Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Everyone fell silent before quickening their pace and dashing into the dense forest. The narrow path led toward Beast Roar Mountain. It was early morning, and aside from them, no one else was around. They had only gone about 200 meters into the woods when four streaks of cold light suddenly shot out from within the forest, each one piercing precisely into the foreheads of the four strong men.

Wet thuds and sharp cracks rang out as skulls shattered. The four burly figures were hurled backward by immense force, crashing heavily onto the ground. Their eyes dimmed before they could even react. The throwing knives had claimed their lives in an instant. The sole survivor realized in a blink that his companions were dead. Terrified, he wet himself, collapsing onto the ground and trembling uncontrollably.

”D-don’t kill me...”

He stared at the figure emerging from the woods, using his hands to push himself backward in a panic. Shock and terror twisted his face. The man who had slain his four companions in the blink of an eye was none other than their target, Lin Zheyu, who was rumored to be merely at the peak of the Bone Forging Realm!

To hell with the Bone Forging Realm, this guy is clearly a Blood Qi Realm expert!

”Why are you following me?” Lin Zheyu stared coldly at the man and began walking toward him. A terrifying and domineering momentum qi surged from his body, pressing down upon the man and shattering his will. He had discovered that when used on those with weak mental resolve, such oppressive force worked remarkably well in interrogation.

”I-it was an order from above... they told us to investigate you—your movements,” the man stammered.

”Outwardly, I’m only a Bone Forging Realm martial artist. Why investigate me?” Lin Zheyu frowned slightly. He had left no trace behind, so how had the Xing Family managed to target him?

Even our eldest brother, at the peak of the Organ Forging Realm, was slain by your throwing knife. What Bone Forging Realm warrior are you pretending to be? the man cursed silently.

He dared not voice his thoughts. Panic had stripped away all sense; survival was his only concern now.

”You’re not the main target. The Xing Family lost two Blood Qi Realm elders, so the family elder was furious. He made a list of everyone possibly involved, and your name was on it. They suspect you might know something, so they ordered us to tail you and find out why you go into the mountains every day; you know, to see whether you’re really just hunting in Beast Roar Mountain.”

The man blurted everything out at once. In truth, men with unshakable resolve were rare; most would confess under the slightest threat or pain.

”Please, spare me! I swear I’ll never speak of this! I’ll serve you loy—ah!”

He had barely begun his frantic plea when his head slipped cleanly from his neck, the cut smooth as glass. Blood spurted in a red arc.

After learning the reason, Lin Zheyu finally let out a quiet breath of relief. So they only thought he might have some connection and knew a few things, and it was not that they actually suspected him. No wonder the Xing Family had gone to such lengths, even investigating someone with little to do with the matter. Losing two Blood Qi Realm elders in a single day was a serious blow to the Xing Family.

”Killing these men might really make the Xing Family start suspecting me, though,” murmured Lin Zheyu.

Still, he wasn’t too worried. Before long, his strength would advance to the fourth transformation of blood qi. By then, few in Songyi City would be able to threaten him or perhaps none at all. With his mastery of the Golden Goose Technique, anyone who wanted to endanger his life would need to be a true expert in leg techniques as well, or someone far stronger, at the fifth or even sixth transformation of blood qi.

After dealing with the corpses, Lin Zheyu reoriented himself and headed in another direction. Daba Mountain lay far away, in the opposite direction from Lion Valley; it was a remote mountain rarely visited by people.

Halfway there, the sky grew darker. After more than an hour, a fine drizzle began to fall, so Lin Zheyu found an abandoned village to take shelter in. The patter of rain grew heavier. Winter had just passed, and spring brought its long, gentle showers.

”Who knows how long this will last? It’s troublesome not having a weather forecast,” he muttered.

He watched the rain pour down harder and sighed. The deserted village was mostly in ruins, but he managed to find one house still sturdy enough to shelter in. He had brought a raincoat made from oiled cloth, though it was uncomfortable to wear and awkward for travel. He decided to wait; if the rain didn’t stop after an hour, he would put it on and continue his journey.

With the sound of rain drumming outside, Lin Zheyu devoted himself to studying the Mountain Shattering Palm technique. More precisely, it was a method of explosive blood qi release. It used a unique circulation method to concentrate and erupt a greater amount of blood qi all at once, unleashing a burst of power beyond normal limits. With enough control, it could even be channeled through the fists or legs.

However, the technique was extremely demanding. To master it required exceptional command over one’s blood qi, along with coordination between a special breathing method and precise control of muscles, tendons, and skin. The hands were the most flexible parts of the human body, making them the easiest medium for this explosive technique. Applying it to the legs, however, multiplied the difficulty severalfold.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 0]

[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Sixfold Saber (Advanced Mastery: 46%), Golden Goose Technique (Eighth Stage: 48%), Ten Thousand Troop Steps (Fifth Stage: 57%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%), Mountain Shattering Palm (Initiation: 32%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 5%)]

”Thanks to my exceptional control over blood qi, I have advanced the Mountain Shattering Palm to 32% Initiation in just one night. But it will only grow harder from here. Reaching Perfection might take 2 to 3 years,” Lin Zheyu studied the data within his consciousness and murmured to himself.

The Mountain Shattering Palm had no fixed stages. In theory, reaching Perfection would allow him to unleash triple the usual power of his blood qi. For techniques without stage divisions, he could categorize them as he pleased: Dormancy, Initiation, Competence, Initial Mastery, Advanced Mastery, and Perfection.

He could also skip the detailed breakdown and simply train until the progress bar reached a hundred percent, marking Perfection. Yet that method gave very slow feedback, and it could take ages just to see a 1% increase, dampening motivation.

The soft drizzle continued. Half an hour later, the rain outside began to ease. Lin Zheyu did not hurry to leave. The muscles in his right arm and leg quivered slightly as his blood qi flowed through them in a unique circulation pattern under his precise control.

Focusing his mind on two tasks at once, he tried to apply the explosive technique simultaneously to his right arm and leg. His legs were nearly as agile as his arms, and with enough focus, he could channel the same force through them.

”If I can apply this burst technique through my legs, wouldn’t that make it a new martial art called Mountain Shattering Leg?” wondered Lin Zheyu.

The moment the thought formed, the data within his consciousness shifted, and a new entry named Mountain Shattering Leg appeared.