Turtle Breathing Technique

After the fight ended, Lin Zheyu chatted with Senior Brother Han for a while before leaving.

Senior Brother Han held the rank of Centurion in Songyi City's City Guard, with a hundred elite soldiers under his command.

The entire city had only a little over a thousand guards. Han Mo had already done remarkably well to become a Centurion.

What Han Mo told him gave Lin Zheyu a better understanding of the military.

Martial artists had little advantage against an army.

With a hundred elite soldiers and a battle formation, Han Mo could easily crush even a Blood Energy Realm martial artist. He'd even dare to take on a Marrow Refining martial artist.

Of course, that was if the martial artist fought them head-on.

If a Blood Energy Realm martial artist fled at full speed, Han Mo had no way to catch up.

After joining the Flying Rainbow Gang, Lin Zheyu's days returned to their former tranquility.

Every morning, he went to Master Liang to practice the Golden Goose Technique. Whenever he had time, he hurried to write the two stories, and in the evenings, he sparred with Senior Brother Han.

Senior Brother Han had just returned from suppressing bandits and could stay in the city for half a month. They had plenty of time.

They rotated every half month, taking turns guarding key routes and clearing out bandits.

In the blink of an eye, four days passed.

"Mr. Lin, I wonder if you've finished the stories?"

Lu Zhenfang looked at Lin Zheyu expectantly. They were leaving first thing tomorrow morning.

"I have."

Lin Zheyu nodded and brought out two thick, bound books.

He had spent the past four days writing them in a frenzy, and his handwriting was a little messy.

"May I take a look first?" Lu Qihui asked.

"Of course."

Lin Zheyu handed over the books, and the two of them quickly flipped through them.

They skimmed the pages. Though the handwriting was a little messy, it was still easy to read.

Soon, delight showed on both their faces.

"Mr. Lin's stories are as captivating as expected!"

"This is fifteen taels of gold. At today's market rate, it comes to exactly one hundred and fifty taels of silver." Lu Qihui handed over a small bundle.

Lin Zheyu took it and opened it. Inside were fifteen gold ingots, each weighing one tael.

It was his first time receiving gold. In daily trade, silver and officially minted coins were the main forms of currency.

Still, gold was much more convenient to store than silver.

"If Young Master Lu wants more exciting stories in the future, you can come find me." Lin Zheyu tucked away the money and smiled.

"Certainly."

"If you ever find yourself in Bafang City and have nowhere to go, you're welcome at the Lu Family's home."

"Our family also runs restaurants and teahouses. You could tell stories at one of our teahouses, Mr. Lin. We'd pay you far more than you're getting now."

Lu Qihui said with a smile.

Early morning.

No. 33, Jin Dong Street.

Lin Zheyu huffed and puffed as he trained.

After several days of strenuous practice, his strength had improved rapidly. The sound of his bones and tendons resonated now and then, and his bones had grown increasingly hard.

But he was still far from the level of bones forged like iron.

He hadn't been tempered with precious medicines since childhood or laid a solid foundation, so it would be extremely difficult to forge his bones to the level of iron.

Fortunately, Lin Zheyu had his cheat. As long as he reached the level of bones forged like iron in that special mental state, the results would carry over to his physical body.

Liang Song watered the plants at a leisurely pace.

After watering them, he picked up a small pair of shears and carefully pruned the flowers and plants, devoting all his attention to them.

Lin Zheyu practiced the Golden Goose Technique for two hours, then stopped, panting heavily.

Heaven Rewards Diligence

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 7

Skills:

Bull Fist (Proficient 4%)

Golden Goose Technique (First Layer 39%)

Looking at the data in his consciousness, he saw that his progress in the Golden Goose Technique had reached 39%. He estimated that another half month would be enough to complete the first layer and break through to the second.

The first layer of the Golden Goose Technique corresponded to the Muscle Refining stage for martial artists. Since Lin Zheyu had already reached Bone Forging, his progress would be much faster.

If Bull Fist weren't focused on fists while the Golden Goose Technique focused on legwork, training different parts of the body, his progress would be even faster.

After training for more than two hours, Lin Zheyu sat with his master by the stone table and chatted.

"By the way, Master, do you know any techniques for concealing one's aura and hiding one's strength?"

Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

After his deal with the Lu Siblings, he had suddenly become very wealthy.

With so much silver in his pocket and seven units of Source Power saved up, he couldn't help itching to use them.

But he didn't dare improve his strength recklessly.

Liang Song had reached the third transformation of the Blood Energy Realm. If Lin Zheyu increased his strength, he wouldn't be able to hide it from him.

If he had a technique for concealing his strength, however, he could improve without restraint. He wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing through him and coveting whatever treasures he might have.

"A technique for concealing your aura?"

"What do you want to learn that for?"

"Such techniques are extremely difficult to master and require years of hard practice. Even with exceptional comprehension, you won't learn one without seven or eight years of work."

"If you lack talent and comprehension, you might practice for ten or twenty years and still get nowhere."

Liang Song chided him. "You're in a period of rapid growth. Your main task right now is to quickly improve your primary cultivation technique, not waste time on other things."

"You're right, Master."

"It's just that the world is in turmoil. I thought if I could learn to conceal my aura and strength, my enemies might let down their guard."

"If something really did happen, it would be like having another trump card."

Lin Zheyu explained. "Don't worry, Master. I won't spend too much effort on it. I'll just study and ponder it in my spare time after practicing every day."

Hearing this, Liang Song fell silent for a moment. He felt Lin Zheyu had a point.

"Fine, but remember: don't waste too much time on it."

"The best way to deal with danger and protect yourself is to become stronger, not to disguise yourself as weak."

Liang Song cautioned him not to lose sight of what mattered.

Lin Zheyu nodded in agreement.

His main reason was to hide the sudden increase in strength that came from using Source Power.

"I have a Turtle Breathing Technique that can conceal your aura and hide your strength."

"This technique was created by a Grandmaster-level expert. That expert was old and frail by then, no longer at the height of his powers."

"So he devoted himself to research, hoping to create a technique that could lock in his Blood Energy and slow aging. That was how the Turtle Breathing Technique came about."

"The technique's main purpose is to preserve one's vitality and Blood Energy, preventing strength from declining too quickly with age."

"Its ability to conceal one's aura and hide one's strength is only a secondary benefit."

Liang Song explained, beginning to teach Lin Zheyu the technique.

The technique was incredibly profound, involving Blood Energy, acupoints, meridians, and all kinds of other knowledge.

"Copy this technique down and take it home to study at your own pace."

"The Turtle Breathing Technique involves Blood Energy. It's extremely difficult to master below the Blood Energy Realm, so you can wait until you reach that realm before starting. There's no need to rush."

Liang Song said this, then told Lin Zheyu a little about Organ Refining and the Blood Energy Realm before returning to his tea in silence.

"This technique is much harder to cultivate than I imagined."

Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

Just the knowledge of Blood Energy, Organ Refining, internal organs, and meridians that the technique covered was vast. It would take a long time of study and practice to fully understand and remember it.