Mystic Dragon Seed and Mystic Wolf Seed

"The Wild Jackal Gang's second-in-command, Diao Kui?" Lin Zhao's eyebrows shot up, his fingers unconsciously brushing against the Mystic Iron Short Knife at his waist. He hadn't forgotten the debt of Zhang Laochui being kidnapped, and he never expected that "Iron Mask," with whom they'd been trading, was an enemy.

"That's him. When Zhang Laochui was captured, I specifically checked his appearance: a three-inch scar on the tiger's mouth of his left hand, and a slight limp when he walks. There's no mistaking him," Zhao Tieying said gravely. "I didn't expect that after he joined the Northern 'Vagrant Alliance,' he'd dare to show his face so openly in Northern Garrison City. He must be relying on a Grandmaster Warrior in the alliance to back him, thinking no one would dare touch him."

Lin Zhao was also surprised, but quickly regained his composure. "Did he recognize Uncle Zhao?"

"Young Master, rest assured. We both wore masks during the transaction. Seeing his suspicious behavior, I had my estate stewards handle the exchange for me; I didn't show my face," Zhao Tieying explained. "My moniker, 'Shadowless Sword,' still carries some weight in the Northern martial arts circles. If he had recognized me, he might have become suspicious and broken off the trade. I had to be cautious."

"Then, will we continue to trade with him for armor?" Zhao Tieying asked, looking hesitant. Doing business with an enemy felt… unpleasant.

Lin Zhao pondered for a moment, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Continue the trade. He pays promptly, which will help us with cash flow. Besides, alerting him now would make it harder to find Zhang Laochui's whereabouts. Once our strength is sufficient, we can settle all old scores then."

"Should we tamper with the armor? For instance, forge the outer layer to be shiny while secretly reducing the Mystic Iron inside, to avoid truly helping him grow stronger?" Zhao Tieying asked again, a hint of calculation in his tone.

"No need," Lin Zhao waved his hand, dismissing the idea. "Diao Kui himself is a Third Rank Martial Arts Blacksmith. Such a petty trick wouldn't escape his notice and would only make him suspicious. As for helping him grow stronger, Uncle Zhao worries too much. The Wild Jackal Gang joining the Vagrant Alliance means their main opponents are the imperial garrisons, the Celestial Masters' Manor, and the private forces of the surrounding nobility, not our Lin Family Fortress. At his scale, he can't consume the dozen sets of armor we produce monthly. He's likely procuring them for the Vagrant Alliance. When he invited me to join the 'righteous cause' last time, he probably wanted to recruit me as the Vagrant Alliance's exclusive blacksmith."

He paused, tapping his fingertips on the table's edge, his tone growing colder. "Ultimately, we are not his target. The armor sold to him is but a drop in the ocean for the Vagrant Alliance. Since that's the case, why not earn his money first? Consider this money as interest for him kidnapping Zhang Laochui. When the Vagrant Alliance eventually makes its move, we can take advantage of the chaos to reclaim Zhang Laochui and the armor sold back. Wouldn't that be more profitable?"

Lin Zhao's eyes held a chilling glint; patience was something he had in abundance. With the Proficiency Panel, his cultivation speed was far beyond ordinary people. Given time, let alone the Wild Jackal Gang, he might even be able to contend with Duke Wei, Xu Qin. At only sixteen years old, time was ultimately on his side.

Qixia Mountain Valley, Lin Family Fortress.

The first month of Jiajing's twenty-fourth year.

Three months had passed since the assassination attempt at Black Crow Tower, and Lin Zhao had finally completed the construction of his secret chamber. To be precise, this chamber wasn't within the fortress but inside Qixia Mountain behind the fortress. A secret passage, only wide enough for one person, connected to a hidden room beneath the fortress – the very room where he stored the sole copy of the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique.

This space, covering over twenty square meters, was entirely excavated by Lin Zhao himself. To ensure absolute secrecy, he hadn't called upon any estate stewards for help. He even used the Entangling Force of the Three Talents Slash to cleave and break the mountain rocks. Over three months, his palms developed thick calluses, and his arms had ached numerous times. Only Zhao Tieying in the entire fortress knew about this; each time he saw Lin Zhao emerge from the secret passage, covered in dust like a miner, he couldn't help but chuckle.

The chamber was stocked with cured meat, flatbread, fresh water, and wound-healing medicine. He had even placed two Mystic Iron Short Knives inside, making it a sanctuary for long-term seclusion. Though the space was cramped, it brought Lin Zhao a sense of profound peace – like when he was a child, curled up in his mother's blankets, feeling that no demon, however powerful, could intrude.

At this moment, Lin Zhao sat shirtless in the center of the chamber, circulating the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, his gaze sharp as lightning. A stream of white mist erupted from his lips, shooting out like an arrow for over ten feet before dissipating into mist upon hitting the stone wall. He stood up, his joints cracking crisply, a look of satisfaction on his face. He casually picked up the flatbread and cured meat nearby, taking a few bites to replenish the Internal Breath he had consumed.

His aura now was leagues stronger than it had been three months prior. His muscle definition was more uniform, and beneath his bronze skin, every inch of his musculature contained explosive power. Compared to him, the fittest bodybuilders from his past life, or even the most robust warriors in the Northern Garrison camp, would seem like children. He was now nearly nine feet tall, his arms as thick as a normal person's thighs. No one would believe this was the body of a sixteen-year-old boy.

"This is how a man should look! What kind of great men are those scholars with no strength to even truss a chicken?" Lin Zhao looked at his own arms, feeling quite proud. He hadn't wasted a single moment in these three months. While excavating the secret passage, the proficiency of the Three Talents Slash had skyrocketed, accumulating four thousand points in three months – a full fifth of the twenty thousand needed to advance. The Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique, bolstered by the remaining Ink Flood Dragon Body Tempering Pills, had also gained five thousand points. At this rate, he would break through to Fifth Rank by the end of the year, becoming a mid-tier Entering Martial Master.

Unfortunately, the Mystic Dragon Secret Medicine had been depleted. To continue accelerating, he needed to find a source of Pangolin Dragon Essence as soon as possible. Thus, he decided to end his seclusion and personally visit Northern Garrison City to purchase more Pangolin Dragon Essence.

The biggest surprise came from the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique. Just moments ago, this technique had broken through to the Fourth Level! With the Internal Breath foundation laid by the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique, coupled with using Mystic Mane Fierce Wolf meat as a supplementary material during cultivation, condensing an Internal Breath Seed was effortless for him. Moreover, the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique was inherently a lower-tier Bloodline technique, far less difficult to cultivate than the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique. Reaching Fourth Level from First Level in half a year was astonishing progress in the Northern martial arts world.

Currently, within his heart's core, besides the "Mystic Dragon Seed" condensed by the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique, there was also a mass of silver-white wolf-shaped mist – the "Mystic Wolf Seed" condensed by the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique. Indeed, Lin Zhao now harbored two Internal Breath Seeds within his body simultaneously! Lin Zhao didn't know if he was the only Martial Master in the world with dual Internal Breath Seeds, but if there were others, they were undoubtedly exceedingly rare.

After the initial excitement, he willed his Proficiency Panel to appear in his mind:

-Lin Zhao-

-Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique: Fourth Level (731/20000), Special Effect: Basic Mystic Dragon Defense (Internal Breath coats the body, blocking blunt weapons and weakening sharp ones)

-Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique: Fourth Level (Perfection/4000), Special Effect: Mystic Wolf (Agility attribute increased to three times that of an ordinary person, greatly boosting evasion and attack speed)

-Three Talents Slash: Fourth Level (5099/20000), Special Effects: Advanced Shocking Force, Basic Entangling Force

-Martial Arts Blacksmithing: Third Tier (8897/10000), Special Effect: Guaranteed Exquisite

-Beast Taming: Third Tier (Perfection), Special Effect: Heart of Beast Taming

"Hmm? Fourth Level is the limit? As expected, lower-tier techniques ultimately can't achieve great things." Lin Zhao clicked his tongue, a hint of disappointment in his heart.

Only now did he truly understand how important a top-tier cultivation technique was—the fourth level of the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique was merely the beginning for an Entering Martial Master, with five more levels to go (intermediate), six (advanced), and seven (peak);

But the fourth level of the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique was both the starting point and the end point; it was the limit of the technique itself, and with his current cultivation, he couldn't break through it at all.

In other words, any Martial Master who only practiced the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique would, at best, be a low-level Entering Martial Master for their entire life, unless they switched to another top-tier cultivation technique.

"Still, being able to cultivate the 'Mystic Wolf' special effect isn't a complete waste of effort," Lin Zhao consoled himself.

He tried to circulate the internal energy of the Mystic Wolf bloodline and felt his body lighten. He took a few steps in the dark room, leaving behind a trail of afterimages, which startled even himself—the description of the [Mystic Wolf] special effect was true:

Attack speed, movement speed, and reaction time were all increased to three times that of a normal person, making it incredibly easy to dodge attacks in combat.

He glanced at his other skills: the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique and the "Three Talents Slash" were still far from breaking through, so there was no hope in the short term; the Martial Arts Blacksmithing skill had slowed down considerably over the past three months due to his busy schedule of digging secret passages and cultivating, otherwise, he would have advanced to the fourth tier long ago. This had also led to a nearly 30% decrease in the output of armor in the fortress.

"It's a shame there are only twelve hours in a day; I can't just not sleep," Lin Zhao shrugged, calculating in his mind, "Once the Blacksmithing skill reaches the fourth tier, and I sell another batch of armor to save up two thousand taels of silver, I'll personally go to Northern Garrison City—not only to buy Pangolin Dragon Essence but also to look for any other auxiliary body-tempering materials that can be used as substitutes. I can't put all my eggs in one basket."

Returning to the fortress through the secret passage, Lin Zhao immediately summoned Zhao Tieying, and they went to the training ground together—he wanted to thoroughly test the power of the "Mystic Wolf" special effect, whether it was running speed, attack speed, or reaction time, he needed to understand its limits to avoid misjudging his strength and capsizing in the gutter during actual combat in the future.

Testing running speed was the easiest.

Lin Zhao first had someone measure out a distance of one hundred paces with a rope. Then, he crouched and gathered his strength. The internal energy of the Mystic Wolf bloodline instantly surged through his limbs, and fine white mist seeped from his pores, emitting a "hissing" sound, like red-hot iron quenched in water.

"When I say 'go,' you run!" Zhao Tieying stood at the finish line and shouted loudly.

"Okay!"

"Go!"

As soon as the words fell, Lin Zhao shot out like an arrow from a bow, leaving behind only a faint silver-white afterimage.

Zhao Tieying's pupils constricted—with his eyesight as a Peak Martial Master, he could only barely keep up with Lin Zhao's movements.

In just five breaths, Lin Zhao had crossed the finish line and stopped, barely even out of breath.

"One hundred paces in five breaths? This speed... is truly terrifying!" Lin Zhao was surprised himself. He remembered that in his previous life, during university, the passing line for the 100-meter dash was fourteen point nine seconds, and the maximum score was twelve point five seconds;

Now, he ran "one hundred paces" (about 150 meters) in just five breaths, which, when converted, was more than twice as fast as the sprinting champions of his previous life!

Looking at all living beings in the world, perhaps only the "Silver Frost Snow Leopard" in the Northern Desert could be a few steps faster than him, but snow leopards had poor stamina and couldn't maintain their extreme sprint for more than half an incense stick's time, whereas he estimated that his current speed could be maintained for at least a quarter of an hour.

"The limit of a mere low-tier cultivation technique can be this powerful?" Lin Zhao's heart surged with emotion, "If I could find a top-tier or even a perfect grade speed-focused cultivation technique and cultivate it to its peak, how fast would I be?"

"Enough, no more thinking about these futile things, let's continue testing!" He shook his head, casting aside his distracting thoughts.

Next was testing his attack speed and evasion ability. As the saying goes, "All martial arts in the world are invincible if they are fast enough," and the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique was originally a technique focused on agility, so these two aspects were its core.

"Uncle Zhao, you have to spar with me with all your might later, don't hold back! I want to know exactly where my current strength lies and what its limits are!" Lin Zhao drew the Cold Steel Cold Moon Sword from his waist, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.

"Young Master, you said it yourself, don't cry out in pain later." Zhao Tieying smiled and drew his "Shadowless Sword"—it was a Mystic Iron sword tempered with internal energy, its blade emitting a faint cyan glow.

"Attack me with all you've got!"

"Good! If you can't take it, just say 'stop,' and I'll immediately retract my move!" Zhao Tieying's expression turned serious. He executed the "Eagle Soaring Steps," and his body rushed towards Lin Zhao like a soaring eagle.

He didn't use killing moves like the "Three Talents Slash," only the basic "chop, thrust, parry"; Lin Zhao did the same, relying on the "Mystic Wolf" special effect to dodge and weave, occasionally using his sword to parry.

The two of them sparred back and forth on the training ground, the "clang clang" of their long swords clashing incessantly. Sometimes they engaged in close-quarters combat, and sometimes they pulled back to confront each other. Unconsciously, they had fought hundreds of rounds, unable to determine a clear winner.

"Uncle Zhao, you're not giving it your all! In a real fight, the enemy won't show you any mercy!" Lin Zhao shouted loudly while dodging.

Zhao Tieying shook his head with a wry smile: "How dare I hold back? To be honest, I'm getting old, and my internal energy isn't as strong as it used to be. Young Master, your strength is already comparable to an intermediate-level Entering Martial Master."

With that, Zhao Tieying suddenly accelerated! The Eagle Soaring Breathing Technique he practiced was already known for its speed. Now, exerting his full power, his movements were nearly twice as fast as before, as swift as an eagle swooping down on a rabbit—eagles were legendary birds of prey that specialized in preying on snakes, and the movement technique of the Eagle Soaring Breathing Technique perfectly countered the more yin and soft Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique.

Lin Zhao used all his might to activate the "Running Wolf" special effect, barely managing to keep up with Zhao Tieying's rhythm, sweat gradually beading on his forehead.

After all, the difference in cultivation realm was still there: Zhao Tieying had been a Peak Martial Master for over ten years, his internal energy was refined, and his experience was seasoned; he, on the other hand, had only recently broken through to the low-level Entering Martial Master realm. Despite the boost from two cultivation techniques, his foundation and experience were still lacking.

After another thirty rounds, Zhao Tieying was the first to sheath his sword, panting, "Congratulations, Young Master! Your strength far exceeds my expectations. It won't be long before you surpass this old bone of mine!"