Epiphany! Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique

As the days passed, Chen Mo went into the mountains to hunt with Chen Chao and the others every day or two. Their overall gains were fairly decent.

Of course, they did not come back with a good haul every time. Even the most experienced hunters sometimes returned empty-handed, and Mang Mountain's resources were not that abundant.

During this time, Chen Mo and the others encountered a hunting team from another village once. No conflict broke out, and both sides appeared quite friendly.

Yet Chen Mo could sense that both sides were wary of one another.

In the desolate wilderness, running into people was more dangerous than running into wild beasts.

The human heart was the hardest thing to fathom!

It was only a minor episode. With an Inner Strength Realm martial artist like Chen Chao present, the hunting teams from nearby villages did not dare make a move.

Chen Mo had originally hoped they might encounter an Exotic Beast. With his and Chen Chao's strength, there was a good chance they could keep it there. Unfortunately, they never came across one.

According to Chen Chao, Exotic Beasts were far more intelligent than ordinary beasts and would actively avoid crowds. One might not encounter an Exotic Beast in Mang Mountain even once a year—it was purely a matter of luck.

After learning this, Chen Mo stopped dwelling on it and began studying Tracking techniques instead.

On his third trip into the mountains, theory combined with practice, and Tracking finally appeared among his Skills on the panel. It had not been easy.

It was already the night before his departure.

Seeing that the County Town merchant caravan would arrive tomorrow, he knew he would soon leave Chen Family Village and head to Hequ County, a larger stage on which to develop. He had just finished cooking dinner and had yet to eat when Chen Mo habitually summoned the panel for a glance. He froze...

[Chen Mo]

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 15/65

Talent: Quite Potential

Skills: Archery (Perfect Accomplishment), Tracking (Initiation), Culinary Arts (Initiation)

Techniques: Health Cultivation Technique (Perfect Accomplishment), Tiger Fist (Perfect Accomplishment)

Realm: Body Tempering (Inner Strength)

Enlightenment Count: 10

"Culinary Arts? Seriously?" Chen Mo found it rather amusing.

Over these past days, unlike the previous owner of this body, who had never entered the kitchen, Chen Mo had always cooked for himself. He could only ensure that the food was not awful and could be swallowed, yet through practice making perfect, Culinary Arts had somehow appeared among his Skills.

"Culinary Arts has no real value. I shouldn't waste my Enlightenment Count on it for now. But this Tracking Skill... whether for hunting or finding and tailing people, it feels like it could come in handy..."

After some thought, Chen Mo ultimately did not use Epiphany on either of those two abilities. He decided to save up a little longer.

He had been about to close the panel when his gaze fell upon Archery and the Health Cultivation Technique. They had turned gray and become impossible to improve through Epiphany after reaching Perfect Accomplishment, but now they had returned to their original white color, available for Epiphany once more. He was stunned.

"I can use Epiphany again?"

After checking carefully and confirming that he had not seen wrong, Chen Mo was filled with doubt.

"Why is that?"

He inspected the Attribute Panel meticulously, his gaze finally settling on the Enlightenment Count that had accumulated to ten. There was no use overthinking it. Chen Mo decided to test it first. At worst, he would waste ten days. No big deal.

Archery or the Health Cultivation Technique... there was nothing to hesitate over. He directly chose to use Epiphany on the Health Cultivation Technique.

The instant he activated Epiphany, his consciousness entered an independent space. A scaled-down Chen Mo within it continuously practiced the Health Cultivation Technique. After practicing for a while, the little person would occasionally stop and ponder.

New insights into the Health Cultivation Technique flowed into Chen Mo's mind.

"Is this improving the Health Cultivation Technique?" Chen Mo realized.

This cycle repeated a full ten times. At last, the little person revealed an expression of sudden realization and wild delight. When he practiced the Health Cultivation Technique again, Chen Mo was surprised to find that its movements had not changed much, but its corresponding Breathing Method had changed noticeably.

His breathing became longer, steadier, calmer, and more powerful.

His consciousness swiftly returned at that point.

The Epiphany had ended. He immediately opened the Attribute Panel...

[Chen Mo]

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 15/70

Talent: Quite Potential

Skills: Archery (Perfect Accomplishment), Tracking (Initiation), Culinary Arts (Initiation)

Techniques: Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique (Initiation), Tiger Fist (Perfect Accomplishment)

Realm: Body Tempering (Inner Strength)

Enlightenment Count: 0

"Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique..."

Looking at the brand-new technique name on the panel, the five additional years of Lifespan, and the Enlightenment Count that had returned to zero, Chen Mo recalled how the Perfect Accomplishment Tiger Fist could not undergo Epiphany any further and formed a guess.

"So Epiphany can improve techniques, but it consumes a greater number of Enlightenment Counts. The exact number required should be related to the technique's rank. The higher the rank, the more Enlightenment Counts it takes to improve it..."

For now, that was all Chen Mo could tell.

As for whether the Enlightenment Count required to improve a technique had any connection to talent, that remained unknown.

His attention shifted to the new technique...

The Health Cultivation Technique at Perfect Accomplishment had transformed into the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique, but its level was only at Initiation. He had to start practicing it all over again.

He just did not know whether this Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique was higher or lower in rank than Tiger Fist.

As a technique capable of reaching the Inner Strength Realm, Tiger Fist had fairly decent Body Tempering effects. It had barely escaped the ranks of Trash Tier techniques and could be called a third-rate Body Tempering technique.

Do not underestimate it. Even a third-rate technique was something ordinary people dreamed of obtaining and found extremely difficult to acquire. Chen Chao had joined a Martial Arts School and, with the village's support, paid sufficient tuition before he could learn this technique.

Under normal circumstances, those who entered a Martial Arts School to learn martial arts could only study Trash Tier techniques.

Moreover, Chen Chao had to pay the Martial Arts School a certain fee every year for teaching Tiger Fist to the villagers. Otherwise, he would be punished by the Martial Arts School.

That was not something Chen Family Village could bear.

Third-rate techniques were already difficult to obtain. Second-rate, first-rate, and even top-tier techniques were even harder to acquire. They generally circulated only within extremely small circles and were controlled by great Lineages. Commoner martial artists would never encounter them in their entire lives.

Chen Mo had originally planned to enter the County Town and learn more Trash Tier techniques. Grain by grain, a tower rose; as long as he could successfully break through to the Divine Strength Realm, he would have the qualifications to step into the open within Hequ County and gain access to things on a higher level.

This path would undoubtedly be filled with danger. Those vested interests would never sit back and watch Chen Mo rise, because it would directly harm their interests.

But there was no other way. If Chen Mo wanted to become stronger and possess the strength and capital to stand firm in this world, he had to do it.

But now, a brand-new path lay before him. Since techniques could be elevated through Epiphany, why should he take such risks? There was no need to seek a tiger's skin from the tiger. He could keep a low profile entirely.

Quietly become the strongest person in Hequ County, then shock everyone.

Of course, he still had to go to the County Town. Chen Family Village alone could not support the consumption required for his cultivation.

Knowledge was also important to a person. Chen Mo wanted to understand this world better so that he could more clearly grasp his current situation. That was something he could not do while staying in Chen Family Village.

"Just reaching Initiation added five years to my Lifespan. Once I raise the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique to Perfect Accomplishment, how much longer will my Lifespan become? And will my strength be able to break through to the Divine Strength Realm?"

With those thoughts in mind, Chen Mo began eating his dinner, which had nearly gone cold. It was very lavish, with meat and vegetables well matched, though its taste was honestly rather mediocre. Still, he could not bring himself to waste Enlightenment Counts on Culinary Arts for now.

After eating his fill, he simply tidied up and washed the bowls and chopsticks, putting them all back in their places. He then packed two changes of clothes to take with him tomorrow before lying down early. Through the drafty window, he gazed at the night sky, his thoughts drifting.

He had only just adapted to life here, yet tomorrow he would leave for an unfamiliar and somewhat dangerous place. Alongside anticipation, he could not help feeling nervous and hesitant.

In the end, determination still appeared in his eyes.

Chen Family Village... was far too small!