Master Wu hurried behind Lin Yuan and carefully felt his bones.
As his hands moved, his expression gradually turned to shock, then utter horror!
"Y-you, you..."
As though he had seen a ghost, Master Wu staggered backward.
Lin Yuan rubbed his nose and stepped forward to steady Master Wu.
"Master Wu, tell me, is it possible you got it wrong last time?"
At this, Master Wu angrily shook Lin Yuan off and spoke, his neck stiff.
"You little brat, go ask around! Who in all the villages for miles around doesn't know this old man's medical skills?"
"But what exactly is going on with you?"
Lin Yuan spread his hands, indicating that he did not know either.
The system was his greatest secret. He absolutely could not reveal even the slightest hint of it.
Master Wu paced back and forth with a frown. After a moment, he looked at Lin Yuan suspiciously.
"My father once said this."
"Some people have extraordinary gifts. Their bone aptitude grows with age, and every last one of them eventually becomes a powerhouse in their own region."
At this, Lin Yuan proudly puffed out his chest and stepped forward without hesitation.
"Clearly, I'm one of those people."
Master Wu jumped up and slapped Lin Yuan on the head.
"Who are you trying to fool?"
"I only examined your bones half a year ago. Your aptitude was mediocre, beyond making anything of."
Lin Yuan's heart jolted.
Half a year ago?
Why didn't I remember that? I thought it had been years ago.
Well, this is awkward.
Lin Yuan twisted his neck stiffly, his eyes darting around.
Useless brain, make something up already!
"Ahem."
Lin Yuan cleared his throat, glanced around, then leaned closer and spoke in a low voice.
"Master Wu, I accidentally ate a strange fruit a while ago. Could that be the reason?"
Master Wu gave Lin Yuan a long, searching look.
"If it was a heavenly treasure, that would make sense."
Master Wu turned away and gazed at the night sky, lost in thought.
In truth, there was something he had left unsaid.
With his current bone aptitude, Lin Yuan was a martial prodigy seen once in a thousand years, if not once in ten thousand.
Even the rarest heavenly treasure could never achieve something so heaven-defying.
Lin Yuan had secrets.
Who didn't?
Since he had encountered such a prodigy, there was no reason to let him slip away!
Perhaps that matter could fall to Lin Yuan.
Master Wu's gaze hardened, and he made a decision that went against his ancestors.
"Come with me."
Not long after the two left, a dark figure silently drifted past.
The main hall.
The northwest corner.
Master Wu pried up a floorboard and carefully took out a decaying wooden chest steeped in the weight of years.
Lin Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up.
They had spent every day together for years, yet he had never imagined Master Wu had something this good hidden away.
A secret manual? A divine weapon? Or some other incredible treasure?
Holding the wooden chest, Master Wu looked solemnly at Lin Yuan.
At that moment, silence spoke louder than words.
Lin Yuan froze, then understood something.
He immediately knelt and performed the formal bow to accept a master.
This.
Was a legacy!
"Master."
Master Wu stroked his beard, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.
"Good, good, good."
He opened the wooden chest. Several layers of old cloth lined its interior.
When he lifted the old cloth, an ancient, yellowed book appeared, bearing five large characters that danced like dragons and soaring phoenixes.
"Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art"
"This cultivation art was passed down by the Wu Lineage's ancestors. By the time it reached my hands, several hundred years had passed."
Hearing this, Lin Yuan was inwardly shaken. It seemed he really had found a treasure this time.
"One of our ancestors was an imperial physician. That ancestral master traveled far and wide, pored over ancient texts, and created this internal tempering method."
"Internal tempering method?"
Lin Yuan scratched his head, baffled.
"Most martial artists in the jianghu advance by honing their sinews, bones, skin, and flesh. This is called external tempering."
"With external tempering methods, Heaven rewards diligence. As long as your bone aptitude isn't poor, entering the First Rank is merely a matter of water flowing into its channel."
Master Wu pointed at the ancient book.
"This internal tempering method follows a different path. It uses the Qi of the five viscera to nurture the first wisp of blood Qi."
Lin Yuan frowned. Such a radically different cultivation method.
"Can it really work?"
Master Wu spread his hands.
"I don't know. Our ancestor's dying wish was for someone among the Wu Lineage's descendants to successfully cultivate it."
"Unfortunately, this art demands far too much talent. No one in the Wu Lineage has ever mastered it."
"This old man tried it for a few years in his youth, too, and put himself through quite an ordeal."
Lin Yuan glanced suspiciously at the ancient book.
"Then why did the ancestral master leave this art behind?"
Master Wu sank into reminiscence.
"According to the Wu Lineage's ancestral instructions, anyone who enters the First Rank through this method can discover something that external tempering martial artists cannot touch."
"What?"
"I don't know. It only said that it could leave the Wu Lineage's name in the annals of history."
Master Wu spoke those final words with great gravity.
This was a mission a lineage had shouldered for hundreds of years.
"You have good talent. Give it a try."
Master Wu looked at Lin Yuan, full of anticipation.
By rights, this method could not be passed to outsiders.
But his line was ending with him anyway. It no longer mattered.
Curious, Lin Yuan picked up the ancient book.
"Let me see what this is all about."
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
The book described methods for regulating breathing, focusing the mind, and guiding Qi.
An ordinary reader would probably find it utterly obscure.
Even with his hundredfold comprehension, Lin Yuan still felt as though he were reading a heavenly scripture.
Lin Yuan refused to believe it!
He instantly activated sudden enlightenment!
His vision abruptly brightened. The writing transformed into points of light that entered between his brows.
A breeze blew in through the window.
Roughly half a quarter of an hour passed.
Lin Yuan emerged from his state of sudden enlightenment.
A line of blood-red text slowly appeared before his eyes.
[Martial arts: Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art (Beginner 1/100)]
It worked!
Lin Yuan's expression jolted.
He stole a glance at Master Wu and forcibly reined in his thoughts.
Now wasn't the time to come clean.
This was a mission they had passed down for hundreds of years.
How could I reach the beginner stage in just a little while?
I'd better not scare the old man to death.
He hastily took his leave of Master Wu and returned to the side room in the rear courtyard.
Sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed, he began regulating his breathing.
Before long, a faint thread of warmth gradually arose within his chest.
With his mind, he guided the warm current through his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.
As time passed, his proficiency in the art steadily rose.
Roughly four hours later, Lin Yuan suddenly felt his chest lighten.
As though a layer of window paper had been pierced, a tremendous force arose from within.
[Realm: Minor Accomplishment of Body Tempering] [Martial arts: Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art (Minor accomplishment 1/200)]
Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
Hundredfold talent really was formidable! I'd already reached minor accomplishment!
He clenched his fists, feeling the surging strength.
Across both his previous life and this one, this was the first time he had possessed strength equal to that of three to five ordinary people.
He felt utterly secure.
Next, it was time to test his strength.
Lin Yuan looked toward the door, his gaze suddenly turning vicious!
Late at night.
All was silent.
Lin Yuan pressed soundlessly into the shadows behind the door, his right hand gripping a pointed boning knife.
At some point.
A faint sound of landing came from the courtyard, followed by stealthy footsteps approaching.
Creak, creak!
A short blade slowly slipped through the gap in the door, lifting the latch little by little.
A sallow face, full of wariness and carrying intense killing intent, quietly peeked inside.
In the shadows.
Lin Yuan's breath caught, his mouth split into a sinister grin, and his boning knife became a streak of cold light that tore through the night!