Abyssal Sea Technique

While the crowd was still heatedly discussing the ghost, Su Yuan had already returned to his room to flip through the Abyssal Sea Technique.

"Sink the body to harbor the abyss, store blood like the sea; open the Abyssal Mansion within, and the flow shall never cease... This technique is quite intriguing."

The postscript noted that one must practice while submerged in deep, dark waters, which explained why it was so difficult to master.

However, this technique could open a "Blood Mansion" within the body, and a single mansion could increase blood energy by fifty percent—it was truly extraordinary.

Su Yuan followed the manual to set his stance: feet spread wide, torso leaning slightly forward with chest hollowed, shoulders dropped and relaxed, arms hanging naturally at his sides, fingers slightly splayed, and palms facing downward.

With his head and neck slightly lowered, neither tilted nor crooked, he felt like a giant whale sinking into the deep sea.

[Abyssal Sea Technique: 1/500 (First Layer)]

This technique was divided into five layers, corresponding to five mansions; once all five were formed, one's blood energy could increase nearly threefold.

Blood energy was the foundation of cultivation, and if he could perfect it, it would be a massive boost to Su Yuan's strength.

The sudden clamor lasted only for a night.

For the next half-month, Su Yuan returned to his usual rhythm.

The work at the horse farm was just a bit more strenuous.

Su Yuan walked out of those pitch-black rooms, handing over the scrolls he had finished.

As expected, members of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall and spies planted in the horse farm had been captured alive, and Su Yuan was tasked with painting and sculpting them.

These items were widely circulated by the Shan Family to suppress the reputation of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall and the Jiguang Society.

More critically, if anyone broke under the torture and revealed vital information, it might implicate the entire resistance force in Ji City.

Su Yuan could not help but feel a sliver of helplessness in his heart.

Would their resistance truly yield any results?

And was the Great Jing imperial court truly worthy of trust?

With members of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall being captured one after another, the guards at the city gates had actually become somewhat lax.

Chai Nian was set to organize the Martial Academy members tomorrow for their first hunting rehearsal.

That might be a prime opportunity to escape.

Yet, his friends and family were all within the city.

Su Yuan glanced at the empty high platform.

Yun Xu had also been brought into the black room, not to be tortured, but to watch the torture of her fellow disciples to force her submission.

Su Yuan asked himself if the persona of a spy he had cultivated in front of her recently would be enough to earn her trust.

He only feared that her will might collapse, leading her to give up entirely and confess everything.

However, he and the Shan Family were now locked in a life-or-death struggle.

He only had a one-way connection with Yun Xu and the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall, and they possessed no actual evidence against him.

Besides, he was now firmly in Gao Mian's good graces, which would help him manage the situation when the time came.

The only person Su Yuan felt truly sorry for was Sister Mian; she had been so kind to him, yet he found it difficult to repay her.

He gently stroked the sachet on his chest.

This was a gift from Gao Mian after she learned Su Yuan was heading out of the city; it could repel insects in the wild and also had the effect of detoxifying and clearing the mind.

"If she knew I was secretly resisting the Great Liang behind her back, what would she think?" Su Yuan sighed softly.

There was no use in overthinking; all he could do was handle the task at hand.

He left the horse farm and waited until nightfall.

Su Yuan donned his mask and met with Duan Hongyan at a tavern.

Since he had already revealed his identity to them, Su Yuan wanted to glean some intelligence and resources from them.

However, he still insisted that only he come alone.

With so many fellow disciples captured, Duan Hongyan looked much more haggard.

Su Yuan asked them directly about their future plans and the situation on the front lines.

"Senior Green Ghost, the internal strife in the south is about to be quelled, and the Great Jing army will be able to march north soon. Although our current situation is dire, I firmly believe we will succeed. We must persist; for our country, for our families, and for the people of Ji City, we must never fall." Duan Hongyan's eyes were red as he downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp.

Su Yuan nodded silently and handed over the intelligence he had gathered today.

Duan Hongyan took it, his eyes turning even redder.

It contained the recent status of some of their fellow disciples, and learning that they had endured brutal torture without breaking left his heart feeling as if it were being shredded.

"Senior, do you truly not want us to take action against the Su Family?" Duan Hongyan suddenly asked.

Since Su Yuan's paintings had been circulating these days, everyone assumed Su Yuan was the one performing the executions and hated him to the bone.

Duan Hongyan deeply regretted letting Su Yuan go back then; the notion of capturing him alive to turn him into an informant seemed laughable now.

Su Yuan is a man of heinous crimes!

The members of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall wished they could slice him into a thousand pieces.

Su Yuan subconsciously touched his face, only to feel the cold mask, and explained in a hoarse voice, "Do not take such risks. Su Yuan merely kept the records; the one who administered the torture was Du Hengfeng..."

As soon as Du Hengfeng's injuries had slightly healed, he poured all his pent-up hatred onto the prisoners of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall, personally presiding over the punishments.

"Du Hengfeng!" Duan Hongyan's face turned pale, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked.

Su Yuan did not know if he regretted letting him go, but he still said, "We strike during the Wolf God Festival in half a month."

Duan Hongyan nodded heavily and took out a booklet. "Senior, this is the first level of the Cloud-Striding Palm. I truly cannot provide the subsequent techniques at this moment."

Su Yuan signaled his understanding and took the technique.

He then vanished into the darkness and departed.

After stowing the items away, Su Yuan submerged himself into the Anlan River to practice the Abyssal Sea Technique.

[Fate: A Further Step Forward]

[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 676/1000 (Second Level)]

[Origin-Returning Finger: 102/2000 (Perfected)]

[Flying Horse Leg: 557/1000 (Great Success)]

[Cloud-Covering Art: 476/500 (Minor Success)]

[Horse Spear Technique: 215/500 (Minor Success)]

[Abyssal Sea Technique: 315/500 (First Level)]

[Literacy: 1632/2000 (Perfected)]

[Olfactory Discrimination: 983/2000 (Perfected)]

[Swimming: 453/1000 (Great Success)]

"There is still not enough time."

The more techniques he mastered, the less time he seemed to have.

The Origin-Returning Finger had reached the second blood-refining stage, and the Golden Horse-Head Technique could be pushed to the third.

Before the Wolf God Festival, he needed to train the Cloud-Covering Art to Great Success, break through to the second level of the Abyssal Sea Technique, and do his best to advance his Olfactory Discrimination.

There was no time left to practice the Cloud-Striding Palm.

Ignoring the cold, Su Yuan stayed at the bottom of the river; his physique was now capable of withstanding greater water pressure.

However, the depth of this river was ultimately limited, which restricted the speed of his Abyssal Sea Technique cultivation.

Corpses drifted by from time to time, looking quite ghastly, and he always worried they might suddenly sit up.

"I wonder which bastard keeps dumping bodies into the river." Su Yuan sighed inwardly, feeling a wave of disgust at the thought that their daily drinking water also came from this source.

By early morning, Su Yuan returned to the Martial Academy.

The martial artists in the courtyard were already assembling.

In this period, not many had made a breakthrough; including the previous ones, there were only a dozen or so Blood-Condensation martial artists.

Many with average aptitude began to regret their choices, thinking that if they had practiced normally, they might have broken through on their own within three months.

But after taking the Blood Origin Pill, they had repeatedly attempted to breach the barrier, only to fail time and again.

They even suspected that the medicine bestowed by the Young Master was flawed; otherwise, why were the Su Family brothers unaffected?

Unfortunately, they dared to be angry but dared not speak out.

Su Yuan scanned the crowd; Huang Jiangyue had indeed succeeded. In their batch, counting Tie Niu, there were only five.

The lucky ones were far too few.

Those participating in this hunting rehearsal were the ones who would subsequently take part in the Wolf God Festival.

Although Jiang Yu had not become a martial artist, she had grown increasingly close to Tie Niu.

She often came to the Su residence to look after the children and prepare meals.

Su Yuan understood her intentions, but as long as Tie Niu was happy, it was fine.

From what he could see, the girl had a decent temperament—diligent and sensible.

She whispered a farewell to Tie Niu, "Brother Tie Niu, you must be extremely careful on this trip. I have heard that the demonic beasts are terrifying."

"Don't worry, Third Master is coming with us this time. He is a Pulse-Splitting martial artist, so nothing will go wrong," Tie Niu reassured her.

Su Yuan felt helpless.

With a Pulse-Splitting martial artist watching from behind, he feared that even if they wanted to escape, they wouldn't be able to.

"Depart!" Chai Nian remained seated in the carriage.

The Su brothers drove for him, and the entire procession marched grandly toward the outskirts of the city.

The common folk along the way scattered in haste, their gazes toward the Su brothers filled with a mix of fear, envy, and resentment.

Chai Nian explained the details of the Wolf God Ritual from the carriage: "In this Wolf God Ritual, your performance will be measured by the quantity of your hunt. While these are individual scores, only through coordination can you secure more prey. I expect you all to work together and hand over the majority of your catch to Tie Niu, helping him secure the top spot."

"This?" The group began to murmur, especially the "older generation" of martial artists like Zhu Yan and Kuang Hong, whose faces all betrayed their dissatisfaction.

No matter how high Tie Niu's talent or how great his strength, they had been at the Martial Academy for far longer; why should they act as stepping stones for him?

Chai Nian's tone remained indifferent: "I will not stop you from competing for individual rewards, but I expect each person to surrender at least fifty percent of their hunt. If Tie Niu can secure first place, I shall bestow the Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist upon those who contributed the most."

As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar broke out.

The Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist was the true martial art of the Chai Family, capable of tempering one's internal energy.

Only by mastering this technique could one have a chance to break through to the realm of Savage Strength.

Su Yuan also spoke up: "Tie Niu, I will certainly help you take first place."

Feeling the weight of everyone's gaze, Tie Niu felt the pressure mounting like a mountain.

Before the discussion could cease, they had already arrived at the West City gate.

Su Yuan could not help but gaze out at the world beyond the city walls.

Finally, they were leaving the city.