Dual Cultivation

Lin Yi had completely entered a state of "flow," unaware of what was happening in the outside world, and even if he had known, he would have turned a deaf ear to it.

He subconsciously followed the path that conserved the most bodily energy while practicing, which allowed him to train for far longer than the average person.

"Bang!"

A dull, sonic-boom-laden punch echoed through the air.

Lin Yi's eyes regained their clarity as he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

From noon until afternoon, he had already been training for three hours.

[Long Rainbow Technique (Second Layer)]

[Proficiency: 103/500]

In just one afternoon, the proficiency of his Long Rainbow Technique had increased by over a hundred points.

In a mere afternoon, he had successfully broken through the first layer of the Martial Pass: the Skin Pass!

If others were to learn of this progress, they would be scared to death.

One had to know that even for those with Grade-A aptitude, the fastest record for breaking through the Skin Pass was five days.

Lin Yi primarily possessed Hu Ma's cultivation experience, so his current training was essentially just retracing a path he had already walked.

Naturally, his speed was significantly faster.

Lin Yi estimated that in the coming days, if he relied solely on his own cultivation, he might be able to break through to the third layer of the Long Rainbow Technique and reach the Blood Pass of the Martial Pass in less than ten days.

He looked up into the distance and calculated that it was just past 6:00 PM; the afterglow of the setting sun hung in the void.

Feeling the emptiness in his stomach and the craving for energy in every cell of his body, Lin Yi stopped his martial arts practice and left the martial arts hall to buy some food nearby.

"Shopkeeper, three catties of spiced beef and five sesame flatbreads."

Lin Yi called out to the shopkeeper.

Just as he sat down, a figure appeared beside him.

"Shopkeeper, I'll have a bowl of beef noodles."

The newcomer had a handsome face, skin as white as jade, phoenix eyes with a peach-blossom allure, a slender figure, and wore a veil hat and a white brocade robe—a perfect picture of a young nobleman.

It was Yu Qinglian, disguised as a man.

Lin Yi was stunned.

"Why are you here?"

"No, wait—how did you find me?"

"Hee~"

Yu Qinglian gave a sly smile, took a bronze mirror from her sleeve to hand to Lin Yi, and then pointed at his neck.

Lin Yi paused, took the mirror, and looked quickly. Among the scattered red marks on his neck, one was particularly unique, looking just like a red lotus flower.

"What is this?"

Yu Qinglian pouted and whispered:

"Flower Insertion Seal, a technique of my Infatuation Path that can be used for tracking."

"I had no choice. You said you would come to find me, but I didn't know when you would show up, so I decided to come find you instead."

Lin Yi said helplessly:

"I couldn't come today."

Yu Qinglian's face flushed red instantly. She stomped hard on Lin Yi's foot under the table, leaned into his ear, and hissed through gritted teeth:

"What do you take me for? Some unsatisfied lust-crazed woman of the Infatuation Path?"

"I never said that." Lin Yi spread his hands.

"Lin Yi!" Yu Qinglian bristled like a hissing cat.

Lin Yi knew that if he kept provoking her, she would truly get angry.

He decided to soothe her, scanning his surroundings to ensure no one was paying attention to them.

Then, with a swift motion, he planted a kiss on Yu Qinglian's lips.

Yu Qinglian froze, her anger instantly extinguished. Her ears burned slightly, and she quietly turned her head away, refusing to look at Lin Yi.

"Yo, guests, here is your food..."

The waiter brought the dishes to the table.

Lin Yi couldn't take it anymore.

He was too hungry.

Every cell in his body was crying out to Lin Yi, expressing its hunger.

Without hesitation, he began to feast.

Yu Qinglian ate her noodles in small, elegant bites, occasionally feeding a few slices of beef from her bowl to Lin Yi.

Once they were full and satisfied.

"So, you've started practicing the Martial Path?" Yu Qinglian asked.

"Mhm." Lin Yi nodded. "After all, the Martial Path is the most common way to refine Qi these days, and it provides a significant boost to combat power."

The Corpse Puppet Path that Lin Yi practiced was equivalent to being a wizard; in the early stages, he essentially had no melee combat capability. Practicing the Martial Path would help him avoid being taken out by decapitation tactics.

"I have a method that can help you replenish the blood-energy deficit after each training session," Yu Qinglian said.

Lin Yi's eyes lit up.

If one were to ask what Lin Yi's biggest trouble was currently, it would undoubtedly be the replenishment of his blood-energy after it was depleted. Blood-energy was stored within the bones and marrow, acting as the mana pool for a martial artist. It had to be replenished after every session to continue training. With his Grade B aptitude, it took Lin Yi half a day to recover after consuming his blood-energy, meaning he could only train twice a day. Those with Grade A aptitude could train five times a day. If Lin Yi could increase his recovery speed, his rate of advancement would improve by a significant margin.

"What method?" Lin Yi asked curiously.

Yu Qinglian hummed proudly. "Do you remember which path of Qi refinement I practice... The Infatuation Path, naturally, uses the method of dual cultivation..."

Lin Yi arrived at Yu Qinglian's residence. To his surprise, her house was located right near the martial arts academy. One had to know that houses near the academy were equivalent to school district housing—every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.

Inside the room, Yu Qinglian explained, "A martial artist's recovery is primarily the replenishment of blood-energy. The stimulation of blood-energy mainly comes from the Yang essence throughout a martial artist's body, which is why the majority of martial artists are men. Since ancient times, Yin and Yang have balanced, restrained, and transformed each other. If you and I dual cultivate, we can naturally harvest and supplement a portion of my Yin essence to convert into your Yang essence... thereby increasing your blood-energy recovery speed."

By the time she finished, Yu Qinglian's face was slightly flushed. They had only agreed to meet today. As a result, one thing led to another, and they ended up in the room again. Although, that feeling was indeed quite good...

Lin Yi pondered for a moment and felt it made perfect sense. However, facts spoke louder than words. Lin Yi said, "I've memorized the technique; let's begin..."

"Oh..." Yu Qinglian replied in a soft voice, her arms already wrapped around Lin Yi's neck.

An hour later, Lin Yi felt the abundant blood-energy within his body and couldn't help but rejoice. "At this rate, twice a day, I can train four times a day..."

"Twice a day?!" Beside him, the limp and languid Yu Qinglian cast a reproachful glance at Lin Yi. "You selfish, heartless little thing... At most, once a day. Do I not need to recover?"

Lin Yi was stunned. After a long while, he hesitated and asked, "Why do you treat me so well..."

Lin Yi was puzzled. In his past life, he had been an orphan.

In this life, from the moment he was born, his mother had wanted to kill him.

Later, he had only ever felt a sense of home within the Lin Clan, though even that was tainted by a faint, impure undercurrent.

As for Yu Qinglian, in the beginning, he had only intended to use her.

He just hadn't expected that, now, she would treat him so well.

"You are my person..." Yu Qinglian muttered softly.

Lin Yi gave her a very strange feeling.

There was a peculiar sense of cultivation to it; he was like a younger brother, a son, and a lover all at once... It made her unable to resist wanting to treat him better.

"Huh?" Lin Yi had heard her, but he wasn't sure.

Yu Qinglian gave a soft huff: "I am being good to you, but you will have to pay me back later... You must also help me take my revenge, do you hear me!"

Lin Yi leaned forward and rubbed his forehead against Yu Qinglian's, letting out a soft "Mn."

Yu Qinglian closed her eyes comfortably, like a lazy cat.