All Fear Stems from Insufficient Firepower

There was still medicinal power left, and Lin Zheyu did not waste it.

Use 1 unit of Source Power to improve the Golden Goose Skill.

The thought went out, and his Source Power decreased by one unit.

The cultivation progress belonging to the Golden Goose Skill began to jump rapidly.

Lin Zheyu's mind sank into a peculiar state.

It was as though he had entered some unknown space. Within that space, he had only one thought: practice the Golden Goose Skill!

Again and again, without pause or fatigue, he trained as if possessed.

The progress surged rapidly—40%... 60%... 100%. In an instant, it broke through to the second level and continued rising.

It finally stopped at 24% progress in the second level.

Mysterious energy welled up from the depths of his cells and began nourishing and transforming Lin Zheyu's body, concentrating mainly on his legs.

He felt the muscles and tendons in his legs grow increasingly compact and powerful, his fascia stronger, and his bone density rapidly increase. His bones became harder, and his explosive strength greater.

Heaven Rewards Diligence

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 2

Skills:

Wild Bull Fist (Proficiency 4%)

Golden Goose Skill (Second Level 24%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Level 0%)

"The second level—the Bone Refinement Realm."

Lin Zheyu opened his eyes and stretched his limbs. He did not feel the slightest depletion of his qi and blood.

His body was no longer as feverish as before. The medicinal power in the soup had been almost entirely consumed, with only a tiny bit remaining.

"The Blood Enriching Bone Strengthening Soup truly is extraordinary."

Lin Zheyu mused to himself. He planned to use this prescription from now on; not only was its medicinal effect potent, it was also convenient.

Only two units of Source Power remained, not enough to raise the Golden Goose Skill to the third level.

There was no rush.

Though he had the Turtle Breathing Technique to conceal his strength, his use and understanding of the Golden Goose Skill could not be faked. It would be easy for him to reveal it in actual combat.

For the coming days, he would be going to Master Liang's home every day to spar with Senior Brother Han Mo.

If he improved slowly, he could still claim that his comprehension was astonishing and that he had advanced rapidly through daily sparring.

Three days later.

On the road to Bi Dan Teahouse, every household was setting off firecrackers and worshipping Gods.

Crackle, crackle—

Firecrackers burst everywhere as children chased and played, having a merry time.

"On the third, worship the Kitchen God; on the fourth, sweep the house; on the fifth, steam buns; on the sixth, slaughter pigs..."

"There'll be pork to eat..."

They sang the rhyme as they chased and played.

Seeing the familiar scene before him, Lin Zheyu could not help recalling his childhood in his previous life.

Back then, he too had been as carefree as these children, as cheerful as they were.

Upon arriving at Bi Dan Teahouse, Lin Zheyu curiously asked, "Steward Wu, what day is it today? Why is everyone setting off firecrackers and worshipping Gods?"

"Today is the day we worship the Kitchen God Siming Zhenjun. Don't your family worship Gods?"

Steward Wu said it as though it were only natural, but quickly remembered that Lin Zheyu had come here as a refugee and had been separated from his family and friends along the way.

"Sorry, I spoke without thinking," Steward Wu said apologetically.

"It's fine."

Lin Zheyu waved a hand. "So it's the day to worship the Kitchen God Siming Zhenjun. No wonder it's so lively today."

In many ways, this world was very similar to his previous life.

Worshipping the Kitchen God Siming Zhenjun could ward off disaster and evil, bless the whole family with safety, and ensure abundant grain, fish, and meat in the coming year.

Besides the Kitchen God, there were Door Gods, the Land God, the Bed God, the Well God, the Toilet God, the River God... hmm... the Water God, and so on.

In Great Wei, the structure of power was quite interesting. What they valued was not the divine right of kings, but the imperial granting of divine authority. All deities were invested by imperial decree.

Take the Kitchen God, for instance. His full title was Yellow Heaven Siming Dingfu Zoushan Celestial Venerable, the God in charge of the imperial kitchen.

The emperor's ancestor, meanwhile, was the Yellow Heaven Supreme Myriad Dao Ultimate Sovereign, Golden Que Boundless Great Emperor, referred to simply as the Yellow Heaven Great Emperor.

In this world, the emperor was not the Son of Heaven. The emperor was Heaven itself!

"There are quite a lot fewer people today!"

Lin Zheyu glanced at the guests in the tea house. There were far fewer than before.

"There's nothing to be done. Anyi City has fallen, and more and more people are worried that Songyi City will be caught up in it," Steward Wu sighed.

Recently, with more and more bandits outside the city and the rising cost for merchant caravans to travel, prices within the city had risen as well.

If Han Mo and the other City Guard soldiers had not gone out from time to time to suppress bandits and keep the trade routes open, prices would likely have soared to the heavens long ago.

Even the Storytellers who came to Lin Zheyu to buy material had become fewer these past few days, because people were no longer giving tips.

Everyone was poor and had begun tightening their belts.

There was still about half an hour before storytelling began.

Lin Zheyu walked over and gathered with Jia Yanyong and the others for some idle chat.

He had been in the Flying Rainbow Gang for some time now and had become familiar with them.

As they chatted, Steward Wu came over as well.

"Steward Wu, come, have a seat."

Seeing Steward Wu, Lin Zheyu invited him to sit.

Ever since the guests had dwindled, Wu Yinghe's smile had grown much rarer. More often than not, his face was clouded with worry.

"These are hard times. Who knows when it will end?" Steward Wu sighed.

There were more and more bandits outside the city, and Refugees were no longer permitted to enter at all.

Previously, scholars who had studied and skilled craftsmen with a trade could still be allowed into the city to look for work, but now they were all barred.

"More and more people from other cities are pouring in. Things in the city have started getting chaotic. Three conflicts broke out on Hundred Tastes Street yesterday."

Xie Jiang said that the city's order had become far more chaotic as people grew increasingly uneasy.

Even with the Flying Rainbow Gang maintaining order everywhere and handling disputes, incidents still occurred from time to time.

Once order broke down, business became hard to do, protection fees could not be collected, and their own days ahead would not be easy either.

The group ordered some dishes and drank a little wine to pass the time.

Then Steward Wu said mysteriously, "Have you heard? Something happened over at Green Grain Mountain."

"Green Grain Mountain belonging to the Nine Stars Gang?" Lin Zheyu asked.

Over this period, he had learned much more about the forces in the city.

Green Grain Mountain was a coal mine rich in coal resources, and it was Nine Stars Gang territory.

The Nine Stars Gang was formed by several other major families. The income from mining coal was divided among those families according to their agreement.

"That's right, the Nine Stars Gang's."

"Come on, tell us. What major thing happened?"

Jia Yanyong was interested. Hearing that the Nine Stars Gang had run into trouble made him happy.

Not long ago, he had clashed with people from the Nine Stars Gang. During the fight, his neck had even been slashed, and it took many days for the wound to heal.

"I heard that place at Green Grain Mountain has become haunted. Quite a few people vanished for no reason at all."

"Someone saw dead workmates turn into wisps of ghosts and wander around the camp, scaring them half to death."

"Many men who went into the mine tunnels to dig coal were so frightened that they ran back out. A few of them were from my Wu Family Village," Wu Yinghe said with a dead-serious expression.

No one from Wu Family Village had died this time. Otherwise, Wu Family Village would have brought people over to make trouble.

"Tch, I thought bandits had broken in."

"What's so strange about a haunting? In coal mines and iron mines like these, all sorts of messy things lie underground. Dig long enough, and you'll always unearth something unlucky."

"What's so remarkable about that?" Jia Yanyong curled his lip, not taking it seriously.

"Indeed, it's nothing much."

"Back when I was guarding the mountains, I ran into things even stranger than this."

"Don't panic when you encounter it. Just blast it with explosives a few times and it'll be done. Nothing to it," Xie Jiang said as well.

The Flying Rainbow Gang also had mines of its own. Members of the gang took turns guarding them, preventing bandits and other forces from causing trouble.

Out in the wilds, it was nothing unusual to encounter such things.

Only someone like Steward Wu, who had spent all year in the city, would find it surprising.

Lin Zheyu was left speechless.

He had just become interested, but after hearing Jia Yanyong and the others, his interest immediately waned.

Sure enough, all fear stemmed from insufficient firepower.