Saber Technique

Anping Street residence.

In the courtyard, Lu Zhen set the heavy Black Gold Long Blade on the stone table and took Three Yang Breathing Technique from his coat.

Half an hour later, he closed the book and shut his eyes to regulate his breathing.

"Inhale—exhale—"

Following the method in the thin booklet, Lu Zhen changed his usual rough breathing rhythm to three short breaths and one long one, slowly drawing breath in and out.

After entering Bright Force, the violent qi and blood in his body had always burned like a furnace, as though they were about to spill out through his skin. Now, all at once, they seemed to be drawn in by an invisible thread.

The scorching heat that had radiated outward began to draw inward.

Traces of searing qi and blood followed specific meridians, slowly seeping toward the depths of his chest and abdomen, into his five viscera and six bowels, as if unraveling a cocoon one silk strand at a time.

"Grrr..."

In the quiet room, a muffled sound like a croaking toad came from Lu Zhen's abdomen.

It felt as though cracked earth after a long drought had finally been moistened by the first spring rain.

"It really works."

Lu Zhen opened his eyes.

Coiling Dragon Stake trained only the skin, flesh, sinews, and bones. Once they reached their limit, it was difficult to make even an inch of progress. This internal cultivation method, however, genuinely tempered his organs and gave rise to enduring inner qi. It was the very ladder by which one ascended from Bright Force to the next level!

Suppressing his excitement, Lu Zhen snatched up the Black Gold Long Blade from the table.

The night breeze stirred.

He had just committed the manual for Army-Breaking Eight Slashes to memory as well.

"Clang—!"

The long blade slid from its sheath, gleaming like a pool of dark autumn water.

The blade weighed over fifty pounds. It felt immensely heavy in his hand.

Lu Zhen planted his feet apart, sank his waist and stance, and suddenly chopped down!

"Whoosh—!"

The heavy blade tore through the air, letting out a shrill howl like Ghost Cry.

After the first slash, Lu Zhen didn't pause. He twisted his waist and hips, using the blade's heavy momentum to deliver a second slash, then a third.

As his strikes grew more and more fierce, the bones and sinews within Lu Zhen's body began to crack and pop.

A familiar feeling suddenly came over him.

This blade art relied on heavy, forceful chops and broad, sweeping movements.

At its very core, the way it generated force was exactly the same as Iron Wire Fist, which he had trained to the utmost limit!

Iron Wire Fist trained the great sinews to snap and spring, the spine to coil like a mighty dragon, and force to rise from the ground and surge through the body, joint by joint, into both fists.

And now, this long blade was nothing more than an extension of his arm!

"Boom!"

Lu Zhen stamped both feet against the flagstones. His back arched in an instant, and the Bright Force qi and blood in his body surged like a mountain flood, rushing along his dragon-like spine and into his right arm.

The force flowed freely, passing through his palm without obstruction and pouring into the Black Gold Blade.

Vrrr—!!

The blade trembled violently, cleaving a visible arc of white qi through the air!

"When one thing clicks, everything clicks. So that's how it is!"

Lu Zhen lowered his blade and stood, his chest rising and falling slightly as he exhaled a breath of scorching white vapor.

At the heights of martial arts, the line between weapons and barehanded techniques had long since blurred.

As long as one mastered the core method of generating force, every kind of weapon could be wielded with ease.

With his thoughts clear, Lu Zhen sheathed the blade and sank his mind into his consciousness.

[Daily Settlement Panel opened]

[Today's settlement: Practiced Three Yang Breathing Technique for one hour, practiced Army-Breaking Eight Slashes one hundred times...]

[Base rewards: Silver dollars +0, Profession Experience +10, Martial Skill Experience +50, Physique Experience +30, General Experience +20]

[Level bonus triggered: Daily Settlement Level Lv.4 (daily rewards multiplied by an additional X4)]

[Final rewards: Silver dollars +0, Profession Experience +40, Martial Skill Experience +200, Physique Experience +120, General Experience +80!]

[Lu Zhen (30 years old)]

[Realm: Early Bright Force]

[Level: Daily Settlement Lv.4 (0/3000)]

[Three Yang Breathing Technique Lv.4 (1210/3000)]

[Army-Breaking Eight Slashes Lv.4 (840/3000)]

[Physique: Blood-Qi Like a Furnace Lv.5 (710/10000)]

[General Experience: 340 points]

Lu Zhen's gaze sharpened.

On the Panel, Coiling Dragon Stake, which had already reached its limit and had no further use, had disappeared completely, replaced by Three Yang Breathing Technique, which he had only just begun practicing.

And Iron Wire Fist, the technique he had learned at the martial arts school, had been replaced by Army-Breaking Eight Slashes.

What excited Lu Zhen most was that these two new, advanced techniques had perfectly inherited the proficiency he had gained in his old stake training and boxing!

They had started out already at Lv.4!

"The Panel's judgment is based on my martial arts foundation and muscle memory."

That meant he didn't have to struggle through the beginner stages of a new technique from scratch, as other people did.

As long as the principles of force were similar and his foundation remained, the roots of his old techniques could be perfectly grafted onto the new ones, unleashing astonishing power right away!

Lu Zhen was satisfied.

He calmed his mind and continued scanning down the Panel.

His gaze finally settled on the most crucial entry.

[Physique: Blood-Qi Like a Furnace Lv.5 (710/10000)]

He knew full well that, having only just entered Bright Force, he would need to break through to mid Bright Force to advance further.

If he relied on nothing but shut-in practice of Three Yang Breathing Technique, his progress would inevitably be extremely slow.

The path of letters was for the poor; the path of martial arts, for the rich.

At the Bright Force stage, what mattered wasn't just the technique. It also took vast quantities of resources to nourish one's blood and qi.

Once eaten, those things could be turned into rolling streams of vital essence, accelerating the growth of inner qi and force.

They could also directly nourish the body and raise his Physique.

And according to the Panel's rules, Physique was equivalent to aptitude and natural constitution.

The higher one's aptitude, the wider one's meridians, and the more powerful the flow of qi and blood they could contain.

Even more frightening was this:

He also had the multiplier from Daily Settlement.

When he ate those rare treasures, the foundation and experience they became would be multiplied several times over during the nightly settlement.

Resources raised his Physique, and settlement multiplied the gains. Higher Physique improved his aptitude, which in turn fed back into his cultivation.

Each reinforced the other.

This was truly one plus one greater than two!

Like a snowball rolling downhill, as long as the resources kept coming, his martial progress would advance by leaps and bounds, leaving everyone else far behind.

"But the experience cap is ten thousand. There's still a long way to go."

Lu Zhen looked at the Physique entry and silently calculated.

It was clear he still had a long stretch of hard work ahead before he could truly break through to mid Bright Force.

So his goal for now was clear and singular.

Get resources.

Acquire as many nourishing medicines and as much nourishing meat as possible.

The Garrison Bureau was a dangerous place where men risked their lives for a future.

The danger was real, but so were the opportunities. The military merits and rewards earned from killing ferocious beasts were exactly what he needed most right now.

The night breeze had turned a little chilly.

Lu Zhen picked up the Black Gold Long Blade beside him and went back inside.

"Let's see what assignment I can get at the Bureau when I report for duty tomorrow."

The next day, at the entrance to an Anping Street alley.

Clink, clink...

Accompanied by the somewhat grating sound of bells, an electric tram with peeling, mottled paint rolled slowly along the tracks and came to a stop.

Dressed in black brocade with crimson trim, the heavy Black Gold Long Blade hanging at his waist, Lu Zhen boarded with a calm expression.

Beside the door stood the conductor, a man with a dented iron cashbox hanging around his neck.

Lu Zhen casually took out two copper coins and dropped them into the box with two crisp clinks.

The carriage was already packed with laborers and gaunt commoners heading to work early. The air reeked of sweat and cheap tobacco.

But as soon as Lu Zhen stepped aboard, everyone's eyes were drawn to the gold-and-silver "Garrison" character on his chest, then to his tower-like, iron-hard build and the faint, frightening aura of killing about him.

The crowd surged with a rustle.

People shoved toward the back of the carriage, not daring to breathe too loudly. In the packed tram, they somehow cleared a broad space for Lu Zhen.

On the seat beside him, a heavily pregnant woman turned pale and shakily rose, gripping the back of her seat.

She lowered her head, not daring to look at Lu Zhen. Terrified, she tried to give up her seat.

Lu Zhen glanced at her.

He said nothing and didn't go over to sit down. He merely reached up to grip the iron handrail and stood quietly in the empty space.

Watching the carriage full of commoners tremble so badly they didn't dare lift their heads, Lu Zhen lowered his gaze.

"In this chaotic world, strength is the law."

He looked away and half-closed his eyes.

With the tram swaying and stopping along the tracks, he stood as steady as Mount Tai, silently circulating Three Yang Breathing Technique inside him.

Traces of scorching qi and blood followed his meridians, slowly and steadily nourishing his five viscera and six bowels.

The electric tram moved slowly, rocking along for a full half hour before it finally stopped at a station in the Inner City District.

Lu Zhen stepped off and exhaled the Turbid Qi from his body.

Looking at the relatively quiet street, he stirred slightly.

"Last time, I came in Gu Yanzhi's little car. That was much faster and smoother."

But he quickly put the thought aside.

Vehicles and other worldly possessions were ultimately external things. Having only just entered Bright Force, the most important thing now was to use this time to temper his martial realm. As for such comforts and fine trappings, there was no need to rush.