Those Who Train First Lead Those Who Train Later

The pages of the book were yellowed, carrying a rich scent of old paper.

He had attended elementary schooling in his early years and recognized most of the characters, so he began cultivating Grand Ancestor Internal Strength.

He had not trained in martial arts before because the time had not been right. For embarking on the martial path, around the age of fifteen was best.

Through this book, he learned that there were two ways for true qi to gather in the human body. One was through breathing exercises, naturally drawing in the true qi of heaven and earth. The other was through medicine and high-grade beast meat.

In other words, even without sufficient resources, one could still cultivate as long as one absorbed the true qi of heaven and earth quickly enough. It would simply take much more time.

The first realm of martial arts was Bone Binding. Once one began training, one could be called a Bone Binding martial artist.

It tempered and bound the bones, strengthened the tendons and sinews, and was purely the forging of the fleshly body.

Its defining trait was bones hard as iron and tendons tough as leather. With physical strength alone, one could split wood and shatter stone. It was the ultimate entry realm for mortal martial artists.

At this stage, true qi had to nourish the muscles, flesh, blood, and bones. It could not directly enhance one's combat power. For example, it was impossible at this stage for a punch to carry true qi.

Generally speaking, as long as ordinary people had enough resources, they could reach the peak of this realm in two or three years.

But for Lin Xuan, that time would be drastically shortened.

After all, increasing the true qi gained through breathing exercises fivefold was a talent countless people would bankrupt themselves to obtain!

Following the book's instructions, Lin Xuan soon sensed a stream of qi gathering in the dantian at the center of his lower abdomen through his breathing.

Moreover, unlike what the book described, where ordinary people gathered true qi in wisps and threads that often broke off—

Though Lin Xuan also felt that the true qi was sparse, it flowed on endlessly and had never once stopped.

Until the aroma of meat drifted past his nose.

"Little Brother, it's time to eat." Lin An pushed open the door and looked at Lin Xuan, who was earnestly gathering qi. Her heart eased.

She thought to herself, So he wasn't just putting on a show. I hope he can truly cultivate something out of this.

"Coming." Lin Xuan opened his eyes and went to eat with Lin An.

"I boiled the pork with Chen spices. The strange smell is gone, but it doesn't taste much better. Make do with it." Chen Fang dished out all the meat and handed it to Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan noticed that there was something wrong with the meat in his bowl and asked, "Mother, aren't you and Sister An eating?"

Chen Fang shook her head and glanced at Lin An. She felt that she and Lin An would be satisfied with just soup.

"Mother doesn't like meat."

Lin An understood what her mother-in-law meant and echoed her, "Mm, Little Brother needs to train in martial arts, so he has to eat more meat. Once he succeeds in martial arts, what kind of meat won't we be able to eat then?"

As she said this, she unconsciously swallowed.

Lin Xuan did not believe any of it.

Using his chopsticks, he picked out half the meat and divided it between his mother and Lin An.

"I told you, I have ways to earn money. Mother and Sister An are also pillars of this family. You've both done so much for us—why should I be the only one eating meat? If you won't eat, then neither will I." Lin Xuan pretended to be angry.

Seeing Lin Xuan's attitude, Chen Fang and Lin An no longer refused.

The Book of Fate possessed the ability to bestow and reclaim talents, which meant Lin Xuan could use it to cultivate trusted followers in the future.

And those close to him were naturally more trustworthy.

Not to mention Lin An, who had saved up her private money for years and then spent it all at once to support his martial training.

Lin An had only just turned sixteen. Her body had not fully grown yet, so she ought to eat more meat.

With a healthy body, it would not be too late for her to train in martial arts in another two years.

He planned to train in martial arts first, use his strength to earn money, and support Lin An's training after growing wealthy—those who trained first would lead those who trained later.

Six days later.

Lin Xuan had guessed that the Book of Fate could only seize talents from the dead. To test this guess, he had passed by many graves over the past few days—nearly a hundred in all. He had even gone to a mass grave from years ago, but not a single grave showed a golden talent.

The Book of Fate's talent plundering likely had a time limit on its targets.

But these were ultimately only Lin Xuan's guesses, with no way to verify them.

Over the past few days, he had bought half a jin of meat and eaten two jin of rice every day.

The effects of martial training were obvious. Lin Xuan felt that his strength had increased enormously. When he picked up that two-jin short saber again, it felt as light as a toy.

With the Martial Prodigy talent, his six days of qi gathering surpassed another person's month of grueling training.

Fortunately, true qi promoted the growth of bones and flesh. Otherwise, he would have needed to eat twice as much to achieve his current results.

In just these six days, he had spent over five hundred and fifty copper coins!

One tael of silver could be exchanged for fifteen hundred copper coins. His silver would only be enough to sustain this kind of eating for five months.

If he did not train in martial arts, that money would be enough for the three of them—his mother, Lin An, and himself—to live for five months.

There had been crop failures for several years in a row. This year's wheat had only recently been planted, and there were still six months until harvest. If they could reap a normal harvest, it would be fine. Grain prices were so high now that a normal harvest would still keep the family afloat.

But if the harvest failed again, the three of them would have to sell their land and house this year.

Lin Xuan had no intention of sitting by and eating away at their savings.

The Six-Strength Bow at home required the strength of fifty-five jin to draw.

He could draw it, nock an arrow, and fire it, but only three times. By the fourth arrow, his arms would go weak and sore, his hands would tremble, and his aim would no longer be as accurate.

Combined with the talent [Silent Step], which allowed him to walk almost without a sound, he was perfect material for a hunter.

There was little competition in hunting as well. While buying meat these past few days, he had learned that a large portion of Wuqu Province's hunters had been conscripted into the army. Meat prices had doubled compared to peaceful times, and the city lacked meat supplies.

There was a nearby mountain called Rou Mountain. It was said to be the summit of a great mountain, sheared off by a single whip from an immortal in the heavens and flung hundreds of li away.

Rou Mountain stood a hundred zhang tall, and its area could not be estimated. The entire mountain was thick with lush vegetation. Wolves, tigers, and wild boars were said to roam there, making it fairly dangerous.

But they were mostly deep in the mountains. Lin Xuan only intended to look for small prey around the outskirts.

Though he had trained for only six days, all aspects of his strength had improved considerably.

The mountain was a full five li from Lin Xuan's home, but he ran there with ease.

Lin Xuan wore the battle coat of a low-ranking soldier, with a short saber hanging at his waist and a bow and arrows slung across his back. One glance was enough to tell that he had come hunting.

Wuqu Province was all plains, with very few mountains. There were only five or six small hills nearby, none as large as Rou Mountain. For such a great mountain to rise from the flat earth, perhaps the legend was true.

He had barely arrived at Rou Mountain when he spotted a huge wild pheasant—not on the mountain, but in the fields.

This pheasant was exceptionally large. A ring of white feathers circled its neck, while the feathers above its neck were dazzlingly multicolored black. Its body feathers were gray and dotted with many white spots, and its tail was very long.

It was a beautiful pheasant.

Lin Xuan was delighted. He immediately drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and prepared to hunt it.

The Silent Step talent allowed him to approach the pheasant with almost no sound.

He nocked an arrow, took aim, and fired. The first arrow missed.

The pheasant reacted quickly and had excellent eyesight. The moment it saw Lin Xuan draw his bow and nock an arrow, it swiftly fled.

Lin Xuan frowned, nocked another arrow, aimed, and prepared to shoot a moving target.

The second arrow also missed. It did not even reach the bow's maximum effective range.

By then, the pheasant had stopped. It felt that from such a distance, that strange creature could not possibly catch up to it.

Lin Xuan did not give up. He crept forward, retrieved the arrows from the ground, and prepared to continue pursuing the huge pheasant.

When he drew the third arrow, his strength was already failing him. Its range was not even half that of the first arrow.

So his first hunt was destined to end empty-handed.

Just as he was about to gather his arrows and return home, the pheasant in the distance was struck by an arrow. It let out two shrill cries, then fell to the ground and did not rise again.