Depths of the Waters

The Six Harmonies Saber Technique was plain and unadorned, simple and crisp.

With Blood Energy behind him, Lin Zheyu's strikes carried astonishing force. Each slash landed with a weighty blow, its momentum pressing down on everything before it.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Golden Goose Technique in motion, he wove it into his saber attacks and raced around the courtyard.

Saber flashes filled the entire courtyard.

As if venting his frustration, he threw himself into every move, draining his strength at a furious pace. Sweat soaked through his clothes.

After an hour, his face had turned somewhat pale.

His strength, speed, and stamina had all fallen off sharply.

His limbs felt weak, but he had not yet reached his limit.

Another half hour passed before he finally felt his strength beginning to fail.

He pushed on for another six or seven minutes. Then his body and spirit seemed to draw together into a single force, and he felt as if he had been elevated.

At last, he had broken through his limit.

Leaning on his saber, he gulped in great breaths. His exhalations stirred the leaves on the ground.

After reaching the Blood Energy Realm, his breath had grown long and steady, and his lung capacity was astonishing.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 3

Skills:

Bull Fist (Proficient 5%)

Golden Goose Technique (Fourth Layer 13%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Layer 0%)

Six Harmonies Saber Technique (Proficient 12%)

"My guess was right. This time, I only gained one unit of Source Power."

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his mind. The number beside Source Power had changed to 1.

The last time he had broken through his limit, he had gained two units of Source Power at once. Now, it had gone back to one.

"So each time I break through my limit, I gain 1.x units of Source Power."

"As my strength keeps improving, that x will gradually increase, until one day it becomes two units."

Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He lay on the ground and rested for a while.

Even as a Blood Energy Realm martial artist, after breaking through his limit, he was still too exhausted to move.

But reaching the Blood Energy Realm had brought one benefit: his recovery speed had increased.

The Blood Energy he had just built up had been completely depleted. But after reaching the Blood Energy Realm, his blood was brimming with energy.

Though he felt utterly drained, he could still squeeze out tiny threads of Blood Energy if he pushed himself.

The Blood Energy flowed through his body with his blood, seeping into his muscle cells and nourishing his exhausted body as it sped up his recovery.

After resting for a while, Lin Zheyu felt less sore.

Blood Energy was like a martial artist's backup power source. It could not only unleash powerful attacks, but also speed up recovery.

"I'll keep raising Golden Goose Technique."

"As my strength improves, each new layer takes more Source Power. To raise Golden Goose Technique to the fifth layer, I'll need at least five more units." Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He felt that even with the strength of the Blood Energy Realm, he was not particularly safe.

When he had heard Gang Leader Xu say that the city lord was so powerful he could suppress an entire city alone, Lin Zheyu had been stunned.

The emperor of Great Wei appointed the lord of every city.

The city's size and the importance of its location determined the strength of the lord assigned to it.

Songyi City was merely an obscure little city, yet its lord was already so powerful.

If every city lord was that strong, then how terrifying must the rebel army be to have conquered so many cities?

"The waters of this world are far deeper than I imagined!"

Lin Zheyu murmured.

The medicinal soup in the pot had not finished brewing.

He had already simmered it twice over the past three hours. It needed one more round to draw out all the medicinal power from the ingredients.

He poured out the soup he had brewed, added fresh water, and continued simmering.

He kept brewing it until the afternoon, when all the medicinal power had finally been extracted from the ingredients.

He lifted the bowl and drank the medicinal soup in one go.

This bowl contained a full eight doses' worth of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup ingredients.

A heat spread through his body, but there was none of the discomfort he had felt before.

Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup truly lived up to its reputation as a potent brew for Blood Energy Realm martial artists. After drinking it, his Blood Energy began to grow a little faster.

He carefully savored the feeling, then cleared his mind and sent out a thought.

"Use three units of Source Power to raise Golden Goose Technique."

In an instant, mysterious energy surged forth.

His mind entered a special state, and Lin Zheyu began training without tiring.

Time rushed by. He felt as if countless years had passed. Through endless, uninterrupted training, the Blood Energy in his body grew stronger and stronger.

The wisps of Blood Energy originally scattered through his blood gathered into a mass of blood-red mist. It flowed along with his blood, nourishing him.

Nourished by the Blood Energy, his body underwent a second transformation.

Lin Zheyu once again understood why people said Blood Energy was the foundation of martial cultivation.

The nourishment and strengthening Blood Energy provided were beyond what an ordinary person could ever attain.

As Blood Energy nourished and strengthened him, his physique transformed and grew more powerful. His muscles became taut and firm.

Every muscle held terrifying strength.

A few breaths later,

Lin Zheyu opened his eyes, emerging from the endless training.

His body's transformation was complete.

A rumbling came from his blood. Dense Blood Energy flowed through his veins with it, coursing through his entire body.

Lin Zheyu felt as if his body were brimming with explosive power.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 0

Skills:

Bull Fist (Proficient 5%)

Golden Goose Technique (Fourth Layer 67%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Layer 0%)

Six Harmonies Saber Technique (Proficient 12%)

"It's reached 67%. I still need two units of Source Power to raise it to the fifth layer."

Lin Zheyu glanced at the data and continued training.

After reaching 67% of the fourth layer, the Blood Energy in his body had increased considerably. It flowed through him along with his blood.

He controlled the Blood Energy and poured it into both arms.

As the Blood Energy surged in, the muscles in his arms swelled slightly, turning almost grotesque.

"Phew!"

Feeling the explosive strength in his arms, Lin Zheyu let out a soft breath.

His gaze sharpened. He tightened his grip on the saber and slashed, sending out a blade of cold, cutting energy.

"No good. My arms can't withstand that much Blood Energy."

Lin Zheyu frowned.

When he had just poured Blood Energy into his arms, he had felt a painful swelling in his muscles and tendons. When he put all his strength into that slash, he heard a faint crack from his arm bones.

It was a sign that the force unleashed by the Blood Energy exceeded what his arms could bear.

If he had been fighting an enemy, even if that blow had killed them, both his arms would have broken.

"Looks like I'll have to raise Bull Fist or the Six Harmonies Saber Technique too."

Lin Zheyu considered it.

He had broken into the Blood Energy Realm through Golden Goose Technique, and only his legs had been tempered until their bones were as hard as iron.

Bull Fist and the Six Harmonies Saber Technique were both only at the early Bone Forging Realm. They simply could not withstand too much Blood Energy erupting at once.

After some thought, he decided to focus on Bull Fist and raise its level.

Bull Fist mainly trained the fists, with all its strength concentrated in the hands. Once he raised Bull Fist, his arms would reach the Bone Forging Realm, with bones as hard as iron.

Then he would be able to withstand the force of powerful Blood Energy when using the Six Harmonies Saber Technique.

More importantly, over the past few days of practicing Bull Fist, Lin Zheyu had sensed a mysterious quality hidden within the techniques.

He had never felt anything like it in the Six Harmonies Saber Technique or Golden Goose Technique.

Bull Fist seemed to conceal a kind of fist intent.

If he trained it to a high enough level, perhaps he would be able to comprehend it.