Chapter 87: Martial Conviction (II)

A few moments later, Lin Zheyu returned from his trance-like state and took a deep breath. Although the quantity of blood qi in his body had not increased, its purity had, and his strength now felt far greater than before.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 0]

[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Golden Goose Technique (Fifth Stage: 14%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 2%), Sixfold Saber (Initial Mastery: 3%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%)]

It increased by 13 percent... meaning it will take a total of 8 units of Origin Force to complete one transformation of blood qi. And my blood qi hasn't even reached its peak. The medicinal strength of 4 sets of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction clearly wasn't enough.

Lin Zheyu examined his condition and realized that his blood qi had not yet reached its peak. Refining and transforming blood qi was far more difficult than he had imagined, requiring an immense amount of energy.

He shifted his stance, channeled blood qi into his legs, and zoomed across the courtyard.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosive bangs rang out as his kicks whipped again and again at the wooden stake. The sheer power of the blows was overwhelming; even the iron-hard birch wood stakes struggled to withstand them.

Lin Zheyu's total strength had increased by about 8 percent. Continuously refining and transforming his blood qi again and again was all in preparation for advancing to the Marrow Refining Realm.

The saying that blood qi was the foundation of martial cultivation was not empty. Only when blood qi was powerful enough could martial cultivation be refined deep into the marrow. Martial artists of the Marrow Refining Realm tempered their bone marrow and replaced all their blood, rejuvenating their bodies and making their physiques far stronger.

Liang Song had once said that martial artists who failed to break through to the Marrow Refining Realm before the age of forty would almost certainly never advance further. Only by refining martial cultivation into the marrow before the body's peak condition began to decline could one awaken new vitality and continue climbing toward the pinnacle of the Martial Dao.

Those who reached the Marrow Refining Realm broke past the limits of ordinary human lifespan, living around 150 years, with some said to have lived up to 200. But breaking through to the Marrow Refining Realm was extraordinarily difficult.

To refine martial cultivation deep into the marrow, the quality of one's blood qi had to be exceptionally high. Only martial artists who had undergone 4 blood qi transformations could refine martial cultivation into their bone marrow.

***

Inside the Jade Pill Teahouse, Jia Yanyong and the others were gathered as usual, listening to the storytelling.

The Return of the Condor Heroes tale was nearing its end, and Lin Zheyu had already written out the story and handed it over to Manager Wu in advance.

For him, storytelling income was too low now—barely 10 taels of silver a month. As his strength grew and with the Toxicology Codex now in his possession, Lin Zheyu had many more ways to earn money.

Hunting down bandits outside the city could, with some luck, earn as much as a whole year of storytelling income in a single trip, not to mention he could now make and sell poisons too.

"Brother Lin, sit over here."

Ning Hui saw Lin Zheyu approaching, shifted to the side, and freed up a seat for him.

"Lord Qiu just came by and said we'll be departing for Baishi Mountain in 7 days. He asked you to get ready," said Xie Jiang.

The Baishi Mountain watch was divided into several rotations. Each group would garrison the mountain for one month before returning, and the next deployment would be about three months later.

"How are things over at Baishi Mountain?" asked Lin Zheyu.

"There were two more raids recently. Those bastards came prepared, but the losses weren't too serious. Lord Qiu said you'll be leading a team this time, just like the Organ Forging Realm leaders, and will be in charge of securing a region. But that area is easy to defend and hard to attack, so the risk isn't high." Xie Jiang looked Lin Zheyu up and down with curiosity, and then asked, "Did you really marry into the Xu family? You're only at the Bone Forging Realm, yet you're already being given such an important post."

"Looks like we'll have to start calling you 'sir' from now on," Ning Hui teased.

The structure of the Feihong Gang was simple; several Organ Forging Realm leaders commanded Bone Forging Realm cultivators, and those experts in turn managed the underlings. Above the Organ Forging Realm leaders were Leader Xu and the three esteemed families. Now that Lin Zheyu was being entrusted with such responsibility, it was clear he was being groomed for promotion to the rank of an Organ Forging Realm leader.

"You can call me that if you want, but I think I still prefer being called Brother Lin," said Lin Zheyu with a smile.

He guessed that yesterday's sparring match with Chen Mu had likely reached Leader Xu's ears, which was why such an assignment had been arranged for him.

"I was planning to cling to your thigh for support, but you're getting promoted and assigned elsewhere already. What a shame," said Xie Jiang regretfully.

"Don't worry. As long as you don't lose your head in a fight, nothing will happen. Jia Yanyong, you'd better be careful about that. Don't follow Zhou Jiang's example," said Lin Zheyu.

Jia Yanyong was speechless upon hearing that.

"What's that got to do with me? I'm not that idiot Zhou Jiang," muttered Jia Yanyong.

The New Year festivities didn't feel much different from usual to Lin Zheyu. If there was a difference, it was that the streets felt livelier, and Baiwei Street offered foods he had never seen before. They tasted pretty good, too.

After returning from the teahouse, Lin Zheyu began practicing the Barbaric Ox Fist in his courtyard. His sparring match with Chen Mu yesterday had given him a great deal of insight. With powerful momentum qi swirling around him, Lin Zheyu threw a punch, releasing invisible waves of momentum qi that shook the heart and spirit.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Heavy thuds rang out again and again as Lin Zheyu immersed himself fully in the Barbaric Ox Fist, contemplating the momentum contained within the technique.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

What was momentum? Lin Zheyu had pondered this question before. The explosion of knowledge in his previous life hadn't made him an expert in anything, but it had given him bits and pieces of understanding in many fields. It was as if he knew a little about everything, but on closer inspection, he truly understood nothing deeply.

Drawing on his scattered knowledge from his previous life and combining it with Great Wei's martial cultivation system, Lin Zheyu had formed his own understanding. Momentum was the fusion of essence, qi, and spirit into a single force, which, when reinforced by one's conviction, emanated as a special magnetic field, or one could call it an aura.

Different convictions produced different magnetic fields. This invisible aura targeted the mind and instincts of living beings, triggering a primal sense of danger and provoking instinctive reactions. When faced with powerful momentum, even mindless beasts would instinctively feel fear, tremble uncontrollably, and perform far below their usual ability.

That was where Chen Mu's strength lay. Those with weak wills, when fighting him, would feel an inexplicable surge of fear in the face of Chen Mu's blood-drenched, murderous momentum. Their bodies would grow tense and stiff, as if facing a natural predator.

Although momentum was a special aura born from uniting essence, qi, and spirit, it did not mean that the stronger one's essence, qi, and spirit were, the easier it was to cultivate momentum. This was deeply tied to one's martial conviction.

Only those with outstanding natural talent, who had comprehended their own Martial Dao and forged a powerful conviction, could condense momentum.

Lin Zheyu's martial conviction was not his own; it was something he had grasped through comprehending the Barbaric Ox Fist. He had only been practicing martial arts for a few months and hadn't had the time to forge a conviction of his own.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The heavy thuds echoed without pause as the momentum around Lin Zheyu steadily climbed. Each punch he threw carried immense force, pressing down on the air so heavily it could leave one breathless. Yet before long, he stopped and frowned slightly.

It's still not enough. Although my fist momentum is much stronger than before, it's still not as condensed as Chen Mu's,

muttered Lin Zheyu inwardly.

Chen Mu's momentum, while not as overwhelming as his own, was far more solid. It was like the firm foundation of a towering building still under construction. His own momentum, by contrast, was like a castle in the air, built without a foundation. It had improved recently, but the higher it rose, the more precarious it became.

Both of them had cultivated their momentum by integrating insights into their techniques. The difference was that Chen Mu was constantly fighting, gaining experience, testing his martial conviction, and laying a solid foundation. He was refining his conviction until it perfectly aligned with the momentum of the Berserker Art. But Lin Zheyu had not. He had relied entirely on hard training and comprehension.

Chen Mu was right. On the path of the Martial Dao, one must forge ahead boldly, comprehending through life-and-death battles and proving one's martial conviction in bloodshed. One had to carve out a path through combat.

Shutting oneself away to train in isolation does not work in martial cultivation. Battle. I need to keep fighting, to validate my Martial Dao through combat.

A glint flashed in Lin Zheyu's eyes, and the momentum surrounding him grew slightly denser. His strength had increased too quickly along the way, so fast that there had been little time for a real foundation to settle.

In the early stages, that hadn't mattered much. But now that deeper martial comprehension and the condensation of momentum were required, the problem was becoming clear.

What was martial conviction? In Lin Zheyu's understanding, conviction was experience, battle, and realization. It was something forged through suffering and hardship, yet pursued with unwavering persistence.

Then... what is my martial conviction?