Writing a "New" Martial Arts Technique

Ten minutes later, Lin Tuo sat in the chair beside his desk, lost in thought.

On the computer before him, the video of his physical training was still playing, the screen flooded with bullet comments.

It was too blurry, and Lin Tuo had deliberately covered his face with clothing, with bluestone blocking the view as well.

With only a silhouette to go by, even an acquaintance would have found it difficult to recognize him.

"So this was footage from my first training session?"

After his initial confusion, Lin Tuo successfully found the video through the group chat records and roughly understood what had happened.

The scene of him training in the Taihe Mountain Range had unexpectedly been secretly filmed, uploaded online, and become somewhat popular.

"So that could happen too..."

He checked the date the video had been posted. Right—it was the day after the Takk Black Box descended, also the first day he had tried using ancient methods to temper his body.

As for why it had only become popular more than a week later, that was not particularly surprising.

The account that had uploaded it belonged to an ordinary netizen, so it was impossible for people to notice it right away. Now that it had caught on, the platform had most likely put it in its recommendations.

"Luckily, it looks like it was just a coincidence."

Having figured out the sequence of events, Lin Tuo let out a breath of relief. After all, as the "mastermind" behind the Takk Black Box, he still felt somewhat guilty.

Though logically speaking, no one could possibly connect an ordinary person like him to the Takk Black Box, it was never wrong to be cautious.

Lin Tuo was still in the initial stages of life evolution. Although his personal combat ability was not bad, it remained limited.

If possible, he still did not want to become entangled with worldly powers so soon.

Just imagine it.

If he exposed his identity and proved his abilities through the Evolution Sandbox, the country would certainly value him—but he would also be swept into the great whirlpool of international disputes and face unpredictable danger.

Besides, Lin Tuo himself did not care much for fame and profit. Otherwise, he would not have resolutely quit his job and returned home.

Therefore, he had long decided that, at the very least, he would never reveal any information about the Evolution Sandbox before his own strength was sufficient to guarantee his safety.

As for this video...

"They seem to have taken me for a martial arts master hidden in the Taihe Mountain Range..."

Lin Tuo checked the video's comment section and, together with the group chat, confirmed this.

Right, there were also guesses about "superpowered people" and "alien lifeforms," but none of them were mainstream. They were merely baseless speculations sparked by the Takk Black Box.

Compared to those, the identity of a martial arts expert was easier for people to believe.

For one thing, the sight of him carrying bluestone up the mountain easily led people to such associations.

For another, compared to extraterrestrial life, a "martial arts master living beyond the world" was easier for ordinary people to accept.

Moreover, the Taihe Mountain Range itself carried a strong martial arts flavor. Whether in history or in later novels, films, television shows, and games, people had always been accustomed to linking the Taihe Mountain Range with ancient martial arts.

Even today, many still believed that some ancient and mysterious martial arts inheritances remained in the Taihe Mountain Range.

Therefore, such speculation was hardly strange.

In fact, the guess was correct.

Lin Tuo did indeed practice inherited ancient martial arts, though they had long since declined. Now that he was absorbing Aether and tempering his body, and his inherited Martial Ancestor Manifestation Fist had reached minor mastery, calling himself a "martial arts expert" would not have been an exaggeration.

At that thought, Lin Tuo shook his head with a smile and closed the computer.

Right... It looked like nothing more than a minor accident. Since none of his identifying features had been exposed, there was no need to care.

Only...

"A martial arts expert..." Lin Tuo savored the phrase, his gaze passing through the window and falling upon the Martial Arts Hall courtyard, bathed in sunlight yet utterly deserted.

Previously, he had been busy dealing with matters concerning the Sandbox and had been unable to spare the attention. But now that the Chi Kingdom had entered a stable course, he could finally turn his thoughts toward the Martial Arts Hall.

He had not forgotten that he had quit his job and returned home to reopen the Martial Arts Hall, take up his grandfather's unfulfilled wish, and continue passing down the martial arts his family had inherited for generations.

And now, it seemed... he had found a rather good opportunity.

As for martial arts, he had thought deeply about them long ago.

And he had realized that reopening the Martial Arts Hall would never be easy.

He knew full well that in this day and age, the traditional Martial Arts Hall model no longer fit the tides of the times.

The country was peaceful, and people rarely needed martial arts for self-defense. Even if they did, they would go to a gym or a training institution like a taekwondo school.

Rather than "learning martial arts," it would be more accurate to call it "losing weight" or "socializing."

That made sense when one thought about it.

Martial arts training was extremely arduous and took a long time, while career paths were narrow. Other than those who already had relevant connections, it was terribly uneconomical for ordinary people to seek a high-paying job through martial arts training.

Even Lin Tuo himself would not have taken this path if not for his family circumstances.

Was doing mental work in an office not good enough?

Therefore, according to his original plan, if he were to open one, the most rational direction would be a "modern Martial Arts Hall"—trendy, branded, youthful, and market-oriented, moving toward "fitness and body shaping."

But if he did that, could it still be considered a Martial Arts Hall?

Or rather, even if he kept it running that way, would the family's Martial Ancestor Manifestation Fist not still fade into obscurity?

But if he did not do that, why would anyone be willing to come?

Fine, suppose Lin Tuo appropriately demonstrated his strength and spread his influence through social media, truly drawing in a group of fervent martial arts enthusiasts.

After all, the Earth was so vast. There would always be people obsessed with such things, willing to forge their bodies through hardship.

But in the long run, how long could that last?

One generation?

Two generations?

In an era where martial arts had declined, without soil to grow in, did it truly mean anything to rely solely on a handful of people to preserve it?

Sometimes, Lin Tuo even hesitated and wondered whether martial arts still needed to exist in this era.

Yet these past days, after absorbing Aether and tangibly strengthening his body, Lin Tuo felt that he might have found the "answer."

"In peaceful times, people indeed have no need to practice martial arts to strengthen themselves. That is also an important reason for martial arts' decline. But what if Martial Dao Cultivation could achieve life evolution?"

"What if practicing martial arts could improve the human body, sharpen thought, and raise intelligence? In that case, could martial arts return to glory?"

This was not impossible!

After all, during this period, Lin Tuo had indeed increased his body's efficiency in absorbing Aether through weighted training. Both his physical fitness and memory had improved significantly.

"Aether exists widely among humanity. It is simply that over the past several thousand years, no one discovered it or understood how to use it. If I taught the Qi-Eating Method to all humanity, could they also absorb Aether and achieve evolution?"

He rose, pushed open the door, and came to the quiet Training Ground, where Lin Tuo began pondering.

This idea had not occurred to him on a whim. It had been brewing for several days.

And in his view, it was very likely something that would kill two birds with one stone.

One had to know that the production of Aether was positively correlated with the "quality" of Sentient Beings.

In other words, amid the broader trend of worsening aging and declining population in the country, increasing Aether by raising population numbers was unrealistic.

Then, if quantity could not be increased, could he begin with "quality"?

If an ordinary person achieved life evolution, the Aether produced by the Spirit Realm would inevitably increase accordingly!

According to the knowledge given to him by the Evolution Sandbox, Lin Tuo knew that this path was theoretically viable.

Moreover, it would be a good thing that benefited all humanity.

The problem was that once the Qi-Eating Method was promoted among the entire population, ordinary people would absorb Earth's Aether. That would amount to competing with Lin Tuo for resources.

"...If I want to promote the Qi-Eating Method and have everyone begin cultivating, I will inevitably have to temporarily give up collecting Earth's Aether. Otherwise, ordinary people simply cannot compete with the Evolution Sandbox... This will certainly cause me some losses, but they are acceptable."

"In Observation Mode, I can currently collect Aether only from Yang City, and it will be impossible to expand that area by much in the short term. I cannot absorb it from other regions anyway, so leaving it there is merely waste...

"I might as well use it to cultivate ordinary humans..."

"Once a positive cycle takes shape, humanity's physical condition will improve and the total amount of Aether will increase. Then I can absorb it again without any problem."

"Besides, I mainly rely on 'Creation Mode'—building Sandboxes and absorbing the Aether from the new Civilizations evolved within them. Temporarily giving up what lies outside the Sandboxes does not matter."

The summer heat blazed. Lin Tuo stood in the doorway, his thoughts racing, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

As for the powerful figures who might emerge after promoting the Qi-Eating Method and driving universal cultivation... in any case, none of them could possibly become stronger than him.

"As long as ordinary people truly discover the benefits of cultivation and realize that practicing martial arts and refining the body can speed up Aether absorption, martial arts will naturally flourish."

"Moreover, universal cultivation can conceal my own uniqueness. In the future, even if I reveal extraordinary martial strength, I can say that it came from cultivation."

"Once the time is ripe and martial arts truly rise, reopening the Martial Arts Hall will become far easier."

After sorting through the entire train of thought, Lin Tuo's breathing tightened slightly and his heartbeat quickened.

"Then the next question is how to promote the Qi-Eating Method."

"No, the first step should be improving the Qi-Eating Method so ordinary people can understand it... Right, I also need to give it a new name. The three words 'Qi-Eating Method' do not sound appealing at all..."

The more Lin Tuo thought about it, the more excited he became. Without wasting any time, he immediately got to work.

He returned to the study.

He opened the laptop on the desk and created a blank document.

Then, after thinking for a moment, Lin Tuo solemnly typed out the Qi-Eating Method's new name on the first line of the document:

"Azure Spirit Breath Technique"

To avoid misunderstandings from some readers, an additional reminder: Aether is not "emitted" by humans. It originates from the Spirit Realm. Every additional human on Earth causes a corresponding wisp of Aether to dissipate from the Spirit Realm. If human physical fitness improves, the corresponding production from the Spirit Realm will also increase. Therefore, once everyone cultivates, the total amount of Aether will increase rather than decrease.

This was mentioned in Chapter Three, but it seems the explanation was not clear enough. Please refer to the definition of Aether.