Two Cultivation Manuals

Lu Chen kept his head lowered, silent, the picture of someone too cowed by the scolding to talk back.

Foreman Wang cursed a few more times, then seemed to find it boring.

His eyes darted, remembering the flawless materials from yesterday, and a new scheme took shape in his mind.

This brat might be useless, but his skill at handling materials was the real deal.

If he could make the kid devoted to him, body and soul, that would be a good thing.

Give him a little sweetness, but not too much—keep him forever hoping, forever dependent.

With that thought, Foreman Wang rummaged through a dusty wooden box in the corner for a while, then casually pulled out two tattered, yellowed booklets and tossed them at Lu Chen's feet like trash.

"Here. This Turtle Breath Meditation Method is said to be a fragment from ancient times. If you master it, you can extend your lifespan and make your breath long and deep. But it's badly incomplete—no one's been known to succeed in decades."

"And this Body Evasion Steps is a low-tier basic footwork. Only the first three moves remain. Use it to loosen up your joints, so you don't stiffen up and die in the Corpse Handling Room."

With that, he pulled a small paper packet from a drawer, shook out a few dark red pills, wrapped them in a scrap of paper, and tossed them to Lu Chen.

"This is your reward for handling the Vengeful Fox yesterday—Blood Activating Powder. Use it sparingly. It's good stuff."

Lu Chen knew that, by the rules, handling a demon like a Vengeful Fox should earn at least a full packet—about thirty-odd pills.

What Foreman Wang gave him wasn't even a fraction of that.

But his face showed nothing. He carefully picked up the two ragged booklets and the pitifully few pills, tucked them into his chest with great care, and bowed deeply to Foreman Wang.

"Thank you for the reward, Foreman Wang! This subordinate... is endlessly grateful!"

"Get lost, get lost. Don't loiter here and annoy me." Foreman Wang waved his hand impatiently.

Lu Chen, as if granted a reprieve, bowed and backed out of the room.

Back in the gloomy Corpse Handling Room, he bolted the stone door tight. The deference and gratitude on his face vanished instantly.

He pulled out the items from his chest and laid them on the stone bed.

The two booklets were indeed wretched—corners curled, reeking of mold.

On the pages of the Turtle Breath Meditation Method, the ink was blurred, many spots eaten away by insects. The so-called meridian diagrams were broken and disjointed, impossible to follow.

The Body Evasion Steps was even simpler—just three pages, with three awkward little human figures drawn on them.

Anyone else would probably curse their luck on the spot.

But Lu Chen's eyes gleamed with excitement.

He picked up the Turtle Breath Meditation Method and sank his mind inward.

"System, infuse Turtle Breath Meditation Method!"

This time, he didn't go all-in recklessly like before. Fifty-six years of Demon Devil Lifespan had to be spent on the blade's edge.

He decided to test the waters first.

"Invest 1 year of Demon Devil Lifespan."

[Command confirmed. Beginning infusion of Turtle Breath Meditation Method...]

[Year one: You attempt to cultivate the Turtle Breath Meditation Method using the incomplete diagrams. Due to the missing techniques and unclear pathways, you repeatedly stray into dead ends, making negligible progress. Only at year's end do you feel your breath has become slightly longer than before.]

The feedback on the panel made Lu Chen's heart sink, but then lift again.

It worked!

Even if the effect was tiny, the system could actually deduce the correct path from this scrap paper!

That was enough!

"Continue infusion!" A fierce glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. "Add 5 more years!"

He wanted to see just how far six years of bitter cultivation could push this broken technique!

[Command confirmed. Continuing infusion...]

The text on the panel scrolled rapidly. In Lu Chen's mind, a tireless version of himself appeared, day after day, year after year, in that virtual meditation chamber, cross-legged, breathing, groping along the broken meridian pathways.

Countless failures. Countless wrong turns. Countless surges of chaotic qi and blood.

Any normal person would have given up long ago, or died from qi deviation.

But for the system's infusion, none of that mattered.

[Year two: Learning from failure, you begin attempting to piece together the broken pathways...]

[Year four: You grope your way to a relatively complete circulation route, but it is still riddled with errors...]

[Year six: After tens of thousands of attempts and corrections, with tenacious perseverance, you finally manage to patch together the key circulation routes, successfully guiding qi into your dantian.]

[Turtle Breath Meditation Method: Initiated!]

[Current martial arts: Demon Suppressing Saber Technique (Grandmaster), Turtle Breath Meditation Method (Initiated)]

When the text on the panel finally settled, Lu Chen's eyes snapped open.

He took a deep breath.

This breath was far longer and deeper than any before. The heaven-and-earth qi in the air seemed drawn by an invisible force, thread by thread merging into his body, following a newly opened warm channel, slowly sinking into his lower dantian.

A faint warmth quietly emerged in his dantian.

Though this warm current was still weak, it was undeniably real!

This meant he was no longer relying solely on brute physical strength; he had truly set foot on a path that allowed cultivation and the accumulation of power.

Six years of lifespan in exchange for the entry-level mastery of a broken technique.

This deal was a massive win!

Lu Chen returned to the gloomy Corpse Handling Room and bolted the stone door tightly, completely shutting out the noise and prying eyes of the outside world.

The respectful and grateful expression on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a deep, cold calm.

He placed the two tattered booklets and the meager amount of Blood Activating Powder on the stone bed.

The entry-level mastery of the Turtle Breath Meditation Method had already given him a taste of its benefits—that faint, elusive warmth in his dantian was the foundation of his entry into the supernatural.

But Lu Chen knew well that without a movement technique, having inner strength alone would still make him a living target.

Foreman Wang's seemingly casual slap still sent a chill down his spine. If he hadn't managed to deflect the force in time, he would likely be half-crippled by now.

His gaze fell on the other, even more worn-out booklet—Body Evasion Steps.

"The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique governs killing, the Turtle Breath Meditation Method governs the foundation, and this Body Evasion Steps—that's my ticket to survival."

Lu Chen's eyes sharpened, and he had already made up his mind.

Without hesitation, he sank his mind into his consciousness and issued a command to the floating Bronze Tome.

"System, infuse Body Evasion Steps!"

With the experience from last time, he acted even more decisively this time.

"Invest eight years of Demon Devil Lifespan!"

[Command confirmed. Beginning infusion of Body Evasion Steps...]

[Consuming eight years of Demon Devil Lifespan, you twist and turn within a confined space, tireless, enduring countless falls and gropings, until you finally master the only three remaining stances of the technique, and from them, glean a hint of the essence of evasion and maneuvering.]

[Body Evasion Steps—Minor Completion!]