Chapter 200: Circulating And Stopping (I)

Pitter-patter.

Heavy rain had fallen since last night. The sky was gloomy, and the roads were terribly muddy. Fortunately, the Ox Horse carriage driven by Lin Zheyu was powerful enough that, despite the slippery road, it could continue forward without trouble.

Chirp, chirp.

Little Black sat outside the carriage. Every time it tried to crawl inside, Lin Zheyu kicked it back out. The little creature had just been playing in the rain, so its whole body was soaked and covered in mud, looking utterly filthy.

"Here. This is all there is to eat these days." Lin Zheyu tossed a greasy pancake out. Even if Little Black managed to catch a beast, there was no way to roast it in the rain, so they had to fill their stomachs with dry rations instead.

Hiss, chirp, chirp.

Little Black whimpered pitifully at the sight of the pancake. It did not want to eat that dry, tasteless thing. What it wanted was roasted meat—fragrant, sizzling, juicy roasted meat!

"Sit down and stay still. No moving around," Lin Zheyu said, glancing at it.

Though unwilling, Little Black obediently crouched outside the carriage. It stretched out its paws, letting the rain wet them, then licked and groomed its fur. As for the pancake on the ground, it did not even glance at it. Lin Zheyu paid that no attention, however. As a second transformation beast, the little thing could go ten or fifteen days without food and still be fine.

"If it rains again tonight, I'll have to wait until tomorrow night to attempt breaking through my limit."

Lifting the curtains, Lin Zheyu looked out at the drizzling rain, feeling an unexplainable sense of irritation. He had been traveling for over a month without stopping, except for a single day of rest ten days ago in a passing city to replenish supplies. Such a life was tolerable for ten or fifteen days, but after so long, the restlessness began to build.

Lin Zheyu closed his eyes and silently recited the incantation from the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual for cultivating soul secret art. The incantation was extraordinary; merely chanting it brought calm and peace to the heart.

***

Fortunately, by afternoon, the rain had stopped. Golden sunlight streamed down, and the air grew noticeably warmer.

Chirp, chirp.

Little Black excitedly climbed onto the Ox Horse's back, hopping about in delight. The rain had stopped, which meant it would soon get to eat roasted meat again.

"Little Black, Little Black, come over to big sister!" called a fourteen-year-old girl from the neighboring carriage, holding up a flatbread excitedly to lure it over.

Her name was Liang Yunhui. She had a round face, and though still young, her figure had already developed in ways that contrasted sharply with her adorable baby face. Fortunately, her thick layers of clothing concealed her shape, so others could not tell at all.

Chirp, chirp.

Little Black glanced at the flatbread in her hand, but upon realizing it was just bread, lost all interest.

"The rain finally stopped~."

Lin Zheyu stepped out of the carriage and stretched lazily. After cultivating the soul secret art from the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual for a while, all the gloom in his heart had dissipated.

The wheels rolled over the muddy road, creaking as they went.

Lin Zheyu stood outside the carriage, taking in the scenery on both sides. Over the past month, they had encountered many bandits, though none were particularly strong. Even so, people had died. Of the eleven travelers who had not paid for protection from the Guangxuan Escort Agency, three were dead. The people from the Guangxuan Escort Agency were strict about their rules; those who did not pay for their protection received no help when danger struck.

"Uncle Zhao, can you let Little Black play with me for a while?" Liang Yunhui pleaded in a playful tone.

She was an adorable girl who loved to smile, and her smile was especially sweet. Like Lin Zheyu, she had only paid for the escort's travel guidance service, and not for their protection.

"Give it something tasty, and it'll play with you," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

Over the past month of traveling, he had grown quite familiar with Liang Yunhui and her mother, Liang Yuhan. The cheerful girl's constant chatter had helped ease much of his travel fatigue.

Liang Yuhan was a martial artist of considerable strength, having reached the second transformation of blood qi. She had disguised her face, making it hard to tell what she truly looked like. Her figure, however, was well-proportioned, which was unsurprising for a martial artist. The mother and daughter were complete opposites in temperament. Liang Yuhan was quiet and often stared off at the scenery in silence, while Liang Yunhui was lively and talkative, chattering away all day long.

"Without food, I can't order it around either," Lin Zheyu said, shrugging with a grin.

He liked teasing the adorable girl from time to time. Liang Yunhui's personality was innocent and pure, and her round face made her irresistibly cute, stirring in him a sense of fond protectiveness. It was much like that of an elder toward a beloved child.

"You're lying, Uncle! I've seen you tell Little Black to sit, and it always obeys!" Liang Yunhui pouted, puffing out her cheeks. Over the past month, she had grown much more familiar with Lin Zheyu and no longer spoke with the same reserved tone as before.

"I can only make it sit; nothing more. Why don't you come over here? I'll make it sit still so you can play with it," said Lin Zheyu.

"But..." Liang Yunhui hesitated, glancing at her mother. Seeing that she didn't object, the girl happily leapt onto Lin Zheyu's Ox Horse carriage.

The girl's strength and natural talent were both impressive; at only fourteen, she had already reached the Organ Forging Realm. Among those traveling with the Guangxuan Escort Agency toward the Central Plains, most of the young talents possessed remarkable aptitude. They were likely on their way to seek masters and further their training.

Most were accompanied by fathers or uncles, and Liang Yuhan was the only woman; all the rest were male martial artists. Even in Bafang City, powerful female martial artists were exceedingly rare, as men dominated the martial world.

"Little Black, sit!" Liang Yunhui said cheerfully, mimicking Lin Zheyu's tone as she gave the command.

Little Black glanced at her, flicked its tail, and continued playing on its own.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Uncle~!" Liang Yunhui called sweetly, gazing at Lin Zheyu with pleading eyes.

"Hehe!"

Lin Zheyu chuckled at the sight.

Lin Zheyu called Little Black over and had it sit obediently so it could play with Liang Yunhui for a while. After watching them play for some time, he returned to the carriage, sat cross-legged, and quietly began circulating the Boiling Blood Secret Art.

After over a month of cultivation, his Boiling Blood Secret Art was nearing Perfection, and he had gained a deeper understanding of it. First, its use came with severe depletion of essence, qi, and spirit, requiring powerful tonics to recover. Normally, one would need a month or two of rest to fully regain balance. However, with his Origin Force, as long as there was sufficient medicinal energy, he could recover much faster. Though he had yet to test it, the required amount of medicine was surely enormous.

Second, once activated, the Boiling Blood Secret Art could not be stopped midway. It had to run for at least three minutes, draining essence, qi, and spirit to their limits before ending automatically. If the enemy was not defeated within those three minutes, each additional minute would consume the equivalent of ten years of lifespan. Beyond six minutes, the practitioner would completely exhaust their essence, qi, and spirit and die of collapse. Thus, this secret art was one to be used only in moments of life and death.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 22]

[Skills: Raging Wind Slash (Perfection), Boiling Blood Secret Art (Advanced Mastery: 98%), Golden Goose Technique (Tenth Stage: 100%), Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual (Third Stage: 100%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 100%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his consciousness. Over the past month, he had accumulated 22 units of Origin Force. Ever since mastering the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual to Perfection, his strengthened physique allowed him to gain more Origin Force with each breakthrough. Now, every two breakthroughs yielded 3 units of Origin Force, greatly accelerating his accumulation. Besides that, his Boiling Blood Secret Art had improved significantly, only 2% short of reaching Perfection. Yet he had been stuck at 98% Advanced Mastery for nearly twenty days.

"Still no good. Without actually activating the Boiling Blood Secret Art once, or even multiple times, I can't push it to Perfection," Lin Zheyu murmured with a helpless shake of his head.

Since the Boiling Blood Secret Art could not be stopped once activated, he had never dared to use it. The journey to the Central Plains was fraught with danger, and activating the technique would leave his body weak and vulnerable. Moreover, he was unwilling to waste precious Origin Force on a technique that could be cultivated to completion in a relatively short time.

"Could it be that I'll only be able to perfect it once I reach the Central Plains?" he muttered to himself.

During this period, he had been trying to find a way to stop the Boiling Blood Secret Art midway. His powerful physique and refined control over blood qi had brought him some progress, but he was still stuck when it came to understanding the body's acupoints.

Lin Zheyu's understanding of acupoints was limited. Before reaching the Force Transformation Realm, martial cultivation rarely involved them beyond superficial use. Only after that realm would martial artists begin true acupoint development. The Boiling Blood Secret Art worked precisely by stimulating acupoints to unleash the body's hidden potential. The creator of the art possessed profound knowledge of acupoints, far beyond what Lin Zheyu, a novice in this area, could hope to modify. Even when he tried to approach the problem from his area of strength, blood qi, it proved immensely difficult.

I'll try again. The journey's not even halfway over, so there's still plenty of time.

If he could freely control the activation and cessation of the Boiling Blood Secret Art, he would no longer need to fear exhausting his essence, qi, and spirit to their limits. Then, the technique could be used in ordinary combat rather than only in life-or-death situations. If he were to activate it for just an instant before striking, his strength would surge fivefold. Combined with the sixfold blood qi burst and the threefold power of the Barbaric Ox Fist, the resulting punch would reach a staggering ninetyfold power.

The ninetyfold increase was only a theoretical estimate; in practice, there would be some loss. Even so, the power would still reach sixty or seventy times normal strength. It was enough to annihilate the powerful beast he had once fought outside Bafang City. If he could then stop the Boiling Blood Secret Art immediately afterward, he would avoid depleting his essence, qi, and spirit to their limits. Unfortunately, mastering such precise control over activation and termination was far too difficult for him at present.