Training on the Cold Shore

A month later.

The morning fog stretched endlessly, and cold air rose from the ground.

No matter how many clashes and struggles took place on Blackwood Cliff, the water at Gorilla Beach always flowed steadily and unhurriedly.

Downstream from Gorilla Beach, a head floated quietly on the surface.

"One hundred and five, one hundred and six, one hundred and eight..."

Internal Energy surged through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, resisting the invasion of the icy chill. But the agony of countless needles piercing his bones could not be eliminated. It was undoubtedly a tremendous test of a person's willpower.

"One hundred and seventy-nine!"

The man leaped from the water. His upper body was bare, and he wore only a short pair of bull-nose trousers.

"Three minutes."

Zhang Yu staggered to the shore, his body almost completely numb.

With his current Internal Energy, lasting three minutes was already his limit.

Once his Internal Energy was exhausted, relying on his physical body to resist the icy chill could very well damage his muscles and bones.

"Fortunately, the effort has finally paid off. I'm only one step away from the mid-stage of the Dan Energy realm."

Someone had already tried using the frigid water of Gorilla Beach to make their Internal Energy purer.

The source of Gorilla Beach was the Thousand Year Cold Pond in the rear mountains behind Blackwood Cliff. It had originally been a sacred site for cultivating cold-attribute techniques.

It was just that most people did not have the patience to persist.

Over the past month, Zhang Yu had expected his internal cultivation to improve.

But an unexpected gain had left him feeling both happy and worried.

"As someone from the Demonic Cult, how am I supposed to intimidate people when I travel the martial world in the future?"

Zhang Yu squatted by the shore and looked at his reflection in the water. His originally somewhat dark skin had become smooth as jade, fair and taut after soaking in the cold water. Combined with his phoenix eyes and crescent-moon brows, he was so handsome that he surpassed even women.

If he had not been hiding here to practice, but had instead been walking along the streets of Pingding City, women would surely have thrown fruit at him until their carriages were full, while men would have glared at him furiously.

Zhang Yu took a jug of strong liquor and a roast chicken from beneath a rock and began eating heartily.

He looked toward the black mountain behind him and sighed.

Half a month ago, Eastern Cult Master had once again announced that she was entering seclusion.

The dispute in Chengde Hall seemed to have ended without a conclusion.

Like the five halls that had been destroyed before it, Cloud Water Hall had become the sixth hall of the Sun Moon Divine Cult in name only.

Zhang Yu gulped down a mouthful of strong liquor, which only slightly warmed his throat. It was not until he had downed three gulps in succession that he managed to drag his stomach, heart, and liver out of the icy cavern.

"Who knows what has gotten into Dongfang Bubai? She seems intent on letting the new-faction leader, Yang Lianting, contend for power with the old-faction leaders headed by Tong Baixiong, yet she also refuses to let either side truly overwhelm the other."

"If this continues, her authority will indeed remain secure. But the Cult's elite forces will be consumed by internal strife, while its followers and affiliated gangs will gradually drift away. Could this really be what she wants?"

"Blackwood Cliff has become a place of endless trouble. I need to find a way to make Tong Baixiong agree to send me out to govern a local post."

With Cloud Water Hall existing in name only, Zhang Yu's personnel affiliation had been transferred to Wind Thunder Hall. In other words, he was now a Deputy Flag Master under Wind Thunder Hall, receiving ten taels of silver each month.

Wind Thunder Hall controlled many industries, including gambling houses, pleasure quarters, mines, and estates. Its profits were good and its illicit gains were plentiful, giving him three more taels than he had received in Cloud Water Hall.

The operation against Yang Lianting had failed, dealing Tong Baixiong a tremendous blow. According to Qi Zhaogu, the old man no longer even felt like celebrating his sixtieth birthday. He had taken a permanent room at Thousand Red Pavilion, spending his days listening to songs in the pleasure quarters and drinking away his sorrows. He probably had no mind to arrange a position for Zhang Yu now.

After finishing the roast chicken and fine liquor, Zhang Yu began meditating and cultivating. In two hours, he recovered around seventy to eighty percent of his Internal Energy.

He opened the second volume of Flying Cloud Divine Skill and spread it across the rocks.

The second volume of Flying Cloud Divine Skill contained lightness techniques and body movements. It had thirty-six pages in total, each depicting a diagram marked with acupoints, energy circulation routes, and cultivation formulas.

The footwork varied greatly and its changes were impossible to predict: running, bounding, leaping, jumping, spinning, turning, moving sideways, leaning, kicking, slanting, straightening, feinting, and executing real moves...

The footprints were connected by lines of different colors. The further he progressed, the more profound and intricate the movements became.

Fortunately, Wu Lianjiang had written his personal insights in tiny regular script. His annotations were extremely comprehensive.

Some of the ink in those tiny characters had faded with time and was at least twenty or thirty years old. Other, newer ink still gleamed, having been written only a few months ago.

"Since I accepted the master-disciple relationship, I'll inherit your grudges and debts as well. Whether it's Fei Bin or Yang Lianting." Given his identity and position, there was no way for him to avoid inheriting those causes and consequences.

"Miss Hanyu, I'll continue searching for you in the future."

Zhang Yu sighed. Once the matter at Chengde Hall had slightly subsided, he had immediately followed Wu Lianjiang's final instructions and secretly investigated Qingniu Village, fifty li northeast of Pingding City. But he discovered that Wu Hanyu had already been taken away in advance by someone of unknown identity.

With Zhang Yu's current abilities, he could barely protect himself, let alone investigate further.

"I hope it was Ren Yingying who sent someone to take her away."

He continued studying the movement techniques in the second volume of Flying Cloud Divine Skill.

Lightness techniques were divided into four realms: Flowing Clouds and Water, Cloudy Waves Crossing, Chasing Clouds and Lightning, and Cloud Peng Traveling Ten Thousand Li.

"The first level is Flowing Clouds and Water."

"Flowing clouds and running water, natural and smooth. At first, it has no fixed form, yet it follows the principles of Heaven and Earth, always moving where it should move and stopping where it must stop..."

Once Flowing Clouds and Water was cultivated to perfection, the body's agility would improve tremendously. One would move when one should move and stop when one should stop. Even when struck by a hundred weapons, not so much as the corner of one's clothing would be damaged.

"Though the four realms are progressive, each has its own marvels. Aside from being a lightness technique in itself, Flowing Clouds and Water can also increase the power of sword techniques and fist techniques."

They said that if one practiced boxing without practicing internal cultivation, one would achieve nothing in old age.

But if one practiced internal cultivation without practicing boxing, one might not even live to old age.

After learning the techniques of Nine Swords of Dugu, Linghu Chong had been able to easily defeat Huashan uncles whose internal cultivation surpassed his own, such as Cong Buqi and Cheng Buyou.

These past days, Zhang Yu had focused on improving his Internal Energy. Now that he had achieved some success, it was time to "practice boxing."

Zhang Yu took out the Green Jade Thumb Ring, which had been pressed beneath his clothes. Just as he was about to put it on, he suddenly saw the numerous scars on his thumb. After thinking for a moment, he set it down again.

The sun rose and set, and another day passed.

Following the diagrams, Zhang Yu paced across the rocky beach. After falling seventy or eighty times, he finally managed to complete the Flowing Clouds and Water footwork once. But he had only imitated its form without grasping its essence. His movements were stiff, awkward, and completely lacking in smoothness.

"Should I just put it on after all? Perhaps I'm overthinking this."

Unable to resist, Zhang Yu put on the Green Jade Thumb Ring and went through the Flowing Clouds and Water footwork once more. Sure enough, he could easily locate the points where his movements were obstructed, adjust in advance, and correct himself in time.

"The progress I made this time surpasses what I achieved in the previous twenty or thirty attempts combined."

Zhang Yu excitedly pushed off with both feet and leaped upward, springing more than two meters into the air.

"A casual jump already surpasses the 1.9-meter record held by the world champion. Even if I returned to my previous life, I could use this skill to fulfill my parents' wish, get a government job, and stop delivering food to a thousand households."

Zhang Yu was celebrating when he forgot the saying that going up a mountain was easy but coming down was hard. When he landed, his foot failed to plant firmly. His body pitched forward, and he fell flat on his face, bruising his nose and swelling his face.

"What is the limit of lightness techniques in this world?" Zhang Yu lay wherever he had fallen. He rolled over, leaned against a rock, and looked at the gray sky. As he gazed at Blackwood Cliff, which towered a hundred zhang into the clouds, he pondered the question.

That day, in front of Guanyin Nunnery, Zhang Yu had hidden in the bamboo grove and watched Wu Lianjiang leap ten meters into the air. With nowhere to borrow force, he had relied solely on his internal cultivation to maneuver through the air. His speed had been astonishing and his movements bizarre, leaving his opponent able to see only afterimages.

"Zhang Yu, why aren't you wearing clothes again?"

Someone emerged from the reeds, holding two skewers of candied hawthorn. Looking down at the young man, she was filled with disdain for his "savage" behavior.

This is a new book by a new author, and creating it has not been easy. I don't really understand the rules either. I heard from author friends that Tuesday's data affects later recommendations, so I'm shamelessly asking for votes and follows on Monday. Please help me.