Chapter 53: True Form of the Ape King

Seeing this.

Ning Qi chuckled helplessly and couldn't help but tap the white ape's head in reprimand

"You little rascal."

The white ape gave a silly grin.

He knew, of course, that Ning Qi would not harm him. He was simply somewhat fearful when facing the unknown, yet also filled with anticipation, because Ning Qi had once told him that perhaps this method could activate his bloodline ahead of schedule.

Whether an exotic beast is powerful or not depends on the strength and the degree of development of its primordial Heavenly Beast bloodline.

The former determines the ceiling of an exotic beast, while the latter determines its current strength.

Thinking this, Ning Qi placed his palm on the white ape's shoulder, and an internal energy far more solid than before immediately probed into the white ape's body.

Previously, every time Ning Qi's internal energy probed inside, it would dissipate at an extremely high speed, leading to a lack of sustained momentum. But now it was different; the internal energy possessed ample follow-through, currently flowing continuously through the white ape's meridians, membranes, and blood.

Ning Qi had already conducted several rough explorations and had made various hypotheses through medical techniques. Now, after the breakthrough of his internal energy, he felt as if a fish had returned to water.

"Natural bones and muscles are indeed different from humans. When I created the Ape King Stance for him before, I had deduced some of this, but probing through internal energy now is even more intuitive. However... the biggest difference should still be in the blood!"

Ning Qi closed his eyes and exerted all his effort to perceive, a strange look appearing in his eyes.

The internal energy clearly felt a more stagnant, obstructive sensation within the blood. Not only that, but he could vaguely sense a certain sense of oppression emanating from it.

"A natural bloodline is indeed extraordinary!"

This further confirmed Ning Qi's suspicion.

He had previously felt that the Heavenly Beast bloodline within Yuan Tiansheng might be too powerful, causing it to be unable to awaken. Now, it seemed that was most likely the case.

He couldn't help but feel expectant; if one day Yuan Tiansheng's bloodline were to awaken, combined with his cultivated martial arts, just how powerful would he be? He would surely be a king-like existence among exotic beasts.

As the internal energy flowed slowly, the joy in Ning Qi's eyes grew more intense, and flashes of inspiration streaked through his mind.

This was his first time clearly exploring the condition within the white ape's body; this physique, which was entirely different from a human's, gave him much inspiration.

"The secrets deep within the bloodline cannot be touched for now, but the secrets of the physical body can be explored!"

Ning Qi slowly withdrew his internal energy and opened his eyes.

At this moment, the internal energy within his own body was basically exhausted. Probing internal energy into someone else's body was no easy feat; perhaps even an ordinary expert of the Gangyuan Realm could not do it.

The white ape was also somewhat fatigued. However, he remained sitting respectfully without any resistance. He said he was afraid, but in reality, he was incredibly cooperative; he knew Ning Qi was doing this for his own good.

Seeing the white ape's expectant gaze, Ning Qi laughed loudly

"You little monkey, now you're actually looking forward to it."

A flattering expression appeared on the white ape's face as he hurriedly and respectfully began to massage Ning Qi's legs and shoulders.

Ning Qi said with a smile

"Don't worry. After a few more times, we should be able to figure it out. When that time comes, I can tailor a secret technique specifically for you, which might offer hope of activating part of your bloodline power ahead of schedule."

The white ape was instantly overjoyed, unable to help but perform several somersaults, scratching his head and feet in excitement.

Ning Qi watched with a smile, feeling somewhat sentimental.

The little monkey who had pestered him shamelessly to follow him back all those years had gradually grown up, even possessing strength far exceeding that of the Iron-Armed Ape from before.

Having accompanied him for three years, Ning Qi already regarded the white ape as family. Exploring the bloodline within his body was both helping him and satisfying his own curiosity, enhancing his own knowledge and foundation—and, of course, seeing if there was anything he could learn from.

Thinking this, Ning Qi suddenly thought of the chubby boy Zhuang Chen from the Divine Sword Sect.

"If I can clearly explore the principles of the Innate Sword Bone, tsk tsk, perhaps in the future, there might be hope to manufacture a batch of 'Acquired Sword Bones' through acquired means?"

Ning Qi smiled slightly.

In the following days, the turmoil at the Zhenwu Sect had completely subsided. However, patrols were not relaxed, especially around the Library Pavilion.

Luo Wentian and the others finally found some time to visit Ning Qi, and more figures began to frequent the Dao Seeking Academy. They were also worried that the recent instability in the Zhenwu Sect might have caused Ning Qi anxiety.

"Xiao Jiu, you only need to wait until Master finishes his seclusion, and everything will return to how it was. You don't need to worry," his senior brothers and sisters asked with concern.

Ning Qi merely smiled and indicated that he was unaffected.

Luo Wentian and the others naturally did not know.

Every night, Ning Qi would patrol around Mount Zhenwu to prevent any Gangyuan Realm experts from sneaking in. Without them even knowing, he had even dealt with several groups of powerful invaders, including experts of the White Mist Realm and masters of the Great Success or Perfection stages of the Internal Yuan Realm.

In addition, Ning Qi continued to work hard according to his own cultivation rhythm.

On one hand, he continued to systematically establish the connection between his internal energy and his physical body; on the other hand, he used his internal energy to continuously probe the condition of the white ape's body, while also searching the Library Pavilion for records and descriptions regarding exotic beasts and Heavenly Beasts.

Ten or so days passed.

The flashes of inspiration in Ning Qi's mind grew increasingly dense.

"Heavenly Beasts are the legendary beasts favored by heaven. They are born with various powerful abilities and can control the forces of heaven and earth. Exotic beasts are those with the bloodline of Heavenly Beasts flowing through them; no matter the type of beast, they all possess at least a trace of Heavenly Beast bloodline."

"If the Heavenly Beast bloodline awakens, they gain various powerful abilities and thus become exotic beasts. If the awakening of the bloodline creates the strength of the exotic beast, then conversely, if the exotic beast itself becomes strong enough, can it cause the bloodline to further awaken?"

Ning Qi was thinking about how to activate the bloodline within the white ape.

He already had a clue.

At this moment

"If the existing physical body is insufficient to activate the bloodline, then make the physical body strong enough!"

"In this way, the bloodline will be forced to awaken, forming a positive cycle. The innate strength will undergo a leap!"

In Ning Qi's mind, flashes of inspiration intertwined, and martial arts involving the secrets of the physical body flowed through his consciousness. The details of the white ape's physical condition he had explored during these days also flooded his mind.

He closed his eyes.

Deep within his mind, an ancient ape that could blot out the sky could be vaguely seen roaring toward the heavens.

All the inspirations bore fruit, and a secret technique had taken shape.

"I shall call it: Ape King True Body!"

Ning Qi opened his eyes, his gaze full of joy and a profound sense of achievement. He was already somewhat impatient to see what the white ape would be like after practicing the Ape King True Body.

"Tiansheng, I am going to teach you a secret technique."

Upon hearing this, the white ape hurriedly stopped his stance training and ran over eagerly, his eyes filled with anticipation.

For all this time, he had cooperated with Ning Qi's explorations—from his initial readiness to face death to his subsequent enjoyment of the process—simply because Ning Qi had said there was a possibility of allowing him to awaken his bloodline early!