Chapter 31: Tortoise Breath Grand Method

After the battle ended, Lin Zheyu chatted with Senior Brother Han Mo for a while before leaving. Senior Brother Han Mo held the position of centurion in the Songyi City Guard, commanding one hundred elite soldiers. The entirety of the city guard of Songyi City numbered just over a thousand, so for Han Mo to become a centurion was already quite an accomplishment.

From Han Mo’s words, Lin Zheyu gained a deeper understanding of the military. Martial artists were not much against an organized army. With one hundred well-trained soldiers supported by formation tactics, Han Mo could easily slaughter a Blood Qi Realm martial artist and could even dare to fight against one in the Marrow Refining Realm.

Of course, that was only if the martial artist chose to fight head-on. If a Blood Qi Realm martial artist fled at full speed, Han Mo had no way to catch up.

***

After joining the Feihong Gang, Lin Zheyu’s days returned to their former calm. Every morning, he went to Master Liang to practice the Golden Goose Technique, spent his free time writing out two stories, and sparred with Senior Brother Han Mo in the evenings.

Senior Brother Han Mo had just returned from suppressing bandits, so he could remain in the city for half a month, with plenty of time to spare. Those in the city guard rotated every half month, going out to guard important routes while eliminating bandits.

In the blink of an eye, four days passed.

"Mister Lin, have you finished the stories?" asked Lu Zhenfang as she looked at Lin Zheyu with anticipation. They would be leaving early the next morning.

"They’re finished," replied Lin Zheyu with a nod as he took out two thick, bound volumes. These were the result of his frantic writing over the past four days—the handwriting a little messy.

"May I take a look first?" asked Lu Qihui.

"Of course," said Lin Zheyu, handing the volumes over, and the two quickly began to browse through them.

Though the handwriting was a bit rough, it did not hinder reading. Soon, joy appeared on both of their faces.

"Mister Lin’s story is truly wonderful!"

"This is 15 taels of gold, which at the current market rate equals exactly 150 taels of silver," said Lu Qihui, handing over a small bundle.

Lin Zheyu accepted the bundle, opened it, and saw 15 gold ingots, each weighing one tael. It was his first time receiving gold, as daily transactions usually involved silver or official minted coins. However, compared to 150 taels of silver, this gold was much easier to store.

"If you wish for more wonderful stories in the future, you may come find me," said Lin Zheyu with a smile as he put the money away.

"Gladly. If you ever come to Bafang City and have nowhere to go, you may come to my Lu Family. Our Lu Family also runs inns and teahouses. If you perform storytelling in them, the pay would surely be higher than it is now," said Lu Qihui with a smile.

***

Early morning, at Number 33, Jindong Street.

Lin Zheyu panted heavily as he trained. After several days of hard training, Lin Zheyu’s strength had improved rapidly. His body often emitted the sounds of tendons and bones resonating, and his bones grew harder and tougher. However, he was still far from the stage of bones forged like iron.

Since he had not tempered his muscles and bones with precious medicines from childhood to build a foundation, reaching the state of bones like iron was extremely difficult. Fortunately, Lin Zheyu had his golden finger. As long as he entered that special mental state and reached the stage of bones like iron, it would be reflected onto his body. After two hours of practicing the Golden Goose Technique, Lin Zheyu stopped and gasped for breath.

Meanwhile, Liang Song was leisurely watering the plants in the courtyard with a kettle. After watering them, he took a small pair of scissors and carefully trimmed the flowers and plants, putting all his attention into them.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 7]

[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Competence 4%), Golden Goose Technique (First Stage, 39%)]

Looking at the data within his consciousness, Lin Zheyu saw that the Golden Goose Technique had reached 39%. In about half a month, it would likely reach Perfection of the first stage and break through to the second.

The first stage of the Golden Goose Technique was equivalent to the Muscle Forging Realm for martial artists. Since Lin Zheyu was already in the Bone Forging Realm, his progress was much faster.

If not for the fact that the Barbaric Ox Fist focused on fists while the Golden Goose Technique specialized in leg techniques, training different parts of the body, his progress would have been even faster.

After more than two hours of training, Lin Zheyu decided to take a break and sat with his master at the stone table, chatting idly.

"By the way, Master, do you have a technique that can hide one’s aura and conceal one’s strength?" asked Lin Zheyu curiously.

After his transaction with the Lu siblings, he had suddenly become very wealthy. With so much silver in his pocket and seven units of Origin Force accumulated, it constantly itched at him that he was not putting them to use. But he did not dare to advance recklessly.

Liang Song’s strength had already reached the third transformation of blood qi, so any advancement could never be hidden from him. But if he had a technique to conceal his strength, he could advance without restraint, no longer worrying about others seeing through him and coveting his treasures.

"A technique to conceal one’s aura? What do you want to learn that for? Such techniques are extremely difficult to master, requiring years of arduous practice. Even with high comprehension, one cannot succeed without seven or eight years of effort. If your aptitude and comprehension are lacking, even spending ten or twenty years might yield no results," Liang Song admonished. "You are in a period of rapid growth. Your main task is to advance your primary cultivation technique quickly, not waste time on other matters."

"Master, you're absolutely correct. It is only that the world is in turmoil. If I could learn to conceal my aura, enemies would lower their guard. If anything truly happened, it would serve as an extra trump card," Lin Zheyu explained. "Rest assured, Master, I will not spend too much energy on it. Outside of my daily training, I will only use my spare time to reflect and comprehend it."

Hearing this, Liang Song pondered for a moment and felt that Lin Zheyu’s words indeed made sense.

"Very well, but remember, do not waste too much time on it. The best way to face danger and protect yourself is to become stronger, not to disguise yourself as weak," cautioned Liang Song, reminding Lin Zheyu not to put the cart before the horse.

Lin Zheyu nodded in agreement. His main goal was to conceal the sudden surge of strength brought about by using Origin Force to advance.

"I have a technique called the Tortoise Breath Grand Method. It can be used to conceal one’s aura and mask one’s strength. This technique was created by a Grandmaster Realm expert. At the time, that expert was already old, no longer at his peak, so he devoted himself to research, hoping to create a method that could lock away blood qi to slow aging, and thus the Tortoise Breath Grand Method was born.

The primary purpose of this technique is to preserve vitality and blood qi, preventing one’s strength from declining too quickly with age. Its ability to conceal aura and hide strength is merely a secondary effect," explained Liang Song, who then began teaching Lin Zheyu the technique.

The technique was extremely profound, involving knowledge of blood qi, acupoints, and meridians.

"Copy down this technique and study it slowly at home. The Tortoise Breath Grand Method heavily involves blood qi. It is extremely difficult to master before reaching the Blood Qi Realm. You can wait until you reach that realm to begin cultivating it; there is no need to rush."

After saying this, Liang Song went on to explain the Organ Forging Realm and Blood Qi Realm to Lin Zheyu, then quietly continued sipping his tea.

This technique is far more difficult to cultivate than I imagined,

Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

Just the sheer amount of knowledge the technique involved, such as knowledge on internal organs and meridians, was immense. To fully comprehend and memorize it would require long periods of contemplation, cultivation, and refinement.