Bone Forging Like Iron

The two of them headed toward No. 33 Jin Dong Street.

This had previously been Liang Song's courtyard. Now, it belonged to Lin Zheyu.

Master Liang liked peace and quiet. Few people lived around the courtyard, so the noise of martial practice would not disturb anyone else.

After entering the courtyard, they took off their outer garments.

"Junior Brother Lin, make a move."

Han Mo held a blunt saber and assumed the stance of the Six Harmonies Saber.

"Alright!"

Lin Zheyu's muscles bulged. With a bang, he shot toward Han Mo.

He moved with incredible speed, arriving before Han Mo in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh~

The blade whistled past Lin Zheyu's nose. Using his waist as an axis, Lin Zheyu spun his upper body in a circle and dodged Han Mo's blunt saber.

His waist exerted force as he unleashed a Wild Bull Charge, both fists striking toward Han Mo's face and abdomen.

Han Mo took a step back and swiftly widened the distance.

His blunt saber swept out, forcing Lin Zheyu back.

The two went back and forth at blistering speed, exchanging more than a dozen bouts in just a few breaths.

Bang—

After more than forty exchanges, Lin Zheyu dodged the blade, only for Han Mo to seize the chance and kick him flying.

"Again!"

Lin Zheyu performed a kip-up and sprang from the ground, launching another attack.

The two exchanged blows continuously for over two hours before they both lay on the ground, panting heavily.

After that bout of release, his whole body felt refreshed.

"With Master Liang gone, it always feels like something is missing."

Lin Zheyu looked at the empty courtyard, feeling somewhat lonely.

"Don't worry. Master is so formidable that nothing will happen to him. Maybe he'll even come back someday."

Han Mo said it to comfort Lin Zheyu, but also to comfort himself.

"Do you know where Master's hometown is?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

"No idea."

"Master never mentions it. Even if you ask, he won't say."

"And every so often, he disappears for a while. No one knows what he goes off to do. He's mysterious as can be," Han Mo grumbled.

Master Liang was so mysterious that if they wanted to seek him out in the future, they would not even know where to look.

"Yeah, Master Liang is far too mysterious."

"Do you think he might be some faction's secret assassin? Those periods when he disappears, perhaps he's off carrying out missions."

Lin Zheyu voiced his guess.

"I thought that too at first, but over the past decade or so, I've rarely heard of anyone being assassinated. Probably not."

The two chatted idly, one sentence here and another there.

"So bitter."

"I should add some sugar to improve the taste next time."

In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.

The Blood Enriching Bone Strengthening Soup was exceedingly bitter, especially the medicinal broth brewed from three doses at once.

After Liang Song left, Han Mo was only at the Viscera Refining Realm and could not discern much.

Lin Zheyu intended to raise his strength. In these chaotic times, every extra measure of security mattered.

Two large bowls brimming with medicinal broth sat on the table.

Each bowl contained broth brewed from three doses of Blood Enriching Bone Strengthening Soup.

After giving it some thought, Lin Zheyu drained both bowls in one go.

As the medicine entered his stomach, an astonishing heat surged through his body.

He closed his eyes and sent out a thought: Use three units of Source Power to improve the Golden Goose Skill.

In an instant, mysterious energy surged forth, drawing the medicinal power from the broth and channeling it into his limbs and bones.

Lin Zheyu's mind entered that familiar special state. He began cultivating the Golden Goose Skill like mad, while crackling sounds rang out continuously from his body.

In that state, he neither slept nor rested, cultivating without end.

Using three units of Source Power at once, he felt as if several years had passed. The stretch of time was so long that his mind grew somewhat weary.

He had never experienced that feeling before.

Under the moonlight.

Lin Zheyu's chest rose and fell. Coordinating with the Golden Goose Skill's unique breathing method, his internal organs gradually grew stronger.

The sounds of Muscle and Bone Resonance within his body became increasingly dense.

Gradually, Bones and Sinews Ringing Together echoed throughout his entire body.

Bone Forging completed!

When he opened his eyes, they brimmed with exhaustion, yet a glint of sharp light flickered within them.

"Just as I estimated, nearly all the medicinal broth I drank has been consumed. Only a trace remains."

Lin Zheyu sensed the state of his body and spoke inwardly.

He rose to his feet, his figure darting through the courtyard like a phantom, moving with extreme speed.

As he moved, faint crackling sounds came from his muscles and bones.

That was because Lin Zheyu had only just completed Bone Forging and had not yet had time to adapt.

As he gradually adjusted, the crackling sounds weakened and vanished.

Bang!

Crack—

His figure flashed, and he arrived before the wooden post used for fist practice. His right leg lashed out like a whip, and the wooden post exploded with a crack.

"Bone Refinement Like Iron—this is Bone Refinement Like Iron!"

Lin Zheyu patted the spot on his right leg that had struck the post. He did not feel the slightest thing.

The hardness of his leg bones was astonishing, as hard as metal.

Lin Zheyu threw whip kicks, leaped, and punched, his force whistling through the air.

Heaven Rewards Diligence

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 1

Skills:

Wild Bull Fist (Mastery 5%)

Golden Goose Skill (Third Layer 23%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Layer 0%)

"The third layer of the Golden Goose Skill, the Viscera Refining Realm."

Lin Zheyu adapted to his current strength, feeling more powerful than ever before.

Compared to before, his strength and speed had increased by at least fifty percent.

More importantly, after completing Bone Forging, the muscles and bones throughout his body had become incomparably hard, and the explosive power he could withstand had grown even greater.

His hardened muscles and bones made his physique stronger. Even if struck by a weapon, it would not easily break his bones.

"Only one unit of Source Power remains, and there are only six doses of Blood Enriching Bone Strengthening Soup left in the house."

"Martial arts really burn through money."

Lin Zheyu muttered, sighing at the immense expense of practicing martial arts.

In the blink of an eye, nine days had passed.

As he strolled through Songyi City, there were far fewer pedestrians on the streets.

The shops were no longer as bustling as before.

The year-end was approaching, and today was another festival for worshipping the gods.

The smiles people once wore were gone, and every face carried sorrow.

Life was becoming harder and harder.

He took a turn around the Tea House, where business had become increasingly bleak.

"Mister Lin, the boss asked me to discuss a price with you. He wants to reduce the payment for each storytelling session to three hundred copper coins."

Steward Wu came over and spoke somewhat awkwardly.

"Alright."

Lin Zheyu nodded.

Jia Yanming had spoken to him about the price yesterday as well. It had also been lowered to three hundred copper coins.

His income was dwindling day by day. Now, he earned less than one tael of silver a day.

Still, compared to ordinary people, he was doing far better.

Lin Zheyu accepted the money Steward Wu gave him. Starting tomorrow, it would be three hundred copper coins.

"Brother Lin, over here!"

Not far away, Jia Yanyong waved to Lin Zheyu.

He walked over and sat opposite Jia Yanyong. Xie Jiang was there as well.

"Have you heard? The government has issued a recruitment notice for soldiers," Xie Jiang said.

"A notice?"

"I just came back from the city gate. Why didn't I see one?" Lin Zheyu asked in confusion.

"It hasn't been posted yet."

"Lord Qiu said so. Someone in his family holds an office in the government." Xie Jiang said, "The bandit trouble outside the city is getting worse and worse. The City Guard does not have enough men and can't handle it all."

"Our Flying Rainbow Gang won't be conscripted to become soldiers, will we?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"That won't happen. The conscription is for ordinary residents."

"However, something happened at one of the Flying Rainbow Gang's iron mines on White Stone Mountain. I don't know whether they'll send us there for support," Jia Yanyong said.

"What happened?"

"Is it haunted?" Lin Zheyu asked.

The last time they had discussed the haunting at Green Grain Mountain. Now that he heard a mine outside the city had run into trouble, the first thing he thought of was ghosts.

"No."

"A powerful band of bandits has arrived near White Stone Mountain. They are very strong and utterly lawless. They've set their sights on the iron mine on White Stone Mountain and the iron weapons forged there," Xie Jiang said.

"Oh..."

Lin Zheyu was a little disappointed.

He had thought he might get to see the ghosts of this world and experience what it felt like to blow up ghosts with blasting caps.

"You aren't interested in those Netherworld Souls, are you?"

"Are you imagining that, like in the stories you tell, a female ghost will fall in love with a scholar and write a fine tale?"

Xie Jiang laughed heartily. "You'd better abandon that notion. Those Netherworld Souls have no intelligence, and they look horribly savage."

The group chatted for a while before Jia Yanyong suggested going to Hundred Flowers Pavilion for some fun.

Lin Zheyu did not go with them to fool around at Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

He returned to his own courtyard to practice martial arts.