Dragon-Capturing

Before meeting Qin Wan, Xia Dong had already tried to continue practicing the spirit-refining secret art of the Profound Yin Scripture without the aid of Yin Evil Pills.

But his progress had ground to a complete halt.

Worse still, Xia Dong had discovered to his horror that whenever he activated the Mysterious Yin Spirit Refining Art, an uncontrollable frenzy welled up inside him—a desire to keep practicing, even a craving to devour resentful spirits.

The desire clung to him like a bone-deep parasite, constantly needling his reason in the sea of consciousness.

Fortunately, he had only just stepped over the threshold of this secret art, and the Yin Evil Pill he had absorbed before had been refined by the Bronze Ancient Bell into something pure, without a trace of impurity.

Without the interference of the resentments harbored by those ghosts in life, and with the calm state of mind he had cultivated through years of practicing Crane Stance, he had managed to suppress that sinister craving without incident.

Thus, with no new Yin Evil Pills, Xia Dong stopped practicing the Mysterious Yin Spirit Refining Art.

Especially after studying the Evergreen Medical Classic, Xia Dong had come to understand more deeply that without a curious treasure like the Yin Evil Pill to purify the power of resentful spirits, practicing the Profound Yin Scripture would inevitably lead to his reason being eroded by resentment and, ultimately, to cultivation deviation.

As for capturing resentful spirits and ghosts to refine into Yin Evil Pills, Xia Dong had thought it over and decided to put it off for now.

"My qi and blood are too vigorous right now." Standing in the courtyard, Xia Dong felt the power surging through his body. In the eyes of cultivators, and even perceptive martial artists, his qi and blood were like a blazing furnace in the dead of night—impossible to miss.

If he went out swaggering around like this to catch ghosts, he would not only scare off the low-level resentful spirits; worse, he might attract some evil cultivator or powerful martial artist who regarded warriors as "great medicine," only to end up as the hapless mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole lurked behind.

He had to rein in his exposed qi and blood completely first.

The Dragon-Capturing Technique Qin Wan had found for him focused on strengthening the body. Its core principle was to seize the "great dragon"—the spine—and thereby lock in the qi and blood throughout the body. Combined with the Evergreen Medical Classic's subtle understanding of the body's internal organs, life gates, and death points, Xia Dong was fairly confident he could conceal his presence.

Thanks to the tempering he had undergone with the Yin Evil Pill, Xia Dong's soul was now far stronger than that of an ordinary martial artist.

According to the jade slip of the Profound Yin Scripture, cultivators only gained spiritual sense once they reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. Xia Dong reckoned that although he had no spiritual sense yet, the resilience and perception of his soul might already rival those of cultivators below the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

The benefits of a powerful soul were obvious.

It gave him finer control over his body, making martial arts training feel as natural as a fish in water.

The Dragon-Capturing Technique, which placed extremely high demands on the muscles and bones of the external body, took him only a few demonstrations to master at the entry level.

As his qi and blood grew more vigorous, Xia Dong's energy became several times greater than before. He needed far less sleep, and his mind had never been clearer.

In this state, his study of the Evergreen Medical Classic's intricate pharmacology and theories of the meridians advanced by leaps and bounds. Often, a single explanation was enough to make even the most obscure medical principles click.

Still, his progress in the Dragon-Capturing Technique was even faster than his study of the medical classic.

After day upon day of grueling practice, Xia Dong had brought the technique to perfection in just over a month.

Whenever he activated it, his back arched like a drawn bow, and the violent qi and blood in his body were locked in place, not a trace leaking out.

At that point, Xia Dong immediately awakened the Bronze Ancient Bell in his sea of consciousness.

Xia Dong had obtained twenty Spirit Stones in the underground chamber, and Qin Wan had given him two more. He had spent one at the Marketplace, leaving him with twenty-one.

Carefully, Xia Dong took out three Spirit Stones and, as before, entered a state of deep sleep.

In his dream, the Spirit Stones crumbled into gray-white powder, and the Bronze Ancient Bell rang once more with a vast, primordial boom.

Crimson, twisted characters appeared on the bell's surface and shifted.

Just as he had expected, he gained a brand-new limit-breaking martial skill—the Dragon-Capturing Hand!

However, the Dragon-Capturing Hand was much harder to master than the Crane Shadow Step had been. It was no longer simply a matter of exerting force for light-footed movement; it involved extraordinarily fine control of qi and blood, as well as precise manipulation of force projected through the air.

For several days running, Xia Dong made painfully slow progress with the Dragon-Capturing Hand. After too many consecutive attempts, he even began to feel completely drained of strength.

Xia Dong stopped moving and steadied his ragged breathing, carefully reviewing what he had learned over the past few days.

Dragon-catching and crane-controlling—there's nothing easy about it...

He finally understood: this martial skill required an exceptionally powerful soul to act as a "guide" for precise control, as well as abundant inner qi to support it.

His martial arts had already reached the entry level, but he still lacked some of the foundation needed to bring the Dragon-Capturing Hand to mastery.

Still, the Dragon-Capturing Hand was clearly far more sophisticated than ordinary techniques for separating tendons and dislocating bones.

In terms of attack power alone, its might might rival the Dragon Claw Hand he had read about in novels. What was more, the Dragon-Capturing Hand could also use force projected through the air to draw objects into one's grasp from a distance.

Spring would soon be upon them.

Xia Dong planned to open a clinic after the first lunar month.

He would need to discuss it with the He Family and borrow their connections to help make a name for himself.

Over the past while, Xia Dong had also learned a little about the court from Elder Lord He.

As it turned out, after the Great You Dynasty was founded, ordinary households with a cultivator within five generations were generally prohibited from entering official service.

Matters concerning cultivators were also handled by the Bureau of Profound Mysteries.

The Eagle-Wolf Guard, on the other hand, was responsible for law enforcement.

"Xueyi, the martial examinations will be held after spring begins. If you're interested in taking them, you can ask Magistrate Yang to recommend you to the Eagle-Wolf Guard once you pass and become a Martial Scholar. The Eagle-Wolf Guard has only just established a foothold in Linyuan Prefecture. Now is the easiest time to enter and make a name for yourself." Lord He offered Xia Dong some advice.

Xueyi was Xia Dong's courtesy name, given to him by the father of the body he now inhabited.

Xia Dong had learned this only from a letter from Master Qin.

Lord He had after all come from the capital, and he was keenly attuned to the court's new policies.

Besides, the Eagle-Wolf Guard was famous far and wide.

But joining the Eagle-Wolf Guard was no easy matter. Even with the status of a Martial Scholar, it would be difficult to get in.

Still, the Eagle-Wolf Guard had great privileges and could deal directly with cultivators.

Even a gentry family like the He Family could never get someone in.

But Xia Dong was different. He had a Dao Registry.

In the eyes of the Great Xia imperial clan and nobility, that made him one of their own by birth.

Over the several centuries since the founding of the dynasty, noble families had risen and fallen, but in the end, it was difficult for them to sink to the level of ordinary households.

Given the opportunity, they could climb back up with ease.

What was more, Xia Dong possessed the special status of a Dao Registry, unlike ordinary noble scions.

Hearing Elder Lord He's words, Xia Dong fell into deep thought.

Joining the Eagle-Wolf Guard did seem like a good choice.

But he had a great secret of his own, and going in rashly could easily lead to trouble.

So he would have to give the matter careful thought.