Threefold Breathing Technique, Quasi-Martial Master

"Zhenshuo Garrison? Wasn't that the garrison district where my late father had been stationed in his early years?"

Lin Zhao murmured to himself. The "Grandmaster Luo Xue" described by Ling Mengchu happened to match the image in his mind of that "extraordinary man with Yang Gang Inner Strength"—someone who could condense pale golden inner strength and tame exotic beasts possessed methods far beyond those of an ordinary martial master.

"Still, it is difficult to determine whether it is true or false. Perhaps Ling Mengchu had grown senile and muddleheaded, and these were merely fabricated jianghu tales."

"True or not, the waters near Zhenshuo Garrison are, at least, a lead."

Lin Zhao committed the matter to memory, then finished the rest of the travelogue—it was filled with records of "Exotic Beasts of Nanyang" and "Strange Flowers of the Islands," unrelated to Yang Gang Inner Strength. He then used a fire starter to burn the book. Though such a lone copy was rare, it held no practical value and would only take up space.

"If I could tap into the garrison's official report network, or contact the Merchant Guild intelligence stations in Jiangnan, I would not have to search so blindly."

Lin Zhao sighed softly, composed himself, and picked up the Silk Scroll Notes of the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique again. He was fewer than three hundred proficiency points away from the Third Tier. Before the month was out, he would surely step into the Quasi-Martial Master realm.

During these days, whenever he was not cultivating, Lin Zhao visited the three young snow apes in the rear courtyard every day.

If these three Northern Snow Apes could survive to adulthood, they would become three exotic beasts with martial-master-level combat strength. Even among the noble families north of the river, such prestige would be unmatched.

When that time came, why would he need to ride a warhorse?

Armored snow apes charging across the battlefield would likely look even more imposing than the "God of War" in the storybooks. The thought reminded him of the fantasy tales he had read in his previous life, and he could not help but feel a measure of anticipation.

To ensure the cubs' health, Lin Zhao spared no expense. He specially assigned three attentive estate guards to care for them day and night. Their daily meals consisted of fresh venison and warm goat milk, sometimes supplemented with crushed herbs that nourished qi and blood. Fearing that they might be sensitive to the cold, he had also built a fire pit in their room and laid down Mystic Frost Fox Fur.

Beyond providing supplies, Lin Zhao personally took part in their "taming." Every day, he brought roasted venison to feed them, hoping to make himself a familiar face.

He knew that while most exotic beasts were wild and hard to tame, they understood human nature. If raised from childhood, some degree of trust could always be built.

To be safe, he also had a caravan purchase the Jianghu Beast Taming Manual, Study of Northern Exotic Beasts, and a Beast Taming Notes from the Jurchen tribes. To his surprise, after reading more than half of the Jianghu Beast Taming Manual, the Proficiency Panel in his mind gained a new skill:

Lin Zhao
-----

-Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique: Second Level (4655/5000)

-Three Talents Slash: Third Tier (59/10000), special effect: Advanced Shocking Force

-Beast Taming: First Level (69/1000)

-...

"This can count too?"

Lin Zhao froze. He had never understood the rules by which the panel recorded skills. He only knew that combat techniques and internal arts would definitely be included, while life skills depended entirely on "fate."

Now that he had gained such a useful skill out of nowhere, it was like sending charcoal in the snow for his efforts to raise the snow apes.

To verify his guess, Lin Zhao immediately ordered Zhao Tieying to gather beast-taming manuals from every region. Within days, several thick thread-bound books were delivered to his study: Imperial Entertainment Troupe Beast Taming Secret Records, Western Regions Eagle Taming Art, and Record of Elephant Raising in Lingnan. So long as they had anything to do with "beast taming," whether cheap or expensive, he bought them back at a high price.

One had to know that hand-copied books in this era were extremely costly. An ordinary miscellany cost two taels of silver, while these obscure beast-taming books were worth more than five taels apiece.

But to grind Beast Taming proficiency, Lin Zhao could only grit his teeth and dip into his personal savings. This was the last of the silver his father had left him, which he had originally intended to save for Pangolin Dragon Essence.

This left Zhao Tieying utterly baffled. When he entered the study, he could not help asking, "Young Master, are you planning to change professions and become a beast tamer?" His tone was full of helpless amusement. What sort of military family's young master learned animal taming?

"No, Uncle Zhao." Lin Zhao set down the Western Regions Eagle Taming Art in his hand and said seriously, "Those three snow apes are far too wild. Every time I feed them, they bare their teeth and growl at me. Without some proper methods, I fear they will be difficult to tame."

"Very well." Zhao Tieying shrugged helplessly, then changed the subject, his tone turning grave. "It is only that the estate treasury accounts are nearly empty. There are only one hundred sixty-eight taels of silver left. After buying all these books, you will need to be more frugal."

"Do not worry. I know my limits." Lin Zhao nodded in agreement. He already had an idea for earning silver, though it was not yet fully formed.

Gathering books would take time, so Lin Zhao continued using the "primitive method" of taming beasts in the meantime—luring them with delicious food. After all, even the fiercest snow ape could not resist roasted venison coated in honey.

The three little fellows were rather amusing. On one hand, they bared their fangs at Lin Zhao, putting on an air of "strangers keep away." On the other, they snatched the roasted meat from his hand with incredible speed, eating until their mouths gleamed with grease, as righteous and confident as though they were "claiming a reward."

After several times, Lin Zhao felt less like he was taming beasts and more like he was "haggling" with a group of little ancestors.

Seven days later, while Lin Zhao was practicing his breathing technique in the martial training ground, a vast surge of inner strength suddenly welled up inside him. The Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique had finally broken through to the Third Tier!

Inner strength coursed and surged through every limb and bone. His breathing abruptly became rapid as he inhaled large amounts of cold air into his lungs. His qi and blood boiled in an instant, his muscles and bones seeming to be reforged, every inch of his body brimming with explosive power.

Though it was the dead of winter, white mist steamed from his body. Three streams of white vapor, each a foot long, issued from his mouth and nose, while a soft humming sounded within him—like charcoal burning in a winter fire pit, and like the purring of a curled-up kitten. This was the sign that his inner strength had reached completion.

After more than a year of bitter cultivation, he had finally reached the standard of a Quasi-Martial Master!

Lin Zhao hurriedly summoned the panel and saw that the skill list had updated:

Lin Zhao
-----

-Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique: Third Tier (1/10000)

-...

"I have finally reached the Third Tier!"

Lin Zhao let out a long breath. Next, he only needed to temper his inner strength and stabilize his realm. Once the Third Tier was complete, he could condense his own Qi Seed and enter the ranks of official martial masters!

"The Quasi-Martial Master realm truly is a great hurdle..." He stretched his muscles and bones, feeling the inner strength rushing through him, and sighed inwardly. "Of those in this world who cultivate internal arts, eight or nine out of ten are stuck at the Second Level, unable to glimpse the gateway to the Third Rank for their entire lives. Even among those who become Quasi-Martial Masters, only one percent can successfully condense a Qi Seed and advance into true martial masters."

Now, even without armor, relying solely on the Advanced Shocking Force of the Three Talents Slash, he could kill five Gray-Maned Demonic Wolves with a single sword stroke.

After advancing to Quasi-Martial Master, his physical abilities had improved across the board—his strength, speed, and endurance were all more than three times those of an ordinary person. Most notably, his flesh and skin had become extraordinarily resilient.

Lin Zhao opened his collar, revealing a bronze-colored chest. His eight abdominal muscles were sharply defined, hard as rock, and gleamed with healthy vitality.

He circulated thirty percent of his inner strength, curled his hand into a fist, and lightly struck his abdomen—

"Hiss... It only hurts a little. I can bear it."

He smiled. If that punch had landed on an ordinary person, it would likely have knocked them unconscious outright. Yet to him now, it was no more than "scratching an itch."

"If an ordinary person does not use a weapon or strike a vital point, they cannot injure me at all. This is the power of the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique!"

This was only the strength of a Quasi-Martial Master. If he could advance to an official martial master, he estimated that he would possess a physique five times that of an ordinary person the moment he entered the realm, placing him on par with a veteran martial master like Zhao Tieying. After all, the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique was an Upper Grade internal art, and its advantages began to show from the Quasi-Martial Master realm.

As for a Grandmaster Warrior like his father, Lin Yuanshan, he possessed ten times the physique of an ordinary person. On the battlefield, he could be called a "humanoid ferocious beast," able to charge through formations beneath a rain of arrows!

At the thought, the light in Lin Zhao's eyes grew hotter and hotter. His longing for the realm of official martial master was stronger than ever before.

Year 23 of Jiajing, Second Month

Half a month had passed since Lin Zhao advanced into the Quasi-Martial Master realm. During this time, he studied the miscellaneous records on Yang Gang Inner Strength gathered by Zhao Tieying while devouring all kinds of beast-taming texts. His Beast Taming proficiency rose steadily. Being able to improve a skill simply by reading was an entirely new experience for him.

Within a few days, the Beast Taming skill smoothly broke through to the Second Level:

Lin Zhao
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-Beast Taming: Second Level (1/5000)

-...

Yet he had only read through a small portion of the beast-taming books in his possession. Many theater troupes in the Ming Dynasty jianghu possessed animal-taming techniques, and every book contained unique methods. Not to mention the tribes living in grasslands and deep mountains, whose beast-taming secret arts had been passed down through generations and were even more exquisite. For example, the Jurchen's Beast Soul Connection could use one's own inner strength to soothe exotic beasts, which would be extremely helpful in raising the snow apes.

Lin Zhao calculated inwardly that simply studying these books might truly allow him to grind the Beast Taming skill to a high level. When that happened, taming the snow apes would be as easy as turning over his hand.

Besides reading, he also applied the theories from the books in practice. Every day, he used "inner strength soothing" on the snow apes. Though they had not yet become completely close to him, they no longer bared their fangs at him, and occasionally even approached him on their own to beg for food. Each practice session added several points of proficiency to the panel, making it more efficient than reading alone.

In contrast, the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique had gained only three hundred proficiency points that month. At this rate, reaching ten thousand points for completion and condensing a Qi Seed would take at least two years.

"I must put the matter of the Mystic Dragon Secret Medicine on the agenda as soon as possible."

Lin Zhao rubbed his brow. At present, only a few dozen taels of silver remained in the estate treasury, and his family assets were pitifully thin.

The estate had more than fifty cattle and over a hundred sheep, but these were the foundation of the tenant farmers' work and the daily source of meat and milk within the fortress. He absolutely could not drain the pond to catch the fish by selling them for money.

If he had not sold the demonic wolf pelts to the caravan some time ago in exchange for silver, they likely would not even have been able to pay the estate guards' monthly wages.

"How can I make money quickly? Or rather, how can I make money using the Proficiency Panel?"

Just as he was pondering this, Zhao Tieying pushed open the door and entered, his face full of worry. "Young Master, Zhang Tiezhu has come to ask about his father again. This is already the third time this month."

"His father, Zhang Laochui, is alive and well in the Wild Jackal Gang. He is even their Head Blacksmith now, responsible for forging weapons. I already said I would find a way to rescue him, but right now..." Lin Zhao's words suddenly stopped, and a flash of inspiration lit his eyes. "Wait! Uncle Zhao, come with me!"

He pulled Zhao Tieying along, mounted the only two remaining warhorses in the fortress, and hurried toward Zhang Tiezhu's Blacksmith Shop.

At this moment, Zhang Tiezhu was squatting at the entrance of the Blacksmith Shop in distress. His father had been abducted by the Wild Jackal Gang for more than a year. Though the Young Master had promised to rescue him, there had been no action for a long time. He could not help feeling anxious, and he had no heart even for smithing.

"Tiezhu!"

Lin Zhao wore a black cloak over Cloth Armor and sat atop a tall horse, his voice steady and powerful.

Seeing that it was the fortress lord, Zhang Tiezhu hurriedly knelt and saluted. "Greetings, Fortress Lord."

Lin Zhao dismounted and reached out to help him up. "I understand your concern for your father. But you must know that your father is in no danger of losing his life in the Wild Jackal Gang. On the contrary, because of his skill at smithing, he is highly valued there.

"But Lin Family Fortress is currently in difficult times. Without sufficient military equipment, if we rashly go to war with the Wild Jackal Gang, not only will we fail to rescue your father, we will also send the estate guards to their deaths for nothing."

He paused, then shifted his tone, his voice carrying a trace of expectation. "But if we had fifty sets of Refined Mountain Pattern Armor right now, along with fifty Pear Blossom Spears, I could immediately gather the estate guards, lead Uncle Zhao to the Black Wind Cave of the Wild Jackal Gang, and rescue your father!"

Zhang Tiezhu lowered his head, his voice trembling. "Fifty sets of Mountain Pattern Armor..."

In the Ming Dynasty, fifty sets of Mountain Pattern Armor were no small number. Even a minor thousand-household command under Yingtian Garrison might not be able to gather so many. Not to mention that with his current skill, he could barely forge ordinary Ring-pommel Swords, much less armor.

In all of Lin Family Fortress, the only person capable of forging armor was his father, Zhang Laochui. Yet Zhang Laochui could forge only two sets of Mountain Pattern Armor a year. Fifty sets was simply an astronomical figure. The fine iron, charcoal, and labor required were beyond imagination.

"You need not worry. I will help you with everything I have." Lin Zhao patted his shoulder, his tone firm. "Starting tomorrow, move into the fortress and teach me smithing. I will practice forging, you will tend the furnace, and together we will make armor!"

Zhang Tiezhu was shocked and repeatedly waved his hands. "Fortress Lord, forging is dirty and exhausting work, and it requires great strength. How could I dare let you do it yourself?"

"This matter is settled." Lin Zhao left no room for argument. He then entered the Blacksmith Shop, carefully observed the entire process of hammering and quenching, and took away the shop's only copy of Introduction to Armor Forging before leaving with Zhao Tieying.

On the road, Zhao Tieying could not help asking, "Young Master, do you truly intend to learn forging? This is not something a military family's young master should do." His tone was full of helpless amusement.

"Of course I do." Lin Zhao nodded, his gaze resolute. "This world is plagued by frequent wars, while agricultural output is poor. Most territories can barely support themselves.

"Our Lin Family Fortress has barren land and no advantage in developing agriculture. But if we can develop a forging industry, making everything from farm tools to weapons and armor, then selling them to nearby fortresses and garrisons, we will surely earn a great deal of silver. When that time comes, we will have a source for the Pangolin Dragon Essence needed to cultivate with the Mystic Dragon Secret Medicine."

As the fortress lord, he understood the value of weapons and armor better than anyone. A set of Refined Mountain Pattern Armor could sell for fifty taels of silver, while a Pear Blossom Spear was worth ten taels. If they could forge them in large quantities, the resources required for future cultivation would no longer be a problem.

And the reason he had such confidence was entirely because of the Proficiency Panel in his mind.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he summoned the panel and, sure enough, saw a new skill:

Lin Zhao
-----

-Forging: First Level (1/1000)

-...

Previously, limited by the mindset of military nobles, he had always felt that physical labor such as forging was for servants. He had never considered learning it through the panel.

But now, he was truly short of money, and the territory lacked armor-forging craftsmen, so he could only take matters into his own hands.

Moreover, the great strength and abundant energy gained from cultivating the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique made him perfectly suited for blacksmithing. It could improve his skill while tempering his inner strength—a case of killing two birds with one stone.

When he had observed the Blacksmith Shop earlier, he had gambled that the panel could record Forging as a skill. He had not expected to succeed so easily.

"So long as it can be put on the panel, no matter how difficult a skill is, I can master it by grinding!"

Over the next several days, Lin Zhao sent people to move the forge, anvil, and hammers from the Blacksmith Shop into an empty courtyard within the fortress. He also had two new primitive smelting furnaces built for his forging studies.

Zhang Tiezhu was flattered beyond measure. He had not expected the fortress lord to truly wish to take him as a teacher. He became even more dedicated in his work, passing on every forging technique he knew without holding anything back.

Thus, Lin Zhao gained yet another skill to grind.

But he knew his priorities clearly. The Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique would always come first, followed by the Three Talents Slash, with Forging and Beast Taming last.

To his surprise, the Forging skill improved much faster than expected. In just one month, it rose from the First Level to the Second Level.

Compared with combat skills that required real battle to accumulate experience, such life skills were practically "experience cash machines." He only had to repeat the motions of hammering and quenching for proficiency to rise steadily.

Lin Zhao had once heard a saying in his previous life: "If one can focus on a single thing for a thousand hours, even the most difficult skill can be mastered." Time was the best teacher, and human potential was far beyond what appeared on the surface.

And with the Proficiency Panel as a "cheat," he could clearly see his progress increase with every hammer strike. This immediate feedback made his learning twice as effective with half the effort. Mastering an ordinary skill like forging naturally posed no difficulty.

Three months later, Lin Zhao successfully forged a waist saber. The blade used fine iron ore from Anvil Mountain and had been quenched three times. Its edge was sharp enough to easily cut through copper coins, and its quality was no worse than the Frost Condensation Zhang Tiezhu had previously given him.

Of course, what this world called "refined" would only count as crude workmanship in his previous life. The Ming Dynasty's smelting techniques were limited, after all, and could not produce high-purity Fine Steel. The blade still contained minute impurities.

Lin Zhao did not know how to improve smelting methods, and the panel could not conjure advanced technology out of thin air. Reaching this point was already his limit.

Even so, successfully forging this blade added two hundred points of Forging proficiency.

Zhang Tiezhu, standing nearby, watched with his eyes wide in disbelief. He had spent four years as a blacksmith's apprentice before barely forging his first waist saber. Yet the fortress lord had reached the level of his four years in only three months.

At that moment, he truly understood the bitter feeling of how comparison could make a person furious. His face was full of utter disbelief.