That night, Officer Li delivered more than a hundred jin of iron ingots to Li Qing's camp tent.
The Feng Kingdom maintained extremely strict control over supplies such as salt and iron. All of this was carried out in secret and did not draw anyone's attention.
After entering the camp tent, Officer Li looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then lowered his voice. "Er Niu, do you know about Ink Gold?"
Ink Gold?
Li Qing shook his head in confusion. No matter whether in his previous life or this one, he had never heard of such a thing.
Saying this, Officer Li took a fist-sized piece of black metal from his robes.
"This is Ink Gold. The iron mine our Border Army guards produces iron ore, but every so often, it also yields this special stuff. The amount is exceedingly small."
Looking at the piece of metal clenched tightly in the other man's hand, Li Qing recalled how, before Master Gu died, that female commander of a thousand had asked him to forge the Green Rainbow Sword. At the time, she had mentioned a special kind of ore.
This must have been the metal called Ink Gold in Officer Li's hand. Li Qing had not expected Officer Li to be so resourceful as to obtain even something like this.
Still, Li Qing put on a blank and ignorant expression as he asked, "What is this Ink Gold generally used for?"
"This matter is of great importance. You must not mention it to a third person!" Li Gui said gravely. Then he lowered his voice further. "Ink Gold is far harder than ordinary iron ore. Weapons forged from it are exceptionally sharp—even ordinary iron armor can't stop them."
"I want you to melt this piece of Ink Gold into the blade of the Mountain-Splitting Axe. Can you do it?"
"Lord Li, I've never forged anything like this before. I don't know whether I can do it." Li Qing shook his head.
"Master Gu once forged weapons with Ink Gold. You're his disciple, so there shouldn't be a problem. Just go ahead and do it!" Li Gui said with a frown.
Li Qing swallowed and replied, "Then I can only give it a try, but I can't guarantee success."
"Just do your best. I'm not an unreasonable man." Only then did Li Gui smile. He handed the piece of Ink Gold to Li Qing as though it were a treasure, his eyes full of reluctance.
To get his hands on this piece of Ink Gold, he had paid no small price and gone through countless twists and turns to conceal its existence.
Most of the Ink Gold excavated from the mine this time had gone into Commander Qian Hong's pocket. As an ordinary officer, being able to obtain one piece was already quite impressive.
"Remember, you must not let word of this get out. Otherwise, neither of us will be able to keep our lives!" Officer Li gave one final warning before carefully leaving the camp tent.
Just like that, Li Qing looked at the large pile of iron ingots now on the ground and the piece of Ink Gold in his hand, sinking into thought.
"Is this Ink Gold really that formidable?" Li Qing narrowed his eyes, recalling the prompt that had once appeared when he successfully forged a weapon.
The weapons he forged from ordinary iron ingots were called Mortal-grade Weapons. Did that mean there were weapons of even higher grades?
"If this Ink Gold is truly so miraculous, then forging an entire weapon from this material might really take it beyond the category of Mortal-grade Weapons."
At that thought, Li Qing gently rubbed the ink-black metal. Its texture was smooth and warm, yet even after resting in his palm for a long time, it would not warm up. It remained icy cold.
It truly was a remarkable metal, something he had never seen or heard of before!
However, Li Qing was not in a hurry to begin forging. It was nighttime, and the sound of hammering iron would be far too conspicuous.
He carefully hid the Ink Gold away. After making sure no one else would come looking for him, he returned to the Eternal Night World.
The surroundings were as cold as ever, but after practicing martial arts, Li Qing had become strong and sturdy, gaining some resistance to the cold.
This time, he did not intend to continue practicing the True Intent of the Fierce Tiger. Instead, he spread open the bamboo scroll that recorded the Turtle Breath Technique.
"It's actually an internal martial art. The Yan family's collection truly is abundant. It just takes effect far too slowly—one might not even achieve minor mastery after ten years. No wonder the Yan family was willing to offer it."
Martial arts in the martial world were mainly divided into two types. One was external training techniques like the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique, while the other was internal martial arts like the Turtle Breath Technique.
It was hard to say which of the two was superior. Once cultivated to great mastery, both were powerful.
The former took effect quickly. Most martial cultivators in the martial world practiced external techniques. However, once they grew older and their vitality and blood gradually weakened, their martial strength would decline as well.
That was why people said fists feared the young and strong. Vigorous youths in the prime of life could beat an experienced old master to death with a flurry of wild punches through sheer brute strength.
Internal techniques, however, were different. As one grew older, the Internal Energy within the body would instead become increasingly profound.
It was just that internal techniques required ten or even several decades of practice before showing results. Furthermore, every internal technique was precious, so internal masters were often rarer than external masters.
"Generally speaking, very few people practice both internal and external martial arts. It consumes too much time and often ends with the gains not making up for the losses."
"The Yan family gave me these techniques together. Their intentions are not good."
Li Qing sighed, then held the bamboo scroll and began reading it carefully.
The Turtle Breath Technique was also divided into three levels: minor mastery, great mastery, and perfection!
These three levels corresponded respectively to Outer Strength experts, Internal Energy experts, and Transforming Energy Grandmasters in the martial world!
However, because it was an internal martial art, even after the Turtle Breath Technique reached minor mastery, it would still be difficult to contend with an Outer Strength expert.
Outer Strength experts ultimately relied on the force of their own bodies. An internal technique that had only just reached minor mastery could provide some enhancement, but there was still a gap.
Once it reached great mastery, however, that gap would gradually be erased.
If one could cultivate an internal martial art to perfection—to the level of a Transforming Energy Grandmaster—it could even overpower the other side.
That was why Li Qing was so interested in the Turtle Breath Technique. He did not lack time. Even if his talent for martial arts was terrible, if he practiced this internal martial art for one or two hundred years before emerging into the world, then by that time, his Internal Energy would likely be beyond what even "unmatched under heaven" could describe!
Very soon, Li Qing immersed himself in the contents of the Turtle Breath Technique. His eyes shone as he hungrily committed this internal martial art to memory.
After spending more than four hours, Li Qing finally memorized the martial art.
But before he could begin trying to practice it, a chaotic uproar rose from outside the courtyard.
"Yan San, get the hell out here! If you dare set your sights on my granddaughter again, I'll fight you to the death!"
Old Man An's furious voice rang out. From his tone alone, it was clear what had happened.
Li Qing sighed inwardly and had no intention of meddling.
He was a modern man, and he despised the ways of the Yan family and Yan San. If he became powerful in the future, he would not mind wiping out that family in passing—but not now.