Chapter 406 - 388: Astonishing Speed

Su Yu used his Divine Sense to carefully perceive the Thunder Ball. Domineering, destructive... it seemed to make the entire space within his Dantian grow a bit more violent.

’Body Tempering with such ferocious Thunder Power is probably something no ordinary person could withstand. But I’m different. Because I have the authority of Thunder, it’s actually a perfect fit for me.’

[Authority]: Thunder (Integrity: 3.1%) (Thunder Summoning available)

[Authority Traits]: Thunder is the might of the heavens; to wield it is to command celestial punishment! Because you possess a miniscule amount of the authority of Thunder, your resistance to Thunder Power is increased by thirty percent, and your comprehension of Thunder Power is increased by thirty percent. If you use Thunder Summoning, you can trigger an atmospheric phenomenon, drawing down the thunder of the nine heavens to execute a thunderous punishment once!

’A thirty percent resistance... perhaps that’s enough for me to withstand even more Thunder Power.’

A sharp glint flashed in Su Yu’s eyes. The next moment, he suddenly activated the Second Step: Rushing Thunder!

BOOM!

The Qi and Blood throughout his body roared like a great river, surging toward his feet in an instant. Unlike when he activated the First Step: Startling Swan, this time, the Thunder Power within his Dantian moved simultaneously. A strand of astonishing purple lightning instantly poured into his legs.

Under the impetus and tempering of the lightning, the process of gathering his Qi and Blood Power, which used to take time, now seemed instantaneous.

But that wasn’t even the most significant change!

With the enhancement of the Thunder Power, Su Yu’s figure became like a true bolt of lightning. In a single instant, he crossed from the rear courtyard, through the festooned gate, and arrived in the front courtyard!

At the entrance to the front courtyard, Su Can, who was training the guards, only saw a blur before a figure suddenly appeared.

When he saw clearly that it was Su Yu, the shock in his eyes immediately faded back to normal.

’Just how strong is Second Brother now? Compared to him, I’m as helpless as a child. Even though I’ve broken through to the Second Acupoint and am cultivating quickly, the gap between us is only growing wider.’

’Take that speed just now, for example. It was like a bolt of lightning. Is that a speed a human can even achieve?’

Su Yu gave a slight nod to the crowd and activated the Second Step: Rushing Thunder again!

SWOOSH!

This time, his figure vanished from before their eyes again, leaving many of the guards staring, mouths agape, at the empty spot where he had been.

After activating Rushing Thunder more than ten times in a row, Su Yu’s figure moved from the rear courtyard to the front, then to the street in front of the Su Mansion, to the gate of the wealthy merchant next door... and finally back to the rear courtyard.

At this moment, he looked inward with his Divine Sense and discovered that more than half of the Thunder Power in his body had been consumed.

’The speed of this Rushing Thunder is truly astonishing. Before, with Startling Swan, I could cross about thirty zhang in an instant. Now, each step can cover about fifty zhang—an improvement of nearly fifty percent!’

This fifty percent increase should not be underestimated; in reality, it was a massive improvement. Su Yu’s speed was already extremely fast, and now, with another fifty percent boost on top of that, it had completely surpassed the level a Muscle Forging Realm expert should possess.

’Based on my current Qi and Blood and the Thunder Power in my body, I can activate it about fifteen times at most. Once the Thunder Power is gone, I’ll have to rely on Startling Swan. But I can only use Startling Swan three to five more times at most before my Qi and Blood and my body won’t be able to take it.’

’That’s enough!’

After calculating it again, a look of satisfaction flashed in Su Yu’s eyes.

’If I run into Chen Fan again, I’ll be able to catch him in less than three uses of Rushing Thunder. Let’s see how you escape then!’

...

「Public Security Bureau, Flying Feather Institute.」

Su Yu summoned his Senior Sister, Cui Wanhe, Feng Ting, and his other core subordinates to hear their reports.

"Sir, the batch of Flying Feather Guards recruited from outside the city is performing even better than expected. Many have already joined the daily patrols. Among them are three promising candidates who broke through to the Martial Artist realm after taking Pills."

Feng Ting, dressed in red light armor and exuding a valiant aura, was the one who spoke up to report.

"Mm, not bad. I’ll have to trouble Commander Feng to put in the effort to train this batch of Flying Feather Guards. What about the recruitment in the western district?"

Hearing about the western district, Feng Ting’s elegant brows furrowed. "The people in the western district are deeply prejudiced against the Government Office. So far, only a scattered few have joined. I sent people to investigate, and most still think the Government Office is trying to make an example of them and is deceiving them. Behind the scenes, there seems to be a faction directing all of this."

"The western district is a hotspot for turmoil and the district with the deepest infiltration by the Black Lotus Sect! All of you, investigate this thoroughly. See if there are Black Lotus Sect Demons stirring up trouble behind the scenes!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Also, how is the progress on establishing the elite Flying Feather Guard?"

"Sir, Wang’s Blacksmith Shop has finished forging three sets of armor. They’ve been delivered. Would you like to take a look?"

Cai Yun said, getting up while swaying her lithe, serpentine waist.

Su Yu glanced at her. He wasn’t sure when, but she had changed her habit of wearing revealing clothes. She was now in a Captain’s official uniform. Although her flirtatious charm still unconsciously revealed itself, it was a clear improvement.

"Bring them up!"

A short while later, a Flying Feather Guard brought the three sets of armor forward and placed them on the table.

"This set is Mountain Pattern Infantry Armor!" Cai Yun said, her beautiful eyes looking at Su Yu as her jade-like hand gently caressed the cold armor.

Su Yu focused his gaze. The armor set was a deep, dark green overall, woven from over a thousand fingernail-sized Black Profound Iron scales. The plates overlapped layer by layer, resembling the ancient scales of a gray dragon, their edges inlaid with bright silver, cold-steel frames. The pauldrons were shaped like ferocious Giant Ape Shoulders, and the inside was lined with snow-white wolf hair soft leather. Its sheer weight exuded a grim, iron-blooded Evil Qi.

"This second set is called the Silver Scale Armor; it is the exclusive armor for Captain-Level Commanders!"

Su Yu’s gaze shifted to the armor in the middle. Its main materials were hundred-refined meteoric iron fused with Mithril, and it shimmered with an alternating pattern of bright silver and jade-green light. The two large Bronze Heart-Protecting Mirrors on the chest were polished to a sheen like autumn water, with a faint silver light flowing across their surfaces. It was complete with a gorget and vambraces, projecting an air of majesty and luxury. Wearing it, one would look like a Silver Armored Celestial General.

"This last set is the Cyan Feather Armor, wearable by agile officers."

This suit of light armor was extremely thin and soft, constructed from tens of thousands of interlocking steel rings as fine as hair, upon which were attached lightweight, green plates resembling kingfisher feathers. Su Yu tested it with his hand and could already see its ingenuity. This light armor would be snug and tight when worn, making no sound from scraping or colliding plates while walking.

"Excellent armor!"

Su Yu couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. In terms of both appearance and function, these three sets were top-tier armor. Uncle Wang truly hadn’t disappointed him.

"Sir, ordinary weapons can’t leave a single scratch on these three sets of armor; their defense is absolutely top-tier. This is especially true for the two sets of Heavy Armor. They weigh over a hundred jin, and if a Martial Artist were to wear one, their overall strength would increase significantly!"

"Excellent. If we use this armor to create a unit of heavy-armored Flying Feather Guards, that force would be enough to suppress most unexpected situations!"

A trace of anticipation rose in Su Yu’s heart. ’If I had a unit of a hundred such Flying Feather Guards under my command, they would be a formidable force. In an ordinary ancient era, they could probably sweep through an entire city.’

’Although the Great Xia has Martial Artists who concentrate immense power in themselves, a hundred Skin Tempering Realm Martial Artists clad in Heavy Armor and equipped with astonishingly powerful military crossbows would be enough to trap and kill any enemy below the Muscle Forging Realm.’

’As for those in the Muscle Forging Realm, they might be able to use their incredible speed to escape, but if they wanted to face the unit head-on, it would depend on whether their Qi and Blood and Great Tendons could hold out. After all, a Martial Artist’s Qi and Blood and the endurance of their Great Tendons are ultimately finite; they can’t remain at their peak on the battlefield forever.’

"Now that we have the armor, we’ll speed up the screening and recruitment of the elite Flying Feather Guards. Senior Sister, I’ll leave this matter in your hands to oversee personally."

"Don’t worry, Ah Yu. I’ll oversee this matter personally."

"Then, next, let’s discuss the matter of the Huyan Family!"