Bone Forging Like Iron

The two walked toward 33 Jin Dong Street.

Previously, this had been the courtyard of Liang Song, but now it belonged to Lin Zheyu.

Master Liang preferred quiet, so there were few people living around the courtyard; the noise from practicing martial arts would not disturb anyone else.

Entering the courtyard, he took off his coat.

"Junior Brother Lin, make your move."

Han Mo held a blunt saber, assuming the stance of the Six Harmonies Saber Technique.

"Alright!"

Lin Zheyu's muscles bulged, and with a bang, he shot toward Han Mo.

His figure was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Han Mo.

Whoosh—

The blade whistled past the tip of Lin Zheyu's nose. Using his waist as an axis, Lin Zheyu rotated his upper body, dodging Han Mo's blunt saber.

Putting force into his waist, he unleashed a Bull Charge, his fists striking toward Han Mo's face and abdomen.

Han Mo took a step back, quickly creating distance.

A sweep of the blunt saber forced Lin Zheyu to retreat.

The two traded blows, moving at high speed, exchanging over a dozen rounds in just a few breaths.

Bang—

After more than forty rounds, as Lin Zheyu dodged the blade, Han Mo seized the opportunity to kick him away.

"Again!"

Lin Zheyu performed a carp kipping maneuver, leaping up from the ground to launch another attack.

The two fought continuously for over two hours before finally collapsing onto the ground, panting heavily.

After venting all that energy, he felt completely refreshed.

"With Master Liang gone, it feels like something is missing."

Lin Zheyu looked at the empty courtyard, feeling a bit melancholy.

"Don't worry. Master's strength is so formidable that he won't be in any danger. Perhaps he will return in the future."

Han Mo said this as much to comfort Lin Zheyu as to reassure himself.

"Do you know where Master's hometown is?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

"I have no idea."

"Master never mentions it, and he won't say anything even if you ask."

"Besides, he disappears for a period of time every so often. Who knows what he goes off to do? He's very mysterious," Han Mo grumbled.

Master Liang was so mysterious that even if they wanted to find him in the future, they wouldn't know where to look.

"Yeah, Master Liang is too mysterious."

"Do you think he could be a secret assassin for some organization, and those periods of disappearance were when he went to carry out missions?"

Lin Zheyu voiced his own speculation.

"I thought about that too, but in over a decade, I've rarely heard of anyone being assassinated. That's probably not it."

The two chatted idly, back and forth.

"So bitter."

"I should add some sugar to improve the taste next time."

In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.

The medicine for the Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup was extremely bitter, especially the decoction brewed from three full doses.

After Liang Song left, Han Mo's strength remained at the Organ Refining realm, showing no signs of progress.

Lin Zheyu intended to improve his own strength; in this chaotic world, it was one more layer of security.

On the table sat two large bowls filled with the medicinal soup.

Each bowl contained the decoction brewed from three doses of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening medicine.

Lin Zheyu thought for a moment, then downed both bowls of soup in one go.

As the medicinal liquid entered his stomach, a startling sensation of heat surged through his body.

He closed his eyes and sent out a thought: "Use three units of Source Power to upgrade Golden Goose Technique."

In an instant, mysterious energy surged forth, guiding the medicinal power from the soup into his limbs and bones.

Lin Zheyu's mind entered the familiar, special state, and he began to practice the Golden Goose Technique frantically, his body emitting a continuous series of cracking sounds.

In that state, he neither slept nor rested, continuing without end.

Having consumed three units of Source Power at once, he felt as though years had passed, the duration so long that his mind felt somewhat exhausted.

This was a sensation he had never experienced before.

Under the moonlight.

Lin Zheyu's chest rose and fell, coordinating with the unique Breathing Method of the Golden Goose Technique, as his internal organs began to gradually grow stronger.

The resonance of his tendons and bones grew increasingly dense within his body.

Gradually, the sound of tendons and bones vibrating in unison emanated from his entire body.

Bone Forging reached Great Success!

Opening his eyes, Lin Zheyu's gaze held deep fatigue, yet it flickered with a sharp glint.

"It's about as I estimated; the medicinal soup I drank was almost entirely consumed, with only a trace left."

Lin Zheyu sensed the state of his body and said to himself.

He stood up, his figure moving through the courtyard like a phantom, his speed extremely fast.

As he shifted, his tendons and bones emitted faint cracking sounds.

This was because Lin Zheyu had just reached Great Success in Bone Forging and had not yet had time to adapt.

As he adjusted, the cracking sounds gradually weakened and disappeared.

Bang!

Crack—

His figure flickered, arriving before the wooden practice post, his right leg lashing out like a whip, causing the post to shatter with a loud crack.

"Forging bones like iron—this is what it means to forge bones like iron!"

Lin Zheyu patted his right leg; the area that had struck the wooden post felt nothing at all.

The hardness of his leg bones was astonishing, as solid as gold and iron.

Lin Zheyu practiced whip kicks, jumps, and punches, his energy whistling through the air.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 1

Skills:

Bull Fist (Proficient 5%)

Golden Goose Technique (Third Layer 23%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Layer 0%)

"Golden Goose Technique, Third Layer, Organ Refining realm."

Lin Zheyu adapted to his current strength, feeling stronger than ever before.

Compared to before, his power and speed had increased by at least fifty percent.

More importantly, after reaching Great Success in Bone Forging, his entire body's tendons and bones were incredibly hard, allowing him to withstand even greater explosive force.

His sturdy tendons and bones made his physique much more robust, making it difficult for him to suffer fractures even if struck by weapons.

"Only 1 unit of Source Power remains, and there are only six doses of medicinal herbs left for the Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup in the room."

"Practicing martial arts really burns through money."

Lin Zheyu muttered, lamenting the high cost of martial arts training.

In the blink of an eye, nine days passed.

Strolling through Songyi City, there were far fewer pedestrians on the streets.

The shops were not as bustling as they used to be.

With the end of the year approaching, today was a festival for worshipping the gods.

The people on the streets lacked their usual smiles, all wearing expressions of sorrow.

Life was becoming increasingly difficult.

He took a walk through the teahouse, finding business there even more dismal.

"Mr. Lin, the boss asked me to negotiate with you; he wants to lower the fee for each storytelling session to 300 wen."

Steward Wu walked over, looking somewhat embarrassed as he spoke.

"Fine."

Lin Zheyu nodded.

Jia Yanming had already come to discuss the price with him yesterday, and it had indeed been lowered to 300 wen.

His income was decreasing day by day, and now it was already less than one tael of silver per day.

However, compared to those ordinary people, it was still much better.

Lin Zheyu accepted the money given by Steward Wu; starting tomorrow, it would become 300 wen.

"Brother Lin, over here!"

Not far away, Jia Yanyong waved at Lin Zheyu.

He walked over and sat down opposite Jia Yanyong, where Xie Jiang was also present.

"Have you heard? The government has posted a notice to recruit soldiers," Xie Jiang said.

"A notice?"

"I just came back from the city gate; how come I didn't see it?" Lin Zheyu asked, puzzled.

"It hasn't been posted yet."

"It was Lord Qiu who said so; he has someone in his family who works for the government," Xie Jiang said. "There are more and more bandits outside the city, and the City Guard doesn't have enough manpower to handle them all."

"We in the Flying Rainbow Gang won't be conscripted to serve as soldiers, will we?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"That won't happen; the conscription is for ordinary residents."

"However, something happened at a Flying Rainbow Gang iron mine on White Stone Mountain. I don't know if they will send us there for support," Jia Yanyong said.

"What happened?"

"Is it haunted?" Lin Zheyu asked.

The group had chatted about the haunting on Qinghe Mountain last time, so now that a problem at a mine outside the city was mentioned, his first thought was that it was haunted.

"No."

"A powerful group of bandits has arrived near White Stone Mountain. These bandits are very strong and quite unscrupulous; they have set their sights on the iron mine at White Stone Mountain and the iron weapons forged there," Xie Jiang said.

"Oh..."

Lin Zheyu felt a bit disappointed.

He had hoped to see the ghosts of this world and experience the feeling of blowing up a ghost with a detonator.

"You aren't interested in those wandering spirits, are you?"

"Are you thinking of the stories you've been told, where a female ghost falls in love with a scholar and writes a beautiful tale?"

Xie Jiang laughed heartily: "You had better give up that idea. Those wandering spirits have no intelligence, and they look extremely hideous and terrifying."

The group chatted for a while, and Jia Yanyong suggested going to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion to mess around.

Lin Zheyu did not go with them to hang out at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

He returned to his own courtyard to practice martial arts.