Strengthening Yellow Court Inner Strength

Linjiang County, True Martial Temple.

In a dimly lit room, a pale-faced youth lay on a sickbed, warily surveying his surroundings.

"I never thought I'd really transmigrated."

As fragmented memories flooded into his mind, Zhang Chu muttered in disbelief.

"Hiss!!..."

Before Zhang Chu could think any further,

a piercing pain suddenly shot through his chest.

Suppressing the pain, Zhang Chu propped himself up, pulled open his collar, and examined his chest.

There, on his chest,

was a glaring blood-red fist mark!

According to the memories, this was an ancient world wracked by war, where slaughter ran rampant throughout the Martial World.

The original owner of this body had been a disciple of a Daoist temple. He had a Senior Brother above him and a Junior Brother below him.

Two years ago, the Old Temple Master had died violently in Mobei. Even his body had never been found, and the temple had fallen into decline as a result.

With no incense offerings to support them, the three martial brothers had been forced to descend the mountain and work as temporary Patrol Guards in the county town.

Today, the original owner had discovered a band of bandits.

He had gone to surround and suppress them for the reward silver.

Everything had gone smoothly.

But on the way back, he had suddenly been ambushed by a masked man and struck in the chest with a punch.

The original owner had crawled back to the temple with his last shred of strength, only to ultimately breathe his last.

"What kind of enemy had the original owner made, to be assassinated halfway along the road?" Zhang Chu bared his teeth in pain.

This body was clearly already at its limit. It likely would not even last until tomorrow.

At this rate, he would undoubtedly die.

[Merit System loading...]

Just then, a crisp notification sounded in Zhang Chu's mind, and golden light began to flicker.

[Zhang Chu]

[Realm: Third-rate]

[Merit Points: 1000]

[Martial arts discovered: True Martial Palm (First Layer), Yellow Court Inner Strength (First Layer), can be strengthened]

[Consume Merit Points to strengthen martial arts?]

The dazzling golden panel made his eyes light up.

Staring at the prompt, Zhang Chu said, "So this is my system ability? I can use merit to strengthen martial arts in a second!"

"And these thousand Merit Points—could they have come from the original owner killing that nest of bandits?"

Staring at the transparent panel before him, Zhang Chu more or less understood the origins of the Merit Points.

He currently possessed two martial arts, both passed down by the Old Temple Master: one Internal Skill and one palm technique.

Yellow Court Inner Strength was an orthodox Daoist Sect Internal Skill.

It originated from the Daoist Sect Ancestral Court.

In his youth, the Old Temple Master had once joined the Daoist Sect. Later, he traveled the world and founded True Martial Temple in Linjiang County.

Each time this Internal Skill broke through a major realm, it reforged one's sinews and bones and expelled impurities. At profound depths, Inner Strength could give rise to astral force, unifying everything into a single whole and carrying the might to sweep away demons.

True Martial Palm, meanwhile, was a palm technique forged through bitter cultivation. It had three forms in total and emphasized gradual, step-by-step progress. In the Jianghu, it was often called one of the Dragon-Tiger Twin Absolutes alongside the Buddhist Sect's Great Vajra Palm!

These two martial arts, one internal and one external, both demanded grueling practice. Without decades of effort, one should not even dream of cultivating them to perfection.

But that had been before.

Now, Zhang Chu did not need to worry about any of that!

"This body is severely injured. Under normal circumstances, it won't last until tomorrow. Now, only this cheat can change the situation. I hope it brings an unexpected result!"

Rather than wait to die on this sickbed, he might as well gamble on the cheat's power. Even if the result turned out worse, it would only mean dying a little earlier. Better to die early and be reborn early.

"Strengthen Yellow Court Inner Strength!"

Zhang Chu immediately chose to strengthen his Internal Skill, hoping to use Yellow Court Inner Strength to improve his injuries.

[Strengthening Yellow Court Inner Strength First Layer requires 100 Merit Points. Continue strengthening? Please confirm.]

One hundred Merit Points was already one-tenth of all he had. He had not expected it to be so expensive.

"Strengthen it!"

Zhang Chu chose to proceed without hesitation.

The next moment, deep within his dantian, it was as though a gate that had lain dormant for ages had been violently thrown open!

Zhang Chu's entire body shuddered as a new force born from within began to spread through his dantian.

In mere seconds, the severe injury in his chest was significantly healed by the newly generated Inner Strength.

At the same time, a current of Internal Skill energy imbued with Daoist charm began to arise within Zhang Chu and rapidly course through his body.

"It really worked!" Zhang Chu stared at his chest in disbelief. The injury there was fading away.

And perhaps it was an illusion, but Zhang Chu felt that even if he took another punch now, he would not die.

He quickly summoned the System Panel.

[Yellow Court Inner Strength (Second Layer), not strengthened]

"Just as I thought, my Yellow Court Inner Strength's First Layer has already been mastered. The original owner had trained bitterly for five years without reaching it, yet I achieved it in an instant."

"In the Jianghu, I'm now a genuine Second-rate Master, though my techniques are somewhat lacking."

"And this was only one strengthening. If I strengthen the Second Layer, my injuries should practically recover!"

Excitement appeared on Zhang Chu's face.

After all, he had only spent one hundred Merit Points. He still had nine hundred left and could continue strengthening it.

"Continue strengthening Yellow Court Inner Strength!" Zhang Chu sat up excitedly on the bed and once again chose to strengthen his Internal Skill.

After strengthening the First Layer of his Internal Skill, his pain had eased considerably. He could now sit upright.

[Strengthening Yellow Court Inner Strength Second Layer requires 200 Merit Points. Confirmed. Strengthening in progress!]

As the Merit Points were consumed, that same mysterious, ineffable sensation surged into his heart once more.

Zhang Chu felt his dantian churn as Inner Strength filled with Daoist charm coursed through his entire body. Scenes flashed unbidden through his mind—scene after scene of arduous training.

It was as though there was another him in another time and space, and every bit of progress had been earned through bitter cultivation.

Moreover, as his Inner Strength grew stronger and stronger, his injuries were fading at a visible rate.

"Phew..."

Several minutes later, the strengthening was complete.

Zhang Chu opened his eyes!

By now, most of his injuries had healed.

A warm current wandered through his body, giving him the sensation of being reborn.

At the same time, his sinews and bones, qi and blood, and muscles all surged explosively, like a bear and a tiger!

The powerful sensation of immense strength lying dormant within him gave Zhang Chu an irresistible urge to throw back his head and let out a long roar!

"So this is what it feels like to strengthen Yellow Court Inner Strength to the Second Layer? I'm countless times stronger than before!"

Zhang Chu looked at the blood mark on his chest, now mostly faded, his eyes brimming with excitement and exhilaration.

He had originally been gravely wounded and on the verge of death, yet now he felt refreshed and full of vigor. Though his injuries had not completely healed, they no longer hindered any of his movements.

Breaking through two layers of Internal Skill in one breath

made Zhang Chu feel as though he had endless strength to spare!

"Let's see how strong I am!"

Once he was sure his body was unharmed, Zhang Chu simply straightened his clothes, got out of bed, and headed to the temple's training ground.

He glanced around and spotted the stone locks they usually used for training. Zhang Chu walked over.

The training stone locks came in all sizes, with the heaviest weighing several thousand jin. Normally, none of the martial brothers could lift them.

Yet today, a stone lock that even an ox could not drag was effortlessly lifted by Zhang Chu with one hand!