tier Talent: None]"

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"Only a bit more than a month left before I hit the age thirty milestone."

"By then, my Martial Dao talent will break into a new level. Maybe that’ll be my chance to reach the Innate Realm."

Just over a year ago, he’d perfected the Five Treasures True Skill, able to exhale a breath of True Qi that wouldn’t dissipate.

This was the peak of the True Qi Realm—and with each additional Pile Skill, his foundation grew deeper. Now, in terms of combat strength, he was no less than Hong Yuan himself. Who would triumph in chain-to-chain combat? No one knew; they’d never fought for real.

But he knew that, for now, he was already very strong.

"But while my cultivation is high, my combat experience is truly lacking!"

Lu Chang’sheng was keenly aware of his own shortcomings. So, just a few days later, before dawn, he picked up his spear and headed toward Great King Mountain.

He needed to find an opponent—to temper his own real combat experience, but also to deepen his cultivation.

Though his True Skill was complete, the dozens of Pile Skills he’d learned weren’t perfectly harmonized yet. He needed to put pressure on himself, to see if forced by real danger, he might grasp their subtle connections.

Training required both long, hard effort and the right inspiration from fate. In fact, it had been a flash of Spiritual Light during a rainy night that gave him this realization.

"Gou Dao is good—but you can’t always live that way. In cultivation, you have to keep moving forward. Some obstacles you can dodge; some you can’t."

Under the sunrise, Lu Chang’sheng carried his spear as he sprinted through the mountain paths.

His mind replayed his journey from nothing to Advanced Scholar status.

Those were obstacles that couldn’t be dodged.

To overcome that kind of barrier, you either have to substitute it with another obstacle—or make a desperate leap.

If you make it, you soar like a carp through the dragon gate; if not, at worst, you just land back where you started.

No lime packets. No armor. Upright and honest!

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On a mountain ridge, new graves had already weathered into old ones.

Several thatched huts sat there.

Compared to four years ago, Ancient Mountain now bore a hint of age. He wasn’t alone—nearby were an eight- or nine-year-old boy and girl, pulling weeds off the graves.

Their skin was tanned—they were disciples Ancient Mountain had taken in from a nearby village. He taught them reading and writing, and sometimes some Pile Skills, too.

But never the Divine Power Stake. If the kids ever left and revealed it, it could easily cost them their lives.

"Master, that White Ape is making a ruckus again."

The boy looked up at the distant valley as he spoke.

Perhaps out of grief over its lost child, the White Ape often roared in the valley.

Ancient Mountain sighed, saying, "That Exotic Beast is storing up a ton of rage. Sooner or later, it’ll become a vicious beast. Looks like we’ll have to move before long."

Vicious beasts are even crueler than Exotic Beasts, and will leave their birthplace to hunt and kill elsewhere.

Ancient Mountain felt guilty, but he absolutely didn’t have the strength to deal with the White Ape.

The boy and girl’s faces filled with curiosity at his words.

They wondered what the White Ape really looked like—what could possibly make their powerful teacher willing to give up his master’s tomb and abandon this place?

After they finished clearing the weeds, the sun was blazing. They were about to head back when thunderous explosions sounded from the valley.

"Master, what’s happening over there?" the girl exclaimed in shock.

Ancient Mountain’s face grew tense. "It’s probably just the White Ape venting its rage. Don’t wander far outside these days, all right?"

Seeing how serious he was, both kids nodded quickly.

Their curiosity only grew.

They were country children—used to climbing trees and swimming in rivers, incapable of sitting still. The girl was especially curious by nature.

For days afterward, every morning brought thunderous rumbles from the valley, mixed with the White Ape’s constant furious roars—it seemed madder than ever.

At last, ten days later, the girl couldn’t hold back her curiosity. Seizing the chance while Ancient Mountain was away, she stuffed some Insect Repellent Ointment and weapons in her pocket and snuck off toward the valley.

She hadn’t gone far when someone’s voice called from behind.

"Where are you going?"

"Just looking for herbs to pick over there!"

The girl replied.

But the boy didn’t believe her. "Yeah right! You want to sneak over and spy on the White Ape. Careful—if Master gets mad, he’ll kick you out and send you back to the village!"

The girl felt a pang—not regret for sneaking out, but for not noticing the boy. Puffing up with anger, she shot back, "I’m really just picking herbs! Believe it or not!"

She wasn’t willing to lose: Fine, I’ll actually go gather some herbs and skip the valley—let’s see what you say then!

The boy hadn’t expected this response and was a bit taken aback, so he just sulked and turned away. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

But now the girl was even less willing to give up and blurted, "Aren’t you even a little curious about the White Ape in the valley?"

The boy hesitated, then nodded. Still, he was more honest by temperament. "Yeah, but if Master finds out we sneaked off, he’ll definitely drive us out!"

The girl said, "So just don’t get caught. We take a peek and head right back. If we don’t say anything, Master’ll never know."

Between her coaxing and his own curiosity, the boy gave in. He ran back for some Insect Repellent Ointment and weapons, then joined her.

Jogging the whole way, within an hour or two, the White Ape’s roars were ringing in their ears—thunderous, close at hand.

The boy was already scared. "Let’s just go back. That White Ape sounds terrifying!"

The girl scoffed, "Scaredy-cat! I’m just a girl and I’m not scared. What’s your excuse?"

With that, she ignored him and pushed ahead.

He had no choice but to follow after her.

Soon enough, a shadow flickered ahead, then a fierce gust of wind blasted past them.

The girl was startled and dodged behind a big tree. She’d trained her martial talent for years, almost reaching entry-level. Whatever had pounced at them wasn’t very fast—she could dodge easily enough.

But the next second, a chill shot through her heart.

The thing rushing past was a huge ape, covered in thick fur, hanging arms nearly reaching the ground, its pair of eyes wild and terrifying.

And in that instant, the surrounding trees were crawling with apes—at a glance, at least a dozen or more.

"Run!"

The girl fled at once.

The boy was a few seconds slower and, when he tried to follow, saw several apes leap from the trees, blocking his way.

The girl, hearing no footsteps behind, looked back and panicked. Forgetting her own danger, she rushed back to help fight the apes. But she was still just a kid; with little battle experience, she was soon overwhelmed, barely dodging attacks.

She was right on the edge of death when suddenly a BOOM echoed from within the valley.

The troop of apes bolted like scared birds, scrambling up the trees and fleeing in all directions.

It was as if something terrifying was after them in that valley.

"Why are you still standing there? Move!" a harsh voice barked out. The two of them snapped out of their daze and took off, running up the mountain with all the strength they had, not stopping until they reached their huts.

Behind them, the White Ape’s roar slowly faded.

Before, they would have assumed it was just the White Ape acting up, as usual. But now, they knew different—someone was inside that valley, fighting with the terrifying White Ape.

Two days later, Ancient Mountain noticed the kids were acting strange. After some probing questions, the two confessed everything about sneaking out to the valley.

When Ancient Mountain heard there was someone else in the valley, he was deeply shaken.

"The Exotic Beast White Ape— even someone like Senior Hong Yuan couldn’t subdue it. Who would dare fight it again and again?"

The next day, Ancient Mountain went to the valley himself. Sure enough, he heard the sounds of fierce combat, and was increasingly alarmed.

From afar, he hadn’t been able to tell what was going on. Up close, he found the battle noises were anything but ordinary.

"Anyone who can spar with the White Ape so many times must be fiercer than even Dean Hong Yuan. I’d better not mess with such a character or spy carelessly."

With that, he retreated to the side and quietly waited.

The shocks and vibrations in the valley kept coming, one after another, for more than an hour before settling down.

He’d thought he might meet this "senior" soon, but after an hour, the valley echoed with battle once more.

"Is... is that senior using the White Ape to hone their Martial Arts?"

Ancient Mountain suddenly thought of something, his eyes going wide as saucers.

Another half a day later, at last, he caught sight of the "senior."

But when he saw who it was, Ancient Mountain’s scalp went numb.

"You’re... Bro Chang’sheng?"

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