Hidden Feature - Cultivation Method Unlocked

"Congratulations to the host for coming into contact with a cultivation manual. The King Character Card System is now active."

Lin Lei had been feeling incredibly frustrated, having obtained a Battle Qi technique but being unable to learn it. Now, suddenly receiving a system notification regarding a technique exclusive to the host, he was overcome with excitement.

Lin Lei opened the system panel and located the techniques section.

Technique: Primordial Heavenly Thunder Battle Qi Technique (Unlearned)

Huh, this name is so similar to the family-inherited Battle Qi technique of Allen. Could it be that the system...

Lin Lei recited the technique silently in his heart, and a string of text emerged in his mind. It took about an hour, but Lin Lei finally understood the general gist of the entire technique. Contrary to what he had thought, this technique had absolutely nothing to do with that other Battle Qi manual.

It was a proper Eastern cultivation technique. This Primordial Heavenly Thunder Battle Qi Technique was divided into nine realms, matching the strength rankings recognized by Lin Lei's system: Bronze, Silver, all the way up to Glory King and Hundred-Star King.

Lin Lei went to the secret chamber and began trying to circulate the technique. Slowly, a breath of energy was born from his flesh and blood, converging and merging into his meridians.

"Mmm!"

Lin Lei let out a sound of contentment. At this moment, he felt like a newborn infant protected by its mother's womb. Gentle Battle Qi flowed all around him, and every pore on his body felt completely relaxed.

As time slowly passed, Lin Lei practiced for over two hours, and the amount of Battle Qi within his body reached the level of Bronze Five.

"No wonder there are so many cultivation fanatics in novels; it turns out that strengthening oneself is so refreshing."

Lin Lei muttered as he walked out of his secret chamber. Aside from the internal cultivation of Battle Qi, this Primordial Heavenly Thunder Battle Qi Technique also involved external martial arts training. The two had to be combined—internal support with external mastery—to break through to the next realm.

Because of his own existing strength level, the initial stages of the technique were quick to cultivate.

However, this also stimulated the potential of his physical body, which would require gradual, step-by-step cultivation from here on out.

This technique seems very friendly to beginners. Even someone like me who has never practiced before can accept it so quickly. Aside from my own strength, the utility of this technique cannot be ignored.

Lin Lei thought to himself.

"System, can I pass this technique on to the soldiers in my territory?"

The system made no response. Lin Lei shrugged his nose and continued.

"Okay, I'll take your silence as consent."

Lin Lei walked out of the secret chamber and returned to the main hall.

In the hall, Aierlan was drinking tea all by herself, followed by two young maids of thirteen or fourteen.

"Where is Allen? Where did he go?"

Lin Lei inquired.

"He left a long time ago. You were inside for over two hours, and Allen still has training duties, so I let him go first," Aierlan explained to him.

Lin Lei nodded, picked up the cloak from the chair, and walked out of his courtyard gate.

"I'm going out for a bit. I have something to discuss with Allen. I'll keep you company when I get back."

Recently, as Aierlan and Lin Lei had been spending more time together, Lin Lei discovered that this little girl was particularly clingy and loved to be with him all day long.

"Hey, ha..."

Approaching the territory's drill ground, Lin Lei heard the training chants from afar, loud and full of vigor.

The entrance to the drill ground was set up with two guards, just like the City Defense Department where Lin Lei used to be. Lin Lei could see them clearly from a distance; each stood straight as a bamboo stalk unafraid of the bitter cold, their feet rooted to the ground.

When Lin Lei walked closer, the two guards were about to go inside to notify Allen, but Lin Lei waved his hand to stop them.

"You two are doing well. Keep up the guard duty; I'll go in by myself."

"Yes!"

Lin Lei crossed the threshold and saw Allen leading fifty soldiers in physical conditioning—the foundation of a warrior's training.

The drill ground was built in the style of a military camp, divided into five areas.

The north, south, east, and west sides were the soldiers' quarters, occupying less than a third of the drill ground's area. In the center was a massive plaza. While the rest of the territory still had dirt roads, this plaza had already been paved with stone.

In the middle of the plaza stood a circular ring, the same size as the one at the Wheat Town government office, used for sparring between soldiers. Usually, Allen and Lin Lei would also stand on this ring to issue orders to the troops.

When Lin Lei entered, Allen was standing in front of two five-by-five formations, teaching the most basic martial techniques. The veterans' practice was naturally quite good, and the progress of the new recruits was also gratifying.

They were already able to spar in a decent manner, and their bodies were gradually developing the aura of soldiers. In another half a year, they would become qualified soldiers.

Lin Lei watched silently from the side with a faint smile on his face. He waited for Allen to finish this round of practice before walking over to him.

"Training is going well. You have the makings of a commander, kid."

Lin Lei said with a smile.

Allen looked toward the source of the voice and only then noticed Lin Lei's arrival. Hearing Lin Lei's praise, he scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Here, teach this to the soldiers."

Lin Lei stated his purpose directly to Allen. Allen took the Battle Qi technique somewhat indifferently.

The cultivation of every soldier in the territory was provided by the lord, just like the Hundred Flowers Technique of the Flower Territory. Allen was not surprised; the soldiers' progress had reached the point where they should learn Battle Qi.

"This is... this technique is truly marvelous."

Allen was deeply captivated by the theories in the book the moment he opened it. He cast an incredulous glance at Lin Lei before burying himself back into the pages.

Allen's face shifted through a myriad of expressions—puzzlement, confusion, and sudden flashes of realization. Lin Lei, not in a rush, waited patiently by his side with a smile.

"Why does it end here?"

Finally reaching the last page and seeing the conclusion of the Silver Chapter Rank 5, Allen snapped out of his trance and asked Lin Lei.

"This is a cultivation technique I compiled myself. I intend to teach it to the soldiers of our territory. This contains the Bronze Chapter and the Silver Chapter. I have the subsequent Gold Chapter and Platinum Chapter as well, but I cannot teach them for free; they will need to exchange their military merits for them."

Lin Lei continued.

"I want to establish a military merit reward system in our army. Military merits can be exchanged for money, treasures, techniques, and land. What do you think?"

Lin Lei shared his thoughts with Allen, naturally attributing the technique and the merit system to his own ingenuity.

"..."

Whenever it came to serious matters, Allen regained his composure. Faced with Lin Lei's request for his opinion, he fell into deep thought.

"I feel the effect will be excellent. We can conduct a trial run in the territory."

Allen gave his opinion cautiously.

Lin Lei nodded and said.

"You can start teaching them the Bronze Chapter now so they can gain the ability to defend the territory sooner. As for the Silver Chapter, observe their character and conduct; teach it to the soldiers with high loyalty first."

Allen acknowledged the order. Lin Lei did not linger at the training grounds any longer and returned to the Lord's Mansion. As a newly established territory, he was extremely busy every day.

After Lin Lei left, Allen did not rush into training. He halted all drills, summoned his adjutant Luo Ji, and gave him a rough summary of what Lin Lei had just said.

Adjutant Luo Ji was a veteran who had followed Lin Lei from the Flower Territory. Back then, he had insisted on following Lin Lei despite his family's opposition. Lin Lei had not neglected him, appointing him as Allen's adjutant to manage military camp affairs together.

"Luo Ji, have them each copy this Bronze Chapter technique. Everyone must begin formal Battle Qi training today. This is also the Lord's requirement."

Allen said sternly.

"Task accepted."

Luo Ji agreed immediately. He found parchment in the territory and had every soldier begin copying the technique.

"Captain, what is it that the adjutant is having us copy?"

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy looked at the figure writing on a blackboard and asked a pockmarked veteran beside him with curiosity.

"A technique. A technique you will learn in the future. This is what the Lord has bestowed upon us."

The pockmarked veteran spoke like a seasoned expert to the new recruit.

"Oh, so this is a technique?"

The boy thought happily, his hand moving even faster than before.

An hour later, everyone began the preliminary training of the technique. The veterans only needed to convert the Battle Qi they had previously cultivated; although there would be some loss, they could quickly recover it.

The new recruits, however, had to explore from the very basics step by step, which was more difficult.

Most of these new recruits were illiterate, which added to the difficulty of cultivation, but under the hands-on guidance of Luo Ji and Allen, the problems were quickly overcome.

By the time everything was finished and everyone had cultivated their first wisp of Battle Qi, the sun had already set. From this point on, all the soldiers had become warriors with ranked strength.

On the other side, Lin Lei returned to the Lord's Mansion and dove straight into his study to draft the initial version of his territory's laws.

As a lord in this era, every lord had the right to draft the laws of their own territory. Peace-loving, fair, and kind lords usually had fair and just laws, while violent and cruel lords tended to be tyrannical.

Lin Lei could not cover every aspect perfectly right now, so he basically wrote down every legal provision he could think of.

He stayed in the study for four or five hours. By the time the insects began to chirp in the night, he had barely finished a quarter of it.

"It seems I need some professional officials, otherwise these administrative affairs will occupy all my time. I certainly don't want to become the second Qin Shi Huang."

Lin Lei hammered his back and said.

As someone with Gold Chapter rank strength, working for such a long time did not make his body feel sore or tired, but the prolonged mental exertion sent signals of exhaustion to his brain.

"Keep working hard. Strive to finish drafting the legal code before dawn tomorrow."

Lin Lei rested for less than three minutes before throwing himself back into his work with full focus.

The beginning of any venture is always difficult. Even with the King Character Card System, Lin Lei could not escape the need for hard work.

Come on, you can do it!

Lin Lei cheered himself on silently.

At this point, there was less than three years until the orc invasion...