Nine Yin Manual: Green Wood Chapter

But every now and then, something good turned up.

For instance, on the tenth day, he received a Physique Strengthening Pill from signing in. After taking it, his physical strength increased once more.

On the twentieth day, he received a stalk of Bone Tempering Grass. Though it was only a first-tier herb, refining it with the Nine Yin Manual multiplied its effects.

On the thirtieth day, he received a book titled Soul Beast Encyclopedia: Ten-Year to Hundred-Year Volume.

A thick, leather-bound book appeared in Yan Zu's hands. He opened it to find pages filled with illustrations and text, detailing the appearance, habitats, habits, attack methods, and weaknesses of more than three hundred common ten-year to hundred-year Soul Beasts. It even included simple strategies for dealing with them and notes on usable materials. The pictures were lifelike, and the text was concise and precise.

"Good stuff!" Yan Zu's eyes lit up. This might be more useful to his family right now than a pill. His father, Yan Hu, hunted on the outskirts of the forest all year round. Every additional Soul Beast weakness he learned meant a little more safety and a little more to bring home.

After some thought, he decided not to bring it out immediately. Instead, a few days later, while "sorting through odds and ends" with Yan Hu, he "happened" to "find" the book at the bottom of an old, dusty chest.

"Dad! Look what I found!" Yan Zu held up the book, his face alight with a "praise me, quick" excitement.

Yan Hu took it and looked, his tiger-like eyes going round. "This... this is a Soul Beast encyclopedia? And such a detailed one, too! A-Zu, where did you find it?"

"At the bottom of that old chest, buried under the other things!" Yan Zu pointed to a battered chest in the corner, supposedly handed down from their ancestors.

Yan Hu suspected nothing and excitedly flipped through it. "Good! This is wonderful! With this, going into the mountains will be safer from now on! It even knows that the spot beneath the third bone plate on the back of an Ironback Bear's neck is the most vulnerable! A-Zu, you've done a great thing!"

Seeing his father treat it like a precious treasure, Yan Zu breathed a sigh of relief, though he also felt a little pang. A basic encyclopedia was enough to make his father this happy; it showed just how scarce resources were for commoner Soul Masters.

The days passed peacefully, filled with signing in, cultivating, keeping up appearances, and occasionally "uncovering" something useful.

Su Qing's gentle voice came from outside the window. "A-Zu, are you up? Mother made you steamed eggs."

Yan Zu immediately restrained his presence, rolled out of bed, and became that well-behaved child once more.

After breakfast, he stood in the courtyard facing the rising sun and slowly threw a punch.

The punch carried no Soul Power fluctuations whatsoever, but its path was exquisite, its angle tricky, and it concealed the profound principles of the Great Demon Subduing Fist from the Nine Yin Manual. Though it was only an opening move, it already showed signs of being extraordinary.

Su Qing came out of the kitchen just in time to see it and couldn't help laughing. "Zu'er, what are you doing? You look just like a little monkey."

Yan Zu stuck out his tongue and made a face. "I'm practicing my punches. I'll be even stronger than Dad one day!"

"All right, all right, our Zu'er is the strongest." Su Qing smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Mm!" Yan Zu answered in a clear, childish voice, then skipped away.

Watching her son's lively figure recede, Su Qing's eyes were full of affection.

Night fell, and Yan Zu returned to his little room.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and began his daily cultivation routine.

Nine Yin Soul Power flowed through his meridians. The silvery-white current was several times thicker than it had been at first, and it circulated much faster. He could feel that he was not far from breaking through to the next level.

"Keep cultivating," he told himself.

Just then, the system's light screen appeared again:

[Host has signed in for one full month consecutively. Monthly reward triggered.]

Yan Zu's eyes lit up, and he immediately said silently, Sign in!

[Ding! Monthly sign-in successful!]

[Reward obtained: Nine Yin Manual: Green Wood Chapter (simplified version)]

[Reward description: A cultivation art adapted specifically for Plant-type Martial Souls. It can improve the efficiency of Soul Power circulation and strengthen fundamental vitality.]

Yan Zu froze for a moment, then was overjoyed.

This reward was practically tailor-made for his mother!

Without hesitation, he committed the cultivation art to memory.

During the meal the next day, Yan Zu suddenly spoke up. "Mother, lately... I think I've been having some strange dreams." His voice held just the right touch of childlike confusion. "There was a white-bearded grandpa in my dreams who taught me some breathing methods. He said they could strengthen my body and improve my health. I tried them, and they felt pretty comfortable."

"Oh?" Su Qing's interest was piqued. "What kind of breathing method?"

Yan Zu jumped down from his stool and sat cross-legged in the posture he had used to cultivate the night before. With his hands folded over his lower abdomen, he assumed the appearance of someone meditating, then deliberately slowed the Nine Yin Manual's breathing rhythm tenfold and slowly breathed in and out.

At first, Su Qing thought her child was only playing, but as she watched, her expression gradually changed.

She was a Soul Master herself. Though her level was not high, she was extremely sensitive to fluctuations in Soul Power. At that moment, she actually sensed an extremely faint yet unusually steady flow of Soul Power from her son!

Though that Soul Power was as fine as a strand of hair, it was perfectly smooth and complete, moving along a path she had never seen before. Wherever it passed, even the dust in the air seemed to be soothed into stillness.

"This... this is..."

Su Qing covered her mouth in surprise.

Yan Zu "woke" at just the right moment and rubbed his eyes. "Mother, did I do it wrong?"

"No, no!" Su Qing hurriedly pulled him into her arms, her heart pounding like a drum. Though she didn't know where this breathing method had come from, she instinctively felt that it was definitely something extraordinary.

"A-Zu, don't tell anyone about this. Don't even tell your father for now, understand?" she instructed him solemnly.

Yan Zu nodded obediently, though he was laughing inwardly. He knew full well that if he wanted his parents to accept this cultivation art, saying outright that it was a "system reward" would be far too shocking. Calling it a "fortuitous encounter" was much easier to believe.

As for why she wasn't telling Yan Hu...

Yan Zu looked toward his father, who was chopping wood outside the courtyard.

Yan Hu was honest and straightforward and couldn't keep things to himself. If he knew, he might let it slip over drinks one day. Su Qing, on the other hand, was more thoughtful and would help him keep it secret for now, then let Yan Hu know when the time was right.

"Mother, would you like to try it too?" Yan Zu tilted his little face up. "I think this breathing method might help your Soul Power circulation."

Su Qing hesitated.

She looked down into her son's clear eyes, which were full of sincerity and concern.

"All right, Mother will try."

In the end, she couldn't bear to reject her son's filial devotion.

Following Yan Zu's instructions, Su Qing sat cross-legged as well and tried the slow breathing rhythm. At first, she only felt that her breathing was labored, and her Soul Power showed no response. But when she completed the third cycle, she suddenly felt a slight change in the level-twenty-two Soul Power within her!

The "dead Qi" that had accumulated in her meridians over the years-an underlying problem left by the poor circulation of her Soul Power-actually began to flow slowly under the influence of this breathing. The movement was faint, but real.

"This... how is this possible..." Su Qing opened her eyes in shock.

She had been stuck at level twenty-two for a whole year, her Soul Power unable to advance another inch. Yet now, she actually sensed an opportunity to break through!

Yan Zu rejoiced inwardly, though his expression remained unchanged. "Mother, is it really useful?"

"Yes, very useful!" Su Qing's eyes reddened with excitement. She held her son tight, her voice choking. "A-Zu, you really are Mother's lucky star."

Yan Zu patted his mother's back with his little hand, his heart softening.

This was only the first step.