Dragon Tiger Body

Across all of Great Zhou, Grandmasters were figures of renown, capable of dominating an entire city and spreading their fame across several prefectures.

All the more so in the martial world.

Even when a Grandmaster died peacefully of old age, it was a major event that would alarm many.

To die so inexplicably like this was, in the martial world, like a single stone stirring up a thousand waves.

The first person to fall under suspicion was Song Tonghai.

A Grandmaster had died in Luofeng City. As the undisputed local tyrant, Song Tonghai was naturally the prime suspect.

Yet no one dared say it aloud. Even the Government Office remained silent.

Upon hearing the news, Chu Zheng's first thought was that Song Tonghai was killing a chicken to scare the monkeys.

Only, this chicken was a little too large.

For a time, Chu Zheng could not help but harbor doubts. There was nothing wrong with killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, but what if what stood behind that chicken was not a monkey, but a dragon-whale? With a mere twitch of its body, the Song Family could be swallowed beneath towering, raging waves.

Chu Zheng soon felt the impact of those dozens of severed heads.

His lunch returned to normal, and was even more lavish than before, with an extra five jin of lamb ribs and two jin of beef.

With Chu Zheng's current appetite, even he ate until he was somewhat stuffed. Only after practicing several sets of punches did he digest much of it.

After every circulation of his Qi through the heavenly circuit, Chu Zheng could feel his strength swelling considerably. He had once slipped into the Training Ground to test himself. Now, he could lift a four-hundred-jin stone lock with one hand.

Unless one possessed Innate Divine Strength, this was simply impossible before condensing internal strength.

Even after condensing internal strength, it would take at least several years of tempering to reach this level.

Chu Zheng had cultivated Qi for only a few days. Once a hundred days had passed and he stepped into Spiritual Transformation, who knew what realm his strength would reach.

Killing a Great Grandmaster with one punch might not be mere fantasy.

That filling midday meal eased some of the tension in Chu Zheng's heart. At the very least, the pressure from outside upon the Song Family had eased somewhat.

However, Chu Zheng accelerated his own progress once more.

He would not easily waste this hard-won time. Before he possessed sufficient strength for self-preservation, accidents could happen at any moment.

He had already begun practicing the Introductory Chapter of the Dragon Tiger Body. This external cultivation technique truly had its own unique merits.

Even the Introductory Chapter could greatly strengthen one's tendons and bones. Saying one's tendons would become like flood dragons was somewhat of an exaggeration, but saying one's bones would become like fierce tigers was not exaggerated in the slightest—enough to tear tigers and leopards apart with bare hands.

However, practicing this sort of external cultivation could not do without nourishing herbs. It was like growing flowers: without nutrients, no matter how beautiful the flower was, it could not grow.

As dinner approached, Song Lingxue came to the Storehouse once again.

Just like last time, she had not come empty-handed. She brought a bottle of Essence Pills, along with two portions of bone-strengthening medicinal soup.

This made Chu Zheng feel somewhat embarrassed. Every time he met Song Lingxue, he received no small amount of favor from her.

Compared with his usefulness to the Song Family, he felt undeserving.

At Great Zhou's current market rates, what Song Lingxue had given him was enough to buy ten of Chu Zheng's lives.

Favors were hard to repay. Chu Zheng would rather Song Lingxue treat him worse; that way, when the time came to flee, he would not bear such a heavy psychological burden.

"How was it? Were you satisfied with lunch?"

Compared with before, Song Lingxue's complexion was somewhat pale. Though her face was full of smiles, the exhaustion between her brows could not be concealed. "I specifically instructed the kitchen. You are about to condense Internal Qi, so this is precisely when you need nourishment."

"Thank you for your concern, Eldest Young Lady."

After cultivating Qi, Chu Zheng's five senses were no longer what they once were. He could easily detect the faint scent of blood on Song Lingxue, as well as the thick smell of medicinal herbs.

Song Lingxue was injured. So many people had died last night, and she just happened to be wounded.

No one would believe there was no connection between the two.

Quite a few of the heads hanging from the city walls likely had something to do with her.

For a moment, Chu Zheng could not help but admire the decisiveness of Song Tonghai and his daughter. Without the slightest warning, they struck like thunder.

After delivering the items, Song Lingxue did not leave. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Chu Zheng, there's a caravan heading to the border tomorrow. It's quite far away. Would you like to go along and take a look? You can familiarize yourself with the process of caravan guarding first, and see more of the world."

Guarding a caravan to the border?

Hearing Song Lingxue's words, Chu Zheng understood almost instantly, his gaze turning somewhat complicated.

Song Lingxue had always treated him well, even giving him her family's inherited martial arts. But he had not expected her to value him so highly.

With those dozens of heads serving as a warning, this was practically the best time to leave Luofeng City. Song Lingxue was trying to save his life.

The choice now lay before Chu Zheng: leave, or stay.

Chu Zheng rubbed his brow and sank into thought.

After a long while, he bowed deeply.

"Eldest Young Lady, you have shown me much care. Chu Zheng is not a man with a wolf's heart and dog's lungs. I am grateful to the depths of my heart. But for now, I cannot go on this caravan run. I wish to make plans after I condense my Qi."

In the end, Chu Zheng still chose to stay. First, he could not be sure what the situation outside the city was like. There might be an ambush waiting, and danger was highly possible.

Second, he was unwilling to simply leave like that. Taking from another leaves one beholden; receiving kindness means it must be repaid.

With all that considered, he might as well stay. At least Song Tonghai was holding the line for now, buying him a few more peaceful days.

Once he had refined qi for a hundred days and stepped into the Spiritual Transformation Realm, the boat would straighten itself when it reached the bridge.

"That... works too."

Song Lingxue hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "If there's anything you don't understand in your cultivation, tell me anytime."

After saying that, she seemed to want to say more, yet stopped herself in the end and turned to leave.

Night deepened.

Chu Zheng sat cross-legged on the bed, completely sleepless. Since beginning to refine qi, he had not slept once. His essence was abundant and his spirit full; he did not feel the slightest bit drowsy.

Later, he simply treated cycling his qi through the meridians as rest, and remained as energetic as ever during the day.

Now that he had obtained an Essence Pill again, Chu Zheng's feelings were different.

At this moment, he could clearly sense a stream of qi flowing within the Essence Pill, as though he could guide that qi directly into his body.

The same was true of those two packets of bone-strengthening medicinal decoction.

The Grand Cycle Qi Circulation Compendium recorded a Qi Ingestion Method: swallowing the qi of Heaven and Earth to increase one's own cultivation.

This was something only those in the Spiritual Transformation Realm could do. In the later stages of cultivation, this Qi Ingestion Method could even develop into a Divine Ability known as 'Star Devouring.'

Chu Zheng looked at the two packets of medicinal decoction, and an idea suddenly surfaced in his heart.

The cultivation of the Dragon Tiger Body was, put plainly, nothing more than absorbing the nutrients in herbs to nourish the fleshly body.

Perhaps he could directly extract the qi from the herbs to achieve the same effect, thereby avoiding the cumbersome medicinal baths.

Boiling water in winter was too conspicuous and wasted an enormous amount of firewood. Even Song Lingxue could not bathe every day—it was far too extravagant.

With that thought, Chu Zheng immediately began circulating his qi through the Grand Cycle, attempting to draw out the qi flowing within the herbs.

Needs revision